Boone wrestlers take 21 places in NIC-10 tournament

By Bob Balgemann
Reporter
BOONE COUNTY – From first to sixth, Belvidere and Belvidere North wrestlers came home with 21 places during the recent NIC-10 tournament.
Team-wise, Belvidere scored 152 points, which was good for third place, while North tallied 89 points and finished fifth. Hononegah (244) once again won the championship with another perennial powerhouse, Harlem (165), in second.
Sophomore Sean Lock of Belvidere North, 15-6 at the time, was the only county champion, taking the 145-pound title in a disqualification against the No. 1 seed. He won both of his preliminary matches with quick pins, in 1:16 and in 54 seconds.
Belvidere was represented at 145 by senior Jason Tapia (20-13), who placed fourth. He had an impressive 20-4 win in his first consolation match, being awarded a near fall at the 4:00 mark.
The Bucs and Blue Thunder didn’t run into each other very much during the tournament. But their 152-pound entries, both seniors, met twice with Belvidere’s Drake Dutz (14-18) winning each time.
Dutz, who won 3-of-4 matches and finished third, pinned North’s Naseef Pawlitz (8-16) in the opening round and again in the battle for third place. Pawlitz was awarded fourth place at that weight class.
Second-place finishes were recorded by a group of seniors that included Tanner Pavlak (18-19) of Belvidere at 120 pounds; Henry Flores (26-13) of Belvidere at 138; Blayne Lindquist (18-12) of Belvidere North at 160; and Gage Brewer (26-11) of Belvidere at 195.
Belvidere’s Deon Roby, a junior, took third at 220 pounds and in the consolation finals pinned his opponent on just 30 seconds.
Another Buc and a junior, Yves Worou (6-3) was third at 106 and did so by pinning Chris Jarka (8-5) of Belvidere North in 42 seconds.
Thirds also were achieved by Belvidere sophomores Mitch Panzke (26-8) at 113 pounds and Steve Montez (22-14) at 126 pounds.
Junior Caleb Blatchford (17-13) of North was fourth at 138 pounds; as was freshman Jase Abraham (6-11) at 182.
Fifth place finishes went to North freshman Isaac Hernandez (13-14) at 113 pounds; North sophomore Kase Myerson (10-5) at 126; and Belvidere’s Michael Saint-Germain (4-8), a freshman, at 170. Myerson won his medal with an 11-1 major decision while Saint-German pinned his opponent in 1:50.
Sixth place finishes went to freshman Glen Winchel (3-4) of Belvidere; freshman Natt Williams (5-7) of Belvidere North; and sophomore Justin Downey (5-8) of North.
Also competing were freshman Tayvius Sanders (4-5) of Belvidere; sophomore Kent Myerson (11-9) of Belvidere North; and sophomore Hunter Johnson (6-8) of North.