Rockies send 10 to regional round

The Plymouth Rockies hosted the IHSAA Sectional meet on Saturday. Plymouth battled well but fell short in the team score race to the Wawasee Warriors placing 2nd scoring 209 points with Wawasee scoring 258. 

The Rockies advanced 10 of 14 wrestlers with 6 in the finals and 4 champions. 

Sophomore Braxton White (26-10) found himself in a dogfight against an NLC foe Elias Garza from Warsaw. In a back-and-forth battle. Braxton managed to secure an 8-7 victory to capture his 2nd Sectional title.  

5th ranked Junior standout Wesley Smith (39-1) wrestled with great precision to take his 2nd Sectional title against tough Wawasee Sophomore Ethan Rodriguez. The score was 5-1 

Caydn Smith (33-6), a Junior came out to make a statement against Laville Senior Mason Stepp. Smith earned a pin fall at the 2-minute mark to capture his 1st Sectional title. 

Junior Anthony Popi (37-2) secured his 2nd sectional title in a row in dominant fashion, reminding everyone why he is the 4th ranked Heavyweight in the state. Popi captured the fall a little past the 3 min mark. 

Freshman Coen Kraemer (13-11) and Junior Seth Wright (24-9) battled their way to the finals earning 2nd place.

Senior Matthew McCrum (25-10) and Junior Alonzo Chantea (24-9) earned 3rd place honors wrestling their way back after both losing in the Semifinals to the eventual champions. 

Sophomore Christopher Firebaugh (28-12) and Senior Justin Garrett (20-17) kept their season alive with a 4th-place finish. 

As a team, Plymouth finished the regular season with an 18-11 record. 

Plymouth will travel to Regionals next Saturday hosted by Penn.