Wawasee finished 1-2 at the IHSWCA Class 2-A Team State tournament at Jay County. (Photo courtesy Yvonne Salazar)

Wawasee’s 2023-24 roller coaster season has been full of the proverbial ups and downs, and the ride continued to spiral in Portland on Saturday. As part of the Class 2-A IHSWCA Team State tournament, Wawasee finished 11th overall in the 12-team grid, narrowly losing to Oak Hill in the first round, taking one on the chin against Hamilton Heights, but recovering to rally for a 38-36 win over Monrovia in the final matchup of the day.

Wawasee’s consistent lack of lightweight and heavyweight slots to fill once again affected its team scoring. Giving up 12 points at 285 and 106, the 44-33 loss to Oak Hill in the opening round was an obvious crusher. Wawasee would score five falls, including one at 165 from Alex Dibble, but were pinned in its final two matchups to lose its two-point grasp on advancement.

Highlighting the second round loss to Hamilton Heights (50-28) were a pair of consecutive pins in the first minute from Donovan Blair and Derek Morrison, Blair at 50 seconds and Morrison the fastest pin of his career, 21 seconds.

In the final matchup against Monrovia, Wawasee trailed 36-24 with three bouts left on the card, but the Warriors recovered to win all three. Gaige Boyd scored a 13-8 decision, Ethan Rodriguez had a tech fall, and like he’s done so many times in his career, Carson Nine got the points the team needed with the money on the table, needing four but getting six with a pin 1:31 into the final matchup of the day.

Wawasee sits at 13-10 on the season and will compete in one more dual, Wednesday at Mishawaka, before heading into the tournament seasons.

At the Class 2-A IHSWCA Team State (at Jay County)

Oak Hill defeated Wawasee 43-33

• 144 – Emilio Liscano (Oak Hill) over Gage Boyd (Wawasee) Fall 2:36
• 150 – Ethan Rodriguez (Wawasee) over Hayden Wagner (Oak Hill) Dec 9-6
• 157 – Will Warnock (Oak Hill) over Carson Nine (Wawasee) Dec 7-3
• 165 – Alex Dibble (Wawasee) over Isaac Mitchener (Oak Hill) Fall 1:42
• 175 – Evan Miller (Oak Hill) over Will Hoy (Wawasee) Fall 2:56
• 190 – Donovan Blair (Wawasee) over Jared Prickett (Oak Hill) Fall 1:31
• 215 – Derek Morrison (Wawasee) over Charlie Curtis (Oak Hill) Fall 2:35
• 285 – Conner Fernandes (Oak Hill) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
• 106 – Manuel Mora (Oak Hill) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
• 113 – Kaleb Salazar (Wawasee) over Mauricio Perez (Oak Hill) Fall 2:33
• 120 – Colin Tarlton (Oak Hill) over Jaxon Senter (Wawasee) Maj 13-3
• 126 – Cameron Senter (Wawasee) over Brayd Arthur (Oak Hill) Fall 1:43
• 132 – Devon Adkins (Oak Hill) over Cavin Tom (Wawasee) Fall 1:13
• 138 – Tyson Kendall (Oak Hill) over Zeke Spore (Wawasee) Fall 1:03