By Cort Reynolds
VAN BUREN - The Bluffton varsity wrestling team put together a strong showing in the Div. III sectionals Friday and Saturday at Van Buren.
Three Pirate grapplers won titles, and five Bluffton matmen qualified for the district tournament next weekend at Rossford.
Pirate senior Tayton Kleman and sophomore Thayne Kleman each won individual bracket titles on the first day, while Kaden Basil copped his own crown on day two to pace Bluffton.
Liberty-Benton earned the sectional team title with 217.5 points, while Bluffton finished a solid fifth (110.5) at the 13-team event.
On Saturday, Bluffton junior Kaden Basil won the 160 lbs. class title with a 3-0 record. The top seed cruised to the crown with three quick pins to improve to 35-5 this season.
Bluffton soph Thayne Kleman went 2-0 Friday to improve to 38-3 this season with his crown at 106 lbs. After a first round bye, the high seed won the semifinals 16-0. He then captured the title bout by pin at 3:30 over R.J. Coldren of Liberty-Benton.
On Friday, senior Tayton Kleman won the 120 lbs. title with two quick pins. He received a first round bye and then won by pin in 56 seconds in the semifinals. In the finals, he won in 62 seconds over Lee Woods of L-B to improve his season mark to 41-4.
Pirate senior Jeremy Sturgeon went 2-1 at 126 lbs., losing in the championship bout, to finish second in his weight bracket.
Sturgeon won his first match by pin in 86 seconds Friday.
Sturgeon then won the semifinals in 5:44 to reach the final round. He lost to Caden Crawford of Hopewell-Loudon in 1:43 to run his season record to 25-10.
Pirate junior Trent Howard captured third place in the 195 lbs. division by posting a 2-1 record on Saturday. He lost his first match, but battled back through the consolation bracket to win the third-place bout with a 5-1 decision.
Howard's season record improved to 29-18.
Bluffton sophomore Isaiah Mikesell compiled a 1-3 mark in the 170 lbs. bracket to finish in sixth place. He concluded the season with eight individual wins.
Any top four sectional finish qualifies a wrestler to the district meet at Rossford March 6-7. Competition starts at 9 a.m. Saturday with the lowest weight classes. Those who make it to day two can start as early as 9 a.m. Sunday.
Sectional team scores:
1 Liberty-Benton 217.5 points
2 Elmwood 201
3 Van Buren 141
4 Hopewell-Loudon 121
5 Bluffton 110.5
6 Arcadia 100.5
7 Carey 94
8 McComb 40
9 Patrick Henry 22.5
10 Cory-Rawson 21
11 Riverdale 13
12 North Baltimore 7
13 Pandora-Gilboa 5
