BLOOMINGTON – Bedford North Lawrence finished sixth in the Bo Henry Classic at Bloomington North during high school wrestling action on Saturday.
The Stars, paced by Jorj Filler’s runner-up finish at 126 pounds, scored 94 points. Tell City won the team title with 233.5 points. BNL improved two places and 50 points from last season.
Filler (now 12-2) went extra time to win a tense semifinal over Bloomington North’s Kanye Roberts-Gray (8-6), then fell to Tell City’s Chase Stephens by a 6-1 count in the final. BNL’s Patrell Childs was third at 113. He stopped Castle’s Jason Collier in 2:32 in the quarterfinal, then posted a win over Jasper’s Luke Dahmer (14-4) in the consolation semifinal. Patrell handled Terre Haute North’s Matthew Kemp (pin in 4:21) to claim third place.
“Jorj had a standout performance, making it to the finals, and I’ve been really proud of his efforts all year,” BNL coach Chris Branam said. “Patrell was down 7-0 when he got the pin in the third period to take third place. That ability to never give up is valuable in this sport.”
Other top scorers for the Stars included Jayden Johnson (fourth at 120), Jaxon Powell (fifth at 170), Tate Tanksley (fifth at 195) and Junior Arellano (fifth at 285).
“I think the trajectory of this program is heading in the right direction,” Branam said. “I’m blessed with some hard working kids who want to keep getting better.
“Jayden is showing that he’s willing to learn and improve and I’m proud of how he turned it around after a loss. Then we have guys like Wyatt (Philpott) and Tate who are first-year wrestlers and still went out and got on the podium. And even though I know Jaxon wanted to place a lot higher, last year his day was done after two matches.
“Overall, I’m really proud of this team and am looking forward to their continued growth.”
The Stars will return to action on Dec. 27 in the Warrior Classic at Scottsburg.
