BLOOMINGTON – Bedford North Lawrence’s Jorj Filler and Ethan Stancombe earned their tickets to the IHSAA semistate during regional action at Bloomington South on Saturday.
Filler finished third at 126 pounds while Stancombe was third at 165. The top four in each weight class qualified for the semistate at Evansville on Feb. 10.
Filler (30-7) opened with a 9-4 victory over New Albany’s Will McLaughlin. He recorded two quick takedowns in the opening period and roared to a 6-1 lead. In the semifinal, Filler suffered a pin loss to Floyd Central’s Fynn Douglas in 1:51, but he bounced back for a 6-4 triumph over Southridge’s Cameron Fogle.
Stancombe (30-8) had a similar route to the semistate. He recorded the mandatory first win by pinning North Knox’s Garrett Fuller in 3:29. In the semifinal, Bloomington South’s Evan Roudebush stopped Stancombe in 4:45. Stancombe then rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the consolation match against Bloomington North’s Jeremiah Casillas for a thrilling 9-7 win. Stancombe has topped Casillas in three straight postseason matches.
BNL sophomore Wyatt Philpott (22-11) fell in the first round, suffering a pin loss to Floyd Central’s Leblanc Phan at 113. BNL junior Junior Arellano (16-5) was pinned by Floyd Central’s Justin Brown in 2:58 during the opening round at 285.
The Stars finished 12th in the regional team standings with 20 points. Floyd Central won the team crown with 182.5.
The top four in the semistate will advance to the state championships on Feb. 16 in Indianapolis.
