INDIANAPOLIS – Bedford North Lawrence’s Junior Arellano finished second in his weight class during The Gobbler wrestling tournament at Southport on Saturday.
Arellano posted four wins at 285 as the Stars finished 10th in the 15-team field with 75 points. Center Grove won the team title with 236.5.
Arellano, making his 2023 debut after suffering a late-season football injury, recorded victories over North Central’s Elijah Nolan-Watkins (pin in 2:59), Perry Meridian’s Robbie Jones (pin in 3:53), New Albany’s Ephraim Zamorano (3-2 decision) and Center Grove’s Timothy Knight (pin in 19 seconds).
“Obviously it was great to see Junior up on the podium,” BNL coach Chris Branam said. “He’s been working hard, bouncing back from an ankle injury from football season, and showed he can hang with high-caliber wrestlers.”
BNL’s Jaxon Powell was fourth at 185 as he recorded three wins. He pinned Perry Meridian’s Santiago Zamora (in 16 seconds), defeated Decatur Central’s Isaac Dubon-Canaca (pin in 1:55) and stopped Attica’s Ethan Bartkowiak (pin in 1:44).
Other Stars with multiple wins included Wyatt Philpott (sixth place), Jorj Filler (fifth at 120 with four wins), Driven Axsom (eighth place), Ethan Stancombe (fifth place with four wins) and Asher Arce (two wins).
“Guys like Wyatt, Jorj, and Ethan overcame first-round losses to place in the top half of their bracket,” Branam said. “Driven Axsom is new to the sport, but wrestled some great matches today and has shown he is a quick learner.
“Asher Arce probably wrestled the best match I’ve ever seen him wrestle today. Jaxon Powell was our next-best finisher at fourth place. I’m glad to see him continuing his trend of improvement from last season. The lack of pictures of people on that first through third podium doesn’t tell the full story. Even us finishing 10th without a full squad is a good achievement at such a competitive event.”
BNL will visit Scottsburg on Tuesday.
