PLYMOUTH — Jacob Linky found himself behind 3-1 in the second period then 5-4 at the beginning of the third in the finals of Northern Lakes Conference wrestling meet Saturday.
The Warsaw Community High School junior finished strong for an 8-4 win against Concord junior Andrew BonDurant and a 160-pound title.
Linky, who is deaf, explained his approach through interpreter Rebecca Black.
“(Coach Kris Hueber) said I should stay low and keep my head up,” said Linky. “If he has his head down is trying to tie me up, I’m to pull his elbow back and take a quick shot.
“I’m always quick and strong. That can keep me winning if I stat true to myself.” Hueber instructed Linky to choose neutral. That resulted in a quick takedown and a 3-3 tie. An escape by BonDurant and another takedown by Linky sent the match to the third period with him ahead 5-4. Linky escaped from bottom early in the third and went on to win.
“I feel like I’m getting better,” said Linky. “Last year I didn’t win the NLC. This is the first time I won the NLC wrestling.”
Hueber broke down Linky’s finals match.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “He started a little slow. When he figures out in the match the adjustments he needs to make or finds something that works, he’s really pretty good.
“Because he’s so explosive and so freaky and can do some thing you can’t coach, he finds himself in some places that causes just a little bit of trouble.”
Northridge won its fourth straight NLC team title. The Raiders scored 259 points, followed by Wawasee 188.5, NorthWood 165, Plymouth 156.5, Warsaw 146, Goshen 141, Concord 117 and Elkhart Memorial 25.
Up to six places were awarded in each weight division. Also placing for the Tigers were seniors Brock Hueber (195), Isaiah Owens (138) and Brock Hogenson (132) and juniors Brandon Esepp (182), Liam Nolin (145) and Jose Martinez (120) all third with senior Angel Mendez (220) and sophomore Andrew Ross (126) both fourth.
Three Wawasee wrestlers — freshman Logan Stuckman, junior Jace Alexander and senior Garrett Stuckman — won their respective weight classes.
“I felt like I did good with neutral,” said Logan Stuckman, who won 8-1 in the finals. “It’s a spot I felt I could get somewhere with. I was pretty dominant on top.
“Being on bottom is what it is. If you don’t move, you don’t get anywhere. You move you get somewhere.”
The younger Stuckman went on bottom just once all day. That was in the championship match.
“It really help with Coach Bum (Warriors head coach Frank Bumgardner) teaching me that one move that got me somewhere. I just stand up. You get your outside foot up and there you are.” Logan gave a shout-out to Garrett.
“I couldn’t have done anything without my brother,” said Logan Stuckman. “He’s way better than me. No questions asked. If I can hang with him for just five, it’s something. I get better every time.” Alexander missed Thursday’s practice for a medical procedure and was cautious Saturday.
“I was kind of waiting for position,” said Alexander. “I know I’m not to full strength yet from my surgery Thursday.
“It was just harder to breathe. I got tired quicker because I had to breathe harder.” What is Alexander’s best thing when he’s on top of his game? “I control top pretty well,” said Alexander. “I’ve just got to work on bottom.”
Alexander is really looking forward to the Plymouth Sectional (which will also include Warsaw) on Saturday.
“I’m bigger fan of the tournament,” said Alexander. “I don’t like team duals as much as individual stuff. It just puts more pressure on you to score points. You’ve got to get the pin. (As an individual,) you’ve just got to win.”
Sophomore Dylan Tom (120) and freshman Hunter Miller (113) were both second for Wawasee while senior Fernando Hernandez (182) and Logan Baugh (170) fifth fourth, senior Austin Lajoice (195), junior Brendan Dilley (132) and sophomore Quintin Spitzmacher (220) all fifth and senior Isiah Faurote (160), sophomore Tim Shortt (145) and freshman Nick Clark (285) all sixth.
Bumgardner assessed his Warriors.
“We were really worried about our performance today as far as focusing,” said Bumgardner. “It was kind of a mixed bag. We had some really good things happen. We had some things that we weren’t quite hoping for.
“We’re better than we were a month ago. In another we’ve got to get better, get to the sectional tournament and see where we’re at.
“We’ve got have a little more mental focus in our training, specifically individual guys with individual positions.”
