Cougars fall to Wildcats

North Putnam's Alex Lance attempts to pin his opponent Wednesday evening. Lance won the 171-pound match, but the Cougars were defeated by the Wildcats, 53-25.

ROACHDALE -- The North Putnam wrestling squad were defeated by the Wildcats of South Vermillion, 53-25, at home Wednesday night.

With the loss, coach Kenny Kerns voiced concern over the teams lack of consistency.

"One day we're good, one day we're bad," Kerns said. "We just can't keep it steady."

A major factor in the Cougars loss was forfeits. North gave up 30 points in forfeits which created a deficit the Cougars couldn't claw their way out of.

North had some good performances from their seniors as well as its underclassmen.

Darr Boruff got North's scoring started with a second-period pin in the 160 weight class. Alex Lance, at 171, won by decision 14-0 and brought the Cougars close to the lead.

Jake Stigall won in dominating fashion in the 189 class. He maneuvered his opponent into position and gained the win by fall with 1:25 left in the first period to give NPHS the lead.

In the heavyweight class, Emmett Boruff delivered another great performance for North Putnam, as he pinned his opponent at the 1:19 mark in the first period. Chris Humphries closed out the scoring for the Cougars in the 135 weight class with a 5-2 win that didn't come easy. Humphries was behind most of the match but with just a minute to go he reversed on his opponent to take the lead and the win.

Kerns received wins by his three captains and praised them for their leadership on and off the mat.

North also got gutsy performances from C.J. Lofton in the 112 class, Bren Donaldson at 130, Kenny Quisenberry at 140 and Dayne Nelson at 215.

Even with the defeat, Kerns saw a silver lining.

"We wrestled a lot better today than we did Saturday," Kerns said.

In junior varsity action, North's Randy Soriano fell to his Wildcat opponent in the second period. The action was stopped in the first period when his opponent was flagged for pulling on his neck and his headgear.

North Putnam will next be in action next Saturday at sectionals.

At North Putnam

South Vermillion 53 North Putnam 25

Individual results

103 - Forfeit

112 - C.J. Lofton lost by fall :45 (2)

119 - Forfeit

125 - Forfeit

130 - Bren Donaldson lost by tech. fall 1-17

135 - Chris Humphries won by dec. 5-2

140 - Kenny Quisenberry lost by fall 1:09 (3)

145 - Forfeit

152 - Forfeit

160 - Darr Boruff won by fall 1:21 (2)

171 - Alex Lance won by dec. 14-0

189 - Jake Stigall won by fall 1:25 (1)

215 - Dayne Nelson lost by fall 1:24 (1)

Hwt - Emmett Boruff won by fall 1:19 (1)

JV results

171 - Randy Soriano lost by fall :49 (2)

Next meet - North Putnam will next be in action at sectionals next Saturday.