Flurry of falls sees Northview flatten North Putnam

While not looking to be in a great spot, North Putnam's Corie Stancomb was just seconds away from picking up a fall after a scramble with Northview's Camden Erst at 113 pounds Thursday night. By that point, however the Cougars were already down 45-18 and would suffer a 57-24 defeat to the Knights.

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BAINBRIDGE – It was a dual match that showed promise but ended as one-sided as many of the matches on the night did.

Northview visited North Putnam Thursday night, providing a bit of insight into the state of WIC wrestling in the 2022-23 season.

Last year, the Cougars finished second and the Knights seventh in the conference meet but the teams looked to be moving in opposite directions this campaign as the visitors steamrolled their way to a 57-24 win.

"Hopefully this is motivation for the rest of the season," North Putnam head coach Michael Murphy said. "I told them afterward that we can have losses but we can't give up pins like we did tonight.

"The team has been ranked in the state this year but we came in and had this performance. We're taking it on the chin tonight and getting after it on Saturday, though we have some things to fix on Friday."

The evening started at 138 pounds where Northview’s Bobby Styck pinned Hunter Wingler in the second period, followed by the0 only bout that went the distance on the evening at 145 pounds where Preston Heilger won a 9- decision over Elijah Lewis.

North Putnam won the next two bouts as Braden Glaze pinned Draven Elmore in the first period at 152 pounds and Jacob Land won by fall in the second period over Carter Rains at 160 pounds.

The marquee matchup saw two No. 7 ranked wrestlers in the Evansville Semi-State squared off with Knight Tyler Lee handing Cougar Lucas Murphy his first loss of the season with a fall in the third period.

It was the start of a cascade of Northview falls in the opening period as Richard Alexander won over Hank wood at 182 pounds, Dalton Simmons won at 195 pounds over Jordan Bridges, Jace Deakins won at 220 pounds over Paxton O’Brien, Branden Brewer defeated Trevor Roseboom at 285 pounds and Landon Souder defeated Owen O’Hair at 106 pounds.

North Putnam broke the run with two-straight falls as Corie Stancombe defeated Camden Erst in the second period at 113 pounds and Kaleb Walton won over Olivia Slaughter in the third period.

The Knights won the final two matches as Seth Couden pinned Wes Murphy at 120 pounds late in the second period and, in a topsy-turvy finale, Cain Garrison defeated Quenton Brown at 132 pounds in the second period after falling behind 10-5.

Northview returns to action next Thursday at the Evansville North Invite while North Putnam competed in the Russ Hesler Invitational Saturday with the first portion of the morning’s action being the Putnam County Wrestling Tournament.