By Stu Swartz
Elkhart Memorial still rules as the king of Northern Lakes Conference high school wrestling — at least until Saturday.
The Crimson Chargers stormed into Goshen on Wednesday night and wrapped up the league regular-season title with a 41-24 victory over the Redskins.
Memorial finishes the round robin 7-0 for a seventh consecutive year, meaning the Chargers have a winning streak of 49 in terms of NLC dual meets.
Goshen wraps up one of its better regular seasons in history with a 21-1 record. The school record for wins remains 22 by the 1998-99 team.
There was certainly a big meet atmosphere before perhaps the largest regular season crowd in GHS wrestling history which dates back into the early 1960s.
It was also a long night due to a couple delays.
There was a wait for a rules interpretation as Memorial star Zack Corpe attempted to drop from 160 pounds to 152 and he was denied.
Later, Brandon Dillenbeck of the Redskins was thrown into the bleachers during a 189-pound match with the portable scoreboard being tipped over and chairs sent flying.
Dillenbeck continued the match, but was later taken to Goshen General Hospital for an examiniation.
“Memorial came to wrestle and we didn’t,” said Goshen coach Jim Pickard. “We got all caught up in the emotion of the evening and made mistakes we hadn’t all year.
“The draw started out perfect for Memorial and they got on an early roll. Our kids saw the score and were trying too hard to pin people, rather than going for points.
“These are 14 to 18 year old kids and now they have to show some character by coming back Saturday.”
That’s the day of the NLC tournament which will be held at NorthWood, starting at 9 a.m. with finals probably 1 p.m. at the earliest.
Memorial coach Brian Seltzer said, “We haven’t been involved in a match like this for seven or eight years. It was almost like a team semistate moment, really.
“Everyone had a lot of energy and it was a great night for wrestling. I’m glad to be a part of it.
“Goshen is a heck of a team and we could wind up sharing the NLC title because they are a great tournament team. They outscored us in the Mishawaka Invitational.
“The intensity level was high on both sides and this is as good as it gets for wrestling.”
Memorial has not lose an NLC dual meet since the finale of 2003 to Northridge.
Goshen winners by pin were Austin Maynard in 1:54 at 112 pounds, Ryan Ntende in 3:43 at 140 and Jacob Clark in 5:36 at 285.
Redskins winning on points were Troy Pickard 6-2 at 152 and J.B. Singer 9-4 at 171.
Memorial winners by pin were Nick Vaughn at 119, Dantrell Goodman at 130, Corpe at 160 and Shane Hendrickson at 215.
Winning on points for the Chargers were Codey Flickinger at 103, Kevin Kelly at 125, Cam Matteson at 135, Alberto Rios at 145 and Carson Sappington at 189.
The individual sectional is Jan. 30 at Memorial and regional Feb. 6 at Goshen.
