Brookville wrestlers maintain Seminole stranglehold

The most highly anticipated event of the Seminole District wrestling tournament, a rematch in the 145-pound bracket between Brookville junior Josh Lancaster and Jefferson Forest’s Caleb Prather, lived up to its hype.

Lancaster once again emerged victorious late in the match, this time breaking a 1-1 tie in the final seconds of the 3rd period, and helped Brookville secure its 43rd straight district tourney championship at home on Saturday.

“It was intense,” said Lancaster, who improved to 36-3 on the season.

“It was crazy keeping up with him. Both of us are really good athletes and both of us are ranked. Considering our last match was really close, I knew he was going to come after me. … I just knew I had to go in there and take him down.”

Lancaster was just one of nine Brookville wrestlers to win in the finals, and the Bees — who finished with 279 points to second-place JF’s 237 — will likely showcase 13 wrestlers in the Region III Tournament, which begins Saturday at Turner Ashby.

“This is a good way to start [the regional championships],” Brookville coach Don Shuler said. “Just having 11 guys in the finals is a big deal. And then, winning nine of those is a big deal.”

The Cavaliers won four matches in the district finals, which started off with JF freshman Brett Romanzak defeating Brookville’s Ashton Brown at 106. Junior Forest Speake (152) and Eric Wellman (195) also picked up wins for the Cavaliers.

JF senior Josh Bowyer — a three-time district champion with 136 career wins under his belt and who is currently ranked 5th in the state at 160 pounds — took home Seminole District player of the year and won 19-4 over Rustburg’s Preston Rogers.

“We took second, but it wasn’t for lack of effort,” JF coach Hutch Hutchinson said. “We’re hoping to have a good turnout for regionals.”

Brookville’s Victor Montalbano (220) and Derek Thurman (182), who are both ranked No. 1 in the state among AA wrestlers in their respective weight classes, remained undefeated on the season.

Montalbano won his match in 48 seconds over E.C. Glass freshman Jared Bartell, and said that being a senior has given him more confidence in his team and in his own wrestling ability.

“I wrestle a lot differently than I used to, and I’m more aggressive,” Montalbano said. “I know it’s going to get harder from here on out, but I have confidence I can keep winning.”

With Brookville and JF dominating in the finals, E.C. Glass emerged as the only other team to win a championship. Heavyweight McKenzie Garnett took down Brookville’s Tevin Tardy in the day’s final match.

Glass finished third with 143 points and coach Matt Wallin took home district coach of the year honors.