The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, Februar y 28, 2018 B-1 SPORTS Submit sports items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: sports@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net Senior Bryant Nalley scored 22 points and dished out four assists to lead the Pike Central High School boys' basketball team to a 64-42 victory over host North Posey on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Senior Tyler Tormohlen added 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and senior Cameron Henson netted 12 points while grabbing seven re- bounds as the Chargers ended the regular-season 11-11 overall and 5 - 3 in the Pocket Athletic Conference. With senior Breyton Booker, the team's second-leading scorer, side- lined after suffering an ankle inju- ry during a 46 -43 overtime win at South Knox the previous evening, Pike Central made 22 of 40 field goal attempts – an impressive 55 percent average. "Coming out, especially minus Booker, I knew some kids were go- ing to have to step up, and I thought they really stepped up and played well," said Elliott. "We shot the ball well, and I think it really was be- cause of our ball movement and kids being ready to shoot. And that was huge for us tonight." The Chargers never trailed, rac- ing to an early 8 -0 lead in the game's first three minutes on a basket by senior Kaleb Claridge and back-to- Eighth grader Gunner Earley was voted the most valuable wrestler as Central Middle School placed sec- ond in the Pike Central Invi- tational on Saturday, Feb. 24. Earley, wrestling at 195 pounds, went undefeated on the day. As a team, the Chargers went 4-1, defeating South Spencer 75 -15, Boonville 51-39, Wood Memorial 84- 12 and Heritage Hills 48 -31 while dropping a 78 -22 loss to Southridge. "We wrestled very well overall," said Chargers head coach Ryan McCain. "The highlight of the day was beat- ing Boonville head-to-head. I've been coaching middle school for three years and we've always been right on their tail, but never been able to win a dual against them." According to McCain, the Boonville match came down to the final bout. "We were up by six points, and it came down to Creek Sullivan, our new heavy- Earley goes undefeated as PCMS wrestlers place second in Pike Central Invitational Four Chargers compete in two events at state swim meet CHARGERS CLOSE OUT REGULAR SEASON WITH 64-42 WIN AT NORTH POSEY Pike Central middle school wrestler E.J. Willis picks up a single leg while wrestling his opponent from South Spencer. Willis went on to win the match at the Pike Central Invita- tion on Saturday. Pike Central High School senior Kaleb Claridge (13) finds his path to the basket blocked by North Posey senior Jacob Sanford (right) during varsity boys' basketball action on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Claridge scored six points as the Chargers defeated the host Vikings 64-42. Ed Cahill photo Derek Lunsford spots for Aaron Stephens in the bench press contest at The Zone. Stephens benched 185 pounds 23 times. Four members of the Pike Central High School boys' swimming team compet- ed in two different events during preliminaries for the Indiana High School Athlet- ic Association's state meet on Friday, Feb. 23, at the Indi- ana University Natatorium on the IUPUI campus in In- dianapolis. Senior Jacob Bohnert, af- ter setting a new school re- cord while winning the 200 -yard freestyle with a time of 1:47.08 during the sectional finals on Saturday, Feb. 17, at Jasper, placed 30th out of 32 competitors during the state meet's preliminar- ies with a time of 1:48.40. Later, Bohnert teamed up with seniors Ty Cassitty and Lukas Hill and sophomore Jersey Mills to place 30th out of 31 competitors in the 200 -yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:33.14. During the sectional finals, Bohnert, Cassitty, Hill and Mills fin- ished first in the event with a time of 1:31.76. The top 16 in each swim- ming event advanced to Sat- urday's finals, with the first through eighth place finish- ers competing in the cham- pionship heat. Bohnert and Hill were competing at the state swim meet for the fourth time in as many years. Mills, who subbed for Hill in the 400 -yard freestyle relay last year as a freshman at the state meet, was making his second trip to the state meet. Cassitty was making his first appearance at the state meet. Also placing at the state meet from the sectional meet at Jasper: • Bedford North Law- rence senior Alec Chastain and sophomores Andrew Sw- enson, Dayson Sorrells and Jacob Werley placed 26th out of 31 competitors in the 200 -yard medley relay with a time of 1:40.28. During the See PCMS on pg 5 See SWIM on pg 3 See LUNSFORD on pg 3 See WIN on pg 4 Lunsford rises from amateur bodybuilder to pro during whirlwind year By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net When Derek Lunsford de- cided he wanted to become a bodybuilder, he had no idea where – or how far – it would take him. In 2015, Lunsford made an impressive debut in his first-ever bodybuilding com- petition – the National Phy- sique Committee (NPC) Bodybuilding Contest in In- dianapolis – by placing first in the novice lightweight, overall novice and open wel- terweight divisions. Two weeks later, Lunsford competed in the NPC Jr. Na- tionals Bodybuilding Fitness and Figure Championships in Rosemont, Ill., where he placed first in the welter- weight division. In 2016, Lunsford – who graduated from Pike Cen- tral High School in 2011 – placed first in the middle- weight division, was the overall bodybuilding win- ner and received the award for most muscular during the Midwest Battles of the Champions; placed first in the middleweight division during the NPC Jr. Nation- als; and placed second in the middleweight division during the NPC USA Body- building Championships in Las Vegas, Nev. In July 2017, Lunsford placed first in the light heavyweight class at the NPC USA BodyBuilding Championships, earning an International Federation of Body Builders (IFBB) pro card as well as the illustri- ous title of Mr. USA as the event's overall winner. "A fter the first year, I de- cided I wanted to turn pro, because I thought I could do well," Lunsford said. "It didn't happen, but this year, it did." Less than a week later, Lunsford took top honors in the 212-pound weight class at the IFBB Tampa Pro to qualify for the 2017 Olym- pia in Las Vegas in Septem- ber, when he found himself on the same stage with some of the biggest names in the sport, including five-time defending champion James "Flex" Lewis. "A few years ago, I was just starting my bodybuilding ca- reer, so I'm still a fan of the sport, and I'm still a fan of these guys, because they're good guys at heart," said Lunsford, who placed fifth overall while earning Rook- ie of the Year honors. "They work hard and they have the best physiques in the world." "But I'm here to challenge that," Lunsford continued. "I want to be in their position, specifically, Flex's. I want to challenge each one of them for that title. I think if I had any other mindset, then I wouldn't be where I am at today." "I think it's important that everybody who's competing – whether it's bodybuilding or whether it's wrestling or whether it's any sport – you should have that competitive mindset that you're going to be doing your best to train and you want to be your best every time you're competing. You should never be slacking on your training or anything. You should always be giving your all." A two-time Pocket Ath- letic Conference wrestling champion – at 125 pounds as a junior and 130 pounds as a senior – Lunsford admit- ted that the chain of events that led to his appearance at the 2017 Olympia happened so rapidly that it took a while to sink in.