The Batesville Bulldogs sent two wrestlers to participate in the Regionals at Richmond on February 4th. Senior Micahel Deal in the 126 lb class and Freshman JT Linkel in the 132 lb class.
This was Deal’s third appearance at the Richmond Regionals. He started his day off against sophomore Danny Clark of Centerville. Deal took control of this match early on by pinning his opponent in 58 seconds of the first period giving him his 18th pin of the year. Deal then faced off against Dallas Pugsley of Shanendoah where he fell short to the eventual Regional champ by pin. This loss moved Deal to the consolidation round where he ended the day in 4th place after losing to Garrett Walton of South Dearborn. The 4th place finish is not we hoped for but is still enough to advance the senior to a 2nd appearance at semi-state next weekend at New Castle.
In his first appearance at The Regionals, Linkel faced off against Elijah Phillips, a Junior from Centerville high school. Linkel approached this match like he has all his matches this season by wrestling to the end without giving up a pin. The Batesville freshman did all he could before falling to Phillips by a 17-2 decision. This loss ended the freshman’s year but he was able to take away a great experience that will help next year. Linkel ended the season with a great record of 28 wins and 12 losses.
Courtesy of Bulldogs Coach Chris Deal.