Shelbyville's Garner and Bryant advance to New Castle Semistate

A pair of Golden Bears are headed to the New Castle Semistate.

Shelbyville’s Tripp Garner and Brady Bryant each finished third Saturday at the Perry Meridian Regional to advance to the semistate level where they will have to win their first two matches to qualify for the state finals.

Garner, ranked No. 22 at 126 pounds, opened the regional with a second-period pinfall win (3:28) over Lawrence Central’s Donnavan Twyman. That win automatically advanced Garner to the semistate tournament.

In the semifinals Saturday, Garner was pinned by Roncalli’s Blake Getz, ranked No. 2 in the state. Garner returned to the mat and defeated Lawrence North’s Jamari Johnson, 8-7, in the third-place match.

Garner improved to 37-4 this season.

Brady Bryant, competing at 157 pounds, needed just 18 seconds to earn his semistate berth. The senior pinned North Central’s Troy Reed to reach the semifinal round.

Lawrence North’s Erick Grady defeated Bryant, 13-6, in the semifinals. Like Garner, Bryant bounced back to produce a 10-2 win over New Palestine’s Zion Tavorn in the third-place match.

Bryant is 33-6 this season.

All three Triton Central regional qualifiers (photo) lost in the opening round.

Also wrestling at 157, Triton Central’s Landon Ball lost to Tavorn, 8-5, in his first match. Ball, a sophomore, went 23-11 this season.

Gage Bryant, a sophomore, lost 11-8 to Mt. Vernon’s Ty Barnhart at 120 pounds. Bryant was 9-8 this season for Triton Central.

At 144 pounds, Triton Central’s Anthony Toon lost 15-13 to Lawrence Central’s Gregory Smith. Toon, a junior, finished the season 20-10.

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