Recently, Charlestown’s 2022 graduate Ben Phillips was joined by family, teammates, and coaches to sign his letter of intent to attend school and wrestle at Indiana University. At the time of his celebratory signing, Phillips had already begun classes in Bloomington, working toward a degree in Exercise Science. But, as always, it was a pleasure to have him back in Charlestown for the evening.

Most know that Phillips was a very decorated athlete at Charlestown as a two-time state medalist, conference, sectional, and regional champion, record holder, and more who had received multiple offers from colleges and universities. When asked about his decision to go to Indiana University, Phillips said: “I really love the coaches, the team, and the training environment. They have so many resources to help me become the best I can be! Bloomington is also closer to home than most of my other options, so that helped in the decision making process. I am super excited for my future at Indiana, and I am thankful for everyone who has helped me get to this point. Go Hoosiers!” Phillips is one of twelve incoming freshmen or transfers to the team.

Charlestown wrestling coach Adam Doherty shared the following sentiments on Phillips: “Ben has been amazing to coach over the last four years.  He broke multiple school records, including the only CHS wrestler to place twice in the State tournament and tied the highest finish of 4^th.  Ben always put in the work and constantly pushed himself to be better.  He was a great teammate that wanted to see everyone succeed as much as he did himself.  I am so excited to see his hard work pay, and can’t wait to see him do big things at Indiana University.”

Founded in 1820, Indiana University Bloomington is the flagship campus of IU’s seven campuses and two regional centers statewide. Innovation, creativity, and academic freedom are hallmarks of our world-class contributions in research and the arts. As a public ivy league institution, Indiana University Bloomington was ranked in the top 40 public national universities, tied for 36th, and was tied for 89th among all colleges and universities in the 2019 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges rankings.

Indiana University competes in the Big 10 Athletic Conference in 13 NCAA Division I sports including baseball, basketball, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, rowing, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, water polo, and wrestling.

The Charlestown High School athletic department and WPMQ, The Pirate Network congratulate Ben and wish him a healthy and prosperous future as an Indiana Hoosier.

Article contributed by WPMQ, The Pirate Network’s Aiden Stewart.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Phillips/Ed. Melissa Stewart

In a school year filled with ups and downs like sleds on this week’s snowy hills, the Charlestown wrestling team has had their eyes set straight on winning a sectional crown. Not rain, sleet, snow, nor COVID would stop it. Through an abundance of caution, the team has stayed safe and healthy this season and worked relentlessly, anticipating the moment the Pirates stepped on the mat at Jeffersonville High School this morning.

Early energy fueled the Pirates as they lead the pack after the first two rounds. Then the Red Devils from Jeffersonville arrived with a late surge, sending ten wrestlers to the final round, while the Pirates matted nine. With fourteen weight classes to wrestle for a sectional championship, seven of those featured a Charlestown-Jeffersonville clash, and while the Pirates only won three of those (Deke Brown–182 pounds; Manuel Ordorica–195 pounds; and Lucas Gagnon–220 pounds), the rest of the field pulled their weight to give the Pirates the victory.The Pirates watched two others step to the top of the medal stand and be crowned individual sectional champions at the 138 pound weight class (Colin Knox) and the 152 pound weight class (Ben Phillips), both of which are undefeated on the season. The pivotal match fell on Lucas Gagnon who was wrestling the 220 pound class late in the match. Gagnon edged out Jaybreon Litsey of Jeffersonville with the 2-1 decision in the third round to seal the win. Gagnon said, “Winning this title means so much to not just me but to the entire Charlestown wrestling community. I would like to personally think the coaches and teammates who helped push me and make me better so I could help contribute to this great honor.”

The victory gives the Pirates their first sectional title since 1995, and only the third in school history (with the other in 1990).  All fourteen wrestlers qualified for regional, a first in school history, as the most previously was eleven. “I am especially excited that we were able to do it for my senior teammates. This has been a goal of all 14 of us since the beginning of the season,” said junior Ben Phillips.

The Pirates are a senior laden team lead by Colin Knox who notched his 100th win and 50th pin this season, alongside Deke Brown and Manuel Ordorica who recorded their 50th pins this season. Brown told WPMQ, “This was a great win for our whole team. We’ve been working toward this goal for not only months, but years. It feels good.”

It certainly felt good for the 9th year head coach, Adam Doherty. Doherty has spent 16 years with the Charlestown wrestling program so this is his first sectional championship at the helm, but he is no stranger to wrestling championships himself. Doherty was the 103  pound state champion in 1998 and the 112 pound state champion in 1999, going 97-0 over his last two seasons. He spoke with a lot of satisfaction in his voice after the match.  “Today was a great day for CHS Wrestling. It was our goal all year, and we were focused on making it happen. Today took a whole team effort. Every kid stepped up and gave 100%. I’m very proud of each and every wrestler for doing their part in what was an awesome day, ” shared Doherty.

The Pirates will travel back to Jeffersonville next Saturday for the regional. In accordance with COVID restrictions, the IHSAA has released the following information regarding attendance for spectators:
1. All host sites will have limited to no spectators and in accordance with their local health guidelines.
2. Maintain social distancing.
3. Wear masks/face coverings at all times.
4. Only congregate with members of own household. Social distancing should be maintained between different household units.

WPMQ will provide updates throughout the day as they become available.

COMPLETE RESULTS

1st Place (Individual Sectional Champions)

Colin Knox (Season Record 22-0)- 138 lbs.

Ben Phillips (31-0) – 152 lbs.

Deke Brown (27-2) – 182 lbs.

Manuel Ordorica (23-2) – 195 lbs.

Lucas Gagnon (20-3)- 220 lbs.

2nd Place–Advancing to Regional

Gavin Salisbury -120 lbs.

Alex Sheehan – 126 lbs.

Jakob Lewellen – 132 lbs.

Micah Keltner – 160 lbs.

3rd Place–Advancing to Regional

Kamm VanGilder – 106 lbs.

Carson Collier -113 lbs.

4th Place–Advancing to Regional

Braden Moore – 145 lbs.

Braden Morgan – 170 lbs.

Austyn Ramirez – 285 lbs.

Final Team Scoring:

Charlestown 273

Jeffersonville 268.5

Corydon 130.5

Salem 105

Eastern 104.5

Silver Creek 80.5

North Harrison 79

Providence 61

Borden 44

Crawford County 35

Rock Creek 28

New Washington 24

The Pirate wrestling team is on a hot streak having won the Southern Indiana Wrestling Championships (SIWC) last weekend at Southwestern then taking the Mid Southern Conference championship tournament by storm last night at Scottsburg.  With four wins, four second place finishes, two third place finishes, and a fourth place finish in the fourteen weight classes, the Pirates were able to secure a wholesome victory over the other six teams in the field. This is the wrestling program’s first Mid Southern Conference championship since 2012 and it’s the 11th overall since the tournament began in 2002. Team scores were:

Charlestown 200

Eastern (Pekin) 188

Corydon Central 184

Scottsburg 123

North Harrison 93.5

Silver Creek 72

Salem 69.5

Below are recaps for each of our Pirate wrestlers:

120–Collin Knox was the 2020 MSC Champion at 120 pounds with a pin in the finals.

126–Alex Sheehan was the only freshman that made it to the finals where he was winning until his opponent mounted a comeback.  He finished 2nd. Teammate Ben Phillips said, “I am super proud of Alex. He has really done well his freshman season and wrestled really well tonight.” 

132–Jakob Lewellen wrestled a close match against rival Mason Martin of Eastern in the finals and nearly scored a possible match winning takedown in the final minute before being taken down himself.  He finished 2nd. 

138–Declan Brading wrestled a close match in the finals but ended up losing by a pin fall. He finished 2nd. 

145–Brayden Moore pinned his opponent in the 3rd place match to help secure the team victory. 

152–Ben Phillips had a pin in the finals against Scottsburg to become the 152 pound champion. 

160–Chris Graham pinned his opponent in the final match to take 3rd place. 

170–Deke Brown may have had the biggest win of the night against a Corydon opponent who had previously beaten him three times.  He went the full match and won 9-7 to earn MSC Champion honors. 

182–Xuan Dong wrestled two tough matches and was winning before getting pinned. 

195–Manuel Ordorica secured a fall in finals to secure the team victory.  He is also a 2020 MSC Champion. 

220–Lucas Gagnon wrestled tough in the finals and came up just short of the win, still earning a 2nd place. 

HWT–Austyn Wilkerson placed 4th in the final match of the evening for the Pirates.

Coach Adam Doherty said, “It was a great win for us and a total team effort.  It was back and forth most of the night and our guys came up with win after win.  They have been working hard in practice all year, and I feel like we are putting it together and wrestling our best at the end of the year.  We gave up two forfeits so we had to make up for that with bonus points and beating kids we weren’t supposed to on paper. It’s great to see these kids who have stuck with it, not quit and put in the work, to improve enjoy the success we are having.  Ben Phillips, Colin Knox, Manuel Ordorica, and Deke Brown (each conference champs) have been great leaders and have helped build the confidence and work ethic in the team. Lucas Gagnon and Jacob Lewellen wrestled their best matches of the season, losing very close matches in the finals to two very good wrestlers.  Alex Sheehan 2nd, Declan Brading 2nd, Braden Moore 3rd, Chris Graham 3rd, and Austin Ramirez-Wilkerson 4th, all put in a great effort for the team as well.

Next up for the Pirates is the Jeffersonville sectional at 9:00 A.M. on Saturday, February 1st. 

Article contributed by WPMQ staff writers, assisted by Ben Phillips.

PIRATE WRESTLERS DEFEAT MSC FOE SILVER CREEK
by WPMQ staff reporter Eric Wigginton

Thursday night the Pirate wrestlers hosted one of its only two home duals this season against Mid Southern Conference foe Silver Creek. This is the first year that the Dragons have had a wrestling team and they were no match for the experienced Pirates. The Pirates took advantage of that lack of experience and used the match to work on their craft. Charlestown made quick work of the Dragons, pinning in every class they weighed in at, including some weight class forfeits, and a final score of 64-6 in less than an hour. Coach Adam Doherty had this to say about his wrestlers: “The kids wrestled hard for being off since Connersville [a two-day tournament after Christmas where the Pirates placed 12th out of 32 teams admidst stout competition from around the state]. They all wanted to get back out on the mat and get out of practice and bang around again. The end of the year is coming up and we are focused on the remainder of the season ahead and conference.” The Pirates have a match next Wednesday at Jeffersonville High School at 6:00 P.M.

Three Pirates will represent Charlestown High School in this weekend’s Evansville Reitz semi-state.  Colin Knox placed 3rd and advanced in the 120 pound weight class while Ben Phillips (138) and Sean Baker (285) both placed 4th and advanced. The semi-state will be held at the Ford Center at 10:00 A.M. Best wishes to Colin, Ben, and Sean.