VALLEY SPORTS REPORT: WAVERLY'S WELLES HEADLINES SUPER 7 AS BOYS 'NEWCOMER OF THE WINTER' (2023-03-21)

Valley Sports Report
THE VALLEY — Matthias Welles isn’t your typical 8th-grade wrestler, tipping the scales at 102 pounds. The Wolverine grappler filled the 189-pound weight class throughout the season, and eventually qualified for States in his first season on the varsity mats. He is the Valley Sports Report 2022-23 Boys “Newcomer of the Winter.”

Welles worked his way into the Waverly lineup at the outset of the season, and put together a 29-12 campaign despite consistently wrestling juniors and seniors.

Welles won an IAC title, finished second at the Section IV, B Qualifier, and was second at the Section IV, Division 2 Championships after upsetting state-ranked Hunter Page of Oxford-Greene in the semifinals. He was 1-2 at States.

2022-23 Super 7 Boys “Newcomers of the Winter”
Matthias Welles, 8th-grader, wrestling, Waverly: See above.

Jake VanHouten, junior, basketball, Waverly: VanHouten, a force on both ends of the floor, averaged 9.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, and led the team in blocked shots. He also shot 51.9 percent from the field.

Xavier Watson, sophomore, basketball, Athens: Ultra-athletic and a good defender, Watson averaged 7.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. He also made 14 3-pointers.

Cooper Robinson, freshman, wrestling, Athens: Robinson battled injuries late in the season, and still finished his initial varsity campaign with a 28-12 record. He finished third at the North Section championships, and seventh at the District 4 Championships.

Kayleb Bechy, senior, indoor track, Waverly: Bechy won the Section IV title in the 60-meter dash in 6.65 seconds, and also ran on the Division 2 gold medal 800-meter relay team. At States, Bechy placed 26th in 6.68 seconds.

Michael Cole, senior, bowling, Waverly: Cole had a 173 average on the season, which was 20th-best in the IAC in 2022-23. His high series on the regular season with a 561, and his high game was a 220.

At States, Cole, after not bowling in the morning session, stepped in for the afternoon and had a career-high 624 series on games of 220, 212 and 192. He placed 43rd and his 208 average was tops among the 25 competitors who did not bowl all six games.

Drayton DeKay, 7th-grader, wrestling, Waverly: DeKay finished third at the IAC Championships, and won the Section IV, Qualifier B. DeKay finished the season at 25-10, and finished fourth at the Section IV, Division 2 Championships — one win shy of a trip to States.