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    Y2CJ41

    Indiana Takes the Mat Against the WPIAL

    Over a year of planning and petitioning will come to fruition this week at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic. Last year in late February I poked a couple people about the possibility of Indiana participating in the “Rose Bowl of Wrestling.” After many discussions with the event organizers they chose Indiana over a couple other states. As Uncle Ben told Spiderman, with great power comes great responsibility, and thus the planning for this prestigious event began.

     

    The Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic, formerly known as the Dapper Dan, has been around since 1975. The event has always featured the Pennsylvania All-Stars vs. the USA All-Stars as the main event with the WPIAL(Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League) All-Stars taking on a state All-Star team in the preliminary bouts. The WPIAL is easily the toughest area for wrestling in the country. This year alone there were 17 wrestlers that qualified for the NCAA’s including NCAA Champion Nico Megaludis and runner-up Jason Nolf. Add in others like Olympic medalists Coleman Scott and Cary Kolat and you get a little sense of how good this area is in wrestling. Over the past five years the WPIAL has won two of the undercard bouts defeating Michigan and Virginia.

     

    Indiana has had six previous participants in the event, with all six earning victories. The first participant was Steven Bradley in 1998. In 2004 we had two participants in Alex Tsirtsis and Blake Maurer. We also had two participants eight years later in 2012 when Jason Tsirtsis and Jarred Brooks both took part. Our latest participant was Stevan Micic in 2014, he also took home the Outstanding Wrestler award for Team USA.

     

    This year the main event will see the 7th and 8th participants from Indiana in Chad Red at 132lbs and Shawn Streck at heavyweight. Red has been a consensus #1 in the nation guy for the past two years, while Streck has been in the top 5 during the same period. Red will take on rival Luke Pletcher whom he is 2-1 against over the past two years. Red has won the past two meetings at last year’s FloNationals and at Who’s #1. Shawn Streck will take on state champion Jacob Beistel in his match. Beistel was Southmoreland High School’s first state champion this past year. He will play football next year at Saint Francis University.

     

    The undercard is always a great match with the WPIAL taking on a state all-star team. Look for all of these matches to be great with some very good wrestlers from Indiana and Pennsylvania. Leading off for Indiana will be two-time 4th place finisher Geoffrey Davis of Fort Wayne Wayne. His opponent will be Aaron Burkett who is a three-time placer, finishing 6th, 2nd, and 3rd during his career at 106lbs. Burkett will wrestle for Lehigh next year and should be a career 125lber.

     

    At 120lbs we should have a great match with Indiana being represented by one of four state champions in Drew Hildebrandt. The four-time state medal winner will face a three-time placer in Ethan McCoy. McCoy placed 2nd at National Preps as a freshman and followed that up with 3rd as a junior and 7th as a senior in PIAA. This might not be the last match-up between these two as McCoy has committed to wrestle for Kent State next year.

     

    One of two Portage Indians will be the Hoosier representative at 126lbs in Gaige Torres. Torres has a long list of accolades that includes three state medals. His opponent will be Chris Eddins who finished 6th at state this year. Eddins was also a state qualifier as a junior at 120lbs.

     

    One of New Haven’s finest, Owen Doster will represent Indiana at 132lbs. This multi-sport superstar qualified for state as a junior and finished 5th this past season. He will take on 2015 state qualifier Mike Heinl in his bout.

     

    At 138, two-time state placer and Fargo All-American Evan Eldred will represent Indiana. One of Westfield’s best wrestlers will take on Waynesburg’s Shaun Wilson in his match. Wilson placed 5th this year at 138lbs.

     

    We have probably one of the premier matches of the event at 145lbs. Two-time state placer Jordan Vaughn of Franklin Central will face off against state champion Damon Greenwald. Vaughn placed 4th this past year and was a runner-up in 2015. Greenwald was a state champion this year after placing 7th as a junior. Greenwald will wrestle for DII’s Seton Hill next year.

     

    Three-time state medalist Steven “BAM” Lawrence will take the mat for Indiana at 152lbs. He placed 7th as a sophomore and followed that up with two runner-up finishes. He will have a tough opponent in state 4th place finisher Derek Verkleeren. Verkleeren’s younger brother was a Cadet World Champion this past summer.

     

    Due to an injury this week to Cayden Whitaker, Indiana will now have three-time medalist and Army West Point recruit Cael McCormick manning 160lbs. He will face off with state qualifier Mitch Hartman of Belle Vernon in his match. Hartman has committed to wrestle for Bucknell next year.

     

    The string of state champions for Indiana starts at 170lbs with top master Drew Hughes of Lowell. Hughes brings a lot of accolades both in-state and on the national scene to the event. He is a two-time Super 32 placer along with winning the prestigious IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open twice. His opponent will be two-time state placer Anthony Welsh. Welsh placed 5th and 3rd during his career and is going to wrestle at Clarion next year.

     

    At 182lbs we have another two-time state champion in Blake Rypel. Rypel has four state medals along with a Super 32 championship belt hanging in his room. He will have a tough opponent in state runner-up Milton Kobaly. Kobaly will head to West Virginia and wrestle for West Liberty, a DII school, next year.

     

    State champion Jake Kleimola had a great run at state and looks to continue his streak. The recent Indiana Hoosier commit will take on nationally ranked Drew Phipps. Phipps qualified for state all four years coming back with placements of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th during his last three years. Phipps will be attending Bucknell next year to continue his wrestling career.

     

    Due to an emergency surgery Sam Hipple will not be able to participate. He will be replaced by his teammate Nick Fox who placed 5th at 195lbs. He will take on PIAA runner-up Mike McAleavy who was a runner-up this year for Peters Township posting a 38-4 record.

     

    At heavyweight 3rd place finisher Sean Galligar of Columbus East will take the mat for Indiana. He will face off with state qualifier Hayden Rice in his bout.

     

    The event will being at 4pm EST and take place at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Field House. FloWrestling will stream the event live, so people back home can watch the action. Before the event even takes place there will be numerous activities the participants will take part in. On Friday the wrestlers will practice with the Team USA team in the afternoon. In the evening there will be a welcome banquet that will feature team introductions, dinner, and some guest speakers. Saturday morning before the event takes place all the wrestlers will get a tour of Pittsburgh. The activities will culminate with the undercard at 4pm and the main event scheduled to start at 6pm.

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