North Montgomery Regional Preview

North Montgomery Regional Preview

106

Heading to New Castle:

1. #18 Strueder, Fishers

2. Grino, Southmont

3. Gobeyn, Zionsville

4. Mennen, Clinton Central

Notes: Strueder and Grino met in the regional semis last year, with the Fishers state qualifier winning 7-4. Grino has only one loss all year, to Monrovia’s Denny. Gobeyn is not far from the top-2, and could pull an ‘upset’ or two.

Upset alert: Nothing really stands out as a likely candidate in the first round. Gobeyn could spoil the party for Strueder and Grino.

113

Heading to New Castle:

1. Hutson, Westfield

2. Moseley, North Montgomery

3. Pecoraro, Carmel

4. Hubble, Southmont

Notes: Last year, Hutson upset top-seed Hubble, which gave the Zionsville sectional four regional placers at this weight. From the hunter to the hunted, Hutson has his work cut out for him at a fairly wide open weight. Moseley is a tough senior, and has as good a shot as Hutson or anyone else to finish on top. Hubble comes in with less momentum than last year, and he’ll have to work hard to beat HSE’s Forbes.

Upset alert: Forbes, or Attica’s senior Haas could surprise and advance to New Castle.

120

Heading to New Castle:

1. Bocock, Lebanon

2. Jerde, Carmel

3. Ellis, Zionsville

4. Garcia, HSE

Notes: Bocock boat-raced the competition as Frankfort last week and is a strong favorite at North Montgomery. Seeger’s Acton was a sectional champ last week in dominant fashion and has a stellar record, but Garcia is much tougher than his record would indicate and their match should be very competitive.

Upset alert: Garcia has a very solid shot of beating Acton.

126

Heading to New Castle:

1. #4 Holmes, HSE

2. #18 Hiestand, Carmel

3. Bowling, Lebanon

4. Eads, Attica

Notes: Holmes is an excellent wrestler and he’s having another superb season. He is head and shoulders above this field. Hiestand is inexperienced, but talented, and I think his talent will see him through to a 2^nd place finish. Eads has a phenomenal record and was impressive at sectionals, but he will be pushed by Westfield’s Robinson in his opening match.

Upset alert: Robinson is a dangerous 4 seed for Eads. Southmont’s McManus is a senior dropping down from 132, and he could stop Hiestand’s momentum before it even starts.

132

Heading to New Castle:

1. #16 Welliever, Southmont

2. #18 Collins, Frankfort

3. Steele, Westfield

4. Wagner, Zionsville

Notes: This is simply an outstanding weight class. At least four different wrestlers could win the weight, and it essentially boils down to whose day it is on Saturday. At Frankfort, there were a lot of very close matches, and it’s likely that we’ll see the same thing here. Welliever edged Collins in the regional finals last year.

Upset alert: State-ranked Collins had better not overlook Attica’s Henry, as he sports a 29-3 record.

138

Heading to New Castle:

1. #3 Eldred, Westfield

2. #15 Moore, Southmont

3. Smith, Carmel

4. Estes, Attica

Notes: Moore and Eldred should meet in the finals, provided Smith doesn’t trip up Moore in the semis. Eldred is a returning state placer and Fargo All-American, but Moore is a returning state qualifier, so this is no walk in the part for the Shamrock senior. Smith has been a giant-killer lately. Estes finished 3^rd at regionals last year, and battled Moore to a 2-0 decision loss at sectionals.

Upset alert: Smith could present trouble for Moore.

145

Heading to New Castle:

1. Eiteljorge, Carmel

2. Wilbrandt, Fishers

3. Brown, North Vermillion

4. Coffman, Lebanon

Notes: This is a pretty wide open weight past Eiteljorge. There are very few sure things in this bracket.

Upset alert: It’s hard to call anything short of Eiteljorge losing a big upset, but Wilson of Zionsville could knock off the sectional champ Brown.

152

Heading to New Castle:

1. Ferris, HSE

2. Blondeel, Attica

3. Miller, Westfield

4. Long, Southmont

Notes: Blondeel dominated sectionals and could give Ferris a tight match, if he doesn’t beat him outright. Miller is peaking and could provide trouble for Blondeel and Ferris potentially. Ferris is battle tested against some of the best in the state but isn’t a huge point scorer, so we could see some close matches this weekend.

Upset alert: Watch out for Miller, who is a different wrestler now than he was earlier in the season. Zville’s Banks could knock off Long.

160

Heading to New Castle:

1. #12 Frazee, Fountain Central

2. Bublick, Carmel

3. Penola, Zionsville

4. Jessop, HSE

Notes: Frazee is undefeated and wiped up the field at Crawfordsville last weekend. He knocked Bublick out in the opening round of regionals last year. Penola and Jessop are good wrestlers, but maybe a tick below Bublick and a few ticks below Frazee.

Upset alert: The two 1-seeds had better not look past their opening matches. Frazee gets WeBo senior Scott and Bublick gets Turkey Run senior Uplinger.

170

Heading to New Castle:

1. #20 Stambaugh, Lebanon

2. Jagow, Westfield

3. #15 Webster, North Montgomery

4. Mazero, HSE

Notes: Wow! This is a filthy bracket, and starts off with a bang. #15 Webster and #19 Ragains of Frankfort meet in the opening round. All the heavy hitters in this weight have wins over highly regarded foes this year, and another really tough guy, Pedigo of WeBo, didn’t survive sectionals. The unranked Jagow beat Stambaugh and Ragains in clutch overtime performances at Frankfort last weekend—quite a day for the unheralded Shamrock stud. Stambaugh, Jagow, Ragains and Webster could all win the weight, and I’m picking Stambaugh because he got red-hot in the postseason last year.

Upset alert: Ragains could easily take out Webster and win the weight. My advice-take your pick and grab some popcorn.

182

Heading to New Castle:

1. #9 Worm, Southmont

2. #16 Irick, HSE

3. Hill, Zionsville

4. Fruits, North Montgomery

Notes: Worm and Irick were each state qualifiers last year and are the clear favorites at 182 this year. Their potential finals match could be one of the best of the day. Hill and Fruits could be a donnybrook.

Upset alert: Westfield senior Trompen over North Montgomery’s Fruits. Trompen is battle-tested and is wrestling his best right now.

195

Heading to New Castle:

1. #8 Fox, Carmel

2. #10 Ferris, HSE

3. #13 Slavens, North Montgomery

4. #18 Schaeffer, Westfield

Notes: This is a nasty weight class, as four competitors in the top-18 will be vying for the strap. While Fox has to be the favorite based on the impressive season he’s had thus far, Ferris has shown he can go with the elite of the weight class…but then again, Slavens and Schaeffer can say the same thing. Like several of the other top-end weight classes at North Montgomery, we could have 4 different potential champs here. Take your pick.

Upset alert: While Ferris could knock off Fox, Slavens might make that situation moot by beating Ferris himself. In fact, Slavens knocked Ferris out of regionals last year. However, to get the opportunity to face Ferris, Slavens has to beat the surging stud Williamson of Zville, which is far from a given.

220

Heading to New Castle:

1. #8 Hipple, Carmel

2. #16 Fuller, Zionsville

3. #17 McClaine, Lebanon

4. Eup, South Vermillion

Notes: Hipple caught fire in the postseason last year en route to a high finish at state. Fuller was a state qualifier, but has missed some time this year. McClaine has wins over ranked opponents and is a dangerous semis opponent for Hipple.

Upset alert: Sophomore Williams of Southmont is a tough opening match for Fuller.

285

Heading to New Castle:

1. Phelps, Covington

2. Williams, Carmel

3. Chastain, HSE

4. Dollens, Westfield

Notes: While perhaps not the most loaded field at North Montgomery, this should be one of the most competitive. One-loss senior Phelps pinned his way through sectionals. Williams was a semistate qualifier last year and is better than his so-so record would indicate. Chastain and Dollens are pretty evenly matched, and it’s basically a pick ‘em between these two.

Upset alert: Bettis of South Vermillion pinned three opponents at sectionals and could do the same to returning regional qualifier Dollens. Also, Chastain faces a 30-win senior in Pierce of North Montgomery. Neither of these potential wins by Crawfordsville sectional HWTs would be huge upsets.