SIAC Re-Cap

[hook and half]

Thrills, chills and upsets punctuated the 62^nd annual SIAC tournament.

106- There is no MOW for the SIAC; if there were, Mater Dei’s Cole Ross would have surely won it.  The freshman spent less than a minute on the mat en route to the top of the podium.

Wrestling fans were impressed by Central’s pink, pint-sized, pandemonium-producing pugilist, Destiny Garris.  Garris is exciting and technical.  She just missed third place, dropping a 4-2 overtime decision.  At the conclusion of the match, I was not a big fan of the Memorial kid pushing her in the face.

113- Castle’s Devon Casebolt shook up the rhythm and tempo in his final against MD’s Blake Boarman.  Boarman managed a third period escape and won, 4-3.  Memorial’s freshman, Eli Wuerth, had a break-out day.  Memorial fans wanted a pinfall called in his semifinal match against Casebolt…they may have had a point.  Don’t let Wuerth’s 21-11 record fool you, he is dangerous.

120- Mater Dei’s Kane Egli made it a hat trick for the Wildcats in his domination of the field.

126- Castle’s Carson Willis evened this season’s series with MD’s Clay Egli with a 5-2 victory.  For my money, this was the best final—two wide open wrestlers going after it.  Willis’s teammates would be well-served by taking a cue from him.  I look for Willis v. Egli III for a regional title.

132- Another day at the office for MD’s Eli Dickens.  Lots of takedowns, cuts resulted in a second SIAC title for the sophomore.

138- Three takedowns and three cuts were enough for Mater Dei’s Matt Lee to win his second SIAC title.  Castle’s runner-up, Matt Kincaid is a gamer.  Don’t be surprised to see him sneak through and gain a state berth.

145- Mater Dei freshman Scott Fitts brought his brand of ground-and-pound to Paradise and found himself at the top of the podium, topping Castle’s Jacob Freeman, 6-3.

152- Castle’s Robert Deters had revenge on his mind, as he beat MD’s Macartney Parkinson, 10-2.  The duo has traded losses this season.  These are two of my favorite sophomores in the state.  Expect to see Parkinson v. Deters III for a regional title.

160- MD’s Nolan Weidner was just about perfect, as he scored two pins and a 6-0 finals win over Reitz’s Zach Martin.

170- Upset city, baby!  Not many folks outside of Coach Mike Lapadat picked Central’s third seed, McKinley Kemper, as the SIAC champ.  A betting man could have made money on this one.  Kemper wrestled a very smart and tight match against MD’s Blake Chandler that ended with a fall.  Facing Reitz senior Noah Reich in the final, Kemper controlled the pace and forced overtime.  In OT, Kemper picked his spot and scored the TD…Yahtzee!

182- Central’s Kiave Guerrier made it two in a row for the Bears with his 6-2 victory over Castle’s Will Nunn. Guerrier is very slick and thoughtful.  It is not hard to imagine him on a podium in four weeks.  His conditioning is a concern as he was clearly gassed in the semifinal and final. 

195- Will Rolley delivered another upset for the Knights with his 10-3 win over Reitz’s Andrew Koonce.  Did you see Rolley pose for a picture with his Dad?  It was a nice moment.

220- Memorial’s Alex Lichlyter broke through with his 5-2 victory over MD’s Michael Boots, knocking Boots from the state’s unbeaten ranks.  Expect another MD/Memorial dust-up for a regional title.

285- Mater Dei’s Roman Graves was awarded a stalling point in the second period.  This broke the match open and led to his first SIAC title at the expense of Memorial’s Ryan Ohlsen.

With 11 finalists, 8 titles and all 14 grapplers placing, Mater Dei cruised to a team title, scoring 72.5 more points than runner-up Castle. 

Musings and Random Thoughts:

·       As expected, Castle gave their normal outstanding performance in hosting the tournament.

·       The flu and an abbreviated practice schedule took its toll on the tournament.  It took a couple of rounds for a lot of the kids to catch a gear.  Many were definitely off a step.

·       I was impressed with the conditioning and pluck of the Reitz kids in their third-place performance.

·       It is always good visiting Backtothemat.  He is a veritable data bank of wrestling information.

·       Mater Dei’s AD, Joe Herrmann, was not wearing shorts.  What’s up with that?

·       Numbers are up in the SIAC—only 8 forfeits.

·       I like the direction of North’s program.  Their coach is focused and had his team in shape.

·       I love watching Castle’s Bob Harmon coach.  The entire gamut of human emotions is embodied in one man in a single afternoon.

·       There were a few good first round matches and many great semifinal matches.

·       Indiana State Champion and IU All-American, Matt Powless is on Memorial’s bench.  He will add a lot of spice to the Tiger soup.

·       The crowd was down this year; even Castle and Mater Dei had many no-shows.

·       A shout-out to my favorite father/son coaching duo in the state—Harrison’s Mastisons.  BTW- I accept your offer of a free Harrison Wrestling t-shirt.

[SouthSideJimmy]

I will go on record as saying I wish the boys wrestled with the technical skill and all out grit of Destiny Garris.   If I were a coach currently I would use her as my example of what it takes to be a champion for each of my wrestlers.   A young lady who represents herself, her school, and her team very well.

 

 

[1prouddad]

Great match at 113 in the finals. I'm not too sure why you previously predicted a 14-4 Boarman win, but I can see Casebolt catching him at the Regionals. 

At 120, I'm not sure a 6-2 victory is something I'd consider dominating. Tucker gave Egli a hell of a match. 

I had Kemper the winner at 170 in my prediction. 

Kiave put in a great match in the finals at 182. Despite what Hook calls "gassed" I thought Kiave was slick and just got into Nunns head. This is Kiave sleek style of wrestling. He's very methodical and doesn't waste much energy nor make many mistakes. I'd be surprised if he doesn't punch his ticket and make some noise at Bankers. 

220 was a great win and sweet redemption for Lichlyter who was robbed in their first contest. 

As far a the crowd goes, I was unimpressed with the small crowd there in support. That gym is generally rocking along with obnoxious calls of "2" and "he's stalling". 

Edited January 21, 2018 by 1prouddad

[hook and half]

20 minutes ago, 1prouddad said:

Great match at 113 in the finals. I'm not too sure why you previously predicted a 14-4 Boarman win, but I can see Casebolt catching him at the Regionals. 

At 120, I'm not sure a 6-2 victory is something I'd consider dominating. Tucker gave Egli a hell of a match. 

I had Kemper the winner at 170 in my prediction. 

Kiave put in a great match in the finals at 182. Despite what Hook calls "gassed" I thought Kiave was slick and just got into Nunns head. This is Kiave sleek style of wrestling. He's very methodical and doesn't waste much energy nor make many mistakes. I'd be surprised if he doesn't punch his ticket and make some noise at Bankers. 

220 was a great win and sweet redemption for Lichlyter who was robbed in their first contest. 

As far a the crowd goes, I was unimpressed with the small crowd there in support. That gym is generally rocking along with obnoxious calls of "2" and "he's stalling". 

I fact checked you.  Actually, you picked the first 13 weight classes correctly, but you didn’t pick heavyweight.  Were you scared??

I expect casebolt and Boarman to meet in the regional.  I’ll stick with the 14-4 call.

Egli cut tucker twice and controlled the entire match.  I like Tucker’s energy and enthusiasm, but there is a wide gap between the two.

i like Kiave!  I would love to see him make a title run.  However, when it is the second period, your chest is heaving and you have your hands on your hips—you are gassed.

i, too, didn’t hear a lot of “he’s stalling” or “two”.  Where were all of the Central fans?

 

 

[1prouddad]

Not scared, that's why I put the disclaimer as to whomever wanted it more. I think the 2 big bulls are pretty evenly matched as shown in their matches this year. 

Im excited for the state series to begin and watch this all unfold again barring some upsets. 

[hook and half]

14 hours ago, 1prouddad said:

Not scared, that's why I put the disclaimer as to whomever wanted it more. I think the 2 big bulls are pretty evenly matched as shown in their matches this year. 

Im excited for the state series to begin and watch this all unfold again barring some upsets. 

The nature of upsets is that you don’t see them coming.  That being said, through the regional, I don’t see big upsets on the horizon.  A lot of the top 2 guys are evenly matched and have already swapped wins.  170 is a good example; while 170 has 3-4 kids capable of winning the regional, Kemper has established himself as the favorite.  

Yesterdays meet has a good example of the value of aggressive wrestling.  Every SIAC title match was won by the kid that pushed the action.  While 285 featured little offense, Graves was effective with pushing Ohlson around which led to the win.

Several non-SIAC schools will bring top-notch kids to the regional.  This years regional finale could produce one of the most exciting finals in years.  With the ridiculous depth of the evansville semi state, the stakes could not be higher.

[Jayruss]

I am not showing it on track, can we get a bracket ?

[IU89]

6 minutes ago, Jayruss said:

I am not showing it on track, can we get a bracket ?

It is on track. Search “Newburgh” under city. You’ll find it

[SWINfan]

SIAC is spelled out in the tournament name on TW.  Search Southern Indiana Athletic and that will get you there as well

[Jayruss]

Sweet, thanks fellas