State Recap per ME

[Indysportsfan]

First off I always enjoy the event, 19th straight year either being on press row or sitting in a suite.  I am spoiled and unfortunately that time is coming to an end.

I did a preview of each weight where I picked a winner, upset and toughest matches.  I won't get into my toughest matches but let's say I had plenty correct and missed on a few.  I only picked 6 out of the 14 Champs which is very crappy BUT 9 of my upset picks won out of 14.  I believe I can spot the diamond in the rough (probably because I find my golf ball there frequently) but I need to expand my "vision" and start to believe that wrestling does exist outside of Central Indiana....sorry Evansville, East Chicago and Fort Wayne.

106

3 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 6 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 3, Evansville 1, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 2 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 3, East Chicago 1

CHAMP -- Jacob Moran, ranked #1 - East Chicago (Regional Champ, 3rd at Semi-State)

Question -- Will Moran bump to 120/126 to prepare for College?

113

3 Seniors, 8 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 2 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 3, Evansville 2, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 1 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 2, East Chicago 1, Fort Wayne 1

CHAMP -- Brayden Curtis, ranked #1 - Fort Wayne (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Curtis is the favorite next year so will the other 7 juniors avoid him to get their state title?

120

3 Seniors, 5 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 3 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 3, Evansville 3, East Chicago 1, Fort Wayne 1 // ONE UNRANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 1, Fort Wayne 1

CHAMP -- Hunter Watts, ranked #1 - Fort Wayne (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Will Watts make it 3 Final appearances in a row or will one the many underclassmen knock him off?

126

8 Seniors, 3 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 2 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 3, Evansville 4, Fort Wayne 1 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 1, Evansville 3

CHAMP -- Asa Garcia, ranked #1 - Evansville (Regional 2nd place, Semi-State 2nd place)

Question -- Will Garcia, Rooks, Viduya choose the same weight again to battle for the top spot?

132

3 Seniors, 9 Juniors, 4 Sophomores, 0 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 2, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 2 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 1, Evansville 1, East Chicago 1, Fort Wayne 1

CHAMP -- Graham Rooks, ranked #1 - Evansville (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Big class of Juniors, which one has a terrific summer/fall and takes over the drivers seat for their 1st state title next year?

138

13 Seniors, 2 Juniors, 1 Sophomores, 0 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 1, Evansville 3, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 2 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 1, Evansville 2, East Chicago 1

CHAMP -- Kristian Rumph, ranked #5 - East Chicago (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Losing 13 seniors and many state appearances, what underclassman seizes the opportunity to make a name for themselves next year?

145

5 Seniors, 7 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 2 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 3, East Chicago 1, Fort Wayne 2 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 1, Evansville 2, Fort Wayne 1

CHAMP -- Jordan Slivka, ranked #3 - New Castle (Regional Champ, Semi-State 2nd place)

Question -- Slivka has a great room and motivation to be a 2x but can he withstand the barrage of returning underclassman to keep the title?

152

7 Seniors, 3 Juniors, 5 Sophomores, 1 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 3, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 1 // ONE UNRANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 1, East Chicago 1

CHAMP -- Brayton Lee, ranked #1 - Evansville (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Now that Mr. Lee has vacated his permanent spot (winners circle) who realizes their dream of winning a title?

160

8 Seniors, 6 Juniors, 2 Sophomores, 0 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 3, Evansville 2, East Chicago 1, Fort Wayne 2 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 2

CHAMP -- Nick South, ranked #5 - Evansville (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- 1/2 of the wrestlers are gone but the champ is not; will South continue his tear and dominate the division?

170

11 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 1 Sophomores, 0 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 4, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 2 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 1, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 1

CHAMP -- Noah Warren, ranked #1 - New Castle (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Highest returning place was 5th place Mahan; weight class is wide open and who has the summer that puts them over the top?

182

12 Seniors, 1 Juniors, 3 Sophomores, 0 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 1 , Evansville 3, East Chicago 1, Fort Wayne 3 // ALL RANKED

FINAL 4 -- Evansville 2, Fort Wayne 2

CHAMP -- Conner Graber, ranked #4 - Fort Wayne (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Allred is the only returning wrestler from the Final 8; will he finish on top of the podium?

195

12 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 0 Sophomores, 0 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 3, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 1 // ONE UNRANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 1, East Chicago 1

CHAMP -- Lucas Davison, ranked #1 - East Chicago (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Final 8 were all seniors, which is usual, but it gives many wrestlers a great chance to win next year.  Who will emerge from the summer as the favorite?

220

12 Seniors, 4 Juniors, 0 Sophomores, 0 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 3, Evansville 1, East Chicago 2, Fort Wayne 2 // ONE UNRANKED

FINAL 4 -- New Castle 2, Evansville 1, East Chicago 1

CHAMP -- Mason Parris, ranked #1 - New Castle (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Similar to 152 this weight class was decided when Mr. Parris picked it; Elwood's Kyle Cornwell is the highest returning placer will he excel this summer to be the odds on favorite?

285

13 Seniors, 2 Juniors, 1 Sophomores, 0 Freshman

FINAL 8 -- New Castle 3, Evansville 1, East Chicago 4, // TWO UNRANKED

FINAL 4 -- Evansville 1, East Chicago 3

CHAMP -- Eli Pokorney, ranked #2 - East Chicago (Regional Champ, Semi-State Champ)

Question -- Mr. Pokorney will be the returning champ and the 'heavy' favorite to repeat as the Champ, will anyone be able to knock him off?

 

As usual the rankings represented 106 out of the 112 in the Final 8....incredible.