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Manage articlesFeature Articles1915 1#MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Fairfield’s Maran bound for regional again — this time as a lighter competitor
By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com
Breckan Maran, a 190-pound junior at Fairfield High School, is heading to the Goshen Regional for the third time in his prep wrestling career.
For the first time since 2017, the Falcons will be represented by more than two grapplers.
It’s fitting that Maran has more teammates sharing the experience with him in 2024. The meet on Saturday, Feb. 3 will also feature juniors Matthew Senn (138), Dirk Rumfelt (157) and Aldahir Ortiz-Sanchez (165) and senior Ryan Noel (175).
His head coach — 1992 Fairfield graduate Gene Willard — has noticed how Maran cares about the others around him.
“Breckan always has been a team player,” says Willard of an athlete who ended the football season weighing 216. “At the beginning of the season he thought he was going to go at 215. The week before we started competing, he said, ‘I want to go 190. Am I OK?’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘(senior) Ethan (Hochstetler) can go 215 and (sophomore) David (Almiray) is the heavyweight and I can fill 190.
“Mentally, (Breckan) is very tough but that’s the team aspect of it. He just holds things together.”
Says Maran, “Going to semistate last year and regional the year before and knowing a lot about wrestling, I’d say my teammates look up to me.”
Willard, who is in his second season as Falcons head coach and eighth in the program after stints at Whiteland Community and Lakeland, said there was an adjustment period to the lighter weight, then Maran began rolling again.
“He’s been looking really good,” says Willard, who saw Maran win the 190 title at the 2024 Northeast Corner Conference meet after placing second at 220 in both 2022 and 2023.
The coach also recognizes a leadership style. It’s one he had himself as a Fairfield athlete.
“Breckan is one that leads by example,” says Willard. “If you ask most unless he’s around he’s around his friends he’s very soft-spoken.
“If someone needs correction or motivation he’s there to support them. He holds everything near and dear to his heart. Sometimes he puts a lot of pressure on himself to succeed and carry the team when he doesn’t have to.”
The past two wrestling postseasons, Maran competed at 220.
As a sophomore in 2022-23, he placed second at both the Elkhart Sectional and Goshen Regional and lost in the second round at the Fort Wayne Semistate.
As a freshman in 2021-22, he finished second in the Elkhart Sectional and did not place at the Goshen Regional.
Maran is 29-5 during his junior wrestling season at Fairfield High School.
Two of those defeats came at the Elkhart Sectional as he was pinned in 3:00 by Elkhart junior Kaullin Price in the semifinals and beaten 6-3 by NorthWood senior Keith Miller — a wrestler he had beaten by a point during the regular season — in a consolation match.
“I couldn’t quite come back,” says Maran of the second-round fall. “That’s my thought on the mental side.”
The Elkhart Sectional is sending champion Donovan Blair of Wawasee, runner-up Price of Elkhart, third-placer Miller of NorthWood and fourth-placer Maran to the Goshen Regional.
“We knew that was going to be a tough weight class coming in,” says Willard. “He got caught (against Price) and that happens.
“Hopefully, (Breckan) will be able to rebound and the Elkhart Sectional can advance all four 190-pounders to semistate.”
Maran started wrestling as a seventh grader. In the eighth grade, he was 207 pounds. He started playing tackle football in the third grade. There was a time that he was too big to carry the ball by Prairie Football League rules and was assigned to a spot on the line.
As a high schooler, he runs over and around tacklers as a fullback and also uses his gifts to bring ball-carriers down as a middle linebacker.
“That’s part of his mentality: If you don’t get out of the way I’m going to go through you,” says Willard, who coached a freshman Maran in that sport. “He’s always worked his butt off.
“His work ethic got him where he is today.”
Says Maran, “I’m pretty quick and I’ve got some decent muscles. With wrestling, I just like the physicality.”
One of the strongest kids in the school, Maran enjoys his time in the weight room. You can often find him there during the spring when he’s not staying in-shape with wrestling workouts and some competitions. He placed fourth at 220 at the 2023 Frosh-Sophomore State meet.
“Before I dropped the weight by bench (press) was 325, my squat was 475 and my clean (and jerk) was 265,” says Maran. “Since I’ve cut down to like 187 I haven’t tried to max.”
Tom and Tosha Maran have two sons — Braedon and Breckan. Brandon Maran played football and basketball at Fairfield.
High School News17021 1 32024 IHSAA Regional Brackets
**Match orders have been updated as of 1pm Sunday**
You can find TrackWrestling links here
https://indianamat.com/index.php?/bracketstournament.html/
1. Hobart | 9 am CT
Feeder Sectionals: East Chicago Central, Portage
Hobart.pdf
2. Crown Point | 9 am CT
Feeder Sectionals: Crown Point, LaPorte
Crown Point.pdf
3. Penn | 9 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Mishawaka, Plymouth
Penn.pdf
4. Logansport | 10 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Lafayette Jefferson, Twin Lakes
Logansport.pdf
5. Goshen | 9:30 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Elkhart, West Noble
Goshen.pdf
6. Carroll (Fort Wayne) | 9 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), New Haven
Carroll.pdf
7. Peru | 9 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Peru, Oak Hill
Peru.pdf
8. Jay County | 8:30 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Delta, Jay County
Jay County.pdf
9. North Montgomery | 9 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Crawfordsville, Frankfort
North Mont.pdf
10. Pendleton Heights | 9 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Elwood, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical
Pendleton Heights.pdf
11. Perry Meridian | 9 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Shelbyville, Southport
Perry Meridian.pdf
12. Richmond | 9 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: South Dearborn, Shenandoah
Richmond.pdf
13. Mooresville | 9 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Avon, Mooresville
Mooresville.pdf
14. Bloomington South | 10 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Bloomington North, Southridge
Bloomington South.pdf
15. Jeffersonville | 8 am ET
Feeder Sectionals: Jeffersonville, Jennings County
Jeffersonville.pdf
16. Castle | 9 am CT
Feeder Sectionals: Castle, Evansville Central
Castle.pdf
Gorilla Radio423 9IndianaMat Gorilla Radio Episode 170
Mike and Joe discuss the previous week's action, go off topic numerous times, and do the class of 2024 and Pound for Pound rankings.
Gorilla Radio403HS Wrestling Weekly Season 5 Episode 11
Rex Brewer and Dane Fuelling take a look back at the week in wrestling, and are joined this week by special guests Mike Reiser, AJ Bradley, and Joe Caprino.
Gorilla Radio436HS Wrestling Weekly Season 5 Episode 9
Rex Brewer and Dane Fuelling take a look back at the week in wrestling, to include the Team State, along with the Girls Semi State.
Gorilla Radio225HS Wrestling Weekly Season 5 Episode 10
Rex Brewer and Dane Fuelling recap the week in high school wrestling, to include the Girls State Finals, and are also joined by special guest Brandon Razo.
Gorilla Radio292IndianaMat Gorilla Radio Episode 169
Mike and Joe discuss the week's happenings and go over class of 2027, 2026, and 2025 top wrestlers.
Gorilla Radio210IndianaMat Gorilla Radio Episode 168- Girls State Preview
Joe and Razo talk about the girls state finals brackets.
Gorilla Radio407IndianaMat Gorilla Radio Episode 167
Mike and Joe recap team state and look forward to conference weekends
High School News6349 22024 Girls State Information Center
Schedule
Friday, January 12th, 2024
Weigh-Ins: 10:00am
First Round: 11:00am
Location
Kokomo Memorial Gymnasium
200 S. Apperson Way
Kokomo, IN 46901
Streaming
All matches on Friday will be streamed on TrackWrestling.
Brackets
IndianaMat Brackets with State rankings
StateGirls.pdf
TrackWrestling Brackets
Semi-State Results
Rochester Semi-State Results
Penn Semi-State Results
Mooresville Semi-State Results
Muncie Semi-State Results
Gorilla Radio
Coming soon!
Gorilla Radio296IndianaMat Gorilla Radio Episode 166
Mike and Joe do a deep dive into IHSWCA Team State going on this weekend.
High School News2419 3 2Iron Sharpens Iron: Rossville’s Noah and Jacob Weaver Look to Make Hornets History
By Anna Kayser
Eleven months after securing their respective tickets to become Rossville’s first IHSAA state wrestling qualifiers since head coach Thomas Lynch in 2002, brothers Noah and Jacob Weaver are working towards a new feat for their school’s record books.
The Weaver brothers are two of four total state qualifiers in school history. In a little over a month, in what could be their penultimate year donning the same school colors, Noah and Jacob will look to build on recent winter success to become the Hornets’ first state place winners.
“It’s definitely been a unique experience, being able to be alongside Jake and see his growth over time, just being able to be watching him during practice or drilling with him and being able to help him out,” Noah said. “It’s just this back-and-forth advice, feedback between each other. I really like it’s a really neat experience and it’s cool to have.”
It’s an “iron sharpens iron” mentality, Jacob said so himself, that drives the two family-oriented brothers to help each other succeed. Close in age with one school year between the two – Noah as the No. 4-ranked 190-pound wrestler as a junior and Jacob, a sophomore ranked No. 6 at 150 pounds (rankings by IndianaMat as of Dec. 27) – the two’s bond through wrestling extends far beyond just the Hornets’ wrestling room.
“I’ve always been Noah’s partner throughout all the years even though there’s a size difference,” Jacob said. “Iron sharpens iron, we’re both always trying to make each other better whether it comes to mindset, technique or just training. We always try to motivate each other because we know we can do better.”
As sons of former Purdue wrestler Matthew Weaver, getting into wrestling around 5-6 years old and sticking with it was always about their love for the sport. A skill difference in the beginning transferred into a size difference, fostering a teammate-like relationship of collaboration between the two.
Where there wasn’t direct competition on the mat – they have always and continued to be in each other’s corner at home, practice and official matches – they made up for in brotherly battles like comparing the number of takedowns in a single season.
“Initially, around elementary school, there wasn’t very much competition,” Noah said. “I didn’t really understand wrestling very well, and at that time Jacob had a much better grasp on the fundamentals and he was much more aggressive than me.
“We did still have the same goal to eventually become high school state champions.”
That goal might not be far off for the two. On Dec. 13 at the Clinton Prairie Invitational, both brothers took home first-place finishes. Noah recorded three consecutive pins for the title, and his six wins logged on IndianaMat in December were via fall. At the same tournament, Jacob tallied two pins, a major decision and a 9-7 title match victory over No. 17 Jayden Jett of Cowan.
Although their roles have changed for each other in tournaments from wrestling unattached to as a team, Jacob and Noah are always in each other’s corners.
“When we didn’t carry a team with us, Noah was just my teammate through that,” Jacob said. “We would always cheer on each other and try to work with each other. We’d always be a warmup partner, grilling partner, we were kind of bonded with each other no matter what weight we were at.
“Even though now when we go to tournaments there’s a 40-pound difference, we still make each other sweat and work hard.”
As workout and practice partners, the brothers continuously strive to grow through each other’s guidance.
“There have been a couple times when we’ve helped each other be our best,” Noah said. “[One time], we were getting a practice in at our house, and Jacob was just really struggling through it. It was just one of those off days. I was drilling with him and was just trying to encourage him and keep up his attitude. He just pushed through and got through the practice.”
Following the 2024-25 season, Noah and Jacob will go their separate ways – for a year, at least – as Noah heads to college and Jacob finishes out his high school career.
Regardless of where their futures take them, through wrestling or not, their relationship will continue to grow with the same teammate foundation it’s had since they were kids.
“Jacob and I are very family-oriented individuals… so I feel like depending on where we go to college, I don’t believe [our relationship with each other] will change too much,” Noah said. “If we do wrestle, we’ll still probably have that competitive spirit to see who could keep the highest GPA or who could score the most points. I feel like we’ll still keep that competitive spirit, but it’d still be friendly and loving.”