2010 Evansville Semi-State Preview

Last year was a down year for the Evansville semi-state as only Briar Runyan of Martinsville brought a state championship home. They did have three state runner-ups in Dustin Kief of Franklin, Mitchell Richey of Brown County and Alex White of Mount Vernon. Of those four individuals, only Kief will be returning this year. The crop of state placers though is not empty as many young guns are ready to step up to the challenge. The 103lbs weight class returns all four state qualifiers, including Kief and 5th place finisher Brian Kuhn of Evansville Reitz. The 112lbs weight class also returns a state placer in Derek Fisher of Martinsville. Freshman sensation Quincey Richey returns at 130lbs after finishing 7th as a freshman in a very tough weight class. Look for this youngster to improve on his freshman campaign. At 135lbs, Castle’s Doug Welch looks to improve on his 5th place finish from last year. Perennial power Evansville Mater Dei was shut out of having a state champion last year, but returns John Sims who will look to finish on the highest rung this season. At 152lbs, two state placers return in Drake Stein of Princeton and Jeff Weiss of Heritage Hills. Stein was injured in the morning session of state last year and had to default out of the tournament. He had a great summer of wrestling and will look to improve on his tremendous sophomore season. The last returning state placer is Aaron Stevenson of Indian Creek. The super soph finished 3rd last year, only losing to state champion Marcus Shrewsbury in the semi-finals.

When you mention the best teams in the Evansville semi-state, you will always mention Mater Dei. Their tradition is like no other, but last year they failed to make the team state finals losing to Castle at regional. This year Castle will be back, returning many of the wrestlers that propelled them to that monumental victory, however Mater Dei will be wrestling with a chip on their shoulder. Danny Struck’s Jeffersonville Red Devils are another team that is going to make some noise this year. All three of those teams are in the same regional. Bloomington South will look to return to team state this year coming out of the Greencastle regional, but will have to go through defending runner-up Perry Meridian to get to team state. Another team to from this semi-state to keep an eye on is Columbus North.

Click here to view the rankings.