By Anna Kayser
Four Brownsburg wrestlers punch finals tickets on Saturday
The Brownsburg Bulldogs competed another session of successful wrestling on Saturday afternoon, sending four wrestlers through to the championship round at Gainbridge Fieldhouse tonight at 7:30 PM ET.
Joining the four finalists in the third session are Preston Haines and Gunner Henry wrestling for third place and Landon Haines wrestling for fifth. The consolation matches are set to begin at 4:30 PM this afternoon.
106 – No. 2 Revin Dickman
Revin Dickman entered Saturday’s competition as the highest-ranked wrestler still alive at 106 pounds with No. 1 Layne Horn losing his first match of the tournament yesterday, and easily proved why he’s at the top of the weight pack.
After a first-period fall to kick off his tournament yesterday, Dickman made quick work of unranked Matt Baylor of Milan in the quarterfinals to secure his place on the podium with another fall in 2:51.
Just a few hours later he took to the mat for what would be his second of three matches on the day and again put on a strong display of offense with an 11-1 win over No. 3 Ayden Bollinger of Delta in the semifinals. The Bulldog freshman dominated on top and executed his shots late in the match to continue to pile on points for a major decision.
The 106 IHSAA Finals match to kick things off at 7:30 PM ET tonight will be a battle of two highly ranked freshmen: Dickman and No. 4 Nathan Rioux of Avon, two wrestlers who are about as familiar with each other as you can get. The two conference rivals have faced off five times this season (according to IndianaMat’s records), with Dickman narrowly emerging victorious in five decisions ranging between 1-3 points.
Dickman and Rioux last faced off in the Evansville semi-state title match, with Dickman edging Rioux 1-0.
113 – No. 1 Preston Haines
With a 1-2 matchup to begin the final day of official IHSAA competition, Preston Haines made his way to the semifinals with a 3-1 decision of Gavin Jendreas of Crown Point in a match with implications for the team title race.
The semifinals, however, were not so kind to Haines as he lost a heartbreaker to No. 6 Jackson Heaston of Indian Creek in the waning seconds of the match. With Haines holding a 1-0 following a second-period escape, Heaston scored a reversal in the final three seconds of the third period to advance to the finals at the buzzer.
Haines will represent Brownsburg in the third-place match tonight against No. 8 Isaac Ash of Monrovia, a wrestler he has already faced twice during this season’s state series. Haines’ last defeat of Ash came at semi-state by an 8-0 major decision.
The Bulldog junior will land on the podium for the second consecutive season after losing in the finals last year.
120 – No. 2 Jake Hockaday
An electric 120-pound finals matchup is set for this evening between reigning state champions as Jake Hockaday will face off against No. 1 Ashton Jackson of LaPorte, an undefeated senior and back-to-back state champion at 106 and 113 pounds, respectively.
Hockaday, the 106-pound champion last season and Brownsburg’s first freshman state champion in school history, made quick work of No. 12 Carter Fielden of Garrett with a pin in 51 seconds. His semifinal battle against No. 5 Neil Mosier of Delta was much closer than each of his first two bonus-points matches to begin the tournament, with Hockaday emerging victorious with a narrow 3-2 decision.
126 – No. 17 Landen Haines
After losing his quarterfinal match against No. 5 Tylin Thrine of New Castle to begin the day, Landen Haines battled back to secure his spot in the fifth-place match later today.
Haines took an early lead over No. 6 Jackson Bradley of Cowan with a takedown in the first period and never trailed, pulling off the upset with a 4-1 decision.
132 – No. 3 Brady Ison
Brady Ison’s fight to the finals match wasn’t an easy one, but he’s taken it in stride with victories over two top 5-ranked opponents in his quarter and semifinal matches.
To begin the day, Ison handed No. 4 Eleazar Walker of Mishawaka just his second loss on the season to advance to a matchup with No. 1 Kyrel Leavell of Warren Central in the semis. Ison held a narrow 3-2 lead in the third period, but with one minute left to go in the match scored a takedown to extend the lead he would need for the win.
Ison’s fight doesn’t get easier as he’ll face No 2, undefeated Joey Buttler of Whiteland in the finals. The Brownsburg junior has lost to Buttler twice by two-point decisions during this state series.
195 – No. 2 Gunner Henry
Gunner Henry will vie for his second consecutive third-place finish tonight after losing to No. 1 John Purdy in the semifinal this afternoon, 10-3.
Henry’s day for the Bulldogs began strong with a 10-4 decision over No. 6 Alex Deming of Rochester. The undefeated Purdy then proved why he’s the best 195-pounder in the state, scoring two takedowns following a scoreless first period and mounting more offense in the third for a big win.
In the third-place match, Henry will face No. 3 Reid Schroeder of Southridge, who lost a heartbreaker in overtime in the semifinals. The two wrestlers faced off at semi-state, with Schroeder taking the matchup via 10-8 decision.
285 – No. 1 Leighton Jones
After a quick pin to begin his tournament and a 5-2 decision in the quarterfinals this morning, Leighton Jones and No. 2 Paul Clark of Crown Point battled again today for a bid to the finals.
Jones, who lost a heartbreaker in the semifinals last season, fought hard on defense and executed his shots on offense to defeat Clark, 6-4. He scored via a single-leg takedown in the first period and fought off a similar shot on defense to go up 3-0 in the second. Jones nearly gave up takedowns on the edge of the mat to end the second and third periods, but was able to secure the victory.
The senior will face off against No. 5 Kelton Farmer of Evansville Memorial, who was pinned by Jones earlier in the state series.
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