Comparing 2021 vs. 2011 State Tournament

By Drew Hughes

A Decade Ago

After such a great weekend of wrestling at the 2021 state tournament, let’s take a look back at some of the similarities, differences, and other interesting facts about this year’s tournament and the one from 10 years ago.

The Bank

The first difference between these two tournaments has nothing at all to do with wrestling but the name of the arena. While the tournament is still held in the Indiana Pacers fieldhouse, 2011 was the last year of the fieldhouses original name Conseco Fieldhouse. Since then, the arena has been known as Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Weight Difference

The 2011 state finals were also the last year of the old weight classes, after this state tournament is when the IHSAA changed the weights to the ones we still use today. With the changes being

103 – 106

112 – 113

119 – 120

125 – 126

130 – 132

135 – 138

140 – 145

145 – 152

152 – 160

160 – 170

171 – 182

189 – 195

215 – 220

285 – 285

The Bulldogs Junior’s 3rd Title

In 2011 the Crown Point Bulldogs had their eventual 4-time state champion Jason Tsirtsis win his 3rd state title. This season with just a 2-pound difference in their weight classes, Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez won his 3rd state title and will be looking to join Jason as a four-time state champ next season.

The Potential 3-timer

Zeke Seltzer just won his second consecutive title as a junior and will be in the hunt to become one of the next 3-time state champions next year. Similar to this, in 2011 Kyle Ayersman also won his second title as a junior and would go on to be a 3-time state champ.

Brothers in The Finals

In 2011 twin brothers Doug and Chad Welch both capped off their senior seasons as state champions. While not twins, the Ruhlman brothers of Bloomington South both made state finals appearances, with the younger brother and sophomore Delaney Ruhlman falling to Jesse Mendez in the finals. The older brother and senior Tristan Ruhlman capped off his high school career with a state title. The Welch brothers were only the 3rd pair of siblings to ever accomplish this feat in Indiana.

Attendance on hold

Due to COVID and the limited in person attendance many had to watch this year’s state tournament from home. The 2011 state tournament brought in 27,999 fans throughout the weekends 3 sessions. Hopefully, Bankers Life Fieldhouse will be filled with fans for the 2022 state championships.