Evansville Semi-State Preview

A season’s worth of hardwork will all come to a head this weekend as 224 wrestlers will take the mats in an attempt at punching 56 tickets Banker’s Life Fieldhouse and 76th annual IHSAA state finals.

This article will have four features per weight:

The Ford Tough Locks per weight class	The KITT Dark Horses	The Turrible Draws	The Barry Horowitz best curtain jerkers

Without any further ado:

106:

106 has been ruled by 2 names all season in the South, Konrath and Egli. Expect nothing different this weekend, as these two freshmen should meet for a third time. Both have a win over each other, the rubber match should be great.

Best Curtain Jerker– Logan Dilbeck Gibson Southern vs. Nicholas Weaver, Brownsburg. This match features state ranked Weaver vs. Maurer Coughlin product Dilbeck. This match could determine the state qualifier out of this quarter bracket.

KITT – mentioned above Nicholas Weaver. The panel all favor Dilbeck, but it’s hard to overlook a state ranked kid.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Paul Konrath Mt. Vernon

2.    Will Egli EMD

3.    Logan Dilbeck Gibson Southern

4.    Kadin Poe Decatur Central

113

This weight class was determined too close to call by The Panel, local favorite Reitz Sophomore Tyler Ferguson and 2x state qualifier and returning state semifinalists DJ Smith of Franklin appear to be neck and neck. They met a year ago in the ticket round and this year should meet in the finals. The ticket round match to watch here will be Terre Haute South’s David Lewis and Floyd Central Freshman Jarrod Cunningham. The Panel was also split on these guys.

KITT- Jarrod Cunningham, Floyd Central. This Freshman’s name is starting to be used in the same sentence as coach Cooper Samuel’s. We’ll see this weekend if he can punch his first ticket to state.

Turrible Draws- This weight features two turrible ticket round match ups. Semi State ranked #4 Brian Rassbach has #2 Tyler Ferguson and Mater Dei Freshman and #3 SS ranked Kyle Luigs has #1 DJ Smith. Sir Charles sends his condolences out!

Ford Tough Locks

Ferguson and Smith garnered the same number of points. I’ll take Fergie Ferg in the tie breaker

1.    Tyler Ferguson Reitz

2.    DJ Smith Franklin

3.    Austin Ely Brown Co.

4.    David Lewis Terre Haute South

120

One name reigns supreme at 120, 2x Semi State Champ Bailey Lahue. But surprisingly Lahue wasn’t a unanimous LOCK.  Thunderings from up north suggest the Brock “Here Comes the Pain” Hudkins is looking to make some noise this weekend.

KITT-Evansville Memorial Senior Hunter Arney and Franklin Sophmore Shane Wilkerson will bring some fireworks to the first round.

Turrible Draws- Charles isn’t happy with having to watch two state qualifiers go at it in the ticket round, but he’ll have to live with it here. Returning SS champ Bailey Lahue will lock it up with Castle senior Jacob Brown. Winner goes to Banker’s life, loser buys a ticket.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Bailey Lahue Corydon Central

2.    Alex Johnson EMD

3.    Brock Hudkins Danville

4.    Griffin Schermer BHSS

126

Mater Dei Freshman Phenom Nick Lee was The Panel’s first LOCK. There are talks of him dethroning Stephan Micic but first he’ll have to navigate through the field at the Ford Center. Great ticket round matches should be Chayce Young and Elliot Molloy, and the quarter final bracket featuring JoJo Deleon, Rex Stillions, Conner Willis, and Quinton Harris.

Best Curtain Jerker–Cody Flamion Forest Park vs. Bryant Haynes Charlestown, this is a rematch of the SIWC championship match that was won by Flamion by a 1pt decision.

KITT- Chayce Young Madison, go ahead and call me a homer that’s okay. Young possesses the skills to upset Elliot Molloy and advance to state.

JoJo Deleon Jeffersonville – this Jeff regional champ has a very deiceiving record. He competed most of the season up at 132 and 138. He settled into 126 right before sectionals and picked up 2 huge wins last week with a decision over Chayce Young and a pin over Bryant Haynes.

Conner Willis Evansville Central – in a weight class wide open we have another vote for dark horse here. With great workout partners expect Willis to be tough come Saturday.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Nick Lee EMD LOCK

2.    Nathan Schitter Jasper

3.    Elliot Malloy Danville

4.    Quinton Harris Avon

132

This could be the weight class of the day. There no less than 6-7 quality wrestlers that is state caliber. I’m not even gonna mention dark horses, death draws, or top ticket round matches… DON’T MISS ANY MATCH AT THIS WEIGHT!!! There will be very quality first round, ticket round, semi-final, and final matches here. Devin Broukal is the favorite here, getting 4 first place votes. But The TripleB Upset Alert will be on as I’ll go with Blake Jourdan of Evansville Mater Dei.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Devin Broukal BHSS

2.    Kyle Todrank Gibson Southern

3.    Blake Jourdan EMD

4.    Josh Davis Evansville Reitz

138

138 features The Panel’s second lock, Skyler Lykins of Franklin. He’s a 2x state qualifier and returning state semi-finalists. He’ll probably have to contend with lifelong nemesis Tyler Fleener. Fleener has been hampered by injuries this year, but I’ve got it on good authority that he will be 100% this weekend. 2 ticket round matches to keep an eye on are Ross Abram vs. Charlie Allen and Wyatt Seng vs. Ben Auberry.

KITT- Charlie Allen Boonville. Allen was a state qualifier a year ago. The Panel favors Ross Abram in the ticket round. Will Allen’s experience be enough to get him through?

Turrible Draws- Charles says Ethan Herrin’s, from Jennings County, draw is turrible. This super sophomore is a ticket puncher in any other quarter bracket, but he got the unlucky draw with Tyler Fleener in the ticket round.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Skyler Lykins Franklin LOCK

2.    Tyler Fleener Center Grove

3.    Wyatt Seng EMD

4.    Ross Abram BHSS

145

145 will feature a couple of big matches. The bottom quarter bracket featuring Regional Champ Matthew Ruddick of Seymour, Korbin Karges of Princeton, and Burk Van Horn of Franklin should bring some fantastic match ups. Also the semifinals match of 2x state qualifier Josh Pierre and state qualifier Bailey Schober of Greenwood should be another good one. Schober got a win over Pierre this summer, but this ain’t the summer and this match will take place in front of a large Mater Dei favored crowd. Pierre is the favorite, but nothing will be too shocking.

Best Curtain Jerker– This might be the best curtain jerker Saturday, Princeton’s Korbin Karges and Franklin’s Burk Van Horn. Both have getting a lot of praise from their respective areas. This match will be hopefully be a barn burner.

KITT- Did I mention how good this quarter bracket could be? Regional champ and ISWA Greco State champion Matthew Ruddick got no love from The Panel, label him a KITT dark horse as the attention will be on Karges/Van Horn.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Josh Pierre EMD

2.    Zach Batts Cascade

3.    Bailey Schober Greenwood

4.    Korbin Karges Princeton

152

Another Panel LOCK is at 152, Evansville Central’s Brendon Kelley looks to be head and shoulders above the field. He’s always an exciting wrestler and his matches are fun to watch. This will be good warm up for him as he gets ready to make a run at a state title next weekend in Indy. Exciting ticket round match will be Columbus North’s Andrew Jones vs. Mooresville’s Trace Rooks. Jones is a strong, athletic wrestler who had a very exciting match with Floyd’s Corey Troutman last weekend. Look for Jones and Rooks to be a great match and if Jones has any say, possibly a high scoring affair.

KITT- KITT dark horses are Regional dance partners Andrew Jones and Corey Troutman. Both Trace Rooks and Martinsville’s Seth Ferguson seem to be the favorites in their ticket round matches. But Jones showed last weekend he can bang with quality opponents and Troutman has picked up some nice wins over the last 2 years. Can either get over the Ford Center hump?

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Brendon Kelley Evansville Central LOCK

2.    Phoenix Adams Terre Haute South

3.    Seth Fergusen  Martinsville

4.    Trace Rooks Mooresville

160

A weight class that, rankings wise, has been dominated by returning state qualifiers Isaiah Kemper and Jordan Partee got a late addition in 1 loss Avon Senior Brendon Helm. Also joining the fray is returning state qualifier Ashton Forzley of Evansville Mater Dei, Edgewood Junior Gabe Koontz, New Washington’s Jacob Franklin, and Tecumseh junior Tristen McDaniels.

Best Curtain Jerker–Two state ranked wrestlers will be battling right off the bat as New Washington Senior Jacob Franklin will battle it out with returning state qualifier and hometown favorite Ashton Forzley. The winner of that match will get Helm in the ticket round.

KITT- Is there a dark horse here? Lots of emphasis on Helm, I’ve brought lots of attention to Franklin/Forzley. I think a dark horse here could be the winner of Tristen McDaniels and Gabe Koontz. Both guys are solid and the winner of this ticket round could win the whole thing if they are on.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Isaiah Kemper Evansville Central

2.    Brendan Helm Avon

3.    Jordan Partee Madison

4.    Gabe Koontz Edgewood

170

170 features a weight class full of big guns and surprisingly wrestler who has been ranked #1 part of the year and should be considered to be the favorite next weekend not only wasn’t unanimous but wasn’t even picked to finish first?!!?! The top 3 guys here are crazy good. Jake Rickenbaugh brings a flawless 50-0 record in. Jacob Stevenson and Dylan Lydy both bring in one losses, to each other. This weight class could be a doozy.

KITT- 2 wrestlers get the dark horse mention here. Floyd Central senior Chase Herron got some love in The Panel picks to upset Rickenbaugh. Castle Junior Turner Lockyear also got some some love to knock off 2x Regional Champ and one horrible stalling call away from being a state qualifier Jimmy Fisher of Columbus East. One thing’s for sure that quarter bracket could be wide open, don’t back up Jimmy!!

Turrible Draws- Charles sends love out to Zach Hay of Bloomington South.  A senior who’s had a great year and won Regionals………….and he draws Stevenson in the ticket round. That’s just turrible… but don’t county Hay just out. Bloomington South knows how to get it done at SS.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Jacob Stevenson Franklin

2.    Dylan Lydy Ben Davis

3.    Jake Rikenbaugh Heritage Hills

4.    Jimmy Fisher Columbus East

182

182 features 6 state ranked wrestlers. Wow, what a weight class. The Panel was split on the champ as both Franklin’s Michael Petrole and Edgewood’s Damien Chambers both received high marks but first Chambers must…

Best Curtain Jerker–survive his curtain jerker against Brownsburg’s Stone Neese. Chambers has had a phenomenal year with wins over many ranked kids. His one blemish? Stone Cold Creamery Neese. Chambers has only won 36 straight matches since then, will Neese stop Chambers run to state Stone Cold??

KITT- Gabe Konnerding, Heritage Hills, Konnerding is no stranger to Semi-State or the ticket round. He brings a stellar 48-2 record to semi-state, but he got no love from The Panel in his ticket round match. Can Konnerding exercise those ticket round demons?

Sam Bassemier Evansville Mater Dei. Bassemier got some love from the Panel and picked up some points. But is he up enough to knock off Regional Champ Luke Teague and state ranked Andy Fischer? You know what I say? When in doubt at Semi State bet on Mater Dei!

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Damien Chambers Edgewood

2.    Michael Petrole Franklin

3.    Evan Elmore Avon

4.    Andy Fischer Southridge

195

195 features another Panel LOCK, Bloomington High School South’s Dakota Thacker. Thacker is a 2x state placer and spent some time at the top of the state rankings this year. That’s about the only thing for sure at this weight, after that the votes were all over the place. This was one of the few weights where all 4 regional champs have been predicted to advance. There are some ticket round matches that could prove to be exciting. In the upper bracket watch for Franklin senior Jacob Brownfield and Avon senior Shane Dillehay to crash the regional champ party in the semi’s.

KITT-Shane Dillehay Avon, Jacob Brownfield. See above

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Dakota Thacker BHSS LOCK

2.    Blake Brown Evansville Memorial

3.    Randy Scott Mooresville

4.    Mitchell Sandlin Madison

220

220 features the last lock of the panel, Franklin senior Conner Tolley. After that it’s wide open as a Panel record 8 wrestlers got votes in the weight class. This should make for some fun first round and ticket round matches. Keep an eye out for Colton Castetter vs. Jeremy Barnes, L.T. Kyles vs. winner of Drew Neisius of Greensburg and Ben Schoolcraft of Martinsville, and lastly Zack Dobos vs. Gunnar Larson.

Best Curtain Jerker–Martinsville’s Ben Schoolcraft vs. Greensburg’s Drew Neisius, highly ranked Schoolcraft vs. returning SS placer Neisius. This match should kick this weight off in great fashion!

Turrible Draws- Regional Champs Colton Castetter and Zack Dobos, both guys have had great years, but Charles ain’t happy with their draws.

KITT-Is it possible to mix up categories? If so I really like Castetter, Dobos, and the winner of Neisius/Schoolcraft to have good shots at ticket punching.

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Conner Tolley Franklin - LOCK

2.    La Terrance Kyles  Harrison

3.    Jeremy Barnes Evansville Memorial

4.    Gunnar Larson Avon

285

One year ago Norman Ogelsby was off the radar to most Semi State fans. He became a household name over night with his dizzying display of throws. Can Ben Davis Giant (literally) keep the momentum going this year? He was almost the unanimous favorite; one guy thought that the Jolley Little Devil from Jeffersonville might be able to pull it out, first GJL will have to get by Ethan Schwoeppe in the ticket round.

Best Curtain Jerker–Bryce Biddle Plainfield vs. Kolby Mount Scottsburg. Biddle the Freshman vs. Mount the Mountain. Mount showed last week that he’s the real deal and Biddle has hovered in and out of the state rankings all year.

The winner of the quarter bracket featuring Dajani/Mount/Biddle. The Guss bus has been filling up with fans the last few weeks on Indianamat. I think he can make the finals and it’s certainly possible he can pull it off.

KITT- Matthew Cox…. Go ahead and look him up because you’ve never heard of him…. Okay… Evansville Mater Dei. A regional champ with a win over state ranked Dalton Miller. He’ll have a ticket round date w/ Guy Henson Avon. But don’t count this wildcat out!

Ford Tough Locks

1.    Norman Ogelsby Ben Davis

2.    Gus Dajani Bloomington South

3.    Gavin Jolley-Ittle Jeffersonville

4.    Guy Henson Avon

Will this be the year that Evansville reigns supreme at Banker’s Life? Come on down this weekend and find out!

Session 1 starts at 9 CST (that’s 10 in normal time), Semi’s start at 2 (3 normal time) and faceoffs for the finals will start around 4 (5).