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      #WrestlingWednesday: LIttell hungry to get his shot

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      Brayden Littell’s high school wrestling career hasn’t exactly gone as planned. The junior has just one loss in high school, a one-point defeat at the hands of two-time state champion Asa Garcia. He has defeated another Indiana state champion, twice. Yet, Littell has yet to wrestle a single state tournament match.
      Littell grew up wrestling in the Center Grove school district. He wrestled with the Trojans in elementary school and middle school. As a freshman, however, he enrolled at Perry Meridian.
      During that freshman season Littell defeated Roncalli’s Alex Viduya twice. Viduya went on to claim the state championship at 113 pounds. Littell never made it to the tournament. He had a falling out with the Perry Meridian team and transferred back to Center Grove, mid-season. The transfer rules forced him to sit out the rest of the season.
      “There wasn’t too much going on with my situation at Perry Meridian,” Littell said. “I guess you could say it was more of some pet peeve type of stuff. The Perry program is great, but the way the practices and the program went, I didn’t think it was what was right for me and my family.”
      When the IHSAA ruled Littell ineligible for the remainder of his freshman season, he took the news pretty hard. He sat in the stands and watched Viduya, a guy he had beaten twice that season, claim the state title.
      “That was painful,” Littell said. “I’ll be honest, I cried a lot. I wanted Alex to win it though. If I wasn’t out there, he’s the guy I was cheering for.”
      Things went from bad to worse for Littell his sophomore year. He suffered a knee injury playing youth football (tore his ACL) when he was in elementary school. It always bothered him, but he was able to wrestle with it. By his sophomore year the knee started hurting so badly he couldn’t wrestle. He went to his doctor and was told that not only was his ACL torn, so was his MCL and he had damage to his meniscus. He would need a season-ending surgery.
      “I felt defeated when I found that out,” Littell said. “First I lost my freshman season and then I was told I wouldn’t be able to wrestle as a sophomore either. I thought I’d be able to push myself and get back in time for the tournament, but my doctors didn’t want that.”
      For two years Littell has been hungry to showcase what he can do on the mat. For two years he watched others have the success he felt could and should be his. Two years of physical and mental pain escalated to a boiling point in the young wrestler, and now, as a junior he’s able to unleash on his opponents. He is currently 17-0 on the season and ranked No. 1 at 120 pounds. He has pinned every wrestler he has faced up to this point.
      “Braydon is a special type of athlete,” Center Grove coach Maurice Swain said. “He has a combination of speed, power and great technique that you just don’t see in most high school athletes. And, he loves the sport. His speed is off the charges. His power is off the charts.”
      Littell is the type of wrestler that lives for the big moments. He gets excited when he gets to wrestle the better opponents. He will likely get the chance to see Crown Point’s No. 3-ranked junior Riley Bettich at the Al Smth tournament.
      “I’m super excited to wrestle him,” Littell said. “I’m pumped for it.”
      More so, he’s excited for the chance to show Indiana what he has to offer on the mat.
      “I feel, for sure, like I have something to prove to the state,” Littell said. “I feel people sort of forgot about me. I want to show them what I can do. I’m hungry. Sitting out two years and watching others go on to have success has just forced me to work harder. It motivates me.”
      Littell isn’t alone. Coach Swain is also excited to showcase his star junior.
      “We think the world of Brayden here,” Swain said. “I think he’s just a special athlete. I’m excited to see him compete and excited for the state of Indiana that has heard his name but not got a chance to see him wrestle. I’m excited for them to see what he can do.”

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      #MondayMatness: Glogouski Following in the Family Tradition

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      Blake Glogouski wants to ascend to the top of the IHSAA wrestling hill and he wants to get there quickly.
       
      The Fairfield High School senior sees speed as one of his weapons as he looks to add to a prep resume that already includes two trips to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (he was a state qualifier as a freshman at 106 pounds and placed fifth at 113 as junior). He wants to compete “under the lights” this time around and speed will be part of the package.
       
      “I always push the pace,” Glogouski said. “My coaches always tell me to move faster than the opponent and don’t slow down.”
       
      Falcons assistant Jesse Espinoza is taken with the intensity and toughness packed into an athlete who clocks in at 5-foot-7 and plans to wrestle at 120 on the back side of the 2015-16 season.
       
      “It’s hard to explain,” Espinoza said. “He’s just one of those kids. You tell him to run through a brick wall and he’ll get through it.
       
      “If you are wrestling in the (practice) room and he gets hold of a leg, it doesn’t matter what you do to him he’s not going to let go of that leg.”
       
      Dan Glogouski, Blake’s father and another assistant on Fairfield head coach Jim Jones’ coaching staff, has watched his son became more of a leader to his teammates.
       
      Maturity and off-season work, including an appearance at the Disney Duals and workouts with older brother Forrest who will again be a teammate when he is joined by Blake at NCAA Division II Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, in 2015-16, have combined to make Blake a better Falcon since he went 52-3 last winter.
       
      “Mentally, he’s gotten better,” Dan Glogouski said of Blake. “It’s from growing up, being a senior, being that leader. He’s the guy most of the kids on the team look up to.”
       
      Blake tends to be quiet, but when he uses his deep voice, he commands attention.
       
      “He may be little, but he’s a mighty kid,” Dan Glogouski said of an athlete who was also an impact performer on offense, defense and special teams in football for Fairfield’s NECC big school division co-champions.
       
      While Blake regularly works out with junior 132-pounder Dillon Yoder, he does not shy away from larger wrestlers in practice.
       
      “He’s not scared of anybody,” Espinoza said. “Some kids will go after him, but after about 30 seconds or so they are done.
       
      “He kind of turns it on.”
       
      Blake Glogouski began the season at 126, but intends to drop down to 120 because he thinks it gives him a chance to be stronger and for the most success. Of course, he has the prerogative to change his mind.
       
      The highly-ranked grappler said his biggest area of improvement has come in takedowns. He uses about five or six and goes with the shots that opponents can’t easily stop.
       
      With two State Finals appearances, 125 high school victories and numerous Indiana State Wrestling Association laurels coming into his senior season, Blake knows he will see the best others can throw at him.
       
      “There’s definitely a target on my back,” Blake Glogosuki said. “I’ve just got to work harder.”
       
      As Glogouski and the Falcons head into the 2016 part of the calendar, the heat will go up in practice.
       
      “We’ll turn up the intensity in practice as we get closer to our conference tournament and on into sectionals,” Espinoza said.
       
      On Wednesday, Dec. 23, Glogouski became a four-time champion at Rochester’s John McKee Invitational. He was named the meet’s outstanding wrestler for the second time.
       
      Fairfield is scheduled to host Churubusco in dual Jan. 5 with the West Noble Super Dual Jan. 9 and Goshen Invitational Jan. 16, followed by the Northeast Corner Conference meet Jan. 23 and Elkhart Sectional Jan. 30. After that comes the Goshen Regional Feb. 6, Fort Wayne Semistate Feb. 13 and State Finals Feb. 19-20.

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      #WrestlingWednesday: Brayton Lee is All Smiles

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      The very first time Brayton Lee watched a wrestling match, he ended up vomiting. He was 5 years old and sick that day his father took him to his first high school match, but even after vomiting, he didn’t want to leave. He had instantly fallen in love with the sport.
       
      “After I got sick I still stayed until the match was over,” Lee said.
       
      Now Lee is one of the top wrestling recruits in the nation. The Brownsburg junior won state last season at 138 pounds and he’s looking to do the same this year at 145.
       
      “I’ve coached kids that were three-time state champions,” Brownsburg coach Darrick Snyder said. “I’ve coached kids that have placed at Fargo or other preseason national tournaments. I’ve coached quite a few guys that have went on to wrestle in college in D1 or the Big Ten. But Brayton is at a different level from any of the guys I’ve coached before. I haven’t had anyone near as talented as he is.”
       
      Lee’s off-the-charts level of wrestling skills is one of the big reasons Brownsburg won the 3A team state title last season and is one of the favorites to do so again this year.
       
      “Brayton is very willing to work with his teammates,” Snyder said. “I use him as another coach. We use him to show a lot of technique because he has been coached by some of the best coaches in the country, and his wrestling knowledge is phenomenal. When Brayton graduates in a couple of years I’m losing as close to a guaranteed win as you can get, and one of my best coaches.”
       
      Lee isn’t sure exactly what he wants to do after high school, but he knows it will involve wrestling. He is getting letters in the mail on a daily basis from wrestling powerhouses like Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue and Michigan.
       
      He hasn’t narrowed his college choice down yet, but he is hoping that wherever he goes will help push him to his dream of one day wrestling in the Olympics.
       
      “I want to be the best there is,” Lee said. “I want to wrestle in the Olympics. I want to pursue the Olympics while I’m in college. After college I really think I’ll stay with wrestling and become a coach.”
       
      Things haven’t always gone Lee’s way. His freshman campaign ended with just one loss, in the ticket round of semistate when Mt. Vernon’s Austin Bethel pinned him in the third period.
       
      “That loss my freshman year, and not achieving my goal, ran through my head all the time the next season,” Lee said. “In practices I kept thinking about it. I knew I had to put some of those memories away, but it was just adding fuel to my fire.”
       
      Lee bounced back. Last year, during his sophomore campaign, he dominated the field en route to the state championship. In the Avon sectional Lee wrestled a total of 48 seconds, securing a pin in the semifinals in 36 seconds and a pin in the championship in 12. He continued his dominance in the Mooresville regional, winning by pin, tech fall and then another pin.
       
      In the Evansville semistate Lee opened with a pin, then won back-to-back 7-3 matches before winning the final 16-7.
       
      Lee saved his most dominant performance for the state finals. He won the opening round with a 32 second fall, then tech-falled his next opponent 18-3. After a hard-fought 4-2 victory to reach the final match, Lee obliterated his last opponent of the season and won the state title with a 20-5 tech fall.
       
      “Getting under the lights was everything I thought it would be and more,” Lee said. “There is nothing like it. When I walked out, my legs were really shaky. But afterward, when I was interviewed, it was just all joy. It was amazing. I had done it.”
       
      For a few random Lee-isms: He doesn’t have a favorite move, but one he really enjoys doing is a left-handed headlock. He said he would rather win by technical fall instead of by pin. Chad Red Jr., is one of his best friends, and he likes to think he is close to Red as far as swagger goes – but he admits he isn’t to Red’s level yet in that regard.
       
      Lee’s nickname at Brownsburg is smiley. Coach Snyder said that’s one of the first things you notice about Brayton, is how he is always smiling. With as much success as he’s having on the mat, it’s no wonder he’s happy.

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      #MondayMatness: Confidence carries NorthWood’s Lone to mat success

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Jake Lone has developed an edge in his junior season as a NorthWood High School wrestler.
      Lone was second at the Elkhart Sectional, third at the Goshen Regional and a qualifier for the Fort Wayne Semistate as a 160-pound freshman. As a 170-pounder junior, Lone won sectional and regional titles, placed second at semistate and then eighth at the IHSAA State Finals. As a 182-pound junior, he is 30-3 after winning another sectional title. The 2019 Goshen Regional is Feb. 2.
      Lone, who first competed in Indiana State Wrestling Association events at age 4, is gaining confidence.
      “As the season has progressed, I think I’ve developed a little bit of an attitude out on the mat,” says Lone. “There’s a little more aggression.”
      Shoulder surgery after the 2018 State Finals meant that Lone was away from competition for the spring and summer.
      He was only cleared to play football for NorthWood during the week of the season opener. Switched from linebacker to defensive end, he had a sensational season while helping the 2018 Panthers aka “Black Crunch” go 11-1 under head coach Nate Andrews.
      Lone was selected for Class 4A honorable mention all-state honors by the Associated Press.
      Then it was back to the mat.
      “I think I’ve gotten tremendously better,” says Lone of his progress since the beginning of the 2018-19 wrestling season. “I’ve been getting back in the swing of things after surgery last spring, getting my conditioning up and knocking all the rust off.”
      “Having Coach Andrews is the room to push me has been great.” Andrews, who won a 171-pound IHSAA state title as a NorthWood senior in 1996, took over as wrestling head coach this winter.
      He has watched Lone get better and better.
      “It certainly opens up his offense when he’s lighter on his feet and when his motion is vertical and horizontal at the same time with 1-2 and 3-4 combinations,” says Andrews. “When he opens that up and puts pressure on people, he can be dangerous.
      “A lot of he team aspects and leadership qualities that he learns in football he brings to the wrestling mat.”
      Lone has fed off Andrews’ enthusiasm and intensity.
      “What I get from him is always pushing the pace, staying aggressive, never stop,” says Lone. “It’s that never-quit attitude.”
      Lone knows that there are differences and similarities in his two sports. “Football shape is short bursts,” says Lone. “Wrestling shape you have to go the full six minutes without stopping.”
      While he played some wide receiver or tight end on offense, Lone really enjoyed playing on the other wide of the ball.
      The hand and body fighting and one-on-one battles that a defensive linemen encounters translate to the wrestling circle.
      “I love defense,” says Lone. “I was able to use by wrestling technique for tackling.”
      Andrews, who counts Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer Dennis Lewis plus Jim Matz and Elisio Roa as assistants, says beefing up the NorthWood schedule was helpful for Lone. “He was able to see a little tougher competition,” says Andrews. The Panthers took on LaPorte, Merrillville and Knox at the LaPorte Super Duals, Churubusco, Eastside, Garrett and Jay County at the Fort Wayne Carroll Super Duals. NorthWood also faced Wawasee, Goshen and Jimtown in duals at home and took part in the 32-team Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka.
      Inclement weather Jan. 19 caused cancellation of the Northern Lakes Conference varsity and junior varsity tournaments.
      “For our program and where we are now, we were devastated,” says Andrews. “A week ago we were really in good shape to do our best and climb another rung on the ladder as we try to build our program.” That meet was to be the last for JV grapplers.
      “The kids who come out and go through this grinder of a season, they didn’t get rewarded,” says Andrews. “They didn’t get to play in their Super Bowl. It’s very, very unfortunate.”
      Andrews said the focus turns to individuals still alive in the state tournament series, but he is still trying to “rally the troops” for those who saw their season come to an end.
      The Panthers are young with just two seniors on the squad.
      “I’m looking forward to the future,” says Andrews.
      Jake has been in wrestling practice rooms since age 3. His father, Rod Lone, was head coach at NorthWood for seven seasons. After two years as a volunteer assistant at Jimtown, he has returned to NorthWood as head middle school coach. He is also a volunteer with the high school and helps the NorthWood Wrestling Club.
      A former wrestler at Clinton Prairie High School and then for Tom Jarman at Manchester College (now Manchester University), Rod Lone has witnessed a rise in his eldest son’s confidence level.
      “With that confidence he’s gotten more aggressive and that’s shown in his matches,” says Rod Lone. “He’s never been that fast-twitch, go-get-em kind of kid. This year, he’s finally starting to get there.”
      “He’s trying to control the match instead of letting the match come to him.” Says Andrews, “He should be a pretty confident kid the way it is. He’s been on the mat a long time. He had a good sophomore campaign.”
      Getting down to Indianapolis and competing at Bankers Life Fieldhouse has helped fuel the self-assurance.
      “After going to State last year and having all that experience, I feel I know what it’s like,” says Jake Lone.
      Rod and Denise Lone’s second son — eighth grader Kaden — just won an ISWA Middle School State title at 132 pounds. He has a chance to be the first NorthWood wrestler to go unbeaten through their middle school career (sixth, seventh and eighth grade) with three Big 11 Conference championships.
      Jake and Kaden work out together and use the wrestling room in the family basement.
      “We go down there and roll around a lot,” says Jake Lone. “It’s fun.”
      Given the size differential, Kaden has to use his quickness against his big brother.
      “He can’t muscle things and just rely on strength,” says Jake Lone.
      “That’s been great bond at home,” says Rod Lone. “They push each other in a very positive way.”

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      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: McKinney Excels on the Mat and in the Classroom

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

       
      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Matthew McKinney approaches academics with the same ferociousness he has when he steps on the mat for a wrestling match.
       
      “Academics is just another competition for me,” McKinney said. “Whether it’s in the classroom or on the mat, I want to be the best at everything I do.”
       
      McKinney is currently ranked No. 15 out of his class of 791 seniors at Warren Central High School. His grade point average is 3.97.
       
      “I really take a lot of pride in my academics,” McKinney said.
       
      He also takes pride in his wrestling. He is currently ranked fourth in the state at 138 pounds. He is a two-time state qualifier. He advanced to state his freshman year at 106 pounds and again the next season at 120 pounds.
       
      McKinney believes he outworks anyone he steps across the mat against. He religiously goes into school early three times a week and either runs or swims. He also stays late after practices and puts in extra conditioning. That hard work has paid off when it comes to the long, three period matches.
       
      “I really pride myself on being able to go six minutes as hard as possible and wearing on my opponent with heavy hand fighting,” McKinney said.
       
      The practice room at Warren Central is full of practice partners for McKinney. If he wants to work on speed and agility, he faces Warren’s 126 pounder Joel McGhee (ranked No. 6). If he needs to work against stronger opponents, he goes up against Trent Pruitt (ranked No. 4 at 152 pounds). If he’s looking to get as much work in as possible, he has a host of partners he can go against.
       
      “We have around 70 guys at practice and we have three mats going on,” McKinney said. “That gives me a lot of partners to push me. For sure that’s an advantage because you never run out of guys to wrestle. When you’re wrestling live, there is always a fresh guy to come in and keep pushing you.”
       
      The Warrior team is absolutely loaded this season. Warren Central has ranked wrestlers in 10 of the 14 weight classes. Jim Tonte took over the program this season, after having a very successful career at the helm of Perry Meridian’s program.
       
      One thing McKinney noticed right away about Tonte’s coaching style, is that he wanted the team to have a good chemistry.
       
      “The biggest difference between last year and this year is that we are a lot closer as a team,” McKinney said. “We hang out outside of wrestling. We have more of a team atmosphere. Coach Tonte stresses team bonding. We’ve gone to the movies together, had hang out sessions. And, a lot of us have been together for four years now so we are naturally close.”
       
      Brownsburg defeated Warren Central in the team state championship this year. That doesn’t sit well with the senior Warriors.
      “We have to give props to Brownsburg,” McKinney said. “They really brought it to us. It was very humbling for our team, but we’re excited for our second chance. Our goal is to win the state championship. I want to win it with my team and individually. We feel we are good enough, and that goal is always on our mind. We break every practice with a ‘Blue Rings’ chant for the blue medal you get when you win state.”
       
      McKinney did not qualify for state last season. He was beaten in the ticket round of semistate. But this year he feels he can see a lot of improvement.
       
      “I’ve faced seven ranked guys and lost just one,” he said. “I’m right there with the top guys. It gives me confidence to know I can go out and beat anyone in front of me. Last year Nick Lee beat me. He took me down, cut me, took me down, cut me and then pinned me real quick. This year I went the distance with him. The score still wasn’t what I wanted, but I can tell I’ve improved.”
       
      Coach Tonte said at the beginning of the season some people wanted McKinney to wrestle at 132 pounds this year.
       
      “Matthew spent so much time in the weight room every day that he eventually filled out and made it to be a true 138,” Tonte said.
       
      Tonte said it was probably a difficult transition for McKinney to have a new coach for his senior year.
       
      “I’ll be honest,” Tonte said. “It was probably somewhat tough for him. He had a competitive match with one of the kids I coached last year and I know it was probably really tough on him to know I was coming in to be his coach. But he has responded very well and he realizes we care about him. He’ll run through a wall for us. He’s responded to everything we are doing.”
       
      McKinney is a two-sport athlete at Warren Central. He is the kicker and backup punter for the Warrior football team. He says football is a sport he does for fun, but he really enjoys being part of the program.
       
      After high school McKinney would like to wrestle collegiately. He is not sure what he wants to study or where he wants to attend.
       
      “Matthew is just one of those kids that you don’t ever have to worry about his future,” Tonte said. “His future is open for whatever he wants to do. He has a great drive, a great family and you can tell he has really been raised well. He will succeed at whatever it is he sets out to do.”
       
      For now, he is setting out to win the 138 pound weight class in Banker’s Life Fieldhouse.

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      #WrestlingWednesday: The Floyds Knobs three amigos

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      In a town that literally gets its name for being tough and rugged, the Three Amigos personify what Floyds Knobs is all about.
       
      Floyd Central High School, located in Floyds Knobs, is the home of wrestlers Gavinn Alstott, J. Conway and Jonathan Kervin. The trio is known around town as the Three Amigos, primarily for their success on the wrestling mat. They are tough wrestlers that like to grind out wins and be physical. One wouldn’t expect anything less from a Floyds Knobs resident.
       
      Floyds Knobs is named after the Knobstone Escarpment located there (and Colonel Davis Floyd). The Knobstone is the most rugged terrain in Indiana. It has steep hills which are commonly referred to as knobs.
       
      As for the Three Amigos – all three qualified for state last season. Alstott finished fourth and Kervin sixth. This year, all three are ranked in the top 10 in their weight classes.
       
      “The Three Amigos is a term we coined last year and started calling them that,” Floyd Central coach Brandon Sisson said. “I don’t think they mind it. They all three work together and have pushed each other to get better.”
       
      Kervin is the only senior in the trio. He is currently ranked No. 2 at 152 pounds. Last season Kervin finished with a 39-4 record. He won sectional and regional and eventually finished sixth at state in the 145-pound class.
       
      “Jonathan is a really tough wrestler,” Sisson said. “He wrestles hard for all six minutes. He works really closely with is uncle, former two-time state champion Cooper Samuels. Those two have worked together for the past five years and it has really benefited Jonathan.”
       
      Kervin’s goal this season is to win a state title.
       
      “My style is sort of dynamic,” Kervin said. “I like to be a little deranged. I use my length. Last year I felt like I wrestled poorly at state. I didn’t do my normal workout to get ready. I want to get back and show what I can really do.”
       
      Alstott, a junior, finished 42-4 last season. He was a sectional and regional champ and ended up third in the Evansville semistate and would later place fourth at state.
       
      “Gavinn is a grinder,” Sisson said. “He gets out there, gets in your face and pushes the pace non-stop. He’s very business-like on the mat and in the practice room. I’m not ever going to have to see if he’s just messing around. When it’s time to work, it’s time to work. No matter what he does, he puts his head down and goes to work.”
       
      Alstott’s uncle, Craig Alstott, was Floyd Central’s first ever four-time state qualifier. Craig never placed at the state meet, however.
       
      “I think Gavinn got the monkey off his back a little by placing last year,” Sisson said. “But he has his sights set significantly higher this year.”
      Off the mat, Gavinn is an excellent student and has been a team leader since his freshman season.
       
      “He’s a really good kid,” Sisson said. “He gets good grades and is good to the other kids. Even as a freshman I thought of him as a team leader. He’s just a phenomenal kid.”
       
      Conway is the quietest in the group. He had a not-so-quiet season last year, however. Conway went 23-4 on the year and claimed a sectional and a regional title. He finished runner-up in semistate but lost on Friday night at the state tournament.
       
      “He’s a really, really quiet kid,” Sisson said. “I don’t think I heard him say anything at all his freshman year. Now as a sophomore he’s coming out of his shell a little bit. On the mat he’s more open. He is already at 130 takedowns in just 18 matches this season. He’s full throttle. You let him go, and he goes.”
       
      Sisson is pleased with his team this season and hopes the Three Amigos will help lead them to great things.
       
      “There are years where you have a lot of talent, but also a lot of drama,” Sisson said. “Then there are years where you don’t have any drama, but you don’t really have any talent either. This year, I really feel like we have a lot of talent and no drama. I’m lucky this year.”

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      #WrestlingWednesday: Farrell prepping for and trip to Bankers Life

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Last year, when J.D. Farrell was a junior at Fishers High School, he saw that a German foreign exchange student was struggling understanding her math assignments and he knew he had to help her.
       
      “She was struggling with translating her math work and I helped her,” Farrell said. “She didn’t have many friends and I wanted to be there for her to help with that as well.”
       
      That’s what Farrell does. He helps others. He helps his teammates in wrestling understand how to do certain moves. He helps them know what it takes to be successful on the mat.
       
      He also takes a certified nursing assistant (CNA) class and frequently goes to nursing homes to help the elderly. One day he plans to go into the medical field.
       
      “I see people that maybe are struggling, or are less fortunate, and I want to help them any way I can,” Farrell said. “In the wrestling room I don’t just want to improve myself, I want to make everyone better. Outside of wrestling I see others struggle and I feel I’m called to help them. My heart pulls me toward them. God put those people in my life for a reason.”
       
      As nice, polite and helpful as Farrell is off the mat – don’t expect mercy from him on it. He is currently 29-1 this season and ranked No. 4 at 195 pounds. His lone loss came at the hands of returning state champion Silas Allred. Last season he qualified for the state tourney but lost a hard-fought match in the opening session and didn’t place.
       
      “I use my length to my advantage,” Farrell said. “I’m very offensive with my attacks. I look at my opponent’s attacks and plan to not give up anything to them. My goal is to not give anything to my opponent or ever let the ref decide the outcome of a close match.”
       
      Allred, the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the class, feeds through the same New Castle semistate as Farrell. Before the season Farrell had the choice of going up a weight to avoid Silas, but that’s not what he wanted to do.
       
      “I see Silas as an opportunity,” Farrell said. “If I see him in semistate, I wouldn’t have to face him early in the state tournament. He is very technical and a great wrestler. When I wrestled him earlier this season, I was not satisfied with how I did. I got to know him pretty well at CIA and he’s a great guy.”
       
      Farrell is a third-generation wrestler. His grandfather wrestled and loved the sport. His dad, Brent finished second in the state during his high school career and his uncle, Brad, was a fifth-place finisher.
       
      “Wrestling is in my family,” Farrell said. “My grandpa liked wrestling a lot and then my uncle and dad started and they saw a lot of success. My brother, Crew Farrell, is in middle school and he’s kicking butt right now.”
       
      Fishers’ coach Frank Ingalls sees Farrell wrestling under the lights in the state finals.
       
      “I’m expecting him to make it to the championship match,” Ingalls said. “He’s 29-1 right now with something like 22 falls. When we need him to bump up to 220, he still gets the job done and usually gets us six point.
       
      “J.D. is a good Christian kid. He’s good in school. He’s a good leader. He does everything you ask him to do and he works hard in the offseason as well.”
       
      During the offseason Farrell wrestled in many big tournaments, but he didn’t go to the Super 32. Instead, he hopped on a plane and traveled to Germany. As it turns out, Farrell finally got the nerve to ask that girl who was struggling with her math homework to be his girlfriend. He asked her toward the end of her stay in America, and she said yes.
       
      “The long-distance relationship is tough,” Farrell said. “But I was glad I missed the Super 32 to go see her. It gave me the break I needed in wrestling, because I had been pushing so hard. When I came back I was ready to get back at it.”
       
      Now, like so many other high school athletes, Farrell has his goal set at making it to the state finals.
       
      “I have gone to the finals with my dad for as long as I can remember, and now I want to close my high school career out by wrestling there myself,” he said.

      3087 1

      #MondayMatness: Schammert, Padilla brothers part of Hobart wrestling culture

      Perseverance.
      Toughness.
      Intelligence.
      Skill.
      Hobart High School head wrestling coach Jason Cook talks about these four markers along the “Brick Road.”
       
      Cook says the culture of Brickies wrestling is built on overcoming obstacles.
       
      “You don’t get better until you have to overcome challenges,” says Cook. “I’m not going to wait for things to knock me down. I’m going to look for challenges. In life, it takes a lot longer. You can’t do it on a wrestling mat.”
       
      Cook admits that he’s not a patient man and wants to see constant improvement.
       
      “I’m a teacher and a coach and I get to watch people improve all the time,” says Cook, who teaches English and is his second season of guiding Hobart’s wrestling program.
       
      Four Brickies who are working to overcome adversity and excel are brothers Nathan and Trevor Schammert and Cristian and Ruben Padilla. All four competed Dec. 27-28 in the 42nd annual Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka. Sophomore Trevor Schammert (113 pounds) came in second in his weight class and improved to 20-1 on the 2019 season. Sophomore Ruben Padilla (11-4) placed seventh at 120. Senior Nathan Schammert (17-5) came in eighth at 126. Junior Cristian Padilla grappled on Day 1 at 132. The Brickies placed seventh in the 32-team event.
       
      Cook, who is in his second season leading the Brickies, sees similarities in the brothers. But they are really four distinctive personalities with their own mat approaches.
       
      The coach describes Nathan Schammert — the oldest son of Mike and Darcy Schammert — as “a kid who’s going to find his own way to win matches.”
       
      “He’s definitely got the funk,” says Cook of Nathan. “I don’t think anybody’s looking forward to him as a matchup.
       
      “When Option A doesn’t work, he’s got about 15 other things he can do.”
       
      Cook notes that he was one of the smaller wrestlers on the mat as a senior and has steadily grown as he career has progressed.
       
      “Now that he’s the athlete he is, he can hit some explosiveness things,” says Cook of Nathan.
       
      Nathan says its work ethic and all the time spent since he was just beginning school and competing with the Hobart Wrestling Club that has helped get him to where he is now.
       
      Mike Schammert is a former Brickies wrestler and he gives his sons mat advice.
       
      “He tells us to be ourselves on and off the mat,” says Nathan Schammert. “I just go out there and let it fly. I don’t hold back.”
       
      About the time Nathan hit junior high, he started developing his funkiness. He has his favorites, but not really a go-to move.
       
      “People really don’t expect me to do the things I do,” says Nathan Schammert. “I just go out there and do what feels right. If I feel something, I hit it right away. I don’t wait, I just go.”
       
      “I just used to to my advantage.”
       
      Nathan Schammert enjoys showing the way to teammates — freshman and cousin Devin Wible (120) among them.
       
      “I definitely consider myself a leader,” says Nathan. “I just try to set a really good example and be the best role model I can in the (practice) room. I want the younger ones to learn from me — my mistakes and my strengths.”
       
      Hobart went 11-3 and advanced to the IHSAA Class 4A northern semistate in football. Seven defensive starters — safety Nathan Schammert, deep back Hayden Homoky, lineman Alex Pickett and linebackers Bobby Babcock, Mark Mummey, Cameron Smith and Tyler Turley — are on the Brickies wrestling team this winter.
       
      “That defense was something to watch,” says Cook. “It was amazing.”
       
      Nathan Schammert makes the correlation between the mat and the gridiron.
       
      “Wrestling helps me in football,” says Nathan. “I have to make (football) plays on the fly, too. A double-legged a lot of guys (on tackles).”
       
      Cook says Trevor Schammert is especially good at working his way out of difficult situations.
       
      “He sure is solid with his positioning,” says Cook of Trevor. “He hasn’t made a mistake in any position this year.
       
      “He is going to make you fight your way through every position.”
       
      Trevor says his style is not as funky as his older brother.
       
      “I’m more technical,” says Trevor. “I’m more of a chain wrestler. I hit move after move and don’t stop. At practice, all I focus on is repetition. Building that muscle memory for when I need it."
       
      “I’m good at a certain set (of moves) and hit those really good.”
       
      Trevor Schammert does not believe in taking days off.
       
      “I’m always pushing myself to the wall,” says Trevor. “I look at my goals every year and how far I want to make it in the state run and be a state placer.
       
      “I’m never satisfied with anything. I always want to improve and get better with everything.”
       
      Both Schammerts were in the varsity lineup for the Brickies boys golf team last spring with Nathan averaging 84 for 18 holes and playing as the No. 1 player on a squad that played its home matches at River Pointe Country Club in Hobart.
       
      “There’s no strong connection (between wrestling and golf), but there is the mental aspect,” says Nathan. “(Golf) can break you sometimes.”
       
      Cook has had Cristian Padilla in class for two years and coached him in wrestling.
       
      “He’s super thoughtful and super quiet,” says Cook of Cristian. “At least when I’m around him. He’s not a real vocal guy. He leads by example.
       
      “Everything he’s doing is with intention.”
       
      Cristian says he enjoys the challenge of wrestling and getting better with each match and workout.
       
      “I get support from coaches (Cook, Zack Johansen, Brian Wesley and Steve Balash) and my dad (Al Padilla),” says Cristian. “My coaches know I don’t make many mistakes. I’m setting coach with each practice so I I can improve since the last time I competed.
       
      “We’re always working out away from the school with dad.”
       
      Cristian and Ruben’s mother is Michelle Ramos. Older siblings are two older brothers - Al Padilla (who wrestled for Merrillville High school), J.P. Padilla (who played soccer at Merrillville) and Yazi Padilla (who played volleyball at Hobart). The youngest Padillas are twins Bella (who competes with the Merrillville wrestling Club) and Julian.
       
      Cook says the biggest difference in Cristian and Ruben is that Ruben will stir the pot a little bit.
       
      “(Ruben’s) a little bit of an instigator,” says Cook. “Ruben will say stuff to his drill partner. Cristian is silently working all the time. Ruben Padilla describes his approach.
       
      “I like to push people when I wrestle them,” says Ruben. “I push the pace."
       
      “I use my quickness to my advantage. A lot of guys I face are stronger than me.”
       
      At the same time, he is grounded.
       
      “I stay humble,” says Ruben. “I respect all of my opponents. These are things that wrestling taught me.”
       
      The Padilla brothers also play baseball. They split time between junior varsity and varsity last spring — Cristian as an outfielder and right-handed pitcher and Cristian as a middle infielder. In the summer, Cristian played travel ball with Highland while Cristian was with the Schererville Shockers.
       
      “(Baseball) helps with working as a team,” says Cristian. “Like with our dual meets.”
       
      Ruben takes lessons learned on the mat and applies them on the diamond.
       
      “Wrestling helps me be better at baseball,” says Ruben. “It’s things like toughness and being humble.”
       
      Cook is a 2002 graduate of Valparaiso High School. His senior year was the last year as Vikings head coach for his father and Indiana Wrestling Hall of Famer John Cook, who amassed a dual-meet mark of 361-112 from 1977-2002 with 35 state qualifiers.
       
      Jason Cook, who went on to wrestle at Purdue University, said he benefited in high school from having his father serving as director of the High School Division of National Wrestling Coaches Association (which he did from 2002-2010) because he was among the first wrestlers to be introduced each year to new rules changes.
       
      The younger Cook was familiar with Hobart wrestling from a young age because he often went against those kids at club meets. Later, he saw them in Duneland Athletic Conference meets.
       
      While the Brickies are no longer in the DAC (they are now Northwest Crossroads Conference members), the schedule still includes all but Michigan City from the Duneland. Hobart sees Lake County rival Crown Point in a dual meet on Friday, Jan. 7. The Brickies faced Merrillville in the Pirates’ Tom Cameron Invitational and saw Chesterton, Lake Central and Valparaiso in the Hobart Super Duals, Portage in Lake Central’s Harvest Classic and LaPorte at Mishawaka’s Al Smith Classic.
       
      “It’s a stepping stone to the second half of the season,” says Cook of the Al Smith Classic. “Holes in your game will be exposed and it will be really obvious what we need to work on or you can get a big confidence boost if we see what works.”
       
      The Lake County tournament is Jan. 11 at Hanover Central. The Northwest Crossroads tournament is Jan. 18 at Lowell.
       
      The IHSAA tournament series for Hobart includes the Portage Sectional Feb. 1, Hobart Regional Feb. 8, East Chicago Semistate Feb. 15 and State Finals Feb. 21-22 in Indianapolis.

      3082 3 1

      #Mondaymatness: From Columbus to Culver, Bryant striving for success

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      It didn’t take Manzona Bryant IV long to make an impact on Indiana high school wrestling.
      As a Culver Military Academy freshman, the grappler from Columbus, Ohio, placed sixth at 132 pounds at the 2016-17 IHSAA State Finals.
      Three weeks later, he took home the 145-pound title at the Indiana State Wrestling Association folkstyle tournament.
      Certified for at 132 but also competing at 138, he has been dominating opponents and dazzling mat audiences so far during the 2017-18 high school season.
      Bryant also continues to make his CMA teammates better with his infectious enthusiasm and athletic tenacity.
      “He’s charismatic,” says 10th-year Eagles head coach Matt Behling. “When he steps on that mat, he’s bringing it every single time. The best thing that’s happened for our team is that attitude is contagious. 
      “He’s helping to elevate the wrestling in our (practice) room. It’s been trickle-down effect. It’s been great.”
      The coaching staff, which also includes Andrew Basner, Josh Harper, Brandon James and Chris Prendergast, encourages Bryant to constantly push the pace and he takes that to heart.
      “They tell me to just be relentless on the mat and don’t stop,” says Bryant. “I always strive to get better. If I do something wrong, I always want to get back in the room and fix it.”
      Bryant produced the fastest pin of his high school career Saturday, Dec. 16 at Penn’s Henry Wilk Classic when he scored a fall in six seconds.
      “The clock said :06, I’d like to say it was :04 or :05,” says Bryant, who did achieve a four-second pin in junior high. “I usually use a ‘cowcatcher.’ I ‘bulldog’ and throw deep and go fast.”
      How deep is Bryant’s “bag of tricks”?
      “I usually stick to the basics,” says Bryant. “I hit the usual shots or a front headlock. But if I’m out there and I need to hit something, I’ve got it. I pull out the little sack.”
      Bryant, who carries the same name as his father, grandfather (who served in the U.S. Air Force) and great grandfather, began his competitive wrestling career at age 7.
      “I had a decent season and my mom accidentally signed me up for the Tournament of Champions in Columbus and I got sixth,” says Bryant. “My mom (Theresa) thought it was some local tournament at the convention center.”
      From there, Bryant enjoyed success at the local, state and national level. He won a title in Tulsa, Okla., as a sixth grader and was a two-time Ohio junior high state champion.
      Bryant is an only child.
      “Sometimes that’s a good thing,” says Bryant. “Other times, all your friends are gone and you’re at the house going ‘What do I do?’”
      As a wrestler, he gets the chance to be social and hang around with like-minded friends. 
      “I’m a people person,” says Bryant. “I like to hang out with people. That usually leads to doing more activities.”
      When those people are his wrestling teammates and coaches, they are often working on mat moves.
      But don’t be surprised to see the Hacky Sack make an appearance.
      “We find it interesting and fun. Our coaches like to get into it. Adam Davis is really good. It’s a good stress reliever. It calms you down and gets you ready.”
      Bryant’s regular workout partner is freshman Eli Pack, who also hails from Columbus, Ohio.
      “We’ve known each other for a long time,” says Manzona. “He was my workout partner in seventh and eighth grade. I told his parents about the wonderful opportunities (at Culver). We know each other so well. We know how to push each other. It’s kind of hard to describe.”
      Bryant describes what it was like at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the State Finals last Feb. 17-18.
      “On Friday night, I just concentrated and went into that match strong and positive,” says Bryant. “I took care of business that night. Going into the state tournament this year, I’m going to try to zero in on every match and take it like it could be my last one.”
      Bryant says he would have attended a private school if he would have gone to high school in Ohio. He enjoys the lessons in self-discipline he is learning at Culver.
      “I like it because it gives me organization,” says Bryant. “It helps me do the little things like make my bed, wake up on-time and to know where to be places and when.”
      Culver Academies — Culver Military Academy for boys and Culver Girls Academy — is loaded with athletic students. There are nearly 30 interscholastic sports at the private school for Grades 9-12. Students who are not with a sports team must work out three times a week. Culver has a state-of-the-art fitness center for that.
      “A lot of people are competitive,” says Bryant. “When we have unit games, you know everyone is going to fight.”
      Contests get fierce when dodgeball, basketball or Eagle Ball (a game similar to ultimate frisbee played with a football and targets) is played between units.
      The school has three battalions — Artillery, Infantry and Squadron. Bryant is in Battery C of the Artillery. He chose that battalion because they get to drive trucks during the various parade seasons.
      “That’s a nice little break instead of marching all the time,” says Bryant. “Sophomores also get the privilege of firing the cannon at parades, Reveille and retreat.”
      As a private school, students must qualify academically to get admitted.
      “Our kids are very respectful,” says Behling, who is also a Culver counselor. “They’re in this leadership system so they understand what it means to be a leader. 
      “We don’t deal with some of the issues that maybe some of the public schools are dealing with in terms of academics. I don’t think I’ve ever had a kid who’s been sat because he couldn’t handle the academics.”
      The school day contains four 85-minute class blocks and goes from 8:30 to 3:15 p.m. with wrestling practice from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
      Bryant’s favorite subject?
      “Latin II,” says Bryant of the course taught in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages & Cultures. “It’s interesting. A lot of our words come from Latin. It’s nice to see those when I’m studying a new vocabulary list or something like that.”
      Culver Academies requires students to take three years of foreign language. Next year, Bryant will take Latin III. As a senior, he has the choice of Advanced Placement Latin or pursuing an Honors in Language.
      A four-year school with students from all over the globe, Culver wrestling does not have a feeder program such a junior high or a club. 
      Some — like Bryant — come to campus with wrestling experiences. Others are brand new to the sport.
      “It comes down to having a really good coaching staff,” says Behling. “I’m not talking about myself. I’m talking about surrounding myself with good people. 
      “Wrestlers’ first one or two years, they’re struggling. After that, they come in and make a significant impact in our program.
      “If we’re blessed enough to have a kid that has wrestling experience, that’s great, too, because we can run with it. Kids know that if they come to Culver and they want to wrestle, they can have a real good wrestling experience.”
      The Eagles have been strong enough to qualify a few times for the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals (which happen this season Saturday, Dec. 23 at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne). 
      “Here’s where the frustration is: We were right in the vote for going to Team State for the third time,” says Behling. “We didn’t get the vote because the selection committee needed to know — and this is the only question they asked us — who are your eighth graders who are going to make a contribution to your team next year? I can’t answer that in the spring so I had no response.”
      CMA is the site of an ISWA/USA Wrestling Regional Training Center. Momentum for the sport really picked up after Daniel Young became the school’s first state wrestling champion in 2009. The Bloomoington, Ind., native went 48-0 as a Culver senior and then wrestled at West Point.
      “The school got excited about that,” says Behling. “An endowment was established for wrestling. That endowment has really helped us in the last eight years. Our wrestling room is up there as one of the tops in the state of Indiana.”
      That room is now occupied by the 2017-18 CMA Eagles.
      “When our lineup is set and we clear out a few injuries, we can be a pretty tough team,” says Behling. “We’re excited about the future.”
      That future includes a bundle of energy named Manzona Bryant.

      3062 1

      #MondayMatness: A strong student in more ways than one, Eastern's Ellis heads to State Finals

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Evan Ellis is studious in more ways than one.
      The unbeaten heavyweight wrestler from Eastern High School in Greentown is a student of the sport.
      “I watch 20 hours of FloWrestling a week,” Ellis said. “I’m watching the Big Ten. I’m watching different things. I’ve just infatuated myself with (wrestling).”
      After placing eighth in 2015 and third in 2016 at 220, Ellis has has qualified for his third straight IHSAA State Finals (he drew 28-8 senior Brendan Sutton of Jennings County in the first round at 285 on Friday, Feb. 17 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis).
      No. 2-ranked Ellis (44-0) is one of three unbeatens in the 285-pound class. South Bend Washington junior Isaiah McWilliams (50-0 and ranked No. 1) and Mt. Vernon senior Wade Ripple (49-0 and ranked No. 3) are the others.
      After bowing out 3-2 in the “ticket” round at the Fort Wayne Semistate as a freshman, Ellis started pouring it on, not only during the high school season, but in the summers. He placed second in the Cadet Folkstyle Nationals in 2014 and second at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals, fourth at the Junior Folkstyle Nationals and eighth and the Super 32 in 2015.
      But Ellis is also an exceptional student in the scholastic sense as evidenced by his being accepted to Ivy League school Brown University in Providence, R.I. He plans to wrestle for the Bears beginning in 2017-18.
      According to U.S. News & World Report, Brown has one of the lowest acceptance rates of colleges and universities in the country. It was 9 percent in 2015.
      “They were the very first school to send me a letter,” Ellis said. “We were preparing for the Super 32 my sophomore year, they sent a letter just wanted to ‘Hi! We see want you’ve done. We see you’re academic all-state. Then they just went away for awhile.”
      As the sophomore and junior years went by, Ellis got better and better in his wrestling and his academics and Brown became persistent in its recruit of the big Comet who enjoys his Advanced Placement curriculum at Eastern.
      “Finally, we got an official visit set up,” Ellis said. “I just love in out there. It’s a great atmosphere for learning, but the wrestling team has a lot of special things going on as well.”
      Led by head coach Todd Beckerman, Brown is part of the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association.
      What made Ellis better on the mat?
      “I had to change my lifestyle,” Ellis said. “If this is really what I wanted to do, I had to make changes. I was good for our area and I was decent for our state. But I just wanted to pursue it deeper. I had a burning sensation to just be dominant.”
      Ellis decided to give up football and track and focus on wrestling.
      “I consumed myself with it,” Ellis said. “It was hard. I had to give up a lot. But I knew I wanted to be the guy and it was going to take a lot of work.”
      Ellis cut fast food out of his diet, even in the off-season.
      “My family even changed with me,” Ellis said of father Rodney, mother Amy and sister Olivia. “We went with organic and no hormones. They spent that extra money for me to eat like this. I’ve been lifting (weights) all the time.
      “In the summer, it’s hot. You just want to lie around the house and play some Xbox. But I got up at 6 a.m. and worked out.”
      Ellis is thankful for a family that has traveled all over the country while he pursued his wrestling dreams.
      “They’ve spent a fortune,” Ellis said. “We’ve been from border and border. Without their sacrifice, there’s no way I’d be where I am. They just wanted to give me the opportunity to be the best I could be.
      “It’s a whole new level of confidence. I’ve been in so much time in the off-season. I’m just anxious to get out there and dominate.”
      Ellis is coached by an Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer in Bob Jarrett. He is in his eighth season at Eastern. He spent 24 years at Western in nearby Russiaville and came out of retirement after an eight-year hiatus.
      “He’s just a kid that’s put in the time and effort,” Jarrett said of Ellis. “He’s been doing it since grade school.
      “I think he’s good enough to win it all (at the State Finals), but that doesn’t mean he can’t be beat. He works extremely hard . He had a great attitude and he’s a smart kid, obviously.”
      Jarrett said that Ellis, who weighs around 240 pounds, has succeed as a bigger wrestler because from a young age he has been willing to work some moves usually employed by smaller grapplers.
      “We’ve worked on wrestling moves while other heavyweights have just kind of leaned on each other,” Jarrett said. “They push and shove. He was doing little-guy moves and it’s really helped him in the long run.”

      3062 1

      #MondayMatness: Life off the mat has been tough, but New Haven senior Johnson is staying focused

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Jonyvan Johnson will tell you he’s “got a lot going on” in his life.
      The New Haven High School senior is among the best wrestlers in Indiana.
      Through the New Haven/Bill Kerbel Invitational Saturday, Jan. 6, Johnson is 28-1 for the 2017-18 season. 
      After a first-round bye, Johnson pinned three opponents to reign at 182 pounds at the Kerbel meet. He competed at 195 during the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals Dec. 23 in Fort Wayne.
      An IHSAA State Finals qualifier at 170 pounds as a junior, Johnson’s lone loss as a senior is a 4-2 decision against Northridge senior Conner Graber Nov. 27. Graber placed seventh in Indiana at 182 in 2017.
      “Things have been tough recently,” says Johnson of life away from the circle.
      On Sept. 18 — two months before the current wrestling season — Johnson lost stepfather Romauld Solomon to suicide.
      Since Jonyvan was about 7, Romauld was the main man in his life. 
      He’s the one who encouraged him to take up wrestle as a sixth grader. 
      “It hurts to see him go, but I’ve got to just focus on myself and keep pushing forward because that’s what he’d want me to do,” says Johnson. “I know what I want. I know what I’ve got to do to get there. So I’m going to just keep focused.”
      Reluctant about wrestling at the beginning, but encouraged by his stepfather, the young grappler won a Lutheran Schools Athletic Association championship during that first year on the mat.
      Johnson now shares a house with mother Jamie Solomon, cousins Mattie and Mason Johnson and friend Jordan McHaney. 
      Jonyvan says his mother adopted Mattie and Mason with their mother deceased and father in prison. McHaney was kicked out of his house.
      Back at New Haven, Jonyvan is Bulldogs captain.
      “I try to set the tone when it comes to discipline,” says Johnson. “It’s working hard in the room, being on-time — little things like that. It can make a big difference on the mat.”
      What makes Jonyvan Johnson so good?
      “His work ethic,” says James Linn, who is in his fifth season as New Haven head coach after 10 seasons as a Barry Humble assistant. “He’s very dedicated in the weight room. He’s extremely strong.”
      Linn looks at Johnson and sees few weaknesses.
      “He’s good on his feet,” says Linn. “He’s a good top wrestler. He’s able to hold people down when he needs to. He’s a good leg rider. He’s very explosive off the bottom. It’s hard to hold him down.”
      Senior 195-pounder Jaxson Savieo is Johnson’s primary workout partner. They push each other not only on the mat, but in the weight room, on the track during conditioning and in the classroom.
      “We love to work hard,” says Johnson of himself and Savieo. “We love to push each other hard. We love to compete.
      “We try to make each other better in everything we’re doing.”
      Since last season, Johnson has improved by putting in the practice room time and going to places like Virginia Beach and the Disney Duals.
      “I’ve definitely worked a lot on conditioning and getting my lungs right,” says Johnson. “I’ve also worked a lot on technique and getting little things right. Everyone has go-to moves in certain positions. I usually try to stick to those moves. If they don’t work, then I have other things I can go to.
      “My mindset is thinking I can win every match. It’s not being too cocky, but being confident about it.”
      Johnson says he plans to go to college and is undecided on his area of study or if he will continue to wrestle.
      But right now he is focused on finishing strong in his final high school season.

      3057

      #MondayMatness: South Bend Washington heavyweight McWilliams no longer under the statewide radar

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      Stay humble yet ready to rumble.
       
      It’s an approach that has served Isaiah McWilliams well.
       
      The South Bend Washington High School wrestler exploded onto the statewide scene, finishing his sophomore season in 2015-16 by going 45-9 and placing fourth in the 285-pound weight division of the IHSAA State Finals.
       
      “Not many people were counting on me,” Isaiah Williams said. He was ranked No. 17 coming out of sectionals.
       
      Along tournament trail, McWilliams’ confidence was fueled with victories against Jimtown’s Nick Mammolenti (Northern Indiana Conference meet), South Bend St. Joseph’s Michael Koebel (Mishawaka Sectional and Rochester Regional), Oak Hill’s Owen Perkins and Franklin’s Quinn York (State Finals).
       
      Supported by his family, coaches and teammates, Isaiah made it the semifinals of the State Finals before bowing to eventual state champion Shawn Streck of Merrillville.
       
      After a productive prep off-season, McWilliams began 2016-17 ranked No. 2 at 285.
       
      But the Panther heavyweight has not taken more mat success for granted while competing for his father and Washington head coach Tony McWilliams, a 1998 South Bend Bend LaSalle graduate and former IHSAA State finalist.
       
      “I want to continue to get better everyday,” Isaiah McWilliams said. “If I don’t get better everyday it means I’m slacking. If you’re not getting better today that means you’re getting worse
       
      “I have a bullseye on my back. I have to continue to work hard to defend that bullseye.”
       
      A year ago, the 5-foot-7 athlete took the mat at 240 pounds and began the current season around 265. He is looking to tone down to around 255 and maintain his quickness.
       
      “It’s all about how much heart you have and how you are determined to win,” Isaiah McWilliams. “It’s not the size that matters.
       
      “Speed at heavyweight is very critical. You can move out of the way if you’re very quick. My agility help me win (against York) because at the end he tripped me and I kept moving. I rolled between his legs and go my two (points).
       
      “My mindset is to go out there and dominate and get out as quick as possible and wrestle smart. If I can’t go for a pin, I’ll keep working my takedowns and turns and get as many points as I can.”
       
      Stamina is a strong suit for McWilliams, who was a first-team all-NIC pick in football last fall (he played defensive end and fullback).
       
      “He can go three periods or more,” Tony McWilliams said. “Some of those big guys can’t. One of his keys has been to wear them down and get them at the end. That’s where he wins the most — the third period.”
       
      Dad/coach said it’s not uncommon for Isaiah to get back from a Saturday tournament and run a mile before heading home.
       
      “Sometimes, if he’s mad, he’ll run two,” Tony McWilliams. “That’s his idea. Some of his teammates catch on, some don’t.”
       
      Tony McWilliams, who saw a quick study when he first began teaching wrestling to Isaiah at age 4, adds a few other qualities when listing his son’s reasons for mat achievement.
       
      “He listens,” Tony McWilliams said of his son, the holder of the 4.0 grade-point average. “If you tell him something, you don’t have to tell him more than once. His knowledge is there.”
       
      Isaiah is a medical magnet at Washington and job shadows doctors and nurses. He sees himself one day as a sports medicine doctor or pediatrician.
       
      That kind of attention to details translates to wrestling.
       
      “He’s focused,” Tony McWilliams said. “He’s got goals and ***NO NO NO***ion. You’ve got to have that in this sport because one false move and it can be over as far as a match or even your career.
       
      “He pays attention. He knows what to fix and how to fix it.”
       
      Tony McWilliams coached seven seasons at LaSalle Academy and is now in his seventh season as head coach at Washington. A lay coach (his day job is as a union carpenter), he relishes the chance to work with his son and take other young grapplers (the Panthers have no seniors this winter) as far as they want to go.
       
      “This is a dream come true for a father and a son to be in this situation,” Tony McWilliams said. “It’s really awesome. I’m at a loss for word sometimes.”
       
      Aggressiveness is what Washington wrestling is all about.
       
      “We have to go on offense,” Tony McWilliams said. “We’re not going to try to be defensive wrestlers this year. We’re going to perfect our moves and we’re going to score.”
       
      The bar is set high for Isaiah McWilliams, but the expectations are also up there for the rest of those in green and black.
       
      “A state championship, that’s our main goal for Isaiah,” Tony McWilliams said. “Our staff is going to be on his butt to get it. If anybody else on the team wants to go along for the ride, that’s great.”
       
      Tony rejects those who say Isaiah’s success comes because he is the head coach’s son and conveys that to everyone in his program.
       
      “Everything that he’s doing, I tell them that they had an opportunity to do — all the summer wrestling,” Tony McWilliams said. “Isaiah wrestled 80 matches last summer (including Disney Duals in Florida and National Scholastic Duals in Virginia). With the success he’s having, a lot of people are going to be watching this team and they’re going to see you, too.
       
      “If you want to make a name for yourself, now’s the time to do that. Now’s the time to practice hard, wrestler hard. We’ve got to get them to buy into that.”

      3054 2

      #WrestlingWednesday: Jacob Gray focusing on the basics to get to the top

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      There is an episode of ‘Malcom In the Middle’ where a few teenagers pick on an elderly man and then run away from him. As they run, they taunt the man – knowing they are much younger and faster than he is. The old man is persistent though. He never stops moving forward. Eventually, much to the surprise of the teens, he catches up to them and beats the tar out of them.
       
      Delta’s Jacob Gray is a lot like that old man. He’s not slow, by any means, but he is relentless. He’s always pressing forward. Every time an opponent looks up, Gray’s massive 182 pound frame is right in front of them.
       
      “Jacob is a meat and potatoes kind of wrestler,” Delta coach Gary Schleissman said. “He’s not fancy. He doesn’t do funk. He’s straight forward and relentless. He sticks to the basics, and he does them very well. He wrestles smart and doesn’t waste any movement. He’s always been that way.”
       
      Gray has 141 varsity victories and only 11 losses. As a freshman he lost in the ticket round at semistate. His sophomore year he lost just twice, both in the state finals. He ended up placing sixth that year. Last year Gray went 37-3 and lost Friday night at state.
       
      This season Gray is 28-2. Both of his losses came at the hands of the state’s No. 1-ranked 182 pounder, Nathan Walton. The first time the two wrestled Walton won 5-2. Gray narrowed the gap the next time they squared off – losing by just one point, 1-0.
       
      “Those losses have made me want to work harder,” Gray said. “You just think of how close the matches have been, and how a takedown, a reversal or something could have changed the outcome.”
       
      Gray, who has never been pinned in high school, has made it a point this season to attack more.
       
      “I am pressing the action a lot more,” Gray said. “I started noticing how in harder matches I was getting a little fatigued. Now that I’m trying to put up more points, I’m not getting as tired. I feel like it has helped me get in better shape.”
       
      One of Gray’s physical attributes that has helped him on the mat is his ridiculous hand strength.
       
      “His hand strength is absolutely crazy,” Schleissman said. “When I wrestle around with him in the room, it really hit me how strong his hands were last season. He’d grab a hold of my wrist and – holy crap”
       
      Gray is fueled by competing at a school with a rich wrestling history. Delta is fourth on Indiana’s all-time team state championships list with five. The school, located on the outskirts of Muncie, has had 13 individual champions. The list of individual champs include: Tim Klingensmith (1970), Chris Campbell (1981), Don Heintzelman (1981), Greg Gadbury (1981), David Palmer (1981, 1982), John Ginther (1983, 1984), Ron Riggin (1984), David Locke (1984), Craig Campbell (1985), Trent McCormick (1986), Jeff Tuttle (1987), Craig Locke (1990) and Eric Kerkhof (1994, 1996).
       
      “I want to be one of those guys you think about when you think of Delta wrestling,” Gray said. “Our coaches, teachers and a lot of people in our community talk about how good we were. All of my friends’ dads talk about the glory days. I see the pictures on the wall every day of all of our state champions, and I know I can be our next one.”
       
      Gray got his wrestling start at the Muncie Pal Club. According to coach Schleissman, the Pal Club was a place where “a bunch of rough neck kids would go in and beat the crap out of each other every day.”
       
      Bryce Baumgartner, Sage Coy, Luke Schleissman and Gray were a few of the wrestlers that emerged from the Pal Club.
       
      Despite his success on the mat, Gray isn’t one to brag on himself.
       
      “Jacob is just a great kid,” Schleissman said. “He’s very humble and very quiet. He’s polite and everyone respects him. I have watched him wrestle since he was very young. He’s my go to kid in practice. After this year, I’m really going to miss him.”
       
      After high school he plans to wrestle in college, but has not decided where he wants to go or what he wants to study. Right now he’s focusing on getting to the top rung of the podium at Banker’s Life in February. Jacob wants to go out on top – like all senior wrestlers.

      3030 2

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Portage is Back on the Map

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

      By JEREMY HINES
      jerhines@cinergymetro.net
       
      If anyone can teach a team to believe in itself, it’s Leroy Vega.
       
      Vega, who was told he was too small to wrestle collegiately, even after winning two Indiana state championships, went on to become a three time All-American at the University of Minnesota.
       
      Now Vega is instilling that confidence in the Portage High School team he coaches.
       
      “There are always going to be doubters that will tell you that you can’t do things,” Vega said. “Nobody knows the hard work you put in. Actions speak louder than words. If you do all the right things, things that matter, you’ll start to see the payoff. That’s what we are trying to do and all of the guys are buying into it.”
       
      Vega says that Portage put themselves on the state map this season after winning the prestigious Lake Central Harvest tournament.
       
      “We started the season out a little off the radar,” Vega said. “Then we won the Lake Central Harvest tournament, beating Penn who was ranked No. 1 at the time. All 14 of our guys placed. People started to take notice. From there we have kept improving.”
       
      Portage lost just one dual this season, falling to Penn in a rematch.
       
      “We have a really solid 14,” Vega said. “We don’t have any holes in our lineup. Heading into the post season everyone is healthy. If things work out we can get some guys to state and a couple of guys into the finals.”
       
      One of Portage’s top wrestlers this season has been junior 145-pounder Steven Lawrence. Lawrence is currently ranked No. 3 in the weight class. One of Lawrence’s few losses came at the hands of No. 1-ranked Jacob Covaciu in a 2-1 decision.
       
      “We all push each other in the wrestling room,” Lawrence said. “And one of the team’s big focuses is to make sure we do something every day to get better. We don’t want to go a day without improving.”
       
      Vega is the first to admit that it takes a more than just one coach to make a successful team.
       
      “My assistant coaches have all really helped make us successful,” Vega said. “Each one of them has a different role. They have been outstanding.”
       
      Portage has seven different wrestlers ranked in the top 20 of their weight classes this season. Lawrence (145) and junior Gaige Torres (126) are both ranked No. 3. Senior Matt Hedrick (195) is ranked 10th in the state with freshman (106) Collin Poynter joining in the rankings at No. 13.
       
      Senior Davin Gonzalez (152), sophomore Ismeal Cornejo (170) and junior Braden Majewski (220( are all ranked No. 16 in their respective weight classes.
       
      “I’d probably say Ismeal Cornejo is the guy that leads by example on this team,” Vega said. “He’s always staying after practice and putting in extra work to get better. But really all the guys do that.”
       
      Vega said that there is hardly a day that has went by in the last 33 years that he hasn’t laced up his wrestling shoes and went on the mat. He loves coaching and the competitive rivalry he is building with the other coaches across the state. He said it still doesn’t replace that feeling of going out there and wrestling himself, but it’s a way to still be competitive.
       
      “Wrestling has taught me a lot about discipline, hard work and dedication,” Vega said. “Now I’m competing as a coach and I’m getting the team ready. We want to someday win a state title and we’d love to have an individual win a title.”
       
      Vega started wrestling when he was four years old. Now his four-year-old son Lydon Jay (named after Jay Robinson), is in love with the sport as well. He wants to be at every Portage practice. He watches film and he looks up to the guys on the team.
       
      “I’m so glad he has fallen in love with this sport,” Vega said.
       
      Portage will wrestle in the Calumet sectional on Saturday.

      3025 2

      #MondayMatness: Diaz brothers showing mat moves, smarts for Wheeler Bearcats

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      The Diaz family was on the ground floor in building the wrestling program at Wheeler High School.
      Now, two Diaz siblings are reaching for the heights during the 2017-18 IHSAA state tournament series.
      At the Jan. 27 Crown Point Sectional, senior Jose Diaz Jr. placed second at 113 pounds and sophomore Giovanni Diaz finished first at 106. They both move on to the Feb. 3 Crown Point Regional. 
      “He’s very intelligent,” says third-year Wheeler head coach Robin Haddox of Jose Jr. “He knows the sport very well. He’s extremely fast. He’s strong. He’s got the whole package.”
      A 106-pound Jose Jr. became Wheeler’s first State Finals qualifier in 2016. He placed eighth at 113 in 2017. Giovanni was an East Chicago Semistate qualifier at 106 in 2017.
      Jose Jr. explains why he enjoys wrestling.
      “It’s you and another person,” says Jose Jr. “You go out and show who you really are. It’s what you decide to put on the mat.
      “Winning feels great. Every time I get my hand raised, it feels great and motivates me to keep going.”
      Giovanni likes to be pushed to his limit — something that he gets with wrestling.
      “I like everything about it,” says Giovanni. “Most days, we try to push ourselves even when it’s supposed to be a light day.
      “You’ve got to have a certain mindset. If you want to achieve your goals, you’re going to have some toughness and think you’re going to break.”
      While they sometimes drill with other wrestlers in practice, Jose Jr. and Giovanni often trade moves.
      “It’s always close when we wrestle,” says Jose Jr. “It’s always fun.”
      Says Giovanni, “sometimes it get a little rough, but we keep it under control.”
      The Wheeler Bearcats officially hit the mats six years ago. Jose Jr. was a seventh grader. Giovanni was a fifth grader. Father Jose Sr. introduced the boys to the sport soon after they were born.
      Jose Sr. wrestled at Taft High School in Chicago, placing fourth in the city championships — just one win from the Illinois State Finals — as a senior in 1999. 
      “I loved it,” says Jose Sr. of the sport. “Wrestling helped me stay out of trouble. That’s what it does for a lot of Chicago Public Schools kids.”
      The elder Diaz and wife Patty moved their family to unincorporated Valparaiso near uncle Luis Del Valle.
      “It was one of the best decisions we made,” says Jose Sr. “It’s a better than the life I lived.
      “There have been a lot of opportunities for all of my kids (Jose Jr., Giovanni, third grader Aidan and second grader Emma).”
      Jose Sr. knew he wanted his boys to wrestle and they began training at home, but he waited for them to commit to competition. When Jose Jr. was in third grade and Giovanni first grade, they joined the Boone Grove Wrestling Club as athletes and their father as a coach.
      Then came the Wheeler Wrestling Club and the high school squad. Steadily the numbers have grown. This winter, the Bearcats filled nearly every weight class in most duals. The club has swelled to more than 40 wrestlers and the middle school team competed for its second season.
      “Wheeler is not a dominant program yet, but we have guys who go down-state,” says Jose Sr., a construction contractor.
      Jose Jr. likes the idea of leaving a legacy.
      “I want to be remembered at this school as a good wrestler,” says Jose Jr. “When I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a role model. I was always shy. (Success in wrestling) helps me understand that I can be. It helped me with my confidence.”
      Jose Jr. stays after high school practice each day to help younger club grapplers and is proud of what Bearcats wrestling has become.
      “I love coaching the little kids and giving back to the community,” says Jose Jr. “With our numbers. our program has started getting 10 times better. Being part of this program means a lot to me.”
      The Diaz boys will also leave their mark at Wheeler for his academic achievements. 
      Jose Jr. carries a 4.089 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and is on his way to making the Wheeler Academic Hall of Fame. Giovanni has a 4.105 GPA.
      “Wheeler is great for academics,” says Jose Jr. “Teachers are always there for you.”
      With about 500 students, the teacher-to-student ratio allows for one-on-one attention.
      Jose Jr., a National Honor Society member, has been accepted at educationally-prestigious Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., where he will compete in NCAA Division I wrestling. He plans to study health science with the aim of becoming a physical therapist.
      “It’s a perfect fit for Jose,” says Jose Sr., of Franklin & Marshall, where Mike Rogers in head wrestling coach. “It’s a small private school. The student-to-staff ratio is 9-to-1. The school has history. It’s like an Ivy League school. A degree from there opens up a lot of doors. You go to Franklin & Marshall for academics, not for wrestling.
      “I get a good feeling, handing over my son. Jose has been coached by me. I’ve been his dad and his coach. It’s a big step. I wanted to make sure Jose goes into a program that fits him.”
      Jose Jr. knows it will be transition.
      “I’m nervous to not have (my father) in my corner,” says Jose Jr. “He’s been there since Day 1. He sees what I don’t see. He tells it straight on.
      “I’m not always happy about it, but it helps me tremendously.”
      The student half of student-athlete is important throughout the Wheeler wrestling program.
      “This is the highest grade-point average team I’ve ever been involved with,” says Haddox, an industrial construction manager. “The majority of our kids are 3.0 or better. We have not had to worry about grades at all with any of our wrestlers.”
      Haddox wrestled at Chesterton High School, where he graduated in 1981, and the University of Tennessee. After a time in Texas, he moved back to northwest Indiana and began helping with the Portage High School wrestling program before Wheeler came calling.
      Besides Haddox and Jose Diaz Sr., the Bearcats are coached by Alex Bravo (former Valparaiso High School wrestler) and Yusef Mohmed (who has a background in mixed martial arts).

      3014 1 3

      #WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Luke x2 lead the Bears into the post season

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      It would be hard to find anyone as similar as a pair of Evansville Central seniors. They have so much in common that they even share a first name.
       
      The duo are both excellent students. They are wrestling practice partners. They are both looking to punch their ticket to state for the first time. Both of their dads are wrestling coaches. And, coincidentally, they are both named Luke.
       
      Luke Robards and Luke Kemper have been captains of the Bear wrestling team for three seasons. Robards is 29-2 this season and is currently ranked No. 12 at 145 pounds. Kemper is 28-2 and is ranked No. 5 at 160 pounds.
       
      “The team refers to Luke Kemper as Luke and Luke Robards as Robards,” Evansville Central head coach Brandon Robards (Luke’s dad) said. “It’s Luke, and it’s Robards. But it got a little more confusing this year because my younger sound Beau is on the team too. We told him, dude, you’re Beau, not Robards.”
       
      The two have been practice partners since elementary school. It’s a relationship that has helped the grapplers tremendously.
       
      “They have been practice partners since fourth grade,” Robards said. “They battle every day in practice. They push each other to be their best and they are also each other’s biggest fans. It’s been fun to see them really beat up on each other in the room and then be each other’s biggest cheerleader in the matches.”
       
      The Lukes are similar in many things, but their wrestling styles are quite different.
       
      “Robards wrestles like a little fly,” Kemper said. “I don’t mean that in a mean way. He just buzzes around from side to side and then as quick as he can he gets a leg and he’s driving you to the mat.”
       
      Kemper has a more direct style of attack.
       
      “He’s the polar opposite of me,” the younger Robards said. “He moves forward all the time with his hands up. It’s like wrestling a complete opposite of my style.”
       
      According to coach Robards, the two have different mentalities as well.
       
      “Luke Robards is really focused,” the coach said. “He can be intense in the wrestling room. Luke Kemper is pretty layed back. He’s very coachable and he’s a lot of fun to have in the room.”
       
      Kemper’s dad, Jason, is one of the assistant coaches on the squad. Jason went to state as a wrestler and his other sons, Matt and Isaiah were also state qualifiers.
       
      “Winning a state title has always been my goal,” Kemper said. “Both of my brothers and my dad went to state. I would sit in my room and imagine myself winning a title.”
       
      Kemper had a setback his sophomore year. After just a few matches that season, he tore his ACL. He tried to wrestle through the pain for the next few meets, but soon realized he needed to take time to recover. He didn’t wrestle again that season.
       
      “The recovery was long and rough,” Kemper said. “There was a lot of food involved. I got up to about 185 pounds and that doesn’t bode well on a 5-7 guy.”
      Now the two wrestlers have their sites set on making the state tournament. When asked how it would feel if one punched their ticket to state but the other didn’t.
       
      “It would be heartbreaking if one of us made it and the other didn’t,” Luke Robards said. “We have been in this together since elementary. We want to finish this together.”
       
      As far as coaching their sons, or being coached by their dads go – the system they have in place has worked out well for all of them.
       
      “It’s been fun coaching my sons,” coach Robards said. “It’s had its challenges. It’s not easy coaching your kids. Jason and I balance it well. We do a good job of knowing when to step in and coach the other guy’s kid. It’s a good balance.”
       
      Luke Robards agrees.
       
      “It’s an interesting dynamic, that’s for sure,” Luke Robards said. “They have been around us our whole lives. They know how we operate, and they get us. They know where we need to improve. And, when we go home, they know when to still talk with us about things or when to back off.”
       
      Both grapplers are looking to wrestle in college. They aren’t sure where they want to go yet. Robards wants to study pre-law and Kemper wants to go into exercise science. They know there may come a time in the future where they won’t be wrestling with each other.
       
      “It’s a unique situation because we’ve pushed each other pretty hard since we were babies,” Luke Robards said. “It will be weird, for sure, not having each other as partners in college. I’ll miss him. But, I’m sure we will still wrestle each other in the offseason and still push each other to get better.”
       

      3006 2

      #MondayMatness: Slothing Around with Kyle Hatch

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      A willingness to learn has led to steady improvement and a bright outlook for one Warsaw Tiger.
      Kyle Hatch began to make a name for himself on the Indiana high school wrestling scene during his freshman campaign at Warsaw.
      As a 106-pounder, he placed fourth at the prestigious Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka in late December and went on to finish eighth in the his division at the 2014 IHSAA State Finals.
      As a sophomore, the son of former two-time state finalist Dan Hatch (qualifier at 135 in 1991 and eighth place at 140 in 1992), grew to 120 and won the Al Smith and placed seventh in the state in 2015.
      Now it’s 2015-16 and Kyle Hatch has begun his junior season with several dominant performances, the most recent during the Raider Super Duals Saturday, Dec. 12, at Northridge.
      Kyle Hatch competed at both 145 and 138 pounds, but said he is likely to go at the lighter weight the rest of the way, including the Al Smith on Dec. 28-29.
      “Technique-wise I’d be OK (at 145), but the strength wasn’t always there,” Kyle Hatch said.
      Eighth-year Tigers head coach Justin Smith supports Hatch supports Hatch on his decision of weight — 138 or 145 — for the rest of the regular season and the IHSAA tournament series.
      “I think he would be successful wherever he went,” Smith said. “A lot of it is what he feels. If he has a lot of confidence at one weight class or the other and wants to charge in, we’re going to let him.”
      Kyle Hatch is improving as he goes along.
      “I’m still learning a lot,” Kyle Hatch said. “I’ve learned that I need to contain my hips and make sure they stay balanced and equal on each side.”
      That is advice from Smith and father Dan Hatch, a Warsaw assistant coach.
      Smith, who has been watching the young Hatch wrestle since “he was knee-high to a grasshopper (Kyle started in second grade and later excelled at Warsaw’s Lakeview Middle School), admires the way father and son operate.
      “They have a good relationship,” Smith said. “I just interject once in a while and give a fresh perspective.”
      Wrestling becomes even more of a family affair when you consider that Kyle’s cousin, Tyler Fitzpatrick, is a junior wrestler at NorthWood High School.
      Dan Hatch said the coaching staff likes for all Warsaw wrestlers to be able to break down their matches to be able to fix flaws. Sometimes this is done with video analysis.
      “Kyle can usually point out the stuff faster than the rest of us can,” Dan Hatch said.
      Smith, a former Homestead High School wrestler who was an assistant at his alma mater and head coach at Fort Wayne Wayne before going to Warsaw, sees an ability in Kyle Hatch to make necessary adjustments.
      “He works on every aspect of his wrestling — neutral position, bottom and top,” Smith said of the young Hatch. “He’s at the point where he doesn’t have to make wholesale changes. We just pick out little things that are going to make him more effective, things like putting the hips in.”
      Kyle Hatch has also learned to use his legs and his strength while on top to turn his opponent.
      “His strength is deceiving,” Smith said. “He does not have a lot of bulk in his upper body, but he is fast and strong.”
      Kyle Hatch notes that he’s getting better at takedowns and riding. His father said it’s hard to get much quality time working on escapes when you need someone capable of holding you down.
      Those opportunities are bound to come at the Al Smith.
      “I can’t wait for that.” Kyle Hatch said.

      2992 22 2

      #WrestlingWednesday: Garcia has a new approach to his Junior year

      By JEREMY HINES
      thehines7@gmail.com
      If Asa Garcia ever needed a nickname, perhaps The Fireman would be the most fitting.
      Sure, the Avon junior’s favorite wrestling move is the fireman’s carry - but that’s not the only reason for the nickname. Firemen are some of the bravest men on the planet. While most sane people run in the opposite direction of a fire, firefighters run towards it. Garcia is one of those that run toward the fire.
      A perfect example of this came a few weeks ago when Avon competed in the team state tournament. Garcia knew that he would have a gauntlet of top tier opponents in his path. He couldn’t wait for the challenge.
      Garcia, the top ranked wrestler in an absolutely stacked 126 pound class this year, beat two returning state champions and a fourth place finisher in team state. He dropped last year’s 120 pound champ, Cayden Rooks (now ranked No. 2 at 126 pounds) 3-1. He beat last year’s 113 pound champ Alec Viduya (ranked No. 3 at 126) 7-5 and he also knocked off fifth ranked Colin Poynter, who finished fourth at 120 last year, 3-2.
      “Asa was excited for the opportunity to get so many good matches at team state,” Avon coach Zach Errett said. “He was really looking at it as an opportunity more than anything. He knew he was going to get to wrestle and compete with some of the best kids in the state. That’s who he is. He looks to compete, always. I enjoy that about him. He wants to wrestle the best people.”
      Garcia said he approached team state with the mentality that it was going to make him a better wrestler, no matter what happened.
      “I knew the tournament would be tough,” Garcia said. “I’ve beaten those guys before, but I’ve also taken my lumps to some of them. You don’t know how well you’ll perform until you get out there and do it. Right now, wins and losses don’t matter anyway. If I took a loss or two, it wouldn’t have affected me. At the end of the day, the state tournament is when it really matters. Everything up until that point is practice.”
      Garcia won state as a freshman at 106 pounds. He came into that tournament with six losses, but emerged as the champ after pinning Warren Central senior Keyuan Murphy in just under two minutes.
      “Getting under the lights is an experience that’s tough to explain,” Garcia said. “You would think you’d be really nervous. But, everything just shuts down and you probably wrestle the best you’ve ever wrestled in your life.”
      This year Garcia is making great strides because his approach to practicing has changed. Instead of practicing to get down to weight, he’s practicing to get better.
      “Last year stung a little not winning (he placed third at 113),” Garcia said. “It was a tough season all around. I was cutting too much weight and it showed when things started to count. I was like 133 pounds during the week and I was cutting to 113. I wasn’t able to practice to get better, I was practicing to get the weight off. This year is much different. I’m able to maintain my weight and in practice I’m really able to focus on improving.”
      One of the keys to Garcia’s wrestling success is his ability to learn and expand his arsenal.
      “One of the things I really love about wrestling is when you get out of your comfort zone and do something you aren’t used to,” Garcia said. “It’s no secret my favorite move is the fireman’s carry - but I’ve been able to build a more elaborate offense because I worked on things I wasn’t comfortable doing. You have to work on them until you are comfortable with them.”
      Garcia’s top priority this year is to get back under the lights and to claim his second state title.
      “You think of getting under those lights all year long,” Garcia said. “You plan in your mind what your celebration would be like. You constantly think of how you want to wrestle and how you react when you win. But, all of that shuts down when you’re actually in the moment. You just have to let go and have fun.”
      As a team, Avon breaks down after every practice with a chant of “State Champs.” Garcia knows that after that, it’s his turn to run toward the fire.

      2971 3 1

      #WrestlingWednesday: Three-sport athlete KJ Roudebush ready for the challenge

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      Most wrestling stories don’t begin like K.J. Roudebush’s did. Then again, most wrestlers aren’t wired quite like the three-sport star from Tipton, either.
      Roudebush got into wrestling as a punishment, and because a household lamp was broken.
      “It’s really a funny story,” the Tipton senior said. “I was in fifth grade and my oldest brother was in college so my middle brother and I were downstairs wrestling around. Right when dad got home from work we were still wrestling and my brother and I had gotten mad at each other and one of my mom’s lamps got broken. My dad wasn’t happy. He said if we wanted to continue wrestling at home, we were going to join the wrestling team. I went to the wrestling team and I just fell in love with it.”
      Roudebush is currently ranked No. 10 in the state at 195 pounds. He lost in the ticket round last year at the New Castle semistate to current No. 1-ranked junior Silas Allred of Shenandoah.
      Roudebush doesn’t make excuses for that loss.
      “Silas is something special,” he said. “I went out on the mat and he just dominated me. I couldn’t do anything. I wasn’t tired or anything, he was just better than me.”
      This season Roudebush wants to go one step further than he did last year. He wants to advance to the state tournament.
      For Roudebush, wrestling is a part-time gig. Unlike most highly ranked Indiana wrestlers, Roudebush doesn’t wrestle in the offseason. Summers are for baseball and the fall is for his first love, football. Roudebush plays quarterback on Tipton’s offense and splits time between linebacker and defensive end on defense.
      “K.J. is in the top 10 of his class,” Tipton coach Mark Barker said. “He’s such an intelligent guy and he’s a leader in every sport he does. To me, he’s one of those exceptional people that don’t come along that often. If he focused solely on wrestling, I really think it would be hard for anyone to beat him.
      “But I like multi-sport athletes. The more sports you do the better you’ll become at all of them. That’s the way things have always been here at Tipton.”
      Currently Tipton has just seven wrestlers. For Roudebush, that’s perfectly fine.
      “Being on such a small team could really suck, but we get a lot more attention from the coaches,” Roudebush said. “Our individual time with the coaches is through the roof. We’ve never had a big team. I think the most I’ve seen here is 10 wrestlers. Because of that, we don’t win a lot of matches as a team, but when you look at our head-to-head and don’t count forfeits, we’ve won close to 40 duals. We also have a very close bond with each other. I wouldn’t trade that for a bigger program with more practice partners.”
      The Tipton team has adopted a philosophy through necessity. The goal is for every wrestler in the lineup to pin their opponent. If they do that, they have a shot at winning dual meets.
      “We know what we are up against going into the match,” Roudebush said. “Coach tells us we’re starting out down 24-0, or something like that. We know every single one of us have to pin in order for us to win. It’s awesome. All of a sudden, Bam! We pin everyone and pull off the surprise win. We love that challenge. When we get people on their backs, we keep them there.”
      In practice Roudebush alternatese from wrestling with the team’s heavyweight, sophomore Nate Morgan to wrestling with their 145-pounder Blake Hicks.
      “Nate is stronger than me and that makes me really focus on my technique,” Roudebush said. “Blake is a scrapper. He’s good on top and he can put the legs in. He has a mean crossface cradle and he’s tough. It helps me a lot getting to wrestle with guys with different body types and strengths.”
      Roudebush beat Elwood’s Jalen Morgan last year 5-2 to claim the sectional title. Morgan reversed that decision in regional, winning 3-2. That put Morgan on the opposite side of the semistate bracket as Allred. Morgan advanced to the championship match, losing to Allred but still advancing to state. Roudebush was eliminated in the second round.
      “I want to go one step further,” he said. “That’s all I’m worried about. We have a tough sectional. The regional is even harder and I think New Castle is arguably one of the most difficult semistates. My focus is on getting past the ticket round. I’m worried about each match in front of me because wrestling is a different kind of sport. Anyone can win. You have to be ready at all times.”
       

      2963 3

      #MondayMatness: Manchester’s Moore looking to make his move in senior season

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Delton Moore has already accomplished a great deal during his athletic career at Manchester High School.
      But the Squires senior wants to do more.
      The featured running back on the Manchester football team in the fall, he ran and ran. He racked up 334 yards in a game against neighboring Wabash. He wound up with 1,701 yards and 17 touchdowns.
      The early part of the season has been a transition in getting into wrestling shape.
      “It’s never as easy as it would be from the outside looking in,” says Moore. “Wrestling condition is a whole different type of condition than football. Football is more strength training. Wrestling is more endurance training.”
      On the wrestling mat, Moore carries a career mark of 111-28 and season record of 17-2 (his two losses are both to Rochester senior Zane Gilbreath) heading into the Jan. 5 East Noble Invitational. He was an IHSAA State Finals qualifier at 170 pounds in 2018. He earned Peru Sectional and Peru Regional titles as a 160-pound sophomore and placed third at the Fort Wayne Semistate as a junior. He has been in the varsity lineup since his freshmen year, starting out at 145 and moving up.
      Competing this season at 170 (with some bouts at 182), Moore reached the 100-win mark during the Dec. 1 Wabash County Tournament.
      All four of Randy and Jenny Moore’s boys — Clayton (Class of 2015), Quentin (2017), Delton (2019) and Ashton (2020) — have wrestled for Manchester.
      Clayton Moore was a two-time state qualifier. Quentin Moore was a four-time semistate qualifier.
      Delton’s usual workout partner has been 182-pounder sophomore Trescott Duffy.
      “I try to pick the toughest,” says Moore. “He’s a hammer. He works really hard. I’m focusing on getting him ready for his next few years.
      “He’s like a sponge. He soaks everything up.”
      Younger brother Ashton, a 195-pounder, sometimes spars with Delton. Home on his break from Ancilla College, older sibling and Quentin has also drilled with Delton.
      “I’ve been practicing pretty hard,” says Delton Moore. “I was looking a little slower and heavier on my feet so I’ve been working on our feet quite a bit and building the endurance.
      “You can never have too good of endurance.”
      Manchester head coach Byron Sweet cites Delton’s best qualities.
      “He has a lot of athletic ability and is very explosive,” says Sweet.
      “He’s one of those guys who work hard. He has great attendance at morning workouts.
      “He does a lot of work in the weight room and extra time to get better.”
      Those weight sessions have helped condition Delton’s body and mind.
      “You start grinding in the morning and keep going,” says Moore.
      “Calluses start building up.”
      Sweet notes that Moore is pretty solid on his feet and has been competing this season with freshman 120-pounder Dylan Stroud for the team lead in takedowns.
      Delton spends part of the school day at Heartland Career Center in Wabash and works part-time for Chad Lambright at C&C Machining in North Manchester. After graduation, Moore hopes to follow Lambright to a new operation in Plymouth.
      Besides wrestling, football and machining, Delton has been involved in the Campus Life program with Youth for Christ throughout his high school days.
      To not be consumed by sports, a rule in the Moore house allows the boys to be in no more than two until they are seniors. Delton plans to add track and field in the spring.
      Sweet trains his high school wrestlers with a college mindset. He grappled at Manchester College (now Manchester University) 2005-08 and was an assistant to Spartans head coach Matt Burlingame, who is now an assistant to Sweet at Manchester High.
      “We go for multiple takedowns to break (an opponent),” says Sweet. “We tell our kids to never be scared to let a kid up if you think you can take him down again.”
      Burlingame wrestled at Virginia Tech. Quentin Moore brings his experience to the practice room as does Will Mikesell, who grappled for Sweet at North Miami High School.
      Sweet was at North Miami for six years prior to Manchester High. He became an assistant to Jeremiah Maggert and then took over when Maggert left for Jimtown High School.
      Sweet is a 2002 West Lafayette High School graduate. As a 152-pound senior, he lost to Mishawaka’s Jim Schultz in the “ticket” round at the Merrillville Semistate. Schultz went to state three times (qualifier at 152 in 2001, third at 152 in 2002, third at 160 in 2003).
      The coach uses that as an example for his athletes. You can’t control the draw so wrestle the best you can at the previous level.
      Sweet has had five state qualifiers during his career as a head coach — four in his six seasons at North Miami and Moore last winter at Manchester. North Miami’s Alan Mock went at 106 in 2012 and 113 in 2013, Levi McKee at 145 in 2013 and Evan Beach at 285 in 2015. With nine underclassmen in 2018-19, including 126-pound sophomore Elijah Burlingame, consistently in the lineup, Sweet has watched his Squires climb into the Class 1A team rankings. Manchester won Rochester’s John McKee Memorial Invitational Dec. 22.
      Sweet doubles as junior high coach to help build the program from the younger levels.
      “It’s important for the head coach to show he cares at every level,” says Sweet. “We want to make it where wrestling is one of the most solidly consistent sports at the school.
      “We’re on the right track. We’ve just got to keep working.”
       

      2950 1

      #MondayMatness: ‘Compete’ mantra leads Western Panthers to mat success

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      When the “Parade of Champions” begins circling the mats at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Friday, Feb. 21, the Western Panthers will be well-represented.
       
      Coming off the program’s second semistate team championship and first since 1994, Western will have senior Hunter Cottingham (42-2 at 132 pounds), juniors Braydon Erb (42-3 at 285) and Anthony Martin (39-3 at 106) and sophomore Hayden Shepherd (39-5 at 138) competing on Indiana high school wrestling’s biggest stage.
       
      Shepherd placed second at the Fort Wayne Semistate and the other third finished third.
       
      Seven of eight Western wrestlers at the semistate were first-round winners and Cottingham, Erb, Martin and Shepherd won in the “ticket round” to give the Panthers 53 of their meet-winning 72 points.
       
      “I think we picked up a few bonus points along the way,” says Western head coach Chad Shepherd. “It was a group effort for sure.”
       
      Shepherd says his team is especially strong at the lower weights.
       
      “I’ve said a couple of times this year that not that we’d beat them all, but there’s not a team in Indiana that I’d be afraid to wrestle from 106 to 138 because we’re pretty good,” says Shepherd. “Our guys go out and compete and they work hard.”
       
      Shepherd, a Western graduate, explains his philosophy.
       
      “Basically, my thing is go out and compete, don’t take anything for granted,” says Shepherd. “Win the matches you should win and along the way maybe pick off a couple that maybe you shouldn’t win.
       
      “The guys buy into that.”
       
      Cottingham is now a four-time state qualifier and is looking to get past the first round for the first time.
       
      Shepherd was a state champion at 135 in 1991 and went to Indianapolis after placing third at semistate and stressed that to Cottingham.
       
      “It can be done,” says Shepherd. “We need to get through that first night and get on the podium.”
       
      Cottingham likes to be aggressive.
       
      “If I can get to my offense, I don’t think too many people can stop me.” says Cottingham. “I’ve just got to find my rhythm.”
       
      “Right now it’s survive and advance. I have to keep fighting.”
       
      Western won the 2A title at the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals in 2018-19 and placed third in 2019-20.
       
      “Our team was definitely different this year,” says Cottingham. “Our main core group of guys stuck together and some freshmen came in and helped us this year. We’ve progressed into a pretty solid team.”
       
      Cottingham and Hayden Shepherd are regular drill partners.
       
      “We push each other around,” says Cottingham.
       
      Shepherd says Erb is still getting acclimated in grappling with wrestlers closer to the 285 limit.
       
      “He’s at 250,” says Shepherd of Erb. “For a heavyweight, that’s not huge. He’s probably the smallest heavyweight that go through (the Fort Wayne Semistate) weight-wise.”
       
      “Braydon can wrestle with those guys.”
       
      Erb says this year’s squad excelled more in the tournament format.
       
      “We can really get on teams and win them,” says Erb, who tumbles in the practice room with assistant coach Tommy Skinner and occasionally with brother Braxton Erb (Western Class of 2017).
       
      Martin experienced his first wrestling season as a freshman and has been varsity the past two seasons. He was semistate qualifier in 2019and lost in a quick first-round pin.
       
      “Anthony probably put in as much work as any of them over the summer between open workouts, the weight room and going to tournaments,” says Shepherd. “It paid off.”
       
      Martin assesses his strengths.
       
      “I’m a lot stronger than most of the 106-pounders I wrestle,” says Martin. “I’m pretty fast. I’m better at staying on my feet and getting takedowns.”
       
      Martin says the coaching staff tells him to stay mentally strong through his matches and to “keep wrestling.”
       
      Martin’s regular workout partners are juniors Aidan Belt (120) and Justin Brantley (126), who were also semistate qualifiers along with senior Chandler Ciscell (126) and freshman M.J. Norman (182).
       
      “(Belt and Brantley) are always pushing me,” says Martin. “There’s a real good middle schooler — (eighth grader) Tanner Tishner. He just won middle school state (at 95 pounds). He’s not very big, but his technique is crazy. He pushes me a lot, too.”
       
      Hayden Shepherd is the coach’s son.
       
      “For him to make it to the State Finals in his first two years is pretty good,” says Chad Shepherd.
       
      Hayden Shepherd is impressed with his team.
       
      “We’ve got some really good dudes – guys who go out there and get us some bonus points and win us some matches,” says the younger Shepherd.
       
      Finishing well is the coach’s advice that echoes in Hayden’s ears.
       
      “Win the third period,” says Shepherd. “If you win the third period, it’s likely you’ll win the match.”
       
      What does State Week look like for the Western Panthers?
       
      “We’re going to focus on getting our weight down, keeping our conditioning and we will work on a few things we should have done (at semistate),” says Shepherd. “We’re not going to reinvent the wheel. We got to the State Finals wrestling certain way and that’s how we’re going to wrestle.”

      2930 4

      #WrestlingWednesday: Hadley is first from Lapel to wrestle at state

      By JEREMY HINES
      thehines7@gmail.com
      In middle school Harrison Hadley weighed 60 pounds but had to wrestle in the 75 pound weight class because that was the smallest class available. Today, he’s the big man on campus at Lapel High School.
      Hadley, a junior 106-pounder for the Bulldogs, became the school’s first wrestler to ever reach the state finals when he defeated South Dearborn’s Eli Otto 13-5 in the ticket round of the New Castle semistate.
      “I definitely feel like I’m the big man on campus right now,” Hadley said. “The elementary school made this big banner for me and everyone signed it. People are going up to me in the halls and around town telling me congratulations and wishing me luck. The school recognized me for advancing. It’s pretty cool right now.”
      Lapel has been a school since before the 1870s. At first Lapel was a one-room school house, but over time the location has changed and school buildings have come and gone. The school’s history is one of the oldest in the state. To be the very first athlete to accomplish going to state is something first-year coach Jake Stilwell doesn’t believe has fully sunk in for Hadley yet.
      “This is huge for Lapel wrestling,” Stilwell said. “There have only been five semistate qualifiers in school history. For our program, this is absolutely huge. The younger kids see that state isn’t something impossible now. They see it can be done.
      “It’s never occurred here before and most people didn’t think it could happen. Now they see Harrison has done it, and it gives them hope. I don’t even know if Harrison has grasped what has happened. It will take a little time for this to all settle in.”
      After Hadley won the ticket-round match he immediately wanted to watch film on the match to see what he could have done differently. That’s what he does every match, win or lose.
      “I like to see what type of positions I exposed myself to,” Hadley said. “I look at how I could have improved. I look for things that will take me to the next level. I always critique myself, even if I tech fall or pin a kid.”
      Stilwell wanted Hadley to take a moment to take in the importance of what he had accomplished at semistate.
      “He was very excited when he won,” Stilwell said. “But when he came off the mat he likes to dive right into what just happened and look for ways to improve. We had to stop him and remind him about what he just accomplished. He was excited, but wasn’t showing that emotion. He was still just trying to think of what he could have done differently.”
      According to Harrison, the person most excited after the ticket round was his mom, Sonya.
      “She was crying and everything,” Hadley said. “She was telling me how proud she was of me. I’ve never really seen her like that. It was a great moment.”
      Hadley enters the state tournament with a record of 39 wins and only three losses. Two of those losses came last week at semistate. Hadley fell to Perry Meridian’s Alex Cottey in the semifinal round, then lost to Warren Central’s David Pierson in the consolation match.
      Hadley, who likes to race 600cc mini sprint cars in his free time, has wrestled 106 pounds his entire high school career. As a freshman he came into the season weighing just 99 pounds. He’s put on about five pounds per year, but is easily able to get down to weight for the wrestling season.
      Hadley is hoping his victory could help the team. He says it’s great to go to state, but it would be much sweeter going there with teammates also competing.
      “I see some schools take nine or 10 guys to state,” Hadley said. “I think that would be awesome. Just seeing Cathedral’s team and how well they did at semistate and the bond those guys have, it’s fun to watch.
      “Our program has struggled. We have never been that strong. But, if we can start advancing more kids it will really help build things up.”
      Last year Lapel had just eight wrestlers. This year there are 17 on the Bulldog roster.
      “Lapel is a school that has some good athletes,” Stilwell said. “The challenge is to get those kids to go out for wrestling. I really think Harrison’s success is going to help with that.”
      Hadley will take on Brownsburg freshman Kysen Montgomery (38-7) in the Friday night match.
      “For me, wrestling is an escape from everything,” Hadley said. “It’s something that helps me focus on my goals. It helps me in life situations and helps build my character. Right now my major goal is to be able to wrestle in college.”

      2930 2 4

      #WrestlingWednesday: Irick back bigger and better

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Hamilton Southeastern senior Andrew Irick suffered a devastating knee injury in the spring of his junior year. It might have been the best thing for him.
       
      Irick knew, because of the injury (he tore his ACL, MCL and meniscus), he wouldn’t be able to remain in the 220-pound weight class. He also knew he needed to get stronger, but he couldn’t do much with his legs in the weight room due to the surgery on his knee and the recovery time needed. So, he started working upper body. Weight gain wasn’t an issue because he was planning to bump up to heavyweight for his senior season.
       
      “He probably put on 55 pounds,” HSE coach Nick Brobst said. “He’s a totally rebuilt athlete now. His wrestling reflects that. He’s bigger, way, way stronger and way more aggressive with his attacks. Wrestling in the heavyweight division makes him look even faster. He’s a much, much improved wrestler over what he was last year.”
       
      Last season Irick was no slouch. He had his best season of his career, ultimately finishing fourth at state.
       
      Irick started out as a freshman in the 182-pound class. He then moved up to 195 as a sophomore and 220 as a junior. Those early weight class competitions forced Irick to get better on his feet. That has ultimately helped him now that he’s in the heavyweight class.
       
      Irick’s older brother Matt wrestled for Indiana University. His other brother, Spencer, wrestles for IU now. Matt worked a lot with Andrew to help him on his feet and with takedowns. That has transformed Irick’s attack on the mat.
       
      “He has got a lot more aggressive on his feet,” Brobst said. “We used to joke that he wrestled using what we called the ‘Irick stall’ where he would do anything and everything to make a match last forever. Last year he started developing his own gas tank and now he doesn’t want the matches to go that long.
       
      “He still has that heavyweight mentality to a tee,” Brobst said. “Last year he won on Friday night at state. At weigh-ins Saturday morning his teammate was eating yogurt, fruit and a granola bar. Andrew is there eating a bag of leftover Halloween candy. He said ‘this is what I do. Leave the process alone.’ “
       
      Irick is currently ranked No. 2 in the state in the 285-pound class. He’s ranked just below Brownsburg’s returning state champion Dorian Keys. The two could potentially wrestle in 10 days at the Hoosier Crossroads Conference tournament.
       
      “Conference is important,” Irick said. “But ultimately my goal is to win a state championship and that’s the bigger picture for me right now. I want to be at my best come tournament time.”
       
      According to coach Brobst, Andrew goes through a whole gamut of emotions before he wrestles.
       
      “Andrew is probably the first kid I’ve coached in 10 years that’s just never serious,” Brobst said. “He’s a complete goofball everywhere he goes. But come meet time, he goes through this process. He’s nervous at first. Then he starts doubting himself and thinking he can’t beat the other guy. Then he decides he’s going to go out and kick that guy’s butt. Something clicks and he’s ready to go. It’s like that every match.”
       
      Irick is in the top 10 percent of his class academically. He has a 4.27 GPA and plans to follow in his brothers’ footsteps and wrestle at Indiana University next season. He will study biology or chemistry with the goal of becoming a doctor.
       
      Like wrestling, becoming a doctor runs in the family. Both of Irick’s parents are doctors, his grandfather is a doctor, his uncle is a doctor and both of his brothers are studying to be doctors.
       
      “It’s hard to see him as a doctor, knowing him as an 18-year old,” Brobst said. “But I have no doubt that he will be. He might go into a field where he works with kids. He’s extremely good with kids. My son is a kindergartener and thinks Andrew walks on water.”
       
      Irick is focused on getting back to state this year and potentially making is way to the championship match.
       
      “The atmosphere at state is just indescribable,” Irick said. “I can’t wait to get back there.”

      2928 1

      #MondayMatness: Attica Red Ramblers’ Douglass goes far and wide to get better

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Jorden Douglass wears the singlet of the Red Ramblers of Attica Junior/Senior High School. So its fitting that this standout wrestler has done plenty of traveling to improve his skills.
      After becoming his school’s first IHSAA State Finals qualifier in 2018, Douglass hit the road again to find wrestlers and coaches that could make him better. Last summer, he made the trek to Avon to work out at Chad Red’s Red Cobra Wrestling Academy. He also competed with the Indiana Flash, led by Wheeler High School coaches Jose Diaz and Yusef Mohmed. He’s gone with the Outlaws in Virginia Beach, Va.
      Douglass has trained with Warren Central’s Brice Coleman and Antwaun Graves. He has worked out at clubs and in wrestling rooms all around Indiana and competed all over the Midwest. Since he was about 8, parents Dan and Tamara Douglass has supported his dedication to the mat sport.
      “My parents pay a lot of money for me to do that sorts of stuff,” says Douglass, now a 145-pound junior who takes a 36-0 record into the East Chicago Semistate on Saturday, Feb. 9. “I always want to improve.”
      “I don’t want to feel like I plateau.”
      Dan Douglass wrestled at Clinton Central High School, graduating in 1987. Greg Moe was head coach of the Bulldogs when he was in elementary and junior high. Dan Callahan was his high school coach. He has watched his youngest son put in the mat time.
      “Jorden has worked hard,” says Dan Douglass. “He’s never satisfied where he was at. He’s tried to make himself better each year.”
      While his older brothers wrestled some before concentrating on baseball (Jacob, a member of Western Hugh School’s state runner-up in 2016, plays at Trine University and Joe, an all-stater at Clinton Central, played one season at Trine), Jorden made the mat his sport.
      “He loves the discipline,” says Dan Douglass. “And that does not have to rely on anybody else for his success.”
      Ryleigh Douglass, an eighth grader, looks forward to being a wrestling manager at Attica with his brother on the team.
      Dan Douglass was an assistant to Dean Branstetter at Clinton Central and is now on Branstetter’s Attica coaching staff along with Josh Barnett, Blair Brindle and Jay Hodge.
      Branstetter, a 1983 graduate of South Adams High School, where his wrestling coach was Steve Tatman, was head coach at Clinton Central 1988-2001. He spent one season at Mona Shores High School near Muskegon, Mich., then started the wrestling program at Marmion Academy in Aurora, Ill., and guided the Cadets for a decade before returning to Indiana at Attica in 2012.
      “He’s gotten a lot better on his feet,” says seventh-year Ramblers coach Branstetter of Jorden Douglass. “He was always good on-top. He can control and shorten a match on top.”
      Jorden Douglass looks to strengthen his weak areas.
      He was not very good from the bottom and his coaches avoided choosing that position for him. He has worked to make himself better there. It also helps when you don’t get put in that position too often.
      Douglass has not yielded a takedown so far during the 2018-19 season.
      “I like to push the pace,” says Douglass. “I try not to leave the opportunity (for my opponent) to get (a takedown) before I do.”
      Branstetter echoes that point.
      “If you get taken down and the kid is a hammer on top, it’s going to be hard to win,” says Branstetter.
      Douglass took the 2019 Lafayette Jeff Sectional and Logansport Regional titles with six first-period pins.
      “During tournament time, if the opportunity is there for the pin, I go for the pin,” says Douglass. “There’s no reason to make a mistake and go on my back.”
      The program and, consequently, Douglass have benefitted from a team schedule that has included the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals (the team placed 10th in Class 1A in January. It was the third appearance for the Ramblers in four years).
      Attica has 199 students and 15 of those are on the wrestling team.
      “It’s a hard sport,” says Branstetter. “Practices are tough and they have to be watching their weight.
      “The State Duals have been really neat for us.”
      There was also a two-day New Year’s Challenge in Danville, Ill. There, Douglass faced off with ranked grapplers from Illinois and Wisconsin. This season was the second that the Ramblers have taken the same postseason path. When Douglass was a freshman, Attica went through the Crawfordsville Sectional, North Montgomery Regional and New Castle Semistate.
      As a 132-pound freshman in 2017, Douglass won sectional and regional crowns and lost to eventual semistate champion Breyden Bailey of Indianapolis Cathedral in the “ticket round” at New Castle. As a 145-pound sophomore, he earned sectional and regional titles, placed second at semistate then lost by technical fall in the first round at the State Finals to eventual third-place finishers Jake Schoenegge of Columbus East.
      The level has been raised in the Rambler practice room this season with nine wrestlers qualifying for regional and seven others making it to semistate along with Douglass — junior Jack Hargan (first at 195), junior Avery Miller (second at 106), senior Koaldon Kerr (second at 160), junior Jordan Hodge (third at 120), senior Jacob Demumbrun (third at 195), junior Johnny Synesael (fourth at 160) and senior Hunter Purple (fourth at 152).
      Douglass says he would like to wrestle in college and study to become a conservation officer with a degree in criminal justice. While the Douglass family has about three acres at home, they like to hunt on property owned by good friends in Parke County.
      But his current focus is on what’s in front of him and that’s the East Chicago Semistate and a chance to be Attica’s first two-time state qualifier.

      2915 1 1

      #MondayMatness: Yorktown’s McCormick has one last memorable go-round at State Finals

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      When Trent McCormick became head wrestling coach at Yorktown High School, he was a teenager leading teenagers.
      Over the decades, McCormick turned the Tigers into a mat powerhouse.
      In his 30 seasons, Yorktown sent many wrestlers to the State Finals in Indianapolis. Fifty-nine times, they headed back to Delaware County as state placers.
      Six times, they were state champions — Ross Janey (285 in 2010), Devon Jackson (138 in 2012), Rhett Hiestand (160 in 2014), Brad Laughlin (160 in 2017), Brayden Curtis (106 in 2017 and 113 in 2018). McCormick, 50, has announced his retirement and he steps away as the leader of the program with a memorable last go-round at the State Finals.
      “We were a small team this year,” said McCormick Saturday, Feb. 17 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. “There were a lot of studs on the team. We always like to say, ‘Steel sharpens steel.’ It’s been a long, grueling season and to have four state placers and six state qualifiers, I was very proud of them.”
      McCormick, a state champion at 185 for Delta in 1986 and an Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer, took his boys back to the State Finals after winning the 22nd sectional, 13th regional and eighth semistate of his career.
      At Indy, junior Brayden Curtis (40-0) bested New Castle junior Andrew Black 6-0 in the finals to become a two-time state champion on McCormick’s watch.
      “He knows how to plan and he knows how to coach us mentally and physically,” said Curtis of McCormick. “He’s a huge part of my success as well as (assistant) coach (Kenny) O’Brien.” Senior Christian Hunt (48-1) concluded his Yorktown career as a state runner-up at 145.
      “It was a great honor to go out and represent my school,” said Hunt.
      “I definitely wanted to come out with a first, but second isn’t too bad.”
      “As a senior, I wanted to send Coach McCormick out on a positive note,” said McCormick. “I did absolutely the best I could.”
      Senior Alex Barr (48-3) placed sixth at 132.
      Senior Zach Todd (42-8) came in seventh at 106.
      State qualifiers were junior Eric Hiestand (42-4) at 152 and sophomore Holden Parsons (39-6) at 285.
      The Tigers finished seventh in the team standings. During McCormick’s run, Yorktown has been state runner-up twice and won four team state duals championships.
      A lay coach for 18 years who transitioned into teaching and has been in the classroom for the past 12, McCormick said he plans to spend more time with loved ones. He also plans to travel and that means going to West Point, N.Y., to see son Cael McCormick wrestle for Army. Cael was a three-time state medalist at Yorktown.
      “I’m going to spend some more time with the family and not so much time in the gymnasium,” said McCormick.



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