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      2789

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Kadin Poe Back on the Mat

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      In an instance Kadin Poe went from a wrestling standout, to someone broken so badly he wasn’t sure he’d be able to wrestle again.
       
      It happened on a Monday evening in May, near Murray St., in Indianapolis. Poe and his friend Kyle Dicecco were just walking home. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a dark colored Chrysler 300 came barreling down the street, right into Poe. He hit the windshield and landed on the side of the road. The car never stopped. To this day, the driver’s identity is not known.
       
      But what is known is that Poe, who had qualified for the IHSAA state championships as a wrestler earlier in the year, was now in a battle for his life. He had a broken neck, a concussion, his eyes were swollen, his hands and back were scraped badly.
       
      “I was just walking to get my book bag from my buddy’s house,” Poe said. “He lived two streets over at the time. I was walking back with him. I stopped at the stop sign and then a car came and hit me.”
       
      At first Kyle tried to chase the car down to get more information. But he quickly returned to his friend, picked him up and walked him home. Poe was quickly transported to the hospital, where he spent several days.
       
      Doctors initially weren’t sure if Poe would be able to wrestle again, because of the severity of the neck injury. But soon he was told that he would have no permanent damage. That’s when the recovery began. Poe was going to wrestle again – and nothing was standing in his way.
       
      “My mom really helped me more than anything,” Poe said. “She and my coaches pushed me, even when I didn’t want to be pushed.”
       
      Poe had gained a lot of weight due to the recovery process. At first he wasn’t allowed to exercise, so he sit at home on medication. He quickly got up to over 150 pounds.
       
      “The hardest part of battling back was getting back into shape and getting my weight back down,” Poe said. “A lot of people were doubting me. Everything at that point was just tough.”
       
      But Poe did make it back. This season he opened the year wrestling a match at 138 pound. He pinned his opponent. But in his next match he injured his shoulder and is expected to miss two to three more weeks because of the injury.
       
      He is hoping he can be back sooner, and be trimmed down to 126 pounds in the process.
       
      “I want to win a state title within the next two years,” Poe, a junior at Decatur Central, said. “Then I want to go on and win nationals in college. I will bounce back from this.”
       
      Poe’s coach, Angelo Roble, believes in his wrestler.
       
      “I remember him sitting in the hospital with tubes running all through him,” Roble said. “But I never doubted that he would be back because he’s a tough kid. What makes him a great wrestler isn’t as much his technique, as it is his fight. He hates to lose more than he loves to win.”
       
      Poe believes going through this adversity has just fueled his desire to get stronger, and better on the mat.
       
      “It’s been a real struggle,” he said. “At first I was starting to think my career was over. And now I’m back to wrestling. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m back.”
       
      Roble credits Poe’s mentality for his rapid progression.
       
      “Anything this kid puts his mind to, he does well,” Roble said. “We do a lot of things to have fun in practice, like playing football. He always wants to be the quarterback. He wants to have the ball if he is playing basketball and in the wrestling room he wants center circle so everyone knows it’s his room. I hope that attitude carries over to everything in life. All he has to do is put in the effort and he will be successful.”

      2720 1

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Hurford Wraps up Successful NJCAA Career

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       
       

      By JEREMY HINES
      jerhines@cinergymetro.net
       
      Former Culver Community wrestling standout Matt Hurford is making a name for himself in the junior college ranks.
       
      Hurford recently finished as runner-up in the National Junior College Athletic Association championships. The Ellsworth Community College sophomore has placed runner-up in the championships both of his years at the school.
       
      Ellsworth is a two-year college program. So now Hurford is weighing his options and hoping to wrestle Division I for the remainder of his collegiate years.
       
      “I’ve got several Division I coaches talking to me,” Hurford said. “I’ve just got to decide what I’m going to do and what the best fit for me is going to be.”
       
      At Culver Community High School Hurford ended his senior year on a high note. He won state at 182 pounds, beating Perry Meridian’s Jake Massengale 9-4 in the final.
       
      “That was probably the highlight of my wrestling career so far,” Hurford said. “I was so happy after that.”
       
      Ellsworth coach Cole Spree was pleased to have Hurford on his team the past two seasons.
       
      “He’s the hardest worker we have,” Spree said. “That is ultimately the key to his success. His work ethic and what he expects from himself is second to none. There are times in the room where he gets beat by the other guys, but that’s only because he practices so hard, he warms up so hard, he can wear himself out because he only knows one speed.”
       
      Spree said he loves to recruit Indiana wrestlers. Ellsworth is located in Iowa Falls, Iowa.
       
      “I’ve got one other kid from Indiana on my team right now (Merrillville’s Isaac Rentas),” Spree said. “A lot of Indiana kids don’t want to go far away. But the kids from Indiana are usually very grounded and seem to all come from very good programs and they know their wrestling.”
       
      Hurford admits he has work to do in order to be able to compete at the level he would like to in Division I.
       
      “I think my strength and my hard work are my two biggest assets,” he said. “But I still have to improve technique-wise.”
       
      Hurford wasn’t always a good wrestler. He started competing in second grade and struggled quite a bit up until about seventh grade.
       
      “I think seventh grade is when things really started to click for me,” Hurford said.
       
      Wrestling has been an uphill climb for Hurford since the beginning. He didn’t get recruited heavily out of high school, despite winning the state championship. But it didn’t stop him. Instead he went to Ellsworth to improve, and has done so. Spree contributes Hurford’s success to the amount of time he spends working to get better.
       
      “Matt doesn’t have freaky speed,” Spree said. “He doesn’t have anything that would make you say ‘wow.’ But he’s got that attitude that no matter what is put in front of him, he’ll go around it, or through it, or over it. He’ll do whatever it takes. That’s why he will continue to be a success.”
       
      If you have a story idea for #WrestlingWednesday, email jerhines@cinergymetro.net with your suggestion.

      1770

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Hudkins Overcoming Injuries to Succeed

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       
       

      By JEREMY HINES
      jerhines@cinergymetro.net
       
      Brock Hudkins is hoping his bad luck is finally behind him.
       
      The Danville junior 120-pounder has had untimely illnesses and injuries throughout his career. He broke his hand as a freshman, suffered from a severe case of dehydration at the state tournament as a sophomore and just recently recovered from a fractured finger.
       
      “Brock really has had a lot of bad luck,” Danville coach Steve Pugliese said. “He broke his hand his freshman year, and then he was sick at weigh-ins at state and couldn’t wrestle as a sophomore. This year he was working out on a Friday and ended up smashing his finger severely and had to lose a month of the season.
       
      “But he doesn’t let it affect him. “He understands that as long as he’s OK for the state tournament series, he can be a force.”
       
      When he has been on the wrestling mats, he’s been dominate. He missed a month of this season, but has advanced to Saturday’s Evansville semistate with a perfect record. Hudkins is currently 25-0 on the year.
       
      Hudkins started the season out as the No. 1 ranked 120-pounder in the state. Currently he is ranked fifth.
       
      As a freshman Hudkins finished fifth at 106 pounds.
       
      “I went into my high school career with the goal of winning four championships,” Hudkins said. “I finished fifth as a freshman. Everyone was telling me that fifth was a big deal. They would congratulate me on winning regional and semistate. But that wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted a state title.
       
      “I felt like I let myself down. I set my sights on winning the next year, but the cards didn’t play in my favor at all when I got sick at weigh-ins. But now, it’s all I think about. I want more than anything to get under those lights.”
       
      While most high school juniors enjoy video games, movies and having fun – Hudkins said his fun is wrestling. There is nothing else.
       
      “I completely believe that,” Pugliese said. “He has earned his success. He is always training. When he says he doesn’t do anything else, it’s true. He’s not just saying that. I think in the summer he probably wrestled 50 matches across the country and I don’t think he got beat.”
       
      Hudkins has a total of three losses in high school, yet he knew there were plenty of things to improve upon. According to Pugliese, he’s done that.
       
      “He has gotten a lot better on his feet,” Pugliese said. “We work on that 90 percent of our practice time, and it’s really showing now.”
       
      Pugliese feels that wrestlers at the elite level that Hudkins is at, have a certain quality that most wrestlers don’t exhibit.
       
      “When I took this job, Hudkins was in fourth grade,” Pugliese said. “Everyone talked about him and talked about him. Finally, when I saw him compete I found out why they were hyping him so much.
       
      “For him, like a lot of elite wrestlers, attitude is everything. He gets out in front of a bunch of people, and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care who’s watching him. He knows what he can do. He knows he’s earned his success. He knows he deserves to win the match.”
       
      Pugliese also said that Hudkins is never arrogant or cocky about his abilities.
       
      Hudkins truly loves wrestling.
       
      “I love everything about it,” he said. “It’s fun. It’s the main reason why I wrestle. But I also love competing against other people. You don’t have to rely on teammates. It’s you and one guy in the middle of the mat going at it. Best man wins.”
       
      After high school Hudkins hopes to wrestle for a Division 1 school. He is still contemplating his educational goals, but he’s narrowed it down to either a lawyer, a physical trainer or an engineer.
       
      Hudkins will face Evansville Memorial sophomore Nolan Schaefer (27-18) in the first round of the Evansville semistate on Saturday.
       
      If you have a #WrestlingWednesday feature idea, please contact Jeremy Hines at jerhines@cinergymetro.net.

      3366

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: From Rivals to Training Partners

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

      By JEREMY HINES
      jerhines@cinergymetro.net
       
      East Noble seniors Connor Knapp and Garrett Pepple weren’t exactly friends their freshman year. In fact, they didn’t even like each other much.
       
      The two were competing for the same varsity spot at 106 pounds. It was a position they both wanted badly. Ultimately, Knapp won the weight class and Pepple spent most of the season on the junior varsity squad. Knapp went on to qualify for state as a freshman.
       
      “My goal going into my freshman year was to qualify for state,” Pepple said. “I wanted to have a good record, too. But we had a solid team and I only weighed about 100 pounds. I had multiple chances to earn a spot. Connor and I wrestled off once, and he beat me. Then I went up to 113 pounds and I won the spot, until our 120 pounder dropped down and took it from me.
       
      “When you compete for a spot with someone it’s hard to be close friends. There was a little hate between us.”
       
      The next year, things changed. Knapp moved up to 113 pounds and Pepple stayed at 106. The two were no longer competing for the same spot, and they started to become friends.
       
      That season Pepple made a huge stride. He went from a JV wrestler the year before, to finishing second in the state as a sophomore. Knapp placed 4th.
       
      “At first we didn’t really talk much at all,” Knapp said. “But the next year we started to become friends. We started training together. Now he’s like my brother.”
       
      The two seniors began pushing each other to get better. Pepple is considered a very good top wrestler, and Knapp needed work on bottom. Pepple’s top work helped.
       
      “Garrett is really good on top,” Knapp said. “A lot of the stuff he does is what some of the top guys I go up against are going to do. He gives me a good idea of how to counter things. Pretty much in every position there are certain things he can do that normal wrestlers wouldn’t have the confidence to do. We both have our advantages and that helps push both of us.”
       
      As juniors Pepple placed second at 113 pounds. Knapp finished third at 120.
       
      “After finishing second my sophomore year I was happy with that,” Pepple said. “Maybe I was even a little complacent. But my junior year, my goal was a state championship and nothing else. Placing second still haunts me. I don’t want it to happen again.”
       
      Pepple says he has been much more focused this season. He is the No. 1 ranked 113 pounder in the state.
       
      “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of what it could be like to win a state championship,” Pepple said. “My dream, my goal is to be a state champ. That’s all I can think about. I’ve visualized myself winning so many times. I walk around my room just thinking about it for hours. I have even planned my celebration if I win. It won’t be anything cocky, but I’ll definitely celebrate if I can win it.”
       
      Both wrestlers are pushing each other to get better in the room. East Noble has had only one state champion before. Pepple and Knapp wants to change that.
       
      “Iron sharpens iron,” Pepple said. “It’s great to have such a tough drill partner who is going to push you to be your best.”
       
      Outside of school Knapp loves to draw action pictures. It’s a talent not many know about. He is also an elementary school teaching assistant. He works one-on-one with children, and he said it’s something he absolutely loves doing. As far as the future, he is still trying to decide what he wants to do.
       
      “I’m trying to decide on whether I want to wrestle in college or not,” Knapp said. “I’d like to be a Force Recon Marine. I’ve dreamed about that my whole life. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. Now I think, why not – I have the tools.”
       
      Pepple plans to attend Indiana University where he wants to wrestle. He is either going into the medical field, business or education.
       
      Pepple says the biggest turning point so far in his career was when he shattered his lower leg playing sharks and minnows in practice before his freshman season. He broke two bones, and had to have multiple screws put in along with a metal plate to stabilize it.
      “I didn’t know if I’d ever wrestle again,” he said. “But I worked hard and came back. That showed me I can overcome anything.”
       
      Both wrestlers are hoping they can overcome all of the obstacles the state tournament presents, and stand together as state champions.
       
      If you have a #WrestlingWednesday idea, please contact Jeremy Hines at jerhines@cinergymetro.net.

      4567

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Expecting to Win Put Ellis on Top

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Expect to win. That was the mind set 30 years ago for one small, but mighty Indiana wrestler named Lance Ellis.
       
      Now, three decades later, Ellis is an Indiana legend with perhaps the greatest high school wrestling resume the state has ever witnessed.
       
      Ellis’ numbers are staggering. He wrestled 177 high school matches for Cathedral High School. He won every single one of them. He was the first of only two Indiana wrestlers to win four state titles. Of those 177 victories, he put his opponent flat on his back 151 times for the pin.
       
      But how did Ellis get so good? What separated him from the field during the late 80s when he was the most dominating force in the sport?
       
      “My greatest attribute was my mental toughness,” Ellis said. “I have to give credit to my coach, Lance Rhoades, and the fact that we were on a good team. But we expected to win every match – and we were in a whole lot of big matches. Every time we went out to wrestle we just absolutely expected to win.”
       
      Ellis’s first state championship came in 1986. Mentally, he says that freshman season was his most difficult one.
       
      “That was a really tough year,” Ellis said. “Just because I was a freshman and I was cutting quite a bit of weight. But in the end, it was worth it.”
       
      When Ellis reached the state championship that year, standing across the mat from him was Chesterton’s Scott Schultz, a junior he knew very little about.
       
      “Back then there was no social media,” Ellis said. “You can’t watch matches of guys and know their whole history. But I went out expecting to win. He was a very strong kid. I put him on his back but couldn’t hold him down. I think I put him in a head lock in the first two seconds of the match, but he rolled out of it.”
       
      Schultz was one of only a few opponents Ellis didn’t pin. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t dominate. Ellis won the state championship his freshman year by technical fall.
       
      “I didn’t know much about him going in to the final,” Schultz said. “He was a freshman. But I was astonished at how well he knew my style. I was a powerful wrestler and I used that to control my opponents and won by many falls. He used that against me most effectively and basically controlled me the entire match and scored repeatedly, taking me off my feet several times.”
       
      Schultz was a runner-up the next season as well, losing 16-10 in the finals at 105 pounds to Jay County’s David Ferguson.
       
      Ellis comes from a wrestling family. His dad, Bob, was a two-time state placer. His older brother, Scott, was a state champion for Warren Central.
       
      “I just followed them around from tournament to tournament,” Ellis said. “My dad coached me. It was just the way we grew up. We were a wrestling family.”
       
      One big advantage, Ellis feels, was that he grew up in the Catholic Youth Organization.
       
      “There are so many good kids wrestling today,” Ellis said. “There are so many clubs and year around wrestling. I was doing year around wrestling when nobody else was. A lot of that is because I came up through the CYO where we wrestled folkstyle from kindergarten through eighth grade. The only opportunities you really had at that time were freestyle.”
       
      Ellis’ biggest test in a state championship match came his sophomore year. He was going up against Bellmont junior John Faurote in the 112 pound weight class.
       
      “My sophomore year was my closest final,” Ellis said. “I won 3-2. I gave up an escape point and I gave up a point on cautions. I was kind of nervous on that one. Whenever we had a restart, I had to focus on where my hands and feet were so I didn’t give up another caution point. I felt like I was in control of the match, but I only had a one point lead.”
       
      In his junior season Ellis needed to do more than just win the state championship. He needed to pin Merrilville’s Mark Rosenbalm.
       
      “My junior year it got very interesting,” Ellis said. “We were in a really close team race with Bellmont. Coach told me I had to pin the kid. That’s a lot of pressure in the state finals. We were within a couple of points of Bellmont. I won by a major decision (12-4), so it was bitter sweet. We got second that year, but it actually came down to another match later in the day.”
       
      As a senior Ellis was quickly taken down by Rushville’s Scott Wilson. Ellis was able to stand up, throw Wilson and pin him in 1:15. He ended his high school career with a pin in the state championship.
       
      “I remember the feeling when my hand was raised,” Ellis said. “It was relief and excitement. It was a great way to end it. Everyone I knew was there to see it. I had about 100 people there to watch me.”
       
      Ellis said he never really felt pressure as the wins piled up and the momentum of having a perfect career started to roll. He said he approached his final matches the same way he did that freshman year, with an expectation that he was going to win.
       
      Ellis is now the coach of Indianapolis Roncalli. This is his 11th season as the head coach and his 20th overall as a coach in some capacity in Indiana
       
      “I love coaching,” Ellis said. “It’s an absolute blast. I’ve got to coach my own sons (Brennan graduated in 2012 and Nick is a senior this season). I hopefully have had a positive impact on a lot of other kids, too.”
       
      Ellis said his greatest moments as a coach aren’t always from having the standout wrestlers. He enjoys seeing kids improve and overcome obstacles.
       
      “One of the wrestlers that really stick out to me is a kid named Tony Bell,” Ellis said. “He started out as a freshman and had a lot of health issues. But he worked his butt off. He was always around. He was a great leader. As a senior he qualified for the state tournament and that was probably one of the greatest moments I have had as a coach.”
       
      When asked if Ellis had any advice for New Palestine senior Chad Red, who is undefeated in his career with three state titles already under his belt, Ellis said that Red doesn’t need advice.
       
      “Chad already knows what he is doing,” Ellis said. “He’s already beat all the kids over and over. He’s the best wrestler I’ve seen in my 20 years, no doubt. Jason Tsirtsis, Alex Tsirtsis and Angel Escebedo were very good, but right now, Chad Red, with everything he has done, is amazing.”
       
      Ellis says today’s wrestlers have a lot more technique than when he wrestled. They have more opportunities to wrestle year around and to see great competition. But some of the intangibles that he had when he wrestled, is what he thinks kids today need to succeed.
       
      “When they are in the practice room, they need to go 100 percent the whole time,” Ellis said. “They need to focus on doing everything right. They can’t take breaks. They can’t go half way.
       
      “Wrestling is such a tough sport. It’s so demanding. Especially in the practice room. You have to live on the mat and get as much time as you can. And I can’t stress enough how important it is to drill hard, and drill correctly.”
       
      Ellis isn’t sure when he will step down as a head coach, but he plans to always be around the sport. Thirty years after dominating opponents on the mat, he isn’t slowing down yet.

      2904 3

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Eldred Just Trying to be the Best for Six Minutes

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

       
      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Evan Eldred’s dad taught him a valuable lesson when it comes to wrestling. He taught him that Evan doesn’t have to be the best wrestler in the state.
       
      Ironically, that advice has molded Edred into a semistate champ and the No. 3-ranked 138 pounder this season.
       
      “The best advice I’ve been given in wrestling is when my dad tells me that I don’t have to be the best,” Evan said. “I just have to be better than my opponent for six minutes. It doesn’t matter who I’m wrestling or what they’ve done. I took that to heart. If I go out there and do my best, it doesn’t matter if the guy across from me is the best in the state or whatever, you can’t let that make you nervous.”
       
      Eldred has been nearly flawless this year on the mat. He’s 39-1, with his lone loss coming at the hands of No. 1-ranked Brayton Lee in a close 5-3 match.
       
      “Last year I started my season off with a close loss to Brayton Lee,” Eldred said. “This year I ran into him at conference and had a close match with him. It was probably the best thing for me because it made me realize I’m close, but I wasn’t to where I needed to be.”
       
      Eldred is a superb student. He has a 3.78 GPA, was Academic All-State honorable mention, and will wrestle next season for the Indiana Hoosiers.
       
      Eldred’s older brother, Dillon, attends IU and Evan always dreamed of going there as well.
       
      Westfield coach Terry O’Neil knew about Eldred’s desire to go to IU, so when he had a chance meeting with Hoosier coach Duane Goldman, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to talk about his talented senior.
       
      “I crossed paths with Coach Goldman at the Indiana wrestling coaches clinic,” O’Neil said. “I told him we had a kid whose brother goes to IU and that is where he really wants to go as well. I told him that Evan has flown under the radar and told him about Evan’s wrestling and academic resume. He called Evan that night.”
       
      O’Neil has the highest praise for Eldred.
       
      “I’m pretty biased,” he said. “But if I had only one 138 pounder in the state to pick to be on my team, he would be my choice. I know he can compete with anyone.”
       
      O’Neil says he has never coached a kid with the ability to learn and utilize technique as well as Eldred.
       
      “Several factors go into making Evan special,” O’Neil said. “You can show him a technique on a Tuesday and he will use it in a match on Wednesday. His ability to recognize technique is like nothing I’ve ever seen in a high school athlete.
       
      “Another factor is that he never lets the moment get to him, no matter how important the match is or how big the stage is. He is even tempered and able to maintain an incredible focus.”
       
      Eldred had goals to be Westfield’s first four-time state qualifier. He qualified as a freshman at 120 pounds, but then fell short his sophomore season, losing in the ticket round of semistate. He bounced back last year and placed sixth at 132 pounds.
       
      Not making it to state his sophomore year was heartbreaking for Eldred, but it showed Coach O’Neil just how good of a kid Evan was.
       
      “Evan’s older brother Dillon wrestled for us,” O’Neil said. “He was two years older than Evan. When Evan did not make it to state as a sophomore he was very upset. But when his brother qualified for the first time for state as a senior, the same year, Evan was so proud and so happy for him. His joy for his brother superseded any of his disappointment about not making it himself.”
       
      Evan has worked extremely hard to improve every season. The best semistate finish he had up until this year was fourth. This year he broke through by winning the New Castle semistate. He’s hoping this is also the year he gets to wrestle under the lights in the championship match.
       
      “My dad has been taking me to the wrestling finals since I was about five years old,” Eldred said. “He would always tell me that someday I could be there. Every single year I went I just dreamed about what that day would be like.
       
      “My best wins in high school would be a tie between last year winning on Friday night and knowing I was going to be a state placer – and when I placed at Fargo Nationals two years ago. But getting under the lights would blow both of those two wins away.”

      2333 1

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Drew Hughes of Lowell on Task for Elusive State Title

      Brought to you by EI Sports

       
      By JEREMY HINES
      jerhines@cinergymetro.net
       
      Drew Hughes has already had the type of high school wrestling career many dream of. He finished second in the state his freshman season and fifth last year. But Hughes is far from satisfied.
      Hughes doesn’t aim for fifth place. His goal is a championship — nothing less.
       
      Hughes sets the bar high for himself. Anything less than a state championship will be a disappointment.
       
      Last state tournament might have been a turning point in Hughes’ career. He had beaten Lawrence North’s Tommy Cash and Merriville’s Jacob Covaciu during the season. He topped Cash 4-0 and Covaciu by technical fall. But after he was pinned in the first minute of the second round of state by Center Grove senior Tyler Fleener (via the spladle), he had to watch Cash claim the 138-pound title with a 5-3 decision over Covaciu.
       
      “That has motivated me,” Hughes said. “The fact that I was there just watching, and not being out there wrestling in the finals pushes me every day. I realized I had to get better on my feet. I needed to work harder on my all-around technique.”
       
      Hughes has done just that.
       
      Hughes is one of the best in the state from the top position. He can turn almost anyone he faces. But now he’s added a new dimension to his repertoire. He has greatly improved his attacks from the neutral position. He has become more confident on his feet.
       
      The improved performance on his feet has led to a 13-0 start to the season for the Lowell junior. He has not given up a point, and has pinned all 13 wrestlers who have stepped on the mat against him.
       
      “My goal is a state title,” Hughes said. “But I also want to go through the year without getting scored on, and by pinning everyone I face.”
       
      Hughes is currently the top-ranked 160 pounder in the state. The No. 2-ranked grappler at 160, Crown Point’s Darden Schurg, is one Hughes will likely see several times during the tourney. The two are in the same sectional, regional and semistate.
       
      “We have grown up wrestling each other,” Hughes said. “We have wrestled each other since we were 8-years old.”
       
      Inside the Lowell wrestling room, Hughes has been training with Eric McGill, a former two-time state champion for Munster High School. He won the 125-pound class as a junior and 140 as a senior. McGill went on to wrestle for Cornell University.
       
      “I wrestle with him quite a bit,” McGill said. “.He has good practice partners, but most of the live wrestling is done with me. When he was smaller I could beat him. Now he’s bigger and he’s getting the better of me. It’s fun, but he’s a beast now.”
       
      Hughes has great respect for McGill.
       
      “He has been a really good influence on me,” Hughes said. “He’s one of the best partners you could have.”
       
      Hughes’ older brother Kenny has also been a good influence. Kenny was ranked No. 2 last year at 160 pounds. He lost in the same round of state as Drew, and ended up finishing seventh.
       
      Hughes has jumped from the 120 pound class as a freshman, to 160 now. This year he isn’t having to cut weight, unlike past seasons. That decision has allowed this year to be his most fun so far.
       
      “I love wrestling because it’s a fun sport,” Hughes said. “And when you’re not cutting weight you’re not in that bad mood that cutting can some times lead to. I’m able to focus a lot more on wrestling now.”
       
      With weight no longer an issue, Hughes is concentrating on getting back under the lights. His freshman year he was defeated by Warren Central’s Deondre Wilson 6-2 in the championship match at 120 pounds.
       
      “I was hoping I was going to be wresting for a title last year,” Hughes said. “But I remember as a freshman that it was a great experience. Looking back I know I was a little shocked to be there wrestling under the lights. I really felt I could have won, but I froze up. If I get there again, I’m not going to get so caught up with the atmosphere. I’m going to go out and do what I do, and just wrestle.”

      4066

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Darren Elkins Goes From State Champ to UFC Star

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      There were times growing up as a wrestler in Portage that Darren Elkins wished he could have punched his opponent in the teeth.
       
      The 2004 state champion never acted on those impulses in high school. Now he makes a living trying to knock guys out. Elkins is a seasoned mixed martial arts fighter who is currently ranked No. 12 in the world in the UFC featherweight division. Elkins was the first featherweight to win five consecutive fights.
       
      “I always tell people this,” said Elkins. “I like to get wrestlers into the gym and I tell them why I like MMA. I think back to all the times in wrestling when I was like, man, I just want to punch this guy. Maybe he was taking cheap shots at me, or elbowing me. There was nothing I could do about it then. But now, if I want to punch my opponent, that’s encouraged. They pay me to do it.”
       
      In 2004 Elkins was one of a host of state champions that went on to have great careers after high school. The list of state champions that year include Angel Escobedo (won an NCAA championship), Reece Humphrey (on the USA wrestling team), Elkins, Matt Coughlin and Alex Tsirtsis. Eric McGill, another former Indiana great, was a runner-up that year.
       
      Elkins credits his wrestling background, and the mentality he got from coach Ed Pendowski at Portage, for part of his MMA success.
       
      “Wrestling teaches you to train hard,” Elkins said. “I’ve always put in the work. I put in the time training and each fight I strive to be better than I was before. I think the grinding style we had at Portage transferred to MMA very well. Coach Pendowski was all about takedowns. We would take people down, then let them up. In MMA you want those takedowns but you aren’t staying on the guys because they can get you in a submission.”
       
      He also credits some of his toughness from growing up with an older brother, Rickie, who was a state runner-up in high school.
       
      “Rickie was always bigger than me,” Darren said. “He always got the best of me. He was ranked No. 1 in high school in his weight class. It wasn’t until I took on fighting and he started getting out of shape a little that I could beat him.”
       
      Elkins has a professional record of 20-5. He is hoping to get back in the UFC Octagon soon. Right now he trains six days a week in Indiana. Before his last fight, a unanimous decision over Rob Whiteford in UFC Fight Night in October, Elkins had trained in Sacramento with Team Alpha Male.
       
      Elkins is hoping to climb back in to the top 10 rankings, a place he has been before.
       
      “Right now it’s just about climbing back into that top 10,” he said.
       
      Although Elkins says having a wrestling foundation is a huge asset in MMA, you have to be able to develop more skills to be successful.
       
      “You really have to develop your all around fighting techniques,” he said. “You can’t just rely on wrestling.”
       
      Elkins also knows the importance of staying healthy. He does not eat processed food. He cuts down on sugar and salt and only eats organic. That has helped with maintaining his weight for fights.
       
      As far as athletic highlights, Elkins doesn’t have one favorite.
       
      “I’ve had so many great moments, and I really don’t put one over the other,” he said. “Winning state was one of my best moments. It was something I dreamed of since I was 5-years-old. Then, getting called to fight in the UFC, and then winning in the UFC. Those are all very great memories for me.”
       
      Elkins is married and has an 8-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. His daughter swims competitively and his son has started wrestling.
       
      “Right now it’s his first year,” Elkins said. “I don’t want to push him. I want him to enjoy it. Right now my daughter goes to practices too because she said if my son gets to wrestle, she does too.”

      2487

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Coast to Coast Path for Kevin Lake

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      MANCHESTER – Kevin Lake wasn’t a great wrestler back at New Haven High School. He was just a one-time regional qualifier. But what Lake lacked in wrestling success, he has made up for in coaching success. He has found his calling in coaching the sport he loves.
       
      “I was very average in high school and college,” Lake said. “But I felt like I blossomed as a coach after traveling around and learning from some of the best coaches out there. I was always a mat rat. I was always in the coaches’ rooms trying to learn more about the sport. When you become a coach, you learn things better than when you are an athlete. You get a different perspective.”
       
      Lake was recently hired as the new head wrestling coach at Manchester University. While he doesn’t have the athletic pedigree some coaches have, Lake has certainly immersed himself in learning the sport of wrestling.
       
      Lake grew up in a coaches’ home. His dad, Gary, was a long time football coach at New Haven, Ft. Wayne Wayne and Ft. Wayne Elmhurst.
       
      “Coaching was a big part of my childhood,” Lake said. “Some of my fondest memories are with my dad in the locker rooms and on the sports field. Sports really played a huge role in my life.”
       
      Gary Lake is a member of the Manchester Hall of Fame. So is Kevin’s twin sister, Leanne.
       
      “My sister was a much better athlete than me,” Lake said. “She played basketball and softball at Manchester. She’s also in the Hall of Fame there. I’m the only one not in the Hall of Fame. I guess my only shot now is to get there by coaching.”
       
      Lake wrestled at Manchester under coach Tom Jarman. Lake refers to Jarman as a legend in the coaching world and as a mentor.
       
      After graduating from Manchester, Lake pursued his graduate degree at Central Michigan University. There he got involved with the wrestling program, and was able to learn from coach Tom Borrelli.
       
      “Central Michigan is really where I got the confidence and understanding of what it took to become a high level wrestling coach,” Lake said. “Even today, what I bring to the table is a lot of what I learned as a graduate assistant.”
       
      Lake took his first head coaching job at Division III, Mac Murray in Jacksonville, Ill. That job became a spring board to go to Princeton University as the head assistant coach.
       
      I coached an All-American there in Greg Parker,” Lake said.
       
      After Princeton, Lake spent a year at South Dakota State and worked with coach Jason Liles – who was an extremely successful Division II coach working his first job in Division I.
       
      Lake’s travels didn’t end there, however. That summer he got a call from a good friend, Shawn Charles, who was just hired as the head coach at Fresno State in California. Lake became his head assistant and moved his family out west.
       
      Fresno State dropped its wrestling program after just two years.
       
      Lake got out of the college coaching realm for a while at that point. He joined Beat the Streets in Los Angeles, a program that helps teach responsibility and values through wrestling.
       
      “I always had coaching in my heart and in my blood,” Lake said. “I knew if the right opportunity came up, I’d take it. That’s when the job at Manchester came open and I jumped at the chance.”
       
      Lake is married with two daughters. He moved to Manchester about a month ago, and recently his daughters saw snow for the first time.
       
      “The snow was like one of those slaps in the face welcome homes,” Lake said. “I didn’t realize how soft I had gotten. The snow is beautiful, but man is it cold.”
       
      Lake believes he has taken a little bit from each coach he worked with or was coached by over the years.
       
      “At Central Michigan I learned how to lead and how to run practices,” Lake said. “My time at Fresno State I learned under one of the best technicians in the sport. Shawn Charles taught me knowledge and technique.
       
      “At Princeton, the philosophy of Princeton athletics as a whole really related to how I want my athletes to be. It was a value of higher education and pursuit of excellence that I really liked.”
       
      At Manchester, Lake knows the program isn’t going to become a national powerhouse overnight. But he wants his athletes to all be high achievers in athletics, character and wrestling.
       
      “I want them to be the best in the classroom, on the mats and to act with class on the streets,” Lake said.
       
      Lake said when looking for wrestlers for his program, he looks for kids with a workmanlike attitude. He likes aggressiveness – guys that will push the pace and also have good defensive skills. He wants smart wrestlers with strong core values.
       
      “I look for effort, too,” Lake said. “Often times you can tell more about how a kid comes back from barely losing a match. You can tell if he’s hungry and has something to prove. Those are the kids that I think can thrive. I want those type of kids.”

      6778 9

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Blast from the Past with Randy May

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

       
      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Randy May’s name deserves to be in the mix when talking about Indiana’s all-time best wrestlers.
       
      May went undefeated as a sophomore, junior and senior at Bloomington South High School in the 1974-76 seasons. He won three state championships during that span.
       
      Perhaps the only thing keeping him off the podium his freshman season was that he was too small (he weighed right at 84 pounds), and he was behind the brother of three-time state champion Jim Cornwell for a spot in the varsity lineup.
       
      “I was just too little to make the varsity team,” May said. “My coach, Kay Hutsell, had already won four state championships as a coach. Bloomington had a tradition back then like Evansville Mater Dei does now. And it was almost as hard to crack our varsity lineup as it was to win a state title.”
       
      Hutsell had coached Bloomington to team state championships in 1969, 70, 71 and 72. During that span Bloomington had seven individual champions.
       
      In 1973 Bloomington split into Bloomington North and Bloomington South. Hutsell became Bloominigton South’s coach, and led them to another state championship in the 1973 season.
       
      That season May lost just one time in the reserve matches – to a varsity junior from Owen Valley.
       
      “I got beat by him,” May said. “It was a good match. He ended up being one win away from going to the state tournament.”
       
      May hurt his back his freshman year and coach Hutsell sent him to help coach the feeder system at Smithville Middle School.
       
      “I was mad,” May said. “I wanted to be with the team. I had so much energy for the sport. Eventually coach let me travel with the team on dual meets. That was a privilege. I got to be on the team bus with everyone and I was sort of brought up under their wings. I was with guys like Marty Hutsell and Doug Hutsell (both were two-time state champs).”
       
      May knows living in Bloomington when he did was the best possible place for him to grow as a wrestler. He vividly remembers being allowed to go to Indiana University during their clinics and camps.
       
      “I had great coaching,” May said. “Everyone thought I would one day go to IU. I was able to go there anytime I wanted and I was able to wrestle kids from all over the country that came in for the clinics and the camps.
       
      “In 1975-76 money was very tight and there was a gas shortage. I’d drive to IU after I got off of work and I’d go to one of the wrestling clinics where kids would stay for the whole week from across the country. You would get a new batch of kids each week.”
       
      May would bet the kids that he could take them down. If he took them down, they had to pay him a dime. If they took him down, he would pay a dollar.
       
      “I took all their candy money,” May said. “That always paid for my gas.”
       
      May dominated his foes on the mat during the high school season much like he did at the clinics. He never lost a varsity match.
       
      After high school he chose to wrestle at Cleveland State University, which at the time was a national top 20 program.
       
      “I had dreams of being a four-time National champion,” May said. “I had my whole future mapped out. I wanted to be an Olympian and then I wanted to coach wrestling.”
       
      Things didn’t work out as May had planned. He developed a debilitating disease that changed his life course and took him away from wrestling. He was only able to wrestle one college match.
       
      “The disease shuts down the central nervous system,” May said. “It can kill you. But I worked my ass off. They told me I should have been on bed rest, but I didn’t stop working. When I couldn’t stand, I’d pull myself up. I still went to practice every day.”
       
      May eventually realized his wrestling career would have to be over.
       
      “I was walking with the aid of a cane at the time,” May said. “I was struggling with guys that I knew I should have been able to kick their ass. I wrestled one match against a four-time state champion from West Virginia. He took me down and I said, ‘you have got to be kidding me’. I came back and tied the match and won on riding time. But I knew I wasn’t myself anymore. I knew wrestling was over for me.”
       
      May had to refocus his life goals, and his career. He didn’t want to coach the sport he could no longer participate in. He now runs a business in underground utilities and lives in Florida.
       
      His son, Randy Jr., took up wrestling in high school and quickly found success.
       
      “He was a natural and I loved watching him,” May said. “He took fourth in state his junior year and as a senior he was ranked No. 1 and got very sick and ended up finishing sixth. He won over 100 matches and I was at his practices every day. The team won state his senior year and I was able to travel with the guys.”
       
      Six years ago, Randy Jr., passed away.
       
      May has suffered more than most his age. But he remains positive. He credits his outlook on life on his upbringing.
       
      “I was brought up with a good work ethic,” May said. “We had tasks and chores. My parents wanted them done right. I’d complain, but then I realized if I worked hard and did them right the first time, with a good attitude, I was going to get a reward. I could go play in the woods or go swimming.
       
      “I guess I carried that attitude over into life. I always try to have a good work ethic and a positive attitude. That will make you successful in anything you do.”

      3278 1

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Bane Building Upon Last Year's Success

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

       
      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      In a matter of seconds, Richmond’s Alston Bane caught the attention of the Indiana wrestling community.
       
      Last season Bane entered the state tournament as a relative unknown. He was ranked 18th at the time of the tournament. He advanced to state with a fourth place finish in the New Castle semistate, a tournament in which he was pinned by Trent Pruitt and he lost a decision to Evan Smiley.
       
      His Friday night draw didn’t seem favorable. He had to go up against the No. 2-ranked grappler in the 145 pound weight class in Yorktown’s Cael McCormick. But Bane loved the draw.
       
      “I had wrestled Cael several times when we were younger,” Bane said. “He beat me in Greco each time, but anytime we wrestled and I could touch his legs, I beat him. So I had a lot of confidence going up against him.”
       
      Bane ended up scoring a last-second takedown with his signature dump move to beat McCormick 4-3.
       
      He wasn’t done quite yet. He went on to knock off No. 5-ranked Blake Jourdan and then avenged two earlier losses to Smiley, the No. 4-ranked guy in the weight class, to take third at state.
       
      Bane’s only loss at Banker’s Life Arena was to eventual state champion Jacob Covaciu in a close 4-2 affair.
       
      Bane’s third place finish was better than anyone else from the New Castle semistate in that weight class.
       
      Now, a year later, a lot more people know about Alston Bane. He has bumped up to the 160-pound weight class where he is currently ranked No. 2 behind only Covaciu.
       
      “People knew me before the state tournament last year,” Bane said. “But I never really got a lot of recognition. A lot of people didn’t see me as a threat. Now this year I have a little bit more of a target on my back.”
       
      Last season there was a question as to whether Bane would even be able to wrestle in the state tournament. He tore the meniscus in his knee and had to miss the North Central Conference tournament.
       
      “That was very tough on me, mentally,” Bane said. “I knew as soon as it happened what it was. It was my third time doing it. I tore the meniscus once on my left knee and it was the second time on my right knee. I couldn’t walk. I was crying as I was sitting on the trainer’s bench and then my dad (Richmond coach Jeremy Bane) came over and when he saw me he started tearing up, too.”
       
      Bane knew he had to force himself to recover, and quickly if he wanted any shot at wrestling come sectional time.
       
      “I really worked hard and pushed to get my leg where I could walk on it and get stability,” Bane said. “I sat out of the NCC meet, but mentally I knew I just had to push through the pain and get my strength back.”
       
      The recovery process, and then his dramatic run through the state tournament have helped Bane to be much more confident this season. He believes that’s the biggest difference for him between last year and this year.
       
      “My confidence has improved a lot,” he said. “That is a huge factor for me. I really feel now, especially after state last year, that I can wrestle with anyone.”
       
      Coach Bane can see the change as well.
       
      “The big thing for Alston now is his confidence and his belief in himself,” Jeremy Bane said.
       
      Alston grew up wrestling with some of Indiana’s elite wrestlers. He and Chad Red are good friends dating back to when they were in elementary school wrestling tournaments together. Jeremy and Chad Red Sr., coached together at Red Cobra and Lawrence Central.
       
      “We have some of the kids that we coached that are really good at the high school level now,” Jeremy said. “Alston grew up with Chad, Brayton Lee, Blake Rypel and a few others. They are all very successful now.”
       
      Bane, a junior, recently won his 100th match. It was one of several goals he has for himself, which culminates in winning a state championship.
       
      Eventually Bane would like to wrestle in college. He’s a two-sport athlete who stands out on the football field for the Red Devil defense.
       
      As a sophomore Bane recorded 67 tackles and had eight interceptions. This season he moved to strong safety and finished with 88 tackles and an interception.
       
      “I’ve talked to a lot of college coaches and I’ve went to so many wrestling camps,” Alston said. “Coaches make it clear that they really like kids that play multiple sports. I love being competitive and football helps me do that, and plus it’s a lot of fun to play.”
       
      Bane finds himself having to alter his style slightly to deal with the stronger opponents he is facing this year in the 160-pound class. He tries to utilize his technique and speed more than relying on his strength.
       
      “He has unbelievable grip strength though,” coach Bane said. “He isn’t going to get outmuscled by many guys.”
       
      Coach Bane says that guys wrestle Alston differently this season, now that they know more about him.
       
      “We see a lot of the better wrestlers wrestling Alston with a more defensive approach,” Jeremy said. “They try to take away his offense and they look for certain moves. But he has several ways to score the takedown and he’s been pretty successful.”
      Bane is currently undefeated on the season. His closest match came in the New Castle Invitational against Lawrenceburg’s No. 7-ranked Jake Ruberg. Bane won the contest 4-3 in double overtime.
       
      “We have almost identical styles,” Bane said. “So those matches are very close.”
       
      Bane is currently wrestling in Spartan Classic at Connersville. This is a tournament he has never won. He was third as a freshman and lost last year to Evan Smiley.

      4458 4

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: 900 Wins and Counting

      Brought to you by EI Sports

      By JEREMY HINES
      jerhines@cinergymetro.net
       
      NEW CASTLE — A lot has changed in the world since Rex Peckinpaugh began coaching wrestling at New Castle High School.
       
      Michael Jackson was the big hit on the radio when Peckinpaugh started out. Ronald Reagan was President. Microsoft introduced the world to MS-DOS, the 3M company started mass producing Post-it notes and MTV first went on the air.
       
      One thing that hasn’t changed for Peckinpaugh, now in his 34th season at the helm of the Trojan team, is his ability to win.
       
      Peckinpaugh reached his 900th dual victory of his career (all with New Castle) last week at the Broncho Duals in Lafayette. New Castle went 8-1 in the meet to push its season record to 27-4.
       
      “When I got that 900th win, it was a special moment,” Peckinpaugh said. “I couldn’t help but sit back and think of my mom and dad who didn’t miss a match for about 500 of those wins. But when it was over, I was ready to go for 901 wins.”
       
      Peckinpaugh has been Indiana’s winningest coach for years. He is No. 2 nationally in high school wins.
       
      “Rex is obviously a good coach,” former Trojan standout turned Shenandoah head coach Gary Black said. “You don’t get anywhere near 900 wins without knowing what you’re doing. But I think he’s an even better motivator in life. For Rex, it isn’t so much about the wins and losses as it is about having the chance to instill great values and teach kids to be good individuals off the mat.”
       
      Peckinpaugh can still tell specific details about every wrestler that has put on a Trojan uniform for him.
       
      “They are all still pretty fresh in my mind,” Peckinpaugh said. “I can tell stories on any of them if I’m asked to do so.”
       
      Peckinpaugh continues to coach because he loves watching kids improve.
       
      “It’s not so much about the winning and losing,” Peckinpaugh said. “My favorite part of coaching is seeing kids get better in the sport. I love that moment when the lights go on so to speak. Also, I enjoy building the team each year. It’s like a construction project. Every year something changes and you have to figure out how to build the team to be successful.”
       
      This year the Trojans do not have any seniors in the lineup. They are led by seven freshmen, four juniors and three sophomores.
       
      “He’s taken a very young team and has worked to get the most out of his lineup,” Black said. “It’s easy to see why he’s so successful.”
       
      One stat that Peckinpaugh is proud of is that all of his teams have either won a sectional, a conference title or a regional. The Trojans had a winning streak of 106 matches from 1992-95. The team won 29 consecutive sectional titles from 1976 until 2003 (a streak that started before coach Peckinpaugh took over at New Castle).
       
      The 2004-05 Trojans lost the sectional to Centerville. It was the only time a Peckinpaugh coach team did not win the sectional tournament. But instead of focusing on the loss, Peckinpaugh geared the team up for the upcoming regional. New Castle would later win the team regional and become the first team in the state to not win a sectional, but turn around and claim a regional title.
       
      “That’s an important thing as a coach and as a wrestler,” Peckinpaugh said. “You have to have a short memory. If you get beat, you have to look at what’s next. If you don’t, you’ll get caught up in celebrating the moment and lose the next one. Or you’ll be so depressed you’ll lose the next one.”
       
      Peckinpaugh is the first to point out that his success also has a lot to do with those who are helping him. Mark “Sparky” Griffith has been an assistant coach for Peckinpaugh for almost the entire time he’s been at New Castle. Frank Ryan, Ted Fitzgerald and Larry Sutton were also instrumental in building the New Castle program. He also points out that his wife Bonnie has been a huge supporter of the team for the last 20 years.
       
      Peckinpaugh has coached three four-time state finalists in Mac Taylor, Matt Jaggers and Connor Mullins. He has had one state champion — James “Bubba” Dickerson won heavyweight in 1995 as a junior. He passed away before his senior season. He has had a plethora of state placers, including Brenden Campbell who was a state runner-up two seasons in a row. Campbell is currently wrestling for the United States Naval Academy.
       
      In 1995 and 1996 New Castle was the team runner-up in the state. The Trojans took eight to state in 1996.
       
      Peckinpaugh is a health teacher at New Castle. He is also on the New Castle City Council. He was an assistant football coach for the Trojans in the 80s. He also was the girls golf coach for a short time.
       
      “Coaching girls golf was an interesting experience,” Peckinpaugh said. “They needed someone and I said I’d do it.”
       
      Peckinpaugh is not sure when he will retire from coaching. He feels he has a good assistant in Jason Martin who can take over the team and keep it in good hands.
       
      “Jason has been trying to get me to stay on to maybe go for 1,000 wins,” Peckinpaugh said. “I don’t know if I’ll hold on that long. But I do love coaching the kids, and that will never change.”
      If you have an interesting feature idea, please contact Jeremy Hines at jerhines@cinergymetro.net.

      2721

      #MondayMatness: Youngest Fiechter William looking to make noise in final season for Southern Wells

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      For the better part of the past two decades, high school wrestlers in the Fiechter family have been regularly getting their hands raised in victory while wearing Southern Wells colors.
       
      Five Fiechter brothers — Vince (Class of 2004), Troy (2009), Darin (2010), Benjamin (2013) and William (2020) have accounted for more than 600 mat triumphs.
       
      All have eclipsed the 100-victory mark and rank among the winningest wrestlers in Raider history.
       
      Four have represented Southern Wells at the IHSAA State Finals.
       
      Vince Fiechter (118-18) placed fourth at 125 pounds in 2004.
       
      Darin Fiechter (134-28) was a state qualifier at 130 in 2010.
       
      Benjamin Fiechter (135-20) was state qualifier at both 126 in 2012 and 132 in 2013.
       
      William Fiechter (117-21) was a state qualifier at 138 in 2019, losing an 11-10 overtime match in the first round.
       
      “State was shock for sure,” says Fiechter. “Looking back, it was good for me. I learned to never take anything for granted. If I would have placed last year, there wouldn’t be as much fire or motivation to really push hard this year."
       
      “I’ve definitely got a fire under me and I’m working hard because I want to get over that Friday night match.”
       
      Troy Fiechter (121-28) was a four-time semistate qualifier.
       
      In addition, William set the school record with 92 takedowns in 2018-19 and ranks high in career takedowns as well as season and career wins.
       
      “There’s a 15-year age gap between my oldest brother Vince and me,” says William. “(My brothers) were really good at teaching me. They did not force their techniques on me. I think I’ve picked up something from every single one of them. They’ve always pushed me to be a hard worker."
       
      “They’ve always made me understand that there’s way more in life than wrestling. But wrestling can definitely help me out in life.”
       
      The youngest Fiechter is back for his senior season in 2019-20 and competing at 145. Through the Dec. 7 Wabash County championships, William is 11-0 for the 2019-20 season. He went 5-0 in the county meet at Northfield with four pins and a major decision.
       
      What William appreciates about wrestling is its individuality.
       
      “I can be my own person,” says William Fiechter. “I get what I put in. I enjoy the challenge of it."
       
      “I definitely have a lot of people around me who push me to be a better man and a better wrestler. There’s also a lot of motivation knowing that wrestling will help me later in life. It definitely makes you tougher.”
       
      Fiechter regularly works out in the practice room with friends he grew up with, including Jed Perry, Josh Beeks and Jacob Duncan.
       
      How do they help each other get better?
       
      “Just knowing that we can’t let up every single day,” says Fiechter.
       
      “Even if you don’t feel like wrestling, those are the days you probably become a better wrestler."
       
      “You have a practice partner who’s going to push you no matter what.”
       
      Southern Wells head coach Ryan Landis has been working with the Class of 2020 since they were fifth graders.
       
      “This is a special group of seniors,” says Landis. “They’ve stuck together. They push each other to get better. It’s a real fun group to coach.”
       
      Fiechter, who has competed some with the Adams Central club and as an independent in the high school off-season, offers a scouting report on himself.
       
      “Being around the sport quite a bit has helped my technique,” says Fiechter. “I’m definitely not as aggressive as I should be probably. I’m trying to learn a little more aggression. I’m pretty quick so that helps.”
       
      Pondering his future, William is considering college or perhaps becoming an entrepreneur.
       
      “I’d like to end up on the farm someday,” says Fiechter.
       
      The hands of the Fiechters have also been kept busy farming. The family, which is led by former wrestler and 1981 Adams Central High School graduate Lynn Fiechter (a state runner-up at 112 in 1980) and wife Ronda, works around 5,000 acres — mostly corn and soybeans with some swine.
       
      The closest town to the farm is Keystone. Southern Wells High School is near Poneto.
       
      Summer days might find the Fiechters boating or water skiing. The Fiechters are also a musical family and have recorded CD’s of their favorite gospel songs. William plays the guitar and ukulele.
       
      “Mom and dad are very good singers and passed down to some of us kids,” says Fiechter. “We were blessed with the ability that we should sing. It’s something we enjoy. It brings us closer together.”
       
      Fiechter appreciates Landis for showing him the way both off and on the mat.
       
      “The example he’s set has had a big impact on me,” says Fiechter. “He has this saying: Be brave when you’re scared; Be strong when you’re weak; Be humble when you’re victorious. That’s one that’s stuck with me.”
       
      Landis, a 2000 Southern Wells graduate, was an assistant for his first three years after high school and has been Raiders head coach since 2004.
       
      “I don’t know where that came from,” says Landis of the saying. “But it’s something we’ve adopted these last three or four years.
       
      “It’s awesome. It’s great. It’s what wrestling is about. It’s about finding that last bit of strength in your body when you don’t think you can do it. It’s about being humble when you are victorious, knowing that if you don’t keep working hard somebody’s going to come up and kick your butt.”
       
      Landis has coached all of the Fiechter brothers.
       
      “The personality is all completely different,” says Landis of the Fiechters. “But the No. 1 characteristic is that they’re the hardest-working kids in the room. Growing up on the farm, they just work hard in everything they do."
       
      “William is the most down-to-earth kid you’ll ever talk to. As much success as William has had on the mat, he’s a kid that you still have to pump confidence into him. He’s very humble. He’s very hard-working. He’s fun to be around.”
       
      Landis sees William as a solid mat technician.
       
      “He’s very fundamentally-sound,” says Landis. “He’s not a wild, crazy scrambler. Everything’s cautious and in position. He’s hard to score on. A couple takedowns and an escape and he’s in control of the match.”
       
      There are several key dates on the South Wells calendar. Besides the Wabash County Championships Dec. 7 at Northfield, there’s the Allen County Athletic Conference Duals Dec. 13-14, Connersville Spartan Classic Dec. 27-28, ACAC Championships Jan. 24 at Woodlan, Jay County Sectional Feb. 1, Jay County Regional Feb. 8, Fort Wayne Semistate Feb. 15 and State Finals Feb. 21-22.

      2919 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.

      9091 1

      #MondayMatness: Wrestling a Hard Sell for the Davis Brothers

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      It took a little convincing to get brothers Bo, Blake and Beck Davis to see that wrestling is for them.
       
      But once they committed to the mat sport, success followed and Garrett has been the beneficiary.
       
      Bo Davis represented the Garrett High School Railroaders twice at the IHSAA State Finals, qualifying as a junior in 2014 and placing third in 2015 — both times at 195 pounds. He became a collegiate wrestler at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne.
       
      Blake Davis (220) was a State Finals qualifier as a junior in 2015 just won Carroll Sectional and Carroll Regional titles as a senior in 2016. He will be a No. 1 in the Fort Wayne Semistate at Memorial Coliseum.
       
      Beck Davis, who was at 182 as a freshman in 2015, has won at the sectional and regional stages as a sophomore at 195 in 2016. He, too, will be a top seed at semistate .
       
      Bo, Blake and Beck are part of a family athletic legacy that includes father Chad Davis and mother Lisa (Leichty) Davis (a pair of 1990 Garrett graduates) and grandfather Steve Dembickie (GHS Class of 1971).
       
      In a family where they take their sports and their academics seriously (Bo, Blake and Beck have all excelled in football for Garrett and Blake and Beck are ranked in the top five of their respective classes), it took some serious coaxing to become wrestlers.
       
      “In our school wrestling was the weird thing to do,” Bo Davis said after being recruited to wrestling in sixth grade following a less-than-satisfying basketball experience. “I was forced into it, but I loved it.”
       
      Blake Davis soon followed his older brother into wrestling. But, at first, there was resistance.
       
      “All of us thought wrestling was a joke,” Blake Davis said, speaking for himself and both his brothers. We didn’t take it seriously. Bo went out and we made fun of him.”
       
      But something clicked for Bo and Blake. They began to really enjoy wrestling and the all work it takes to do well.
       
      It took a little more work coaxing Beck to join them.
       
      “We offered him $250 to come to one practice,” Bo Davis said.
       
      No sale.
       
      “I was probably the most stubborn at the start,” Beck said. “I thought it was weird.”
       
      It was Garrett coach Nick Kraus, who had Beck in a weight training class, that persuaded him to became a wrestler.
       
      Kraus, in his fifth season with the program and third as head coach, watched the oldest Davis brother grind to make himself into a decorated wrestler.
       
      “Bo is very coachable and he hated to lose,” Kraus said. “He was very, very persistent.”
       
      After not placing at Mishawaka’s Al Smith Classic as a senior, Bo bared down week by week and it paid off during the IHSAA state tournament series.
       
      “He’s a strong kid with an athletic build who got very good at a couple things he did consistently,” Kraus said. “I’ve never coached anybody who worked as hard as Bo Davis.”
       
      That kind of drive in the classroom turned Davis into Garrett’s 2015 valedictorian and he is now studying biomedical engineering at Indiana Tech. Blake and Beck are ranked in the top five of their classes at Garrett.
       
      A mean streak has also served Blake well.
       
      “Blake is the meanest of the brothers,” Kraus said. “He imposes his will on people. He’s almost a bully on the wrestling mat.”
       
      Lisa (Liechty) Davis, a standout athlete during her time at Garrett (she is a 1990 GHS graduate) and the boys’ mother, has witnessed the rage.
       
      “Blake is mean,” Lisa Davis said. “If Bo was beating them when they were wrestling, they might throw a punch or two. Five minutes later, they are each others’ best friend.”
       
      Blake does not shy away from the mean label.
       
      “I guess since I was little I had anger problems,” Blake Davis said. “I’ve gotten better over the years of channeling it. If you are a competitive person, you don’t want to lose. If you live with them, you’re going to hear about it.”
       
      Kraus appreciates the hate-to-lose attitude.
       
      “That’s not a bad thing in wrestling and it’s trickled down throughout the team,” Kraus said. “All the kids are getting that chip on their shoulder.”
       
      Superior conditioning has been Blake’s calling card.
       
      “I know I’m not the most talented wrestler, but I can outwork them,” Blake Davis said. “I prefer to pin the guy as quickly as possible, but I can go six minutes.”
       
      After an injury-filled football season, Blake just reached the wrestling shape of his junior season in recent weeks.
       
      Using his competitive nature, Blake has avenged early losses or beaten opponents even more convincingly in rematches.
       
      “(Blake) does have finesse,” Kraus said. “But for the most part, it’s a physical brute style of wrestling.”
       
      Even at 220, it’s not all bulldozer with Blake.
       
      “He’s pretty slick,” Bo Davis said of Blake. “He’s athletic for somebody that size. He can pull off some lighter-guy moves that stop people in their tracks sometimes.”
       
      Kraus said Beck has the potential to be the best wrestling Davis brother.
       
      “He’s had his brothers to work with all the time,” Kraus said. “He didn’t want to do it at first. Once he started to do it, he was all in. Now he doesn’t miss summer sessions, camps or weight room workouts. There are high expectations with his brothers’ accomplishments, but he doesn’t let it get to him.”
       
      Following coaching advice, Beck tries to keep moving on the mat and believe in himself.
       
      “I’ve been working on (constant motion),” Beck Davis said. “And to keep having fun and stay confident.
       
      “I’m not really technical sound, but I have a decent gas tank and I like to shoot.”

      3681 1

      #MondayMatness: Two generations of Faulkners make an impact on Mishawaka wrestling

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      Following in the footsteps of their father, the Faulkner brothers — senior 182-pounder Austin and junior heavyweight Alex — are looking to leave their mark on the storied Mishawaka High School wrestling program.
       
      Mike Faulkner, a 1987 graduate, was an IHSAA state finalist as a junior 185-pounder and state runner-up as a senior heavyweight for Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer Al Smith.
       
      Mike was bested by Lake Central’s Mike Fross in the ’87 finals then went on to grapple two years at Grand Rapids Junior College (now Grand Rapids Community College), placing eighth and fourth at the National Junior College Athletic Association Nationals for coach Charlie Wells, and two at Ferris State University.
       
      The elder Faulkner has coached or officiated the sport ever since. His resume includes a three-year stint as head coach at South Bend Adams High School, one season of leading the John Young Middle School program and many years as an assistant coach for his alma mater, working primarily with the heavyweights. He has more than two decades of experience as an IHSAA-sanctioned wrestling official and member of the St. Joseph Valley Officials Association.
       
      A former City of Mishawaka employee (14 of his 18 years were spent as parks superintendent), he served five years as assistant athletic director at MHS and July 1, 2016 became director of operations, overseeing buildings and grounds, transportation and safety.
       
      Austin Faulkner, 18, has his sights set high for his final prep wrestling campaign after earning his first Mishawaka Sectional title and second semistate appearance in 2015-16. He also went to semistate as a sophomore. All of this came at 182.
       
      A wall in the MHS wrestling room lists the state champions and state placers. Austin notices it at every workout.
       
      “I want my name to up there,” Austin Faulkner said. “I’m a Mishawaka wrestler. Mishawaka has had a tradition of great wrestlers. I want to continue that.”
       
      Alex Faulkner, 17, is looking to make his mark on the mat this year after placing fourth at sectional and bowing out in the first round of the Rochester Regional as a sophomore heavyweight.
       
      One thing Alex did in the off-season was hit the weight room.
       
      “I feel like I’m more physical and stronger than I was last year,” Alex Faulkner said. “I feel like I have more movement and will have a much better year. My loss at regionals last year upset me and I’m doing everything I can to make it to state this year.”
       
      Austin, who went into last week ranked No. 14 statewide at 195 but intends to be back at 182, knows that the formula for mat success is an offensive mindset.
       
      “Sometimes I catch myself being a little bit patient and not going after the guy,” Austin Faulkner said. “My dad tells me all the time just ‘go, go, go and keep attacking.’”
       
      That’s the way Mike was during his days as a wrestler and he still believes it.
       
      “You can’t win in wrestling unless you attack and go on offense,” Mike Faulkner said. “A lot of times you see wrestlers who are passive and they want to go on the defensive. Any successful wrestler that you have seen over time are those ones who continuously attack.”
       
      Those wrestlers also hone their moves repeatedly in the practice room in order to be able to perform them well on the competition mat.
       
      And the number of tricks in the bag does not have to be large.
       
      “It’s definitely better to perfect a few amount of moves,” Austin Faulkner said. “You see successful collegiate wrestlers who use a double-leg, a single-leg — nothing crazy.”
       
      Mike Faulkner is also a fan of repetition.
       
      “It becomes muscle memory,” Mike Faulkner. “It’s a reaction rather than a plot. I’m going to go out there and do this. As a wrestler, you can’t do that. It has to be a reaction. Mat time is crucial for the experience and for getting that feel for the flow of the match.”
       
      And no matter what, a grappler must commit to what they are doing.
       
      “You have to finish your move no matter what it is whether it’s a stand-up or a sit-out, switch, reversal or takedown,” Mike Faulkner said.
       
      Scouting reports on opponents are helpful, but not necessary if a wrestler can dictate what goes on inside the circle.
       
      “It’s nice to know what another guy does but you’ve got to go out and wrestle your match every time,” Austin Faulkner said. “You can’t let them control the match.”
       
      Mishawaka head coach Charlie Cornett counts Austin Faulkner as a leader for the Cavemen.
       
      “He comes in the room ready to go,” Cornett said. “He leads by example. He has improved quite a bit on his feet.”
       
      Cornett now sees Austin constantly pushing the pace, something he did not always do last season.
       
      The Faulkner boys are both multi-sport athletes. They are coming off a football season where fullback Austin (1,274 yards and 13 touchdowns as an all-Northern Indiana Conference first teamer) often followed the blocks of right guard Alex in helping coach Bart Curtis and the Cavemen go 10-3 and place second to Penn in the NIC North.
       
      “Football and wrestling go hand-in-hand in a lot of ways,” Austin Faulkner said. “Tackling is the same thing as a double-leg takedown. One of the things I like about being in football is that it makes me hungrier for wrestling season. Some of those kids that wrestle year-round might get tired of it. I can’t wait to get back on the mat.
      “(Mishawaka head football) coach (Bart) Curtis is big about us going out for other sports. It doesn’t matter what it is.”
       
      Cornett has watched Alex Faulkner fill out his frame, which is about 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds.
       
      “Alex has definitely picked up a little bit of an edge that he didn’t have last year from playing the interior line in football,” Cornett said. “He wrestled small at heavyweight last year and he got pushed around a little bit. I don’t see that happening this year nearly as much.”
       
      What’s the difference between football and wrestling shape?
       
      “They’ve finding that out right now,” Mike Faulkner said as his sons are now cutting weight for the mat. It’s something they don’t have to sweat in the fall.
       
      “Football shape, you can eat whatever you want,” Monique Faulkner, Mike’s wife and the mother of Austin and Alex, said.
       
      “You can’t get into wrestling shape by running the football or tackling the guy with the football,” Mike Faulkner said. “You’ve got to be wrestling live matches and doing those workouts in the wrestling room to get into tip-top wrestling shape. There’s no question.”
       
      Austin, who is pondering college offers for football and wrestling, played football at 207 and planned to be at 182 to start the season.
       
      Mike typically cut 40 pounds from football and wrestling leading up to his senior season when Coach Smith convinced him to be a heavyweight. Earlier in the year, he went from 190 to 210.
       
      “I never looked back,” Mike Faulkner said. “I was a heavyweight the rest of my life.
       
      “You can cut weight, but you’ve got to be smart about it. You can’t cut it too quick. There’s a reason the IHSAA and National Federation have implemented these (weight loss) rules.
       
      “(Austin’s) eyes are bigger than his stomach. He’ll eat the foods he enjoys the most rather than the ones that will benefit him and give him the protein he needs.”
       
      As for officiating, a wrestling background is helpful.
       
      “You can anticipate which way they’re going and get yourself in good position to call that near fall or takedown on the side of the mat,” Mike Faulkner said. “Knowing how the flow of wrestling goes is an advantage to an official.”
       
      Focus in the face of mental and physical fatigue is also important. Wrestling tournaments can be very long for wrestlers, coaches and the men in stripes.
       
      “You have to try to stay sharp and not let the day get the best of you,” Mike Faulkner said.
       
      Giving it their best is what Austin and Alex Faulkner indeed to do each day they step on the mat for Mishawaka.
       
      “It’s great to have both Faulkner boys on one team,” Cornett said. “They are definitely pillars.”

      5861 4

      #MondayMatness: The Culp Family is Hooked on Wrestling

      By Steve Krah
      When the mat sport attracts a child, it often brings whole family with it.
      Once that flame is lit, it’s next impossible to extinguish.
      An interest sparked into just such a passion for the Culps of Columbia City.
      Two topics come up at family meal time.
      “Wrestling and racing,” Pat Culp said. “That’s all we talk about at our house.”
      Blane Culp, son of Pat and David, loves the mat and dirt track racing and runs a website (http://www.maximumdirt.com/) dedicated to the latter.
      But it’s the love of takedowns, turns and technical falls that has gone on to have a major impact on not only Whitley County but the whole Indiana wrestling community and beyond.
      Introduced to competitive wrestling around age 6, Blane Culp enjoyed early success. He placed second in his weight class in at the Indiana State Wrestling Association state tournament in his second year and was hooked.
      “I lost to a kid named (Angel) Ecobedo (who went on to become four-time IHSAA state champion at Griffith High School and then an NCAA champion and four-time collegiate All-American for Indiana University),” Blane Culp recalls. “I was probably the last one who came close to beating him in Indiana.”
      Blane’s older brother, Josh Ross, also was having a blast and winning matches.
      Around 1996, the Culps — Pat and husband Dave (who had been a wrestler at Lewis Cass High School, where he graduated in 1977) — started the Columbia City Wrestling Club. Blane and Josh were an active part of an organization that went on to be one of the bigger ones around the state with an enrollment consistently over 100.
      While other family members Kayla Culp, David Stahl and Shane Stahl would be involved on the mats at the club and/or high school levels, Josh would go on to compete at 140 pounds in the IHSAA State Finals in his senior year at Columbia City (1998) while 125-pounder Blane placed third in his final prep season (2004).
      Randy Kearby was the Eagles head coach for both boys.
      Blane went on to grappled for two seasons at IU. He was an assistant at Bloomington North High School and is now in his sixth years as head coach at Columbia City.
      With all the knowledge gained as a wrestler and coach, Blane throws a lot of information at his young Eagles and they incorporate what works best for them.
      “I show a lot of stuff and they take what they want,” Blane Culp said. “We have short stocky guys and tall skinny guys. Some run legs and some run cradles. All of our guys are different.
      “There is not a set style in Columbia City and I like that. That’s the way it was when I was in school. I wrestled one way, but could change it for someone else.”
      Columbia City wrestlers generally have three of four options to take on double leg takedowns or finishes and they refine those as the season gets closer to conference and state tournament time.
      “By the end of the year, they’re picking their set-ups and their finishes,” Blane Culp said. “Come January and February, they are fine-tuning their favorite moves. It’s no longer in my hands. It’s in their hands.”
      Pat Culp has kept a hand in the sport because she believes in it.
      “Wrestling builds self esteem,” Pat Culp said. “It’s really good for the kids. That’s why I stayed involved.”
      And involved she is.
      Pat Culp, the Columbia City club president, got so caught up in the fun and excitement that she began helping to organize wrestling tournaments outside her club and became an ISWA Pairing Developmental Director.
      “I love organizing events,” Pat Culp said.
      She routinely runs or oversees multiple tournaments — high school and club — at the same time. She trains workers and is available on-site or by phone as a trouble shooter.
      Mark Dunham, Kyle Keith and Jean Whetstone are other volunteers who keep Indiana wrestling events running like clockwork.
      While more and more tournaments use Trackwrestling for scoring, Pat Culp insists that workers know how to manually score a tournament in case something happens like a computer server going down.
      “We want to keep the tournament running without people realizing what’s going on,” Pat Culp said. “There are a lot of variables, but it’s a lot of fun.”
      She knows that not all tournaments are the same and she tries to cater to each director. Some are ran as duals and other with individual brackets. Scoring for advancement and match points can differ.
      One tournament might be rigid for location of matches and others might go with first available match or use a combination of the two.
      “I don’t put everybody in a box,” Pat Culp said.
      If things are going smoothly at a tournament, like the IHSWCA State Duals which she helped run Saturday, Jan. 2, in Fort Wayne, Pat can watch what’s happening on the mats.
      Blane has noticed.
      “It seems that moms enjoy wrestling more than what dads do sometimes,” Blane Culp said.
      “She’s watched all these (Columbia City) kids grow up. At semistate, I can see her across the arena when we are in a ‘ticket’ round, she’s still biting her nails. She’s still nervous for them. It’s like when I was in school. They’re still her boys.”

      2432 2

      #MondayMatness: Team focus has been good to small but mighty Triton

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      There may be an “i” in Triton, but there’s no “i” in team.
      And for the Trojans — under the direction of co-head coaches Matt Arvesen and Ron Brown — team is the most important thing.
      That philosophy has helped a school that is small (enrollment 265) become mighty in the wrestling community.
      Bolstered by the attitude and success of the Class of 2015 (then-sophomore 106-pounder Malachi Greene, senior 152-pounder, Grant Stichter, junior 160-pounder Gage Waddle and senior 170-pounder Nate Spangle) won their weight class at the Plymouth Sectional), Triton went to its first Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals in 2015-16 (placing 10th in Class 1A).
      Waddle defended his sectional crown as a senior last winter.
      The Trojans have been invited back to the State Duals for 2016-17 (the meet is Friday, Dec. 23 at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne).
      “We’re where we are at because we kept the idea of team,” Arvesen said. “Everybody’s important. No person is more important than anybody else. Even my best guys will take the time to work with the younger kids, even if they have to sacrifice a little of their practice time.
      “It’s really nice that we have some kids who have learned how to lead in the room but, ultimately, it stems back to that (Class of 2015) group. They were all about each other and how the team was doing.”
      Arvesen said talk about “Team State” had been going on at the Marshall County school for four or five years and then Triton qualified and it really bolstered the program even more.
      “(Going to the State Duals) was nice because they kept everybody else focused on the team aspect,” Arvesen said. “We were never going to see the light of day, going to State with the Warren Centrals and the Penns. We just aren’t there as far as the level of commitment kids need as whole year-round to develop into that kind of team.
      “Whereas, we saw as an opportunity to get our kids to focus on the team and get the numbers out in the room, we could (earn an invitation to a classed dual tournament).
      “Last year, the experience was fantastic.”
      Even the kids who set the stage and had since graduated were there to cheer on the Trojans.
      “They took a break from college and made the trip to Fort Wayne,” Arvesen said. “It was cool to see everybody come together like that.”
      The athletes on the current squad are young and talented and still very team-oriented.
      “It’s really nice that we have some kids who have learned how to lead,” Arvesen said. “But with all the young kids, we are focused on learning technique.
      “Down the line, your condition is going to play a role, your strength is going to play a role, but ultimately, your level of technique and how well you do your best stuff is what’s going to take you to that highest level.”
      Arvesen wrestled for coach Bob Read at Plymouth High School and was an IHSAA State Finals qualifier as a sophomore in 1998 at 171 pounds then placed fifth at the IHSAA State Finals as a junior in 1999 at 189 and second as a senior in 2000 at 189. He was on the coaching staff at Yorktown High School while attending Ball State University and picked up technique from Troy Dulaney (now at Daleville).
      Brown, a 1999 graduate of Crosswell-Lexington High School in Michigan, was on the wrestling staffs at Richmond and Marion high schools before coming to Triton. Last fall marked his second as the school’s head football coach.
      A traditionally-strong basketball community, wrestling is now creating a buzz and crowds at Triton’s gym aka “The Trojan Trench.”
      “We’ve gotten more numbers (out for the team),” Brown said. “People have been talking about our success. It was a big deal the first time we qualified for (the State Duals).”
      Triton graduates Jason Thompson (who is also head junior high wrestling coach) and Brock Vermillion and Wawasee graduate Shaun Belin are also part of the Trojans wrestling coaching staff. Arvesen and Thompson also help coach football.
      Triton wrestlers begin learning a core of basic moves in the kids club — led by the high school coaches — and progress as they move up the ladder. The move set doesn’t change from fourth grade up to high school.
      “By the time they are freshmen, they pretty much know all the basics and we can get into the more complicated stuff,” Thompson said. “We can just move along. We don’t have to stop and take time to say ‘this is the double-leg (takedown), this is the Half (Nelson).’ We’ve already taken care of those things in the younger years.”
      The idea is to keep the lingo simple.
      “We all have the same terminology,” Arvesen said. “I can say something to any one of my kids and they’re going to understand what we’re talking about and what we want them to do during the match.”
      Some don’t step on the mat until they reach high school. But those who experience wrestling and start building a report with the coaches early at Triton have a real chance to succeed.
      “Most of our success can be attributed to getting them to buy in at a very young age,” Thompson said. “It really starts when we get the kids in junior high and they really buy into our system. He’ll have confidence in you as a coach if you have a good relationship with him.
      “If he knows you want him to be successful and you’ll work hard for him as long as he returns the favor for you. If you can get the kids to buy in early, they’ll do that for you throughout their career.”
      Brown said it’s not just about takedowns and pinning combinations at Triton.
      “We care more about them as people than athletes and I think they see that,” Brown said. “They put out a lot of effort for us. It’s a unique situation here. We see them so much in the classroom and in other sports.”
      Consequently, the Trojans are close-knit.
      “You can see it in how we handle them when they come off the mat after a tough loss or in the wrestling room,” Brown said. “It’s all very respectful and in a caring manner.”
      Greene, now a senior 132-pounder, enjoys the family atmosphere of the Triton program as well as the coaching staff’s ability to get the most out of their athletes.
      “Coaches drill us in a certain way to battle and fight for every point,” Greene said. “What makes us successful is that we don’t give up.”
      Junior Vincent Helton (182) said the Trojans give it “everything we have” at practices which typically include plenty of drill work and time for a little fun.
      “Everyone is focusing in the room and listening to what the coaches are telling us and working hard,” Helton said. “We cheer each other on. We’re their backing each other up.”
      Even as sophomores, 195-pounder Cameron Scarberry and heavyweight Billy Smith have their ideas of what makes Triton successful.
      Scarberry: “It’s our coaches’ enthusiasm for the sport and their constant reminding us that it’s an individual sport, but it’s also a team sport. We need to work hard and be intense through practices so we can do well individually and as a team. (Getting ready for State Duals) really gives us the boost of confidence we need to do better.”
      Smith: “We have great coaches. They love wrestling just as much as the kids do. You can’t do good if the coach doesn’t love wrestling. Our coaches never put us down. They expect us to do our best (no matter the level of opponent).”
      Because they’re all into it TOGETHER.

      3179

      #MondayMatness: Talented Crown Point Bulldogs taking down foes with team-first mentality

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      It’s an approach that Bo Schembechler would have recognized. Wrestling requires one wrestler go into the circle for one-on-one competition. But in high school, that wrestler is part of a team.
      At Crown Point, the Bulldogs are doing like the old University Michigan football coach said. It’s about “The Team. The Team. The Team.”
      “We’ve really been preaching the team concept,” says Branden Lorek, who is in his third season as Crown Point head coach and 14th in the program. The graduate of Fenton High School in Bensenville, Ill., wrestled at the University of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. “This isn’t just about ‘I’ or ‘me.’ It’s about the team.”
      With guidance from varsity assistants Bill Hawkins and Vince Sessa, each Dog knows their job before they step on the mat, whether it’s to rack up bonus points or at least save points for the team.
      It’s an approach the wrestlers have come to embrace.
      “It took a couple weeks, but now they’re seeing it on the scoreboard,” says Lorek. “We give them pretty specific instructions. This is what we need from you — nothing less.
      “We have an amazing coaching staff that’s passionate about the sport,” says Lorek, who also counts Brennan Cosgrove as a volunteer assistant, Nick Bruno as junior varsity coach and Aaron Sessa as freshman coach.
      It’s about setting a goal and knowing the expectation.
      “Our goal is always to win the match,” says Lorek. “If things go sideways, this is what’s next and our kids understand that.”
      After several years away, Crown Point competed in 40th Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka Dec. 28-29 and placed fourth out of 32 teams.
      “The Al Smith was a nice feather in our cap,” says Lorek. “Our team is just starting to come together.
      “Our conditioning is better than ever.”
      The Bulldogs had traditionally taken the Christmas break off from competition. Two years ago, Crown Point participated in the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals and placed 12th in Class 3A. Last season brought participation in the Connersville Spartan Classic and a first-place finish.
      “We’ve found our holiday tournament home,” says Lorek of the Al Smith Classic. “We were happy with the competition and hospitality. And it’s only a two-hour drive.”
      The team was bolstered by six placers at Mishawaka — freshman Jesse Mendez (first at 126 pounds), junior Riley Bettich (second at 120), sophomore Stephen Roberson (third at 106), senior Jake Burford (third at 145), freshman Nick Tattini (sixth at 113) and senior Ethan Potosky (seventh at 195).
      Crown Point followed that up with a 36-25 Duneland Athletic Conference dual victory against Merrillville on Jan. 2. With wins, Mendez moved to 24-0, Bettich 23-1, Roberson 21-1, Buford 23-2 and Potosky 8-2. The Bulldogs visit Michigan City for another DAC dual Jan. 8. The DAC tournament is Jan. 12 at Michigan City.
      Mendez won numerous folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman titles as a middle schooler. Last summer, he competed in the USA Nationals and lost in the All-American round in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.
      “It’s not a shock to us what Jesse’s doing (in high school),” says Lorek. “Jesse’s an extraordinary athlete and teammate. He’s done a great job of assimilating into the program. He listens. He’s good student. He does not get a big head. He’s always looking to get better.
      “He’s not shy about his goal or vision for the season.”
      Bettich’s first two high school seasons came at Lakeshore in Stevensville, Mich. Competing at 103 in Division 2, he was a state champion in 2018 and state runner-up in 2017.
      Like Mendez, Bettich has traveled all over the country for folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman events and the best opponents he can find. A strong student with a 3.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale, Bettich has aspirations of wrestling in college.
      “He’s been a great teammate and leader for us,” says Lorek of Bettich.
      “We were happy to see him rise to the occasion and compete (at Al Smith, where he lost 7-2 to Center Grove junior Brayden Littell in the finals).”
      Robertson is a transfer from Portage High School where he behind state champion Jacob Moran at 106 last season. The 2018-19 season marks Robertson’s first as a varsity starter.
      “He’s doing phenomenal,” says Lorek. “He’s a smart kid and a good student. He’s quiet and works hard. He’s very coachable.
      “We’re looking forward to see what he can do.”
      Buford and Potosky came up through the ranks at Crown Point.
      “Jake is having a great year,” says Lorek. “Where he ends up on the (State Finals) podium is up to him. The sky’s the limit for Jake. He’s a team leader, hard worker, good student and just a good person.
      “(Potosky) is a loyal, loyal Crown Point wrestler. After an injury in the regional championship in football, he’s starting to get back into it. His older brother (Steven) was a state qualifier (at 220) in 2014. If Ethan can get down to state, we think he can be someone on the podium.”
      The Duneland schedule is weighted toward the team concept with more points being awarded during the dual-meet position than the conference tournament.
      Lorek says finishing high in the DAC and adding points to the athletic department in the all-sports trophy chase is point of pride at Crown Point.
      “It teaches the kids that this is bigger than them,” says Lorek. “They are part of something special.
      “Hopefully that teaches them a life lesson. They can be a leader or a part as long as they belong to something.”

      2370 2 1

      #MondayMatness: Stroud leading Elkhart Central back to the top

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      A willingness to work toward constant improvement has helped raise Elkhart Central High School’s wrestling profile on the bigger stage.
      The 2016-17 Blue Blazers forged an 11-5 dual-meet record, beat crosstown rival Elkhart Memorial in a dual meet for the first time in many years then raised an Elkhart Sectional team trophy for the first time in 28.
      With Nick Conner (285 pounds), Tykease Baker (160) and Xander Stroud (145) winning their respective weight classes Blue Blazers edged Northridge by two points. It was the ECHS program’s first sectional team title since 1989.
      The Blazers won the sectional with a come-from-behind pin victory in a consolation match. 
      “It takes a lot of team effort,” says Central head coach Zach Whickcar, now in his sixth season of leading the wrestling program at his alma mater. He grappled for four seasons, graduating in 2006. “Everybody needs to pull their weight.
      “We won sectional with 14 guys, but it was the 14 behind them were every bit as important. They needed someone to practice with.”
      “It’s been a total buy-in. We took 11 kids to the Jeff Jordan’s State Champ Camp (during the high school off-season). The kids genuinely like being around each other.
      “It’s consistency and being present that gets you to where you want to be.”
      While they want to win during the regular, everything the Blazers do is focused toward the postseason.
      “I’m always telling them that we want to be peaking at sectionals,” says Whickcar. “We want to put out a product that’s competitive. But we want to do what is best for the kids. We want to win a sectional (team title) and we want to do well (as individuals) in the state tournament.”
      Since Whickcar took over as head coach for the 2012-13 season (the Blazers were 2-16 in duals that year), Central has produced five IHSAA State Finals qualifiers — Johnny Tredway (eighth place at 160 pounds in 2013), Eliseo Guerra (sixth at 220 in both 2014 and 2015), Stroud (eighth at 145 in 2017) and Chaz Boyd (did not place at 138 in 2017).
      Whickcar calls Stroud a “mat junkie.”
      “He’s always wrestling,” says Whickcar of a grappler who regularly attends Indiana State Wrestling Association Regional Training Center sessions at Jimtown High School and Midwest Extreme Wrestling Club events at Penn High School besides going to places like Virginia Beach and the Iowa Nationals during the summer. “He takes advantage of those opportunities.”
      Stroud said competing in big tournaments has one effect and practicing against good wrestlers has a another.
      “The wrestling is done in the RTC’s,” says Stroud. “The tournaments help you with your mindset. It’s about not being worried about who you are facing and just working on your stuff. You wrestle like how you want to wrestle.
      “It’s just you wrestling that other kid.”
      Plenty of time in the circle has led to acute mat awareness for Stroud.
      “He has a real feel for what he needs to do,” says Whickcar. “Like all of our wrestlers, he is able to find a couple of good things he is good at and uses them. He has pretty good leg attacks. But he definitely can get better.”
      The wrestler talks about what mat awareness means to him.
      “Where I’m at on the mat and the moves I chose to make depends on where I’m at,” says Stroud. “If I’m we’re the outer edge of the mat and I’m on the inside part of the mat and he’s closer to the line, I might shoot him out to get him out-of-bounds to re-set my position to the center.”
      “Or maybe he has my leg, I’ll watch my position and step out so we can re-set and go back to the center.”
      A rule change this season also allows wrestlers to get pins outside the circle. Before they could get “back” points but not falls.
      “You still have to have a supporting part (of your body) inbounds,” says Stroud. “Now you can go for a pin instead of just getting points.
      “You have to really watch your position more now since you can get pinned out-of-bounds.”
      The current Central lineup features Sean Johnson (106), Eric Garcia (113), Brad Felder (120), Jacob Hess (126), Tony Lopez (132), Raul Martinez (138), Peyton Anderson or Austin Garcia (145), Nathan Dibley (152), Xander Stroud (160), Carlos Fortoso (170), Peterson Ngo (182), Alex Lucias (195), Omar Perez (220) and Nick Conner (285).
      Stroud, Conner, Lucias, Martinez, Perez and Ngo (back after wrestling for Central as a sophomore) are seniors leading the 2017-18 Blazers.
      “Those six seniors have busted their butt,” says Whickcar. “They love the sport.”
      Stroud, who is planning to study biomedical engineering in college and may wrestle at the next level, says he prefers to lead by example.
      “Omar Perez and Alex Lucias — They are pretty vocal,” says Stroud. “I only yell when I have to. 
      “Our team is pretty good about doing what they are supposed to (be doing). During the season, we do larger things. At the end of the season, we fine-tune things. That’s when you want to peak — at the end of the season.”
      The Blazers opened the 2017-18 varsity season Saturday, Nov. 25 by placing second to Central Noble at the Elkhart Central Turkey Duals.
      Before the New Year, the Blazers have home dual meets slated against Northridge Dec. 5 and Mishawaka Dec. 7. 
      Then comes  the Jim Nicholson Charger Invitational at Elkhart Memorial Dec. 9 and dual meets at Elkhart Memorial Dec. 12 and South Bend Adams Dec. 14 followed by the 32-team Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka Dec. 29-30.
      Coming down the stretch of the regular season, there’s a dual at Penn Jan. 4, East Noble Invitational Jan. 6, Northern Indiana Conference meet Jan. 13 and dual at Jimtown Jan. 18.
      Besides Whickcar, ECHS wrestlers are pushed by a coaching staff with Central graduates Abe Que, Trevor Echartea and Zack Kurtz, Elkhart Memorial graduates Carson Sappington and Steven Vergonet and Concord graduate Brian Pfeil.

      2242 2

      #MondayMatness: South Bend Washington’s Forrest does not let missing limb slow him down

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      As South Bend Washington senior Ethan Forrest pinned his fourth opponent of the day and had his hand raised in victory, a roar rose up at Lake Central High School’s Harvest Classic.
      “I could see my team jumping up and down,” says Forrest. “The whole place was insane.
      “It was awesome.”
      It was the most noise first-year Panthers head Cory Givens had heard at a high school wrestling tournament this side of the IHSAA State Finals.
      “It was very exciting,” says Givens. “It was mind-blowing how loud it was. It was crazy.”
      Forrest won the title at 182 pounds and was voted by coaches as the meet’s outstanding wrestler. A few years later, he went 4-1 at Washington’s Blood, Sweat & Tears Super Dual.
      Putting in the sweat that it takes to excel in the circle and in life is what Forrest does.
      Born without most of his left leg, Forrest just keeps pushing.
      “He’s just like every other kid,” says Givens. “You wouldn’t know there’s anything different about him.”
      Forrest does not see having one full leg as a setback.
      “That’s all I know,” says Forrest, who put all he had into playing linebacker and defensive end on the football team, where Givens is the
      defensive coordinator. “It’s a lot of foot work, reading plays and a lot of hand-eye coordination.”
      Forrest also enjoys golf and plans to go out for track in the spring and run with the help of a blade prosthetic. He spends half of the school days building a house in Construction Trades II. He is a dairy clerk at the Martin’s Super Market on Mayflower Road in South Bend. Since he entered high school, his dream has been to pursue a career as an electrician.
      Givens saw in Forrest someone to help guide the Panthers on the mat.
      “Ethan’s a great kid,” says Givens. “He’s very athletic-looking and very intelligent. I selected him as a captain for how hard he works at practice  and pushes everybody else. A captain to me is more than just a star on your jacket or a senior. It’s someone who I think will be a good leader — on and off the mat.
      “I see those qualities in Ethan.”
      Forrest has taken Givens’ advice to heart.
      “You play like you practice,” says Forrest. “Practicing hard is going to get you where you want to go. Stay determined and focused on your goals.”
      Forrest, a tri-captain with senior Dion Hall (152) and junior Todd Hardy (126/132), defines his leadership role.
      “It’s keeping good team chemistry and making sure practice runs smoothly,” says Forrest. “I want to be an example for the rest of the team.”
      Rules allow for him to use his prosthetic in competition if he weighs in with it. He chooses not to use it in meets, but he will wear it in practice when necessary.
      “I put it on for my partner so he can get good looks, too,” says Forrest.
      “That goes back to how he is a leader and his unselfishness,” says Givens.
      Junior Anthony Frydrych (195) is Forrest’s primary workout partner.
      “That extra weight and muscle makes me work a little bit harder,” says Forrest.
      He stands 6-foot-1, but Forrest is about four feet off the ground in his wrestling stance.
      “Because of my leg I can usually get a lot lower on my opponents,” says Forrest. “And there’s less for them to grab.”
      Givens explains Forrest’s strengths, which includes upper-body power and a solid Fireman’s Carry.
      “Ethan is very good at countering attacks,” says Givens. “He’s going to be a couple of feet lower than everybody else."
      “Everybody seems to attack him differently. People aren’t sure how to go at him."
      “He has a really good low center of gravity. He doesn’t have to hit that level change. He’s already at his level change. It’s a lot of watching (opponents) making mistakes.”
      Ethan Edward Forrest II is the son of Ethan Forrest Sr. and April Hall. His father is a policeman. His sister is Emily Forrest, played volleyball at Washington and is now a sophomore at Indiana University South Bend. He has two younger brothers. Hockey player Austin Hanson is a freshman at South Bend John Adams High School. Phillip Northern is a seventh grader at LaSalle Academy in South Bend. His sport of choice is baseball.
      Eric’s mother also works at the Mayflower Martin’s as does sister Emily and aunt Missy Olmstead. Grandmother Susan Hall and uncle Rich Holland are also employed by the company.
      Emily Forrest is a former Washington wrestling manager and still attends matches to cheer and take photos along with Ethan’s mother.
      Ethan came to wrestling as a Washington freshman. He was at 138 pounds that first year then put on size and muscle in the off-season working out with his father and uncle — bodybuilder and trainer Eric Forrest — and bumped up to 170 for his sophomore and junior seasons.
      Givens is a 1999 graduate of John Glenn High School. He has long appreciated wrestling and renewed his love for the sport when his son was old enough to compete. Harryson Givens, 11, has been coached by his father since he was 5. Daughter Alora (8) is a constant at practices and meets.
      Cory says wife Anne has become a wrestling convert. She didn’t like the sport at first, but can’t get enough of it now.
      Glenn head wrestling coach Andy King convinced best friend Givens to coach at the junior high level.
      “I wouldn’t be where I’m at without him,” says Givens of King.
      A football coach for nearly 20 years with stops at Glenn, South Bend Clay and Washington, Givens was convinced to apply for the head wrestling coaching position when it came open at Washington.
      “I’m not the most skill or knowledgeable guy in this sport,” says Givens, who counts Trey Newhouse and Jason “Gunny” Holechek as assistants. “But there’s a desire to do good things with these kids. We’re going to tackle this thing together.”
      Washington has a smallish squad and placed 10th at the Harvest Classic while forfeiting six weight classes.
      “To do that, it means we’re pinning guys,” says Givens.
      The first thing Givens did when his hire was made official was contact Isaiah McWilliams, who was a three-time state placer for Washington (fourth in 2016, second in 2017 and second in 2018) and now a freshman on the Wabash College wrestling team.
      “I can’t say enough good things about that kid,” says Givens of McWilliams, who came came to run practice during Thanksgiving break. “These kids don’t understand how important he is to the school and to the wrestling program.
      “As an outsider, it’s mind-blowing how many spectacular athletes have walked through these halls.”
      Ethan Forrest is working hard to make his mark on Washington mat history.

      3060

      #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.”

      3009 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.

      3231 1

      #MondayMatness: Shawn Streck Won't Stop Working

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Shawn Streck has gotten used to climbing to the top of the podium.
      Streck (@S_streck95 on Twitter) was a junior high state champion in Indiana as a seventh grader. As a Merrillville High School junior, he went 46-0 and reigned among Indiana High School Athletic Association heavyweights, pinning Richmond senior Nathon Trawick in the finals.
      As a sophomore, Streck placed third in the state. He was seventh as a freshman. He has been a heavyweight his whole high school career.
      Now bound for Purdue University for both wrestling and football, Streck likes the view from on high and the 6-foot-3, 270-pounder wants to keep that vantage point.
      So he keeps working as he keeps bulldozing opponents at the start of his senior season.
      Advice from Merrillville coach David Maldonado rings in Streck’s ears.
      “He says if you don’t always look to get better, you’re going to get beat,” Streck said during a break at the LaPorte Invitational where he helped the Pirates go 5-0 on Saturday, Dec. 5. “I just think about that everyday. If I don’t get better, someone’s going to catch up to me and I’m not going to be at the top anymore.
      “Don’t look past anybody and keep working.”
      With his credentials, Streck is likely to get the best every opponent has to give.
      “I’m sure there is a target on my back, but I don’t think about that and just go out and wrestle my match,” Streck said.
      Maldonado reminds Streck that there are other heavyweights in Indiana with plenty of ability so he needs to stay humble and keep improving.
      “He’s got to stay humble,” Maldonado said. “He’s had success for so long. If he doesn’t continue to work, someone is going to catch him. It’s about staying focused and staying grounded.”
      That means that Streck, who moves more like a 160-pounder than a heavyweight, keeps working on his shots, changing levels, heavy hands, conditioning and his ability to break down an opponent.
      While Streck is a good enough student that he plans to major in biology at Purdue with sights on a future career in the medical field, he also has the smarts on the mat.
      “He’s got a real good wrestling IQ,” Maldonado said. “He knows what to do in certain positions. That’s huge, especially in high school athletics. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time.
      “He’s very coachable. I can tell him what he needs to do and he does it.”
      Maldonado said it will be Streck’s work ethic that helps him tackle tasks like being a college student plus a two-sport athlete on the NCAA Division I level.
      Early in the recruiting process, Streck built a relationship with wrestling and football staffs in Boiler Nation. He will also have a long-time friend with similar goals as a roommate.
      Penn senior Kobe Woods, the IHSAA 220-pound champion as a junior in 2014-15, plans to wrestle and may also play football at Purdue. Streck and Woods have known each other throughout high school and have been Team Indiana teammates.
      On the football field for Merrillville this fall, Streck spent his fourth season as a defensive tackle. He also filled a need for the Class 6A Pirates (7-5) when he also played center on offense.
      Streck said he prefers the defensive side of the ball.
      “On defense, you can get there and get nasty and make big plays,” Streck said.
      Streck likes to be a playmaker.
      He likes to make things happen.
      He lives the view from he top.

      3093 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.



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