Jump to content

  • Feature Articles

    WW and MM

    209 articles in this category

      3862 1

      #MondayMatness: Jay County’s Hare, Winner stepping back on Indiana high school wrestling’s big stage

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      “We have two from the Patriots of Jay County!” 
      Gaven Hare and Mason Winner are back for their second appearance in the IHSAA State Finals “Parade of Champions.”
      Once the pre-meet pageantry is over at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis Friday night, it’s time to get down to business for 220-pound senior Hare and 160-pounder Winner.
      There’s no more “just happy to be here.”
      Hare was a state qualifier at 220 as a junior. Winner placed seventh at 145 as a freshman.
      This year, Hare’s postseason path has included runner-up finishes at the sectional and regional tournaments — both held at Jay County — and a championship at the Fort Wayne Semistate.
      “This year, I know not to go in there content,” says Hare, who is 38-7 for 2017-18 and 120-44 for his prep career. “I have to stay hungry. “I’ve already lost two title matches (at sectional and regional). I know how bad it feels to lose. I’m not trying to have that feeling anymore.”
      It was Hare’s first semistate title and Winner’s second straight (the sophomore also won sectional and regional in 2018).
      Other Jay County semistate champions include Glenn Glogas (1982), Greg Garringer (1982), Eric Lemaster (1987), Geoff Glogas (1987), Larry Brown (1988), Casey Kenney (2008 and 2009), Drake Meska (2011) and Eric Hemmelgarn (2013 and 2014).
      When Hare earned his semistate title, he impressed a number of people in the Memorial Coliseum crowd.
      “I was getting feedback on both sides of the coin,” says fourth-year Patriots head coach Eric Myers. “I had at least 10 people come up to me afterward and say that he was one of their favorite wrestlers to watch.”
      It’s obvious to his coach by the smile on his face that Hare is enjoying the challenges of wrestling.
      “He likes to compete and have a good time,” says Myers. “Gaven is great for the sport. He makes it exciting out there.” Myers, a former Adams Central wrestler and South Adams head coach, is a seventh grade teacher and he first encountered Hare as a junior high student. It was in that seventh grade year that Andy Schmidt recruited the young man to the mats.
      “He was really raw at first,” says Myers. “But he had this athleticism and this innate sense to compete and to win.”
      As a freshman, Hare set his sights high and he won a challenge match to take a sport in the varsity lineup.
      “He’s always set goals,” says Myers. “ I’m going to be here by such and such time and usually he’s achieved those goals.”
      Myers has watched Hare experience some ups and downs in his senior season. He took two losses and narrowly avoided a third at the Carroll Super Dual and suffered setbacks against South Adams senior Isaiah Baumgartner in the sectional final and Adams Central senior Chandler Schumm in the regional championship match.
      Those only served to re-focus him.
      “He’s been pushing himself just a little harder than he did before,” says Myers. “He was banged up going into state tournament series so he backed off and that showed in his results.”
      At semistate, Hare edged Baumgartner 5-4 in the semifinals and pinned Central Noble junior Levi Leffers in 1:58 in the finals.
      A three-sport athlete, Hare is also a two-way lineman in football and right-handed pitcher in baseball. He has worked as an umpire and would like to explore coaching, something he has discussed with his Jay County head coaches — Myers in wrestling, Tim Millspaugh in football and Lea Selvey in baseball.
      When he’s not playing school sports, he is likely competing with friends or family in basketball, wiffleball, bowling or something else.
      “I’m a sports fanatic,” says Hare.
      Between all his other sports, Hare has found time to make it to off-season open rooms and works out in practice with assistant coaches like Bryce Baumgartner, who placed seventh at 182 as a Bellmont senior in 2017.
      “These older guys give me a good pounding,” says Hare. “They show me more technique and the moves that will get me through the tough matches.”
      Myers has two paid assistants in Jeff Heller and Bruce Wood and three volunteers in Baugmgartner, Jon Winner and Chad Chowning. Bellmont graduate Heller was a Myers assistant at South Adams and is also his brother-in-law. Wood and Chowning are Jay Country graduates. Jon Winner is a former Monroe Central wrestler and the father of Mason.
      The son of Molly Robbins and Zack Hare and middle sibling between Destiny Hare and Corbin Hare, Portland resident Gaven says he would like to pursue one or more sports in college.
      As self-described academic slacker his first few years of high school, Hare pulled a 4.0 and 3.8 in the first two grading periods this school year.
      “I’m trying to catch up,” says Hare, who has drawn some interest from college wrestling programs and will wait to see what unfolds this spring on the baseball diamond.
      Winner, who is 44-2 on the season and 83-6 for his career, has been around wrestling almost non-stop since he was a second grader. He has traveled extensively with the Indiana Outlaws and trained with the best at CIA and Pride centers and attended Jeff Jordan’s camps.
      “He’s a year-round grinder,” says Myers of Winner. “He immerses himself in the sport and so does his family.”
      Winner, who topped Fort Wayne Bishop Luers senior Chandler Woenker 3-0 in the semistate finals, is always looking to make himself better.
      That’s why he started running cross country in sixth grade.
      “It’s whether you want to push yourself or not,” says Winner. “They say that wrestling is 90 percent mental. It’s whether you want do to it or not. You have to push yourself — in running or wrestling.”
      Winner has a way of pushing himself and his opponent.
      “He’s an in-your-face wrestler that will keep coming at you,” says Myers. “He’s got a quality that is hard to implant in kids. He’ll keep going until he gets what he wants. He’s hard-nosed and mentally tough.
      “He has the confidence to keep going after it.” Mason also draws inspiration from his family. Jon and Kimberly Winner have three children — Mason, Mitchell and Mallory. Mitchell is a
      freshman and also runs cross country. Fifth grader Mallory competes with the Jay County Wrestling Club and also plays softball.
      The Winners are Ridgeville area farmers and have about 50 head of Charolais cattle between their property and that of Bill and Sandra Winner — Jon’s parents.
      Both of Mason’s paternal grandparents were too ill to attend semistate.
      “I’m wrestling with so much more emotion,” says Mason. “My grandpa has Alzheimer’s (disease). He’s my hero.
      “It would mean so much to me to win a state title for him.”
      Two Patriots — Geoff Glogas (98) and David Ferguson (105) — reached the top of the State Finals podium in 1987.
      Jay County’s state placers:
      • Glenn Glogas (second at 112 in 1981; second at 119 in 1982).
      • Greg Garringer (fifth at 155 in 1982).
      • Kurt VanSkyock (third at 145 in 1984; third at 155 in 1985)
      • Larry Wilson (fourth at 167 in 1985).
      • Geoff Glogas (state champion at 98 in 1987; fifth at 103 in 1988).
      • David Ferguson (state champion at 105 in 1987).
      • Shawn Jordan (sixth at 152 in 1997).
      • James Myers (seventh at 125 in 1997).
      • James Brewster (seventh at 215 in 1999).
      • Casey Kenney (second at 103 in 2008).
      • Eric Hemmelgarn (third at 285 in 2012; fifth at 285 in 2013; fourth
      at 285 in 2014).
      • Kyle Garringer (sixth at 195 in 2013).
      • Andy Kohler (sixth at 182 in 2016).

      2929 4

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

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

      2913 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.

      2866 4

      #WrestlingWednesday: Cathedral ascends to the top once again

      By JEREMY HINES
      thehines7@gmail.com
      It was the moment Cathedral’s Jordan Slivka had dreamed about his whole life. He was about to wrestle under the lights at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse with a weight-class and the team state championship on the line.
      “Earlier in the day I had told my coaches that I knew it was going to come down to me,” Slivka said. “I just had that feeling. That’s not a dig on my teammates, but I just knew it was going to come down to me. That’s what I wanted. If there was anyone in the state that I would want in that position, I’d choose me.”
      Slivka battled for six minutes with Yorktown’s undefeated senior Christian Hunt. In the end, Slivka emerged victorious in the narrowest of margins - a 1-0 victory. That win gave Slivka his first state title and also clinched the championship for Cathedral.
      The Irish outscored the field with a total of 108 points. Brownsburg finished with 100.5 followed by Columbus East with 98.5.
      “We knew the score and we knew Brownsburg had two big guns left,” Cathedral coach Sean McGinley said. “Slivka told me not to worry about it, he was going to take care of it. He said he’s going to get it done. He’s one of the most mentally tough kids I know, and at the end he pulled it out.”
      The Irish sent 10 wrestlers to the state meet. On Friday night, seven of those 10 won their match to guarantee a top eight finish.
      “I said at the beginning that our goal was to win a state championship,” McGinley said. “The only way we were going to win was by committee. We did. We brought 10 to the finals and then had a great Friday night. We had seven place winners. We battled and we won the close ones. We pulled a lot out in the last seconds and ended up on top.”
      In the tournament Cathedral won seven matches by two points or less.
      Perhaps the most pivotal match of the tournament came at 138 pounds when Cathedral’s Zach Melloh took on Brownsburg’s Blake Mulkey.
      The match went to the ultimate tie breaker, after a controversial stalling call on Mulkey. Melloh eventually won the match 3-2.
      “That was two teams going at it right there,” McGinley said. “The thing about Zach Melloh, he’s always going to give us six minutes no matter what. He pushes the pace. Sometimes you are going to get a call, and sometimes you don’t. We got the call in this one and took advantage of it and scored when we needed to.”
      Cathedral had four wrestlers reach the final. Alex Mosconi (132 pounds), Mellow (138) and Elliott Rodgers (152) all earned runner-up finishes. Slivka was the Irish’s lone champ.
      Cathedral also got a third-place finish out of 106-pounder Logan Bailey and a fourth by Lukasz Walendzak (120). Jacob Obst (285) finished seventh. Caleb Oliver (113), Andrew Wilson (126) and Anthony Mosconi (160) lost in their respective Friday night matches.
      “All year we knew we had a group of kids that are really tough to beat,” McGinley said. “We knew we would have our hands full in the finals. The guys we were taking on were all very quality guys and great wrestlers. We were able to pull one out, but for us, it was all about committee. Everyone scored points for us when we needed them.”
      Another key to Cathedral’s success, according to Slivka, was the team’s swagger.
      “My motto is ‘Learn to love it’,” Slivka said. “You have to have fun in this sport or you’ll start to hate it. That was really the main key. We went out there and had fun all day. We were confident and we had swagger. I’m not sure coach cared for it too much, but it kept us relaxed and ready to get the job done.”
      The title was Cathedral’s second in wrestling. The Irish also won the team title in 2014. Next season seven of the 10 state qualifiers will return. Only Melloh, Anthony Mosconi and Obst are seniors.

      3374 2

      #WrestlingWednesday: Avon's Band of Brothers leading the way

      By JEREMY HINES
      thehines7@gmail.com
      The Avon wrestling team knows exactly where to look for inspiration as the season winds down and the state tournament draws near. The Orioles look to their own past.
      Avon has learned first hand how wild and unpredictable the tournament can be. Wrestlers on the team have proven that it doesn’t matter if you win sectional, or regional. It doesn’t matter if you take some losses during the regular season. What matters most is surviving and advancing.
      Avon senior Asa Garcia has epitomized that philosophy in his stellar career.
      As a freshman Garcia lost to Ty Mills of rival Brownsburg in the sectional championship. Mills went on to beat him again in the regional, and then handed him a 5-0 loss in the semistate final. At state, however, Garcia was the one standing at the end. Mills lost to Warren Central’s Keyuan Murphy 9-2 in the semifinal round. Garcia pinned Murphy in the state championship to claim his first title.
      Garcia had a fantastic sophomore year - winning sectional, regional and semistate, but he fell just short of his goal of back-to-back state titles, losing to eventual champion Alex Viduya in the state semifinal round. Garcia finished third that season.
      As a junior Garcia again lost to Mills in sectional (2-0) and regional (5-1). In the semistate Columbus East’s Cayden Rooks handed Mills a semifinal defeat (1-0) and then dealt Garcia a loss in the semistate championship (3-1). But, like his freshman year, Garcia learned from his losses.
      In the state finals Garcia ran through an absolute gauntlet of wrestling phenoms. He took out Beech Grove’s Ethan Smiley. He then faced Mills, who had dealt him so many previous losses. This time Garcia came out victorious 8-1. 
      In the championship, Garcia would once again take on Rooks - who had just beat him the week before. This time Garcia won the match 3-2 to claim his second title.
      “Asa is really the heart and soul of our team,” Avon coach Zach Errett said. “As he goes, so does the team. He’s not afraid of losing. That’s really a quality that a lot of our guys have. You have to learn from your losses, and Asa has really shown he can do that.”
      This year Avon has seven state-ranked wrestlers in the lineup. Garcia is No. 1 at 132 pounds this season and senior teammate Carson Brewer is ranked No. 1 at 182 pounds.
      Asa’s younger brother, Blaze, a freshman, is currently ranked No. 12 at 106 for the Orioles. Sophomore Tyler Conley is ranked No. 10 at 120 and his older brother Nathan Conley (12) is ranked No. 4 at 152.
      Junior Raymond Rioux is currently ranked No. 7 at 126. Sophomore Jaden Reynolds rounds out the ranked wrestlers for Avon, at No. 10 in he 138 pound weight class.
      “Asa, Nathan and Carson really lead the way for us,” Errett said. “They are great leaders and they work hard. That shows the other kids what’s expected and what needs to be done in order to have success.”
      Avon has three sets of brothers on the team in the Garcias, the Conleys and Jaden and Trae Reynolds. Trae, a senior, is injured and will miss the remainder of the season.
      “Trae had been ranked for most of the year,” Errett said. “Then at team state he dislocated his elbow and is out for the year. I feel terrible for him. The type of kid he is, he will probably be first team academic all-state. He had either the highest or the second highest GPA in all of the juniors and seniors last year. He’s a phenomenal young man. He’s a hard worker. His senior year ended in the wrong way, but he still comes in the room and helps coach. He’s trying to help his teammates anyway he can. He’s been an awesome kid.”
      For the last few years Avon has finished just behind Brownsburg in sectional and regional standings. The Orioles are hoping this year they can pull off the upset.
      “Our goal is to win the IHSAA state title,” Errett said. “We know in order to do that we have to have a lot of things go right for us. In this sport, that’s unpredictable. But, we really feel we have a chance if everyone is wrestling their best.”

      2970 3 1

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

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

      2641 1

      #MondayMatness: A.J. latest in a long line of Fowlers piling up victories at Calumet

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      One family has had their hand raised in victory nearly 500 times while representing Calumet High School wrestling.
      Brothers Artty (Class of 1991) and Ed Fowler (1992) grappled to victories for the Warriors then the next generation added to that total. Artty and Deanna Fowler’s five oldest sons — Nathan (2010), Noah (2014), Nick (2015), Kobe (2016) and A.J. (2019) — have all won for the Warriors, especially Nick and A.J.
      With success in the IHSAA state tournament series, A.J. has a chance to pass Nick on the way to the top of the Calumet victory list. No. 1 is now held by 2010 130-pound state qualifier Mike Clark (143).
      In a household full of wrestlers, A.J. found out he had to get tough just to protect himself.
      “I’m as aggressive as a I can be,” says A.J. Fowler. “All my brothers beat me up when I was little.”
      All the Fowlers have played football and wrestled for the Warriors. A.J. ran for more than 500 yards as a fullback and also played defensive end and outside linebacker last fall. He sees his collegiate path including business management classes and either wrestling or football.
      “The two go hand-in-hand for success in both,” says Jim Wadkins, a 1980 Calumet graduate who grappled at 177 pounds for coach Rolland Beckham (who had been an NAIA All-American at Indiana State and coached at Calumet for 18 years) and has been on the wrestling coaching staff since 1984-85 (he was an assistant to Ken Stigall, who was placed third at 112 at the 1967 IHSAA State Finals) and head coach since 1990-91.
      Known for close to a decade after reorganization as Calumet New Tech High School, the Gary-based school has about 600 students. That makes it one of Indiana’s smaller Class 3A schools.
      “We’ve got a lot of two- and three-sport athletes at Calumet,” says Wadkins. 
      A.J. Fowler wrestled at 182 pounds as a freshman, 195 as a sophomore and junior and is at 220 as a senior. His resume includes two sectional titles, one regional crown, three semistate berths and a state qualifying appearance in 2018. He has a chance to join Butch Carpenter as four-time semistate qualifier for Calumet.
      The Warriors are members of the Greater South Shore Conference and face a strong schedule which includes, in addition to the conference tournament, the Warsaw Invitational, Harvest Classic at Lake Central, Chris Traicoff Memorial Invitational at Calumet, Jeffersonville Classic, Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka and Lake County Championships. Chris Traicoff started the Calumet program in 1939. The program was shut down during World War II and beyond and Beckham helped bring it back with the help of AD and boys basketball coach Traicoff during the 1960’s. He died in 1989.
      According to Wadkins, Lowell native George Belshaw introduced Traicoff to Indiana University coach Billy Thom and even though 1935 valedictorian Traicoff played basketball and never wrestled a match in at Calumet Township High School, he won an NCAA title for the Hoosiers in 1939. That same year, he came back to Calumet to start the program. Calumet’s modern state tournament path has led them through the Griffith Sectional, Hobart Regional and East Chicago Semsitate.
      In other words, a lot of tough Region wrestlers.
      “It’s pretty tough,” says Fowler of northwest Indiana grappling. “You never know what you’re going to get."
      “You may get a guy who’s big, burly and knows about three moves but he’ll still go with you.”
      Wadkins notes that most Region wrestlers in the upper weights are juniors and seniors and Fowler held his own as an underclassman. Fowler has honed his skills with senior 195-pounder Aaron Lizardi and senior 285-pounder Keiloun Martin being his regular workout partners. He also spars regularly with assistant coach Andy Trevino. A state champion at 140 for Calumet in 1991, he has assisted Wadkins for more than a decade.
      “He’s an asset in our room,” says Wadkins of Trevino. “Coaching wrestling is a young man’s game. They’re able to get on the mat with the kids."
      “We’ve been very fortunate. Calumet grads or those connections to the program have shown a lot of devotion and have been good about giving back.”
      Alec Noworul (Class of 2014) and Lamberto Garcia 15 are giving back as middle school coaches who also help out at high school workouts.
      A.J. gives knowledge to his younger teammates by showing them the many moves he knows.
      “It’s kind of like a big brother system,” says A.J., who is also sometimes joined in practice by actual brothers Nathan and Noah. Sister Felicia is the oldest of the Fowler kids and the only girl. Wadkins says she might be the toughest. Youngest Kade (Class of 2026) has yet to get too involved in wrestling.
      Like his older brothers, A.J.’s matches keep his mother on the move. “She still has anxiety,” says A.J. Fowler. “She has to walk around after every match.”
      Calumet has competed this season with 22 wrestlers and filled most weight divisions, even when being undersized in some of them.

      2189 2

      #MondayMatness: Jimtown’s Gimson twins gearing up for senior season

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      The identical Gimson twins — Conner and Matt — return for their senior wrestling season for Jimtown High School in 2018-19.
      Both brothers are two-time IHSAA State Finals qualifiers. Both stepped onto the State Finals podium last season — Conner placed fifth at 138 pounds and Matt eighth at 132.
      Both Jimmies are back and looking to do even better in their last prep mat go-round. They will likely be in those same weight divisions.
      After going 46-4 in 2017-18, Conner Gimson’s three-year career record stands at 123-21. Matt Gimson went 46-5 last season and is now 127-20. “They have a ceiling that’s still really high,” says Jimtown head coach Jeremiah Maggart of the Gimsons, who are the youngest of Scott and Sherry Gimson’s four children (Drew and Kylie are the oldest). “They’re successful because they wrestle really hard and do things strong.”
      Both brothers honed their skills and got different looks by competing in out-of-state tournaments last spring and summer. Among those were individual and national duals in Virginia Beach, Va., and the Super 32 in North Carolina.
      “They showed me a different way to wrestle so I have to think differently,” says Conner Gimson.
      His approach on the mat has changed since the beginning of his high school days.
      “Earlier in my career, I was thinking strength could win it all,” says Conner Gimson. “But you need both technique and strength.
      “You have to have the dedication in practice everyday. You push yourself more today than you did yesterday to be a better wrestler later on.”
      Matt Gimson is also taking the lessons he learned in the summer and applying them in the Jimtown practice room. To improve, he has grappled with Maggart, Conner, Hunter Watts and others.
      “I thank everyone that’s helped me through the process,” says Matt Gimson. “I’m better at getting takedowns (compared to my early prep career). In the neutral position is what I’ve been working on from my freshman year to now.”
      Repetition is the key.
      “When you do something so much, you get used to it will become muscle memory,” says Matt Gimson. “That’s what I think has gotten better for me.”
      Conner has witnessed an improvement in Matt, his older brother by 27 minutes.
      “He’s gotten smarter, faster and stronger, too,” says Conner Gimson of his brother. “He can do a quick re-shot compared to some other people.”
      Maggart says he is trying to get Conner to realize his potential.
      “He can win big matches,” says Maggart. “Last year, he lost at the Charger Invitational (at Elkhart Memorial) and two matches at the Al Smith (Classic at Mishawaka).”
      After that, Conner told his coach that he wanted to step up his game.
      His work ethic increased and so did his focus on technique.
      “We drilled everyday from the Al Smith to State,” says Maggart of Conner Gimson. “He worked really hard in positions he wasn’t good at.
      A kid coming up and saying I want to do this is pretty awesome.
      “He beat a lot of good kids from the regional on (including Elkhart Memorial’s Bryton Goering in the Elkhart Sectional and Fort Wayne Semistate finals as well as Central Noble’s Austin Moore in the regional final and Yorktown’s Colt Rutter in the semistate “ticket round,” Western’s Hunter Nottingham in the semistate semifinals and Culver Military’s Adam Davis is the fifth-place match at State).”
      Matt Gimson’s first loss as a junior came to Indianapolis Cathedral’s Alex Mosconi in the Al Smith Classic finals.
      “That didn’t faze him,” says Maggart. “Sometimes you lose a match or two and you’re kind of shaky on where you’re at.
      “(Conner and Matt) stayed the course and listened to our coaching staff about getting them where they want to be — state place winners.”
      Maggart has seen the twins excel with what appears to be natural strength. It might also come from a 6-foot-4 father and grappling against bigger kids at a younger age.
      “Wrestling stronger kids made me who I am today,” says Conner Gimson.
      Their coach has noticed that muscle in both twins.
      “They are so strong,” says Maggart. “They are no live-in-the-weight room kids. When they grab on to you, you say that kid’s really strong for 130 pounds.”
      Does it help to have many moves in your arsenal?
      “It helps if you know a lot of things, but if you stick to the basics that will be the best,” says Conner Gimson. “The basics we talk about are high crotches, single-legs and doubles.”
      Maggart notes that the Gimsons have improved technically a lot the last year and a half, but there is a comfort zone with certain moves. “I’m confident that I can get the stuff done if I do it my way,” says Conner Gimson.
      Conner Gimson was once known for his spadles and Matt Gimson his cradles, but both have worked to diversify their attacks.
      “I have to have other moves if that one doesn’t work,” says Matt Gimson.
      Some wrestlers can become known for certain things. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they can be stopped.
      “If you do something well enough and hard enough, it doesn’t matter if they know it’s coming,” says Maggart. “You can’t be a one-trick pony and have one move. But if you have a couple of things and you do them well enough that no one can stop you, you’ll be OK.
      “Jordan Burroughs is one of the best wrestlers in the world. Everyone in the world knows he shoots a double and he still scores on doubles on everybody.”
      Not only are the brothers physically tough, there’s mental toughness there, too.
      “Probably the biggest part of the sport that is unnoticed is how tough are you when things are tough?,” says Maggart. “Everybody’s going to eventually get in that spot. (The Gimsons) are tough. They’ll do whatever you ask them to do. They show up. They put a lot of time in.
      “They’re always mentally in it.”
      Both brothers plan to wrestle in college, but have not yet made commitments.
      The Jimmies open the season with the Jimtown Super Dual Dec. 1. Some of the other competition include the Charger Invitational at Elkhart Memorial Dec. 8, the Henry Wilk Classic at Penn Dec. 15, a dual at NorthWood Dec. 18, the Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka Dec. 28-29, the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals in Fort Wayne Jan. 5, a dual against Northridge Jan. 8, Northern Indiana Conference Tournament Jan. 12 and a dual against Edwardsburg (Mich.) Jan. 15.

      2067 2

      #WrestlingWednesday: Warren Central focusing on team

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      Warren Central wrestling coach Jim Tonte was watching a documentary on the life of South African Nelson Mandela. That documentary sparked a philosophical mantra that Tonte would use to help push his team-first mentality.
      “We really adopted the term ‘Ubuntu’,” Tonte said. “To Mandela, it meant ‘I am because we are.’ Mandela talked about everyone sacrificing for the good of the people. South Africa found success because they worked together. It wasn’t about me, it was about us.”
      Although wrestling is largely considered an individual sport, Tonte embraces the team aspect first and foremost. His teams have won four state titles (three with Perry Meridian and one with Warren Central). Individually, he has coached eight state champions.
      With over 70 wrestlers in the program Tonte feels it is vitally important to stress the team-first mentality.
      “A lot of people don’t understand or believe my philosophy,” Tonte said. “I believe in building a team and building depth. A lot say the team state isn’t as important as individual. They say you can just make one really good team. But that doesn’t make Indiana wrestling any better.
      “I remember one year we got second in state and we had Nick Walpole, who was a state champion. Nick said he would trade that individual ring any day of the week and twice on Sunday for a team title. We are a family from the little kids on. You build your elementary, your middle school and you all support each other.
      “I’m good at reenacting what other greats do. Mater Dei really had this same philosophy and year after year they would produce great teams because of it.”
      This year Tonte is hoping his team lives up to their potential.
      “From top to bottom we are as solid as we were in 2016,” Tonte said. “We aren’t as flashy as the 2016 team, but we’re as solid.”
      The Warriors return three state qualifiers from last season. David Pierson finished fourth at 106, Antwaun Graves was fifth at 145 and Jarred Rowlett qualified at 132.
      Four other returners were semistate qualifiers last year – Jevian Ross, Aundre Beatty, Brice Coleman and Aaron Taylor.
      Sophomore Carlton Perry will likely be the Warriors’ 106-pounder. Perry is currently ranked No. 12. Pierson is ranked No. 4 at 113 pounds.
      Senior Chris Stewart will be at 120 for the Warriors with Ross, a sophomore, filling the 126 varsity spot.
      Ross was an All-American at the Disney Duals over the summer, just three weeks after a stray bullet came through his house, into his bedroom and struck him in the head.
      “That was a freak, freak thing,” Tonte said.
      Beatty, a junior, will fill the 132 spot with Rowlett, a senior, moving up to 138. Coleman will wrestle 145 for the Warriors.
      Graves, at 152, is perhaps Warren’s most decorated grappler. He was a preseason national champ last season. He beat eventual state champion Jordan Slivka in the semistate and beat Kasper McIntosh, who now wrestles for the University of Minnesota, in the placement round at state.
      “When Antwaun is on a roll he can beat anyone,” Tonte said. “He’s legitmate. He’s one of those kids that learns during a match. He’s very coachable. His freshman year at team state duals he had a kid named Joe Lee (Mater Dei). Lee only decisioned him. At the time, Antwaun was our JV kid. Can you imagine Joe Lee decisioning a JV kid, and at the end of the match Joe got called for stalling. I told Antwaun then that he can be a state champion.”
      Graves is ranked No. 4.
      Taylor will be Warren’s 160 pounder.
      “He’s one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever coached,” Tonte said.
      At 170 junior Damon McClane will look to make his mark in his first year as a varsity wrestler.
      “Damon has been very successful during the offseason at all three levels,” Tonte said. “We’re hoping he will really surprise people this year. He was a JV guy for us last year.”
      Senior James Dycus will wrestle at 182 for the Warriors with senior Nathan Bishop getting the 195 spot.
      Warren’s 220 pounder and heavyweight will likely be filled by members of the state championship football team. Senior Carlos Mitchell will wrestle at 220 and either Dennis Hubbard or Alex Hernandez will fill the spot at heavyweight.
      With such a large number of wrestlers, Tonte says there could be others that break into the lineup at some point in the season.
      “We have guys like Jajuan Anderson as a back up at 145-152. He just All-Americaned at Iowa in the preseason nationals as a sophomore.”
      Tonte said part of his strength as a coach is to emphasize to everyone that they have an important role on the team. That helps when there is so much competition for position spots.
      “That’s my niche,” Tonte said. “We have to find ways for kids to stick around. If there is one thing in this sport that I’ve been pretty good at, it’s probably that. I try my best to keep kids around the program. Even the worst kid in the world is important to the program. We are going to have wrestle offs this week and we’ll have state caliber kids battling to stay in the lineup. But, in the end, they know it’s all about the team and they’ll do whatever they need to do to help the team win.”

      2883 2 2

      #MondayMatness: O’Neill returns to Wabash, helps Apaches thrive

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      The second time around has been extra sweet for Jake O’Neill and the Wabash High School wrestling program.
      O’Neil spent six seasons as Apaches head coach then four as an assistant at his alma mater — Ben Davis in Indianapolis — and is now in his second six as head coach at Wabash.
      With the help of several folks, O’Neill and the Apaches have enjoyed a resurgence since he was drawn back to the northern part of Indiana.
      “I like where this little school’s going,” says O’Neill. “I’m excited about it.”
      “I love this community.”
      Wabash has a population of about 10,000 and around 400 attend the high school.
      This season, the Apaches will participate in the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals for the first time. Wabash will be in Class 1A for the Jan. 5 meet in Fort Wayne.
      The Apaches’ varsity schedule also includes the Wabash County Invitational, Western Invitational, Whitko Invitational and duals with Maconaquah, Rochester, Lewis Cass, Eastbrook, Peru and Western.
      “When you have rivalries and communities meet up it only only helps the sport grow,” says O’Neill. “We had a nice gym going against Maconaquah. It was a fun atmosphere.”
      There are 27 wrestlers on the Wabash team.
      “We have a really big sophomore group,” says O’Neill. “Quantity helps. Quality is what we’re looking for.”
      In the mix are freshman Jared Brooks and sophomore R.J. Steg at 106 and 113, sophomore Ethan Higgins at 120, junior Braden Brooks at 126, junior Jaxon Barnett at 132, sophomore Anthony Long at 138, freshman Brayden Sickafus at 152, junior Traydon Goodwin at 152, sophomore Grant Carandante at 160, sophomore Justin Heckman and sophomore Bryson
      Zapata at 170, senior Blake Wiser at 182, senior Luke Voirol at 195, sophomore Grant Warmuth at 220 and senior Justin Samons and junior Blake Price at 285.
      Higgins and Braden Books competed in the off-season at the Freestyle and Greco-Roman Nationals in Fargo, N.D.
      “They got to see guys who will be on the (IHSAA State Finals) podium at the end of the year,” says O’Neill. “Training with them all summer was definitely good for them.”
      Carandante is O’Neill’s stepson. His other two children are freshman wrestler Kiersten O’Neill and sophomore basketball player Keegan O’Neill.
      Upon his return to Wabash, O’Neill established the Apache Wrestling Club. It now has about 30 grapplers in grades K-6.
      There are also about 20 sixth, seventh and eighth graders in the junior high program.
      A wall was knocked down in the weight room to double the size of the Wabash wrestling room.
      “We’re changing the culture here with the sport,” says O’Neill, who notes that the Apaches scored four points and were down to six wrestlers the season before his return. “The community is starting to see the hard work these young men and women are putting in.
      “We want to continue to get kids up on that podium at Bankers Life and get kids up on our little wall of fame at school. We’ve got to aim big. That’s how I want my wrestlers thinking.”
      Ross Haughn and Jimmy Olinger are coaching the elementary wrestlers and are part of a high school coaching staff which also includes Tyler Niccum, Jeremy Haupert and Isaac Ray. Ray wrestled at Hamilton Heights High School and at Manchester University in North Manchester, Ind., about 15 miles from Wabash.
      “I have a solid relationship with Coach (Kevin) Lake (at Manchester U.),” says O’Neill. “I use my resources wisely with that.”
      Chad Ulmer, who wrestled at Triton High School and Manchester U., has departed Wabash for Hendricks County, where he will serve as a probation officer and likely help coach wrestling at one of the area schools.
      At Ben Davis, where O’Neill had graduated in 1995, he joined with then-Giants head coach Aaron Moss to have plenty of mat coaching success.
      “We produced some pretty good wrestlers together,” says O’Neill.
      O’Neill was dating a Wabash girl — Aimee — and decided to look for a job that would bring him back north. He took an interview at nearby Manchester High School.
      By then, principal Jason Callahan had become superintendent of Wabash City Schools.
      “(Callahan) made it happen,” says O’Neill of the former Daleville High School wrestling coach. “A job created (at Wabash) within a couple of weeks."
      “He believed in me a bunch.”
      Jake and Aimee O’Neill have been married for five years.
      In his first tenure in town, O’Neill formed some key relationships like those with Peru coach Andy Hobbs and Northfield coach Bill Campbell (now retired).
      “They put their arms around me and helped me,” says O’Neill. “I’m proud to call them mentors and friends.”
      He’s also grateful to Pat Culp for her role in running tournaments at all levels around Indiana.
      “She’s a blessing for everybody,” says O’Neill, who is an Indiana State Wrestling Association director for Cadets. “She encouraged us to host tournaments. She played a big rule in helping us grow this program.”
      O’Neill admits that during his first tenure he was looking to go elsewhere. This time, he’s in it for the long haul.
      “My first year back at Wabash, I started approaching it looking at the big picture and setting long-term goals with the program,” says O’Neill.
      About that time, O’Neill discovered a move-in from North Carolina in his eighth grade physical education class.
      Noah Cressell qualified for the IHSAA State Finals twice and placed third at 182 pounds in 2018 — Wabash’s first state placer since heavyweight Tim LaMar won a state title in 1999.
      “That kid did a lot with helping this program grow,” says O’Neill of Cressell. “It was not just his wrestling, but his personality. He was a humble kid and everybody loved him. He was the poster boy for our program.”
      Cressell is now on the team at North Dakota State University.
      And the Wabash Apaches are back on the state wrestling map.
       

      1849

      #WrestlingWednesday: Greenwood's Nick Willham looking for a trip to Bankers Life

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      Greenwood senior Nick Willham has won two wrestling sectional titles, been one win away from advancing to the state meet and is currently ranked No. 9 at 182 pounds – but he’s got a way to go before he can become the alpha dog at the family Christmas party.
      That’s because Willham has three older cousins that have combined to qualify for the state meet 11 times, placed nine times and have a total record of 542-40. Willham’s cousins are Indiana legends Doug, Chad and Luke Welch.
      “My cousins really got me started on wrestling,” Willham said. “I remember watching Luke at the state finals, and that got me going. I’ve learned so much from them. I’ve worked out with them in the summer and they have taught me everything from getting better on my feet, to my top and bottom game.”
      Willham started wrestling in sixth grade. He has always had an athletic build and has excelled in sports – but things weren’t easy early on for the Greenwood grappler.
      “My freshman year wasn’t too hot,” Willham said. “I was like 16-27. It was very discouraging having that losing record. I got beat up every day and when that happens you start to think you don’t want to do it anymore. It sucked. Instead of giving up, it motivated me to get better.”
      Willham devoted more time to his wrestling after his rough freshman season. He worked in the offseason, went to tournaments and started developing more technique. It paid off.
      As a sophomore Willham finished with a 37-12 record. He earned his first sectional championship and eventually advanced to semistate before he was beaten by Evansville Mater Dei’s phenom, Joe Lee.
      Willham continued to improve his junior year. He finished 35-4, won sectional again, and this time made it to the ticket round at semistate before losing a 4-3 heartbreaker to Columbus East’s Andy Davidson.
      So far this season Willham is 5-0 and is currently wrestling at 195 pounds.
      “Nick has increased two weight classes every year,” Greenwood coach Jay Yates said. “We’ve cut him down a little every year. This year we’re letting him go. We’re letting him eat and letting him be strong.”
      Willham has set his sights on a state title this year.
      “I want to win everything,” he said. “Last year I scouted opponents a little bit, but that took the focus off of myself. This year I’m focusing on what I need to do. I am not scouting, I just want to wrestle my match.”
      Coach Yates said Willham is a goofy kid that likes to joke around and have fun with the team. He gives the entire team nicknames, including the coaching staff.
      “He calls me the bald eagle,” Yates said. “Obviously, because I’m bald. We have another coach named Rockwell, and Nick calls him the boulder. He even gave himself a nickname – ham.”
      But, when it comes time to wrestle, Willham takes things much more seriously. He’s hoping the renewed focus and the hard work will continue to push him toward his ultimate goal – to win a state title, and possibly, be able to push his cousins around a little bit.

      1721 4

      #MondayMatness: Marion’s Lee sets sights high in final prep mat season

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Strength, speed and strategy have helped Victor Lee achieve success inside the wrestling circle.
      Creativity and drive have allowed him to excel away from it.
      The Marion grappler is hoping for even more mat achievements in his last high school go-round and a future filled with wrestling and film.
      A state qualifier at 195 pounds in 2017-18, Lee is currently ranked among the top competitors at 220.
      “I’m a naturally strong guy,” says Lee. “Speed is something I rely on most. I usually try to attack below the knee.”
      Giants head coach Lonnie Johnson likes the way the 5-foot-11 Lee moves on the mat.
      “He’s really mobile for a bigger guy,” says Johnson. “I want him to be a go-go-go guy and wear guys down. He’s in pretty good shape. I want him to pick up the pace a little.”
      Lee has been working hard on his stance since last season. If he has a signature maneuver it would be his high crotch.
      It’s what Ohio State University’s Kollin Moore used against University of Missouri’s J’den Cox.
      “It’s a move to be feared,” says Lee, who started his wrestling career in sixth grade, grappled in the 215 class as a middle schooler and was at 195 his first three seasons of high school.
      Gabe Watkins (285) and Corey Horne (152) have served as practice partners for Lee, each giving him a different look.
      Lee has studied the methods of Cox, who was a bronze medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
      “He has a very strategic way of practicing and coming from different angles,” says Lee of Cox. “He tries to keep his attack percentage really high. He’s not real aggressive like (Arizona State’s Zahid) Valencia.
      “He’s very technical. I try to emulate that. I use hand fighting to tire the other guy out and keep his head down so all he’s looking at is the mat.”
      Johnson is a 1995 Marion graduate. He wrestled at 189 his first three seasons and 215 as a senior. He has coached in the Giants system for two decades and is in his third season as head coach.
      The coach has offered advice that has stuck with Lee.
      “He says to always be confident in my shots, be persistent and always finish through them,” says Lee of Johnson. “Last year, he sometimes got himself in a bind with 30 seconds to go. I want him to get up on guys 10-3 or 10-4 and then stick them.
      “He reminds me of Darryn Scott (who was a two-time state qualifier and placed sixth in the 2010 State Finals at 189) with his strength and his speed. (Scott) would go at you. (Lee) sits back and tries to pick you apart.”
      Lee won his first sectional title and qualified for his third regional in 2018. After reigning at the Oak Hill Sectional and qualifying for his third regional. He placed second to Maconaquah’s Aaron Sedwick at the Peru Regional then third at the Fort Wayne Semistate, his first appearance there.
      “I was always trying to prove myself, says Lee, who lost 6-3 to West Noble’s Draven Rasler in the semistate semifinals. Rasler then was pinned by New Haven’s Jaxson Savieo in the finals.
      Lee was pinned by New Albany’s Jaden Sonner in the first round at the State Finals, but got a taste of that big stage in Indianapolis.
      “I won’t be blinded by all those fans,” says Lee, who plans to be back at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in February 2019. “I’ll be going to State with better confidence in my abilities.”

      Besides his wrestling prowess, Lee is also a solid student.
      “I’ve never had a teacher complain about him,” says Johnson. “I don’t have to worry about the attitude.
      “When it comes to that he’s maintenance-free.”
      Lee plans to major in drama and film and cinematography at Indiana University and hopes wrestling will also be a part of his college experience.
      It’s the behind-the-scenes side of the arts that Lee appreciates most.
      “I don’t do acting,” says Lee, who intends to take theater and drama classes at IU next summer. “I mostly direct and writing scripts for plays. I hope one day I can make movies.”
      Lee has made a few small films on his own and has started an Instagram account with a friend that he can see leading to film production company.
      Why the interest in film.
      “Me and mom watched movies a lot together and it just stuck with me,” says Lee, who is the oldest of four adopted by single mother Rosalind Lee. Victor is 18, Zella 17, Levi 16 and Diamond 15.
      Foster children at first, the four youngsters were allowed to choose their new first and middle names at the time of the adoption.
      During his freshmen year, Javion Mack became Victor Lee.
      “We try to make it easier on her,” says Victor of what he and his siblings do for their mother. “We do our chores and we all try to stay
      out of the house so it’s not so cluttered.”
      Levi is a 220-pound sophomore who came out for wrestling for the first time last season.
      “He’s getting pretty decent at it,” says Victor of Levi. “I spar with him sometime then give him another partner so he can speed up.”

      3336 2

      #WrestlingWednesday: Bellemy looking to make an impact in the Hoosier State

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      LeVon Bellemy isn’t running – he’s surviving.
      He’s surviving a life growing up in one of the most dangerous parts of the country, Davenport, Iowa – part of the notorious Quad City area. He’s surviving a life where his family either ends up in prison or shot – and sometimes both. He’s surviving, because that’s what he does.
      He’s not running, he’s fighting. He’s fighting to show a person can overcome circumstance. He’s fighting to show there is hope. Sometimes the greatest warriors are the ones that can travel the more difficult road and escape their demons. That’s what Bellemy is doing – and that’s how he ended up in Ellettsville, population 6,677.
      When asked what he is trying to overcome, Bellemy says simply “everything.”
      Bellemy’s story is a unique one. His athletic ability has saved him time and time again back in Davenport, as has the guidance of family, particularly his uncle Clyde Mayfield. Uncle Clyde gave LeVona job in his health food store – and he made sure LeVon knew the value of hard work and discipline. Under Clyde’s direction, Bellemy excelled in school and athletics.
      In Davenport, with a crime rate 116 percent higher than the national average, hard work and discipline wasn’t quite enough. When LeVon's brother was shot in May, something had to change. That’s when his cousin, Pauli Escebedo stepped in and offered Bellemy an escape. LeVon moved to Ellettsville to live with Pauli and her husband, Indiana wrestling coach Angel Escebedo.
      “They have been great to me,” Bellemy said. “Angel is a good guy who is trying to better me. He lets me know what I’m doing wrong and right.”
      When Bellemy moved to Indiana, sports were an afterthought.
      “I was focused on getting out of there and finding something better,” he said. “Things got hectic at home, and very bad for me there. I wasn’t worried about football or wrestling. I was worried about getting out.”
      Bellemy has made an immediate impact on Edgewood High School. As a star running back he rushed for over 1,700 yards and scored 27 touchdowns this season. Edgewood improved from 3-7 last year and 1-9 the year before that to finish with a record of 8-4 in 2018.    
      “I can’t think of a more opposite place for LeVon to land,” Edgewood wrestling coach Greg Ratliff said. “He’s going from Davenport to Ellettsville. It is a small town. Everyone knows everyone else. The second LeVon got here the rumors started swirling about who he was. Everyone wanted to meet the new guy.
      “Both the wrestling and the football team got to know him quickly and made him feel at home. We let him know that here, he is family. He has fit in extremely quickly.”
      Football is Bellemy’s first love. He’s getting Division I college looks and plans to play at the next level. But, Bellemy is also a gifted wrestler.
      Bellemy wrestled as a freshman in Iowa, but then decided to try his hand at basketball as a sophomore.
      “I hated basketball,” he said. “I knew I had to go back to wrestling. Wrestling is football without the ball. It helps you so much with football, as far as mentally and physically. Mentally you are the toughest kid on the block if you wrestle. Wrestling gets your mind right. It teaches you not to give up. Physically, with the double leg and the driving through people, it helps you tackle and run over people.”
      Bellemy returned to the mat for his junior season. He ended up placing seventh in Iowa’s biggest class in the state tournament.
      “My goal in Indiana is to win state,” Bellemy said. “That’s my only goal in wrestling. I’ve been doing my research. I’ve been studying the competition.”
      Ratliff can see that happening.
      “He is a pure dynamite athlete, honestly,” Ratliff said. “I got to see a little bit of him wrestling this summer. Sometimes I was thinking, man, this kid is wrestling against LeVon well, but then I would look at the scoreboard and see LeVon would be up 10 points or more. He’s explosive. I’m yelling for him to just get an escape before a period ends, and before you know it he’s getting a reversal and nearfall points.”
      Daily life in Ellettsville is a lot different than what Bellemy was used to in Davenport.
      “The thing to do here is to sit in the IGA grocery store parking lot and talk,” he said. “That’s really the main thing we do. We sit in that parking lot for hours and talk. In the summer we will go swimming, but other than that – that’s all we do.
      “Ellettsville is a small town. There is a big difference with the people and how they act. It’s a whole new atmosphere. There are no negatives around here.”
      But, for as much as LeVon needed Edgewood, Edgewood has needed LeVon.
      “He gets along with everyone here,” Ratliff said. “He can talk to anyone. He talks to the athletes, the band students and those not involved with anything. He is a positive influence on everyone he comes in contact with. He’s a hard worker and others see that. They see how he can overcome anything and be a success. That motivates everyone.”
      LeVon didn’t run away from Davenport because he feared the fight. In fact, his family talked him into leaving because they knew that’s exactly what he would want to do – fight for his family. His family told him that to win the fight, he had to get away.
      “I feel like I have to succeed,” Bellemy said. “I know the situation my family at home is still in. My only way out is through school and sports. It drives me every single day. I have nothing to do but find the best way to provide for my family and fight for them.”

      2238 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.

      2726 2 2

      #WrestlingWednesday: Cornwell looking to finish on top

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      Kyle Cornwell was ready to give up wrestling for good. Almost every time he stepped on the mat, he would eventually watch his opponent have his hand raised in victory. The losses piled up, and the frustration mounted along with it.
      “I’ve had some mental blocks in wrestling,” Cornwell said. “In sixth grade I was something like 1-26. I was so frustrated with myself. I didn’t think wrestling was for me. I really wanted to just throw in the towel.”
      That’s when Cornwell got a little encouragement from his family and one of his closest friends.
      “My dad (Jade Cornwell) and friend Jalen Morgan talked me into sticking with wrestling,” Kyle said. “Jalen told me we have to start training. We’re not going to get better without putting in the work. So, we started training. We trained and trained and trained. By my 8th grade year we went to a preseason national tournament in Iowa and Jalen finished third in his weight class and I won mine.”
      That tournament success vaulted Cornwell’s wrestling career. He fell in love with the sport and is now ranked No. 1 in the state at 220 pounds and will wrestle for Indiana University next season. The Elwood senior’s training partner is still that same kid that told him in sixth grade to stick with wrestling. Morgan is ranked fourth at 182 pounds.
      “Jalen and I have been friends since fourth grade,” Kyle said. “We wrestle every day at practice. He has more speed than I do, so that helps me, and I am stronger than him, so that helps him.”
      Last season Cornwell finished fifth at 220 pounds. He was a state qualifier in the same weight class in 2017.  He is happy to be ranked No. 1 this season.
      “It’s really a relief to be ranked No. 1,” Cornwell said. “Yeah, you have a target on your back a little, but I’ve been ranked behind Mason Parris for a while and it’s nice to have that top spot now. You have to be confident to be that No. 1 guy or you are going to lose. You don’t go to a match with your head down. You know who you are and that you can beat anyone.”
      Cornwell wrestled Parris last season in the New Castle semistate championship. That match didn’t work out well for Cornwell, as Parris pinned him in 1:14.
      “It was a really good experience to wrestle Mason,” Cornwell said. “He’s one of the top kids in the nation. It opened my eyes to what I need to be like and what I need to be training for. It really helped me step up to that next level.”
      Cornwell committed to improving in the offseason, with a focus on pushing the pace and scoring. His mission is to score as many takedowns and points as possible. He wrestled over 100 matches during the offseason and feels right now he’s at the best he’s ever been.
      “Kyle has a funk to him that he’s been getting into for the last few years,” Elwood coach Fred Short said. “He likes to do the scrambling like they do in college. In high school it’s a little weird to see when you’re not used to it. He is a lot slicker now than he was last year. I think a lot of that is because of wrestling with Jalen and really having to be quick against him.”
      Cornwell’s goals this season were to go undefeated and win a state championship.
      Elwood, as a team, is down this season. The team had 10 wrestlers early on but are down a few since that time. Coach Short, who has been a wrestling coach in some capacity since the early 1980s, is retiring after this season.

      2354

      #MondayMatness: After semistate run as junior, Hebron Hawks' Donovan aiming high in senior campaign

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Ewan Donovan has made a bigger and bigger impact on the wrestling scene as the Hebron High School grappler has gotten bigger.
      Now a 195-pound senior, he hopes to end his prep career in a big way.
      “I’m really looking forward to the state series,” says Donovan, who among Indiana’s top-ranked grapplers in his weight class. “I really want to get going. I really want to make some noise.
      “It’s the heart. I have a desire to be the best. I never want to settle for mediocrity. I push myself.”
      Ryan and Shayne Donovan have four children — Heaven (20), Ewan (17), Myah (14) and Hadley (10).
      Ewan is the line boy. He has been encouraged by his father in all that he does, including wrestling. Ryan Donovan was an assistant at Hebron when his son took up wrestling around the fifth grade.
      “He always told me the best I can be in anything I do in life,” says Ewan Donovan of his father. “He’s been huge in my wrestling career.”
      A four-year varsity competitor, Donvan was a 160-pounder as a freshman. He worked out and bumped up to 182 as a sophomore. Working even harder, he went to 195 as a junior.
      Donovan has sweated with the trainers at Sports Medical Institute in the off-season to increase his power, speed and strength.
      “They shaped me into a better athlete,” says Donovan. “I really couldn’t have done it without them.”
      He also put in long sessions at Calumet-based Regional Wrestling Academy led by Alex Tsirtsis and practiced his moves around northwest Indiana.
      “There’s definitely a special breed around The Region,” says Donovan.
      “It’s a really good environment.
      “I love the feeling of all the mat rooms around here.”
      Donovan enjoyed a strong junior season, losing just two matches.
      Unfortunately, one of those setbacks — against Calumet's A.J. Fowler — came in the “ticket round” at the Merrillville Semistate. Fowler has
      moved up to 220 in 2018-19.
      Donovan has wrestled bouts at 195 and 220 this season and was on-pace to become Hebron’s all-time victory leader, topping the 81 wins of 2014 graduate Giovanni Phan.
      Hawks head coach Todd Adamczyk, who has Donovan in a weightlifting class, and has watched the biggest wrestller on the current squad add to his successes.
      “He goes above and beyond and does all the extra things,” says Adamczyk, who is his 12th season in charge at Hebron. “Like most freshmen, he had a rough transition middle school to high school. But he made up for it the next couple years.
      “He’s the whole package right now.”
      Adamczyk’s advice has stuck with Donovan.
      “He says you need to push yourself when you’re training,” says Donovan. “Your mind is telling you stop, but you have to push yourself to keep going.
      “Wresting is definitely a lifestyle and it’s year-round and you have to be fully-committed. It teaches you life and about putting in the hard work and trying to be the best you can be at everything.”
      That work ethic extends to the classroom for Donovan, who carries a grade-point average in the 3.7 range (on a 4.0 scale). His favorite subjects are History and English.
      After high school, he hopes to continue his wrestling career while attending college as a double major for business and environmental. This will help him as he is next in line to run the family farm. The Donovans grow corn and soybean on more than 2,000 acres around Hebron. Hebron had wrestling for two years in the early ’80s then the program faded away. Adamczyk brought it back, first as a club sport, then two years with a junior varsity schedule. The first varsity season with 2009-10.
      There were growing pains, but the Hawks have come a long way since then.
      “When we first started, we asked ‘are we ever going to get there?,’” says Adamczyk. “We don’t fill every weight class. There’s only 320 kids in the school. We do the best with what we’ve got.”
      Adamczyk wrestled at Hammond High School for head coaches Karl Deak and Bill Malkovich. His Hebron staff includes former Crown Point grappler Troy Bush (who is also middle school coach at Hebon) and Hebron grads Ryan Perez and Raul Fierro. Perez is also on the roster at Calumet College of St. Joseph.

      3176

      #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.”

      3167 6 1

      #WrestlingWednesday: LIttell hungry to get his shot

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

      2963 3

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

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

      3435 1

      #MondayMatness: Current Adams Central team keeping up BAGUBAs tradition

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      When you grow up in the Adams Central Community Schools district and are inclined toward the wrestling mat, you begin dreaming about grappling for Adams Central Junior-Senior High School.
      AC calls its athletic teams the Flying Jets. The wrestling team also goes by the acronym adopted by original head coach Barry Humble (1970-71 to 1990-91) — BAGUBA (Brutally  Aggressive  Guys  Uninhibited By  Adversity).
       “It just means when you step on the mat, you have have a mindset of toughness, hard-nosed, gritty, tough wrestler,” says fifth-year Adams Central head coach Tony Currie. “You’re not going to back down and you’re not going to quit.”
      AC wrestlers are taught to be mentally as well as physically strong. “Wrestling’s a tough sport,” says Currie. “It rarely goes just like you want it. You have to have that strong mind.
      “We ask them to control the controllable — focus on you and what you can control.”
      Senior 132-pounder Logan Mosser, a state qualifier at 120 in 2018, explains it.
      “You have to stay focused on your goals and fight through it,” says Mosser, whose brother Anthony wrestled for AC and graduated in 2017 as a two-time state qualifier (113 in 2015 and 132 in 2017). “Remember why you’re there.”
      Currie competed at the IHSAA State Finals his last three seasons wearing a singlet for the BAGUBAs — qualifier at 140 pounds in 1993, second at 145 in 1994 and third at 151 in 1995.
      Since Jack Bersch in 1977, AC has produced 78 state qualifiers through 2018. The Jets have had at least one state qualifier every season except one. Troy Roe was a state champion at 105 in 1985. Besides Currie, Lynn Fletcher (112 in 1980), Ray Ashley (119 in 1984), Mark Griffiths (125 in 1990) and Andy Bertsch (135 in 1996) have been state runners-up. Adams Central has qualified for every Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals and won the 2018-19 Class 1A title in Fort Wayne, besting Prairie Heights 35-32 in the finals.
      “It was a total team effort,” says Currie of AC’s third IHSWCA State Duals championship (the Jets also reigned in 2013 and 2015). “At the 1A level, every roster has three or four top-end guys. But it’s the depth. If you can run out a solid kid at every weight class, you can do well.”
      Eighteen BAGUBAs competed for Adams Central and helped the team win four duals. Logan Mosser went 4-0 at 132, senior Jashawn Berlanga 3-0 at 220 and 1-0 at 285 and junior Paul Faurote 2-0 at 160 and 2-0 at 170. Fourteen others won at least one match.
      Why have the Jets enjoyed success?
      “A big part of that would be our coaches,” says Mosser. “All have good knowledge to spread around.”
      Currie is assisted by Bobby Perry, Doug Linthicum and Doug Schultz. Volunteers include Hunter Bates, Aden Feasel, Brian Jordan and Zeke Schultz.
      “(Currie) preaches hard about working hard in the practice room,” says Mosser. “It’s paying off on the mat.”
      Parker Bates (170) credits experience for helping with this season’s accomplishments.
      “We get really good senior leadership,” says Bates, one of 11 members of the Class of 2019 and the younger brother of 2016 graduate Hunter Bates (who placed eighth in the state at 152 as a senior and grappled two seasons at Wabash College). “They’ve grown up through the (Jet Wrestling Club, which currently includes about 75 pre-kindergarten through fifth grade).
      “They’ve seen upperclassmen succeed and that’s what they want to do. They don’t want to be the ones to let the town and community down. We wrestle as much for our fans and hometown as we do for our team. Our fans travel really well. It helps us a lot. It picks up the intensity and gets us more hyped-up for matches.”
      Adams Central edged Jay County to win Allen County Athletic Conference tournament title. Weight class champions for the BAGUBAs were Mosser (33-1) at 132, senior Logan Macklin (20-3) at 145, Bates (26-1) at 170 and Berlanga (30-3) at 220.
      AC’s IHSAA state tournament series path includes the Jan. 26 Jay County Sectional, Feb. 2 Jay County Regional and Feb. 9 Fort Wayne Semistate prior to the Feb. 15-16 State Finals.

      4109 4 1

      #WrestlingWednesday: Slivka poised for another big run

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      Jordan Slivka may not be the fastest wrestler in the state, the most powerful or the most dynamic – but, he just might have the most heart.
      “He’s probably the most mentally tough wrestler I’ve ever had,” Cathedral coach Sean McGinley said. “He loves the big matches. As coaches we ask ourselves who we want to have out there, down one going into the third period. I’d put Jordan Slivka in that spot over anyone.”
      Slivka, a senior for the Irish, showed just how much ice is in his veins in the state tournament last season. The Irish needed a win in the worst way if they were going to have a shot at winning the team state title. Slivka just told them to relax, he was going to win.
      That’s what he did. He claimed his first individual state championship by beating Yorktown’s Christian Hunt 1-0. That win also sealed Cathedral’s team state title.
      “Winning state felt amazing,” Slivka said. “I envisioned it before I won it. I told myself in the locker room before my match that I knew it was going to come down to my match. I said I was going to win it, and I knew that’s what I was going to do.”
      Slivka has made a career out of winning the close matches. In the state tournament Slivka is 16-3 in matches determined by three points or less.
      “I come out in each of my matches with a game plan,” Slivka said. “I don’t try to rush things and I don’t try to force points. I have the mentality that nobody can take me down, nobody can escape me and nobody can ride me. I’m confident that I own people on the mat.”
      This season Slivka has continued to shine in the close matches. Recently in a dual meet with Indianapolis Roncalli Slivka bumped up to 170 to face No. 5-ranked Elijan Mahan. In that match Slivka injured his ribs and had to take two injury time outs, but he didn’t want to quit. He eventually escaped with a 6-4 victory which helped lead the Irish to the team win as well.
      “He just gutted that win out,” McGinley said. “He was in a lot of pain. You really see his mental toughness in matches like that. As the seasons go on you just see how many of those close matches he wins, and you know he’s the guy you want out there in those situations.”
      Slivka also edged No. 7-ranked (160) Peyton Asbury and No. 5-ranked (160) Nathan Conley by 1-0 scores. He beat No. 3-ranked Brooks Davis 3-2 and No. 4 ranked Peyton Pruett 5-2. He did lose one close match this season, falling to Conley 3-2.
      Slivka started out in the Shenandoah school district. He went to Shenandoah until his freshman year. His dad was one of the coaches who helped turned that program around. His father, John, is a former state champion in Georgia.
      “My dad, in that Shenandoah room made sure we were all tough,” Slivka said. “One of the drills we had was we would get in our stance and dad would walk around a bunch and snap our necks down. We kept going long after we were tired. It taught me to be tough.”
      Slivka’s older brother, Johnny, was also a solid wrestler for the Raiders. Jordan even has a game plan for wrestling his older brother.
      “If we do takedowns, Johnny might beat me,” Jordan said. “But in a full match I have him now. He’s a little out of shape. The first and second period he might get me, but come the third, he’s mine.”
      Slivka is ranked No. 2 at 160 pounds behind Portage senior Donnell Washington. The two wrestled earlier in the season with Washington claiming the 8-3 victory.
      “I am 1 and 1 against him,” Slivka said. “He beat me this year and I beat him last year. I’ve taken losses before and have been able to come back from them. I hope this is no different.”
      Slivka’s goal this season is to win another state title. He admits it will be very hard to top last year’s title – with the team state championship being on the line as well.
      “I have no clue how you top that,” Slivka said. “Only thing I can think of is doing it again and scoring more points.”
      Next year Slivka will wrestle for Ohio University.
      “My plan is to be as good as I can be in college. It’s the next challenge.

      3126 1 3

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

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

      4424 2 1

      #WrestlingWednesday: Dickens and Lee are looking for gold

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      Matt Lee and Eli Dickens are practice partners in the Evansville Mater Dei wrestling room. They are good friends, they are both juniors and they are both ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. The similarities don’t end there.
      The two are soft spoken and humble. They have extremely similar voices, so much so that it’s hard to differentiate them if talking on the phone. They both have a 3.9 grade point average.
      “On the wrestling mat they both like to push the pace,” Wildcat head coach Greg Schaefer said. “They are both students of the sport and they love fine tuning techniques. They are both competitive. They don’t like giving up anything. They just push each other and the other guys in the room.”
      In fact, the two are so similar that coach Schaefer has a hard time finding any differences.
      “I don’t really know how they are different,” Schaefer said. “There isn’t a lot of differences that I know of. There are a lot more similarities than differences.”
      Lee also struggled to think of a difference.
      “We are pretty similar,” Lee said. “We are really good friends and practice partners and our styles are similar.”
      Dickens was the only one that could offer up some differences between the two.
      “I guess the main thing that separates us is our setups,” Dickens said. “He is more of a high crotch guy and I’m more of a getting ankles and sweep singles kind of guy.”
      Lee, who is the younger brother of Indiana legends Joe Lee and Nick Lee, is currently 30-0 on the season and holds the top ranking in the 145-pound class. He finished seventh the last two years in a row and is hoping to climb the ladder more this year.
      “It was a good feeling to place at state,” Lee said. “But you can’t be truly satisfied unless you get first. It’s always good to be at the top. I was happy to place, but I wanted more. I was hungry for more. That pushed into this year and drives me.”
      Being the younger brother of Nick (won state in 2015, now wrestles for Penn State) and Joe (won state in 2016 and 2017) hasn’t put a lot of pressure on Matt.
      “People always talk about the pressure of being their younger brother,” Matt said. “I don’t feel that pressure. I talk to them and they give me advice. They help me as much as I allow them to. I keep them as a source of information. I don’t pry them to learn everything they know, but if I need help I can always go to them.”
      Matt said watching Nick wrestle for Penn State makes him nervous.
      “I’ve heard how it’s hard on parents to watch their kids wrestle sometime and watching Nick wrestle I know what they are going through now,” Matt said. “I didn’t understand that before. I get more nervous for Nick’s matches than I do for any of my own.”
      Dickens has not placed in state so far, but he did qualify last year. This season he defeated former No. 1 ranked Elliott Rodgers 4-3 and that catapulted him to the top spot in the 152-pound weight class.
      “It was pretty amazing to see that I was ranked No. 1,” Dickens said. “I try not to think of it too much, but it was exciting. It gave me more confidence and belief in my ability. I knew that I could beat anyone, but that just solidified that idea in my head.”
      One big key for Dickens is that he doesn’t have to worry about his weight like he did last season. He feels that has helped him to be stronger and not focus so much on the weight aspect of the sport.
      “I had a huge growth spurt last year where my body wanted to grow mid-season,” Dickens said. “This year I’m wrestling up three weight classes and I feel so much healthier.”
      Matt is currently 30-0 on the season and Eli is 31-2, with both of his losses coming to out of state wrestlers.
      Both Matt and Eli are hoping to wrestle in college, but neither have decided where they want to go.
      Matt enjoys watching television, playing games and watching movies on weekends when he’s not wrestling.
      “I’m a pretty average kid,” he said. “Probably my favorite thing to do is eat, but you can’t do a lot of that during the season. I just like to try to find fun in the small things. I’m just normal and I like hanging out with my friends.”
      Eli enjoys going to his Bible study on Wednesday’s with his youth group.
      “I feel that it really builds me spiritually and gets my mindset right,” he said. “I focus on God and the bigger picture.”
      The two will compete Saturday in the Evansville North regional.
      “I don’t want to sound boring,” Schaefer said. “But they are both just awesome kids that work really hard. I hope they are able to accomplish their goals.”

      2925 1

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

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

      3325 3

      #WrestlingWednesday: Hall is back for more as a sophomore

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
      In a town named after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, a new wrestling star is rising in the south east corner of Indiana.
      South Dearborn sophomore Bryer Hall was a relative unknown last season. He put together a successful freshman season, and by the end of the year had worked his way up to No. 16 in the state rankings at 126 pounds. When the state tournament rolled around, people started to take notice of the newcomer.
      Hall rolled through his sectional as a freshman, winning every match by pin. He was just as dominant in the Richmond regional. He won his first round with a pin in just over a minute. In the second round he took on ranked senior Trevor Ragle (47-4) and pinned him in just 1:09. Then, in the final he went up against another talented wrestler in Centerville freshman Gabe Phillips, who is currently undefeated on the year and ranked No. 5 at 138. Just a little over two minutes into the match Hall injured Phillips shoulder, and Phillips was unable to go on. That injury ended the season for Phillips.
      Then, to start out the semistate, Hall injured another wrestler with almost the same move. It wasn’t anything intentional, but the injuries rattled Hall.
      “I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Hall said. “It was upsetting that I ruined someone’s season and they could have went pretty far in the tournament. I thought it would be tough to go back and use the move because I didn’t want to hurt anyone else. But once I started wrestling again, instincts just took over and I had to get that thought out of my mind.”
      Hall won his ticket round semistate match 16-8 and then secured his biggest victory of his young career. He defeated former state champion Alec Viduya 11-5 to advance to the semistate championship.
      “We were hopeful that Bryer could get to state as a freshman,” South Deaerborn coach George Gardner said. “But we thought it might be a long shot when he had to go up against returning state champion Alec Viduya. But Bryer really took it to him in that match and handled that match much better than I thought he would.”
      Hall didn’t have enough in the tank to defeat Ethan Smiley in the final, who cruised to an 11-2 victory.
      Hall ended up placing sixth in state. He had wins over Kyle Lawson and Brycen Denny, but lost big to Cayden Rooks (tech fall) and Christian Meija (17-5).
      This season Hall is hoping to not have those big letdowns.
      “He ran out of gas in the semistate,” Gardner said. “Hopefully that won’t happen again.
      This year Hall is undefeated. He has stepped on the mat 33 times and each time had his hand raised in victory. He has moved up three weight classes and is currently ranked No. 2 at 145 pounds.
      “It felt pretty good to get noticed in the rankings for my hard work,” Hall said.
      Hall’s style of wrestling is difficult for others to scout. He calls himself a funky wrestler.
      “I am hard to figure out,” Hall said. “I’m just naturally funky. I move where my hips feel they should go.”
      That funkiness is especially helpful in scramble situations.
      “Bryer is a tremendous scrambler,” Gardner said. “He doesn’t have a signature takedown. He just makes things happen. He’s really hard to scout because he doesn’t do the same thing very often.”
      Hall could potentially see Warren Central’s Antwaun Graves in the New Castle semistate semifinal. If so, that is a match that could be particularly interesting. Hall won the regular season battle 4-3.
      “Anything can happen Saturday,” Gardner said. “He has to go out and wrestle his best each match.”
       
      Hall said his biggest wrestling accomplishment so far was placing fourth at Fargo over the summer at 138 pounds. He is hoping to top that with a state title this year.
      “My goal is to go undefeated and win state,” Hall said. “Last year I was nervous. This year I’m coming in a lot more confident.”
       



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.