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      2332 2

      #WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Cougars read for first taste of Team State

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Ed Hamant loved everything about the team state tournament. The longtime Greenfield-Central assistant coach never got to see one of his team’s compete in team state. He tragically passed away last year.
       
      Hamant coached the Cougars for 40 years. During that time Greenfield never made it to team state. This year the Cougars were the vote-in team for class 3A.
       
      “For us, getting here has been a long, long time coming,” Greenfield coach Josh Holden said. “The big thing on our mind is that this is something Ed Hamant loved. Ed coached for 40 years at Greenfield. He loved the individual state tournament but the team state really had a special place in his heart. He always dreamed of taking a team to it but never got to. When we were selected to compete a lot of people got really excited because they knew Ed would have loved to see this.”
       
      Greenfield is a bit of a mystery team, according to the rankings and the team state selections. The Cougars are ranked No. 3 in 3A, but they were the last team to get selected to the field in team state.
       
      “We are in an interesting situation,” Holden said. “Are we the eighth best team or are we one of the top three that can go in and make some noise? We have to look at ourselves as one of the top teams. We are excited to be there. We feel blessed and humbled and even honored that people would vote us in and we just want to compete and showcase what we can do.”
       
      The Cougars aren’t one of those squads loaded with ranked wrestlers. In fact, Greenfield has just two individuals ranked at all.
       
      Junior Clay Guenin is ranked No. 3 at 170 pounds. He’s the top ranked grappler at that weight in the New Castle semistate.
       
      “Clay is about 6’4,” Holden said. “Our whole team looks like basketball players. Clay hates to lose. He’s probably the most intense kid in our room. He does basic things on the mat, but he does them very well. He’s so aggressive and hard-nosed that you can’t wear him down. He’s an arm bar kid. He’s old school and he pins almost everyone he goes up against.
       
      “Clay is also a 4.1 student. He’s an all-around great kid. We have an entire group of outstanding men and women on this team.”
       
      The only other ranked grappler on the Cougar squad is Isaiah Holden, the coach’s son. Isaiah, a senior, is ranked No. 18 at 152 pounds.
       
      For Isaiah, wrestling is not his only focus. He is very involved with choir. He’s in show choir. He was the lead in a school musical last year. He also is known around Hancock County as the Greenfield Spider-Man. He dresses up as Spider-Man and performs at birthday parties.
       
      “Isaiah is just one of those special kids that has his hands in a little bit of everything,” coach Holden said. “He’s the best teammate I’ve ever been around. I don’t say that because he’s my son, I just truly believe that. If he had the choice between winning state himself or one of his teammates winning, I am sure he would pick for his teammate to win all day, every day.”
       
      Holden has coached at Greenfield for 20 years and he believes this is the best team Greenfield has had during that span.
       
      “I don’t know what the difference is, exactly,” Holden said. “We’ve had good teams in the past. We only have two ranked wrestlers and I have five freshmen in my lineup. I really thought we would struggle this year. But this is such a fantastic group of wrestlers. They make good decisions and work hard. If you asked my team right now how many of them get up in the morning and make their bed, I would bet 99 percent of them do. Everything they do is the right way.”
       
      Holden also says this is the most fun he’s had coaching.
       
      “I told my kids at the beginning of the season that I don’t know what my future holds, but I want to make this a special year,” Holden said. “And we’re doing that. We’re getting ready for team state for the first time ever. We’re going to the Connersville tournament and we’re hoping to win that. There are all kinds of first that we’re trying to get. This has been the most fun year I’ve had coaching.”
       
      Nobody in the Cougar lineup has ever qualified for state. Two years ago Greenfield advanced seven wrestlers to regional, but a Covid spread caused the school to close down all activities and prohibited the Cougars from competing from that point.
       
      The decision was disappointing to the wrestlers, but it also taught them a lesson.
       
      “We know now that you’re never promised tomorrow,” Holden said. “You can’t look to next year or next week. You have to be ready. You don’t always have as much time as you think. You never know when it will be your last match so you have to go out and treat everyone as if it could be.”
       

      2317

      #MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Brady relishes leadership role for Garrett Railroaders

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com

      A can’t-quit attitude has helped Hayden Brady amass impressive numbers as part of a decorated wrestling program at Garrett High School.
       
      With a 9-1 start to the 2022-23 season at Goshen’s RedHawk Super Duals, 5-foot-10 1/2, 126-pound senior Brady is now 102-17 for his career (including 35-6 as a 106-pound freshman state qualifer, 27-4 as a 113-pound sophomore state qualifier and 31-6 as a 120-pound junior fourth-place finisher at the IHSAA State Finals).
       
      He moved past Andrew Wertman (98-65), Trevor Moe (100-31), Beau Schendel (100-19) and Brayden Moreau (100-29) on the Railroaders’ all-time win list.
       
      The Garrett victory call is topped by Brayden Shearer (152-37), followed by Clayton Fielden (141-26), Bryce Schendel (133-25), Beck Davis (127-38), Dylan Demarco (125-46), Zac McCray (125-29), Lance Moe (119-31), Bo Davis (116-39), Hayden Lee (114-7), Blake Davis (112-24) and Chandler Shearer (106-35).
       
      Tenth-year Railroaders head coach Nick Kraus says Brady has the chance to finish his prep mat career as high as No. 3 on the victory list and No. 2 in winning percentage.
      Brady has amassed 63 career pins. The school record — held by Fielden — is 84.
       
      “I don’t pay attention to any of that,” says Brady. “I just go out and do my job.”
       
      Kraus was introduced to Brady’s tenacity in the grappler’s first season at Garrett. The coach recalls Brady placing third a Mishawaka’s Al Smith Classic as a freshman.
       
      “He had some technique, but it was mostly heart,” says Kraus. “His only loss that year was to (Crown Point’s) Sam Goin (who went on to place fifth at 106, fourth at 126 and first at 152 in the past three State Finals).”
       
      On the second day of the 32-team tournament, Brady earned victories in double overtime and ultimate tiebreaker.
       
      Says Brady, “It was two back-to-back matches that it took me a lot of heart to win.
       
      “He was just fighting and landing on top,” says Kraus. “He is a student so his wrestling has come a long way.
       
      “He was always pretty good when he was in the top position, but neutral (was not special) and he’s recognized that and really, really tried getting better at it. That’s what makes him him.”
       
      Where does he get the drive?
       
      “I’m very, very competitive and just motivated and always striving for better,” says Brady. “I never want to settle for anything less than what I can achieve.”
      Kraus encourages Brady to use multiple moves if the match situation allows it.
       
      “If it’s a pretty winnable match — and a lot of them are pretty winnable for Hayden — we might say ‘why don’t you work on this for this match?’ or ‘why don’t you try doing this takedown?’”
       
      This is done so when Brady is in a spot that he won’t be predictable for those scouting his tendencies.
       
      SETL are letters that are associated with Garrett wrestling.
       
      It’s the acronym for a motto that came from Bill Kraus who died when his son was 16 and wrestling in high school.
       
      “My dad had a pretty distinctive voice,” says Nick Kraus. “He’d say ‘Show ‘Em The Lights’ and you knew it was his voice.
       
      Looking for something to brand to program with something of meaning, Nick — who was a Garrett assistant for two years before becoming head coach — adopted SETL.
       
      “It’s kind of funny because my technique wasn’t the best when I was younger,” says Kraus. “I thought you had to pin somebody in wrestling. Beating somebody by points wasn’t much of an option. If I got off the mat and I didn’t win by pin I was kind of disappointed.”
       
      Kraus racked up 31 pins his senior year.
       
      “That’s what we did — ‘Show ‘Em The Lights,’” says Kraus, who counts Mike Poppe, Alex Arney, Tyler Lanning, Josh Buuck and Carlos Aguirre as assistant coaches in 2022-23. “It’s a big part of our culture. In town, people know what it means. It’s printed on shirts. Some kids have SETL tattoos once they’ve graduated.”
       
      Hayden Brady was first shown the mat by his father — former Churubusco wrestler Dennis Brady — and began competing as a middle schooler.
       
      “I thought I’d give it a shot,” says Hayden. “Over the course of the year I kind of fell in love with the sport and started wrestling more and more.”
       
      He was involved in other sports, but gave those up to concentrate on his new love.
       
      Wrestling has given him the opportunity to compete all over the country.
       
      “I’ve been on both coasts several times,” says Brady. “And several other places.”
       
      Hayden was at Churubusco in seventh grade and Central Noble in eighth grade before starting high school at Garrett.
       
      Hayden’s mother — Cassie Phillips — lives in Colorado. Older brother Harrison is in Montana and serving in the U.S. Air Force.
       
      Sister Lillie is a Garrett sophomore and a wrestling manager.
       
      After graduating from Garrett, Brady wants to wrestle in college and pursue an Aviation degree.
       
      Kraus teaches middle school Physical Education and Health at Garrett.
       
      He’s also coached football, helped out with youth baseball and taught high schoolers.
       
      “Middle school is my favorite,” says Kraus. “Some people think that those kids are difficult to work with. I enjoy it. I’m able to get kids to come out and wrestle. P.E. is a pretty fun job. You get to play basketball, football, baseball — whatever — all day.”
       
      He was also an MMA fighter for 11 years.
       
      Kraus admires Brady for his character.
       
      Looking for volunteers to coach at a junior varsity tournament on Nov. 19 at West Noble, Kraus saw Brady give up a free Saturday and don a coaching shirt and help out.
       
      “He was amped up about it and enjoyed coaching,” says Kraus. “He didn’t have to come to that. He chose to wake up super early.
       
      “He is willing to do that for his teammates.”
       
      Brady, who is a team captain, has also taken the time to work with other less-skilled wrestlers and drilled with them in the practice room.
       
      “He’s truly a team player,” says Kraus.
       
      Says Brady, “It’s a leadership thing. I was just showing up for my teammates. Even though they may not be the varsity kids they are the future of our program.”
       
      It’s that kind of attitude that has allowed Garrett to enjoy so much recent team success. The Railroaders won a Class 2A Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Team Duals title in 2021 and were IHSWCA 2A Team Duals runners-up in 2018 and 2020 as well as IHSAA sectional and regional champions in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
       
      Garrett also reigned in the Allen County Athletic Conference in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2019 and the Northeast Corner Conference in 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
      The 2023 2A IHSWCA State Duals at Jay County is Jan. 7.
       
      There’s also the Al Smith Classic Dec. 29-30, Garrett Invitational Jan. 14 and the NECC Tournament at Eastside Jan. 21 with the Carroll Sectional Jan. 28, Carroll Regional Feb. 4, Fort Wayne Semistate Feb. 11 and State Finals Feb. 17-18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
       
      Garrett’s next competition is a home dual at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30 against DeKalb.
       
      “If you get a quality dual meet, you can’t beat the atmosphere and what it does for fans,” says Kraus. “We’re renewing that rivalry. (The Barons) should be pretty good this year and I think we’re pretty good.
      “Wednesday night should be fun.”
       

      2263

      #WrestlingWednesday: Basketball Not Rypel's Cup of Tea

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

       
      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Indianapolis Cathedral’s Blake Rypel is one of Indiana’s most dominating forces on the wrestling mat. His name is recognized by just about everyone who cares even a little bit about the sport in the Hoosier state. Rypel wants more though – he wants everyone in the country to know his name.
       
      “I want to be one of the most recognizable names in college wrestling as well,” Rypel said. “I want to be a four-year contender for the National Championship.”
       
      Rypel, a senior at Cathedral, will wrestle next season for the Indiana Hoosiers. He currently is 34-0 this season and is riding an 80-match winning streak.
       
      “Blake is the kind of wrestler that is tough to coach,” Cathedral coach Sean McGinley said. “He can do so many things that you really don’t practice. You kind of let him go on that. He’s so good on the mat, he’s teaching us in the room. He’s a very special wrestler.”
       
      Last season Rypel was the state champion at 195 pounds. This year, in order to benefit the Cathedral team, Rypel has cut down to 182 pounds.
       
      “Here’s a guy that is committed to IU,” McGinley said. “He’s a returning state champ. He’s ranked No. 1 in the state at 195 pounds. But he decides to drop weight and go down to 182 for the betterment of the team. That right there tells you what kind of kid Blake is.”
       
      Rypel’s decision to drop to 182 was for the benefit of the team, but it was also to help out his good friend Ben Stewart.
       
      “Ben is a football player,” Rypel said. “He wants to play in college and he wants to be bulking up, not cutting weight. So I said I would go down to 182 so he didn’t have to.”
       
      Stewart is currently ranked No. 2 in the state at 195.
       
      “If Blake doesn’t go down to 182, Ben doesn’t wrestle,” McGinley said. “So obviously his decision to drop has greatly helped our team.”
       
      Rypel finished seventh as a freshman at 160 pounds. He was second his sophomore season at 182 and he won last year at 195.
       
      His freshman year was one of his most trying seasons because his father passed away unexpectedly a few weeks before the start of the season.
       
      “That was terrible,” Rypel said. “I used it as motivation though. I dedicated a lot of my wins to my dad. Every once in a while I start to dwell on his death, but I try not to.”
       
      Rypel comes from a basketball family. His dad, brother and sister were all basketball standouts. Ironically, Blake was introduced to wrestling through basketball.
       
      “My basketball coach at the time, I think it was around 2005 or 2006, had a son that wrestled and he told me that I might like it,” Rypel said. “The first year I thought wrestling was OK, but in the second year I really started winning and fell in love with the sport.”
       
      Rypel is already focused on his college wrestling. He has dreamed of going to Indiana University ever since he was little, and he can’t wait to put on that Hoosier singlet.
       
      “Every college I visited was pretty cool,” Rypel said. “But I already knew everyone on IU’s team. I have been a Hoosier fan all of my life. I never thought that one day I’d be good enough to wrestle for them.”
       
      McGinley believes Rypel will have a lot of success in college because he is a dominating wrestler on top, which suits the college style.
       
      As far as finishing his high school career, he said anything less than a state championship would be a disappointment.
       
      Rypel won the Lawrence Central sectional last week, beating No. 3 ranked Cameron Jones 8-6 in the final.
       
      He hopes Cathedral can also claim the team state championship. The Irish have seven ranked wrestlers still competing: Lukasz Waldensak (No. 13, 106), Jordan Slivka (No. 12, 113), Breyden Bailey (No. 2, 126), Zach Melloh (No. 6, 132), Rypel (No. 1, 182), Stewart (No. 2, 195) and Ryan Guhl (No. 9, 220).
       
      “I really believe we have some of the strongest wrestlers in the state,” Rypel said. “As long as our guys can place, we have a real good shot at winning.”

      2252 1

      #MondayMatness: Lowell 126-pounder Cummings latest 'face of the program'

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Tested regularly by the best from the Calumet Region and the state, Colton Cummings has become Lowell High School wrestling’s latest “face of the program.”
      Cummings has gotten plenty of attention as a two-time IHSAA state champion (at 106 pounds as a sophomore in 2015 and 113 as a junior in 2016) and three-time State Finals performer (he was a qualifier at 106 as a freshman in 2014).
      “I’m a fighter,” Cummings said. “I’ll just keep coming at you no matter what. I’ve been taught that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.”
      He knows that he came into the 2016-17 season with the proverbial target on his back and he does not back down from that.
      “If you’re on top, you’ve always got to have a target,” Cummings said. “If you don’t have a target, you’re not doing your job correctly.”
      His off-season training included sessions with CIA and Region wrestling academies.
      “You’ve got to put in the work,” Cummings said. “The Region’s pretty solid.”
      Now a 126-pounder and a verbal commit to West Point, Cummings spent the early portions of this season ranked No. 1 in Indiana. Among his wins are a pin of Prairie Heights senior Riley Rasler and a decision against Bellmont senior Jon Becker.
      Cummings dropped to No. 3 after losing 4-2 to Columbus East junior Graham Rooks in the finals of Mishawaka’s Al Smith Classic. Cummings was trying to become the fourth four-time Al Smith champion in 40 years after 2016 Lowell graduate Drew Hughes became the third four-time winner a year ago.
      Hughes, now a Michigan State University, was a four-time state placer for the Lowell Red Devils (second at 120 in 2013, fifth at 138 in 2014, first at 160 in 2015 and first at 170 in 2016).
      “We have been very, very fortunate in our program for the last five years now to have Hughes come through and have Colton come through,” Lowell head coach Bobby Howard said. “I talk to the kids all the time about how much they need to take advantage of that. They get to be around him everyday and watch how he practices, watch how he goes about his business at tournaments. That’s huge.”
      Wanting to get the most out of his wrestlers, Howard aims for them to peak at the right time. As the postseason approaches, Lowell workouts are intense but short. The focus is placed on rest, recovery and nutrition.
      “I’ve been fortunate enough the last couple years to hit the peak at a good time,” Howard said. “I don’t know if there’s some luck involved, but we’re going to continue doing what we have been doing.”
      Howard, who enjoyed plenty of mat success himself (winning three national titles by age 8, two Al Smith Classic crowns, placing fifth at senior nationals and finishing fifth at 112 and first at 119 in the IHSAA State Finals for Lowell in 1999 and 2000), said with hard work and following the instruction of the coaching staff, his up-and-coming Red Devils could be the next Hughes or Cummings.
      “That’s the carrot we dangle,” Howard, a coach for 11 years, said. “That’s what we tell them, ‘who’s going to be next?’ ‘Who’s going to be the next face of this program?
      “Right now it’s Colton.”
      Cummings is sure someone is up for the challenge. Perhaps sophomore Andres Moreno or freshman Shawn Hollis or a non-ranked Red Devil?
      “We have a great team this year,” Cummings said. “We have plenty of people who could come up and take Drew and my spot easily.”
      Like many wrestlers, Cummings came to the sport as a young kid.
      It didn’t go that smoothly for him.
      “I was so small I wrestled up like five weight classes and I was getting creamed,” Cummings said. “I said, ‘I’m done.’ I got talked back into it in sixth grade. I’ve been going from there.”
      What makes Cummings so good?
      “He’s just an all-around tough kid,” Howard said. “When he was younger he wrestled with older kids. They didn’t take it easy on him.
      “He’s got a motor that very few people can keep up with.”
      Cummings regularly works out with assistant coach Cameryn Brady, a two-time Division II All-American at the University of Indianapolis. Brady is about 40 pounds heavier than Cummings.
      Growing up in the woods around Lowell, Cummings said he would like to study biology and environmental science in college. It looks like he will be doing that on the “Banks of the Hudson” in New York at the United States Military Academy (West Point).
      “It’s one of the more prestigious schools in the country,” Cummings said. “It’s kind of an honor to go there.”

      2242 2

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

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

      2216

      #MondayMatness: Clicking at the Wright Time

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Confidence and conviction can take you a long way.
      Kokomo High School wrestlers like junior 113-pounder Jabin Wright (45-5) and senior 145-pounder Szhantrayl Roberson (42-10) have taken that and landed in the IHSAA State Finals — Wright for the second time and Roberson for the first.
      These two Wildkats are the 14th and 15th state qualifiers in Ryan Wells’ eight season as head coach.
      “My coach said I can be the best in the state if I continue to attack and continue to put pressure and I did that today,” Wright said after winning at the Fort Wayne Semistate. “He told me I can beat anybody if I keep working hard. I can’t thank him enough for that.”
      Wright said he “turned it up a notch” as the 2015-16 postseason has approached.
      “I want to get better and better and I want to be on top of the podium on Saturday,” Wright said. “Coached told me, ‘Now’s your time. Now is when it really matters.’”
      Wells, a former Kokomo wrestler who graduated in 2001, asks his Kats to keep it simple and to stay aggressive and in good position. He has seen Wright stick to that plan and it has him back at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
      “He is really peaking at the right time,” Wells said of Wright. “He’s just wrestling so well with his takedowns. He’s really confident.
      “He’s getting deep on shots, finishing and staying in great position all the time. He’s really, really wrestling well.”
      Wright placed third at semistate and lost in the first round in 2015. As a returnee, he will have familiarity with the situation this time.
      But not only that.
      Wright’s first-round draw on Friday night (Feb. 19) is Logansport junior Donovan Johnson, a fourth-place finisher at the East Chicago Semistate. It will be the fourth meeting between the two during the 2015-16 season.
      After losing 7-2 and 17-6 to Logansport’s Donovan Johnson during the season, Wright topped the Berries grappler 8-2 in the finals of the Jan. 24 North Central Conference tournament.
      Like many wrestlers, Wright listens to music before his matches. He was scene doing dance moves prior to wrestling moves at Fort Wayne’s Memorial Coliseum.
      “It calms me,” Wright said. “The music kind of just takes me. I don’t want to stress out about my matches and go out there and not stick to my gameplan.”
      And Wright’s pre-match tunes of choice?
      “Music you can dab to,” Wright said.
      Besides former successful Kokomo wrestlers coming into the practice room to give athletes like Wright and Roberson a different look, there are current Kats like Rafael Lopez (126) and T.T. Allen (138) to help make them better.
      “Since he’s a little guy, he’s real quick,” Roberson said of Wright. “His quickness makes my reaction time better. My strength and my length makes him better because he sometimes has to face tall, lanky guys who are strong. We help each other throughout the season.”
      Roberson lost to Yorktown’s Brad Laughlin in the “ticket” round at semistate last year and now he’s going to the Big Show where he will face Evansville Mater Dei sophomore Joe Lee, a champion at the Evansville Semistate, in the first round.
      What has gotten this Kat to Indy?
      “I’m pretty good on my feet,” Roberson said. That’s my strength. “I like to use a Russian into a sweep single on the right side. A duck-under into a high crotch. I finish a lot with that, too.”
      Roberson also has a pre-match routine. After a talk with his coaches, he puts on his headphones for “hype-up” rap and R&B songs.
      “I turn the music up real loud and get in my zone,” Roberson said. “I get my adrenaline going for the match. It usually helps.”

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      #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.

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      #MondayMatness: Plymouth's Calhoun getting better everyday

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      There’s only so much time to prepare.
      That is one of many lessons sophomore Graham Calhoun has learned while competing for veteran head coach Bob Read and his staff as part of the Plymouth High School wrestling program.
      After going 44-5 and placing seventh at the IHSAA State Finals as a freshman 138-pounder in 2016-17, Calhoun is off to a strong start to the 2017-18 season.
      “We don’t want to waste a second of practice,” says Read, an Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer and Billy Thom Award winner who has produced 33 state qualifiers. He was hired at his alma mater in 1978 as a science teacher and wrestling assistant. He took over the Rockies matmen in 1981 and has been in that post ever since.
      Calhoun is the most recent of Read’s 14 state meet placers and an athlete driven to improve.
      “Graham is the kind of kid who looks to get better,” says Reed. “If he wants to stand on the top of the podium, he’s got to get better than what he is right now. Senior Gavin Banks (Graham’s drill partner) knows the same thing.”
      Tim Roahrig (1987), Josh Hutchens (1993 and 1994) have won state titles with Read in their corners. Hutchens was also third in 1992.
      Other state placers on Read’s watch include David Shook (second in 1983), Gabe Lopez (fourth in 1983), Jason Rudd (sixth in 1992), Kyle Condon (eighth in 1994),  Matt Arvesen (fifth in 1999 and second in 2000), Dan Denaut (second in 1998), Damon Howe (fifth in 2010 and second in 2011) followed by Graham Calhoun in 2017.
      Says Graham of his daily workouts this season with Banks, “We go pretty hard in the room. We make each other better.”
      Graham has gotten bigger since last season and is certified at 152. 
      “I’ve filled out and grew a couple inches to 5-foot-9 1/2,” says Graham, who is focused this season on “trusting the process.” That means listening to his coaches as they push all Plymouth wrestlers toward constant improvement.
      “If it’s a Thursday or a Friday and I’m four or five pounds over, I can’t just use that practice to cut weight. I’ve got to get better.”
      Read, who was a state qualifier in his senior year at Plymouth (1973) and grappled four years at Western Michigan University, sees in Graham Calhoun a young man who is learning to operate with controlled intensity. 
      “He’s a pretty even-keeled kid — win or lose,” says Read. “He doesn’t like to lose. But the last two years when he gets a chance to face someone who beat him before he usually turns the tide.”
      Graham did just that against Munster’s Cody Crary last season. He lost to Crary at the Plymouth Super Dual then bested him in the East Chicago Semistate “ticket” round.
      “He’s a competitor,” says Read. “Sometimes it’s difficult to teach that to somebody. He doesn’t fear the fact that the kid has beaten him. He absorbs that challenge. It’s fun to watch him. He can get pretty intense in the midst of a match.”
      Curbing his emotions is something Graham has been working on.
      “I’ve been working on keeping composure the mat,” says Calhoun, who carries a 3.6 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. “That’s helped a lot. I watch these college guys and no matter what the score is, no matter what the position is they’re always composed and in-control.
      “In wrestling, there’s a lot to get prepared for mentally and physically. Before a match, I put headphones on and clear everything out. I stay calm. I don’t get too fired up. I want to stay ready and mentally prepared. Sometimes I find myself getting too pumped up for a match. I look to find a good balance.”
      Graham has been in the sport since age 4.
      “My dad tried to get me to quit when I first started I was so bad,” says Graham, the youngest of Jim and Cammie Calhoun’s four sons (Kyle, Josh and Micah are older). “I got pinned every time I went on the mat. But I didn’t quit and I still liked it. 
      So Graham just stayed with it and kept getting better and did let the fact he was born with one kidney stop him.
      “It doesn’t really bother me,” says Graham. “I just can’t drink any dark pop or caffeine. I go for annual check-ups.”
      All his work helped Graham explode onto the high school wrestling scene a year ago and followed brother Micah’s lead all the way to the big stage in Indianapolis. Micah Calhoun was 43-4 and a state qualifier in 2017 as senior 160-pounder.
      “I’ve learned everything from him — spiritually, mentally, physically, wrestling-wise,” says Graham of Micah.
      The mat means a great deal to Graham. But it’s not the thing. There is his faith and his family.
      “Wrestling is a big part of my life, but Jesus is definitely the biggest part of my life,” says Graham. “I’m a Christian and I love Jesus with all my heart. I do everything to glorify Him.”
      Jim Calhoun,  a Rochester native, attended Central Bible College in Missouri and wrestled for the University of Missouri, is senior pastor at Word of Truth Plymouth.
      Read counts Jim and Micah Calhoun as volunteers on a coaching staff that features former Bremen High School head coach and former Bremen grappler Travis Meister.
      “I don’t even need to be in the room, I know the kids are going hard,” says Read. “Those guys have made it easy for me.
      “I seek that wise counsel that the Bible talks about. I try to surround myself with those guys and it’s paid off over the years.
      “I wish I could tell you every decision I’ve made wrestling-wise is a correct decision and that every kid I’ve coach I’ve treated fairly and uprightly. I’ve made mistakes all over the place. But I hope that in the years that I’ve coached I’ve poured into more people in a positive way.”
      In his decades of coaching, Read has had wrestlers live with him and his family, which includes wife Karen, daughters Lane and Cari and son Matt, a state qualifier wrestler for Plymouth in 2003. Read’s bailed wrestlers out of jail. He’s helped them deal with divorce and the loss of loved ones.
      “As a coach, it’s more than wrestling,” says Read. “For me and my staff, it’s a ministry. That’s why we get along so well.
      “My faith is really important to me.”
      Read keeps a list of people who have qualities or characteristics that he seeks when he needs help in life. 
      Using examples from the Bible, he looks for those who are like Paul (“somebody who is going to pour into you and teach you what it’s like to be the man of character”), Barnabas (“a guy who walks with people because they are in the same season in life”) and Timothy (“someone who you pour into”).
      His father James is one of those people on his list.
      “Not many men don’t have cracks some place,” says Read. “My dad is a man that doesn’t have cracks.”
      James Read, 89, are partners in a business — J.B. Fish. When Bob retired from the class room in 2014, he and his father started raising fish in a 14,000-gallon tank. At first, it was striped bass and now it’s tilapia.
      “We raise our own brood — from eggs to selling them live,” says Read. “They start out in aquariums, we move them along and they finish in larger tanks. We sell them at a pound 3/4 or bigger. It takes about 11 months to finish them out.”
      Read and his coaches show their wrestlers plenty of finishing moves and insist that everybody develops go-to maneuvers that they trust and can execute. 
      “When you’ve been at the sport as long as I have what happens is you see a go-to move for a bunch of kids,” says Read. “Then they develop counters and everybody is looking for that (move). They starred to fade away from that. That sits the archives for years then — all of a sudden — it starts coming back.
      “I’ll say ‘this is what we did years and years ago’ and bring out some old moves.”
      Why is it important to have a “bag of tricks”?
      “Not everybody has quick feet,” says Read. “I wrestled after college in a number of big tournaments and learned that I couldn’t move my feet fast enough to sprawl. But I could change levels and bump with my hips.”
      It’s a matter of identifying the wrestler’s capabilities.
      “I have a kid who’s extremely explosive so we’re going to give him stuff he can use,” says Read. “Most of are kids aren’t so we’ve got to come in tight and control things.
      “Our off-season and in-season weight program is important to us. We want to be strong enough that we can compete with people. We believe that if we’re not in great shape that we’re going to struggle so we work on being in great shape. Our kids know it and they work hard at it.”
      Like many teams are the state, Plymouth’s number are down a little bit.
      “I think it has something to do with where we’re at in society and it’s sad,” says Read. “It’s a great sport and there’s so many lessons to be learned.”
      Graham Calhoun continues to learn those learning those lessons.

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      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Two New College Programs in Indiana

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

       
      By JEREMY HINES
      thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Two Indiana Wrestling Hall of Famers will be at the forefront of expanding the state’s college wrestling reach next season.
       
      Steve VanDerAa will be Ancilla College’s first wrestling coach beginning in the 2016-2017 season. Steven Bradley will be at the helm of Marian University’s first year program, also beginning next season.
       
      “Obviously being the first coach, nobody has been before me,” Bradley said. “There are no footsteps to follow and not a lot of pressure. I get to create my own footsteps. It’s a good thing. When I’m all done, many years from now, hopefully I will have set a standard that other people will want to strive to acheive.”
       
      Bradley was a three-time state champion wrestler from Beech Grove High School. He has coached at the college level for 10 seasons. The move to Marian was exactly the kind of job he was looking for. It enables Bradley to be closer to his family.
       
      For VanDerAa, who coached Winimac High School for 20 seasons, he couldn’t resist the chance to get back into the coaching game.
       
      “I’ve officiated the last couple of years, but I’ve really missed coaching,” VanDerAa said. “I can’t wait to get back into it.”
       
      VanDerAa is the first lay coach to be inducted into the Indiana Wrestling Hall of Fame. He has a coaching record of 404-96 and says all but six of his career losses came at the hands of schools larger than Winimac. He has helped coached Indiana legends like Angel Escobedo and Alex Tsirtsis.
       
      Both coaches are excited about the chance to build their programs from the ground up.
       
      “That’s the most exciting part,” said VanDerAa. I have a say in how we’re going to put the wrestling room together. We’re ordering all new equipment and when we are recruiting we get to tell them that they are the first and they are going to be the foundation of our program.”
       
      Bradley said recruiting has been relatively easy from the start.
       
      “It’s been nice,” Bradley said. “I’ve receive a lot of interest already. There are a lot of people contacting me and talking about the school. I’ve started talking to kids. The interest has been amazing at how many people in the first few weeks have sent emails, calls and text to get information. They love that there is another choice out there.”
       
      Bradley sees wrestling rising in popularity, especially at the small college level.
       
      “The interest is increasing across the country,” Bradley said. “We give kids another option. They can stay close to home and compete. I think it’s a good thing Indiana has more options. It will help Indiana wrestling as a whole. It will help high school kids. The more kids going to college and wrestling, the more young kids will see that and want to follow behind.”
       
      Both Bradley and VanDerAa have similar characteristics they look for in a recruit.
       
      “Academics are important,” VanDerAa said. “But I’m also looking for athletes that want to be part of our charter program. I want kids dedicated to the sport. I want guys that will do hard work, follow directions and be model young men for the sport.”
       
      Bradley is also looking for hard workers.
       
      “They have to be able to work hard,” Bradley said. “We need kids with integrity. We want kids that want to do well academically and kids that want to do well on the mats. I want kids that constantly want more for themselves and push themselves towards their goals.”
       
      Ancilla College is a part of the National Junior College Athletic Association, while Marian is a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

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      #MondayMatness with Steve Krah: With mantra of ‘hold the rope,’ Delta wrestlers keep on winning

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com

      Delta High School has a history of wrestling success.
       
      The Eagles have piled up victories and titles over the years.
       
      From 1980-81 to 1984-85, Delta won five straight IHSAA team championships.
       
      There have also been eight semistates, 15 regionals, 19 sectionals,12 conference titles and numerous champions and state placers.
       
      Cody LeCount is in his second season as Eagles head coach in 2022-23 and working to keep Delta among the elite programs in Indiana.
       
      LeCount is a 2014 graduate of Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis where he went 184-2 and was a two-time IHSAA state champion (2013 at 132 pounds and 2014 at 145) and one-time state runner-up (2012 at 126). He was the Indianapolis Star’s Wrestler of the Year in 2014.
       
      He grappled for two years at Central Michigan University and spent two years at Marian University in Indianapolis.
       
      LeCount began his coaching career as an assistant for three years at Carmel High School before moving to Delta, where he is also a special education teacher.
       
      He got to work with Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer Jim Tonte as well as Matt Schoettle at Perry Meridian, National Wrestling Hall of Fame Michigan Chapter member Tom Borelli at Central Michigan, IHSWCA Hall of Famer Steven Bradley at Marian and IHSWCA Hall of Famer Ed Pendoski at Carmel.
       
      “Growing up around wrestling my whole life I’ve been around really, really good coaches,” says LeCount, who competed for . “I’ve learned a lot of things from a coaching standpoint on how to train, how to get in shape and get through the grinding season.”
       
      In LeCount’s first season at Delta, the Eagles went 14-5, won a sectional title and were Class 2A IHSWCA State Duals qualifiers. The only senior on that team was Dillon Tuttle (who placed eight at the state meet at 138).
       
      So far in 2021-22, Delta is 7-0 and has outscored foes 475-78. The Eagles beat Tri, Lapel, Alexandria-Monroe, Frankton and Greenfield-Central at the Rex Leavitt Elwood Invitational Nov. 19 and earned dual wins against Muncie Central Nov. 29 and South Adams Dec. 1.
      Seven individuals are 7-0. Five are state-ranked — Ayden Bollinger (Class of 2025) No. 3 at 106), Neal Mosier (Class of 2024) No. 7 at 120, Braxton Russell (Class of 2024) No. 13 at 170, Kolten Rhone’s (Class of 2024) No. 14 at 145 and Kaeb Stebbins (Class of 2025) No. 16 at 152.
      On a roster of 31, there are four seniors with two in the varsity lineup — Garrett Clay (160) and Heath Sprague (195).
       
      Borrowing from a locker room speech give by Susquehanna Township (Pa.) High School football coach Joe Headen, LeCount and his assistants — Austin Crouch, Jacob Gray (No. 3 on Delta’s all-time win list and a state champion at 182 in 2017), David Locke (No. 7 on the win list and a state champion at 145 in 1984) and Keith Rhonemus — have Delta wrestlers learning how to “hold the rope.”
       
      “When we’re the climbing the mountain everybody’s got to hold on to that rope,” says LeCount.
      “If one guy slips he might make everybody else fall. It’s our job to hold on to the rope and it’s also our job to help everybody else stay on the rope.”
       
      It’s about teamwork and accountability.
       
      “If I do my job, everybody else can continue to do their job,” says LeCount. “Don’t let that guy slack off in practice. Don’t let this guy give up an extra two points in a dual meet.
       
      “These kids have bought into that kind of system.”
       
      LeCount has gotten his athletes to “do everything to their full potential and just trust the process.”
       
      “If they do everything right they can get to where they want to be,” says LeCount. “They know that there are days when they’re going to be really tired. There are going to be days that are really hard. They might lose a match. They might win a big match.
       
      “It’s knowing the ups and downs of the season, how to train and compete and just love each other.”
       
      High school wrestling presents the opportunity to compete in an individual sport in a group setting.
       
      “Wrestling is 1 v 1 out there,” says LeCount. “You mess up it’s one you. The team aspect of things makes it even greater.
       
      “I might be biased, but it’s the greatest sport there is. There’s nothing else out there like it. It makes you have to depend on yourself to win your match and help your team.”
       
      So many wrestlers come off the mat after a loss in a six-minute match in tears because they gave it their all.
       
      And it’s as much mental as physical.
       
      “That internal drive, mental toughness and voice in your head, it all has to come from within,” says LeCount. “You can always do so much more than what your mind’s telling you.”
       
      2A No. 2 Delta goes to Jay County Tuesday, Dec. 6 for a double-dual. The Eagles grappled with Winchester at 6 p.m., followed by 2A No. 1 Jay County. Yorktown will also wrestle Winchester.
       
      Delta goes to Class 2A IHSWCA State Duals at Jay County Jan. 7. The Hoosier Heritage Conference at Pendleton Heights meet is Jan. 14. Then comes the IHSAA state tournament series — Delta Sectional Jan. 28, Jay County Regional Feb. 4, Fort Wayne Semistate Feb. 11 and State Finals Feb. 17-18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

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      #MondayMatness: Jimtown's Kerrn has sights set high on the mat after super season on the gridiron

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Kenny Kerrn turned heads during his senior football season at Jimtown High School.
      He is hoping to do more of the same in his final prep wrestling campaign for the Jimmies. He ranks No. 2 in the 2016-17 Indiana Mat preseason rankings at 152 pounds.
      “There’s a lot of high expectations for me this year and a big part of that is because of my dad,” Kenny Kerrn said of Mark Kerrn, the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer. “He’s such a respected coach in the state. I’m kind of just in awe of seeing my name ranked second in the state. It makes me want to go in everyday and work as hard as I can and get that title under my name.”
      And his fall sport has definitely contributed to his winter sport and vice versa for the teen.
      “Wrestling helps me with football and football helps me with wrestling,” Kenny Kerrn said. “It’s a good balance.”
      As a running back for a 7-5 team that was a sectional finalist, Kenny toted the football 261 times for 1,563 yards and 26 touchdowns in the fall. In game against Concord, he set single-game school records for carries (38), yards (320) and points scored (32).
      Learning wrestling from a young age from his father and other talented coaches and JHS wrestlers, Kenny enjoyed a breakout season in the circle as a junior.
      A 2015-16 campaign which culminated with a seventh-place finish at 145 at the Indiana High School Athletic Association State Finals included a 45-6 record (he is 96-28 for this first three high school seasons).
      Along the way, the young Kerrn won titles at the prestigious Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka as well as in the Northern Indiana Conference, Elkhart Sectional and Goshen Regional. He was a runner-up at the Fort Wayne Semistate.
      As a team, Jimtown went 21-2 with a sectional title and runner-up finishes in the conference and the Class 2A division of the IHSWCA State Duals (the Jimmies are slated to compete in the meet again Dec. 23 at Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne). Mark Kerrn was named NIC Coach of the Year.
      Several of Kenny Kerrn’s wrestling teammates were also his mates on the football field.
      “It’s kind of fun to see how they act in one and another,” Kenny Kerrn said.
      While both sports are physically-demanding, the Jimmie senior who is exploring different college options that could include some combination of football, wrestling or track sees a contrast.
      “It’s totally different atmosphere,” Kenny Kerrn said. “Somedays in the wrestling room are just intense. It’s something you would never see on the football field. (Wrestling) can be hard-nose, just going non-stop for two hours. In football, there’s a little bit more of the learning aspect.
      “Coaches will stand you up and teach you the things you need to know for football. (In wrestling), it’s all hands-on and you’ve just got to drill.”
      Kenny Kerrn (@KennyKerrn on Twitter) explained the difference between being “wrestling shape” and for other sports, including his third prep sport (track).
      “You can go run seven miles everyday if you want to and still not in wrestling shape because you haven’t been down in your stance, feeling that burn in your legs. It’s a totally different thing.”
      Of course, there are parallels to the mat and the gridiron.
      “People talk all the time about how if you need help with tackle form, it’s just a double-leg takedown,” Kenny Kerrn said. “It really is if you think about it. A text-book tackle (in football) is really a blast-double for wrestling.
      “And keeping your head up (in wrestling) in just as important as it is on the football field.”
      Stay low and keep your feet moving is good advice in both sports.
      “You want that low center of gravity, keep you feet moving and explode out,” Kenny Kerrn said. “Running backs in college and the pros are explosive. They find a whole and explode. You look at the best wrestlers in the Olympics and stuff and they are staying low to the ground and they are exploding out when they’re taking shots.”
      Mark Kerrn, who is also a longtime Jimtown football assistant coach as well as being in his 25th season as head wrestling coach, said he can cite example after example of pro football players who wrestled and learned lessons that transferred well from the mat to the gridiron — things like balance as well as physical mental toughness.
      “Guys who wrestle aren’t afraid tote the rock or be a receiver or a quarterback — that limelight guy — because they have no fear of losing,” Mark Kerrn said. “Because there’s a chance that every time they go out on the mat they are going to lose by themselves and have nobody else to blame but themselves.”
      That being said, there was a brotherhood displayed during the football season that has carried over into wrestling.
      “We had one of the closest group of seniors (in football),” Mark Kerrn said. “And that’s carried over.”
      And there’s been “proud dad” moments all along the way as father has watched son.
      “It’s really been special watching him go from that 4-year-old bouncing around on the mat, jumping on people and not being able to take a stance then year by year getting better and better and better,” Mark Kerrn said. “He’s always been a competitor. But it really snapped last year. Something kicked in and he started doing some really great things.”
      The Kerrns and the Jimmies are hoping to get even more kicks this last go-round together.

      2113

      #MondayMatness: Cartwright looking to punch his ticket to state

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Heavyweight wrestler Alex Cartwright was very close to representing LaVille High School at the IHSAA State Finals in 2016-17.
      An overtime loss in the East Chicago Semistate “ticket” round separated the big Lancer from appearing on the mats at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
      Cartwright took part in his first state tournament series as a sophomore and won the 285-pound title at the LaPorte Sectional, pinning his last two opponents. 
      He placed second at the Crown Point Regional, defaulting in the finals because of a neck injury.
      At East Chicago, he won his first match then lost in overtime to Merrillville’s Brandon Streck.
      “It was kind of a kick in the butt,” says Cartwright of the narrow defeat that denied him a trip to Indy. “I was wrestling kind of nervous. That’s when I learned you can’t let things get in your head. You’ve just got to go when it’s your time. It’s been kind of motivational. I’ve got my head right this year.”
      The best opponent he saw last season?
      Cartwright says it’s Chesterton’s Eli Pokorney, who he beat 7-5 at the Knox Super Dual. 
      Back for his junior season in 2017-18, Cartwright is ranked among Indiana’s top 285-pounders. He is currently No. 6.
      But he doesn’t dwell on it.
      “You never want to get ahead of yourself,” says Cartwright. “I just think of it as a number.”
      Alex is the “baby” in Clyde and Shirley’s family of eight. There are four boys and two girls. Alex’s brothers are Corian Correll, Chris Cartwright and Tom Cartwright. Their sisters are Lindsay Scott and Alison Cartwright.
      Alex first got interested in the sport by watching big bro Corian, participated as a sixth grader and then came back as a freshman heavyweight.
      Correll grappled at 195 for LaVille, graduating in 2016 and is now a part of the coaching staff.
      “He’s taught me a lot of about throwing and a lot about the basics, the necessities of wrestling,” says Alex of Corian.
      Learning throws from Corian and by attending a Greco-Roman camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center on the Northern Michigan University campus in Marquette, Mich., last summer (one of his opponents was Colton Schultz, who recently became the first American to win a cadet Greco-Roman world title in 20 years), Cartwright has added to his arsenal.
       While Corian does spar some with Cartwright (who tipped the scales at the season-opening Jimtown Super Dual Saturday, Dec. 2 at 275 pounds), it’s 220-pound junior Anthony Hatter that serves as his workout partner.
      “We do a lot of drilling,” says Hatter. “I teach him things and he helps me work with my moves.
      “He’s been working on technique and speed. There’s some quick heavyweights and he’s one of them.”
      Cartwright is a mobile big man.
      “I shoot and not a lot of heavyweights do,” says Cartwright. “It’s a mixture of speed and strength. It takes a lot of strength to get your shot fully in.”
      Cartwright remembers the words of former assistant coach Ronnie McCollough.
      “He taught to be more aggressive,” says Cartwright. “Even when you’re on bottom, you don’t sit. You’ve got to move. Just simple things that stick in my mind as a wrestler.”
      For his post-high school future, Cartwright is considering two diverse career possibilities.
      “I’m looking at going to Seattle for schooling in under-water welding or going local for marketing and business.
      “I’ve been looking into (under-water welding). It looks really enjoyable.”
      Cartwright has done dry-land welding in his agriculture power class at LaVille.
      Current Lancers head coach Sean Webb talks about Cartwright’s improvement on the mat.
      “His work ethic has been a lot better,” says Webb, who had been working as a wrestling official and stepped in to run the program when Mike Bottorff had to back off because of health issues. “He’s working really hard and figuring out how to beat the buys he lost to last year this year. He’s trying to do that now rather than later.”
      “He knows what he needs to do. Now I’ve just got to push him harder and harder to make sure he doesn’t go out in overtime and he finishes that match.”
      Webb, who wrestled for LaVille for four seasons, bumping up in weight each year from 103 to 112 to 119 to 125 for his senior season in 2011, stresses being in proper position then helps tailor a style for each of his athletes.
      “The one thing about wrestling is when you keep your stance and keep your hips set and ready to go — in position, as we like to call it — we can ready think about what kind of moves we can do.”
      Bottorff was head coach for 26 years. This past year, he suffered a stroke. Three weeks after leaving the hospital he contracted endocarditis, a blood disease that causes inflammation of the heart’s inner lining. He went for daily treatments for two months and then had a heart check. 
      Having received a mechanical valve in 2007. The next day he was at a wrestling meet. Three times that year, he had to have his heart shocked back into rhythm. 
      Ten year later, Bottorff went in for another heart procedure.
      “Now, I have two mechanical valves and it’s hard for me to get my strength back,” says Bottorff, who was at the Jimtown Super Dual. “I can’t lift over 20 pounds right now. I kneel down on the mat with the kids and I can’t get back up from that.
      “I just had to give it up. My health and seeing my grandkids is more important.”
      A 1970 LaVille graduate, Bottorff went to college to play basketball. He came back home and joined the football coaching staff at his alma mater when a need popped up in the wrestling program. He was eventually convinced to take it over.
      “For three years in a row, I said “no. I know nothing about it,” says Bottoff, who left coaching 16 dual-meet wins shy of 400. “I’ve been here ever since.”
      Under the advisement of his heart doctor and his wife of 16 years — Nancy — he is not supposed to get excited or stressed. He had his heart shocked back into rhythm two weeks ago.
      “I told the kids I’ll be here to watch them and root them on,” says Bottorff. “My wife says I’m allowed to do that but if she hears me yelling and screaming and getting upset over anything, she won’t let me do it anymore.”
      Bottorff enjoyed coaching so much because of the relationship he built with kids. He is hoping for big things from Cartwright.
      “He’s a kid you want on your team because he says ‘yes sir’ and ‘no sir,’” says Bottorff. “If he does something wrong and you tell him about it, he says ‘OK.’ He never has an excuse. That goes for wrestling or anything. His mom and dad brought him up right. He’s a perfect kid.”
      Bottorff does wish Armstrong and Hatter would take to the gridiron.
      “I’ve twisted the arms of Armstrong and Hatter in attempt to get them to play football,” says Bottorff. “They’re two of the strongest kids in the school. 
      “LaVille is a small school and we need three-sport athletes. I do my best to try to talk them into it.”

      2108 1

      #MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Fairfield’s Maran bound for regional again — this time as a lighter competitor

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      Breckan Maran, a 190-pound junior at Fairfield High School, is heading to the Goshen Regional for the third time in his prep wrestling career.
       
      For the first time since 2017, the Falcons will be represented by more than two grapplers.
       
      It’s fitting that Maran has more teammates sharing the experience with him in 2024. The meet on Saturday, Feb. 3 will also feature juniors Matthew Senn (138), Dirk Rumfelt (157) and Aldahir Ortiz-Sanchez (165) and senior Ryan Noel (175).
       
      His head coach — 1992 Fairfield graduate Gene Willard — has noticed how Maran cares about the others around him.
       
      “Breckan always has been a team player,” says Willard of an athlete who ended the football season weighing 216. “At the beginning of the season he thought he was going to go at 215. The week before we started competing, he said, ‘I want to go 190. Am I OK?’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘(senior) Ethan (Hochstetler) can go 215 and (sophomore) David (Almiray) is the heavyweight and I can fill 190.
       
      “Mentally, (Breckan) is very tough but that’s the team aspect of it. He just holds things together.”
       
      Says Maran, “Going to semistate last year and regional the year before and knowing a lot about wrestling, I’d say my teammates look up to me.”
       
      Willard, who is in his second season as Falcons head coach and eighth in the program after stints at Whiteland Community and Lakeland, said there was an adjustment period to the lighter weight, then Maran began rolling again.
       
      “He’s been looking really good,” says Willard, who saw Maran win the 190 title at the 2024 Northeast Corner Conference meet after placing second at 220 in both 2022 and 2023.
       
      The coach also recognizes a leadership style. It’s one he had himself as a Fairfield athlete.
       
      “Breckan is one that leads by example,” says Willard. “If you ask most unless he’s around he’s around his friends he’s very soft-spoken.
       
      “If someone needs correction or motivation he’s there to support them. He holds everything near and dear to his heart. Sometimes he puts a lot of pressure on himself to succeed and carry the team when he doesn’t have to.”
       
      The past two wrestling postseasons, Maran competed at 220.
       
      As a sophomore in 2022-23, he placed second at both the Elkhart Sectional and Goshen Regional and lost in the second round at the Fort Wayne Semistate.
       
      As a freshman in 2021-22, he finished second in the Elkhart Sectional and did not place at the Goshen Regional.
       
      Maran is 29-5 during his junior wrestling season at Fairfield High School.
       
      Two of those defeats came at the Elkhart Sectional as he was pinned in 3:00 by Elkhart junior Kaullin Price in the semifinals and beaten 6-3 by NorthWood senior Keith Miller — a wrestler he had beaten by a point during the regular season — in a consolation match.
       
      “I couldn’t quite come back,” says Maran of the second-round fall. “That’s my thought on the mental side.”
       
      The Elkhart Sectional is sending champion Donovan Blair of Wawasee, runner-up Price of Elkhart, third-placer Miller of NorthWood and fourth-placer Maran to the Goshen Regional.
       
      “We knew that was going to be a tough weight class coming in,” says Willard. “He got caught (against Price) and that happens.
       
      “Hopefully, (Breckan) will be able to rebound and the Elkhart Sectional can advance all four 190-pounders to semistate.”
       
      Maran started wrestling as a seventh grader. In the eighth grade, he was 207 pounds. He started playing tackle football in the third grade. There was a time that he was too big to carry the ball by Prairie Football League rules and was assigned to a spot on the line.
       
      As a high schooler, he runs over and around tacklers as a fullback and also uses his gifts to bring ball-carriers down as a middle linebacker.
       
      “That’s part of his mentality: If you don’t get out of the way I’m going to go through you,” says Willard, who coached a freshman Maran in that sport. “He’s always worked his butt off.
       
      “His work ethic got him where he is today.”
       
      Says Maran, “I’m pretty quick and I’ve got some decent muscles. With wrestling, I just like the physicality.”
       
      One of the strongest kids in the school, Maran enjoys his time in the weight room. You can often find him there during the spring when he’s not staying in-shape with wrestling workouts and some competitions. He placed fourth at 220 at the 2023 Frosh-Sophomore State meet.
       
      “Before I dropped the weight by bench (press) was 325, my squat was 475 and my clean (and jerk) was 265,” says Maran. “Since I’ve cut down to like 187 I haven’t tried to max.”
       
      Tom and Tosha Maran have two sons — Braedon and Breckan. Brandon Maran played football and basketball at Fairfield.

      2107 4

      #WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Volz rewriting Eastern Hancock record books

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      Eastern Hancock senior Cameron Volz isn’t looking for attention. But, when you climb the state wrestling rankings, lose by one point to a returning state champion and have the opportunity to do something no other wrestler in his school has accomplished in 22 years, you can’t hide from the spotlight.
       
      Volz was asked if there was anything about him that would be interesting to readers. He thought for a second, then asked his mom.
       
      “Well, you broke the school record for career wins,” his mom said.
       
      But Volz didn’t want to talk about that.
       
      “No mom, not that. I don’t care about that,” he said. “That’s not what I want people to know.”
       
      After thinking for a moment, Volz came up with his answer.
       
      “I really just want people to know that I have a big heart,” he said. “I want to leave a footprint in people’s lives.”
       
      He’s certainly leaving his mark on Royal wrestling. Volz is currently ranked 14th in the 132-pound class. He’s ranked No. 2 in the New Castle semistate. He owns the school record for wins, but he’s not even sure how many he has (somewhere around 140 he estimates). He is also vying to become the first Eastern Hancock wrestler to place in the state tournament since 2002.
       
      “Cameron is a hard worker,” Eastern Hancock coach Sam Pfaff said. “You have to be in order to become the level of wrestler Cameron is. He’s got a great mind set. He’s like a true student of the game. He’s always watching film, learning, and asking questions.”
       
      That studying helped Volz close a gap with New Castle’s Tylin Thrine – the returning state champion and the No. 2 ranked grappler in the weight class. During the regular season Thrine handled Volz, winning 5-1. But in the Centerville sectional final the match was much closer.
       
      Volz scored a first-period takedown in the match. In the end, Thrine prevailed by a single point, 4-3.
       
      “We went into this one with a little bit of a different attitude,” Pfaff said. “We said, you’re the underdog here – you have nothing to lose. Throw everything you have at him. I told him he can’t be afraid, and to let it all fly. We spent all week working in different positions and trying to iron some things out. In the match we got the early takedown, but Tylin in his freakish athletic fashion, got right back to his feet.”
       
      Volz doesn’t believe in moral victories. According to him, he hates losing. But he knows matches like he has had with Thrine can only help him in the future.
       
      “I’m grateful for those opportunities,” Volz said. “Those opportunities make me better and hopefully I make him better as well.”
       
      Volz brings a vast skillset to the mat.
      “Cameron is incredibly athletic and very fast,” Pfaff said. “He has incredible technique. He has to wrestle with confidence though. Going back to the Thrine match, he showed he is a better wrestler when he goes out there without fear and doesn’t worry about the end result. When he does that, he’s really, really solid and can hang with just about anyone.”
       
      Cameron’s freshman brother, Bradyn, won the 113-pound weight class in sectional. Cameron loves working with Bradyn on the mat, as well as with the Eastern Hancock youth program.
       
      “I like coaching,” Volz said. “I feel like I’m pretty good at it. I know a lot about wrestling and I try to show that to the younger guys.”
       
      In his personal life, Volz has dealt with a lot of adversity. The adversity isn’t something he wanted to delve into for this article, but Pfaff said it’s something that shaped Volz into who he is today.
       
      “He’s had some personal stuff in his life that he’s had to overcome,” Pfaff said. “That has really figured into the mindset he brings to wrestling. There are some things he’s had to experience in life that have shaped his view. That’s helped him in a way. He’s experienced adversity in his personal life and he’s able to bring that to the mat. When things get tough, he knows how to push through and gut them out.”
       
      The last Eastern Hancock wrestler to place in state was Keith Oliver in 2002.
       
      “I definitely want to change that this year,” Volz said. “But if I can’t, hopefully my brother can. He’s my project and I love seeing him succeed.”
       
      Volz will wrestle Saturday in the Richmond regional.

      2100 4

      #MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Goshen’s Detwiler has turned himself into strong mat competitor

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      Goshen High School junior wrestler Laish Detwiler is 75-11 over the past two seasons (35-9 in 2021-22 and 40-2 so far in 2022-23) and is heading into his second IHSAA Fort Wayne Semistate Saturday, Feb. 11.
       
      Detwiler has been involved with the mat sport since seventh grade. But something changed his sophomore campaign.
       
      “Last year I started taking this seriously,” says Detwiler. “I wrestled throughout middle school but I wasn’t very good. Last year I just put my mind to getting better.
       
      “I don’t have that much time left in high school and I just have to change something. I just had to push myself and start working harder.”
       
      Detwiler, who competed as a light 195-pound freshman and 170-pound sophomore, is now at 182 as a junior.
       
      This season he is 2-1 against NorthWood senior Kaden Lone with a 4-2 loss in the Northern Lakes Conference finals, a 3-2 win in the Elkhart Sectional championship match and a 3-1 loss in the Goshen Regional finals. Lone (38-4) is a three-time semistate qualifier who placed seventh at the 2022 State Finals.
       
      “He’s a hard worker,” says RedHawks coach Jim Pickard of Detwiler. “He had never played football until this year and by the end of the year was a two-way starter (making 41 total tackles at defensive end and 23 carries as a running back). He’s become very athletic. He’s learned a lot and put some time in.”
       
      Detwiler drew Jay County junior Bryce Werk (30-6) as his first-round semistate opponent. The winner of the match faces the winner of Maconaquah sophomore Austin Ringeisen (39-2) and Fort Wayne Carroll sophomore William Jeffries (25-7).
       
      The 182 field also features Fort Wayne Snider sophomore De’Alcapon Veazy (34-1) and Monroe Central senior Hunter Page (35-0).
       
      Detwiler will be at Memorial Coliseum with five teammates — junior Cole Hinkel (39-5 at 113), senior Camden Wiese (32-6 at 126), senior Nolan Castaneda (32-11 at 138), junior Jonathon Flores (32-10 at 160) and senior Marcus Castaneda (31-10) at 170.
       
      In the 2021-22 state tournament series, Detwiler competed at 170 and was a runner-up to Jimtown senior Landon Buchanan at the Elkhart Sectional and Goshen Regional.
       
      At the Fort Wayne Semistate, Detwiler beat Fort Wayne Bishop Luers’ Mason Daring then lost in the “ticket round” to Eastern of Greentown’s Brodie Porter, who went on to top Buchanan in the semistate finals.
       
      Porter and Buchanan placed second and fifth, respectively, at the 2022 State Finals.
       
      “His losses last year were very quality,” says Pickard. “He’s turned it on this year.”
       
      Leadership is another of Detwiler’s assets.
       
      “A lot of it is leading by example and making sure I’m always doing the right thing,” says Detwiler. “I’m pushing my teammates when they’re having an ‘off’ day and making sure they’re still getting through their workouts.”
       
      After going 15-10 overall and 4-4 in the NLC in 2022-23, Pickard has 517 career dual victories and is in 30th season at Goshen.
       
      “It’s still that different connection with the kids that you get,” says Pickard of why he continues to coach. “I enjoy it. I think I’ve built a decent program here.”
       
      He served as an assistant principal for eight or nine years while leading GHS wrestling and took on athletic director duties toward the end of the 2021-22 season.
       
      With Josh Abbs, Tom Gangwer, Taylor Grim, Matt Katzer, Eric Kilmer, Greg Mueller, Travis Pickard and Troy Pickard as assistant coaches this season, the RedHawks are using a new hashtag on apparel and social media — #fightforsix.
       
      “It encompasses it all,” says Jim Pickard. “Don’t give up. Go for six full minutes and when you can go for six points (for a pin).”
       
      Detwiler has taken his head coach’s guidance to heart.
       
      “Coach Pickard has given me a lot of advice,” says Detwiler. “The main thing he tells me is to keep my head up and keep working hard in practice no matter what.”
       
      Besides wrestling and football, the 5-foot-10 Detwiler enjoys lifting weights.
       
      “I’ve gotten a lot stronger,” says Detwiler. “I wasn’t very strong my freshman year and then I started hitting the gym my sophomore year and it translated into getting better.”
       
      Grim is also a strength and condition specialist at Goshen and has his athletes doing traditional lifts like squat, bench press, deadlift and clean and jerk.
       
      “He’s really helped us with technique a lot,” says Detwiler of Grim. “He’s always in there pushing us to make sure we’re on-task.”
       
      Detwiler is a strong student. He carries a 3.7 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and is considering pursuing wrestling and sports medicine in college.
       
      Laish — a name that comes from the Old Testament — is the second of Aaron and Renita Detwiler. Sister Emma is a college freshman. Brother Judah is 9.
       
      “My dad got me into wrestling,” says Laish of his father’s mat experiences in Pennsylvania and Virginia. “He wrestled his whole life so he is a big inspiration for me.”
       

      2099 1

      #MondayMatness: Donnie Crider has unique style

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      It’s hard to miss Donnie Crider at a wrestling event.
      At 6-foot-7 and often wearing an orange T-shirt between bouts, the Harrison High School (West Lafayette) senior stands out from his opponents.
      But Crider is not just tall, he’s good enough that he went a combined 106-10 in his sophomore and junior seasons, qualifying for the IHSAA State Finals in 2016 and placing sixth in 2016 at 220 pounds.
      Crider, who weighed in at 238 at the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals in Fort Wayne where Harrison placed 10th, is enjoying a strong final prep go-round as a heavyweight.
      While Crider is upbeat and bringing a smile to his teammates’ faces off the mat, he’s all business inside the circle.
      “He’s aggressive and not afraid to get out there and be physical and take his shot,” says Harrison head coach Johnny Henry. “He sticks to his game plan.”
      More of a unorthodox kind of counter wrestler early in his high school career, Crider has simplified his attack to his best couple moves on top and on bottom.
      “He doesn’t try to go into funky scrambles,” says Henry, a former Benton Central High School and University of Indianapolis wrestler who took over leadership of the program this season after four years as a Raiders assistant. “We’re not trying to do 20 moves out there. He’s just matured.”
      Crider has heard the talk about his style.
      “Freshman and sophomore year, they thought I was funky because I used to roll around all the time,” says Crider. “Now, I’m more skilled.
      “(Scrambling is) not really effective when you hit semistate,” says Crider. “They’ll catch you. I’d rather pin them fast if I can.”
      The past two summers, Crider has gained experience while competing in the Disney Duals — earning Gold and Silver All-American accolades.
      During the high school campaign, Crider has really emphasized using his speed and finishing what he’s started.
      “I’m faster than most of the heavyweights that are out there,” says Crider. “I try to do my moves all the way through instead of stopping midway. I just keep driving.”
      To give Crider different looks, a number of different coaches and wrestlers grapple with him in practice. 
      While he’s trying to hone his set-ups and his shots and trying to get up from the referee’s position, Donnie is working against a lot lot of muscle and different body types.
      He regularly mixes it up with Harrison assistants Andy Cline, Kevin Elliott and Dustin Kult as well as bigger wrestlers like juniors Willy Alvarez and William Kern and sophomores Cade Borders, Seth Chrisman and Will Crider (his little brother).
      Donnie comes from a large family. At 25, Jordan is the oldest. At 5, Clinton is the youngest. Besides Donnie and Harrison 220-pounder Will, there’s also Brian Jr., Justin and Megan. 
      Father Brian is 6-3 and mother Michelle 6-foot, so Donnie gets his height honestly.
      Donnie also knows that an opponent can use it against him since he can be a large target for those seeking double-let takedowns and such.
      Each day in practice, he works on getting low — something he also knows from being a defensive lineman on the football field.
      “I make sure that when I’m in my stance I’m at their chin with my forehead,” says Crider. “I make sure I’m lower than them.”
      Donnie looks to study business and likely wrestle in college after highs school.
      How high he goes as a Harrison Raider will play out in the coming weeks. Harrison competes in the Sectional in Jan. 27, regional Feb. 3, semistate Feb.10 and State Finals Feb. 16-17.

      2098 4

      #MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Traditionally-strong Rochester Zebras blazing new trails in 2021-22

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com

      Rochester was enjoying a super wrestling season going into the second and third stages of the 2022 IHSAA state tournament series.
      The Clint Gard-coached Zebras placed second to Tell City (losing 36-33 in the championship match) in the Class 1A Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals (Rochester were 2A State Duals qualifiers in 2015 and 2019) and won the sixth team championship at the Three Rivers Conference meet (2000, 2002, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2022).
      Rochester reigned at the Peru Sectional, running the program's all-time sectional title total to 12.
      Then came the Zebras’ first regional crown, won at Maconaquah.
      After that, Rochester (enrolled around 510) finished on top at the Fort Wayne Semistate.
      The Zebras edged out Adams Central 82.5 to 80 and clinched the title with a win in the 285-pound championship bout by senior Marshall Fishback.
      “I would have loved to have just loved it without the theatrics at the end,” said Gard, who has been coaching wrestling at Rochester for 26 years. “But we’ll take it any way we can get it.
      “These don’t come along very often with schools of our size. It’s taken years to build this. A lot of the kids you’re seeing are kids that wrestled for us in our youth club. It takes a lot to get to this point.”
      Gard, who counts Derrick Holloway, Bryce Roberts, Damic Beck and Tristan Wilson among his assistant coaches, notes that the last three Fort Wayne Semistate champions — Western in 2020, Oak Hill in 2021 and Rochester in 2022 — have come out of the Peru Sectional.
      “That’s big for our area of the state,” says Gard. “It’s big for our sectional. It’s big for our regional. It’s big for our conference.
      “It’s a pretty awesome experience. It’s kids have worked really hard to get there. It was a team effort.”
      The Zebras brought eight semistate qualifiers to Memorial Coliseum Saturday, Feb. 12 and four walked out as State Finals qualifiers. There was champion Fishback (41-1 at 285) plus three runners-up — freshman Wyatt Davis (27-4 at 113) and sophomores Alex Deming (41-2 at 195) and Brady Beck (40-2 at 220).
      Juniors Ethan Holloway (39-1 at 120), Aaron Swango (33-8 at 126) and Greyson Gard (33-8 at 152) lost in the second aka “ticket” round and senior Kaleb Shaffer (19-12 at 182) was beaten in the first round.
      Holloway, Swango, Deming, Beck, Fishback all won TRC, sectional and regional championships. Davis and Gard also placed first at conference and sectional.
      Gard has carried a roster of 32 boys and five girls this season.
      “We focus on specific things that we like to do as a team,” says Gard of his practices. “Two or three days a week we’ll try to do a game. We do a lot of dodgeball and try to keep things light.”
      There’s around 40 wrestlers in Rochester’s middle school program and 60 to 70 at the elementary school level.
      Wrestling has long been a big deal at the school that had been a regional site when the IHSAA sent the Zebras toward the Merrillville or East Chicago Semistate (prior to 2017-18).
      “We like to put (wrestling) at the forefront in our community,” says Gard, a physical education and strength coach at Rochester after 23 years of teaching math.
      Gard is a 1991 of Richmond High School, where he was a state qualifier as a senior. He went on to grapple for head coach Tom Jarman and assistant Rick Troxel at what is now Manchester University.
      Historically, Cory Fornal (Class of 2006) is Rochester’s all-time victory leader with 154. He was a state runner-up at 140 as a senior.
      No. 2 on the victory list — Damon Hummel (Class of 1994) went to the State Finals four times (qualifier at 189 in 1991, second at 189 in 1992, second at heavyweight in 1993 and third at heavyweight in 1994).

      2091

      #WrestlingWednesday: Coffman looking to continue Union County's success

      By JEREMY HINES
      thehines7@gmail.com
      Liberty is a typical small Indiana town. People wave to each other as they cross paths at Woodruff’s Super Market or as they grab a top-notch burger from J’s Dairy Inn over on Union Street. As the saying goes, everyone knows everyone there.
      Small town living is great for a lot of things, but for a high school wrestler with big aspirations, it can present a lot of challenges.
      Tucker Coffman is a talented wrestler at Union County High School - a school of roughly 450 students located in Liberty. The team has lost 23 of its 25 matches this season. Currently the Patriots fill just seven weight classes. Coffman, a junior, knows how hard it is to succeed in wrestling at such a small school, but he also witnessed first hand that it can be done.
      Coffman remembers watching Union County wrestling in its prime. In 2009 the tiny school had not one, but two state champions in Cody Phillips and Michael Duckworth. Both wrestlers had phenomenal careers. Phillips was a two-time champion and Duckworth was runner-up twice and champion once.
      “I know them both,” Coffman said. “I’ve wrestled with them throughout the years. I’ve been in the room with Duckworth lately and Cody was always a real big influence on me. Cody was the top guy. He was the best wrestler we’ve had with two state titles. I remember when I was little it was my goal to be a wrestler like Cody.”
      In the room Coffman is the best wrestler on the team, hands down. Finding drill partners that can push him is a challenge first-year coach Dan Kelich had to come up with a game plan for.
      “During light drilling I rotate teammates with him,” Kelich said. “He’s one of the guys where we can let him wrestle anyone on our roster. He can wrestle the light guys, the middle weights and the heavier guys. We hope that gives him a good mix of working with guys that are quick, and guys that are strong.
      “But when it comes time to live wrestle, me or one of my assistants have to break out our shoes and go with him.”
      Coffman has seen success in high school, but has not punched his ticket to the state meet yet. As a freshman he lost to New Palestine senior Jared Timberman in the first round of the New Castle semistate, and then last year he fell to Frankton’s Cody Klettheimer at semistate.
      Coffman won the Spartan Classic as a freshman, beating current No. 3-ranked Jack Eiteljorge in the final. That match gave Coffman the confidence to know he belongs with the state’s elite.
      “That was one of my favorite matches of Tucker’s,” Kelich said. “He wrestled with a tenacity and won in dominating fashion. He showed what he’s capable of. That was one of the most exciting matches I’ve had the chance to sit in the corner and see.”
      Kelich says that Coffman is a hard worker who has really taken on a leadership role with the team.
      “I’m most proud of his leadership,” Kelich said. “We don’t win many team duals, but he’s taken ownership of this team. As a freshman we didn’t need him to do that, then last year he started to build into a leader. This year he is very good in that capacity.”
      Coffman feels that he belongs at the state meet. He recognizes his weaknesses and has been working to eliminate them. He not only has his focus on getting to state, he wants to win it.
      “He’s had success against some of the best guys in the state,” Kelich said. “He’s tasted what it’s like to beat them. Right now he’s hungry. He’s had that taste and now he wants the full meal, so to speak.”

      2087 3

      #MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Mikey Robles ready to finish strong

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com

       
      Sometimes a change of venue is the best thing for a person.
       
      Mikey Robles placed fifth at the Michigan High School Athletic Association State Finals as a Niles High School 103-pound freshman in 2020.
       
      He qualified for the regional stage as a sophomore then had to quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic and saw his season end. His grades began to slip, making him academically ineligible. There were other distractions in his life that caused him to look for a new school.
       
      “It was so I could better my life and move away from all the drama and stuff,” says Robles of his decision to change schools.
       
      The oldest of eight children (four boys and four girls), Robles came to Indiana and Kim Wagley (the grandmother of his girlfriend) became his legal guardian until he turned 18.
       
      “(Wagley) treats him like a son,” says Steven Sandefer, head coach at Mishawaka High School where Robles enrolled after Niles. “She’ll do anything for him. She’s a sweet lady.
       
      “She’s working with us to keep him motivated and on-track and making good decisions. He’s come a long way in the last two years.”
       
      Sandefer, who is in his ninth year as a wrestling coach and sixth leading the Cavemen program, knows what it takes to be successful inside the circle.
       
      “It’s a lot of hard work,” says Sandefer. “You have to have discipline. I say this to my guys weekly: In wrestling and in life you’re going to have to do things you don’t want to do things are not always going to be easy if you want to get where you want to go.

      “It reinforces a lot of those bigger life lessons.”
       
      That message has reached Robles.
       
      “Wrestling has helped me be a better person in life,” says Robles. “Since it does come with discipline you show people a lot more respect and it also helps you stay out of trouble.”
       
      Robles was with the Cavemen in 2021-22 but ineligible to compete.
       
      “My grades have gotten back up to where they are pretty good,” says Robles, who counts History as his favorite subject and sees a future as an electrical engineer.
       
      With then-Niles wrestling head coach Todd Hesson bringing his Vikings to Penn’s Henry Wilk Classic, Robles had competed against Mishawaka in the past.
       
      Before joining the team, Mikey was familiar with Cavemen grapplers Christian Chavez, Chris Peacock, Courtney Rider, Gunnar Sandefur and Isaac Valdez.
       
      The 2022-23 season — Robles’ senior campaign — opens with him No. 12 in the Indiana Mat preseason rankings at 138 pounds for a team that is No. 2 in Class 3A.
       
      “When I’m on the mat I just like to get physical,” says Robles, who is 18 now and got started in the sport at 5. “I just love to wrestle. This is my senior year. I want to go as far as I can and leave everything on the mat.”
       
      Sandefer says he saw “flashes of greatness” from Robles last winter and during the off-season, but is not sure he was yet fully in grappling shape.
       
      “He has a lot of room to grow in his wrestling,” says Sandefer.
       
      Many wrestlers progress from the end of one high school season to another.
       
      “When the season gets here you can see the improvements the kids made in the off-season,” says Sandefer. “They get to showcase their talents.
       
      “That’s the real rewarding part.”
       
      Robles’ regular workout partners are 113-pound senior Peacock and 145-pound junior Brabender and — occasionally — 132-pound junior Zar Walker. The coaches he works with most are Sandefer and assistant Fabian Chavez.
       
      “We don’t screw around,” says Robles of their practice room mentality. “We go in their and try to get better.”
       
      The wrestlers teach each other moves and talk about making them more effective.
       
      “Staying in shape and packing on muscle is good,” says Robles, who stands 5-foot-7 1/2. “But it’s really not how strong you are to go out there and win a match.
       
      “I believe technique beats strength any day of the week.”
       
      Four state qualifiers return for Mishawaka — Walker (who placed sixth at 132 in 2021-22 and is ranked No. 2 at 132 in the preseason), seniors Chavez (No. 4 at 195) and Valdez (No. 8 at 170) and Brabender (No. 6 at 145). There’s also senior Xavier Chavez (No. 6 at 106).
       
      They are are part of a large squad of 47 (45 boys and two girls).
       
      “That’s about 10 more than usual,” says Sandefer. “My first year I had 30 kids so it’s come up.
       
      “All 47 kids have shown they’re committed.”
       
      A physical education teacher at Mishawaka, Sandefer leads athletes and others through weight training classes. Most wrestlers are in these classes, learning power movements like the bench press and squat.
       
      “We do pull movements,” says Sandefer. “If you’re on a guy’s leg you want to be able to pull him in.
      “We also need that leg strength.”
       
      Practices at Mishawaka began Nov. 1. The first boys meet is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 29 at Northern Lakes Conference foe Warsaw.
       
      Among the other competitions for the Cavemen are the Chris Traicoff Memorial Invitational at Calumet New Tech Dec. 10, a dual against crosstown rival Penn Dec. 21 at Mishawaka (Alumni Night), the 32-team Al Smith Classic at Mishawaka Dec. 29-30, the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association 3A State Duals Jan. 7 at Franklin Community, the NLC Championships Jan. 14 at Wawasee, Mishawaka Sectional Jan. 28, Penn Regional Feb. 4, East Chicago Semistate Feb. 11 and IHSAA State Finals Feb. 17-18 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

      It’s not all about wrestling for Robles. He played football at Niles as a sophomore and Mishawaka as a senior. He was a middle linebacker for the 10-2 Cavemen in 2022. A shortstop/left fielder in baseball, he intends to try out for that sport in the spring. He stepped away from the diamond after eighth grade to focus on wrestling.

      2084 1

      #MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Bohn uses speed, smarts to win matches for Munster Mustangs

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
       
      Munster High School wrestlers are taught about the 5 P’s — Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
       
      “If you properly prepare for your stuff, you won’t be as nervous,” says Mustangs junior mat standout Chris Bohn. “You won’t perform badly.”
       
      Bohn, 17, began wrestling as a second grader with Griffith Wrestling Club. He moved from Griffith to Munster in sixth grade.
       
      Prior to high school, he got much of his training with Region Wrestling Academy.
       
      Bohn is currently 82-6 for his career and 13-3 for 2022-23 at 138 pounds. He was 42-2 and a and IHSAA State Finals qualifier at 120 in 2021-22. As a freshman in 2020-21, he went 27-1 and qualified for semistate.
       
      From all the time in the circle, Bohn knows many moves.
       
      “I’ve got a decent-sized arsenal,” says Bohn. “I know a good amount of technique.
       
      “I focus on a few things.”
       
      Going from 120 to 138, Bohn knows he is meeting opponents this season who are stronger.
       
      “I rely on speed a lot at 138,” says Bohn, who stands about 5-foot-10.
       
      Fourth-year head coach Zach Slosser sees a fierce competitor and a smart athlete in Bohn.
       
      “He wants to wrestle competition,” says Slosser. “He’s not going to run away from anybody.
       
      “What makes him a good wrestler is his knowledge of the sport. He’s very knowledgable about positioning and all those fine details. He uses technique over strength. He’s a very smart kid.”
       
      Bohn is carrying a weighted grade-point average above 3.6 and counts Advanced Placement Computer Science as his current favorite class.
       
      “I’m good with computers,” says Bohn, who can see himself studying software engineering in college and would like to wrestle at the next level.
       
      With 40 grapplers on the team, the Mustangs head into the post-Christmas part of their schedule at 11-5 overall and 2-0 in the Northwest Crossroads Conference.
       
      “The team aspect (of wrestling) is very important because you need your teammates to help you, work out with you, motivate you and push you in practices,” says Bohn. “You can also have people hang out with and relate with.
       
      “It’s an individual sport because you’re the only one (on the mat), but the team is a big part of it.”
       
      Bohn’s primary drill partners are junior Joey Bartusiak (145) and senior Ezekiel Gomez (132).
       
      “Joey’s fast and he’s a pretty hard worker,” says Bohn. “He doesn’t give up.
       
      “Zeke is solid with technique. It’s usually a battle when we wrestle.”
       
      Munster makes its first appearances in the Mooresville Holiday Classic Dec. 28-29.
       
      “We plan to make some statements there and get some matches for everyone,” says Bohn.
       
      His support system includes parents Christopher Sr., and Angelic.
       
      During a tournament, Bohn spends time between his matches rooting for teammates and he also studies film. His father — a former high school wrestler — shoots video of all his son’s matches.
       
      “I’ll watch my last match to see what I’ve done well, what’ve I’ve done wrong, what I can do better,” says Bohn.
       
      While there is plenty of noise in the gym or arena and the headgear doesn’t make it any easier, Bohn manages to hear his coaches offering instruction from the corner.
       
      “I know what they sound like,” says Bohn.
       
      Munster has an NCC away dual against Lowell Jan. 5, the Lake County Tournament at Hanover Central Jan. 7, an NCC home dual against Hobart Jan. 7 and the NCC meet (with Andrean, Highland, Hobart, Kankakee Valley and Lowell) at Lowell Jan. 14.
       
      The state tournament series includes the East Chicago Sectional (with East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Merrillville and Whiting) Jan. 28, Hobart Regional Feb. 4, East Chicago Semistate Feb. 11 and IHSAA State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Feb. 17-18.
       
      Moving through the Region at tournament time is tough.
       
      “It’s hard competition no matter what,” says Slosser. “You’ve always got to be on your game.”
       
      Slosser, who was an assistant to Mike Crary for four years before becoming head wrestling coach, also coaches football and is an administrative assistant in the Munster athletic office. He has worked hard to recruit athletes for high school, middle school and the Munster Wrestling Club.
       
      “I’ve been working hard to try to make a program,” says Slosser. “Two years ago K through 12, we had 47 kids in the program. Now K through 12, we have 126.
       
      “There were seven middle school wrestlers two years ago and that number has jumped to 45.”
       
      Says Bohn, “It’s not me, but in the time I’ve been here I’ve seen the program grow a lot and it’s cool to see.”
       
      A wrestling club was started at Munster when Slosser was 6, but it went away.
       
      “I said you know what? — this program needs to keep back up and running,” says Slosser, 27. “We’re just a young program fighting to get back.”
       
      Munster has won 11 sectional titles in program history. The last four came in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 when former Evansville Mater Dei wrestler Dan Gelarden was Mustangs head coach.
       
      “(Gelarden) was a  very intelligent coach,” says Slosser. “We had (the IHSAA team tournament) back then and he knew how to move the lineup the right way.”
       
      Slosser dealt with injuries throughout his prep mat career and was a semistate qualifier as a junior.
       
      He earned a Business Management degree from Calumet College of Saint Joseph’s in Whiting, Ind., in 2018.
       
      Slosser’s coaching staff features two of his former coaches — Tim Maldonado and Bobby Joe Maldonado — plus Jeff Jorge, Steve Marks and Matt Gille. The middle school season was in the fall. That team was coached by Juan Lopez, Bobby Joe Maldonado and Markus Ciciora. Those men also help out at the high school level.
       
      Slosser is pleased to see former Munster wrestlers who are now parents getting involved with the current Mustangs.
       
      Bohn credits nutrition as a big part of his success. He estimates he takes in about 2,500 calories a day and burns off at least that many.
       
      “I eat a lot of raspberries,” says Bohn. “I love raspberries. You can eat less calories and feel more energized. You just won’t feel like crap when you’re in your match.
       
      “Normally I’m good about (eating) unless it’s a holiday. I don’t cut. I’m going eat good food. It would be rude not to, but that’s the only time I stray away from good nutrition.”

      2075 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.”

      2032 1

      #WrestlingWednesday: East Central captures 3A title

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      East Central wrestling entered the Class 3A team state tournament as a bit of an unknown. The Trojans certainly didn’t leave that way.
       
      East Central was the No. 5 seed entering the tournament, but thanks to a must-have pin by junior Ryan Bovard, the Trojans defeated Floyds Central 33-32 to capture the state title.
       
      “That was amazing,” East Central coach Adam Wolf said. “We’ve been working hard for a long time to get to this level. It was neat just getting invited to team state, but then to win, that was great.”
       
      The Trojans battled three formidable opponents en route to the state title. They took on Northridge in the first round, winning 40-27. In the next round East Central squeaked past Franklin 37-31 setting up the showdown in the final.
       
      “We knew going into the last round that it could come down to the final match,” Wolf said. “By the last match the whole place was going crazy and we had a junior, first-year varsity wrestler up. Ryan Bovard knew we had to have a pin in order to win. He had all the pressure on him in the world and he came through. He will never forget that moment. He’s a great kid and I’m so glad he got that moment.”
       
      The Trojans feel they are a bit unknown because a big portion of their schedule comes against Ohio and Kentucky teams. East Central is located just 30 minutes from Cincinnati.
       
      “We are from an area in Indiana that isn’t though about much,” Wolf said. “We’re not in the Indy area. We’re not up north. We’re really not known around most parts of the state so us winning was probably a surprise to many.”
       
      The Trojans have three state-ranked wrestlers. Bryer Hall is the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 170 pounds. Hall, a senior, formerly wrestled for South Dearborn, but is now with the Trojans.
       
      “Bryer transferred to us two years ago and his dad is our assistant coach,” Wolf said. “He and his family have been a huge asset to our team. Bryer is a funky wrestler. It’s hard to coach him on technique because a lot of what he does is just natural, and not normal.”
       
      Coach Wolf’s young son, Blake, is ranked No. 12 in the state at 126 pounds. Blake is a sophomore. Last year Blake went undefeated until the ticket round at semistate where he ran into Alex Cottey, the eventual state champion.
       
      “That was Blake’s only loss all season last year,” coach Wolf said. “I know a lot of our kids get slept on a little bit because of our schedule being teams in Ohio and Kentucky. Blake is one of those kids that works really hard and has beaten several kids that went on to place in other states.”
       
      Senior Kole Viel is ranked No. 7 at 220 pounds.
       
      “Kole is our football player,” coach Wolf said. “He signed to play at the University of Indianapolis. He’s wrestled since he was young though, and he’s a really solid wrestler – but he’s a stud on the football field. He’s one of our captains and he has been a big tool for us to tap into those football players and show them what wrestling brings to the table. He’s got us a lot of good athletes on the team. They look up to Kole and really respect him.”
       
      Ben Wolf, coach Wolf’s older son, is a senior this season and is ranked No. 3 at 152 pounds in the New Castle semistate. He’s a team captain as well.
       
      “Ben is a hard, hard worker,” coach Wolf said. “He’s quiet, but he leads with his actions. He’s the hardest worker in our room and he’s a really good wrestler, but he hasn’t had the best showing at semistate yet. We’re hoping this is the year he performs the way we know he can.”
       
      Dylan Lengerich and Rider Searcy are also ranked in the New Castle semistate. Both are sophomores. Lengerich is No. 5 at 120 and Searcy is No. 6 at 138 pounds.
       
      The Trojans have never had a state champion in the individual tournament, which is something the team is hoping to change this year.
       
      “The future is to go up,” Wolf said. “We want to be relevant every year. We want to be known for good wrestling. That’s our goal this year with Bryer and Blake and some of the other kids coming up.
       
      “I think, now that we’ve won the team state, our kids feel they can wrestle with anyone. It’s definitely something that gave us confidence and we are hoping to build on it.”

      2031 6

      #WrestlingWednesday Feature: Red's Quest for Perfection

      Brought to you by EI Sports
       

      JEREMY HINES
      jerhines@cinergymetro.net
       
      Chad Red, Jr., or C.J as he is known, is one of Indiana’s most dominating high school wrestlers this season. He is the top 126-pounder in the state, and the No. 1 wrestler at that weight in the nation according to FloWrestling. Still, Red is always afraid that the next match might be the one he messes up in and loses. That’s what fuels him.
       
      “My goal is to be first in everything I do,” Red said. “I don’t like being ranked. I like to try and beat the odds. Now I have that number sign in front of my name. It doesn’t mean anything to me except that people are going to come at me harder, and want to beat me that much worse. I know I have to go out each time and work as hard as I can and wrestle the best I can, or I’ll lose.”
       
      Red, who wrestles for his dad Chad, Sr., at New Palestine High School, has been beaten before. He hasn’t lost in the Indiana high school seasons. He is a two time state champion and is undefeated in his high school career. But in the national tournaments, he has tasted defeat. He hated it.
      “I remember I was up 2-0 in a tournament and got caught in a headlock,” C.J. said. “I immediately called my dad and told him what happened. We talked for a few minutes then I turned off the phone and went back to training.”
       
      Coach Red says that is one of his son’s strengths. He can take a defeat and learn much more from that than he ever could from a win.
       
      But those defeats are very rare. So coach Red makes sure to keep his son grounded after each match. If C.J. takes a sloppy shot, or doesn’t have good foot movement, coach Red will point that out – even in victory. Coach Red does not want his son being satisfied with a mediocre win.
       
      “Wrestling for my dad has its ups and downs,” C.J. said. “He’s always on me. He tells me how I didn’t do this right, or that. I know it’s all constructive criticism, and I like it. It’s good. It makes me want to work harder.
       
      “I’ll go out there and feel like I wrestled a very good match. But when my dad tells me I did a good job, that’s when I really know I accomplished something. “
      Inside, C.J. feels vulnerability. He knows he has weaknesses. But on the outside, he has always been a pillar of confidence.
       
      “We do not allow him to be cocky at all,” coach Red said. “We do not tolerate that. With Chad though, he has a swag of some sort. He has a confidence. That’s Chad. He’s been that way since he was born. He’s always been confident in himself. There is nothing wrong with that. He has to believe in what he’s doing. We, as coaches, can’t call plays or audibles from the sidelines in wrestling. He has to have his best every time he steps out on the mat.”
      That’s one of the reason C.J. loves wrestling.
       
      “It’s only you out there,” he said. “If you lose, you can only blame it on yourself. There are no excuses in wrestling.”
       
      C.J. wrestles a lot of Greco during the summers, despite his dad wishing he wouldn’t. But the 126-pound junior feels that is a way to get better. He wants to push himself, even when it means working on things he is not quite as good at.
       
      Coach Red sees a bright future in the sport of wrestling for his son. That’s why they work as hard as they do.
      “A lot of people tell Chad that he is good,” coach Red said. “I think he’s pretty good. I’m his biggest fan, but also his biggest critic. We have very high expectations for how he can perform. There is a big prize down the road for him if he continues to work. Whether it’s a college scholarship or whatever, there is something out there waiting on him. And there is always someone out there working to beat him.”
       
      New Palestine’s 120-pounder, Eugene Starks, is one of C.J.’s main practice partners in the Dragon wrestling room.
       
      “Chad is very aggressive and quick on his feet,” Starks said. “In practice I try to put up a fight with him. It has helped me tremendously. His shots are so good, it helps me learn to defend the shot better. He’s a great partner and a great teammate.”
       
      Red won state as a freshman at 106 pounds. Last year he was crowned the 120-pound champ. He has a goal to go undefeated in high school and win four state championships in the process.
       
      “It’s been a real blessing having a kid like Chad,” coach Red said. “He’s a great son, and a friend. I think the sky is the limit for him. He’s very solid and has a chance to really do something special. But like I always tell him, he has to keep a level head, stay focused on the prize and work to achieve it.”
       
      If you have a #WrestlingWednesday feature idea, email it to jerhines@cinergymetro.net

      2020 2

      #WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: More than a team, Franklin Central comes together to help each other

      By JEREMY HINES
      Thehines7@gmail.com
       
      The Franklin Central wrestling team needed more than a coach. They needed someone to share the enormous burden of grief, someone to cry to, and someone to help them cope with pain no high school kid should ever have to endure. As it turned out, coach Kevin Moore needed the team just as much as they needed him.
       
      “It’s almost like I was meant to come here,” Moore said. 
       
      This is Moore’s fifth season at the helm of the Flashes. There have been five deaths in the wrestling family during that span – a statistic that nobody wants to keep.
       
      “We have literally lost a person every year I’ve been here,” Moore said.
       
      Senior Johnny Weisheit’s mother was murdered. Sophomore Gauge Clark’s sister was murdered. Former semistate qualifier Charlie Harp committed suicide in 2018 and just this November senior Ayden Harper died. Harper was one of the team captains and always led the warmups before matches.
       
      While Moore has tried to be there for the wrestlers during their grieving, he faced tragedy of his own. His wife, Mariah, was hit and killed by an impaired driver.
       
      “If it wasn’t for this community, I would have left a long time ago,” Moore said. “I’ve never seen people come together like they have here. When my wife passed, I didn’t have to do laundry, cook, or even pay for the funeral. The community did that for me. It was the same with Ayden – they paid for his funeral as well. Everyone is checking in on me all the time – and I know people are checking in with Ayden’s family and the other guys on this team as well.”
       
      In the midst of tragedy, the team has found solace on the wrestling mat. It’s their escape from reality, if only for a few hours a day.
       
      “Wrestling is tough,” Moore said. “It’s hard. It’s painful. But it gives you something you can control. There are a lot of things happening to these guys that they can’t control – but they can control what happens on the mat. Losing these people that we have lost, it completely sucks. But you can’t live life with those emotions. You have to find a way to move on.”
       
      Each wrestler on the Franklin Central roster is dealing with pain. The tragic journey has made them closer than brothers.
       
      “My teammates, they are my brothers,” junior Aataeveon Jordan said. “We aren’t blood, but we are. We have each other’s back. You mess with one of us, the rest of the lineup has their back even if we’re in the wrong.”
       
      And, the pillar of the team, is coach Moore. He’s their rock – a responsibility he believes is one he must shoulder.
       
      “There are certain people that are meant to handle these types of situations,” Moore said. “There are people that are built for it. Unfortunately, I’ve lost my wife and my kids lost their mother. In an unfortunate circumstance you have to lead by example. A lot of these young men don’t know that it’s OK to cry. They don’t’ know it’s OK to show that they are hurt. It’s OK to show emotion.
       
      “I would never want to say I’m like a father-figure – but we just have a different kind of bond going through all of this. To be effective as a coach, at times I have to be like their dad and at times I have to be like an older brother.
       
      When Mariah was in the hospital, the team was there with the coach almost daily. He had been their rock through their turmoil and then it was their turn to be his.
       
      “They really helped me get through it,” Moore said.
       
      The Flashes are hoping to turn their pain into success on the mat. The goal is to win the school’s first wrestling sectional since 1995. For some of the wrestlers, like Jordan, the individual goal is a state title.
       
      “My goal is to get that blue ring,” he said. “That blue ring has been calling my name.”
       
      Jordan is one of three ranked wrestlers on the Franklin Central team. Jordan is ranked No. 15 at 195 pounds. Last season he placed 8th at 220. Clark is currently ranked No. 17 at 106 pounds and senior Cayden Shelton is No. 17 at 138.
       
      “We also have Ashton Brandon, who didn’t have a chance to finish the season last year, but I think he will surprise a lot of people,” Moore said. “He’s our 132-pound senior. He’s a hands-on, in your face, gritty wrestler. He puts his hands on you for six minutes and he doesn’t wear down. He’s also a big-time leader.”
       
      Moore has helped build the Franklin Central program from when he started.
       
      “There were 13 kids in the room when I started,” he said. “I spent all pre-season recruiting, and that’s what we got. Now we have a middle school room of about 40-50 kids and the high school team started out with about 70. I’m impressed with the culture shift I have seen. I think what these kids have gone through, and persevered is unique and amazing.”
       
      The Flashes only were able to send a few wrestlers to the Marion County tournament because of illness. But, when the team is at full strength, Moore has high hopes. Win or lose, he’s in their corner and they are in his. They’ve been in the valley for a while, and now they are ready to climb out.
       
      “Coach Moore has really been our shoulder to cry on, and we are his,” Jordan said. “I think the one thing we can all take from this is that, on this team, ain’t nobody ever alone. We all have each other.”

      2013 4

      #Mondaymatness: Portage seniors Rumph, McIntosh hoping to end prep careers in a big way

      By STEVE KRAH
      stvkrh905@gmail.com
      Kris Rumph and Kasper McIntosh have become familiar faces on the IHSAA State Finals wrestling scene.
      The two Portage High School grapplers have been on the mats at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis a combined five times and both competed under the lights in — Rumph placing second at 138 pounds in 2017 and McIntosh second at 145 in 2016.
      Seniors Rumph and McIntosh are back at those same weights and preparing for what they hope will be plenty more success in their final high school state tournament series.
      Portage scored a meet-record 275 points and won the Duneland Athletic Conference tournament in its own gym Saturday, Jan. 13 with McIntosh taking the third DAC crown of his prep career and Rumph his second.
      Now, they are focused on getting ready for the Jan. 27 Griffith Sectional. The Hobart Regional is Feb. 3, East Chicago Semistate Feb. 10 and State Finals Feb. 16-17.
      Portage wrestlers are trained by seventh-year head coach Leroy Vega and his staff. Vega won individual state titles for the Indians in 1996 and 1997 and went on to be a three-time NCAA All-American at the University of Minnesota. 
      Vega sees special qualities in both Rumph and McIntosh.
      “Kris is very athletic,” says Vega. “He can do things that not many guys in our guys can do. 
      “His speed is unbelievable. You slow down the film to see ‘how did he do that?’”
      Rumph’s combination of speed and strength make it difficult for opponents to prepare for him.
      “You can’t train for his speed and his athleticism,” says Vega. “You don’t know what he’s capable of doing.
      “You can’t replicate that in the wrestling room. Nobody wrestles like him.”
      Vega asked McIntosh to open up his offense and he has done just that with point-producing results.
      “We had to make him realize that you are not going to win state title or be very successful with one move (which was the high crotch),” says Vega. “Kasper is just a hard worker. He’s going to take whatever it is to reach his goal. Whether it’s watching film or eating right, he is always striving to be the best.”
      McIntosh, who also finished fifth at the State Finals at 145 in 2017 and eighth at 138 in 2015, says it has been a process to diversify his attack.
      “It took a lot of time,” says McIntosh. “It’s been two steps forward and one step back.
      “I’ve slowly progressed. I’m getting pretty good. At first, it was just a high crotch. Now, I’m getting real good motion and wearing on a guy.
      “Putting that all together is working really well.”
      McIntosh, who first competed in a Calumet Township elementary tournament as a kindergartener, has placed in High School Nationals, Iowa Nationals, FloWrestling Nationals and Super 32, but there’s just something about competing for a state title.
      “The state tournament is the most-anticipated one,” says McIntosh.
      After high school, he will follow in Vega’s foot steps and study and wrestle at Minnesota. 
      “(Vega) was real helpful with the decision,” says McIntosh. “He told me to choose the school that is right for me.”
      McIntosh, an honor roll student with a 3.4 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale, plans to major in electrical engineering.
      He comes from a big family. Keith and Teri McIntosh have seven children. There’s Keith, John, Brian, Shiann, Jason, Kasper and 3-year-old Liam. So far, Kasper is the only wrestler. 
      Wrestling — with its physicality and tenacity — can be a grind. 
      Vega and his staff help their athletes push past the pain.
      “We make sure the kids are tough,” says Vega. “They have to believe in their training.
      “When they are tired, they can go even further.”
      Some workouts can be very grueling. But there is a purpose.
      “There will be days in practice one guy will get beat on for 30 minutes by two guys,” says McIntosh. “You get to the point where you’re not wrestling, you’re surviving. If we can get through that, we can get through anything.
      “We break ourselves down and build ourselves back up. It shows us how far we can go.”
      Vega and his assistants build the wrestler back up and fill their heads with positive thoughts.
      “The mental part is huge,” says Vega. 
      Rumph, who also placed fourth at the State Finals at 132 in 2016, is all-in with that way of thinking.
      “If you’re not mentally tough, the sport is not for you,” says Rumph. “We push our bodies at practice to a level is insane. Most people are scared to go hard and get tired.”
      Rumph is motivated this season to do well for his parents. His mother, Donna McGee, has become his biggest fan since he reached high school and showed he was really serious about the sport. The nurse is always cheering for her “baby boy” — the only one who is still at home, following Briggs Rumph Jr., Jarred Rumph, Mikey Rumph and Kenny Williams.
      His father, Briggs Rumph Sr., died when Kris was 7. Before that, he told him to pick a sport and give it his all.
      “I’m pretty sure he’d be super happy seeing the stuff I’ve accomplished,” says Rumph, who was a Super 32 semifinalist last summer and competed in the Iowa Nationals the summer before that.
      Rumph likes to watch videos of elite wrestlers Jordan Burroughs and Nahshon Garrett.
      “I put it in my own little wrestling style,” says Rumph, who does have plans to wrestle in college but is not yet committed.



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