Feature Articles

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

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#WrestlingWednesday: Van Horn looking to corral a state title
By JEREMY HINES
Thehines7@gmail.com
 
Burk Van Horn remembers being with his dad and brothers driving down the highway on their way to Nebraska, and seeing several cars trying to get their attention. Turns out, Van Horn had accidentally left the gates open on the family’s cattle trailer they were hauling, and some of the cattle was walking toward the opening.
 
“The cows were just about to jump out when we stopped,” Van Horn said. “We had stopped to eat and I checked on the cattle, but forgot to close the gates.”
 
Van Horn is a little more careful these days, both with cattle and on the wrestling mat. He’s currently ranked No. 2 at 160 pounds. He started the season out ranked No. 1 at 170 pounds and later moved to 160 and was given the top ranking there, before the latest polls had Evansville Mater Dei’s Joe Lee moving up to 160 and claiming the top spot.
 
The Franklin Community senior has had a stellar career in high school, but it wasn’t until last season that he really stepped up his game. As a freshman Van Horn advanced to semistate. As a sophomore he was defeated in the first round of regional. But, as a junior, he not only made it to the state tournament – he wrestled his way under the lights at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse. Van Horn lost a 3-0 heartbreaker in the state finals match to two-time champ Jacob Covaciu.
 
“My sophomore year I had a bad match at regionals,” Van Horn said. “But that helped me to become better and motivate myself more. I started to break down matches more. That loss was a setback, but it made me want to go further.
 
“Then, last year when I saw my draw at state, I really felt like I could get under the lights. Just getting there wasn’t my goal. I wanted to win, not get second.”
 
Franklin coach Bob Hasseman said losing in regional as a sophomore was a turning point in Van Horn’s career.
 
“It was a crappy match and things happened that was a little out of his control with the officiating,” Hasseman said. “At that time, when something didn’t go his way, Burk could get a little discombobulated. But since that time, and probably because of that time, he has learned to keep on rolling and to take the good with the bad. He’s going to make mistakes. He’s going to get bad calls. That’s wrestling. But he has to stay focused and keep wrestling and not make a grave error when he’s frustrated.”
 
Van Horn has mixed emotions about the rankings this year. He likes the fact that he was ranked No. 1 at two different classes. He likes that he has a target on his back and a lot of guys are trying to knock him off. But he doesn’t like when kids get intimidated just because of his ranking.
 
“I’ve still got a lot of room to improve before I can become a state champ,” he said. “I’m just another kid out there wrestling. There are sometimes I wish I wasn’t ranked because a lot of kids won’t wrestle me. Or, if they do wrestle, some of them just roll to their backs like little girls instead of at least putting up a fight. But it is fun walking onto the mat and knowing that you’re the man.”
 
Van Horn has made weight once at 160, but plans to go back to 170. At this point, he’s not sure where he will wrestle in the tournament.
 
“I’m going to do whatever is best for the team,” he said.
 
Burk started wrestling about the time he learned to walk. He has two older brothers that were state qualifiers.
 
“Burk is quite a bit bigger than his brothers were,” Franklin coach Bob Hasseman said. “He’s got the size and he’s very talented. His whole family seems to be just genetically strong. He has good hips and is very rarely out of position on the mat. His body build also helps him tremendously.”
 
Burk is the epitome of being country strong. His daily routine of wrestling and then going home and working with the cattle and his show pigs has helped him develop a habit of hard working.
 
“I show pigs and cattle year around,” Burk said. “It’s a lot of hard work. If you want to win in the show ring, or in wrestling, you have to be willing to put in the hard work.”
 
Van Horn is hoping all his hard work produces an end result of a state championship this season.

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#WrestlingWednesday: Viduya Brings Glory Back to Roncalli
By JEREMY HINES
Thehines7@gmail.com
 
Roncalli freshman Alec Viduya knew what it would take to become a wrestling state champion. There’s hard work, dedication and all that jazz – but most importantly, he needed a perm.
 
“Alec decided it was time to bring the perm back before the sectional this year,” Roncalli coach Wade McClurg said. “He was 15-0 in the state series with the perm, so the secret is in the hair.”
 
Viduya won the 113 pound weight class, beating Jimtown’s No. 6-ranked Hunter Watt 7-4 in the finale.
 
“He earned the nickname Goku (Dragonball Z reference) last summer,” McClurg said. “Goku is known for his work ethic and constantly striving to be the greatest warrior to protect the universe. Alec has crazy hair like Goku and he is always striving to be the best wrestler to protect the Southside Rebellion.”
 
Viduya become Roncalli’s fourth state champion, and the first in 32 years since Chris Maxwell won in 1985. He wants to follow in the footsteps of his former coach Lance Ellis and become a four-time champion.
 
“He was my coach for a long time, and I’d love to follow what he did,” Viduya said.
 
Viduya certainly doesn’t lack confidence. The freshman tried not one, but two standing cradles in the finals match.
 
“I know what I’m capable of,” Viduya said. “I knew that if I could lock that up I was getting back points.”
 
Coach McClurg learned from his mentor, Carmel coach Ed Pendoski, that communication is the key to having a successful program. So McClurg held a meeting with Alec and his family at their kitchen table in July and discussed Alec’s goals.
 
“Without hesitation he told me that he wanted to be a state champion as a freshman like his mentor Lance Ellis,” McClurg said. “That dialogue began when he was a youth wrestler and continued into the kitchen table conversation in July, and it’s still communicated on a daily basis.”
 
Viduya dismantled several ranked opponents during his tournament run. He beat Warren Central’s No. 3-ranked Skylour Turner in the New Castle semistate final 15-4. He then beat #17 Kane Egli, No. 8 Jose Diaz and No. 1-ranked, returning state champion Asa Garcia leading up to the final match.
 
“My Friday night match was one of the hardest because I had to make weight and maintain my weight,” Viduya said. “I was pretty tired. On Monday I was 122 pounds.”
 
As is the case with almost every state champion, Viduya strives for excellence in practice.
 
“I’ve had the privilege to have coached Alec since he was 8 years old,” McClurg said. “Alec has always taken his training very seriously and is passionate about wrestling. He is motivated by his absolute hatred of losing and has been that way since he was very young. That’s just how he is programmed. Alec is the ultimate competitor. He is confident in his abilities and he stays mentally strong in tough situations.”
To many, Viduya seems very straight-laced and serious at all times. He is hyper-focused during tournaments and dual meets. But coach McClurg says he’s not always that way.
 
“There is a misconception with some people who are not real familiar with Alec,” McClurg said. “Because they think he never smiles or talks. The people that really know Alec and see him every day in the hallways at Roncalli know that is certainly not the case. If I had to describe Alec in one word it would be ‘cool.’ Alec is one cool customer.”
 
This summer Viduya plans to wrestle at Fargo in freestyle. His work to stay on the top of the championship ladder in high school is far from over. But, he feels that as long as he puts in the work, and keeps the perm, he should be ready.

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#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.”

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#WrestlingWednesday: Wrestling has opened many doors for Katie Kriebel
By JEREMY HINES
Thehines7@gmail.com
 
In 1994 Indiana female wrestling was in its extreme infancy. So when Katie (Downing) Kriebel and her dad met with Pendleton coach Dave Cloud about joining the high school team – she was a little nervous.
 
Coach Cloud told her dad that he had never had a female wrestler before.
 
“Dad told him that he had never had a daughter that wanted to wrestle before, either,” Kriebel said. “So, he told him that they were in the same boat.”
 
Cloud agreed to let her wrestle. That would be the start of many firsts for coach Cloud where Kreibel was involved.
 
Kriebel was a good athlete. She played softball and trained in Judo. In fact, it was her love of Judo that got her curious about wrestling.
 
“I trained with the boys in Judo,” Kriebel said. “It wasn’t a big deal in Judo. But, I noticed that a lot of boys that didn’t know any Judo at all, that were wrestlers, came over and were very good right off the bat. I decided I needed to learn wrestling, too.”
 
She wasn’t quite prepared for the rigors of the sport as a high school freshman. In her very first practice she threw up during conditioning. She didn’t want to appear weak, so right after she vomited she started to run. She made it through the first practice, and won over some of the guys who were questioning her toughness.
 
“That first week of wrestling was the first time in my life that I had tried something and didn’t know whether I could do it or not,” Kriebel said. “I was hooked. Once I made it through the first week and I knew I wasn’t going to die, I loved it. I loved the challenge of it.”
 
Kriebel didn’t fare well early on – but she was battling more than just her opponent across the mat. Her first match was a junior varsity contest. When she walked out on the mat the opposing team and their parents were laughing noticeably at her.
 
“I didn’t like that,” Kriebel said. “But I was too nervous to really care. I ended up catching the kid with a head and arm that came from Judo and winning that match. Then everyone was laughing at him. I remember it not being fun at all because of everyone else’s reactions.”
 
Kreibel didn’t like that people made fun of her, but she also couldn’t stand the fact that the person she was wrestling would get ridiculed too.
 
“I came from a time when you had to pick your battles,” Kriebel said. “I definitely had every sort of response you could imagine. Some moms and dads were concerned for my safety. Some were concerned because they didn’t teach their boys to hurt girls. They were worried about touching and that sort of thing, too. But most of those issues really got resolved on their own once they started seeing me as a wrestler.”
 
Kreibel said that by her senior year, some of her biggest critics had become her biggest fans.
“I never intended to be a pioneer,” Kriebel said. “I didn’t have a mission for equality or rights or girl power or anything like that. I just loved wrestling. Even if it was my mission – I figured out that actions speak a lot louder than words. I could talk about why I deserved to wrestle, or I could just go out and double leg a kid and show them.”
 
Kriebel finished with a .500 record in high school. She made varsity as a senior and placed third in sectional in a time when only the top two went on to regional.
 
“Katie just had this toughness about her,” coach Cloud said. “At first I was concerned about her safety, but she quickly dispelled that. She was really, really tough. She got smashed a few times, but she always got back up.”
 
In fact, Kriebel was so tough she didn’t care who she wrestled or how good they were. She would face anyone.
 
“Katie had grit and determination,” Cloud said. “We had a wrestler win state, Donny Sands, and when we had challenges she challenged him. Nobody else dared challenge Donny. But she had a lot of courage and heart. He beat her, but she didn’t back down.”
 
Kriebel’s senior year was the first year girls had a National tournament – and she won it.
 
She went on to qualify for the junior world team her freshman year of college and placed second. That was the first year the US took a full women’s team with a coach and paid for everything. Kriebel later won the first Women’s World Cup.
 
She took bronze in 2005 and 2007 at the World Championships and was eventually an alternate for the 2008 Olympics.
 
“Wrestling gave me the opportunity to see 22 different countries,” Kriebel said. “It was pretty great to see how big the world actually is, but some things in the wrestling room is the same no matter where you’re at.”
 
Kriebel never dreamed she would return to her roots in Pendleton. She coached a year at Oklahoma City University and then moved to California without any plans to return to this side of the Mississippi river. Then, Eric Kriebel, a longtime assistant coach at Pendleton passed away unexpectedly. She returned home and ended up starting a summer wrestling club in Pendleton in his name. She wanted to keep his legacy alive.
 
She married Jay Kriebel, Eric’s nephew and the two have two girls, Camryn, 3 and Clara, eight months old.
 
Kriebel is the varsity assistant coach at Pendleton now. She sits beside the very coach who doubted whether she could make it as a wrestler back in 1994 when Katie and her dad approached him.
 
“Katie has had a lot of firsts for me,” Cloud said. “She was my first assistant coach to start dating another coach. She was my first assistant coach to marry another coach. She was my first coach to go into labor during a match.”
 
Cloud said that Kreibel was coaching a match three years ago when she started having back spasms. That night he got a text that just said “I’m going to have a baby now.”
 
Kriebel has juggled the life of a coach and a parent for three years now. She demonstrated moves to the team while she was pregnant, and even carried Camryn in a baby sling while coaching at the New Castle semistate.
 
“Wrestling is all Camyrn has known,” Kriebel said. “I coached while I was pregnant with her. I showed front headlocks when she was in my belly, and she was literally on top of kids’ heads. She has never not known wrestling. She even calls the guys on the team ‘her guys’. “
 
Kriebel is going to let her kids decide for themselves if they want to wrestle or not. She loves the sport, but she also wants what’s best for them.
 
“I could really talk about wrestling for hours,” Kriebel said. “It’s honest. It’s very honest. You can’t b.s. very much in wrestling. If you have grit and perseverance, integrity and pride and you are willing to put a lot of work in without getting a lot back, then eventually you will be rewarded. It takes so much. You earn your spot. You earn everything.”
 
Her passion for the sport is infectious. Pendleton now has nine girls on the team and is hoping to have 15 next season.
 
“That’s sure a big change from where I started,” Cloud said. “But that’s great. I believe wrestling is the greatest sport in the world, so why wouldn’t you want girls doing it too?”

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2023 IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open September 10th
Date
September 10, 2023

Registration
Registration is now full
Click here to register on IndianaMat
Click here to view current paid entries
 
Petition Information
Petitions are closed
 
 
Brackets and Streaming
TrackWrestling brackets and streaming

Stud List
Click here for the top wrestlers already registered
 
Location:
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
4000 Parnell Ave
Fort Wayne, IN 46805
 
Event Schedule (Tentative)
Saturday September 9th  Weigh-ins
VIP Weigh-ins 2-3pm
Normal Weigh-ins 5-7pm Sunday September 10th  Wrestling Session 1 
9:00 am-2:00 pm EST
Weights: 109, 123, 141, 147, 168, 193, 288 Wrestling Session 2
1:00-6:00 pm EST
Weights: 116, 129, 135, 153, 160, 178, 218  
Weigh-In Information
Saturday September 9th 
VIP Weigh-ins 2-3pm
Normal Weigh-ins 5-7pm No Satellite Weigh-ins Weigh-ins will be in a singlet or NFHS approved two-piece uniform No weight change fee Weigh-ins are WHOLE pounds, tenths will count! For example if you weigh 153.3 you will NOT wrestle the 153lbs weight class!   
VIP Weigh-In Information
Saturday September 9th 
VIP Weigh-ins 2-3pm $20 cash only paid at the door No limit to number of VIP weigh-in athletes  
Entry Fee
$40 Registration by September 6th at 10:00pm EST or 825 paid entries, whichever comes first. No membership card is required to wrestle You must pay online by credit card ONLY! There will be no refunds of paid entries. Online registration ONLY will be accepted this year. Registration will be cut off at the first 825 paid entries or September 6th at 10pm ET whichever comes first. Please note we have sold out the past four years. The Tournament Committee will retain the right to add up to an additional 25 wrestlers, at their discretion, via a petition process, after the entry cutoff. Information about the petition process will be posted within a day after registration closes. Once we reach the entry limit registration will be shut down. After that point the ONLY way to enter is through a petition.  
Memorial Coliseum Procedures
No charge for parking on Saturday for weigh-ins. Please tell the attendant you are there for wrestling weigh-ins Coolers will be allowed in the athlete lunch area only. Athletes can bring coolers in through the Athlete Entrance ONLY!  
Tournament Gear and Apparel

3X Gear is the official gear distributor for the IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open. They will be on hand with a full selection of tournament apparel and other wrestling apparel and supplies.
 
Spectators
$20 per person can be purchased at the door Sunday morning or before session 2.
 
Age Groups
Students currently enrolled in 7th-12th grades will be wrestling in one division.

Awards
Top 4 will receive medals and the top 4 will qualify for Super 32 early entry
 
Contact
Joe Caprino
joe@Indianamat.com
 
Wrestling Information
-Wrestling will take place on Sunday September 10th, 2023
-Weight Classes: 109, 116, 123, 129, 135, 141, 147, 153, 160, 168, 178, 193, 218, 288
-Wrestlers in 7th-12th grade may participate
-Double elimination wrestle-backs to 4th place
-Period lengths Championship 2:00-1:30-1:30 Consolation 2:00-1:00-1:00 
-Overtime will be 1 minute sudden victory neutral and 30 second ride-out
-We will seed all wrestlers with specific criteria so please include your state or national credentials when registering 
-2022/2023 NFHS rules will be utilized, except the overtime modification
-Wrestling will be on full mats
-Singlet or approved NFHS uniform is required
-College out of bounds rules will be utilized.
-Headgear is not required, but recommended
-Mouthpieces are required if you have braces
-NFHS hair rules will apply
 
Seeding Information
MatScouts Willie Saylor will seed up to 16 in each weight class. All others with criteria below will be separated beyond the seeded wrestlers.
 
Each wrestler that qualifies will be given a "Separation Criteria" from the list below. The criteria are ranked in order.
1. Nationally ranked in FloWrestling or MatScouts rankings
2. State Champion/IHPO Champion
3. State 2-3/IHPO 2-4
4. State 4-5
5. State 6-8
6. State Qualifier/IHPO Top 6 or 8
7. Other Credentialed athletes that deserve separation
 
With these groups we will determine seeds.  Here is an example
If we have 2 wrestlers with #1 criteria, 4 with #2, 2 with #3, 2 with #4 and 5 with #5 this is how it will work.
 
The top two seeds will be the two wrestlers with #1 criteria in a random order
Seeds 3-6 will be the wrestlers with #2 criteria in a random order
Seeds 7-8 wrestlers with #3 criteria in a random order
Seeds 9-10 wrestlers with #4 criteria in a random order
Seeds 11-14 wrestlers with #5 criteria in a random order
The seeds will be determined randomly by TrackWrestling. 
 
Host Hotel
Information coming soon
 
College Coaches
We will offer a special college coaches package for $50. 
You may pay in advance or pay if you are not attending the event and want the entry database using this button
Click here to purchase
The package will include:
Registration list of all high school aged wrestlers with name, address, grade, weight, accomplishments, GPA, and college test scores* Preliminary entry list sent after registration closes Note: Due to coliseum policies you will need to purchase a ticket separately.  
*Tournament entry information with addresses and contact information will be sent the week after the event and will have all high school aged wrestlers that opted to have information released to coaches.
 
Past Results
2022 Results(732 wrestlers from 10 states)
2021 Results(716 wrestlers from 12 states)
2020 Results(707 wrestlers from 16 states)
2019 Results(610 wrestlers from 11 states)
2018 Results(605 wrestlers from 12 states)
2017 Results(607 wrestlers from 10 states)
2016 Results(647 wrestlers from 11 states)
2015 Results(580 wrestlers from 11 states)
2014 Results(586 wrestlers from 14 states)
2013 Results(598 wrestlers from 10 states)
2012 Results(444 wrestlers from 8 states)
2011 Results(254 wrestlers from 9 states)
2010 Results(171 wrestlers from 9 states)  
 
IHSAA Rules
Regarding Coaching at the IHPO
15-2 During School Year Out-of-Season
15-2.1 Individual Sports (Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Wrestling)
a. Students may participate in non-school contests as individuals or as members of a non-school team in non-school contests provided that participation during school time is approved by the school principal or his/her designee.
b. Coaches, from a member school coaching staff, may coach students in that sport if NOT under the organization, supervision and operation of the member school.
c. Member schools may not organize, supervise or operate athletic practices or interschool athletic contests.
d. Member schools may not provide school-owned uniforms (jerseys, shirts, shorts, pants, singlets, or swimsuits, etc.) worn by the student in non-school contests.
 
Estimated Future Event Dates
*We try our best to be the weekend after Labor Day
September 7-8, 2024
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Lake Central’s Mason Jones Drives Into Potential State Finals Run with Renewed Confidence
By Anna Kayser
 
One year after losing in the quarterfinals and wrestling his way back to fifth place at 106 pounds at the IHSAA State Finals, Lake Central senior Mason Jones is looking to leave it all on the mat.
 
Throughout his high school career, he hasn’t taken too many losses. Eleven as a sophomore, two a year ago – the second coming in that pivotal quarterfinal match that would inevitably propel him into his final high school campaign – and none thus far as he gears up for semi-state this coming weekend.
 
If you’re counting along, that means Mason Jones has racked up a lot of wins through three years as a varsity wrestler for Lake Central. There was just more to learn in the losses.
 
“I feel like I took away from just my overall season last year that there was always more I could do, more I could work towards especially when I came up short,” Jones said. “Last year at state, it felt like everything stopped and that it was all over. I had to take some time, sit down and remember that it wasn’t over, there was still more to go.”
 
Jones now enters his final run at a state title ranked No. 1 in his semi-state 106 pounds and No. 2 in the state, trailing only Delta freshman Jensen Boyd. The rankings are one aspect that has helped him build that strong mental foundation.
 
“I’d say it is a bit of a confidence boost, seeing that after all this time – all the work that I’ve put in to get to where I am now – I’m getting a bit of recognition,” Jones said.
 
Looking back on last year’s state run, his mental game is strides ahead of where it was last February. Following his quarterfinals loss, his coaches expressed the importance of confidence and staying true to his wrestling style even under the bright lights.
 
After getting his first state finals experience under his belt last year, he now steps into an opportunity this year with a more collected demeanor.
 
“His mental game wasn’t 100 percent there yet [last year], but the biggest difference this year is the confidence,” Lake Central head coach Luke Triveline said. “He’s putting in work in the offseason, he put in the work in the offseason, he’s doing his conditioning, he’s got good practice partners, obviously our team is doing well. And he’s really putting in the effort to mentally believe in himself and put him in a position to make a state title run.
 
That confidence is just a sliver of his mental game, something that was torn down after that loss in the quarterfinals and something he’s built back up to become one of the best wrestlers in the state.
 
“My dad is always telling me, ‘On any given day, anybody can win and anybody can lose. You have to go out there and give it 100 percent every time you step onto the mat’” Jones said. “I go out there knowing that I just have to outwork whoever I’m wrestling, otherwise there’s no guarantee that I get my hand raised.”
 
There’s a balance between being humble and not taking a season record or ranking for good, and Jones works hard to keep that balance in check.
 
“We just try to keep them humble, keep them hungry and keep them working to do what a state champion does,” Triveline said. “There’s only one state champ in each weight class, so you’ve got to be able to do more and push yourself more than you think you’re even capable of.”
 
Now, Jones is focusing on giving all he can to finish out his high school career on his terms, leaving everything he has on the mat as opposed to walking away thinking he could have given more.
 

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McCutcheon’s Dynamic Duo: Dallinger and Chicoine Build Each Other, Maverick Program Up
By Anna Kayser
 
The wrestling room at McCutcheon High School has two mats, with practice squads split down the middle by weight. Two mats, working truly in tandem toward both common and individual goals, is the perfect metaphor for the first two returning state placewinners since 2006. 
 
Aiden Dallinger and Cole Chicoine are seniors battling at opposite ends of the Maverick lineup – Dallinger at 120 points and Chicoine at 215. Last season, they became the first McCutcheon state placewinners since 2014 and the first to place earlier than their senior year since junior Travis Dale in 2006. 
 
“Kids need to see an example, and when they see a kid from their school achieve at some of the highest levels, they start to think they can do it too,” McCutcheon head coach Adam Metzger said. “It’s been a huge launching point for our program, and we get to use them as examples in many ways.”
 
Having not one, but two seniors as focal points for the program has been huge not only in the development of younger wrestlers, but for Dallinger and Chicoine to work as a team in building each other up. 
 
“I think just because we progressed at the same pace, we’re both reaping the same achievements at the same time,” Dallinger said. “I feel like it’s easier when we accomplish them, and it means more because we do it together.” 
 
Both wrestlers have grown in parallel lines to each other since coming into the program as freshman. Young for their age with a lot of room for growth on the mat, they’ve taken each step together. Now, as they’re making their way through the postseason of their senior years, they’re able to cheer each other on. 
 
Their gap in weight classes comes at an advantage. Although the benefits don’t come from on-the-mat head-to-head training, advice is constantly given and received in a way that makes each of them better. They’re able to take the time to be in each other’s corner without having to worry about their own imminent match. 
 
“It definitely helps him keeping me accountable,” Chicoine said. “If I lose a match, I know he’s going to say something about it. If I do something sloppy, he’s going to say something about it… We push each other because we’re both pretty competitive. And since we’re both there, it’s not like one of us is going to fall off because we know the other one’s going to be on our backs about it.”
 
As sophomores, they each lost in their respective ticket rounds to narrowly miss state bids. Together, by holding each other accountable, they turned those losses into personal success and leadership opportunities. 
 
“They’ve done all of the things we’ve asked them to do in the offseason, they bought into the program that we’re trying to sell them, and they’ve just continued to develop in the mat,” McCutcheon head coach Adam Metzger said. “They’ve [gone from] underdeveloped freshmen to vocal leaders who are just constantly trying to show our kids the path it takes to be successful and get to wrestle at the next level.”
 
With everything they’ve been able to do in tandem, working as a team to help each other achieve their goals, the effect on younger classes has been huge for the Mavericks. 
 
In the McCutcheon wrestling room, each senior has the opportunity to lead one of the two mats and act as an extension of the coaching staff in building up the program. Their previous success is the perfect resumé for outreach and showing other wrestlers what a tangible path to reaching their goals looks like. 
 
“When me and Aiden [placed at state], we showed that we put in the work and that our coaching staff knew what they were doing. It built confidence,” Chicoine said. “This year, it’s been a lot of teaching some of the younger guys that didn’t necessarily have a lot of success last year but trying to set them up for success not only this year but next year.”
 
Dallinger added, “To have a high-level on both mats, able to work around and build up our team on both spectrums, I feel like it’s a pretty big advantage.”
 
Success is contagious, and having seniors that are vocal, willing to teach and setting a good example not only on the mat but in the classroom – according to Metzger, Chicoine was Academic All-State and Dallinger’s SAT score was off the charts – has helped improve the Maverick wrestling program ten-fold. 
 
“This is my fifth year at McCutcheon, and this is by far the biggest freshman class we’ve ever had,” Metzger said. “I think a lot of it has to do with [Aiden and Cole] – they go back to their old middle schools, they’ve worked with and talked to the kids. They do a great job of that outreach and just getting kids excited about our program.”

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WrestlingWednesday: Shenandoah Not a Fly By Night Program
By JEREMY HINES
Thehines7@gmail.com
 
When Gary Black Jr. interviewed for the head wrestling coach at Shenandoah, his goals were clear. He didn’t want to maintain the status quo for the Raiders. He wasn’t content with getting a few kids through to semistate. He wanted to put Shenandoah on the wrestling map, and he wanted the small Henry County school to compete, and win against the state’s best programs.
 
His vision for the program landed him the job, and now, seven years later, he has done exactly what he said he would.
 
Shenandoah won the school’s first sectional two weeks ago. The Raiders dominated larger schools such as New Castle and Richmond in the process.
 
Last week the Raiders fell 1.5 points shy of winning the school’s first regional title.
 
“We had to get a mentality change,” Black said. “We had to understand the physicality of wrestling. We reached out to the elementary school. We implemented a club to get young kids invested in the sport at an early age. It took us a few years, but when we had an opening for the middle school job and I had John Slivka and my dad (Gary) take over, we really started developing our feeder system.”
 
Shenandoah has seven wrestlers competing at the New Castle semistate Saturday. Sophomores A.J. Black (106) and Dallas Pugsley (126), senior Ryan Surguy (138) and freshman Silas Allred (170) were all Richmond regional champions. Sophomore Hayden Lohrey (132) lost a close match to undefeated Cainan Schaefer in the championship round. Josh Gee (senior, 160) lost to No. 2-ranked Alston Bane 1-0 in the championship and sophomore Jake Webster placed fourth in the 152-pound class.
 
The Raider success story is one of heartache, determination and a coach that refuses to give up on his kids.
 
The Heartache
 
Coach Black’s younger brother Levi was perhaps the most talented grappler on the Raider team. He had an insane dedication to the sport and a work ethic that was unrivaled. Levi was well liked by everyone he came in contact with. But, despite all the positives he had going for him, Levi struggled with a mental illness that eventually led him to take his own life, at the high school, in November of 2015.
 
The death rocked the tiny Shenandoah community, as well as much of the surrounding area. Levi’s funeral brought together wrestlers from around the state. Many wrestlers, such as Bane at Richmond, have shown support of the Black family and helped raised awareness of mental illness by having a green streak (symbolic of Levi’s fight with the disease) dyed in his hair.
 
The Shenandoah team needed strength during this time. They needed someone to help them cope with the emotional gravity of the situation. The Black family was there to provide it.
 
“Both coaches (Gary Jr. and Sr.) are my heroes,” Gee said. “After all they went through, they still took care of us – even over themselves. Through their pain they never let us down. They helped us cope and really turned us into a wrestling brotherhood. We are a family.”
 
For Gary Jr., he knew he needed to find a way to honor Levi, yet move forward.
 
“The last 16 months have been a huge learning curve for a lot of us,” Black said. “Not only are you dealing with the daily grind of being a wrestler at a high level, but these kids already battle a lot of things daily. That was one more added struggle for all of us. There are days for me, my dad and I‘m sure the kids – being at that exact same place where everything happened – that make it very difficult. All of our lives have been changed.”
 
The Determination
 
Last year A.J. Black, Levi and Gary Jr’s youngest brother, tried doing everything he could to honor Levi. At times, the pressure got to him. He didn’t want to let his family down. When he lost in the ticket round to go to state, you could see that built up emotion boil over as tears streamed down his face.
 
“The weight of trying to accomplish a goal for the memory of his brother took its toll on A.J. and just mentally wore him down,” coach Black said. “We talked about it. He had to make a shift in how he honors his brother. He needs to start doing things for himself.
 
“I ask him before every match, who he is wrestling for. He now will say ‘Me’ and then give me a hug and go wrestle. He still honors Levi, but by working his hardest and doing his best. That’s all Levi would have wanted.”
 
The hard work mantra extends past A.J. To a man, the Raiders pride themselves on outworking other teams. The guys have bought into the system and have dedicated their summers to the sport.
 
“Levi was the hardest worker in the room,” A.J. said. “Everyone wants to make him proud by working as hard as they can, every day.”
 
Take Allred for example. He is a 14-year old freshman that won’t turn 15 until May 28. He’s wrestling in one of the most physically demanding classes (170). Yet he’s undefeated.
 
“We believe success is a mindset,” Allred said. “I constantly train and constantly push myself to get better. If you want to be the best, you have to work to be the best. You can get better, or worse every single day.”
 
Surguy and Gee are two examples of the dividends of that work ethic.
 
As a sophomore Gee was pinned by Bane in the sectional final in 36 seconds. Last year he lost 5-1 to Bane in the sectional final. This year, Gee has dropped two matches to Bane, but both were by the score of 1-0.
 
Surguy is another senior that struggled early, but has blossomed due to the work he puts in. This year Surguy is 42-2 with a sectional and regional title.
 
The Coach
 
Gary has built the Raider program to be one of the state’s best. The Raiders finished No. 2 in the Class A team state, and have higher aspirations down the road.
 
For Gary, the key to success has been making the wrestlers buy into the fact that the only way to improve, is to outwork the opposition. He also makes sure the wrestlers feel like a family.
 
“We see each other at our worst, and we see each other at our best,” said Allred, who has a 4.0 GPA and is ranked third in his class. “When one of us has a down day, the rest of us try and pick him up. This is more than a wrestling team. We’re all friends. We’re all brothers.”
 
The leader of the Raider family is undoubtedly the young coach Black. His passion for the team is evident in every match he coaches.
 
“On Sundays I’m exhausted,” Black said “It’s hard for me to be on the sideline when I just want to go to war with them. I don’t want to be the general just telling them to go into battle. I want to battle with them. I’ll be the intense guy on the sideline.
 
“I want these kids to win as bad as they do. I get extremely emotionally involved in their success. I’d like to think they appreciate it, even though I look ridiculous. I love wrestling and I love watching those kids compete.”
 
Last year only Lohrey punched his ticket to the state meet for the Raiders. This year Shenandoah has high hopes to have more than one kid represented. They know how hard the road is to get to state, but they’ve prepared themselves to complete the journey – just like a young coach interviewing for his first head coaching job seven years ago said they would.