Every year around Valentine’s Day the War Memorial Coliseum is bustling with the boat show and some great wrestling. In 2014 it will be no different as the day after Valentine’s will see the top wrestlers in the northeast corner of the state battle it out for 56 state qualifying spots. The amenities of the coliseum mimic Banker’s Life and provide a great platform to showcase the best wrestlers in this area.
The team race this year looks to be a four-horse race between Yorktown and a conglomerate of NHC teams: East Noble, Bellmont and Carroll. Yorktown will bring all 14 wrestlers to the War Memorial, while Bellmont will bring 10 and Carroll and East Noble bringing 8. East Noble may have the fire power to hang with Yorktown with two returning state placers pacing the Knights. Carroll, as they have done all season, will look to use solid kids from 145lbs and up to garner a high placing. Lastly, Bellmont will be digging deep for some Decatur Magic to challenge for a semi-state team title. 106lbs
This weight class all year long has been anything but boring. The little guys have all seemed to beat one another throughout the year which will make Saturday’s wrestling even more interesting. On the top bracket you will have Jack Franklin of Homestead against a tough senior in Lukas Long of Lakeland. Both have been wrestling great as of late and it is unfortunate that one will be buying a ticket to Banker’s Life. Going down the bracket we will get round three of Mason Mendez of Bellmont and Nate Weimer of East Noble. Mendez won round one, while Weimer won round two…look for round three to be the one everyone remembers. Jabin Wright of Kokomo has slid under the radar throughout the season and is poised to make his way to state. He will have to fend off a tough Yorkie in Josh Stephenson in the ticket round. In the last quarter-bracket Fairfield’s Blake Glogouski will have déjà vu in seeing Columbia City’s Hunter Langeloh in the ticket round again. Last year Glogouski won by pin over Langeloh, but a few weeks ago they wrestled to a 6-4 decision in favor of Glogouski.
Head of the Class: Blake Glogouski
Other State Streeters: Jack Franklin, Josh Stephenson, Nate Weimer 113lbs
While returning state runner-up Garrett “Bieber†Pepple is the heavy favorite in this weight class, there is still plenty left to be decided. Pepple will be in the top bracket and will likely face Travis Davenport of Oak Hill in the ticket round. In the next quarter-bracket, Bellmont’s Jon Becker looks to be the favorite. He will get a good run from Wayne’s Rashaam Hill in the ticket round in a match-up of two wrestlers with similar styles. Eddie Loraine of Leo comes in as the regional champ in his quarter-bracket, but lurking in his path to state is a tough Eugene Moody-Neukom of Elkhart Memorial or tough senior Tre Willis of Muncie South. The last ticket to state could be determined in the first round between Goshen’s Scotty Huff and Yorktown’s Remo Hiestand.
Head of the Class: Garrett Pepple
Other State Streeters: Remo Hiestand, Jon Becker, Tre Willis 120lbs
Last, but not least we have the 120lbs weight class. All year long we have waited for the semi-state draw to see if two state placers would wrestle in the ticket round for the second straight year. And with the 66% chance of it happening….well it happened! Right off the bat in the top bracket you will get a rematch of last year’s 3rd place match at 113lbs between Super Starfire Sawyer Miller and the Battlin’ Knight Connor Knapp. At semi-state last year Knapp defeated Miller, but Miller got revenge at state for 3rd place. This rubber match will have much more on the line than a different color medal as next week one of these fine wrestlers will be forking over some cash to watch the state finals. This battle will be one of epic proportions: blonde vs. ginger, Starfire vs. Knight, Hoffar vs. Humble, Avilla vs. Berne, etc. After that fanfare is over, Concord’s returning 6th place finisher Delewerence Gayfield will look to make another run at the bank. In his way is regional champion Ben Cauffman whom he defeated two years ago at the coliseum. In the bottom half of the bracket Western’s Caleb Maddox comes in the slight favorite, but will face a stiff challenge in Yorktown’s fabulous freshman Brad Laughlin. Lastly, Forrest Glogouski who was a victim of the draw of death last year at this weight will likely have Bellmont’s Daniel Gunsett in the ticket round.
Head of the Class: Forrest Glogouski
Other State Streeters: Connor Knapp, Delewerence Gayfield, Brad Laughlin 126lbs
Due to the random draw we will start out at 126lbs. This weight will be highlighted by two undefeated wrestlers and a returning state semi-finalist. Chase Wilson of Maconaquah and Erique Early both enter the War Memorial undefeated, while Cael McCormick will come in with two losses. Last year at 106lbs McCormick placed 4th, in 2012 Early brought home an 8th place medal, and Wilson was a state qualifier last year at 120lbs. Wilson will be challenged by Northrop’s Logan Aldrich in the ticket round, while Early’s toughest foe could be Jimtown’s Jay Franko. McCormick could see two-time ticket rounder Sterling Lutter in the ticket round. The last quarter-bracket is a toss-up with Elkhart Memorial’s Tony Vaughn being a slight favorite after having an impressive post season so far. He will be challenged by Bellmont’s Trevor Gray in the ticket round.
Head of the Class: Cael McCormick
Other State Streeters: Chase Wilson, Erique Early, Trevor Gray 132lbs
From the onset of the season this weight has been a big question mark for the Fort Wayne area. The only returning state qualifier is Sam Lovejoy who qualified at 113lbs in 2012. Many others in the weight class have the potential to punch their ticket to the Bank. In the top quarter-bracket you will have a barnburner between two wrestlers who lost in the ticket round last year. Yorktown’s regional champ Logan Campbell will most likely face a stiff challenge from Huntington North’s Tanner Shipley. Going down the bracket, Kegan Kern of Peru will look to punch his ticket to state in his fourth and final try. He will be pushed to the limit by the winner of Columbia City’s Kyle Egolf and Jimtown’s Konner Chafin. Lovejoy looks to be the heavy favorite in his quarter bracket, but he cannot overlook a tough Will Bratcher from Eastbrook. Lastly, the final quarter-bracket will be another toss-up. Leo’s Isaac Eicher comes in as the 4 seed after suffering his first two losses of the season last week. He will face a hot David Schmucker of Fremont right off the bat then face a solid wrestler in Manchester’s Clayton Moore.
Head of the Class: Sam Lovejoy
Other State Streeters: Logan Campbell, Isaac Eicher, Kegan Kern 138lbs
The two favorites at this weight have been put on the same side of the bracket at 138lbs. Last year’s semi-state runner-up Zach Krumlauf of Dekalb and Western’s Dustin Hinkle both are on the bottom half. However, they both need to take care of business first to get to that match. On the top of the bracket, Dwenger’s Dominic Garrett will be challenged by Oak Hill’s Shane Curtis or West Noble’s Chandler Hyndman in the ticket round. Going down the bracket, Flyin’ Jet Derek Ellinger will be the favorite to punch his ticket over Zeke Torres of Elkhart Central or Peru upstart Peyton Sturgill. In the bottom half, Krumlauf could face a stiff opponent in Yorktown’s Josh Stephenson. The general consensus is Hinkle will advance out of his quarter-bracket, but could face a much improved Bryce Woenker in the ticket round.
Head of the Class: Zach Krumlauf
Other State Streeters: Derek Ellinger, Dustin Hinkle, Chandler Hyndman 145lbs
This weight is highlighted by two returning state streeters in Peru’s Evan Loe and East Noble’s Jacob Weimer. Loe brought home an 8th place medal last year and will look to end his career at the top. The bracket gods have put both Loe and Weimer on the same side of the bracket. Weimer could face a solid match from NHC rival Logan Neher of Bellmont in the ticket round. Loe’s foe in the ticket round could be a tough Eagle in Shane Shroyer of Churubusco. In the bottom half of the bracket you have a bunch of solid wrestlers looking to punch their ticket to state. Alex Arney of Carroll will likely face NHC rival Logan Williams of Dekalb in the ticket round. In the last quarter-bracket, sizzlin’ Starfire Boaz Marbach will face a tough Raider in Northridge’s Ryan Baxter.
Head of the Class: Evan Loe
Other State Streeters: Alex Arney, Jacob Weimer, Boaz Marbach 152lbs
This weight sports one undefeated wrestler along with four others with three or less losses. Three-time state medalist Chandler Carroll of Yorktown leads the way and is the heavy favorite in the weight class. He will have to fend off foes at all levels to defend his semi-state crown. At the top, #SuperCharger Josh Garman is the slight favorite to avoid the sting from Angola’s Austin Bauer. Carroll, Chandler that is, will face an upset minded senior in either Elkhart Memorials Chris Morris or Oak Hill’s Riley Johnson. In the lower half bracket, Kokomo’s Chad Gaddis will look to punch his ticket to state. His toughest foe will come in the form of Delta’s super frosh Jacob Grey. In the final quarter-bracket, flyin’ Eagle Tylor Willms will come in undefeated and face the winner of NHC rivals Brock Braun of Bellmont and Payton Walter of Columbia City.
Head of the Class: Chandler Carroll
Other State Streeters: Tylor Willms, Josh Garman, Chad Gaddis 160lbs
If this weight were to seed the top five wrestlers, it would have been very close to how this weight was drawn. Returning semi-state champ and state 3rd placer Rhett Hiestand of Yorktown is the favorite heading to the coliseum. Three-time state streeter Kyle Jolas of Huntington North is another contender for the semi-state title. Jolas is at the top of the bracket and will face either freshman Corbin Maddox of Daleville or sophomore Nick Ritchie of Elkhart Memorial in the ticket round. In the other top half quarter-bracket you will probably see one of the most hotly contested ticket round matches of the day. Undefeated Luke Akers of Northwestern will face a tough test in Bellmont’s freshman sensation Bryce Baumgartner. Look for this to be a barnburner. Next up, East Noble’s Jesse Maley will face a tough Shaun Johnson of Wayne in a rematch from the Garrett Invitational where Johnson won. Maley is on fire in the second half of the season and his record is very deceiving. Lastly, Hiestand will look to handcuff Columbia City’s Landon Hodges in the ticket round.
Head of the Class: Rhett Hiestand
Other State Streeters: Kyle Jolas, Shawn Johnson, Luke Akers 170lbs
As we start getting closer to the big guys the action will keep heating up. At 170lbs there are two wrestlers returning with state experience in Flyin’ Jet Kaine Luginbill and #SuperCharger Tristan Wilson. As it seems with most weights, these two are on the same side of the bracket. Luginbill will look to get past a scrappy Jon Osoria of Elkhart Memorial who comes in as the regional champ in that quarter-bracket. Wilson will have to fend off an NHC foe in Brett Baker of Bellmont in the ticket round. The bottom half of the bracket will have some solid matches. Kokomo’s Keair Ross will look to punch his ticket to state, but will have to fend off Leo’s Aaron Eicher in the ticket round. Dillon Jackson of Yorktown has had a stellar season and will be pushed by Bulldog Luis Chacon in the ticket round.
Head of the Class: Dillon Jackson
Other State Streeters: Tristan Wilson, Keair Ross, Kaine Luginbill 182lbs
This weight will be very interesting as the day progresses. Corey Hinkle is the early favorite, but he will be challenged from the get go. The top quarter-bracket is very interesting and one that will be a crap shoot. Evan Smith of Goshen is the regional champion in that bracket, but will be challenged by Busco Bad Boy Brandon Shively and Oak Hill’s Jake Mullinex. Myron Howard-Anderson is the favorite to make another trip to state in his quarter-bracket and he will most likely be seeing Lane Eckrote of North Miami in the ticket round. Howard-Anderson is looking to take the easier road this year as last year he qualified out of the 4th seed coming out of regional. On the bottom half of the bracket Columbia City’s Tristan Anglin will be pushed by Winchester’s Grant Gough in the ticket round. Lastly, Corey Hinkle will have a tough opponent in the super Starfire Klayton Hinshaw.
Head of the Class: Corey Hinkle
Other State Streeters: Myron Howard-Anderson, Grant Gough- Winchester, Evan Smith- Goshen 195lbs
The bracket gods separated arguably the two best wrestlers in this weight. We will start the day with two undefeated wrestlers in Elkhart Memorial’s Tieshawn Johnson and General Kanez Omar. Last year during the regular season Omar defeated Johnson and he is looking to repeat this year. At the top of the bracket will be the hardest state finalist to predict. The mighty Railroader Bo Davis is the favorite, but he will have to go through Western’s Russell McDormand and Yorktown’s Hunter Hiestand to punch his ticket. Next up Tieshawn Johnson is the favorite, but could be pushed by Corey Rickman of Carroll in the ticket round. On the bottom half, Nick Cress of Peru will be pushed early by Woodlan’s Brian Salmon with the winner most likely going to state. Salmon upset Johnson last year at semi-state and is looking for some more Woodburn magic this year. In the final quarter-bracket, Kanez Omar will be the favorite with Oscar Reyes of West Noble posing his toughest challenger.
Head of the Class: Tieshawn Johnson
Other State Streeters: Kanez Omar, Bo Davis, Brian Salmon 220lbs
This weight class returns three state qualifiers from last year in returning runner-up Fletcher Miller and qualifiers Brandon Joest and Brad Sadilek. Joest lost a tough regional final match and with the bracket gods on his side he did not draw into Miller or Sadilek. Miller will be in the top bracket and in his path to punch another ticket to state will be South Side’s Tyree Elkins. Joest will have to battle from a two seed this year and go past a stout Blake Davis of Garrett and a tough Yorktown Tiger in Noah Little. Not only will that match be determining a spot at state it could heavily affect the team standings. Looking down the bracket Eliseo Guerra of Elkhart Central is the favorite after defeating Joest last week. His stiffest competition will be Kaiser Phillips from Monroe Central. In the last quarter-bracket returning state qualifier Brad Sadilek of Carroll will be challenged by Beau “the†Hamer “Valentine of Angola early. In the ticket round Evan Ellis of Eastern will look to give Sadilek all he can handle.
Head of the Class: Fletcher Miller
Other State Streeters: Brad Sadilek, Brandon Joest, Eliseo Guerra 285lbs
The big guys will yet again be a weight class to watch this year. Both returning state medalist Eric Hemmelgarn and upstart Jake Smith will enter the coliseum undefeated. You also cannot overlook the mighty ginger lion in Bryce Hagar who lost to Hemmelgarn 1-0 a few weeks ago. On the top half of the bracket Hagar is the favorite, but will be pushed by a solid Darrius Connell of Muncie South. In the next quarter bracket you have the only quarter bracket at semi-state without a semi-state ranked wrestler. Michael Yankosky of Westview comes in as the regional champ, but he will be challenged by a Dax Hiestand of Yorktown in the ticket round. Yankosky will look to be the first state qualifier in Westview’s history on Saturday. On the bottom half of the bracket Eric Hemmelgarn of Jay County will most likely face a rematch from 2013 in Central Noble’s Justin Lee. Last year Hemmelgarn won 4-2 in the ticket round over Lee. Lastly, Jake Smith of Southwood will look to keep his perfect record intact against the winner of Braxton Amos of Angola and Alex Kunkel of Concordia.
Head of the Class: Eric Hemmelgarn
Other State Streeters: Bryce Hagar, Jake Smith, Michael Yankosky
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