High School News

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580
Cavemen Survive Another Gauntlet
-- 5-0 at Bellmont Invite
 
Nobody would accuse the Mishawaka Cavemen of dodging the competition in their bid to repeat as team state champions for 2009. By looking at their schedule alone, everyone would get a pretty clear picture of whether Mishawaka would be the force they were last year.
The regular season schedule is now nearly complete. Saturday, the Cavemen defeated sixth ranked Bellmont 38-21, downed #2 Perry Meridian 29-25 along with defeating Whitko, Bloomington South and Evansville Memorial to run their season dual record to 16-0.
It does appear that Mishawaka is poised to make a strong run in defense of its state championship as they have faced nearly half of the states top twenty teams and beaten them all. If the schedule were not enough, the Cavemen have also had to battle injuries and ineligibilities that has left nearly a third of their projected preseason varsity line up either not wrestling or wrestling at something less then 100%. Rather then make excuses and wonder about 'what could have been', coach Darrick Snyder has used these hurdles as opportunities, not obstacles, for other wrestlers to step up and contribute against some of the state's best.
Saturday it was 152 pound backup, Marty Friedman who came up huge for the Cavemen. Subbing for an ailing, Tim Forte, Friedman scored a key win over #8 Blake Wood to help Mishawaka stay undefeated on the season. This was the swing match in a dual that saw Josh Harper get pinned in a tight cradle early in the second period and the Cavemen give up six uncontested points by forfeiting at the 103 lb. weight class.
It surely will be interesting to see if Mishawaka can stay healthy enough through the individual series to make it two straight or whether the likes of Mater Dei, Yorktown, Crown Point, Cathedral or Perry Meridian will be able to come up with the formula to defeat these resiliant Cavemen.

MATCH SUMMARIES - #1 Mishawaka 38 - #6 Bellmont 21The match-ups between state champ Josh Harper of Mishawaka and state placer Will Sheets along with top ranked Billy Baker of the Braves squaring off against #7 Christain Lentz highlighted this battle of longtime state powers.
With Mishawaka holding an early 8-3 lead, Baker scored an first period takedown by dumping a single. Lentz escaped late in the period to narrow the score 2-1 at the end of the first period.
In the second Lentz escaped early to tie the score at two until Baker was able to work a front headlock into a snap down position and was able to get behind the burly Lentz to take a 4-2 lead. Lentz was able to escape before the end of the period and the score was 4-3 at the end of the second period.
Baker chose down, quickly escaped and finished a third takedown midway through the third period, extending his lead to 7-3. Lentz made a flurry late, garnered an escape and takedown to narrow the lead to 7-6. The Caveman was forced to cut Baker and attempt a takedown to tie the match but Baker was able to counter and score, ending the match 10-6.
In the second battle of ranked wrestlers, #1 Josh Harper decisioned #6 Will Sheets of Bellmont, 8-2. Harper had a minor scare as he got a tad high riding with legs and Sheets sucked him under. Sheets was unable to hold him and only got a reversal.

#2 Perry Meridian 37 - #6 Bellmont 24
Bellmont started fast with wins at 215 and HWT. At 215 #1 Billy Baker rode #5 Chris Schafer the entire 2nd period and then escaped in the third, added a late takedown to take the win 3-0. AT HWT, tiny Daniel Meyer, who doesn't look like he weighs over 200 lbs muscled Devin Schafer to his back to collect a pin in 23 seconds. Just like that the Braves had a 9-0 lead and momentum.
Perry's line-up is too strong to let momentum build and just like a number one starter is expected to end a losing streak in baseball, the Falcon's young stud, Jared McKinley made short work of Bellmont's Blake Adams, pinning him with a cradle to cut the difference to three points.
Bellmont regained the momentum by picking up three close decisions at 112, 119, and 125. The Braves led 18-6 after six matches. Next up for Perry was #4 ranked Samson Cook who cut the lead to 18-12 with a pin in 1:02.
Sticking with the baseball analogies, Cook's pin was just the start of the Falcon's 'murderer's row' from classes 130 to 160. #8 Chris Goodwin @ 135, #10 Jacob Tonte @ 140, and #7 Jacob Taseff @ 145 all collect first period pins to swing the meet score to 30-18 in the Falcon's favor.
#14 Tyler Baker of Bellmont was able to momentarily stop the bleeding with his narrow 3-2 victory over #8 Blake Wood. At 160, Perry's #9 Chris Hudgins overcame two defeats earlier in the day to major John Mahlan, and 171 Jordan Robinson decisioned Grant Melcher to put the match out of reach at 37-21.

#1 Mishawaka 29 - #2 Bellmont 25Both Mishawaka's coach Darrick Snyder, and Perry Meridian's coach Jim Tonte issued promises earlier in the week. Tonte said that he thought his team was overrated but still could could contend for a state title. Snyder only promise was that his grapplers would handle both winning and losing in a better fashion than they did last year. It turned out that Snyder was correct, the Cavemen had no issues with attitude, and Tonte was wrong, the Falcon do not appear to be overrated at all.
Mishawaka started off hot, Dustin Boyd secured a decision on Perry freshman Andre Richards 4-0 and #7 Christain Lentz scored a minor upset with his 3-0 win over #5 Chris Schafer. Lentz rides with legs as well any big man in the state and used the hook to control Schafer the entire 2nd period, despite many strong scramble attempts by Schafer. Lentz was able to get off bottom in the third and finished a low double leg takedown to take the win.
Junior HWT Caveman, Travis Thomas kept things rolling for his team when he bundled up Devin Schafer in a crossface butcher to secure a pin with 20 seconds left in the first period. At 103 Perry's Jared McKinley took a forfeit to narrow the score to 12-6.
At 112 and 119, Mishawaka got rolling again with Paul Beck picking up a major decision and Matt Guerra defeated Jason Simmons 7-1 to stretch the Caveman lead to 19-6. Perry rebounded at 125 when freshman Kirk Johnson defeated Nick Schrader 8-3.
The score was 19-9 when 130 lb. wrestlers Samson Cook and Josh Harper took to the mat. Number one versus number four in the state, it had the makings for a great matchup. Harper gained the early advantage by using a wrist tie to pass Cook and get the initial takedown. Harper then rode Cook for the remainder of the period. Cook had choice to start the second and took the top position. The long armed senior proceeded to hook up a crossface cradle on Harper. The Mishawaka faithful probably were not to worried as Harper had fought off a similar cradle attempt by Cashe Quiorga at the Al Smith meet 10 days ago. It was not to be however as Cook turned Harper with surprising ease and garnered the pin.
The Falcons cut the lead to 19-18 when eighth ranked 135 lber. Chris Goodwin defeated gritty Aaaron Mersich 7-4. In a most entertaining contest, returning state champ Steven Sandefer avoided enough close calls and headlocks that came from all angles to major Jacob Tonte 22-13. This stretched the team score to 23-18. At 145, Jacob Taseff nullified Sandefer's major with one of his own defeating Alex White of Mishawaka 14-5.
Down by one point, the Perry fans had to be feeling good as they had favored wrestlers at the next two weight classes. At 152, Mishawaka backup, Marty Friedman took eighth ranked Blake Wood to overtime and was able to finish a takedown to win 3-1. Mishawaka's Dick Morin followed up Friedman's inspiring win with a minor upset of ninth ranked Cory Hudgins, 5-2. This put the Cavemen up 29-22 with one match left. Jordan Robinson narrowed the team score to 29-25 with his decision over Mishawaka's Drew Childress.

330
Northern States Conference Preview
No Clear Favorite in Northern States Race
- Jimtown, New Prairie appear strongest
 
The theme of the 2009 Northern States Conference wrestling tournament appears to be depth. The team that will take the crown will likely be the one that can place the most wrestlers in the most weight classes as no one team appears to be dominant.
Both Jimtown and New Prairie appear to have the depth necessary to carry themselves to a team title but Knox may have a say in the outcome as they will bring many outstanding grapplers to the clash Saturday at Jimtown High School. Following is a weight class breakdown of the meet:
 

103 –
 
Matt Lindsey of Triton brings a 21-1 record to Jimtown Saturday with his only loss coming to Jacob Schroeder of Rochester. Michael Wireman is the second seed with a 20-8 record.

112 –
 
This class appears to wide open as each of the seeded wrestlers beat one or more of the other seeds. LaVille’s Sean Webb (20-8) is the top seed, followed by Glenn’s Travis Mowery (15-8), Jimtown’s Zach Slough (14-6), and Knox’s Dakota Martin (17-10).

119 –
 
Knox’s ninth ranked Danny Bradley is the class of the field with his 25-0 record. Second seeded Kaleb McCallum of Glenn has bumped up to 119 late in the season and brings a 24-8 record to the table.

125 –
 
A two man battle looks to be waged here as number one seed Collin Crume (28-6) of Jimtown might face off with second seeded Kyle Hernandez of Knox (25-4) in the finals.

130 –
 
Another weight class where the top seeds all own victories over each other, this weight class seeds went based on winning percentage with Bremen’s Justin Bogart (23-5) earning the #1 seed, New Prairie’s Joe Zigler (25-7) at number two, Knox’s Devann Biddle (14-4) at three and Jimtown’s John Michael Moore (23-9) at four.

135 –
 
Jimtown’s returning semi-state qualifier Jeremy Hill (33-3) is the clear favorite here and he is the one seed, New Prairie’s Aaron Jeske (20-8) and LaVille’s Danny Kline (20-8) are the number two and three seeds respectively.

140 –
 
New Prairie’s dangerous Dillan Escobedo (15-13) earned the #1 seed based on victories over second seeded Darius Stevens (22-9) of Triton and #3 seed Matt Hill (20-11) of Jimtown.

145 –
 
Niles Goodman of New Prairie (20-9) is the one seed followed by LaVille’s Preston Pittman (15-12) and largely untested Mike Stout (10-4) of Culver.

152 –
 
Jordan Martin of New Prairie looks to be the class of the field with his 23-4 record. Knox’s Mike Hernandez (20-9) and Glenn’s Josh Dunbar (21-11) both look to challenge for a spot in the finals as the second and third seeds respectively.

160 –
 
A three man battle shapes up at 160 where top seeded Jimmy Krause (19-8) will battle New Prairie’s second seeded Ryan Balanow (23-6) and Triton’s third seed, Zach Clark (27-5).

171 –
 
This may be the deepest weight class of the meet. Jimtown’s Zach Spurgeon enters battle tested and as the top seed. Second seeded Robert Molebash of Culver owns a victory over state ranked Reece Farnham of Northridge and Knox’s Adam Winebrenner (3rd seed) has an outstanding 25-4 record. 4th seeded Dylan Senff (18-5), along with unseeded Jake Cornell (23-6) and New Prairie’s Jeff Jurczak (19-7) appear very capable of upsetting the big guns at this weight class. **NOTE: Triton’s eighth ranked state qualifier Blake Hoffer was injured last Saturday and is taking a week off to heal for sectionals.

189 –
 
Knox’s Alex Windbigler brings an outstanding 25-5 record to the top seed and he will be chased by New Prairie’s second seeded Eric Singleton (20-8).

215 –
 
New Prairie’s third ranked Kannon Keigley (31-1) is the clear favorite here. He has one loss on the season to Lowell’s second ranked Nathan Cleveland. Keigley has a win over highly regarded Christain Lentz of Mishawaka and will be looking at the conference meet as way to springboard him to a deep tournament run over the next month.

HWT –
 
John Glenn goliath Craig Fitzgerald (ranked second in the state) and Jimtown senior Zack Stone (ranked #15) appear to be class of this field. Fitzgerald, undefeated on the year, is the returning conference champ and placed 6th in the state last year. Stone is a semi-state qualifier from last year and placed 3rd at the Al Smith tournament. There was no head to head match-up as Stone was dinged up earlier in the year when Glenn and Jimtown matched up

618
2010 Al Smith Invite - Pre-Seeds
Members of the Indiana Mat staff have put together the following projected seeds for Mishawaka's Al Smith Invitational. These are NOT the official seeds and are intended for entertainment purposes only.
 
103
1. Nathan Boston - Lawrence North
2. Danny Hamm - Prairie Heights
3. Riley Newkirk - Lawrence Central
4. Santo Marciano - Munster
5. Michael Garza - Merrillville
6. Cody Flickinger - Elkhart Memorial
7. Scott Fozo - Mishawaka
8. Zach Davis - Penn
 
112
1. Jarrod Brooks - Warsaw
2. Aurelio Medina - Munster
3. Alex Sparks - Lawrence North
4. Anthony Schoettle - Center Grove
5. Sam Ferdig - South Bend Adams
6. Grant Martsolf - Mishawaka
7. Corey Gettig - Penn
8. Jake Carlile - Columbus East
 
Others to consider - Zeke Weese - Rochester, Jacob Girod - Bellmont

1191. Kyle Ayersman - Lake Central
2. Adam Garcia - Merrillville
3. Robert Boston - Lawrence North
4. Baron Reiker - Columbus East
5. Lymen Stoneburner - Mishawaka
6. Jacob Davis - Penn
7. Bobby Keuneke - Bellmont
8. Max Brutus - Lawrence Central

1251. Layten Binion - Mishawka
2. Alex Griesemer - Princeton
3. Nick Crume - Jimtown
4. Tyler Chapple - Penn
5. Zach Reiker - Columbus East
6. Braxton Simpson - Peru
7. Kaleb Chambers - Jasper
8. Garth Simpson - Rochester
 
Others to consider - Kalib Jackson - East Noble, Joe Boots - Prairie Heights

1301. Alex Gregory - Penn
2. Travis Barroquillo - Prairie Heights
3. Taylor Wisler - Mishawaka
4. Collin Crume - Jimtown
5. Jordan Johnson - Lawrence North
6. Al Padilla - Merrillville
7. Steven Reiker - Columbus East
8. Alex Kastafaros - Chesterton
 
Others to consider - Andre Butts - Lawrence Central

1351. Chris Kastafaros - Chesterton
2. Kenny Hughes - Lowell
3. Kris Roberts - Elkhart Memorial
4. Bryce Shoemaker - Lawrence Central
5. Trevor Manspeaker - Penn
6. Dewey Melcher - Bellmont
7. Tristan Macri - Mishawaka
8. Zach Slough - Jimtown
 
Others to consider - Michael Escobedo - Lake Central, Adam Steele - Prairie Heights, Tyler Householder - East Noble

1401. Bradley Wartman - Lake Central
2. Matt Rattay - Lawrence North
3. Ryan Ntende - Goshen
4. Brooks Faurote - Bellmont
5. Tim Shuler - Columbus East
6. Lucas Rieke - East Noble
7. Joey Kelly - Chesterton
8. Chris Felske - Michigan City
 
Others to consider - Zach Hays - Center Grove

1451. Dantrell Goodman - Elkhart Memorial
2. Grant Anglemeyer - Penn
3. Brandon Reynolds-Smith - South Bend Riley
4. Sidney Logan - Mishawaka
5. Anthony Stebing - Bellmont
6. Javier Avalos - Merrillville
7. Matt Hill - Jimtown
8. Clay LeBarr - Lawrence Central

1521. Spencer Hays - Center Grove
2. Cam Matteson - Elkhart Memorial
3. Luke Smith - Munster
4. Darius Marshall - Mishawaka
5. Will Busse - Bellmont
6. Zach Meyers - Jimtown
7. Mike Hummer - Penn
8. Joe Zigler - New Prairie
 
Others to consider - Kelly Kolat - South Bend Riley, Zach Sandefur - Merrillville, Jacob Schroder - Rochester
 


160
1. Anthony Quiroz - Chesterton
2. Sean Mappes - Center Grove
3. Michael Taylor - Lawrence Central
4. Alex Stewart - LaPorte
5. Alex Lymburner - South Bend Riley
6. Zach Johnson - Columbus East
7. John Mahlan - Bellmont
8. Ryan Chandler - Prairie Heights
 
Others to consider - Eric Deluna - Merrillville, Tony Rodriguez - Hobart

1711. Drake Stein - Princeton
2. Ryley Kankenson - Bellmont
3. Ashton Brierly - Columbus East
4. Joe Peco - Hobart
5. Joe Tucker - Jasper
6. Brandon Weinkauf - Jimtown
7. David Stevens - Penn
8. Brandon Douthitt - Lawrence North
 
Others to consider - Tyler Reinoehl - Mishawaka

1891. Brandon Dillenbeck - Goshen
2. Kourtney Berry - Merrillville
3. Jeremy Haskett - Lawrence North
4. Alex Skipper - South Bend Adams
5. Chase Spears - Elkhart Memorial
6. Ross Hoover - Warsaw
7. Tony Sanchez - Chesterton
8. Tanner Adams - Jimtown

2151. Taylor Grubb - Prairie Heights
2. Travis Thatcher - Bellmont
3. Devin Reagan - Penn
4. Jack Seaman - Munster
5. Jaylen Clark - Lawrence Central
6. Brandon Daniels - Goshen
7. Mike Nickson - Merrillville
8. Galen Robinson - Lake Central

2851. Daniel Meyer - Bellmont
2. Eric Thigpen - Lawrence Central
3. Eric Forrest - Jimtown
4. Braxton Eby - Mishawaka
5. Nathan Schnell - Jasper
6. Tyler Van Luu - Calumet
7. Pat Biancardi - Lake Central
8. Gabe Miller - Penn
 
Others to Consider - Thomas Emmitt - Columbus East

386
Parity Makes Appearance at Al Smith Invitational
The 2010 edition of the Mishawaka's annual winter break wrestling extravaganza, the Al Smith Invitational, will likely be more tightly contested than it has been in recent memory.  Seven of IndianaMat.com's top twenty teams are set to do battle on Wednesday and Thursday and no one appears to have set themselves apart after the brackets were released Sunday afternoon.
 
Arch rivals #8 Penn and the host #5 Mishawaka lead the way with eight seeded wrestlers each.  #4 Merrillville and #20 Jimtown both have seven seeded wrestlers.  Perennial state powers #7 Lawrence North and #10 Bellmont check in next with six seeded wrestlers.  #12 Center Grove has five seeded wrestlers.  Other schools that appear primed to have a say in the team race include Elkhart Memorial, Columbus East and Prairie Heights.
 
Unlike the team race, the majority of the weight classes seem to have clear favorites this year.
 
Weight Class Previews
 
103
 
This year's most hyped frosh, Lawrence North's Nathan Boston is the number one seed and the number one ranked wrestler in the state.  He earned his lofty ranking by making mincemeat out of everyone he has faced this year.  Included in Boston's path of destruction is the second seeded and fourteenth ranked Santo Marciano.  Boston defeated the Raging Calf 17-5 a couple of weeks ago at Calumet.  Expect a closer match on Thursday, but not close enough to make Lawrence North coach Jared Williams sweat too much.  Other wrestlers to keep an eye on are #16 Michael Garza of Merrillville and Codey Flickinger of Elkhart Memorial.
 
112
 
The 112 pound class is one of the deeper classes at Mishawaka this year with many fine wrestlers not earning seeds.  At the top is defending 103 champion and 4th ranked Jarred Brooks of Warsaw.  Brooks will look to shake off some rust after missing the first half of the season.  The top half of the bracket has many other fine wrestlers such as Zech Weese of Rochester, Grant Martsoff of Mishawaka, and Anthony Scholettle of Center Grove.  None, however, appear to have the ammo to take down Brooks.  The bottom half of the bracket is absolutely brutal.  Up to seven of the wrestlers in this half of the bracket have legitimate shot at the finals.  Third seeded and thirteenth ranked Aurelio Medina of Munster is my pick but state placer Danny Hamm of Prairie Heights, Lawrence North's Alex Sparks, and South Bend Adams' super soph Sammy Ferdig will all provide stiff challenges to Medina.
 
119
 
Another clear favorite appears at the top of the bracket at 119.  Lake Central's Kyle Ayersman was the state champ last year at 112 and has picked up where he left off last year.  The number one seed, Ayersman, did suffer his only loss of the season in the finals of the Al Smith last year.  Second seeded and 5th ranked Robert Boston of Lawrence North comes into the tournament on a hot streak after defeating highly ranked Levi Moss of Ben Davis in the finals of the Marion County Tournament.
 
125
 
Yet another clear front runner headlines the 125 lb. bracket with Mishawaka's 3rd ranked Layten Binion.  Binion appears to have separated himself from the field after a breakout campaign as a sophomore which saw him place 7th in the state at 119.  Binion has signature wins this year over former state runner-up Dustin Kief of Franklin and 6th seeded Tyler Chapple of Penn.  It is unfortunate that Merrillville's Adam Garcia is on the same side of the bracket as I believe he might be the second best wrestler in the bracket.  Princeton's veteran Alex Griesemer might just navigate the bottom of the bracket on his way to the finals.
 
130
 
Alex Gregory's decision to wrestle at 135 for the tournament probably made the 130 weight class as wide open as any this year.  This class is still the deepest of any at Mishawaka.  Prairie Heights' top seeded Travis Barroquillo won two out of three matches with seconded seeded Taylor Wisler of Mishawaka last year and they are ranked third and fourth respectively in the state.  The lower seeds are not far behind and they include Merrillville's Al Padilla, Lawrence North's Jordan Johnson, Jimtown's Collin Crume, Penn's Trevor Manspeaker, and Columbus East's Zach Reiker.  Four unseeded wrestlers with 2 or fewer losses make this class outstanding.
 
135
 
The addition of Penn's Alex Gregory to the 135 bracket made a strong field even stronger.  There are not the same number of kids here with state wide credentials (yet) but there is plenty of talent.  I would expect Gregory to have little trouble with the top half of the bracket.  The four seeds in the bottom half have four total losses.  I like Steven Rieker of Columbus East to become the Olympians' first Al Smith finalist.
 
140
 
The 140 class features two returning state placers and two other ranked individuals.  Lake Central has another top seed in Bradley Wartman.  Wartman has a 5th place state medal(at 135) on his resume which garnered him the top seed over Lawrence North's Matt Rattay who placed 7th at 135.  Throwing a monkey wrench into the equation is Bellmont's Brooks Faurote who defeated Wartman in the 3rd place match at last years tournament.  Goshen's Ryan Ntende has Al Smith hardware from last year as well and comes in as the four seed.
 
145
 
Calling any weight class weak at the Al Smith Invite does not make sense but 145, 152, and 160 probably do not have the depth that many of the other class possess.  What this often means is that there is an opportunity for some relatively unknown wrestlers to make a name for themselves on the statewide scene.  At 145, Elkhart Memorial's Dantrell Goodman(12th ranked) is the number one seed and highest ranked wrestler. Penn's Grant Anglemyer is ranked thirteenth and the number two seed.  I like Merrillville's Javier Avalos to author a couple of upsets on his way to finals where he will likely face Anglemyer.
 
152
 
Elkhart Memorial has two number one seeds in a row with standout Cam Matteson topping the 152 bracket.  He must be ready to go right off the bat as he faces unseeded but very tough Kelly Kolat of South Bend Riley in the first round. This entire bracket seems wide open.  I like Munster's underrated Luke Smith to upset Matteson in the semis on his way to the finals where he might meet sixth seeded Darius Marshall of Mishawaka in the finals.  Marshall is a big match veteran.  Honestly it would not surprise me to see any of about eight different wrestlers in the finals at 152.
 
160
 
There has been no sign of Chesterton's Anthony Quiroz in any results this year but the former state runner up is scheduled to make his first appearance this year at the Al Smith as he is top seed.  He should have a couple of tests if he wishes to defend his championship as he will probably have to defeat Prairie Heights' Ryan Chandler, Columbus East's David Johnson and LaPorte's top gun and Duneland Conference rival, Alex Stewart.  If Quiroz can navigate that minefield, he will likely face the winner between ninth ranked Sean Mappes of Center Grove and fourteenth ranked Michael Taylor of Lawrence Central.
 
171
 
If there is a sure thing at this year's tournament, it is Drake Stein of Princeton. Ranked first in the state, defending state champion, and two time Al Smith champ are just the tip of the Stein resume.  He is a Purdue recruit as well as a national greco runner up.  His likely finals opponent is Bellmont's second seeded and fifth ranked Ryley Hankenson.  Other challengers include ranked wrestlers, Joe Peco of Hobart (14th), Aston Brierly of Columbus East(12th) and undefeated Brandon Weinkauf of Jimtown.
 
189
 
189 should be a deep and exciting class with no clearcut favorite.  State qualifier Brandon Dillenbeck of Goshen is the number one seed and ranked ninth in the state.  He should be tested on his side of the bracket by NLC rivals Ross Hoover of Warsaw and Chase Spears of Elkhart Memorial.  The four seeded wrestlers in the bottom half of the bracket have two total losses.  Included in this foursome is fourth ranked Kourtney Berry of Merrillville(2nd seed), Jimtown's dangerous Tanner Adams(3rd seed), Lawrence North's undefeated and underrated Jeremy Haskett (6th seed), as well as 21-1 Alex Skipper of South Bend Adams.
 
215
 
The Bellmont fan brigade will be in Mishawaka until the end as the Braves have secured the top seed at both 215 hand heavyweight.  Travis Thatcher claimed the top spot at 215 based on his 7th place finish at state last year as well as an Al Smith title at 189.  Second seed Taylor Grubb of Prairie Heights also has a state medal on his resume.  Grubb is currently ranked third and Thatcher 4th in the state.  Not far behind these two are the third seeded Devin Reagan of Penn and Munster's fourth seed Jack Seaman.  These two are ranked 7th and 8th respectively.  All four have been tested in the first half of the season so the semi finals should be very exciting.
 
285
 
Bellmont's little big man, Daniel Meyer tops the heavyweight bracket as he looks to add an Al Smith championship to his already impressive body of work.  Meyer uses his quickness and hustle to outwork most heavyweights he has encountered over the past three years of battling the big boys.  If Jimtown's second seeded Eric Forrest can get to the finals he might possess the right combination of size and athleticism to cause Meyer some headaches in the finals.

499
Tune Up for Title Run – Bellmont Duals
The holidays are over and most school have returned to business as usual. For the eight schools wrestling at the Bellmont Duals on Saturday, it will be anything but business as usual. This annual gathering of elite teams from throughout the state will serve as a measuring stick for teams with state title aspirations as they edge closer to the championship season of conference and sectional action.
 
Headlining this years Bellmont Duals are the second ranked Perry Meridian Falcons coached by Jim Tonte. The Falcons' lineup features eight ranked grapplers spread out nicely through the weight classes. The depth of studs in the lineup have allowed Perry Meridian to dominate one of the toughest schedules in the state. At Bellmont, they will be tested by three of northern Indiana's best teams in Penn, Mishawaka, and Bellmont. Top ranked 125 pound junior Jared McKinley along with his classmate, #5 ranked Kirk Johnson at 152 both have been on the podium at Conseco and they will be looked on to lead the Falcons to a team state title. Super frosh 112 pounder Cody LeCount(ranked 5th) was one of the most talked about freshman in the state and he has proven himself nicely with wins over a number of ranked wrestlers in one of the deepest weight classes in the state.
 
The rumble from the north on Saturday morning will be in the form of longtime rivals, seventh ranked Penn and sixth ranked Mishawaka. The Kingsmen have some momentum after a team victory at the Al Smith Invitational. Their number one gun is top ranked 130 pound Alex Gregory. He is a two time state qualifier and one time placer. Gregory has wrestled much of the season at 135 and his dominance has allowed coach Brad Harper to be flexible with his line up. Other leaders in Penn's line up include eighth ranked Devin Reagan at 215 and #12 Grant Anglemyer at 145. Anglemyer is coming off an individual championship at the Al Smith.
 
Mishawaka will roll into Decatur a little banged up but never shy to test themselves against the state's elite. Coach Darrick Snyder has been able to count on his one-two punch of Layten Binion and Taylor Wisler all season. Both wrestlers have spent time on the podium at Conseco and both look to do the same this year. Binion is currently ranked third at 125 and will get the chance to test his skills against top ranked Jared McKinley of Perry Meridian.
 
The host Bellmont Braves also have some nice momentum on their side after the holidays. Their narrow loss to Penn at Al Smith seems to show that the Braves are going to be ready for a potential regional match up with Yorktown. You better get to coach Brent Faurote's Braves early in their line up as they possess a murderer's row in the upper weights. Fifth ranked Riley Hankenson at 171, tenth ranked Will Busse at 189, third ranked Travis Thatcher at 215, and top ranked heavyweight Daniel Meyer can easily bring the Braves back or put them in a nice lead depending on the starting weight of a dual.
 
Overshadowed a bit but still very dangerous is the states fourteenth ranked team, Bloomington South. Coach Royce Deckard brings a very solid dual meet team with three ranked wrestlers. Included among them is second ranked senior Jacob Boomsma at 103. A favorite to wrestle for a state championship next month, Boomsma has not been seriously tested this year.
 
Coming for the second year in a row to Bellmont from the deep south is last year's state semi finalist Castle. While not ranked in the IndianaMat top 20 at this time, they are ranked fourteenth by the coaches so no one will take the Knights lightly. Coach Bob Harmon's line up features five ranked wrestlers including the state's top ranked 152 and 160 pound wrestlers in Doug and Chad Welch. Doug was the runner up at 145 last year and Chad finished third. Following in the Welch twin's footsteps is little brother Luke. Luke, a sophomore, was a state finalist last year and is currently ranked fourth in the state at 119.
 
Rounding out the line up of teams at the Bellmont Duals are Whitko and Fairfield. These two smaller schools are both traditionally strong programs but realistically are probably looking at Saturday as a way to test some of their better wrestlers against the state's elite. Both schools have a ranked wrestler in their line up. Whitko has fourteenth ranked Jordan Gilbert at 119 and Fairfield has thirteenth ranked Alex Hostetler at 171.
 
Thirty ranked wrestlers, five top ranked individuals and six ranked teams will make the Bellmont Duals a wrestling fan's mecca come Saturday morning. If 9AM is too late to get your wrestling fix, come break bread and talk wrestling with Y2, littlevito, and myself at Indiana House of Pancakes at 8AM.
 
P.S. If you have children, please see Y2 for some very cheap(free?) IndianaMat shirts and shorts. His wife is tired of the seeing the box of clothing around the house.
 
MATCH UPS
Round 1
Bellmont vs Bloomington South
Castle vs Perry Meridian
Whitko vs Penn
Mishawaka vs Fairfield
 
Round 2
Bellmont vs Castle
Mishawaka vs Bloomington South
Perry Meridian vs Whitko
Penn vs Fairfield
 
Round 3
Bellmont vs Mishawaka
Bloomington South vs Penn
Whitko vs Castle
Perry Meridian vs Fairfield
 
Round 4
Bellmont vs Perry Meridian
Penn vs Castle
Whitko vs Mishawaka
Bloomington South vs Fairfield
 
Round 5
Bellmont vs Penn
Mishawaka vs Perry Meridian
Whitko vs Bloomington South
Castle vs Fairfield

923
IndianaMat Team Power Rankings
Due to this year’s IHSAA State Championship being determined at the individual state finals, we have developed a power poll based off of the IndianaMat individual rankings. This poll will simply give point values to each ranking spot and totals them up for each team.




Rank
Team
Total


1
Indianapolis Cathedral
70


2
Penn
68


3
Franklin Community
67


4
Lowell
64


5
Perry Meridian
62


6
Crown Point
48


7
Warren Central
45


8
Mishawaka
42


9
Yorktown
37


10(tie)
Merrillville
35


10(tie)
Evansville Mater Dei
35


12
Bloomington South
34


13
New Palestine
33


14
East Noble
29


15
Evansville Central
26


16
Hanover Central
25


17
Western Boone
23


18(tie)
Mount Vernon (Posey)
22


18(tie)
Lake Central
22


18(tie)
Kokomo
22


18(tie)
Ben Davis
22


Point values are as follows:
1-22
2-18
3-13
4-11
5-8
6-6
7-4
8-3
9-2
10-2
11-2
12-2
13-1
14-1
15-1
16-1

2056
2013/2014 Conference Tournament Brackets
Allen County Athletic Conference at Garrett
 
Duneland Athletic Conference at Merrillville
 
Great Lakes Athletic Conference
 
Hoosier Conference at Benton Central
 
Hoosier Crossroads Conference
 
Hoosier Hills Conference
 
Indianapolis Public Schools Athletic Conference at George Washington
 
Metropolitan Conference at Warren Central
 
Mid Indiana Conference at Peru
 
NorthEast Corner Conference at Fairfield
 
Northeast Hoosier Conference at Bellmont
 
Northern Indiana Conference at Mishawaka
 
Northern State Conference
 
Sagmore Athletic Conference at North Montgomery
 
Summit Athletic Conference at Snider
 
Southern Indiana Athletic Conference at Castle
 
Southern Indiana Wrestling Conference at Southwestern(Hanover)
 
Three Rivers Conference

477
IndianaMat Team Power Rankings 1/12/14
Due to this year’s IHSAA State Championship being determined at the individual state finals, we have developed a power poll based off of the IndianaMat individual rankings. This poll will simply give point values to each ranking spot and totals them up for each team.




Rank
Team
Total
Number Ranked


1
Indianapolis Cathedral
102
7


2
Franklin Community
77
7


3(tie)
Perry Meridian
59
8


3(tie)
Penn
59
9


3(tie)
Lowell
59
4


6
Evansville Mater Dei
46
9


7(tie)
Mishawaka
42
3


7(tie)
Crown Point
42
5


9(tie)
Warren Central
39
5


9(tie)
Merrillville
39
7


11
Yorktown
36
6


12
East Noble
29
5


13
New Palestine
28
4


14(tie)
Hanover Central
24
2


14(tie)
Evansville Central
24
2


16(tie)
Western Boone
23
2


16(tie)
Lake Central
23
2


16(tie)
Evansville Reitz
23
3


19(tie)
Bloomington South
23
4


19(tie)
Mount Vernon (Posey)
22
1


19(tie)
Elkhart Memorial
22
1


Point values are as follows:
1-22
2-18
3-13
4-11
5-8
6-6
7-4
8-3
9-2
10-2
11-2
12-2
13-1
14-1
15-1
16-1

467
IHSWCA Team State: Mistakes of 2014
It is time to challenge the leaders of the IHSWCA. This event was started to show the IHSAA how a classed event can be done. Yet it seems we took a huge step backwards in the second year. Last year we offered some simple suggestions in order to improve the product and unfortunately the IHSWCA did not look into any of them. Before we go on, we will once again post them in hopes that the IHSWCA will look into these.


Suggestions for Year Two and Beyond
 
While the IHSWCA did a great job and hit a home run with this event, I feel that they are still not even close to what this event can be.  Here are a few suggestions that they will hopefully look at for the future.
 
Facilities
 
Westfield has great facilities that 99% of the schools in the state are jealous of, but the place was cramped on the floor. The IHSWCA should look into having the event at a place like the Pepsi Coliseum at the fairgrounds. That would add a lot of flare to the event and give it more prestige with it being held outside of a high school.
 
Team Entry Fee
 
It seems weird for the IHSWCA to invite a team, then charge them to enter the event. What about waiving or reducing the entry fee if a team sells X amount of presale tickets? This is a great way for teams to save money and get more fans to the event.  This would also be a great way for teams to recoup some of their expenses if the IHSWCA would give teams a cut of their sales after X number of tickets sold.
 
Promotion
 
This is where I feel the IHSWCA really dropped the ball. This event should have been shoved down the throats of the fans of the sport since the start of practice in late October.  Have someone create a webpage (not in MS Word) with all the information for the event. Maybe ask some person at IndianaMat for a banner ad and other promotional help, they seemed to do well with that preseason event in September.
 
Sponsors
 
Need more sponsors! This is a great event and there seemed to be a lack of sponsors. Sponsors could help with securing a facility like the Pepsi Coliseum and reduce team travel expenses. Hotel sponsors would love to give a reduced rate for people attending the event. Restaurants would love to hand out coupons and such. The list goes on and these companies would love to have acknowledgement during the event.
1. Lack of promotion
 
If you treat it like a big deal, people will think it's a big deal.
 
Once again we are addressing this issue and sadly this year's version of the event was treated like a regular weekend super dual. Many people did not have simple information such as admission fee and even the start times. On top of that, there were what seemed to be 100 topics asking what teams were at the event. The IHSWCA NEEDS to step up and promote this event as the Super Bowl of wrestling in Indiana. They NEED to promote the event as much as possible. Their Facebook page didn't even have anything about the event until the day of it.
 
Here are some more simple suggestions on promotion.


Purchase a banner on IndianaMat- Yes I know it is like doing a deal with the devil, but guess what? In the past month on the messageboard alone there have been over 1.3 million, yes MILLION, page views. Having a banner on the site will get the dates, teams, locations, etc in front of the masses.
Talk to someone(hint hint) that might have access to social media with a great reach in Indiana- Again this is doing another deal with the devil, but that person wanted to help YOUR event and was shunned. Are you going to make that mistake again?
Promote the draw- Is the NCAA basketball draw during the conference tournaments or after when everyone can watch? The draw was a huge area of concern and question for all the classes. Get the date as one that you will get a big target audience. Those Google Hangouts seems to be going well, why not have those folks at IndianaMat release the draw that way?
Get the information out to the print media. Reporters were struggling to find information on the event.
2. The draw
 
First we had a change in the date, which wasn't a bad idea....but the IHSWCA didn't tell anyone of the change. THEN they do it on one of the busiest weekends of the year in terms of wrestling.  Also see #3 above on suggestions as this is the most anticipated part of the event.
 
3. Lack of communication
 
When coaches aren't aware of weigh-in times it is one thing, but add to that a general lack of knowledge of the start of the event or even how much it costs for admission. Quite simply, keep the coaches and their personnel in the loop when it comes to times and any changes that occur. On top of that do not forget about keeping the members of the media in the loop also. There is still a small core of wrestling enthusiasts in the print media realm that would love to promote the event and they are not being used effectively.
 
4. Promotion Magazine
 
I can go lots of places with this one, so let’s start off easy. It should come out a week in advance at least, not two days in advance. Also most of the information could easily be compiled way earlier in the year with the only updates that need to be made would be schedule and roster. Lastly, the lack of standard formatting in the roster and schedule make it hard to read and keep interested. It shouldn't be too hard to have a standard format for the whole magazine.  Lastly, do not use press releases by outside sources without permission.
 
5. Venue, Venue, Venue
 
As I stated last year, Westfield has great facilities, but this event should be moved to facilities that are more fan friendly in terms of being able to watch EVERYTHING going on. Here are a couple hints, the Pepsi Coliseum and even the Indiana Convention center that can host 8-12 mats easily.
 
6. Tournament Running Mistakes
 
Was this the IHSWCA’s first time running an event? Two big mistakes occurred. First, the finals were started before the 3rd place matches were complete…in the other gym! Secondly you moved one of the more anticipated matches (Penn vs. Perry Meridian) to the fieldhouse. The fans for both teams were forced to wrestle with a lack of proper seating.
 
7. Treat the Media like Royalty
 
This shouldn’t be a suggestion, it should be mandatory, yet the media is not given much information about the event. Things as simple as providing internet, printed results and a place for them to work is a big deal and can go a long way to help this event become what it should. Treat them right, because there are very few that still cover this sport.
 
8. Financials
 
When will we see them?
 
9. Who won the individual awards?
 
Why don't we know this? Why isn't this promoted?
 
10. IHSAA Tradition Factor
 
Last year the IHSAA instituted a tradition factor for team sports in order to level the playing field when certain schools were dominating in a particular sport. Will the IHSWCA implement this in their tournament? Since the IHSWCA has modeled this event off IHSAA rules and regulations it would seem we should see this implemented immediately....right?
 
 

436
Genius Ratings 1/20/2014
Genius POTENTIAL is a score-based rating system that isolates your team's true quality within the context of your schedule.  It is the exact system used by data analysts as the foundation for establishing point spreads for college and professional sports.
The rating your team has compared to another team is approximately the expected difference between you and them in a dual meet.  It is only accurate in this regard for teams within about 40 points above and below you.
Strength of schedule numbers are based only on the results included in the ratings.  If a team or its schedule appears overrated or underrated, it could be because of missing results.  However, history has shown that these ratings are, with typically only a few exceptions, quite accurate by mid-January.  This version of the ratings takes into account all dual and tournament results recorded on IndianaMat.com through January 17, 2014.
 
[table id=50 /]

440
IndianaMat Team Power Rankings 1/21/14
Due to this year’s IHSAA State Championship being determined at the individual state finals, we have developed a power poll based off of the IndianaMat individual rankings. This poll will simply give point values to each ranking spot and totals them up for each team.




Rank
Team
Total
Num Ranked


1
Indianapolis Cathedral
105
7


2
Franklin Community
76
7


3
Penn
57
9


4(tie)
Evansville Mater Dei
56
9


4(tie)
Perry Meridian
56
10


6
Lowell
49
4


7(tie)
Crown Point
46
4


7(tie)
Merrillville
46
7


9(tie)
Mishawaka
42
3


9(tie)
Warren Central
42
6


11
Yorktown
36
6


12
New Palestine
31
5


13
East Noble
27
4


14
Bloomington South
25
4


15(tie)
Evansville Central
24
2


15(tie)
Hanover Central
24
2


17(tie)
Elkhart Memorial
22
1


17(tie)
Lake Central
22
1


17(tie)
Mount Vernon (Posey)
22
1


17(tie)
Western Boone
22
1


Point Values are as follows




1
22


2
18


3
13


4
11


5
8


6
6


7
4


8
3


9
2


10
2


11
2


12
2


13
1


14
1


15
1


16
1



455
Class AA Standings and Results
*Note the rankings are strictly based of wins and losses. Each team gets 1 point for a win and -.5 points for a loss.
 
Click on a team for more information about their wins and losses.
[standings league_id=2 group=AA]

380
Class AAA Standings and Results
*Note the rankings are strictly based of wins and losses. Each team gets 1 point for a win and -.5 points for a loss.
 
Click on a team for more information about their wins and losses.
[standings league_id=2 group=AAA]

341
Overall Standings and Results
*Note the rankings are strictly based of wins and losses. Each team gets 1 point for a win and -.5 points for a loss.
 
Click on a team for more information about their wins and losses.
 
[standings league_id=2]

728
Genius Ratings Version 2.0
Computer Ratings for every Indiana High School wrestling team
 
--presented by Maligned on behalf of Indianamat.com
 
What are “Genius Ratings”?
 
Indianamat.com’s “Genius Ratings” are comprehensive computer ratings based on every match result presented in the results section of Indianamat.com’s discussion page, plus many other results gleaned from websites and coaches’ sources. Even matches with out-of-state teams were considered when that team wrestled at least two Indiana opponents.
 
Two Ratings
 
The “Genius Ratings” are made up of two separate ratings designed to serve two distinctly different purposes. One rating is called POTENTIAL and uses match scores only to rate all teams, disregarding wins and losses. The other rating is called REWARD and uses only wins and losses data, not considering scores at all.
 
POTENTIAL
 
POTENTIAL is specifically designed to be the best possible predictor of future results. It was designed 5 years ago by Maligned and is virtually identical to rating systems currently being incorporated Jeff Sagarin at USA Today, Joe Lunardi at ESPN, baseball analyst Bill James, top Las Vegas odds-makers, and others. This system locks in a team’s true potential by measuring its score differential within the context of its schedule, considering a team’s context to the 100th degree of separation from other teams, if necessary. The difference in rating between your team and another is the expected point differential in a dual meet. Multiply the difference in rating by three to arrive at the expected differential in a full-team individual tournament event. The predictive effect is most useful for teams within about 40 points of each other. (The top teams and bottom teams are separated by impossibly large margins because a top team can beat a good team by 40, which can beat a mid-level team by 40, which can beat a bottom team by 40).
 
REWARD
 
The rating entitled “REWARD” is a more politically correct ranking, designed to slot teams according to only their wins and losses within the context of their schedule. No score results are involved with this ranking at all. Again, teams are measured against others as far away as the 100th degree of separation or beyond if necessary. This ranking is ideologically similar to most of the computer ranking systems currently being used by the BCS in college football. About 5% more results were used for this than for POTENTIAL for various reasons (post-football issues, lack of score information, etc.)
 
Duals AND Tournament Results Used
 
All possible results were used for these rankings, including individual tournaments. Analysis shows that in full-team, regular season events, final scores of tournaments are great predictors of which teams would defeat which other teams in dual meets. POTENTIAL considers all score differentials between your team and others at all individual tournaments and divides them by 3. In other words, if Team A defeats Team B by 15 points in a tournament, the score differential is recorded as +5 for Team A, not +15. A win or a loss for finishing ahead or behind a particular opponent at an individual tournament was also incorporated into the REWARD rating. Finally, all individual tournament results are only weighted as being 50% as important as dual meets (except 32-team events, which weight 40% only). For example, you would have to beat a team twice in an individual tournament to receive the same rating benefit as beating them in a dual meet.
 
Example: Team A finishes 3rd place out of 8 teams in an event and +102 in score against all 7 opponents. Team A’s record is listed as 5-2 against these seven opponents and its POTENTIAL point differential is listed as +34 for these seven separate competitions. Again, all results are then only 50% as important as duals.
 
Strength of Schedule
 
The Strength of Schedule (SOS) component listed here is only as accurate and complete as the information we had available. Some SOS ratings are based on 5 or fewer matches for a team. Especially for some of the very small schools at the bottom of the ratings, the SOS rating can be almost completely disregarded.
 
The Future of the “Genius Ratings”
 
Indianamat.com plans to update the “Genius Ratings” at least every other week from here on out, sooner if possible.

Reward
All Classes
Class AAA
Class AA
Class A
Sorted By Sectional

Potential
All Classes
Class AAA
Class AA
Class A
Sorted by sectional

360
2012/2013 Genius Ratings Potential
From the desk of Maligned:
Most data through December 8 matches is included.  All ratings should be taken very lightly until more connections can be made between schools. Especially any school with less than five in the "competitions" column should be considered quite inaccurate at this point. Also, we're still filtering out some post-football results that may accidentally be here and shouldn't.
 
Remember that POTENTIAL is based on point results only (not wins and losses) and is a much stronger predictor of future success than is a wins/losses based rating.
 
No strength of schedule data is included at this point because it is a virtually useless calculation until more matches are wrestled.
 
Enjoy!
 
For more information on the Genius Ratings click this link
http://www.indianamat.com/genius-ratings-version-2-0/2011/01/
 
*Hint: Click the table headings to sort by the different columns or use the search to narrow your search by class, sectional or conference.
 
[table id=10 /]

461
IndianaMat.com Team Rankings 1/13/2014
Rank
Last
Team
W-L
Notable Wins
Losses
Recent Matches


1
1
Franklin Comm.
15-0
EMD, PM, Yorktown

W, Yorktown 44-16


2
2
Ev. Mater Dei
12-1
Penn, Merrillville
Franklin
W, Merrillville 37-28


3
3
Penn
15-1
PM, Cathedral
EMD
W, Bellmont 53-13


4
4
Perry Meridian
15-2
Avon, Mishawaka, Bellmont
Penn, Franklin
W, Mishawaka 52-16


5
5
Merrillville
11-1
CP, Portage
EMD
L, EMD 37-28


6
6
Yorktown
26-1
New Pal, Bellmont
Franklin
L, Franklin 44-16


7
7
Cathedral
12-2
Crown Pt, Portage, Warren C.
Franklin, Penn
W, Westfield 43-20


8
10
Warren Central
5-3
Avon, Bloomington South
Cathedral (2X), Franklin



9
8
New Palestine
15-1
Bellmont
Yorktown



10
12
Carroll (FW)
15-0
Bellmont




11
11
Crown Point
7-4
Westfield, Portage
Franklin, Cathedral, Portage, Merr.
W, Portage 36-28


12
9
Portage
13-5
Crown Point, Mishawaka
Merr., Franklin, Cathedral, Penn, CP
L, CP 36-28


13
14
Mishawaka
12-4
Lowell,Bellmont
Portage, Southmont, Westfield, PM
W, Bellmont 48-21


14
13
Avon
13-3

Cathedral, Warren Central, PM
W, Zionsville 45-14


15
18
Evansville Mem.
14-2

Mater Dei, Union Co. (KY)
W, Center Grove 51-11


16
HM
Bellmont
8-6
Bloomington South
New Pal, Y, Carroll, Penn, Mish, PM
W, Bloomington S. 45-29


17
16
Carmel
13-3
Westfield , HSE
LN, HSE, Bloomington South



18
17
Westfield
17-2
Southmont, Mishawaka
Crown Point, Cathedral
W, Southmont 45-13


19
20
Franklin Central
13-0





20
15
Bloomington So.
20-7
Carmel
CG, EMD, PM, WC, Bellmont, Penn, Mish



HM

Lowell






HM

North Mont.






HM

Hanover Central






HM

Center Grove







479
IndianaMat.com Team Rankings 1/8
Rank
Last
Team
W-L
Notable Wins
Losses
Recent Matches


1
HM
Franklin Comm.
14-0
EMD, PM, Cathedral

W, EMD 30-27


2
HM
Ev. Mater Dei
7-1
Penn
Franklin
W, Penn 28-25


3
2
Penn
11-1
PM, Cathedral
EMD
W, PM 35-27


4
1
Perry Meridian
11-2
Avon
Penn, Franklin



5
5
Merrillville
6-0
CP, Portage

W, CP


6
7
Yorktown
22-0
New Palestine, North Mont.

W, North Mont 46-12


7
8
Cathedral
10-2
Crown Pt, Portage, Warren C.
Franklin, Penn
W, Warren C. 35-29


8
10
New Palestine
15-1

Yorktown



9
9
Portage
12-4
Crown Point, Mishawaka
Merrillville, Franklin, Cathedral, Penn



10
6
Warren Central
5-3
Avon, Bloomington South
Cathedral, Franklin
W, Bloom. So 42-15


11
11
Crown Point
5-4
Westfield
Franklin, Cathedral, Portage, Merr.



12
HM
Carroll (FW)
15-0





13
13
Avon
7-3
HSE, Brownsburg
Cathedral, Warren Central, PM



14
14
Mishawaka
9-3
Lowell
Portage, Southmont, Westfield



15
HM
Bloomington So.
19-4
Carmel, N. Mont
CG, EMD, Warren C., PM



16
16
Carmel
13-3
N. Montgomery, Westfield
LN, HSE, Bloom. So.



17
17
Westfield
14-1
Southmont, Mishawaka
Crown Point



18
HM
Evansville Mem.
9-2
Ev. Reitz
Mater Dei, Union Co. (KY)



19
19
North Montgomery
16-3
Southmont
Yorktown, Carmel, Bloom. So.



20
20
Franklin Central
8-0





HM

Lowell






HM

Southmont






HM

Hanover Central






HM

New Prairie







583
2013 Year in Review
This past year was filled with a lot of great stories in the sport of wrestling. Here is a recap of the top ten stories from the year in no particular order.
 
1. Angel and Reece on World Team
 
Two of the seven representatives on the World Team this year were former state champions. Angel Escobedo and Reece Humphrey both wrestled for Team USA in Budapest, Hungary. Escobedo placed 5th and narrowly missed a medal. Humphrey battled his way to the quarter-finals only to drop his match on a late push-out.
 
2. Howe is back
 
After what seemed like an eternity, Andrew Howe is back on the mat. He started the season out with a win at the All-Star Classic against the returning national runner-up and has already defeated the returning champion at Bedlam. He will look to cap his final NCAA season with another title.
 
3. 600 Wrestlers at the IHPO
 
In what started as a little wrestling tournament with 170 wrestlers on 4 mats has exploded to one of the best preseason tournaments in the country. This year there were over 600 wrestlers on 12 mats at Carroll High School. This year four wrestlers joined an exclusive club as being a two-time champion in Nathan Boston, Brendon Kelley, Austin McCloskey and Josh Alber.
 
4. Tsirtsis on Junior World Team
 
Jason Tsirtsis made his first World Team this year when he qualified for the FILA Junior World Team in May. He wrestled 66kg(145.5lbs) for Team USA in Sofia, Bulgaria in September. He won his first two matches before dropping his third match to his opponent from Iran. He ended up placing 7th in the tournament.
 
5. Micic on Cadet World Team
 
Stevan Micic made his first World Team in 2013 also, when he qualified for the FILA Cadet World Team. He wrestled in Zrenjanin, Serbia, which is actually where he still has family. He wrestled 54kg(119lbs) and dropped his first and only match to Nematdin Rahmanov of Azerbaijan.
 
6. Perry Takes Title #3
 
Perry Meridian brought their third straight title to the south side. After having a rough quarter-final round in which they lost three of seven matches they came back to take three individual titles with one runner-up. Yorktown kept it close throughout the day until the finals where Perry increased their lead to win by 40.5 points.
 
7. Six Collegiate All-Americans
 
While no Indiana natives earned All-American status at the Division I level, there were many others in the lower divisions. At the Division II level Alex Johns and Cameryn Brady lead the way with 5th and 7th place performances respectively. At the Division II level Reece Lefever placed 7th for the Wabash Little Giants. Finally, Indiana Tech came back from NAIA Nationals with two All-Americans in Travis Barroquillo and Kris McKinley. Trivia Question: What wrestling club did Lefever and Barroquillo wrestle for in high school?
 
8. Nick Lee makes an early mark
 
Mater Dei's Nick Lee had quite a year as he placed second at FILA Cadet Nationals and third at Fargo. This all as just an 8th grader. He even earned national recognition as being nationally ranked before his first freshman class.
 
9. Northwestern Nabs Third Straight Top Recruit
 
Northwestern has had a knack for snagging top recruits from around the country, but recently has just had to come to the Hoosier state to get top kids. In 2012 they brought in four-time state champion Jason Tsirtsis to the Wildcat program. Their 2013 class included another top recruit from the Hoosier state in two-time state champion Mitch Sliga. This year's class will include Hanover Central's Stevan Micic as he becomes the third straight top recruit to take his talents to Evanston.
 
10. Olympic Wrestling on the Brink of Extinction
 
During the week of the state finals this year we were dealt some devastating news that wrestling may be out of the Olympics. After FILA made some drastic changes in the structure of the organization and in the rules of the sport we still had to battle three other sports for one elusive spot in the games. In a vote on September 9th the fate of wrestling in the games was in the hands of the IOC board and their votes. The IOC voted wrestling back in the games and through a tumultuous seven months the wrestling community from around the world came together like never before.

415
Perched upon the Oak Hill
With the IHSWCA Team State Duals coming up there are lots of questions arising, such as what time are weigh-ins and what time are the finals? BUT, there is another question that has a few people including myself asking and that is about a team in little ole Richland. In doing the classifications for results purposes it came to my attention that this team was in fact a 1A team when the IHSWCA lists them as a 2A team. This is very crucial because if Oak Hill were to be listed as a 1A team they would have been on the short list to be invited to Team State next week. Instead they were not invited as there is a much deeper field in 2A.
 
Classification Information
 
First a little background on the classifications. There are 311 schools(according to the IHSWCA) with wrestling in the state. Per the IHSAA classification breakdowns they would be classed the following way: 3A with 103 teams, 2A with 104 teams and 1A with 104 teams. Also if a team were to bump up(Mater Dei did for this event) then that would count towards that class’s team count and bump team(s) down a class. For instance if you are the 103rd biggest school and Mater Dei bumps up, then you would become the 104th biggest school and go to 2A.
 
Second, where did I get my data you may ask. Here are the links for your perusal.
 
IHSWCA Classifications and Final Team State Numbers
http://indianamat.com/messageboard/index.php/topic,25569.0.html
That topic has the teams and their respective classifications updated, for instance New Haven is 2A, when they were 3A in the 2013 season.
 
IHSAA Enrollment Numbers
 
http://www.ihsaa.org/Portals/0/ihsaa/documents/quick%20resources/Boys%27%20Basketball%20Classifications%202013-15.pdf
 
This link was used due to it having all of the schools with wrestling listed.
 
See the table at the bottom of the article for the teams and class comparisons for the IHSWCA and IndianaMat.
 
Questions to Ask
 
How did this happen?
The IHSAA sent a press release with the new enrollments on February 26, 2013. The attached document however is different than what is posted on the IHSAA website, thus it was modified after the press release was sent out.
 
Did the IHSWCA Fumble the ball on this?
Throughout the checks and balances of the process they all went off the same document and thus did not use the IHSAA’s website for the information as I did. This could be a mistake, but at the same time no one checked the IHSAA site for the information.
 
What can the IHSWCA do?
Being this late in the game, who knows what they can and will do. It seems Oak Hill has a very talented team this year and could make a good run at a 1A title, but instead will be sitting at home. Will they get an invite next year….or will they still be listed as a 2A school? Those are two questions that will remain to be asked.
 
Final Thoughts
 
This is a situation that the IHSWCA needs to address immediately as we have a team that should have been considered for an invite, but was not even in the running due to a clerical error. This team, their coaches and fans were not given the opportunity to wrestle in this event. The IHSWCA used the data provided to them, however at the same time they did not go through a thorough check of the data compiled. There are also some teams in 3A and 2A that are not in their proper class. This situation is bad for all involved especially in that it affected a team that could have made an impact at these duals.
 
IndianaMat vs IHSWCA Classification Table
 
[table id=47 /]

438
IndianaMat.com Team Rankings 1/1/2014
Rank
Last
Team
W-L
Notable Wins
Losses


1
1
Perry Meridian
10-0
Center Grove, Avon



2
5
Penn
9-0
Portage



3
3
Franklin Community
11-0
Crown Point, Cathedral, Portage



4
2
Evansville Mater Dei
5-0
Ev. Memorial, Bloomington So.



5
4
Merrillville
5-0
Portage



6
7
Warren Central
4-1
Avon
Cathedral


7
10
Yorktown
19-0
New Palestine, North Mont.



8
6
Cathedral
8-1
Crown Pt, Portage, Warren C.
Franklin,


9
8
Portage
12-4
Crown Point, Mishawaka
Merrillville, Franklin, Cathedral, Penn


10
11
New Palestine
15-1

Yorktown


11
9
Crown Point
5-3
Westfield
Franklin, Cathedral, Portage


12
12
Carroll (Fort Wayne)
15-0




13
17
Avon
7-3
HSE, Brownsburg
Cathedral, Warren Central, PM


14
16
Mishawaka
9-3
Lowell
Portage, Southmont, Westfield


15
HM
Bloomington South
18-2
Carmel, N. Mont
CG, EMD


16
HM
Carmel
13-3
N. Montgomery, Westfield, HSE
LN, HSE, Bloom. So.


17
13
Westfield
14-1
Southmont, Mishawaka
Crown Point


18
18
Evansville Memorial
9-2
Ev. Reitz
Mater Dei, Union Co. (KY)


19
14
North Montgomery
16-3
Southmont
Yorktown, Carmel, Bloom. So.


20
19
Franklin Central
8-0




HM

Lowell





HM

Southmont





HM

Center Grove





HM

New Prairie






413
2013 Al Smith Pre-Seeds
Here is a listing of our predictions of the Al Smith seeding. Please note this is based off rankings and information we have had access to and is not necessarily how the seeds will be played out.
 
[table id=48 /]

332
IndianaMat.com Team Rankings 12/23
Rank
Last
Team
W-L
Notable Wins
Losses
Recent Matches


1
1
Perry Meridian
10-0
Center Grove, Avon

Marion Co. Champs


2
2
Evansville Mater Dei
5-0
Ev. Memorial, Bloomington South

W, Union Co. (KY)


3
3
Franklin Community
11-0
Crown Point, Cathedral, Portage

W, Center Grove 58-3


4
4
Merrillville
5-0
Portage




5
5
Penn
9-0
Portage

W, Portage 60-9


6
8
Cathedral
8-1
Crown Pt, Portage, Warren C.
Franklin,
Indy City Champs


7
6
Warren Central
4-1
Avon
Cathedral
3rd-Marion County


8
7
Portage
12-4
Crown Point, Mishawaka
Merrillville, Franklin, Cathedral, Penn
L, Penn 60-9


9
9
Crown Point
5-3
Westfield, Lake Central
Franklin, Cathedral, Portage
W, Lake Central 49-13


10
10
Yorktown
19-0
New Palestine, North Mont.

W, Floyd Central 70-3


11
11
New Palestine
15-1

Yorktown
W, Greenfield C. 51-20


12
12
Carroll (Fort Wayne)
15-0
East Noble

W, Bellmont 36-28


13
13
Westfield
14-1
Southmont, Mishawaka
Crown Point
2nd-Hamilton Co.


14
HM
North Montgomery
11-2
Southmont
Yorktown
W, Southmont 37-33


15
14
Southmont
13-3
Mishawaka
Cathedral, Westfield, N. Montgomery
L, N. Montgomery 37-33


16
15
Mishawaka
9-3
Lowell
Portage, Southmont, Westfield



17
18
Avon
7-3
HSE, Brownsburg
Cathedral, Warren Central, PM
1st-Jeff Classic


18
HM
Evansville Memorial
9-2
Ev. Reitz
Mater Dei, Union Co. (KY)



19
HM
Franklin Central
8-0


2nd-Marion County


20
16
Center Grove
5-2
Bloomington South
Perry Meridian, Franklin
L, Franklin 58-3



358
Indianamat.com Team Rankings 12/16
1. Perry Meridian (3-0)
 
W, Avon 51-12
 
2. Ev. Mater Dei (3-0)
 
W, Bloomington South 51-15
 
3. Franklin Community (7-0)
 
Won Traicoff
 
4. Merrillville (5-0)
 
W, Portage 35-29
 
5. Penn (3-0)
 
6. Warren Central (3-0)
 
W, Avon 37-27
 
7. Portage (9-2)
 
L, Merrillville, Cathedral and Franklin
W, Crown Point and Mishawaka
 
8. Cathedral (6-2)
L, Franklin 37-31;
W, Portage 38-27
 
W, Southmont, Crown Point
 
9. Crown Point (3-3)
 
L to Franklin, Cathedral, Portage
 
10. Yorktown (13-0)
 
W, North Mongtomery
 
11. New Palestine (6-1)
 
12. Carroll (FW) (9-0)
 
13. Westfield (13-0)
 
5th at Traicoff
 
14. Southmont (11-2)
 
W, Mishawaka 36-34
 
L, Cathedral, Westfield
 
15. Mishawaka (9-2)
 
L, Portage 37-28; Southmont 36-34
 
16. Center Grove (5-1)
 
W, Bloomington South 33-32
 
4th at Zionsville Invite
 
17. Bloomington South (3-1)
 
W, Jasper 40-27
 
L, Center Grove 33-32
 
18. Avon (7-3)
 
L, Perry Meridian 51-12
 
W, Brownsburg 51-13
 
19. Plymouth (6-1)
 
W, Lowell 48-22
 
20. East Noble (1-1)

383
Indianamat.com Team Rankings 12/2/13
1. Perry Meridian
Won Capital City Classic
2. Evansville Mater Dei
3. Merrillville
4. Cathedral
5. Penn
6. Franklin Community
7. Warren Central
8. Crown Point
9. Yorktown (5-0)
W, #11 New Palestine 33-31
10. East Noble
11. New Palestine (4-1)
L, #9 Yorktown 33-31
12. Carroll (Fort Wayne)
Won Northern Indiana Challenge
13. Mishawaka
14. Bloomington South
15. Portage (4-0)
16. Lowell
17. Lake Central (2-0)
18. Jasper
19. Westfield (4-0)
20. Evansville Reitz