High School News

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Who do you want in your corner at state? 2023 Version
One of our favorite articles of the year is here! The premise of this is to show which coaches and let's be honest COACHING STAFFS have the most success at the most crucial times during the state series. Winning on Friday is simple, you win and you get a medal. If you lose you go home with only a ribbon from last week. Getting kids to peak at the right time is a juggling act that Barnum and Bailey would be impressed by. The coaches at the top of the list simply get things done in crucial moments and that takes years of experience along with trial and error. This article by no means says any coach is better than another, just simply looks at the data from 1992 until 2022 and shows which coaches win at state more often. 
 
This year we have a new leader of the current coaches with the highest winning percentage on Friday night. Congratulations to everyone's favorite Osceola native Jerimiah Maggart for taking the lead! We all know there will be some coaches hot on his tail this year.
 
Take the data as you want, but it is always a great conversation starter during this week.
 
Click here for all of the data
Current coaches with 10+ state qualifiers from 1992-2022

Coach Total Qualifiers Total Placers Friday % Current School Jerimiah Maggart 10 8 80.00% Jimtown Sean McGinley 121 93 76.86% Indianapolis Cathedral Darrick Snyder 106 80 75.47% Brownsburg Branden Lorek 41 30 73.17% Crown Point Chris Cooper 40 28 70.00% Columbus East Joshua Holden 19 13 68.42% Greenfield-Central Maurice Swain 24 16 66.67% Center Grove David Maldonado 88 57 64.77% Merrillville Greg Schaefer 90 58 64.44% Evansville Mater Dei Matt Schoettle 39 25 64.10% Perry Meridian Jim Tonte 112 71 63.39% Franklin Community Pat Dowty 10 6 60.00% Indian Creek Doug Welch 10 6 60.00% Zionsville Frank Bumgardner 12 7 58.33% Wawasee Bill Flatt 23 13 56.52% South Bend Riley Tony Abbott 34 19 55.88% Cowan Dan Briggs 24 13 54.17% Carroll (Fort Wayne) Phil Smith 13 7 53.85% Westfield Bob Harmon 62 33 53.23% Castle Ed Pendoski 79 40 50.63% Carmel Randy Kearby 34 17 50.00% Wabash Chad Shepherd 27 13 48.15% Western Mike Runyon 23 11 47.83% Bloomington South Brandon Sisson 19 9 47.37% Floyd Central Jim Pickard 43 20 46.51% Goshen Eric Myers 28 13 46.43% Jay County Louie Kuzdas 28 13 46.43% LaPorte Clint Gard 20 9 45.00% Rochester Lou Silverman 40 17 42.50% North Central Scott Ferguson 38 16 42.11% Evansville Reitz Gabe Cook 12 5 41.67% Terre Haute South Tony Currie 17 7 41.18% Adams Central Andy Hobbs 42 17 40.48% Peru Dan Mikesell 15 6 40.00% Mooresville Danny Struck 20 8 40.00% Jeffersonville Adam Wolf 10 4 40.00% East Central Brad Harper 78 31 39.74% Penn Larry Mattingly 36 14 38.89% Evansville Memorial Jamie Welliever 13 5 38.46% Southmont Dave Cloud 29 11 37.93% Pendleton Heights Dean Branstetter 16 6 37.50% Attica Brett Smith 11 4 36.36% Prairie Heights Johnny Henry 11 4 36.36% Harrison (WL) Doug Smoker 20 7 35.00% Eastside Andrew King 28 9 32.14% Oak Hill James Linn 13 4 30.77% New Haven Jim Wadkins 22 6 27.27% Calumet Sam Riesen 11 3 27.27% East Noble Tim Alcorn 11 3 27.27% Mount Vernon (Posey) Blane Culp 16 4 25.00% Columbia City Steven Sandefer 17 4 23.53% Mishawaka Doug Deters 13 3 23.08% Franklin County Nick Kraus 19 4 21.05% Garrett Tom Miller 18 2 11.11% Lafayette Jefferson  
All coaches with 10+ state qualifiers from 1992-2019

Coach Total Qualifiers Total Placers Friday % Wiley Craft 12 11 91.67% Todd Kendrick 13 11 84.62% Frank Svarczkopf, Jr. 12 10 83.33% Wade McClurg 17 14 82.35% Travis Walls 26 21 80.77% Jerimiah Maggart 10 8 80.00% Dan Gelarden 15 12 80.00% Brett Crousore 39 31 79.49% Nick Petrov 24 19 79.17% Perry Summitt 13 10 76.92% Sean McGinley 121 93 76.86% Darrick Snyder 106 80 75.47% Brian Weaver 12 9 75.00% Branden Lorek 41 30 73.17% Al Smith 26 19 73.08% Justin Smith 11 8 72.73% Rod Wartman 11 8 72.73% Chris Cooper 40 28 70.00% Keith Grant 10 7 70.00% Alan Goddard 10 7 70.00% Dennis Miesle 10 7 70.00% Duboris Dickerson 13 9 69.23% Grodie Crick 13 9 69.23% Joshua Holden 19 13 68.42% Mike Atwood 19 13 68.42% Paul Nicodemus 19 13 68.42% Lance Rhodes 31 21 67.74% Maurice Swain 24 16 66.67% Paul Voigt 15 10 66.67% Kevin Blundell 12 8 66.67% Mike Goebel 111 74 66.67% Bill Kelly 26 17 65.38% David Maldonado 88 57 64.77% Lance Ellis 17 11 64.71% Greg Schaefer 90 58 64.44% Zach Errett 28 18 64.29% Matt Schoettle 39 25 64.10% Chad Red 25 16 64.00% Jim Tonte 112 71 63.39% Matthew Behling 19 12 63.16% Brian Seltzer 40 25 62.50% Robert Emerick 29 18 62.07% Bob Jarrett 13 8 61.54% Jack Grimaldi 13 8 61.54% Rob Willman 18 11 61.11% Pat Dowty 10 6 60.00% Doug Welch 10 6 60.00% John Kopnisky 10 6 60.00% Brent Faurote 109 65 59.63% Kevin Troy 32 19 59.38% David Walpole 17 10 58.82% Russel Feigert 41 24 58.54% Frank Bumgardner 12 7 58.33% Dave Thompson 24 14 58.33% Royce Deckard 64 37 57.81% Bob Read 26 15 57.69% Steve Balash 52 30 57.69% Keith Hoffar 28 16 57.14% Kyle Poyer 28 16 57.14% Mike Smorin 14 8 57.14% Jim Nicholson 14 8 57.14% Bill Flatt 23 13 56.52% Larry Tharp 23 13 56.52% Trent McCormick 103 58 56.31% Bobby Howard 16 9 56.25% John Cook 16 9 56.25% Tony Abbott 34 19 55.88% Bob Hasseman 68 38 55.88% Lance Beehler 18 10 55.56% Danny Williams 20 11 55.00% Jamie Wingler 11 6 54.55% Jason Warthan 11 6 54.55% James Colias 11 6 54.55% Kenny Wallace 11 6 54.55% Dan Briggs 24 13 54.17% Clarence Warthan 24 13 54.17% Israel Blevins 37 20 54.05% Chris Joll 63 34 53.97% Phil Smith 13 7 53.85% Jake Harreld 13 7 53.85% Mike Ester 26 14 53.85% Bob Brennan 15 8 53.33% Bob Harmon 62 33 53.23% Jared Williams 40 21 52.50% Rex Peckinpaugh 73 38 52.05% Andy Simon 35 18 51.43% Scott Vlink 76 39 51.32% Leroy Vega 43 22 51.16% Ed Pendoski 79 40 50.63% Randy Kearby 34 17 50.00% Chris Campbell 14 7 50.00% T. Howard Jones Jr. 22 11 50.00% Mark Bruner 12 6 50.00% Mark Kerrn 38 19 50.00% Mark Kirchgassner 12 6 50.00% Kevin King 18 9 50.00% Lee Fry 10 5 50.00% Bill Yozipovich 14 7 50.00% Jim Ledbetter 28 14 50.00% Todd Sacksteder 20 10 50.00% Chris Svarczkopf 10 5 50.00% Larry Hazuga 10 5 50.00% Christopher Kern 10 5 50.00% Henry Wilk 43 21 48.84% Chad Shepherd 27 13 48.15% Dennis Lewis 27 13 48.15% Mike Runyon 23 11 47.83% Brandon Sisson 19 9 47.37% Terry O'Neill 19 9 47.37% Scott Dehart 17 8 47.06% Ryan Wells 15 7 46.67% Jim Pickard 43 20 46.51% Eric Myers 28 13 46.43% Louie Kuzdas 28 13 46.43% Cale Hoover 26 12 46.15% Rod Williams 13 6 46.15% Tony Boley 24 11 45.83% Bud Palmer 11 5 45.45% Steve Wewe 11 5 45.45% Bo Henry 11 5 45.45% Clint Gard 20 9 45.00% Rick Stenftenagel 14 6 42.86% David Caple 14 6 42.86% Lou Silverman 40 17 42.50% Scott Schwarz 26 11 42.31% Scott Ferguson 38 16 42.11% Eric Highley 19 8 42.11% Gabe Cook 12 5 41.67% Tony Currie 17 7 41.18% Steve VanderAa 17 7 41.18% Andy Hobbs 42 17 40.48% Dan Mikesell 15 6 40.00% Danny Struck 20 8 40.00% Adam Wolf 10 4 40.00% Scott Raypole 15 6 40.00% Ryan Landis 10 4 40.00% Mark Line 20 8 40.00% James Binkley 10 4 40.00% Sam DiPrimio 10 4 40.00% Gene Backes 10 4 40.00% Murray Miller 10 4 40.00% James Phillips 10 4 40.00% Kevin Taylor 10 4 40.00% Brad Harper 78 31 39.74% Steve Pugliese 23 9 39.13% Larry Mattingly 36 14 38.89% Al Hartman 36 14 38.89% Jamie Welliever 13 5 38.46% Ed Fox 13 5 38.46% Greg Gastineau 13 5 38.46% Dave Cloud 29 11 37.93% Dean Branstetter 16 6 37.50% Brett Smith 11 4 36.36% Johnny Henry 11 4 36.36% Gary Fox 11 4 36.36% Gary Schliessman 11 4 36.36% Tony Grater 11 4 36.36% Tony Starks 11 4 36.36% Derek Bocock 14 5 35.71% Matt Koontz 14 5 35.71% Doug Smoker 20 7 35.00% Mark Scott 20 7 35.00% Paul Gunsett 20 7 35.00% David Errett 20 7 35.00% Barry Humble 18 6 33.33% Josh Dommer 15 5 33.33% Jim HIttler 18 6 33.33% Robert Freije 18 6 33.33% Todd Fakes 12 4 33.33% Andrew King 28 9 32.14% James Linn 13 4 30.77% Randy Pursley 13 4 30.77% Chuck Fleshman 10 3 30.00% John Bennett 10 3 30.00% Lonnie Chamberlain 10 3 30.00% Nicholas Eckert 14 4 28.57% George Gardner 18 5 27.78% Jim Wadkins 22 6 27.27% Sam Riesen 11 3 27.27% Tim Alcorn 11 3 27.27% Ron Anderson 11 3 27.27% Blane Culp 16 4 25.00% Eric Burres 12 3 25.00% Steven Sandefer 17 4 23.53% Doug Deters 13 3 23.08% Nick Kraus 19 4 21.05% Kevin Wilkinson 10 2 20.00% Ken Houston 16 3 18.75% Denny Schwartz 16 3 18.75% Scott VanDerAa 15 2 13.33% Tom Miller 18 2 11.11% Al Thomas 10 1 10.00% Tim Sloffer 12 1 8.33% Doug Schultz 13 1 7.69%  

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2024 State Finals Info Center
ScheduleThursday, Feb. 15, 2024
IndianaMat Live Gorilla Radio from Chasers Bar and Grill
8pm CT
Address: 2131 West Franklin Street, Evansville, Indiana 47712
 
Friday, Feb. 16, 2024
Session 1
Gates open at 12:30 pm CT
Parade of Champions at 1:30 pm CT
First Round Weight Classes 150 - 285 begin at 2 pm CT 
First Round Weight Classes 106 - 144 begin at 5:30 pm CT
 
Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024
Session 2
Gates open at 8 am CT 
Quarterfinals begin at 9 am CT with Semifinals to follow
Fieldhouse cleared of all spectators following Semifinals
Session 3 
Gates open at 3:30 pm CT
Consolations at 4:30 pm CT with State Championships to follow at 7:30 pm CT
 
Location
Ford Center, 1 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Evansville, IN 
 
Admission 
$15 per session; $30 all sessions. Reserved seating only (no general admission).  
 
Streaming
All matches on Friday and Saturday, including Saturday night’s championship round, may be viewed via live stream for a subscription fee of $15 via IHSAAtv.org and the IHSAAtv suite of apps (iPhone, Android phone, Roku, Amazon Firestick, AppleTV, and Android TV).  If you have a FloPro+ plan, you may also view the livestream at FloWrestling.com through the consolation rounds.
 
State Finals Pairings Show
Feb 11, 2024
Time: 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT (1 hour)
IHSAA Wrestling State Finals Pairings Show
Hosts: Greg Rakestraw, Mike Goebel, Joe Caprino
Streaming: Exclusively on IHSAAtv.org
 
Social Media
IHSAA on Twiiter
IndianaMat on Twitter
 
Brackets
IndianaMat Brackets with both State and Semi-State rankings
 
State Bracket.pdf
IndianaMat Brackets with State Rankings only
 
State Bracket-State Rankings.pdf
TrackWrestling Brackets
 
Semi-State Results
East Chicago Semi-State Results
Evansville Semi-State Results
New Castle Semi-State Results
Fort Wayne Semi-State Results
 
Pick'em Contests
Current Pick'em Standings
State Finals Pick'ems
State Champ Confidence Picks

Gorilla Radio
Gorilla Radio Part 1: Weights 157, 132, 175, 1655, 144, 138, 126, 150
Gorilla Radio Part 2: Weights 190, 106, 120, 285, 113, and 215
 
Featured ArticlesState Finals by the Numbers
State Finals Media Guide
#WAYL2
Who do you want in your corner?
#MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Union City's Daniels raises his game, heading to the State Finals
#WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Amberger breaks Batesville's 31 year qualifier drought
 
Evansville Information
IHSAA_Know_Before_You_Go.pdf


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2024 Girls State Information Center
Schedule
Friday, January 12th, 2024
Weigh-Ins: 10:00am
First Round: 11:00am
 
Location
Kokomo Memorial Gymnasium
200 S. Apperson Way
Kokomo, IN 46901
 
Streaming
All matches on Friday will be streamed on TrackWrestling.
 
Brackets
IndianaMat Brackets with State rankings
StateGirls.pdf
TrackWrestling Brackets
 
Semi-State Results
Rochester Semi-State Results
Penn Semi-State Results
Mooresville Semi-State Results
Muncie Semi-State Results
 
Gorilla Radio
Coming soon!

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2024 NHSCA Nationals Entries from Indiana
Brackets
Click here for brackets on Flo Arena
 
Schedule
Friday April 5th
8:00am- Boys Freshman, Boys Sophomore, and HS Girls Divisions 
Wrestle up to Quarterfinals 
All consi bracket competition will begin Saturday April 6th
1:00pm- Boys Junior and Boys Senior Divisions
Wrestle up to Quarterfinals 
All consi bracket competition will begin Saturday April 6th
Saturday April 6th
8:00am- Boys Freshman, Boys Sophomore, and HS Girls Divisions CONSI Bracket Competition 
All High School Divisions will wrestle up to the placement matches (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th)
12:00pm- Boys Junior and Boys Senior Divisions CONSI Bracket Competition 
All High School Divisions will wrestle up to the placement matches (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th)
2:00pm- All High School Division Quarterfinals
4:00pm- All High School Division Semifinals  
Sunday April 7th
8:00am- All High School Division 3rd, 5th, and 7th medal matches 
8:00am- Middle School wrestling begins 
10:00am- All High School Division Finals 
 
Seeded Indiana Wrestlers
Easton Doster #7
Lucas Szymborski #6
Parker Reynolds #6
Seer Godwise #9
Evan Stanley #1
Lucas Boe #1
Miguel Rojas #5
 
Participants from Indiana
Division Weight Wrestler School Freshman 113 Fabian Rodriguez Southport Wrestling Club Freshman 138 Evan Stanley Mount Carmel(IL) Freshman 160 Lucas Boe Lake Highland Prep(FL) Freshman 170 Miguel Rojas Wyoming Seminary(PA) Freshman 182 Alexander Lane Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Freshman 195 Tristan Castillo-Uribe Southport Wrestling Club Freshman 285 Eli Addington Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Sophomore 113 Peyton Brummitt Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Sophomore 120 Sean Murphy Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Sophomore 120 John Orman Edgewood Wrestling Club Sophomore 138 Jesus Pablo-Valderrama Southport Wrestling Club Sophomore 145 Riley Cox Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Sophomore 145 Parker Reynolds Brownsburg Sophomore 152 Cayleb Stephens Edgewood Wrestling Club Sophomore 182 Seer Godwise Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Junior 113 Bryce Beckham Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Junior 120 Keegan Dressler Southport Wrestling Club Junior 120 Jullian Roll Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Junior 126 Matthew Maldonado Merrillville Pirate Wrestling Club Junior 126 Dylan Merilus Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Junior 126 Caelyb Sides Edgewood Wrestling Club Junior 145 Michael Neidigh Edgewood Wrestling Club Junior 145 Marlone Kirksy Merrillville Pirate Wrestling Club Junior 145 Joel Silvernail Edgewood Wrestling Club Junior 145 Easton Doster New Haven Junior 160 Adrian Pellot Merrillville Pirate Wrestling Club Junior 195 Cory Horner Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Junior 195 Lucas Szymborski Higher Calling Wrestling Club(TN) Senior 132 Joshua Foxworthy Southport Wrestling Club Senior 152 Anthony Quarles Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Senior 170 Cameron Crisp Merrillville Pirate Wrestling Club Senior 220 Andy Warren Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Girls 126 Zoey Zambrano Edgewood Wrestling Club Girls 165 Kate Mckee Perry Meridian Wrestling Club Middle School 75 Ezra Cappa Edgewood Wrestling Club Middle School 95 Ethan Alvarez Merrillville Pirate Wrestling Club Middle School 135 Segar Ralston Madison Middle School 135 Dylan Foster Edgewood Wrestling Club
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2024 Pritchard Companies US Open Entries from Indiana
Brackets
Click here for brackets on FloArena
 
Schedule of Events
Wednesday, April 24
U20 Greco-Roman (10 Mats) Main Arena
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Consolations
10:00AM – 3:00 PM
U15 Greco-Roman (5 Mats) Concourse
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Consolations
10:00AM – 3:00PM
Masters Greco-Roman (5 Mats) Concourse
Preliminaries to Medal Matches (If Needed)
4:00PM – 8:30PM
Futures Greco-Roman (2 Mats) Main Arena
Preliminaries to Medal Matches
4:00PM – 8:30PM
U20 Greco-Roman (4 Mats) Main Arena
Consolation and Consolation Semifinals 
4:00PM – 6:30PM 
U15 Greco-Roman (4 Mats) Main Arena
Consolation and Consolation Semifinals 
4:00PM – 6:30PM 
U20 Greco-Roman (4 Mats) Main Arena
All Medal Matches
6:30PM – 8:00PM 
U15 Greco-Roman (4 Mats) Main Arena
All Medal Matches
6:30PM – 8:00PM 
 
Thursday April 25
U17 Greco-Roman (10 Mats) Main Arena
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Consolations 
10:00AM – 3:00PM 
U15 Freestyle (5 Mats) Concourse
Preliminaries and Consolations
10:00AM – 3:00PM
U17 Greco-Roman (4 Mats)  Main Arena
Consolations, Consolation Semifinals, Medal Matches, and Best 2 of 3 Finals
4:00PM – 7:30PM
U15 Freestyle (6 Mats) Main Arena
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Consolations
4:00PM – 8:00PM
Futures Freestyle  (2 Mats) Concourse
Preliminaries and Consolations
4:00PM – 8:00PM
Masters Freestyle – Day 1 (3 Mats) Concourse
Preliminaries
4:00PM – 8:00PM

Friday, April 26
U20 Freestyle (15 Mats) Main Arena and Concourse
Preliminaries and Consolations
10:00AM – 3:00PM
Masters Freestyle-Day 2 (3 Mats) Concourse
Preliminaries to Medal Matches
10:00AM - 3:00PM
U20 Freestyle (8 Mats) Main Arena and Concourse
Preliminaries and Consolations
4:00PM – 8:30PM
Futures Freestyle  (2 Mats) Concourse
Consolations to Medal Matches
4:00PM – 8:00PM
U15 Freestyle (4 Mats) Main Arena
Consolations and Consolations Semifinals
4:00PM – 6:30PM 
U15 Freestyle (4 Mats) Main Arena
All Medal Matches
6:30PM – 8:00PM 

Saturday, April 27
U20 Freestyle (8 Mats) Main Arena
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations and Consolation Semifinals
10:00AM – 1:00PM
U17 Freestyle (7 Mats) Concourse *Will take over U20 Mats at 1:00
Preliminaries and Consolations
10:00AM – 3:00PM
U20 freestyle (4 Mats) Main Arena
All Medal Matches
4:00PM – 5:30PM
U17 Freestyle (6 Mats) Main Arena
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Consolations
4:00PM – 8:00PM
Girls HS Showcase Freestyle (5 Mats)  Concourse
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Consolations
4:00PM – 8:00PM 

Sunday, April 28
U17 Freestyle (6 Mats) Main Arena
Semifinals, Consolations, Consolation Semifinals, Medal Matches and Best 2 of 3 Finals
10:00AM – 2:00PM
Girls HS Showcase Freestyle (8 Mats) Main Arena and Concourse
Semifinals, Consolations and Consolation Semifinals
10:00AM – 1:00PM
Girls HS Showcase Freestyle (4 Mats) Main Arena and Concourse
All Medal Matches
1:00PM – 3:00PM
 

U20 Freestyle (8 Mats) Main Arena
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations and Consolation Semifinals
10:00AM – 1:00PM
U17 Freestyle (7 Mats) Concourse *Will take over U20 Mats at 1:00
Preliminaries and Consolations
10:00AM – 3:00PM
U20 freestyle (4 Mats) Main Arena
All Medal Matches
4:00PM – 5:30PM
U17 Freestyle (6 Mats) Main Arena
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Consolations
4:00PM – 8:00PM
Girls HS Showcase Freestyle (5 Mats)  Concourse
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Consolations
4:00PM – 8:00PM 
 
Sunday, April 28
U17 Freestyle (6 Mats) Main Arena
Semifinals, Consolations, Consolation Semifinals, Medal Matches and Best 2 of 3 Finals
10:00AM – 2:00PM
Girls HS Showcase Freestyle (8 Mats) Main Arena and Concourse
Semifinals, Consolations and Consolation Semifinals
10:00AM – 1:00PM
Girls HS Showcase Freestyle (4 Mats) Main Arena and Concourse
All Medal Matches
1:00PM – 3:00PM
 
 
Entries from Indiana
Division Style Weight Name Team Girls HS Showcase Freestyle 100 lbs Aaliyah Brown Howe Wrestling School, LLC Girls HS Showcase Freestyle 105 lbs Madisyn Mikels Indiana Girls HS Showcase Freestyle 105 lbs Rianne Murphy Wyoming Seminary Wrestling Club Girls HS Showcase Freestyle 115 lbs Amelia Murphy Wyoming Seminary Wrestling Club Girls HS Showcase Freestyle 125 lbs Naima Ghaffar M3 Wrestling Academy Girls HS Showcase Freestyle 135 lbs Ella Gahl Spartans Wrestling Club Masters A Freestyle 62 kg Caleb Bourland Chicago Wrestling Club Masters A Freestyle 88 kg Alex Skipper Brownsburg Wrestling Club Masters A Greco-Roman 62 kg Caleb Bourland Chicago Wrestling Club Masters A Greco-Roman 88 kg Alex Skipper Brownsburg Wrestling Club Masters B Freestyle 100 kg Michael Burke Yorktown Wrestling Club Masters B Freestyle 58 kg Daniel Coyne Edgewood Wrestling Club Masters B Freestyle 78 kg Michael Morgan Legends of Gold Wrestling Masters B Greco-Roman 100 kg Michael Burke Yorktown Wrestling Club Masters B Greco-Roman 58 kg Daniel Coyne Edgewood Wrestling Club Masters B Greco-Roman 78 kg Michael Morgan Legends of Gold Wrestling Masters C Greco-Roman 78 kg Seth Gleave Indiana U15 Freestyle 38 kg Ezra Cappa Edgewood Wrestling Club U15 Freestyle 38 kg Joshua Sanders Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 41 kg Spenser McCammon Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U15 Freestyle 41 kg Cameron Schofield Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 41 kg Nathanial Sanders Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 44 kg Jeremy Carver Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 44 kg Traevon Ducking Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 48 kg Connor Maddox Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 48 kg Daniel Brown Jr. Howe Wrestling School, LLC U15 Freestyle 52 kg Xavier Flores Center Grove Wrestling Club U15 Freestyle 57 kg Grayson Baumann Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U15 Freestyle 62 kg Bo Jackson Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 62 kg Lincoln Hinchman Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 62 kg Donald Bowie Warren Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 68 kg Deacon Dressler Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U15 Freestyle 68 kg Peyton Hornsby Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 68 kg Anthony Lopshire The Fort Hammers Wrestling U15 Freestyle 75 kg Sean Breedlove Center Grove Wrestling Club U15 Greco-Roman 38 kg Ezra Cappa Edgewood Wrestling Club U15 Greco-Roman 38 kg Joshua Sanders Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 41 kg Spenser McCammon Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U15 Greco-Roman 41 kg Nathanial Sanders Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 44 kg Jeremy Carver Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 44 kg Traevon Ducking Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 48 kg Connor Maddox Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 52 kg Xavier Flores Center Grove Wrestling Club U15 Greco-Roman 57 kg Grayson Baumann Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U15 Greco-Roman 62 kg Bo Jackson Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 62 kg Lincoln Hinchman Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 68 kg Deacon Dressler Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U15 Greco-Roman 68 kg Peyton Hornsby Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 68 kg Anthony Lopshire The Fort Hammers Wrestling U15 Greco-Roman 75 kg Sean Breedlove Center Grove Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 110 kg James Hartleroad Midwest Regional Training Center U17 Freestyle 48 kg Samuel Westfall Howe Wrestling School, LLC U17 Freestyle 48 kg Case Bell Contenders Wrestling Academy U17 Freestyle 51 kg Peyton Schoettle Roncalli Wrestling Foundation U17 Freestyle 51 kg Teigan Newell Howe Wrestling School, LLC U17 Freestyle 55 kg Ty Henderson Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 55 kg Colin Strayer Region Wrestling Academy U17 Freestyle 55 kg Gavin Lewis Howe Wrestling School, LLC U17 Freestyle 55 kg Ryann Schmidtendorff Midwest Xtreme Wrestling U17 Freestyle 57 kg Gavyn Kemp Contenders Wrestling Academy U17 Freestyle 60 kg Clinton Shepherd Howe Wrestling School, LLC U17 Freestyle 60 kg Gunner Butt Contenders Wrestling Academy U17 Freestyle 60 kg Landon Hawkins Region Wrestling Academy U17 Freestyle 60 kg Braylon Reynolds Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U17 Freestyle 60 kg Caelyb Sides Edgewood Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 60 kg Dominic Brown Howe Wrestling School, LLC U17 Freestyle 60 kg Sontonio Sessa Bulldog Premier Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 60 kg John Orman Edgewood Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 65 kg Jeffrey Huyvaert Midwest Regional Training Center U17 Freestyle 71 kg Matthew Staples Midwest Regional Training Center U17 Freestyle 71 kg Camden Baumann Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 71 kg Silas Stits Contenders Wrestling Academy U17 Freestyle 71 kg Lucas Boe Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U17 Freestyle 71 kg Cayleb Stephens Edgewood Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 71 kg Cale Bonenberger Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 71 kg Anthony Lopshire The Fort Hammers Wrestling U17 Freestyle 80 kg Conner Hoar Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 80 kg Xavier Smith Fishers Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 80 kg Sam Howard Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Freestyle 80 kg Miguel Rojas Indiana U17 Freestyle 80 kg Vincent Freeman Midwest Xtreme Wrestling U17 Greco-Roman 110 kg James Hartleroad Midwest Regional Training Center U17 Greco-Roman 55 kg Ty Henderson Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 57 kg Gavyn Kemp Contenders Wrestling Academy U17 Greco-Roman 60 kg Gunner Butt Contenders Wrestling Academy U17 Greco-Roman 60 kg Caelyb Sides Edgewood Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 60 kg John Orman Edgewood Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 71 kg Camden Baumann Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 71 kg Michael Neidigh Edgewood Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 71 kg Lucas Boe Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U17 Greco-Roman 71 kg Cayleb Stephens Edgewood Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 71 kg Cale Bonenberger Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 80 kg Conner Hoar Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 80 kg Xavier Smith Fishers Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 80 kg Sam Howard Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U17 Greco-Roman 80 kg Miguel Rojas Indiana U20 Freestyle 125 kg Connor Barket Indiana U20 Freestyle 57 kg Revin Dickman Contenders Wrestling Academy U20 Freestyle 57 kg Ashton Jackson Boilermaker RTC U20 Freestyle 61 kg Jake Hockaday Contenders Wrestling Academy U20 Freestyle 61 kg Isaiah Schaefer Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U20 Freestyle 61 kg Michael Tharpe Warrior Regional Training Center U20 Freestyle 61 kg Joey Buttler Indiana RTC U20 Freestyle 65 kg Parker Reynolds Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U20 Freestyle 65 kg Tony Wood Warrior Regional Training Center U20 Freestyle 65 kg Cole Solomey Boilermaker RTC U20 Freestyle 65 kg Sergio Lemley Cliff Keen Wrestling Club U20 Freestyle 70 kg Wyatt Krejsa Red Cobra Wrestling Academy U20 Freestyle 70 kg Lucas Clement Hawks Wrestling Club U20 Freestyle 70 kg Isaac Ruble Boilermaker RTC U20 Freestyle 70 kg Aidan Torres Region Wrestling Academy U20 Freestyle 70 kg Bryce Lowery Indiana RTC U20 Freestyle 79 kg Waylon Cressell Indiana U20 Freestyle 79 kg Landon Buchanan Warrior Regional Training Center U20 Freestyle 79 kg Michael Durham Warrior Regional Training Center U20 Freestyle 79 kg Drake Buchanan Air Force Regional Training Center U20 Freestyle 86 kg Gunner Henry Indiana U20 Freestyle 86 kg Samuel Goin Indiana RTC U20 Freestyle 92 kg Reid Schroeder West Point Wrestling Club U20 Greco-Roman 67 kg Wyatt Krejsa Red Cobra Wrestling Academy UWW Futures Freestyle 28 kg Emmett McCammon Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club UWW Futures Freestyle 28 kg Layten Marsh M3 Wrestling Academy UWW Futures Freestyle 35 kg Jon Luke Austin Contenders Wrestling Academy UWW Futures Greco-Roman 28 kg Emmett McCammon Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club UWW Futures Greco-Roman 35 kg Jon Luke Austin Contenders Wrestling Academy
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2023 State Finals By the Numbers
Overall
We often hear that the rankings don't matter and while it is true it doesn't mean they aren't very, very accurate. The staple of this website is rankings and this year Mike Reiser knocked it out of the park having 200 of 224 state qualifiers ranked including having all 16 qualifiers at 120lbs ranked. To add to the difficulty is that the rankings are locked before the first sectional whistle. Every year we lose top kids to injuries, missing weight, or running into another ranked wrestler during the tournament. 
 
As always our information center has brackets and will be updated multiple times with information throughout the week. Bookmark this page and check it often for updates.
Click here for the Info Center with links to download the brackets
 
Season by season ranked wrestlers advancing to state
*Note Mike Reiser took over the rankings in 2012
2023- 200
2022- 190
2021- 186
2020- 180
2019- 175
2018- 179
2017- 169
2016- 175
2015- 172
2014- 171
2013- 171
2012- 170
2011- 157
2010- 159
2009- 143
 
106lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Matthew Baylor (Milan)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#6 Mason Jones (Lake Central) vs. #19 Connor Bayliss (Mt.  Vernon (Fortville))
#1 Layne Horn (Rochester) vs. #4 Nathan Rioux (Avon)
#11 Hruai Lian (Perry Meridian) vs. #22 Logan Haney (Crown Point)
#9 Cameron Meier (Bloomington South) vs. #5 Julianna Ocampo (FW Snider)
#3 Ayden Bollinger (Delta) vs. #8 Isaac Campbell (Floyd Central)
#24 Xavier Chavez (Mishawaka) vs. #23 Gunner Butt (New Palestine)
#2 Revin Dickman (Brownsburg) vs. #13 Rex Moore (Manchester)
 
113lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Brayden Raber (Maconaquah)
Cameron Senter (Wawasee)
Porter Temples (Westfield)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#11 Aiden Dallinger (McCutcheon) vs. #10 Levi Johns (Bluffton)
#12 RJ Taylor (Perry Meridian) vs. #8 Isaac Ash (Monrovia)
#15 Drew Waldon (DeKalb) vs. #20 Seth Aubin (Hobart)
#1 Preston Haines (Brownsburg) vs. #18 Jackson Elliott (Carmel)
#13 Tommy Frazier (Zionsville) vs. #6 Jackson Heaston (Indian Creek)

120lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 16
 
Unranked qualifiers:
None
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#16 Bryce Doss (New Palestine) vs. #23 Logan Bickel (Cascade)
#9 Dominic Brown (Lowell) vs. #5 Neal Mosier (Delta)
#2 Jake Hockaday (Brownsburg) vs. #10 Peter Nguyen (Guerin Catholic)
#12 Carter Fielden (Garrett) vs. #19 Sonny Sessa (Crown Point)
#4 Tanner Tishner (Western) vs. #25 Isaiah Wilson (Chesterton)
#7 Eddie Goss (Center Grove) vs. #14 Elijah Broady (Mt.  Vernon (Fortville))
#1 Ashton Jackson (LaPorte) vs. #11 Linkin Carter (Eastside)
#22 Gavin Bragg (Cathedral) vs. #3 Isaiah Schaefer (Ev. Mater Dei)
 
126lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Alejandro Ramirez (River Forest)
Nasir Christion (Merrillville)
Jesus Aquino-Morales (Union County)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#4 Keegan Schlabach (Lakeland) vs. #13 Hyatt Yeager (Center Grove)
#14 Griffin Ingalls (Fishers) vs. #16 Guillermo Rivera (Lake Central)
#3 Evan Seng (Ev. Mater Dei) vs. #8 Cody Rowles (Jay County)
#17 Landen Haines (Brownsburg) vs. #10 Hayden Brady (Garrett)
#6 Jackson Bradley (Cowan) vs. #18 Chase Stephens (Tell City)
 
132lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Essiah Kamer (Fremont)
Hayden Fritz (West Central)
 
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#7 Easton Doster (New Haven) vs. #18 Justice Thornton (Columbus North)
#5 David Maldonado (Merrillville) vs. #12 Keaton Morton (Perry Meridian)
#2 Joey Buttler (Whiteland) vs. #19 Brody Hagewood (Prairie Heights)
#15 Josh Johnson (Cathedral) vs. #10 Griffin VanTichelt (Crown Point)
#4 Zar Walker (Mishawaka) vs. #23 Jacob Weaver (Rossville)
#9 Odin Fortune (Ev. Reitz) vs. #14 Mikey Kallimani (Jimtown)
 
138lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Christian Arberry (Warren Central)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#6 Michael Major (Carmel) vs. #17 Brock Hagewood (Prairie Heights)
#12 Kelby Glenn (Tell City) vs. #5 Jeffrey Huyvaert (New Prairie)
#4 Tony Wood (Jay County) vs. #10 Max McGinley (Cathedral)
#11 Lucas Clement (Merrillville) vs. #9 Reese Courtney (Center Grove)
#1 Cole Solomey (Kankakee Valley) vs. #8 Branson Weaver (Owen Valley)
#25 Cooper Baldwin (Peru) vs. #15 Gavyn Whitehead (New Castle)
#2 Cheaney Schoeff (Avon) vs. #7 Wesley Harper (Penn)
 
145lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Bradley Owen (Jeffersonville)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#3 Wyatt Krejsa (Center Grove) vs. #4 Jack Todd (Pendleton Heights)
#5 Wesley Smith (Plymouth) vs. #11 Cameron Clark (Jay County)
#9 Dillon Graham (Cathedral) vs. #10 Mason Day (Brownsburg)
#15 Kolten Rhonemus (Delta) vs. #2 Anthony Bahl (Crown Point)
#1 Aidan Torres (Chesterton) vs. #14 Luke Teusch (Huntington North)
#23 Luke Robards (Ev. Central) vs. #8 Ike O'Neill (Westfield)
#17 Braxton Miller (DeKalb) vs. #19 Jayden Lewis (New Prairie)
 
152lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Carter Richardson (Noblesville)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#7 Beau Brabender (Mishawaka) vs. Jason Rooney (Westfield)
#16 Jackson Todd (Carroll (FW)) vs. #6 Silas Stits (Center Grove)
#1 Bryce Lowery (Roncalli) vs. #12 Bryce Denton (Penn)
#10 Tyce DuPont (Tell City) vs. #8 Gavin Davis (Bellmont)
#3 Hunter May (Ev. Mater Dei) vs. #22 Christian Wittkamp (Jay County)
#14 Hunter Miller (Wawasee) vs. #13 Zach Lang (Hamilton Southeastern)
#4 Mitchell Betz (Western) vs. #23 Gage Eckels (Ben Davis)
 
160lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Levi Abbott (Cowan)
Braden Moore (Charlestown)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#1 Sam Goin (Crown Point) vs. #10 Brant Beck (Rochester)
#11 Chase Wagner (Zionsville) vs. #8 Andre Merritt (Center Grove)
#2 Logan Farnell (Maconaquah) vs. #17 Cameron Crisp (Merrillville)
#13 Michael Hutchison (Cascade) vs. #7 Nathan Powell (Carmel)
#5 Luke Kemper (Ev. Central) vs. #18 Zach Huckaby (Perry Meridian)
#15 Ben Shaffer (Chesterton) vs. #19 Conner Watts (Jimtown)
 
170lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Carlos Perez-Xochipa (Harrison (WL))
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#4 Kyle Harden (Cathedral) vs. #15 Isaac Valdez (Mishawaka)
#16 Jaquan East (Kokomo) vs. #22 Noah Terry (Tell City)
#2 Cody Goodwin (Crown Point) vs. #10 Zack Wagner (Hamilton Southeastern)
#3 Noah Clouser (Center Grove) vs. #11 Braxton Russell (Delta)
#7 Duke Myers (Bellmont) vs. #23 Jett Goldsberry (Heritage Hills)
#1 Delaney Ruhlman (Bloomington South) vs. #9 Tanner Reed (Columbia City)
#19 Noah Weaver (Rossville) vs. #5 Aidan Costello (Hobart)
 
182lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Vincent Freeman (Penn)
Brayden Tincher (Eastern Hancock)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#6 Caden Brewer (Brownsburg) vs. #11 Laish Detwiler (Goshen)
#3 Evan Tilton (Hamilton Heights) vs. #10 Connor Cervantes (Griffith)
#2 De'Alcapon Veazy (FW Snider) vs. #17 Jackson Fox (Columbus East)
#9 Bray Emerine (Floyd Central) vs. #8 Kaden Lone (NorthWood)
#5 Luke Penola (Zionsville) vs. #22 Ethan Popp (Harrison (WL))
#4 Hunter Page (Monroe Central) vs. #13 Julian Weems (Center Grove)
 
195lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Cael Albaugh (Clinton Central)
Donovan Blair (Wawasee)
Bazle Owens (Tippecanoe Valley)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#4 Luke Hansen (Roncalli) vs. #12 Chad Washburn (Kokomo)
#11 Neil Johnson (New Prairie) vs. #1 John Purdy (Castle)
#10 Armen Koltookian (Concord) vs. #17 Orlan Foster (Connersville)
#5 Christian Chavez (Mishawaka) vs. #7 Kaden McConnell (Center Grove)
#9 Wyatt Woodall (Southmont) vs. #22 Nash Shupert (Elkhart)
 
220lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Spencer Watson (Tri-West)
Hadyn Ball (Triton Central)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#3 Tommy Morrill (Columbus East) vs. #25 Jayden Bartoszek (Hanover Central)
#5 Keagan Martin (Bellmont) vs. #7 Devin Kendrex (Mt.  Vernon (Fortville))
#4 Austin Hastings (Noblesville) vs. #2 Brady Beck (Rochester)
#8 Nate Johnson (Center Grove) vs. #20 Cole Chicoine (McCutcheon)
#10 Brandon Johnson (Lawrence North) vs. #19 Jackson New (Yorktown)
#22 Clayton Deutscher (New Prairie) vs. #11 Alex Rose (Terre Haute South)
 
285lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Tyler Wright (Eastern (Greentown))
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Paul Clark (Crown Point) vs. #15 Austin Vanover (Ev. Mater Dei)
#8 Brayden Jellison (Elkhart) vs. #18 Eli Smith (Zionsville)
#1 Leighton Jones (Brownsburg) vs. #4 Anthony Popi (Plymouth)
#9 Andrew Just (Franklin Central) vs. #22 Zac Wurm (Adams Central)
#16 Tyler Schott (Center Grove) vs. #10 Aramis McNutt (Highland)
#7 Titus Waters (Muncie Central) vs. #20 John Broadwell (Beech Grove)
#13 Jordan Cree (Rensselaer Central) vs. #5 Kelton Farmer (Ev. Memorial)

6923 2
2024 State Finals By the Numbers
Overall
Another year, another ranking breakdown for the state finals. As always Mike Reiser does a knock out job. He has consistently done a great job with our rankings even with locking them before the first whistle at sectional. This year's total of 193 ranked wrestlers is second only to last year's 200. Most of these wrestlers were in the state rankings at some point and are currently in the semi-state rankings. While ranking high school wrestling is not an easy job, Mike and the rest of the crew make it look easy. As we always say, the best part of the rankings is you get to prove them on the mat. Good luck to all the wrestlers in Evansville.
 
As always our information center has brackets and will be updated multiple times with information throughout the week. Bookmark this page and check it often for updates.
Click here for the Info Center with links to download the brackets
 
Season by season ranked wrestlers advancing to state
*Note Mike Reiser took over the rankings in 2012
2024- 193
2023- 200
2022- 190
2021- 186
2020- 180
2019- 175
2018- 179
2017- 169
2016- 175
2015- 172
2014- 171
2013- 171
2012- 170
2011- 157
2010- 159
2009- 143
 
Wrestlers not in either the final state or semi-state rankings:
106lbs Caleb Morrow (Indianapolis Lutheran)
113lbs Bradyn Volz (Eastern Hancock)
132lbs Dylan Fernandez (Lafayette Harrison)
190lbs Nathan Shafer (New Castle)
215lbs Aiden Beadles (South Putnam)
 
106lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Caleb Morrow (Indianapolis Lutheran)
Charlie Fleshman (Central Noble)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#5 Peyton Schoettle (Roncalli) vs. #17 Joseph Hamilton (Center Grove)
#9 Rex Moore (Manchester) vs. #13 Teigan Newell (Crown Point)
#11 Alonzo Chantea (Plymouth) vs. #7 Julianna Ocampo (New Haven)
#1 Jensen Boyd (Delta) vs. #25 Grant Holloway (Rochester)
#14 Mason Goelz (Avon) vs. #10 Heather Crull (Northeastern)
#15 John Bissmeyer (Indianapolis Cathedral) vs. #8 Talon Jessup (Columbus East)
 
113lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Beck Doughty (Rensselaer Central)
Bradyn Volz (Eastern Hancock)
Karrington Cooper (New Haven)
Sully Frazier (Zionsville)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#3 Ayden Bollinger (Delta) vs. #19 Gavin Ash (Monrovia)
#12 Nathan Reyes (Indianapolis Cathedral) vs. #13 Brady Harper (Penn)
#8 Caleb Schaefer (Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #4 Jalen Sawyer-May (Kokomo)
#16 Kaleb Salazar (Wawasee) vs. #2 Nathan Rioux (Avon)

120lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Cameron Woods (Portage)
Henry Faurote (Bellmont)
Hunter Douglas (Norwell)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#1 Gavin Jendreas (Crown Point) vs. #23 Tony Kessinger (Floyd Central)
#5 Charlie LaRocca (Center Grove) vs. #18 Adrian Origel (North Newton)
#15 Kaid Jackson (Delta) vs. #14 Jett McGuire (Greenfield-Central)
#6 Tanner Tishner (Western) vs. #13 Richard Rogers (Franklin Central)
#2 Seth Aubin (Hobart) vs. #7 Isaac Ash (Monrovia)
 
126lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Bradin Daniels (Union City)
Fynn Douglas (Floyd Central)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Landon Hawkins (Crown Point) vs. #5 Neal Mosier (Delta)
#8 Gavin Bragg (Indianapolis Cathedral) vs. #4 Braylon Reynolds (Brownsburg)
#3 Luke Rioux (Avon) vs. #9 Eli Broady (Mount Vernon (Fortville))
#7 Layne Horn (Rochester) vs. #18 Cody Rowles (Jay County)
#16 Drew Waldon (DeKalb) vs. #10 Matthew Maldonado (Merrillville)
#1 Isaiah Schaefer (Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #14 Peter Nguyen (Guerin Catholic)
 
132lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Cole Stuffel (Yorktown)
Dylan Fernandez (Lafayette Harrison)
Hayden Fritz (West Central)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#15 Jack Davis (Indianapolis Bishop Chatard) vs. #4 Eddie Goss (Center Grove)
#13 Keith Parker (Ben Davis) vs. #20 Cole Vandygriff (New Palestine)
#1 Jake Hockaday (Brownsburg) vs. #19 Isaac Kuhn (Hamilton Heights)
#7 Carter Fielden (Garrett) vs. #8 Sonny Sessa (Crown Point)
#2 Tylin Thrine (New Castle) vs. #10 Quinten Schoeff (Avon)
 
138lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Blake Jones (Lawrence North)
Jaylen Covington (Pendleton Heights)
Josh England (LaPorte)
Taiden Chambers (West Noble)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#11 Chase Stephens (Tell City) vs. #10 Luke Reid (Valparaiso)
#5 Wesley Smith (Plymouth) vs. #13 Justice Thornton (Columbus North)
#25 Cam Dews (Elkhart) vs. #6 Gavyn Whitehead (New Castle)
#1 Clinton Shepherd (Crown Point) vs. #14 William Vander Luitgaren (Center Grove)
 
144lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 16
 
Unranked qualifiers:
None
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#6 Zar Walker (Mishawaka) vs. #25 Marlin Williams (Southmont)
#23 Colton Bollenbacher (South Adams) vs. #2 Parker Reynolds (Brownsburg)
#4 Christian Arberry (Warren Central) vs. #17 Avery Stanley (Rensselaer Central)
#8 Branson Weaver (Owen Valley) vs. #10 Brody Hagewood (Prairie Heights)
#1 Reese Courtney (Center Grove) vs. #18 Emilio Liscano (Oak Hill)
#16 Bryce Doss (New Palestine) vs. #3 Jeffrey Huyvaert (New Prairie)
#12 Marlone Kirksy (Merrillville) vs. #7 Dillon Graham (Indianapolis Cathedral)
#5 Easton Doster (New Haven) vs. #24 Gabe Rose (Switzerland County)
 
150lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Aidan Elkins (New Haven)
Mason Adams (Western Boone)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#21 Luke Teusch (Huntington North) vs. #10 Christopher Bohn (Munster)
#8 Braden Getz (Roncalli) vs. #11 Alex Smith (Heritage Hills)
#9 Kaptur Nowaczyk (Crown Point) vs. #19 Jayden Jett (Cowan)
#5 Wesley Harper (Penn) vs. #12 Brock Hagewood (Prairie Heights)
#6 Tyler Vanover (Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #16 Carson Fettig (Hamilton Heights)
#20 Moses Stevenson (Franklin Central) vs. #2 Hunter May (Floyd Central)
 
157lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Cael Hickok (Bloomington North
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#3 Mitchell Betz (Western) vs. #11 Michael Cain (Hamilton Heights)
#7 Mason Day (Brownsburg) vs. #1 Beau Brabender (Mishawaka)
#5 Anthony Cashman II (Warren Central) vs. #14 Kevon Russell (Fort Wayne Snider)
#10 Griffin Van Tichelt (Crown Point) vs. #6 Silas Stits (Center Grove)
#4 Silas Foster (Purdue Polytechnic) vs. #15 Teegan Clouse (West Noble)
#8 Gavin Davis (Bellmont) vs. #12 Aidan Kincaide (Noblesville)
#9 Asher Ratliff (Columbus North) vs. #19 Javon Frost (Delphi)
 
165lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Emilio Tirado (Lake Central)
Ethan Smith (Fort Wayne Snider)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#15 Xavier Smith (Fishers) vs. #16 Jesse Derringer (Brownsburg)
#14 Coy Bender (Terre Haute South) vs. #17 Zach Huckaby (Perry Meridian)
#2 Waylon Cressell (Warren Central) vs. #8 Oliver Hallett (Indian Creek)
#7 Isaac Sinks (Harrison (WL)) vs. #4 Kaeb Stebbins (Delta)
#10 Levi Abbott (Cowan) vs. #6 Brant Beck (Rochester)
#3 Evan Roudebush (Bloomington South) vs. #25 James Dozier (Roncalli)
 
175lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Aidan White (Crown Point)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#11 Kyle Harden (Indianapolis Cathedral) vs. #6 Braxton Russell (Delta)
#1 Aidan Costello (Hobart) vs. #14 Noah Sumner (Martinsville)
#8 Laish Detwiler (Goshen) vs. #16 Michael White (Lawrence North)
#3 Brenton Russell (Warren Central) vs. #17 Ethan Farnell (Maconaquah)
#18 Cooper McCloy (Terre Haute South) vs. #13 Zymarion Hollyfield (Penn)
#7 Ethan Popp (Harrison (WL)) vs. #4 Noah Clouser (Center Grove)
#2 Chase Leech (Garrett) vs. #19 Silas Frye (Greenfield-Central)
 
190lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Keith Miller (Northwood)
Nathan Shafer (New Castle)
Trey Dunning (Mishawaka High School)
 
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#4 Vinny Freeman (Penn) vs. #3 Luke Penola (Zionsville)
#20 Elias Cressell (Wabash) vs. #11 Collin Casad (Terre Haute South)
#25 Colin Whetsel (New Palestine) vs. #16 Aleksandar Tatum (Hobart)
#6 Noah Terry (Tell City) vs. #14 Eli Coolman (Leo)
#23 Donovan Blair (Wawasee) vs. #2 Kaden McConnell (Center Grove)
 
215lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Aiden Beadles (South Putnam)
Preston Duffy (Manchester)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Cole Chicoine (McCutcheon) vs. #13 Wyatt Woodall (Southmont)
#18 Travis Henke (Northridge) vs. #19 Parker Hart (Heritage Hills)
#6 Brandon Johnson (Lawrence North) vs. #12 Jayden Bartoszek (Hanover Central)
#1 Will Clark (Crown Point) vs. #9 Devin Kendrex (Mount Vernon (Fortville))
#4 Julante Hinton (Fort Wayne Northrop) vs. #17 Landon Terry (Tell City)
#8 Jackson Weingart (Indianapolis Cathedral) vs. #5 Alex Deming (Rochester)
 
285lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
 
Unranked qualifiers:
Max Amberger (Batesville)
Perris Green (Warren Central)
 
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:#1 Paul Clark (Crown Point) vs. #22 James Hartleroad (DeKalb)
#10 Juan Cruz (Bluffton) vs. #3 Aramis McNutt (Highland)
#11 Justin Brown (Floyd Central) vs. #8 Hosia Smith (Indianapolis Cathedral)
#7 Austin Hastings (Noblesville) vs. #18 Hayden Smith (Heritage Hills)
#5 Anthony Popi (Plymouth) vs. #23 Ethan Dodson (Fort Wayne Snider)
#20 Isaiah Coolman (Leo) vs. #2 Brady Beck (Rochester)

1493 2 2
Bulldog Breakdown: Dominant Opening Performances Propel Brownsburg to Avon, Ironman
By Anna Kayser
 
As the clocked ticked down toward the end of November into the beginning of December and the temperature dropped below freezing, the heat of the 2022-23 IHSAA wrestling season was cranked to high and since, the Brownsburg Bulldogs have surged. 
 
No match of which, in the first official varsity competition, was more indicative of that than No. 9 Mason Day’s electric, overtime win over No. 6 Ike O’Neill – a senior and 2022 state qualifier at 138 pounds – with the entire gymnasium on its feet last Wednesday. 
 
Sandwiching a quartet of pins by No. 11 Landon Haines (126), Tommy Gibbs (132), No. 138 Parker Reynolds (138) and No. 20 Jesse Derringer (152), Day gritted his way through a season-opening victory. After opening the match with a takedown late in the first period, he found himself in a one-point deficit in the waning seconds of the third until an escape in the waning seconds forced overtime. 
 
“We went into overtime, and I could see that he was tired,” Day said. “I kind of looked over at my coaches and smiled. I was ready to work.”
 
With an escape forcing a number of overtime periods and his entire team, coaching staff and fanbase behind him as he clung to O’Neill’s leg to avoid a point scored against him, he raised his hand in triumph for his first varsity victory after the ultimate ride out.
 
“We felt pretty good going into overtime because Mason’s a tough kid,” head coach Darrick Snyder said. “He’s only a sophomore, but the kid’s been wrestling his entire life. He’s been in dozens and dozens of overtime matches, so I would just think his mentality [was the biggest part].”
 
And without a number of prominent, ranked wrestlers on the mat, Brownsburg kicked off its season in a frenzy, defeating the Westfield Shamrocks, 60-13. 
 
“I thought we competed well, and I was really excited,” Snyder said. “We had some young kids – some backups –perform really, really well. Overall, I thought it was good considering it was our first meet.”
 
Most notably missing from the Bulldogs’ Wednesday night lineup were No. 1 Preston Haines (113), No. 2 Jake Hockaday (120) and No. 2 Leighton Jones (285), but as the week came to a close, those three made their presence known.
 
In Harrison, OH at the William Henry Harrison Invitational, the Bulldogs continued their dominant opening to the season with a perfect 5-0 record in duals against Oak Hills, Miamisburg, Lebanon, East Central and Harrison. Leading the squad were nine undefeated wrestlers donning purple singlets – Revin Dickman, Kyle Callahan, Preston Haines, Hockaday, Landon Haines, Gibbs, Brady Ison, Gunner Henry and Jones. 
 
As the campaign – and winter cold and flu season – progresses and the Bulldogs lineup shifts due to injury and illness, having a stacked lineup of wrestlers who can compete at a high level brings advantages not only to team success, but individual success as well. 
 
“You can’t replace their experience and success,” head coach Darrick Snyder said. “I think when you’re competing for a team state championship, when you have all your guns and you have some of the dudes we have, it leaves a little room for error.
 
“I think it allows everyone to relax a little more, wrestle free because they know they’ve got some friends that can pick up the slack if they have an off match or a tough tournament.”
 
After getting into the weeds on how the Bulldog wrestling program – now rated No. 2 in the IndianaMat State Power Poll behind Crown Point – was built from the ground up with Snyder at the helm over nearly a decade, now we look forward. 
 
Snyder isn’t shy about building his schedule to make the athletes better in their quest to reach the podium at Gainbridge Fieldhouse come February. 
 
Tonight, Brownsburg opens its home schedule to take on Avon before heading to – arguably – its biggest non-championship event of the season: the Walsh Jesuit Ironman Invitational.
 
Dickman, Preston Haines, Hockaday, Ison, Reynolds, Caden Brewer, Henry and Jones will take the mat in the nationally recognized tournament to kick the season into full gear, especially with the lack of matches leading up to the tournament from Dec. 9-10. 
 
“We’re hoping everyone gets at least four or five matches just because the way I [put together] our season, we don’t compete early because I think it takes a lot of time to get into wrestling shape,” Snyder said. “We’re not going to have a lot of opportunities to compete before Ironman, so we’re trying to get as many matches as we can this weekend.”
 
Of the Bulldogs’ eight representatives at Ironman this weekend, four are returning placers at IHSAA state last season and are anchors to a lineup that is hard to score points against: Hockaday, who became the first freshman to win a state title in team history; Preston Haines, runner-up at 113; Henry, third-place at 182 and Jones, who is entering his senior season with a drive for a title after placing third at heavyweight. 
 
Following this weekend, the schedule doesn’t slow until the holiday break approaches. On Dec. 17, Brownsburg travels to the Crown Point Invitational, hosted by the team’s main competitive rival following a second-place team finish in the state tournament last year. 
 
Even as the level of competition rises, one of the main focuses of Bulldog wrestlers is keeping an even mentality, despite what might have occurred – good or bad – in the last match. 
 
“I wouldn’t say [my win against Westfield] really changes anything. I go into every match thinking the same – that I need to win it no matter what,” Day said. “You’ve got to keep a good, good, good head. You’ve got to stay clear minded and just work for your goals.”
 

5270 7 9
2024 Evansville Semi-State Preview
TRIPLE_B EVANSVILLE SEMI-STATE SPECTACULAR PREVIEW!!!!!!
 
This year Trips will hit turn the big 4-4 on Saturday, Mrs 3B will be in attendance for her first SS ever, will this be the greatest Evansville SS of all time?? Dirty brackets, blood round matches that feel like your cutting fresh onions, and all around excitement will fill The FORD Saturday February 10th. 
 
Evansville is THE BEST Semi-State in the land!! 224 wrestlers will be battling for 56 Golden tickets to Indy…..errrr…. Back to Evansville!!! Out of those 224, 138 are Semi-State ranked and 98, I Said 98 (!!!!!!) are ranked in the IndianaMat State Rankings!! Lawwwwwdy have Mercy!!!! This might be the big one Elizabeth!!!! 
 
Here’s some quotes from my rankers…. Just in case you needed more convincing of the bloodbath that is Evansville:
 
“The land encompassing Evansville was formally relinquished by the Delaware Indians in 1805 to General William Henry Harrison, then the governor of the Indiana Territory, and the namesake of Evansville’s Harrison High School.  On Saturday should anyone surrender a late takedown, escape or back points, they will find themselves relinquishing a spot on the podium.  Faltering in the first couple of rounds will likely mean a one-way ticket to palookaville.”
 
“There is going to be some blood shed this weekend. Dirty South has some match-ups that just plain SAY'S Wrestle back are NEEDED!!!! Damn Travesty! EVSS has 8 Brackets with 3 Top 25 Ranked wrestlers & the other Semi-States combined only have 9..
So yes, if you make it out of the South 
"You are a BAD Dude" pain and simple!!  Go Dirty South”
 
“Some of these were tough. I HATE these freakin' draws man! Evansville gets screwed. Crown Point looks amazing with their 'easy' draws. BB and CG get picked apart down in the toughest semi state.”
 
In other words…… WE BUILT DIFFERENT!!!!!!



 
House keeping items - 
 
Here is the link for the Indianamat Semi-State Hub - 
 
https://indianamat.com/index.php?/articles.html/high-school-news/2024-semi-state-information-center-r1358/
 
From our former inside man Markio - Ford Arena info:
 
NEW DOOR ENTRY PROCESS FOR WRESTLERS SEE UNDERLINED INFO BELOW

 
Parking and general information about the arena can be found at www.thefordcenter.com Wrestlers can enter the arena at 7:30am for weigh-ins. Wrestlers and coaches will enter at the rear double doors on 6th Street near the corner of 6th Street and Bob Jones Way.  You will pick up your credentials here. The only coolers allowed are for wrestlers and must enter at the check in table through the rear wrestlers entrance door. NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINK for anyone else is allowed inside unfortunately. Not my rules, just standard building policy.  Public doors open at 8:00am CST. Enter on Main Street through the main lobby. We will look to create a separate door/entrance for those that already have tickets. $12 dollars for all session ticket, $10 for finals only.  There is NO onsite parking. Please do not have any team vehicles attempt to park in the loading dock or attached outer lot. These are reserved spots. There is no public Wi-Fi.  Please do not jump over the dasher walls to access the floor. They try to control access to the floor, so you need to enter from the lower level hallway under section 103. You wouldn't jump the wall at Gainbridge would you? lol The hospitality room for officials, etc. will be in the Corner Club. Enter from the main lobby and hang a right at the lower level hallway. If you are going to set up a camera please do not have the cord running across the aisle. You will be made to unplug any cords running across an aisle. We will have full concessions available throughout the day. Coffee and hot chocolate are also available all day as well. (get the bbq pork nachos, huge and awesome) There is no smoking on or in the Ford Center property, this includes e-cigarettes. Brackets will be updated throughout the day and posted on several of the 170 or so TVs located all over the arena. The brackets end up kind of small, but hey, they are everywhere and pretty cool. Lastly,if you are a wrestler that loses please don't kick,throw,or punch Ford Center property. We had a kid break off a door handle last year.Sent the bill to the school.   
How does this work - The exclusive Evansville Championship Selection Committee (ECSC) spent 2 days in hard deliberations over their Ford Fab 4 picks. Each member selected their ballot, points were accumulated, and from there the picks started falling into place.
 
Article features: 
 
The Charles Barkley “Turrible”  Draws - ticket round matches that shouldn’t be happening in the ticket round!
 
The Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Best first round matches!
 
The Built Ford Tough Locks - Any weight class where the pick for champion was unanimous, makes it a Ford Tough Lock. This year we have, what may be a record, 10, yes 10 FORD TOUGH LOCKS!
 
Ford Fab 4 - After the picks were gathered, points distributed, and the dust settled, we’ll have the Ford Fab 4.
 
Rankings will be featured like such (State Rank/SS Rank)
 
A big shout out to Navy80, BigToe19, DuckTails (Wooohoo!), Hook&Half and The DONNIE BAKER for their contributions. I will add some commentary throughout from our great pickers.
 
What if I didn’t agree with the ECSC or I thought they made a terrible error? Then have no fear - The TripleB Guarantee will help you sort out the madness. 

 
106: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/10
 
(19/7) David Alstadt crumbled this bracket up last week at Regionals and tossed it in the can. We have several great opening matches and the ticket round matches should all be competitive and great for the fans. 8 State ranked wrestlers will be competing for the 4 spots. This weight class has it all! The winner of Malone/Byrd will be the favorite, no offense Wildcat nation, and really after what we saw last weekend this weight could be wide open. Alstadt/Goelz/Jessup/Ogle/Malone/Byrd could all win or can lose in the ticket round. I’m not sure we’ve seen 106 so up for grabs in a long time!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - There’s not alot on paper here. Let’s go with 2 great programs and 2 SS ranked wrestlers - Bloomington South’s (SS10) Jaxsen Jean and Brownsburg’s (12/5) Eli Ogle. Jean ranked 10th in the SS and Ogle is ranked 5th, both coaches know how to get their kids ready.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - We aren’t gonna wait long for blood rounds… soooo HERE….WE….GO…. Monrovia has been known for putting out quality kids and Freshman Royce Malone will look to continue the hammers the Bulldogs. Washington Senior Brady Byrd ran off 42 straight wins…. Until getting upset last week at Regionals by Mater Dei’s David Alstadt. This now sets up a turrrrible draw… as (6/3) Malone will take on (4/2) Byrd. A Frosh vs a Senior… LETSSS GOOOOOO
 
Don’t sleep on…. Switzerland County has been building a reputation in the southeast part of the state for a few years. Sophomore Ethan Rose is making his second trip to the FORD, can he become the first Pacer to punch their ticket to state? He does have a favorable draw by avoiding all the top ranked guys!
 
The Hook&Half DL:  “Brownsburg’s Eli Ogle will pull off two—count ‘em—two upsets en route to the semis, where he will meet the winner of EMD’s David Atlstadt and Avon’s Mason Goelz.  It’s a crying shame; in opposite brackets you could be looking at a finals match between the Oriole and the Wildcat.”
 
Ford Fab 4 - Royce Malone Monrovia, Mason Goelz Avon, Talon Jessup Columbus East, Joey Hamilton Center Grove
 
113: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/9
 
The 4 quarter brackets at 113 couldn’t look anymore different. 2 brackets feature locks in returning state champ (1/1) Revin Dickman from Brownsburg and his counterpart Avon’s (2/2) Nate Rioux. The other 2 feature first round matches that could determine the 3rd place match. Which we’ll cover below. The big story: can the Castle Regional crash the Mooresville Party?
 
Also: Despite having a returning state champ, we do not have our first LOCK (Momma2Dickmans don’t try to fight me in the hotel lobby again). Can Rioux get one on Dickman? They’ve wrestled 1,000,453 times… and both are in the same room in the offseason at Contenders, if anyone knows Revin, it’s Nate. Could Saturday be the day?
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Now business is about to pick up!! 2 Fab Frosh from down South looks to end the season of 2 Juniors from the Mooresville Regional. In our first match up (10/3) Jr. Brennan Leonard from Martinsville gets Mater Dei’s (8/4) Freshman Caleb Schaefer. Schaefer is ranked higher in the state, Leonard is ranked higher in the semi-state. What a match!!
 
Our other first round match of state ranked wrestlers features Freshman (24/7) Wyatt Ulrey of Boonville taking on Junior (19/5) Gavin Ash of Monrovia. Will this be our first Mooresville 4 over a 1? It probably won’t be our last. 
 
Can the Castle Regional Freshman send home the Mooresville Juniors?  
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - See Leonard/Schaefer above. Two top 10 state ranked wrestlers going at it in the first round is absurd. These two should be wrestling next Friday at the Ford!!!
 
Don’t sleep on…. The “Other Guys”. After winning those first round matches will the victors look past Eli Collier from Owen Valley and Tom Nguyen from New Albany? Let me tell you, if they do, their day will end pretty quick!
 
Also a shoutout to my man Ethan “Eazy E” Pittman, Madison Freshman and Regional Champ. I don’t know who that kid’s youth coach was,but if I was a young wrestler in Southern Indiana, I’d find that guy….. Oh yeah, I’m THAT GUY!
 
Ford Fab 4 -  Revin Dickman Brownsburg, Nate Rioux Avon, Caleb Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei, Gavin Ash Monrovia
 
120: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/11
 
Let’s pour more gas on this fire!! All 4 quarter final matchups will feature 8 state ranked wrestlers with 2 of those matches pitting top 10 ranked wrestlers against each other!!!  120 also features one of the worst Turrible Draws of all time. This weight class is so loaded, we have 2 top ten ticket round matches!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - A pair of super sophomores will be battling it out early. Heritage Hills Berke Eisenhauer brings a stunning 41-4 record into this match and will be battling it out with Edgewood’s John Orman. Both of these lads are battle tested and the winner gets…. Returning state champ Charlie LaRocca. But I digress, enjoy this match as it’s a warm up for the quarters!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Ohhhhh boy…. When Brownsburg’s Preston Haines lost in Regionals last week, every single regional started buzzing, we all knew what was gonna happen. A Haines/Hendeson ticket round match. We will get a state ranked top 4 match, in the ticket round. This just isn’t fair. Henderson got the big pinfall dub at State duals over Haines. Can Hendo do it again-o?  This match is so big it overshadows the other top 10 matchup of Walter Hagerdorn from Tell City and Isaac Ash of Monrovia. 
 
Don’t sleep on…. Floyd Central Freshman Tony Kessinger. Dude is mean and built different. He will draw a familiar foe in Corydon’s Jayden Owsley in the quarter finals. Two of Isaac Knable’s Invicta grapplers going at it with a trip to state on the line.
 
Ford Fab 4: Charlie LaRocca Center Grove, Ty Henderson Evansville Mater Dei, Isaac Ash Monrovia, Tony Kessinger Floyd Central
 
126: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/10
 
126 has it all, but the word is disparity as we got our first unranked quarter bracket, 2 big state ranked ticket round matches and our first of 8 First Ford Tough Locks!! I love the unranked quarterbrackets, sheer chaos and every kid wrestling like crazy. What makes this semi-state great is brackets like 126. 
 
Isaiah Schaefer also looks to join his pops as an IHSAA state champion with being our first FORD Tough Lock!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 2 state ranked wrestlers will be going at it with in the opening round. Returning state qualifier and #6 ranked Dominic Brown will meet up with Terre Haute South’s 19th ranked Nathan Bryan. Terre Haute has been on a tear the last few years and Brown is in that tough Center Grove room. This match should deliver!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Speaking of Dom Brown, if he’s successful against Bryan, it will set up another top state ranked match up in the quarters as #1 ranked Isiah Schaefer will be waiting. Here’s what I know - Schaefer is a two time state medalists and has that Schaefer dog in him. Brown is in a room full of medalists and hammers. Schaefer had a quick fall at team state and that can’t sit well w/ Brown. 
 
Switzerland County’s Peyton Richards brings in a stunning 84-1 career record into Sem–State, as a sophomore! His one loss was last year to Eddie Goss in the ticket round. This year the Pacer has Avon’s Luke Rioux. Rioux, a former state medalists, lost a tough 5-4 to eventual state runner up Jackson Heaston. It’s #11 vs #3 and maybe not a turrrrible draw, but a match for sure to watch!
 
 
Don’t sleep on…. The bottom quarter bracket, someone is gonna “sneak” thru, the early favorite is Floyd Central’s Fynn Douglas. But Heritage Hills has a one loss Freshman in Eli Hedges that could also get through. The only SS ranked wrestler in this bracket is a “Mooresville 4” in Greenwood’s Keegan Murray. And Jeff is like Charlie Puth… .they are… headlock….away!
 
Ford Tough Lock: Isaiah Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei
 
Ford Fab 4: Isaiah Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei, Braylon Reynolds Brownsburg, Luke Rioux Avon, Fynn Douglas Floyd Central
 
132: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/10
 
Mooresville is known for bringing absolute studs to Evansville. 2 terms have been coined because of the strength of the Mooresville Regional - The Mooresville Sweep and The Mooresville 4. We might see both here as Mooresville looks to sweep the top 4 spots and possibly our first Mooresville 4th place finisher sends a regional champ packing!
 
132 also features our next LOCK but we will keep that a secret for now! SUSPENSEFUL!!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers -  An interesting quarter-bracket where a “Mooresville 4” is favored to win, but when you really look at it anybody can! Mt Vernon Sophomore Jayden Stillwagoner brings a regional championship and 32-4 record from the always tough Castle Regional while Keith Parker brings a state ranking of 13th and is a top 4 SS ranked wrestler. In the other match up. SS #12 Keegan Jochim of Franklin will take on (23/8) Hunter Banet of Floyd Central. Who’s one of those 4 losses STillwagoner has to? Hunter Banet!!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - There are no real “Turrible Draws” if we go by criteria. We do have 2 seniors w/ phenomenal records that look to be victims of the dreaded Mooresville Regional. Terre Haute South’s Josiah Dedeaux (16/5) will go at it with Avon’s (10/3) Quentin Schoeff. Josiah has put together a great body of work. Schoeff is an Oriole from Avon and the young Oriole has had a great season. What happens when these two meet up is anyone’s guess!  The other Senior is Scottsburg’s Kellan Carter. A truly great story of toughness and grit, after missing his Junior season the Warrior from Scottsburg has put in work. He wrestled over 70 matches in the off season and has grinded non-stop. Last weekend at regionals he was upended by Columbus North Freshman (coughTripleBtrainedcough) Cohen Long. The bracket god weren’t kind w/ Carter drawing 2x state champ and Oklahoma Sooner commit Jake Hockaday in the ticket round!
 
Don’t sleep on…. It’s a turrible draw, but gotta give love to Former RoughNeck and one of TripleB OG’s - Cohen Long. The Columbus North Freshman grabbed him a regional title last weekend and will get (2/4) Eddie Goss in the ticket round!
 
Ford Tough Lock: Jake Hockaday Brownsburg
 
Ford Fab 4 - Jake Hockaday Brownsburg, Eddie Goss Center Grove, Quinten Schoeff Avon, Keith Parker Ben Davis
 
138: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 9/11
 
We have another LOCK at 138 but after Brady Ison, this weight class will be fun. After proving the doubters (myself included) wrong, no one is questioning Brady this year! A Syra/Thornton ticket round match had the rankers at odds. Tons of possible sleepers litter this bracket. Some state ranked first round matches. Don’t miss 138 on Saturday!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker -  Let’s look at state ranked match ups in the first round. The first one is Columbus East’s (22/7) Kaleb Kirkpatrick taking on (16/12) Camden Baumann from Evansville Mater Dei. It’s OTR’s rankings vs TripleB’s rankings as Kirkpatrick is ranked higher in the semi-state but Baumann is higher in the state rankings. Grrrrrrr!!! 
 
The other state ranked draw is Floyd Central Junior (23/8) Vince Kessinger taking on (15/4) Seth Syra of Avon. Syra has all eyes on a rematch with Justice Thornton but if he’s caught dreaming of Justice…. Vinny take out his knees!!! Heeeeyyyy!!!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Speaking of the Syra/Thornton rematch. This was a ticket rounder a year ago and it was a banger!! Thornton won a late reversal and fought off a last second takedown attempt by Syra. Syra got redemption at IHPO with a pinfall victory. Syra is 2-1 in head to heads, can Justice prevail this time?!?!!?
 
Don’t sleep on….Landon Horning - Evansville Memorial, with all eyes on the team race and William Vander Luitgaren getting all the love from the rankers, can Horning spoil the Sophomores run in the ticket round? This is a battle built for Ancient Greece, the Tiger vs the Trojan!!! 
 
Ford Tough Lock: Brady Ison Brownsburg
 
Ford Fab 4 - Brady Ison Brownsburg, Justice Thornton Columbus North, Chase Stephens Tell City, William Vander Luitgaren Center Grove 
 
144: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/11
 
We are on LOCKdown as we have another LOCK, Reese Courtney will look to hold COURT on 144! The rankers actually all liked the same 4 but just in some different orders. Almost a chalk weight for the crew. Parker Reynolds will look to overcome his ticket round upset last year and he continues to show his resolve after off season health issues (look up the article on IndianaMat!). Can Branson Weaver crash this party?? Find out Saturday!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - A rematch from the Hoosier Hills Conference finals highlights the opening matches at 144. Columbus East Caleb Cooper (19/7) has won just about everything this year - Columbus Invite, HHC, Sectionals, and Regionals. The Olympian grappler will have to get by a game Webster (SS10) to keep his run going. This match was 4-2 back in January. The Bulldog Senior will not want his season to end with another loss to Cooper!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Bloomington South’s Wyatt Cooksey (13/4) has been chasing Branson Weaver of Owen Valley all post season. He’s yet to cook up the recipe to knock him off and that has left him w/ turrible draw of returning state runner-up and #1 ranked Reese Courtney of Center Grove! Yet another ticket round match of top 4 ranked SS guys.
 
Don’t sleep on…. This weight class was hard, lots of good kids. Last year I cursed Gabe Rose w/ the TripleB Guarantee so I’ll stay away from that. I’ve gotten several texts about this freshman from Gibson Southern. However, I’m going to go w/ one of the favorites; Owen Valleys Branson Weaver. With the #1 and #2 wrestlers in the state, Weaver will get overlooked. He is a returning SQ and has the tools to WEAVE together an impressive day Saturday. Everyone says 144 is the most wide open weight at state and I think we might also see that trickle down to Semi-State also!
 
FORD Tough Lock: Reese Courtney Center Grove
 
Ford Fab 4 - Reese Courtney Center Grove, Parker Reynolds Brownsburg, Branson Weaver Owen Valley, Deacon Dressler Gibson Southern
 
150: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/10
 
Nothing much going on at 150, just the top 3 ranked wrestlers in the state and one of them will not be advancing to the IHSAA state finals next weekend! I said 126 featured one of the worst Turrible draws ever, but now it’s #2… How in the world.. Nevermind we will get into it later. We have a lock… that’s not a returning state runner up… 150 is bananas… b-a-n-a-n-a-s…BANANAS!!! 
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - I’ll take Nate “Dogg” Anderson (25/8) vs Griffin “The Col” Sanders (22/6). This match features 2 seniors, with 9 total losses and this bracket really is wide open. The winner puts themselves into the blood round and one more step closer to that golden ticket!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Floyd’s Hunter May is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the state; 3 time state medalist, returning SS champ, Returning state runner up, returning FORD Tough LOCK. You’d think he’d be another Lock, but no fast my friend, the voters are split!! Some like (3/3) Brownsburg’s Tommy Gibbs! That’s not a typo, we have the #2 and #3 ranked wrestlers in the state going at it for a chance to just get into the top 4 at Semi-State. But NOOOOOOOO we don’t need no wrestlebacks! SMDH!!!
 
Don’t sleep on….The winner of Anderson/Griffin will get Heritage Hills Junior Alex Smith. Smith was in an open bracket last year and took a trip to Greco City, the trip became a nightmare for this Patriot. Look for Smith to get the winner of Anderson/Griffin and not take any exits on his way to the semis!
 
The Hook&Half DL: “I like North’s Cale Bonenberger.  I hate his draw against CG’s Wyatt Krejsa.  Krejsa wrestles like you kicked his dog.  Equally, Floyd Central fans hate Hunter May’s ticket round draw against Brownsburg Sophomore Tommy Gibbs.  Gibbs is going to let it fly and claim the “V”.”
 
FORD Tough Lock: Wyatt Kresja Center Grove
 
Ford Fab 4 - Wyatt Kresja Center Grove, Tommy Gibbs Brownsburg, Tyler Vanover Evansville Mater Dei, Alex Smith Heritage Hills
 
TRIBLEB GUARANTEE - Not sure why there’s a lack of respect for Hunter May, but he won’t go down without a fight! Donnie Baker and ducktails told me to bet the boat and call Randy because we ain’t coming in Monday! Da Knobs will be rocking and rolling lead by Hunter May and the rest of his state qualifiers teammates!!
 
157:  State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/10
 
157 features our first Turrible draw in the first round! Also not a Lock after a few weights of nailing them down. Also the Jeff Regional (for once) and the Mooresville Regional will look to shut out the other 2 regionals here. Silas Stits was as close as one can be to being a LOCK but one ranker was feeling upsets in his bones at 157!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker/Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Let’s just kill 2 birds w/ one stone. We got a first round match featuring our #3 and #4 ranked SS wrestlers. How does this happened\?!?!?! Well it’s old news now, The Mooresville Regional, that’s how this happened. Columbus North’s (9/3)  Asher Ratliff took home a regional championship last weekend and his reward is Martinsville’s (16/4) Evan Hamblin. This match was an 8-6 victory for Ratliff in the regular season. It looks like Hamblin is/was dealing w/ some type of injury. Let’s hope he’s ready to go Saturday!
 
Don’t sleep on…. Indian Creek Freshman Elijah Guyer is the popular pick in his quarter bracket but don’t sleep on Bloomington North’s Cael Hickok. He brings a sectional and regional championship and also is flying under the radar being unranked. The FORD Center might be full of Cougars Saturday, but will Hickok be the luckiest one there?
 
Ford Fab 4 - Silas Stits Center Grove, Mason Day Brownsburg, Asher Ratliff Columbus North, Elijah Guyer Indian Creek
 
165: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/10
 
After a slight opening, we are back on LOCKDOWN! Hey doesn’t it seem like Bloomington South always has “that guy”? This year that guy is Evan Roudebush and he’s the prohibitive favorite at 165. Be on the lookout for a great semi-final match where Indian Creek’s Oliver Hallett will go toe to toe with Roudebush. That match should be great! Hallet just has to survive a TURRIBLE draw in the quarters to get there!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - 2 matches in the 165lb bracket will get the party started for his weight class. Just wait a second on the pulled pork nachos… you got matches to watch!. 
 
I’ve heard this alot this year “I really like _____” and these names all fit in that sentence: (21/6) Matthew Pegram from Evansville North, (19/8) David Oyebode from Decatur Central, (12/3) Gage Eckels from Ben Davis, and (23/7) Spencer Turner of Evansville Mater Dei. So imagine my happiness when I saw them all pitted together Saturday in the opening round!!! Letssss GOOOOOOO!!!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - We got another top 4 ticket round match… Jeeze Louise!!! Indian Creek Sophmore (8/2) Oliver Hallet will wrestle the winner of Eckels/Turner. While TripleB never counts one of his WildCats out, lets just assume Eckels wins. This match will be great. Eckels is a senior and a returning qualifier, does this Giant have one more Giant match in him? Or can Hallet bring the Giant down to size?
 
Don’t sleep on…. Can Spencer Turner pull some Mater Magic at the Ford and beat two top ranked SS kids?
 
FORD Tough Lock: Evan Roudebush Bloomington South
 
Ford Fab 4 - Evan Roudebush Bloomington South, Jesser Derringer Brownsburg, Coy Bender Terre Haute South, Oliver Hallett Indian Creek

 
175: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/8
 
Hey…. did you know that once upon a time Noah Clouser and Bray Emerine were teammates and workout partners? It’s true!!! Is that not a way to set up a potential finals match?? Two old workout partners going at it for a semi-state title on the line?!?!? Probably due to their familiarity and closeness, we don’t have a lock at 175! Will there be a “Mooresville 4” strike also at 175??
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - This first round match up features contest between two wrestlers that’s flown under the radar. Columbus North’s Keller Despain has been in and out of the line up all season with injuries and Brownsburg’s Griffin Cambpell has also had some injuries keep him sidelined. These two seniors will be going at it to try to keep their careers alive!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - The Mooresville Regional Strikes Again!!! This time we will get (9/3) Freshman Phenom Sam Howard of Boonville (51 matches?!?!?) and (14/4) Noah Sumner of Martinsville. Their combined record is 84-5!! TUUUURRRRRIIIBBBLLLEEE
 
Don’t sleep on…. Columbus East loves pulling seniors out of nowhere and sending them to the big show. This year that could be Tyler Lake. Lake won Regionals last week, giving him the best path to a semi-final appearance. McCloy is the heavy favorite and already owns a pinfall win over Lake. Will McCloy be focused on a potential semi-final match up with Noah Clouser? If so he might drown in the Lake!
 
Ford Fab 4 - Bray Emerine Floyd Central, Noah Clouser Center Grove, Sam Howard Boonville, Cooper McCloy Terre Haute South
 
190:  State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/10
 
If there’s one thing this Semi-State delivers, it’s exciting ticket round matches and Turrrible draws. 190 will keep that coming with Goldsberry/McConnell. I won’t spoil anymore, but this match will highlight 190. Also a potential Terry/Henry rematch. Those guys tore down Jeffersonville earlier in the year!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 2 more seniors going at it in the first round and the winner will be the favorite in the quarters. Pike Senior (SS7) Kameron Biven will take on Terre Haute South’s (11/5) Collin Casad. On paper The Brave looks like the favorite but Biven is battle tested and has had some close matches with some high ranked wrestlers. The other first match between state ranked wrestlers is (6/3) Noah Terry vs. (18/6) Braxton Lewis of Cascade. Terry and Gunner Henry are a potential semi-final match and had absolute barn burner (won 8-7 by Henry) back in December. IF Terry is looking past Lewis, we all know Cascade has that magic at Evansville and can certainly drop some upset L’s on people.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - McConnell/Goldsberry…. Mannnnnnnnn……are you serious right now? Kaden McConnel is the returning state runner up and is currently ranked 2nd to his nemesis from The Burg, Gunner Henry. Jett Goldsberry is a returning SQ and is currently ranked (8/4). These two hammers will meet in the ticket round to determine who advances to the IHSAA State Championships. 
 
Don’t sleep on…. The aforementioned Kameron Biven
 
Ford Fab 4 - Gunner Henry Brownsburg, Kaden McConnell Brownsburg, Noah Terry Tell City, Collin Casad Terre Haute South
 
215:   State ranked/Semi State ranked = 5/9
 
Another bracket of unranked wrestlers, a Turrible draw and a LOCK all highlight 215! Caden Brewer’s High School story has been one of upsets and redemption, His freshman year he won a sectional and regional and got put out at Semi-State, last year he won sectionals, regionals, semi-state and got knocked out the opening round of state. This year the Bulldog from Brownsburg looks to take that next step as he hopes to climb on the podium in his Junior year, he is the LOCK at 215! From a lock…. To a wide open bracket, which we will discuss below. 215 will be a great weight class come Saturday!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - We have a quarter bracket w/ zero ranked state wrestlers and only one ranked SS wrestler. Keep your eyes on Kellen Fellure (a 3B guarantee), Noah Owens, Aiden Beadles, and Brant Oakley. This bracket is up for grabs. There were disagreements everywhere as TripleB descented from the pickers! 
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - We also have a bracket where 2 top 4 SS guys will go at it for a spot in the state finals. Junior from Tell City (17/4) Landon Terry will hope to follow in his brother’s footsteps, but first must get through (14/3) Spencer Watson from Tri-West. Despite being the favorite in both rankings, Watson finds himself as the underdog in this match up!
 
Don’t sleep on…. Heritage Hills Parker Hart, he has a win over Terry early in the season and has been in several close matches. He does have a loss to his potential ticket round opponent, Tyson Ruhe, but still the Patriot knows what it takes to win!
 
FORD Tough Lock: Caden Brewer Brownsburg
 
Ford Fab 4 - Caden Brewer Brownsburg, Landon Terry Tell City, Tyson Ruhe Jasper, Austin Beadles South Putnam
 
TRIPLE B GUARANTEE: The Blue Cactus in Franklin Indiana will be throwing a wild party of all you can eat Chili Cheese Burritos when Franklin Community Freshman Kellen Fellure punches that ticket!!! We can’t have state in Evansville w/o a Tonte Suit on Friday!!!
 
285: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/9
 
One of the rare, maybe only weights where there were no official curtain jerkers as it’s all ranked vs unranked individuals. Also no Turrible Draws, none of that means this weight class won’t be fun. While it does have our last lock, Center Grove’s Nate Johnson, and all 4 picks were unanimous, not chalk, I’d be shocked if they all held up. The big quarterfinal match will feature returning state qualifier Ben Land taking on Avon Senior Oluwagbenga Orisadare. Another match up where the favored wrestler wasn’t picked to advance as the pickers like (16/5) Orisadare to beat (13/4) Land. 
 
Don’t sleep on…. Big Ben Land, dude is a throwing machine and never stops wrestling. In his earlier season 16-5 loss to (11/3) Justin Brown from Floyd, Land just kept coming and coming and giving up points to try to score points. He’s not a boring wrestler at all!
 
FORD Tough Lock: Nate Johnson Center Grove
 
Ford Fab 4 - Nate Johnson Center Grove, Justin Brown Floyd Central, Oluwagbenga Orisadare Avon, Hayden Smith Heritage Hills
 
Man we made it…….let’s end w my favorite - food recommendations
 
Hilltop Inn - Fried Brain sandwiches. Brains aren’t your thing? Turonis is a local pizza place that’s dynamite. Like German? Gerst Haus is phenomenal. Want to head out for some adult beverages? Go to Franklin St, Gerst Haus is there and a number of other watering holes and great restaurants. I’m never up early enough for Breakfast so I have no clue. I hear the nachos at the Ford are great and worth the $. And a tradition on the way home used to be Stoll’s Country Diner (RIP). 
 
We’ll end w/ this unreleased track…. I love the Ford!
 
An homage to the best Wrestling Semi-State in the Indiana! 
 
We got winners
We got losers
Dippers and boozers
We got WildCats
We got Bulldogs
We got angry fathers
And the moms all dressed up in their glitter
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I love the FORD
We got Trojans
We got Olympians
Broken-hearted wrestlers and seniors
And we got state placers
We got fighters
Early-pinners and over-timers
And the old timers in letter jackets talk about their battle scars
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I love the FORD
I love THE FORD
It's my kind of place
Just walkin' through the front door
Puts a big smile on my face
It’s actually pretty far
Come as you are
Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I love the FORD
 
See everybody Saturday!!! 

1465 2
Paul Rademacher to Lead Indiana Tech Women’s Wrestling Program
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Indiana Tech has hired Paul Rademacher to lead its women’s wrestling program, Director of Athletics Debbie Warren announced Monday.
“We are ecstatic to bring Paul into the Warrior Family and lead our women’s wrestling program,” Warren said. “His background in freestyle wrestling, knowledge of the NAIA and overall experience elevated him in this highly competitive search and we look forward to seeing him build the program and grow the sport of women’s wrestling in the Midwest.”
A former wrestler at Oregon State University, Rademacher comes to Tech following a two-year stint at Southern Oregon University, where he was the Associate Head Coach for the women’s wrestling team.
“I am very excited and honored to be selected to be the first Women's Wrestling Head Coach at Indiana Tech,” Rademacher said. “It was very obvious that Indiana Tech was fully invested in starting this program and being successful. I believe Fort Wayne will be a great place for Women's Wrestling and that student-athletes will come from around the country to join the Warriors and be a part of the Indiana Tech community.”
During his two years with the Raiders he went 14-14 and led the team to an eighth place finish at the first-ever NAIA National Invitational this past March and a 12th-place performance at the Women’s College Wrestling Association (WCWA) Championships in 2018. He mentored six All-Americans during his time in Ashland.
“The opportunity to start the program from scratch and set a culture of character, integrity, academic and athletic excellence was a major draw for me,” Rademacher said. “I look forward to working with the other athletic programs to continue the national success that Indiana Tech has produced. I would like to thank AD Debbie Warren, Dr. Daniel J. Stoker (VP for Student Affairs), and President Dr. Karl W. Einolf for believing in me and for this opportunity.”
Prior to his time at SOU, Rademacher served as the head coach for the boys and girls wrestling teams at Henley High School (Ore.) for two seasons and was in charge of Mount Vernon High School (Wash.) before that. he had 40 wrestlers place during his time at the prep ranks while four became state champions under his tutelage, while he recorded two top-four finishes in the Oregon State Athletic Association (OSAA) Tournament.
A 1999 graduate of Chiloquin High, Rademacher competed from 1999-2003 at Oregon State, where he named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Second Team as a senior. He continued to compete post-collegiately, and in 2014 placed second in the Veteran’s Greco Roman Division B 76-kilogram class and third in the Veteran’s Freestyle Division B 76-kilogram class. He was a quarterfinalist in the 2014 US Open Freestyles at 74-kilograms and won the 2012 Washington State Tournament Greco-Roman in the 85-kilogram division.
Rademacher is a USA Wrestling Bronze Certified Coach and was the head coach of the Oregon Junior National Team from 2015-18. He served as a wildland firefighter from 2000-15 at Baker River IHC was a member of the U.S. Forest Service in Washington.
He received his Master’s Degree in Teaching – Science from Western Governors University in 2017 and graduated from OSU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise and Sports Science with a concentration in Fitness Management. Rademacher and his wife, Gretchen, have been married since 2004.
The Warriors will begin competing as a team in the 2020-21 academic year. To learn more about women’s wrestling in the NAIA click here. To learn more about Indiana Tech women’s wrestling, click here. Interested student-athletes may fill out a recruit questionnaire here.

671
Dingo's Den #1
This week in Hoosier collegiate wrestling, Article 1
 
Hey everyone. It's your faithful narrator Dingo here. This past week, there were some interesting developments in the world of D1 wrestling concerning some of our former Indiana high school wrestlers.
 
The most notable, obviously, involves Alexander Tsirtsis, or T-shirts as some of our lazier friends on the national sites call him. Coming off a redshirt year, a heated competition for the 141 spot with 4-time Iowa high school state champ Dan LeClere and a 'bunged up' shoulder (thanks, Kentucky Mudflap), Alex has firmly established himself as a strong candidate for the current number one ranked wrestler in the nation at 141 pounds. Alex followed up wins earlier in the season over #11 Chris Drouin of ASU, #17 Alex Krom of Maryland and #19 (Intermat) Eric Kruger of Central Michigan with a stirring, last second (literally) win over then-top ranked Nick Gallick of Iowa State. Alex reversed Gallick with 1 second left in the match. Cael and company protested vigorously, but the replay seemed to confirm that the correct call was made. Alex has grown some pretty girthy locks this year and, so far, he has responded like Samson. The current themat.com Wrestler of the Week, the Griffith HS product looks physically stronger than ever, and he actually chose the down position in the third period of his match with Gallick, showing that he has improved on a long-standing weakness and is unafraid of working from the bottom, even in crunch time. It's a long, long season, but Alex has started his senior campaign undefeated and looking like a strong contender for a national title.
 
Another wrestler from Indiana having an outstanding start to his season is Kurt Kinser, formerly of Bloomington South HS. Competing so far this season at 157, a position he earned by knocking off former All-American and Evansville Mater Dei wrestler Matt Coughlin, Kurt finished 7th at this past week's Cliff Keen Las Vegas Open. Kinser won his first two matches, including a nice win over Penn's Matt Dragon. However, last year's national champion at 157, Jordan Leen of Cornell, was his next opponent. Kurt kept it respectable versus the senior, but ultimately fell to Leen in their quarterfinals match 6-1. Kinser won his first match in the consolation bracket, then fell to 5th seeded Chase Pami of Cal Poly. Kurt finished his day by beating 6th seeded senior Jason Johnstone of Ohio State. A very tough draw kept Kurt from finishing higher, and he absorbed his first losses of the season. Earlier this season, Kurt pinned national #1 recruit Jason Welch of Northwestern and defeated #9 Matt Moley of American. Moley was also an All-American last year. Kurt has shown that he can hang with the big dogs at this bigger weight class.
 
Andrew Howe had a pretty successful outing for a true freshman competing in a stacked tourney, finishing 5th above some notable wrestlers. The Juggernaut won his first two matches, including a nail-biter over highly regarded 8th seed Mike Galante of Lehigh. Like Kinser, Howe had a very tough draw in the quarters; top-seed and returning AA Mack Lewnes of Cornell. Like Kinser, Howe kept it respectable, dropping a 6-2 decision. Andrew won his first consolation match, then received a forfeit, then dropped a surprisingly lop-sided match to returning AA Stephen Dwyer of Nebraska.
 
Obviously, space and time constraints prevent me from detailing other significant results by former Indiana high school wrestlers, but fear not, for I'll have another piping hot serving of recap coming down the pike next week.
 
In closing, the following former Indiana high school wrestlers are ranked:
 
 
RevWrestling rankings:
125 #2 Angel Escobedo IU (#2 really????)
133 #9 Reece Humphrey OSU
141 #1 Alex Tsirtsis Iowa
157 #14 Kurt Kinser IU (behind Matt Dragon and Matt Moley????)
165 #9 Andrew Howe Wisc
 
AWN rankings:
125 #1 Escobedo
133 #10 Humphrey
141 #4 Tsirtsis
141 #13 Andrae Hernandez IU
157 #17 Matt Coughlin IU
 
Intermat rankings:
125 #1 Escobedo
133 #7 Humphrey
141 #3 Tsirtsis
141 #7 Hernandez
157 #9 Kinser
 
WIN rankings:
125 #1 Escobedo
133 #9 Humphrey
141 #2 Tsirtsis
157 #16 Kinser

2122
Toe to Joe with Eric McGill
[caption id=" align="aligncenter" width="291" caption="Eric McGill wrestling against Pittsburgh's Headlee][/caption]
 
The first installment of Toe to Joe is an interview with Cornell wrestler and former two-time Indiana state champion Eric McGill.
 
1. Why did you choose to go to Cornell?
 
[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="143" caption="Cornell wrestlers running up a hill][/caption]
 
Choosing which college to attend was probably the hardest, and, in retrospect, best decision that I have made for myself at this point in my life. I chose Cornell University over Stanford, Princeton, Central Michigan, and Purdue because Cornell allowed me the opportunity to acquire an Ivy League education, while at the same time, wrestling for a top-5 Division 1 college program. It was simply something that I could not pass up. The contacts that I have already met, and will continue to meet at Cornell will hopefully put me on a path to success. Just within the network of former Cornell wrestlers, not even including the rest of the university, we have a former CEO of Goldman-Sachs, a former assistant of economic policy to the President of the United States, and a mission specialist for NASA's space shuttle Atlantis, just to name a few. Every year, Cornell wrestlers go to work on Wall Street and become successful very early in their adult lives.
 
2. Outside of wrestling, what are your other interests and hobbies?
 
Although schoolwork and wrestling take up a large amount of my time, I still like to have other outlets to take my mind off of these stresses. My Sundays are always devoted to NASCAR and the NFL and I am a huge fan of Tony Stewart and the Chicago Bears. I have been a Chicago Cubs fan since the day I was born and I rarely miss a Cubs game on either the radio or the TV throughout the course of the summer. Also in the summer, I like to fish as much as I can with my grandpa at his lake in Cedar Lake, Indiana. We fish for largemouth bass and bluegill, mostly. Although I have never gone ice fishing, some of the guys on the team have talked about going soon because the winters are so cold here in New York. I'm looking forward to it; hopefully it will be a good time! I am also a big fan of MMA and my favorite fighter is WEC Champ Miguel Torres. He has a high pace, attacking style and is such a well-rounded fighter that it makes him very fun to watch. Miguel grew up with one of my high school wrestling coaches, Bobby Joe Maldonado, in East Chicago, Indiana and we have worked with Miguel on his wrestling in the past.
 
3. What is the biggest difference between high school and collegiate wrestling?

The two biggest differences between high school and college wrestling are parity and mat wrestling. What I mean by parity is that every single time that you step on the mat, you know that you are going to be in a closely contested match. In high school, if you are at the top, elite level, you may have just 5 or 6 matches a year that are even close. The mental preparation that you must go through to get ready for these big matches is the same from high school to college, except that instead of having to prepare this way 5 or 6 times a season, it could be 5 or 6 times in a day at a college tournament. Another big difference is mat wrestling. For me, the transition on my feet from high school to college was not nearly as big as what I learned on the mat. My top wrestling has gotten infinitely better since high school, and I wish that I knew some of the things in high school that I have picked up from the top position at Cornell. My bottom wrestling is still my biggest weakness, although I am continuing to work to shore it up. I have found myself losing a few close matches recently because of my inability to consistently get off of the bottom. If you can't get away, not only are you not getting an escape, but he is also getting a riding time point. For this reason, if you can't get away on bottom, it's like starting every single match down 2-0. It's hard to win the close matches when you are giving away 2 points.
 
4. Do you think we should get rid of folkstyle and wrestle the international styles in high school and college? Why or why not?
 
Although I feel that USA Wrestling would probably see more success at the Olympic and World level if they were to get rid of folkstyle at the high school and college level, I, personally, am against it. As of right now, the successful international style is not very spectator-friendly. It is low-scoring and does not promote action. At the elite high school and college level, on the other hand, you will see a high-pace, attacking style, with lots of exciting scrambles. If nothing else, folkstyle is more fun to watch. The top high school and college level guys in the United States are still wrestling the international styles in folkstyle's "off-season" at tournaments such as Fargo, University Nationals, FILA Jr's., U.S. Nationals, etc., so our international guys are not coming into the game clueless just because they spent the majority of their wrestling careers wrestling folkstyle. Bubba Jenkins from Penn State showed everyone that it's possible to compete in college in today's day in age and still enjoy international success when he won the FILA Jr. World Championship. On the other hand, Henry Cejudo provided an argument for the other side, since he decided to forego college wrestling in order to improve his freestyle, and that seemed to work out pretty well for him, too.
 
5. What is your college major and why did you choose that area?
 
At this point, my major is Economics within Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences. I have also declared a minor in Law and Society within Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences. I feel that this course of study gives me the most versatile set of options upon the completion of my undergraduate degree. Friends of mine who have graduated from Cornell with Economics degrees have gotten jobs on Wall Street and become successful at very young ages. If an opportunity like that were to fall into my lap, it would be tough to pass by. However, with the economy in its current condition, and the uncertainty of Wall Street at the present time, I also have the options to go to Business school and work towards an MBA, go to Law School, or both.
 
6. What is the most memorable match you have wrestled in?
 
I have wrestled in so many matches that it would be hard to classify one as my "most memorable match." For this reason, I will just run through some that stick out in my mind for various reasons, from all the way back in youth wrestling, all the way up until my college career. For me, there is no better feeling than avenging a loss. When I think back on losses that I have avenged, a few stick out in particular. The first happened in 6th grade. Growing up wrestling in Illinois' IKWF youth program, I used to always wrestle a kid from the Harvey Twisters named Mario Morgan, who now wrestles in Division 2 at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The first time that we wrestled was when I was 8 years old and he tech-falled me 15-0. We would go on to wrestle each other almost every single year after that with him winning every single time, but the score getting closer and closer and closer. Finally, in 6th grade, I beat him and it was extremely gratifying to see that I had not only caught up to him, but passed him. He served as a sort of measuring stick for my progress from the time I was 8 years old until the 6th grade, and I had finally outgrown it! Another avenged loss that sticks out in my mind happened in 8th grade. At Liberty Nationals that year, I lost 6-0 in the 3rd and 4th place match to a kid from New Mexico named Matt Ortega, who went on to win Senior Nationals and now wrestles at IU. Just 3 weeks later at the Virginia Challenge, we wrestled again in the finals and I beat him 5-2. The first match of my sophomore year in high school sticks out as another gratifying victory. My freshman year I went 46-1 and advanced to the state championship match at 103 where I lost 4-2 to Jon Lloyd from Warren Central. The very first match of the following season at 119 we wrestled again in the first round of the Indianapolis Cathedral Super Six and I came out on top of that one by an identical score, 4-2. Other than those 3 matches, my first high school state title, a 3-2 win against Adam Walters from Portage at 125 in 2006, and the whole 7-match series with Brennan Cosgrove which culminated in my second high school state title sticks out as some other matches that were memorable in my career. Two that stick out as particularly memorable in that 7 match series were the very first two. In the first one, a dual meet at Hobart in which we were battling back and forth, exchanging takedowns and reversals and backpoints and I won 9-8 with a takedown in the final seconds. The second match in that series, the finals of the Lake County Tournament was also memorable. He threw me to my back in the first period and I was down by 5 right away. I slowly picked the lead off one point at a time and came back and won 10-9, also with a takedown in the final seconds. He won the third match, a 5-2 decision in the finals of the Lake Athletic Conference Tournament. He also won the fourth match, a 3-1 decision in the finals of the Hobart Invite. The fifth match, the Calumet Regional finals, was a memorable one, even though it went to him by a score of 9-7 In that one we put a lot of points on the board and it came right down to the wire. In the sixth, the Merrillville Semi-State finals, he was winning late in the 3rd period when he was disqualified for an illegal slam. The 7th and final match for the state championship also came right down to the wire and an escape with under 30 seconds to go gave me the 6-5 win. Those are what I would classify as my most memorable matches, however, the best atmosphere that I have wrestled in would undoubtedly be the hostile crowd in the dual meet at Penn State last year when I faced returning All-American Jake Strayer. The state championship match is a fun atmosphere, but nothing compares to thousands of fans who are out for your blood, and sitting literally inches from the edge of the mat. They actually pushed you back on when you went out of bounds.
 
7. Class wrestling, yay or nay?
 
Although I can see both sides of the argument, I am against class wrestling in the individual state tournament. At this point, with Indiana wrestling still growing and looking to gain national attention, I do not feel that there is enough depth to successfully split up the individual state tournament. At each weight class, the top 5 kids are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, and until Indiana can qualify 16 kids for the state tournament (and maybe even leave some at home) that are capable of beating the state champion on any given day, I feel that class wrestling would have a watering-down effect on the individual state tournament. In the past couple of years, it has become a more nationally recognized accomplishment to win 2 or 3 state titles in Indiana with guys such as Matt Coughlin and Andrae Hernandez becoming All-Americans after winning only 2 Indiana state titles. If Indiana was to split up the individual state tournament, kids who are not on this elite level would be winning multiple state titles, and the image of Indiana wrestling in the national picture would suffer a setback. Although this is how I feel about class wrestling in the individual state tournament, I am open to the idea of class wrestling for the team state tournament. In the past years, with the exception of Evansville Mater Dei, who has an unrivaled feeder system, the team state tournament has been dominated by large schools, and I do not see any problem with splitting that tournament up into classes.
 
8. Who is the most influential person in your life? Why?
 
The most influential people in my life are my parents. They were the ones who set me up with the opportunities that have helped me get where am I today. They each played pivotal roles that you don't quite understand until you get older and are able to look back on it. My dad was at almost every single practice up until I got into high school and would drive me all over for the best coaches and workout partners. I'm sure he could have found more relaxing things to do after work. He was also a driving force behind my success in school and was always motivating me to do better. My mom never missed a match and did the "behind-the-scenes" work which often gets taken for granted. She was able to put up with me as I cut weight, taking my special diet into account every night as she prepared dinner, and always made sure all my clothes were washed and ready for the next day's workouts. Both of my parents put me and my success and interests before themselves and I am very grateful for this.
 
9. Do you have any superstitions or routines when it comes to wrestling?
 
Those who know me know that I am extremely superstitious when it comes to wrestling. There are so many I can think of, that I will just name a few. First, I eat and drink the exact same thing in the exact same order after each and every time that I weigh-in for a competition. My morning warm-up always consists of the exact same number of reps and exact same techniques every single week. I also wear the exact same items of clothing at every single competition. I have my singlet on, and on top of that I have a t-shirt and shorts, followed by a long sleeve t-shirt, followed by a sweatshirt and warm-up pants. Three matches before I am going to wrestle, I take off the sweatshirt and warm-up pants. Two matches before I am going to wrestle I take off the shorts and long sleeve t-shirt, and when there is 30 seconds left in the third period of the match before I am about to wrestle, I take off the t-shirt. This is just something that I have been doing for a long time, and works well as a routine for me, although many people find it quirky.
 
10. The weight class 103… keep it or get rid of it?
 
Being a former 103 pounder, I am all for keeping 103. Here in New York, they even have a 96 lb. weight class. There are just too many talented kids at 103 to get rid of it. I was just looking back at my 103 lb. weight class at state and noticed that there were 4 kids in there that went on to be high school state champions. That's 1 out of every 4 kids that made it that year! I am also against moving 103 up to a higher weight like 108. Every year there are upperclassmen at 103 that are less skilled than some freshman at the same weight class but win because of a size, strength, and maturity advantage. If 103 got moved up to 108, this problem would be even larger since more upperclassmen could make 108 than can make 103.

Just as a fair warning to future people that want to go Toe to Joe, this is what Eric looked like afterward.


 
 
[caption id=" align="aligncenter" width="666" caption="This is Eric Mcgill after going Toe to Joe][/caption]
 


547
Pound for Pound Best Wrestlers 12/11/2008
IndianaMat.com Pound for Pound Rankings
1. Cashe Quiroga- Lawrence North
2. Brandon Wright- Cathedral
3. Josh Harper- Mishawaka
4. Sean McMurray- Portage
5. Eric Roach- Crown Point
6. Marcus Shrewsbury- Crown Point
7. Steven Sandefer- Mishawaka
7. Jason Tsirtsis- Crown Point
9. Camden Eppert- Anderson Highland
10. Frankie Porras- Hobart
 
Honorable Mention
Briar Runyan- Martinsville
Taylor March- East Noble
Michael Duckworth- Union County
Adam Chalfant- Winchester

776
Alex Tsirtsis Wrestler of the Week
From TheMat.com
 
Iowa's Alex Tsirtsis named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week
Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
12/08/2008
 
Alex Tsirtsis (Griffith, Ind./University of Iowa) has been named TheMat.com Wrestler of the Week for Dec. 2-8.
 
Each week, TheMat.com will select an Athlete of the Week, based upon performance within wrestling for that week. The selection committee will consider any level of wrestling, from youth programs through the Senior level.
 
The third-ranked Tsirtsis posted a 4-2 win over second-ranked Nick Gallick to lead No. 1 Iowa to a 20-15 win over No. 2 Iowa State on Saturday night before 15,955 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. It was the largest dual meet crowd in NCAA history.
 
Tsirtsis' win at 141 pounds provided a huge boost as the Hawkeyes won 6 of 10 matches over the Cyclones. Tsirtsis scored a reversal with one second left in the match to pull out the win.
 
Tsirtsis, a senior, is in his fourth year as a Hawkeye starter. He placed seventh in the 2006 NCAA Championships. He redshirted during the 2007-08 season before jumping back into the Iowa lineup this season.

2726
Karl Hungus Among Us Traicoff Recap
Cavemen Pass Mid-Season Test
CALUMET: Some of Indiana's best wrestling programs as well as fifty ranked individuals took their annual migration northwest to '˜da region' to participate in a sixteen team mid-season meat grinder of a wrestling tournament. The Chris Traicoff Memorial Invitational held yesterday in the Calumet Fieldhouse lived up to its billing as the "Premier dual meet tournament in the state of Indiana." The competition was so tough that a defending state and national champion (Cathedral's Brandon Wright) ended his day with a 3-2 record. The day was surely grueling for all involved, but that is just the type of atmosphere in which the Mishawaka Cavemen seem to thrive as they aced this semester exam by going 5-0 on the day, defeating Crown Point 39-28 in round 5.
 
The format for the Traicoff had top seeds (Mishawaka, Crown Point, Cathedral, and Lawrence North) meeting in round robin action after each dispatched their first two round opponents. Although the top four teams separated themselves fairly easily, that did not mean there were not some upsets of note in the early going.
 
Most notably was young #13 ranked 103 pounder Brian Harvey of Cathedral defeating second ranked Dustin Keif of Franklin 8-4. With the score 2-2 after the first period, Harvey rode Keif the entire 2nd period. Keif chose the optional start for the third period, giving Harvey a slim 3-2 lead. On their feet, Harvey caught Keif in a firemans dump that became a 5 point move when Harvey held Keif in nearfall position. Keif reversed Harvey late in the third to provide the final score (8-4). Another upset occurred at the 145 lb. class where #10 ranked Chris Almarez of Highland relied on strong leg work to protect his 4-2 lead, riding #3 Gavin McGinley of Cathedral for nearly all of the third period. McGinley finally did shake himself free with 15 seconds remaining in the third, but last year's 3rd place finisher at state did not have enough time to attempt a solid takedown, ensuring a 4-3 victory for Amarez. One final minor upset occurred at 189, where Portage's Kyle Keith turned Mishawaka's #13 Dustin Boyd in the third period to earn a hard fought 5-4 victory.
 
The first set of duals in the winner's bracket had Lawrence North taking on Mishawaka and Crown Point brawling with Cathedral. The Irish had early momentum when #3 Gavin McGinley stacked up #12 Nick Bruno for the fall midway through the second period. Cathedral earned a major decision at 152 to take an early 10-0 lead. CP's senior leader #2 Mark Myers righted the Bulldog ship by snatching two takedowns and utilizing a tight crossface ride for most of the match to defeat #11 Tyler Willis of Cathedral. A turning point for Crown Point occurred at 215 where the Bulldog's Jim Bakalik came back from a 4-2 deficit to wear down Cathedral's Jake Buchanan. Bakalik obviously filled up the gas tank before leaving as he hustled and scrambled his way to a 7-4 victory. In another battle of ranked opponents, Cathedral's #13 Brain Harvey defeated his second ranked opponent, #10 Cameron Halsted, 1-0. In a marquee match-up at 125, defending state champ and second ranked Brandon Wright of Cathedral squared off against Indiana wrestling royalty, freshman #3 Jason Tsirtsis of Crown Point. In the first period Tsirtsis used a snap down, duck under to a single in which he finished nicely. Tsirtsis led 2-0 after one period. Wright came back to tie the match with a lightning quick switch on the whistle to begin the second period. Tsirtsis then escaped to take a narrow 3-2 lead heading into the third. Tsirtsis extended his lead to 5-2 in the third before giving up a takedown to narrow the score to 5-4. Tsirtsis escaped to finish off the scoring at 6-4. Not to be outdone, Cathedral's #4 John Grey staged a thrilling overtime victory over #9 Dallas Schurg, 3-2. At 135 Crown Point's #1 Eric Roach was very impressive in turning #9 Dominic Corsano with a variety of tilts and wings to earn a technical fall at 16-0. Roach's victory sealed the team victory as well, 29-22.
 
In the match-up of Mishawaka and Lawrence North, the Caveman used their depth to rest a couple of their starters in defeating the Wildcats, 38-25. The only contest matching ranked wrestlers had #7 Bryce Grimes of LN utilizing a number of low singles and double leg takedowns to defeat #13 Joey Smith, 10-2.
 
Second round highlights included #11 Tyler Willis of Cathedral winning an entertaining match over Richard Morin of Mishawaka. #3 Anthony Hawkins of Crown Point gave up a 3 point lead to #2 Brandon Nelson of Lawrence North in the third only to cut Nelson in the thirty second overtime period and then take down Nelson to win. #1 Josh Harper of Mishawaka wrestled his first match of the day against the Irish's #4 John Grey and showed no rust in a dominating 16-0 technical fall. In marquee match-up number 2, freshman Jason Tsirtsis had another opportunity to defeat a defending state champ when he squared off with #1 Cashe Quiroga. The first period was scoreless, Tsirtsis escaped and as they were on their feet Quiroga locked up and threw an upper body toss to take the lead 2-1. Tsirtsis escaped in the second to even the match 2-2. In the third Quiroga escaped, and deftly countered numerous takedown attempts to win 3-2. Finally, in another bout matching up two heavy hitters, #1 Steve Sandefer of Mishawaka utilized a slick ankle pick to defeat #2 Tony McGinley by the score of 3-2. Coincidently, this was exactly the same margin Sandefer had in his victory over McGinley in last years state semi-final match. Second round match scores in the championship bracket: MHS 29 CATH 23, CP 42 LN 13.
 
The championship match pitted the top two seeds, #1 Mishawaka versus #2 Crown Point in a battle where 19 ranked wrestlers would pound it out on the mat to see who would be an early favorite to take home the team hardware in February. The match started at 160 and CP's #2 Mark Myers used 3 takedowns and a nearfall to post a major decision against Richard Morin. #13 Joey Smith gutted out a tough 8-5 victory over CP's Jeremy Kooi. Smith was wrestling on a knee that he tweaked earlier in the day and was visibly in pain through much of the match but was able to ignore it enough to earn 3 team points for the Cavemen. At 189, #1 ranked Marcus Shrewsbury of Crown Point capped of a phenomenal day in which he was never really tested by turning #13 Dustin Boyd with an arm bar and collecting a pin in 1:55. Mishawaka took control of the match with victories at 215, 285 and 103. Most surprising of these was Mishawaka's 103 Taylor Wisler running a wing and pinning the Bulldog's #10 Cameron Halstead just :59 into the first period. Wisler, a relative unknown statewide, will no doubt be force to reckoned with come February. At 112, CP's #3 Anthony Hawkins garnered his second exciting overtime victory, defeating the pesky Paul Beck 7-6. The Cavemen's #16 Matt Guerra posted a minor upset by defeating #10 Josh Mannes 6-4. Guerra is not flashy but is extremely tough on his feet and he has improved his mat wrestling from a year ago. #3 Jason Tsirtsis was up next for the Bulldogs and he used a rock solid front headlock to secure 3 takedowns on Mishawaka's Nick Schrader through two periods. Schrader fought gamely to stay off his back but succumbed to hard half nelson and was pinned at 4:32. A relatively fresh Josh Harper of Mishawaka was slick on his takedown of #9 Dallas Schurg, threw legs and utilized a physical power half to turn and pin Schurg in 1:32. At 135, CP's #1 Eric Roach battled to a 5-2 victory. Next up was defending state champ Mishawaka's #1 Steve Sandefer. He put on a front headlock takedown clinic in a major decision victory over #14 Josh Flamme. Sandefer's victory secured the team title for the Cavemen. The Cavemen split the last two matches with Mishawaka's Alex White defeating #12 Nich Bruno 6-3 and Crown Point's Jeremy Pogorzelski receiving an injury default over # 16 Tim Forte making the final score 39-28.
 
It should be noted that the Traicoff Invite not only pits numerous first-class Indiana high school wrestlers in action but also was an opportunity to see a set of first-class referees work. Men like Chuck Barnett, Mike Faulkner, Dan McCartney, Jim Hoover, Barry Woodward, Bart Welch, Chris Conlisk, Tim Servies, Craig Bultemeier, and 21 Traicoff veteran Mike Golando work awfully hard multiple nights of the week and give up their weekends to provide outstanding officiating for our Indiana wrestlers. On a final note, a special thanks to Jim Wadkins and the staff of the Traicoff for running this event that provides us fans with such great entertainment. My only suggestion is to switch the high school to a power grid different then the one that Y2CJ41 uses. When he turns on his computer, it has been known to cause brown outs throughout the Midwest. (You had to be there to get that lame attempt at a joke)
 
 

2906
ISWA's Pat Culp on recent COVID-19 cancellations
By Dane Fuelling
 
When sports started shutting down four weeks ago, one of the first casualties was the ISWA (Indiana State Wrestling Association) Folkstyle State tournament, which was due to be held at Warren Central. While the decision came as a surprise at the time, it was certainly the right one. One must look at the losses suffered by township schools in Marion County in the last month to realize that the virus would have been spread at WC and sent back to every corner of the Hoosier State had the tournament gone on. 
 
ISWA President Pat Culp says her organization and the greater USA Wrestling body, have canceled all events up to May 10th at the local and national level. 
 
As President, Culp participates in weekly video conferences with the CEO and president of USAW, along with all the state chairs. 
“USA Wrestling has developed a COVID-19 committee,” said Culp Wednesday morning, “that tries to stay on top of any and all developments regarding what is happening nationally. In addition, they try to determine what is happening state by state. All states are required to inform USAW each time there is a change in our ‘stay at home’ policy, school cancellations, etc.”
 
The challenge for the ISWA has been a set of circumstances that seem to change daily. 
 
“We saw this when trying to host Folkstyle State in the second weekend in March. Our venue, which was a school, informed us on Tuesday that they would not be allowed to host the event, which was a three-day event scheduled to start that Friday. We had to scramble to find a new venue.”
The Columbia City resident, whose son Blane is the head wrestling coach at CCHS, said that her team quickly contacted USAW and asked if they were allowed to still host the event. 
 
“The people at USAW informed us we could until the state of Indiana told us no. So we found a new venue. However, 24 hours later, USA Wrestling put out a statement stating they were recommending postponing all events until further notice. That’s how fast everything changed.”
At the time of printing, Culp was preparing for another conference call to discuss the upcoming Central Regionals, scheduled to be held at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on May 15, 16, and 17. 
 
The ISWA will also be hosting the 14U national duals in Franklin in the middle of June, pending conditions of the pandemic. 
“It has been a very trying situation for all sports. Our main objective is to keep the kids safe, along with spectators, officials, coaches, etc. The ISWA would like to be able to have wrestling open back up this summer, if allowed, and with precautionary measures. In the meantime, we are posting daily workouts to keep the kids involved and in shape.”
 
Pat Culp took over as ISWA President in the fall and has been part of the organization since 1992 in one form or another. 

560
Team Rankings as of Results posted 12/14/08
Team Rankings as of Results posted 12.14.2008
 
1. Mishawaka
2. Evansville Mater Dei
3. Crown Point
4. Cathedral
5. Perry Meridian
6. Yorktown
7. Bellmont
8. Merrillville
9. Evansville Reitz
10. Carmel
11. Lawrence North
12. Portage
13. Castle
14. New Palestine
15. Penn
16. Elkhart Memorial
17. Westfield
18. Carroll (FW)
19. Franklin
20. Roncalli
 
Projected Team State Participants
 
1. Crown Point
2. Mishawaka
3. Yorktown
4. McCutcheon
5. Cathedral
6. Perry Meridian
7. New Palestine
8. Ev. Mater Dei
 
To check out full team-by-team results, click here
 
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521
Pound For Pound 12/15/2008
IndianaMat.com Pound for Pound Rankings 12/15/2008
1. Cashe Quiroga
2. Josh Harper
3. Sean McMurray
4. Eric Roach
5. Jason Tsirtsis
6. Steven Sandefer
7. Brandon Wright
8. Marcus Shrewsbury
9. Camden Eppert
10. Taylor March
 
Honorable Mention
Frankie Porras
Ethan Raley
Adam Chalfant
Braden Atwood
Mark Meyers
Anthony Hawkins
Michael Duckworth
Briar Runyan
Kyle Mosier
 
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706
Wrestler of the Week 12/8 - 12/13/2008
Lawrence North Senior

Cashe' Quiroga


 
During the Chris Traicoff Memorial Tournament, Quiroga was 5-0 including victories over defending state champion and national cadet champion Brandon Wright of Cathedral and now #2 ranked freshman Jason Tsirtsis from Crown Point.  Quiroga, defending 119 state champion, is currently ranked 1st at 125 by IndianaMat and is nationally ranked 22nd by Wrestling USA Magazine.  Quiroga has logged wins this season against 3 time state placer Camden Eppert of Anderson Highland and 2 time state qualifier D'Marcus Spencer from Pike and will attend Purdue University next year.

Honorable Mention:
 
Fort Wayne SS -  140 pound junior Ryan Stahl from Elkhart Memorial.  Stahl was 5-0 at the Jim Nicholson Invitational defeating state placer Trace Hall of South Bend Riley.
 
Evansville SS -  103 pound freshman Alonzo Shepherd from Jeffersonville.  Shepherd was 5-0 at Castle while beating ranked wrestlers from Evansville Mater Dei and Bloomington South.
 
Merrillville SS - 112 pound junior Anthony Hawkins from Crown Point was undefeated at the Chris Traicoff Memorial including victories over state placers Brandon Nelson of Lawrence North and Paul Beck of Mishawaka

506
From the edge of the mat (12/16)......
It's your faithful narrator Dingo with the weekly recap of Indiana's finest athletes.
 
Let's start with one of my favorite wrestlers of the past decade, Alex Dolly, formerly of Mishawaka High School. As reported this past week, Dolly was granted another year of eligibility, due to an injury plagued 2005-2006 season.
 
Alex has had a great collegiate career already, following an excellent high school career that saw him lose only twice during his entire junior and senior season. As a junior, Dolly lost a one point match to eventual state champ, senior Chris Cooper of Whiteland, en route to a strong 3rd place finish. He placed 2nd as a senior, losing on a rideout in double OT to four-time state champ Blake Maurer of Evansville Mater Dei.  That match stands out in many people's minds as one of the best at the state finals in recent memory. For what it's worth, he also finished 5th as a sophomore, starting a trend that would follow him the rest of his HS postseason career--he lost a one point match, this time to state runner-up, senior Mike McCarthy of Mt. Vernon. Three one point losses, two to dominant champions and one to a runner-up, which brings us to Dolly's collegiate career.....
 
Following a redshirt season, Alex qualified for Nationals despite a sub .500 record, and he quickly made a mark on the national wrestling scene. He beat 2X All-American and eventual national champion Shane Webster of Oregon, ultimately falling short of All-American status as a freshman by just one match.
 
Dolly's second active season was basically washed away by injuries, but he won 21 matches as a junior and qualified for Nationals again.
 
Last season, a season which many thought would be his last at Northern Iowa, Dolly again qualified for Nationals after a successful regular season. He again fell just short of obtaining All-American status, losing in the Round of 12.
 
All of this brings us back to the original point--although he's rusty and not ready to go right this second, according to Coach Penrith, Alex gets another chance to finally get over the hump and get the national recognition he truly deserves. All Indiana wrestling fans will be cheering Alex on as he gets back on the mat this season.
 
In Juggernaut-related news, Andrew Howe got back in action after an uneven but impressive performance at Cliff Keen. Howe bested Northern Iowa junior Tyson Reiner 3-2. Reiner was a Nationals qualifier last year and won a match in the big tourney. There will be no Juggernaut sightings until the Midlands.
 
Alex Tsirtsis followed up his stirring win over then #1 ranked Nick Gallick with a dominant 14-2 shellacking of promising young Northern Iowa wresler Trenton Washington. As with Howe, Tsirtsis won't be back in action until the Midlands.
 
Still no Angel Escobedo so far this season. Angel, Kinser, Hernandez, Young and company will join Howe and Tsirtsis at the Midlands. The Midlands should be a riveting couple of days for Indiana wrestling fans.
 
Casey Caldwell (Union County HS) of the Naval Academy placed fourth at 184 at the Nittany Lion Open. Casey has shown that he can hang with the better wrestlers at his weight class and will be a darkhorse candidate this year at Nationals.

In closing, the following former Indiana high school wrestlers are ranked:

RevWrestling rankings:
125 #2 Angel Escobedo IU
133 #9 Reece Humphrey OSU
141 #1 Alex Tsirtsis Iowa
157 #13 Kurt Kinser IU
165 #9 Andrew Howe Wisc

AWN rankings:
125 #1 Escobedo
133 #10 Humphrey
141 #1 Tsirtsis
157 #11 Kinser IU

Intermat rankings:
125 #1 Escobedo
133 #8 Humphrey
141 #1 Tsirtsis
141 #13 Hernandez
157 #12 Kinser
165 #15 Andrew Howe Wisc



WIN rankings:
125 #1 Escobedo
133 #9 Humphrey
141 #2 Tsirtsis
157 #16 Kinser

805
Toe to Joe with Cashe Quiroga
This week's Toe to Joe is with Lawrence North's Cashe Quiroga.  Cashe is coming off a really good weekend where he beat last year's 112lb state champion Brandon Wright and freshman phenom Jason Tsirtsis, among other top wrestlers in the state at the Chris Traicoff Memorial. Last year Quiroga won a state championship at 119lbs and is looking to win another one this season at 125lbs.  He has committed to wrestle at Purdue University next year.




1. How did you get started wrestling and how many years have you been wrestling?
My older brother went out for our middle school team and so I followed. I have been wrestling since the 6th grade, so this is my 7th year.



2. What other interests/hobbies/sports do you participate in outside of wrestling?
I do a lot outdoors, mainly camping and fishing.



3. Who is the toughest wrestler you have faced and why?
Josh Harper has probably been the toughest for me. I have lost to him 4 times and he has given me a loss every year so far in high school.

He is very good at some of the things I struggle with. He is a great scrambler, which is probably my weakness. That is one of the reasons I like to wrestle him because it is making me better at something I need to improve on.



4. How do you feel about spring and summer wrestling?
Training year-round has been huge for me. I think if you want to compete for state championships, you have to wrestle in the spring and summer. I have made big jumps in technique and experience because of spring and summer wrestling.

5. Describe what it was like to win your first title last year after coming up short as a sophomore.

I was obviously very happy to accomplish one of my goals and dominate the way that I did. I had put the loss from the year before out of my mind. But more than anything, I felt good about the way I had trained and competed. It was very satisfying.


6. What is the most memorable match you have wrestled and why?
One that is fresh in my mind was my over time match with D’Marcus Spencer this year. We are friends and he used to be my teammate and practice partner here at LN. I was down by 3 with 17 seconds left and had to take him down, cut him, and take him down again to send it to over time. It was a good win.

7. How do you feel about class wrestling?
I haven’t really thought about it. But I like knowing I was the best 119lber. in the state last year.


8. Who is the most influential person in your life? Why?
My coaches here at LN have probably made the biggest impact on me. They have made me one of the best wrestlers in the state, helped me learn how to be a good student, and shown me how to be a good person.

9. Do you have any superstitions or routines when it comes to wrestling?

I am not superstitious. But, I always listen to Metallica on my IPod before I wrestle.


10. What makes wrestling so great?
I like that how well you do is determined by how hard you work. Also, in other sports, they just go to practice and go home and forget about it. With wrestling, you are constantly reminded of what you are going through. Your body hurts, you’re hungry. You are doing things that most people are not willing to do.

Discuss this on the messageboard

467
Crown Point Makes Early Season Statement against Merrillville
Crown Point, IN-
 
IndianaMat.com's #3 ranked Crown Point Bulldogs took on the #8 Merrillville Pirates Wednesday night at home in a battle for 'Region' supremacy.  The dual started at 145 with Merrillville grabbing an early 3-0 lead via a Keon Jones decision over Tommy Renn of Crown Point.  Crown Point quickly regained the lead 4-3 with a major decision at 152, and they would never trail again the rest of the night.  Mark Myers, ranked 2nd by IndianaMat at 160, extended Crown Point's lead to 9-3 with a technical fall.  Merrillville's freshman sensation Kourtney Berry then won a 9-2 decision at 171 to pull the Pirates back within 3.  IndianaMat's top ranked 189 pounder, Marcus Shrewsbury, registered a quick fall at 189, and Crown Point's 12th ranked 215 pounder James Bakalik followed that up with a decision to give Crown Point an 18-6 advantage.  Merrillville's 10th ranked heavyweight James Travis showed off his powerful double leg and earned a 1st period fall to draw Merrillville back within 6 at the halfway point of the dual.  In one of the night's most anticipated contests, the 103 pound match, Merrillville junior Zac Stevens, a state qualifier last year at 103 and currently ranked 4th by IndianaMat, came out and hit nice firemans carry to jump out to an early 2-0 lead over Crown Point's 11th ranked freshman Cameron Halsted.  After a scramble in which Halsted was able to finish a single leg position and earn a reversal, the match was tied at 2 with 40 seconds to go in the first period.  Halsted immediately threw legs in on Stevens and was working for a power half when Stevens was able to tripod up and get Halsted high.  Stevens reached up and grabbed Halsted's head and pulled him over the top for the defensive fall with 13 seconds to go in the 1st period.   This fall at 103 unexpectedly tied the match at 18-18 with 6 bouts to go.  At 112 lbs., IndianaMat's top ranked Anthony Hawkins earned a technical fall for Crown Point to give the Bulldogs a 23-18 advantage.  At 119 lbs., Merrillville senior Willy Costakis gave Crown Point's 14th ranked Josh Manes all he could handle, but dropped a 1-0 decision on a Manes escape in the 3rd period.  This win gave Crown Point a 26-18 lead.  The best match of the night came at 125 pounds where #2 ranked Crown Point freshman Jason Tsirtsis faced off against 4th ranked Anthony Napules of Merrillville.  Tsirtsis wore on Napules' head and neck with heavy hands for the first minute and a half of the match and forced Napules into a bad shot late in the first period which he capitalized on with a head in the hole front headlock and was able to score a questionable takedown with little time left in the first period, much to Merrillville head coach Dave Maldonado's displeasure.  Coach Maldonado argued that Tsirtsis never secured the takedown as Napules quickly stood up and Tsirtsis dropped to a single as he was awarded the 2 and hung onto the leg until the clock expired on the first period of action.   Tsirtsis chose down in the 2nd period and made the score 3-0 with a quick escape via a standup off the whistle.  Napules was the aggressor on their feet in the second period and although there were no points scored for the remainder of the period, Tsirtsis was warned for stalling.  Napules chose down in the 3rd period and was able to create a scramble as Tsirtsis threw legs in and get 1 for the escape.  Napules continued to push the pace and was awarded a point to make the match 3-2 with a minute left on Tsirtsis' second stall call.  With under 30 seconds left in the match, Tsirtsis got in a deep high crotch, but Napules brought him into a crackdown position and was beginning to scoot around the corner and looked as if he was going to score the go-ahead takedown.  Tsirtsis was able to readjust, duck the leg, and come out the back door to secure the takedown with under ten seconds to go to make the final score 5-2 in Tsirtsis' favor.  This win gave Crown Point a 29-18 lead with 3 bouts to go.  At 130 pounds, unranked Frankie Valdivia from Merrillville earned an upset victory for Merrillville over previously 5th ranked Dallas Schurg of Crown Point.  With the score tied 2-2 in the second period, Valdivia put Schurg to his back with a very tight cement mixer and was able to secure the fall with one minute to go in the 2nd period to draw Merrillville back within 5.  IndianaMat's top ranked 135 pounder, sophomore Eric Roach of Crown Point, earned a technical fall to seal the win for Crown Point.  Although the dual was already won, those that stayed were treated to a mild upset at 140 pounds.  Unranked Merrillville senior Darrius Richmond put on a dominating performance against previously 14th ranked Josh Flamme of Crown Point.  Richmond used a pair of takedowns and a pair of reversals to defeat Flamme by a score of 8-4.  After 14 exciting bouts of Duneland Athletic Conference action, the Crown Point Bulldogs defeated the Merrillville Pirates 34-27.  This match turned out to be a lot closer than expected, as many messageboard posters predicted Crown Point to win easily.  These two programs have definitely separated themselves from the rest of the 'Region', and a rematch with a trip to Team State on the line should be in the works in early February.  Although this was just a 7 point match with a pair of closely-contested swing matches at 119 and 125 which went Crown Point's way, I think that it is important to note that the matches at 103 and 130 were won by Merrillville by fall, which I don't see happening again.  Both of these matches were between state-ranked caliber kids and were both tied matches at the time of the unexpected falls. The 12 points earned by Merrillville in these two weight classes could easily become decisions for Crown Point next time around.  Merrillville had almost everything go their way Wednesday night that possibly could have, and still came up short.  For this reason I don't like their chances in a rematch, although neither did anyone at the Team Semi-State last year, and Coach Maldonado still found a way to get the job done!  In the rematch with a trip to Center Grove on the line I will take Crown Point, again, 36-21.
 
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521
Off the Beaten Path- Karl's look at the small schools of Indiana
Off the Beaten Path - Karl's look at the small schools of Indiana
FULTON, IN - On a windswept and ice-glazed plain somewhere south of Rochester and north of Logansport sits tiny Caston Junior-Senior High School.  Each December this school hosts 10 of Indiana's smallest schools (average enrollment - 380 students) that have a wrestling program in a Friday - Saturday super dual.  Due to the weather, Friday nights portion of the duals were cancelled and teams were divided into pools for wrestling on Saturday.  After four rounds of pool wrestling, teams were paired off to wrestle a fifth round.  In that fifth round Fountain Central High School defeated Pioneer to take the team title.  Calumet defeated Northwestern High School to take third.  West Central defeated North Judson for fifth, Clinton Prairie defeated Frontier for seventh, and Culver Community bested Caston for ninth place.
 
Each team proved to have a few outstanding individuals that undoubtedly will advance deep into wrestling's post season but the most glaring issue on the day seemed to be the difficulty in fielding complete lineups by the majority of the schools at Caston.  Six of ten teams present had at least one hole in their line-ups, two schools had six forfeits and one school filled only five weight classes.  The struggle to try to fill a full lineup in these small schools is undoubtedly a yearly battle.  For many of these small schools, varsity slots are filled with freshman and inexperienced wrestlers that would definitely benefit from some JV experience but are forced into the line-up due to lack of depth.
 
Pioneer High School's coach Tim Spray coached eleven freshmen and sophomores along with one senior to a second place finish on the day.  Coach Spray works as hard as any coach in the state but due to the size of his school (330 students), depth is always going to be an issue and even Pioneer gave up two forfeits all day.  Pioneer's youngsters and the Pioneer's staff are to be commended for not using youth as an excuse and wrestling tough all day.
 
West Central High School (275 students) also was impressive today.  They were able to field a full line-up of solid wrestlers.  They have already defeated small school power Winamac in a dual meet earlier in the year and look to be a small school on the upswing as they only had two seniors in their lineup.
 
Fountain Central went unscathed on the day at 5-0.  They did it by having a lineup made up mostly of solid, if not spectacular, wrestlers.  Dillon Scott at 112 lost a tight 3-0 match to returning state finalist and outstanding wrestler on the day, Matt Miller of Northwestern.  Both of these wrestlers appear to have the goods to make a run at Conseco come February.  Fountain Central faithful were loud all day in support of their Mustangs and get the KarlHungus fans of the week award.
 
I couldn't help but think of the excitement that might be generated at some of these small schools if they could compete in a classed team state tournament.  Would more kids in their school be tempted to give wrestling a try?  Would administration give wrestling more respect if they were competing for sectional and regional titles like their basketball, baseball, and volleyball teams?
 
Discuss this on the messageboard
 
Coming next - Day 1 coverage at Mishawaka's Al Smith Invitational.

568
From the Edge of the Mat (12/22)
Dingo here. I was taking a look at the results of the two biggest in-season high school tournaments year in and year out, the Walsh Ironman and the Beast of the East. As we all know, Indiana teams and wrestlers are not permitted to participate in these tournaments. However, I saw some familiar names among the results; placers and others who just missed placing. I recognized the names because I remembered them from the Brute Scholastic Duals this past summer. Indiana sent two teams, Indiana Gold and Indiana Blue, loaded with our very best wrestlers. Aside from a remarkable runner-up finish for Indiana Gold to the powerful Pennsylvania team, five wrestlers finished the entire tourney undefeated: Sean "Mac Daddy" McMurray, Cashe Quiroga, Brandon Wright, Kyle Mosier and Braden Atwood. Many of Indiana's representatives this past summer beat some of the major players at the Ironman and the Beast. Anyway, it's interesting to me, so I took a few minutes to research results, and here's what I found:
 
Casey Kenney of Jay County, coming off of his runner-up finish this past year at 103, won a 15-7 decision over Delaware's Tyler Pendergrast, who finished in 6th place at the Beast at 103.
 
Tony Lovejoy, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, an impressive state placer as a sophomore, knocked off uber-stud Shane Gentry of VA (multi-X Ironman and Beast placer, Super 32 placer, Powerade 3rd place finisher) by a strong 15-10 count. Gentry finished 4th at this year's Ironman and 2nd at the Beast, both at 119. The win is a huge feather in Lovejoy's budding career, to say the least.
 
Brandon Wright of Indianapolis Cathedral, Cadet Nationals freestyle champ this past summer in addition to his state championship at 112, manhandled Delaware's Brandon Shulte, 6th place finisher at the Beast at 119, by a 17-6 score. He added a 10-8 win over NJ state champ and Beast 3rd place at 112 finisher Tyler Biscaha. Biscaha is also a former Soph. Nationals champ.
 
The aforementioned Quiroga of Lawrence North added to his legacy by backing up his state championship this past year with a 11-5 win over Delaware's Wendell Cannon, Beast 4th place finisher at 125. Also, he added a 10-3 win over Beast 130 lb. 6th seed Kenny Knapp of NJ and a win by fall over Ironman 6th place finisher at 119 Gabe Gomez of C0lorado.
 
Josh Harper, Mishawaka's 3X Indiana state champ, won a 3-2 decision over Delaware's Josh Snook. Snook finished the Beast with a 3-2 record at 140. Harper also won 7-2 over Beast 10 seed at 130 Derrik Russell of NJ powerhouse Jackson Memorial. Russell is a 2X NJ state placer.
 
Gavin McGinley of Indianapolis Cathedral won 2-1 against Beast 11 seed Chris Moon of Virginia. Moon finished 7th at 152.
 
Sammy Bennett of Anderson Highland won 10-0 versus Ryelan Pavlik of Deleware. Pavlik finished 3-2 in a strong Beast 152 class.
 
Sean McMurray, Portage state champion last year over Eric Galka at 135, won a tough 4-2 decision versus NJ stud and Beast #2 seed at 135 Joe Lospinoso.  Lospinoso was NJ's runner-up last year at 135 and led the eventual champion late in the 3rd period. Beating Lospinoso was HUGE on the national scene for the Mac Daddy.
 
Briar Runyon of Martinsville,  Indiana state runner-up last year and 3rd place the year before (both at 152), won an impressive 1-0 match over NJ's Brian Broderick. Broderick finished 4-2 at the Beast at 160, just one match from placing. Broderick was a state qualifier last year in NJ.
 
Braden Atwood, Delphi's 4th place finisher at 160 in Indiana, won 3-2 over VA's Daniel McGillivray, 9th seed and 8th place finisher at the Beast in the 160 lb weight class.
 
Mike Duckworth, Union County's state runner-up at 160 last season, built on his Soph. Nationals runner-up finish with a 8-6 win over NJ state qualifier Umar Taramov. Taramov went 3-2 at the Beast at 160. Duckworth also beat NJ state 3rd place finisher Anthony Saulle 15-4.
 
Paul Parsley, semi-state qualifier from Westfield, won an impressive 3-2 victory over Beast 7th place finisher at 215 Nick Perelli of VA.
 
Nick Hodges, Southmont's 5th place finisher at 189 in Indiana last year, was victorious 7-2 over Beast 12th seed Bob Grogan of NJ. Hodges wrestled all the way up at 220.
 
Jon Clark, state qualifier last year from Jeffersonville, beat Beast HWT #10 seed  Larry Cassidy of Delaware.
 
These results are by no means the only impressive results from our Indiana teams and individuals this past summer, but I thought it was one sign that Indiana wrestling is alive and well, healthy and strong. Indiana beat a number of strong teams, including a New Jersey Red team loaded with high state-placers. Of course, Indiana is not Pennsylvania or Ohio, in terms of high school wrestling clout, but our best wrestlers have shown that they can hang with any wrestlers from anywhere in the country.

550
Wrestler of the Week 12/15 - 12/20/2008
Wrestler of the Week


Muncie Southside Senior

Bryant Whitaker

At the Jeff Classic held this past Saturday, Whitaker was the 152 pound champion beating Alex Bailey of Jeffersonville 16-7 in the final.  Whitaker was also named Most Outstanding Wrestler during the tournament for his dominant performance.  An Honor Roll student, the 2 time state qualifier is 15-1 on the season and was also the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Charger Invitational.
Honorable Mention:


New Castle SS -  103 pound junior Dominique Price from Arsenal Tech was the Indianapolis City Champion beating 10th ranked Brian Harvey from Cathedral.

Evansville SS -  160 pound senior Briar Runyan from Martinsville won the Bo Henry Classic held at Bloomington North and was awarded the Gene Brewer III Memorial award and voted Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Merrillville SS - 119 pound junior Danny Bradley from Knox won the Carnahan Tournament beating 13th ranked John Petrov from Hanover Central and 14th ranked Josh Manes from Crown Point.

Next WOW will be named on 1/6/09 after all holiday tournaments.