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53552014 IHSAA Semi-State Brackets
Date: Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014.
Admission: $7 (Final session only); $10 (Season ticket).
Advancement:Â The top four place winners in each weight class advance to the state finals.
Match Results: TrackWrestling.com
1.   Merrillville | 8:30 am CT
IndianaMat Brackets
Preview by Chad Hollenbaugh
Pick'ems
Feeder Regionals: Calumet, Crown Point, Logansport, Rochester.
2.   Fort Wayne Snider (at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum) | 8:30 am ET
IndianaMat Brackets
Preview by Joe Caprino
Pick'ems
Berne Tri-Weekly Webcast
WZBD 92.7 FM Radiocast
Feeder Regionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), Goshen, Jay County, Peru.
3.   New Castle | 9 am ET
IndianaMat Brackets
Preview by Cameron Drury
Pick'ems
Feeder Regionals: North Montgomery, Pendleton Heights, Perry Meridian, Richmond.
4.   Evansville Reitz (at Ford Center) | 9 am CT
IndianaMat Brackets
Preview by Dustin Bentz
Pick'ems
Feeder Regionals: Bloomington South, Castle, Jeffersonville, Mooresville.13392014 IHSAA State Finals Information Center
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 125 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis | Website
Admission: $8 per session or $20 both days.
Match Results: TrackWrestling.com
Friday, Feb. 21, 2014
First Round | 6 pm ET.
Saturday, Feb. 22, 2014
Quarterfinals | 9:30 am ET with semifinals to follow.
Consolations | 5 pm ET.
Finals | 7:30 pm ET.
Important Links
TrackWrestling Link
IndianaMat brackets(with rankings)
IndianaMat MEGA Preview
State Finals Pick'ems
2014 State Finals: Rankings Breakdown
2014 State Finals: Team Race Breakdown
2014 State Finals: Expert Picks
Video Links
IHSAA First Round Mat 1
IHSAA First Round Mat 2
IHSAA First Round Mat 3
IHSAA First Round Mat 4
IHSAA Quarterfinals and Semi-Finals Mat 1
IHSAA Quarterfinals and Semi-Finals Mat 2
IHSAA Quarterfinals and Semi-Finals Mat 3
IHSAA Quarterfinals and Semi-Finals Mat 4
IHSAA Consolations Mat 1
IHSAA Consolations Mat 2
IHSAA Consolations Mat 3
IHSAA State Finals Championship
37162014 IndianaMat Preview Magazine On Sale Now
IndianaMat 2014 Preview Magazine
By Joe Caprino in IndianaMat.com Magazines
40 pages, published 10/22/2014
2014 IndianaMat wrestling preview magazine with rankings, regional profiles, and more!15302014 Junior Freestyle Preview
Last 5 Years All-Americans
[table]
2009 119 5th Camden Eppert 2009 130 1st Cashe’ Quiroga 2009 145 8th Ryan Stahl 2010 135 3rd Jason Tsirtsis 2011 112 2nd Jarred Brooks 2011 130 5th Jared McKinley 2011 145 1st Jason Tsirtsis 2012 285 2nd Donte Winfield 2012 138 5th Neal Molloy 2012 132 6th Jared McKinley 2013 126 7th Brandon James 2013 152 6th Vinny Corsaro 2013 182 2nd Riley Lefever 2013 195 1st Mitch Sliga 2013 220 3rd Fletcher Miller 2013 285 4th Wes Bernard [/table]Last year the Junior Freestyle team brought home six All-Americans and a 5th place team finish. Two of those All-Americans return along with two from last year's Cadet group. Leading the way is three-time Fargo placer Brandon James. He has been money here as he placed 7th in a loaded weight class last year. Before that he placed 6th and 8th as a Cadet. The other returning Junior All-American is Fletcher Miller. He will look to finish his high school career off on Mat 1 this year after taking a 3rd place plaque home to Kokomo last year. Randy Scott and Dylan Lydy will both move up an age group and hope to repeat their performances from 2013. Both had breakout performances at Fargo last year with Lydy placing 4th and Scott finishing 8th.
Others with some national accolades that will look to make their first appearance on the Fargo podium include USAW Folkstyle runner-ups Drew Hildebrandt and Jacob Aven, along with USAW Folkstyle Natonals 3rd place finisher Garrett Pepple. All three will need to navigate the always tough minefield that Fargo presents. State placers Clarence Johnson, Ben Harvey, and Scottie Sopko will all be looking to wrestle deep into the tournament.
[table]
Name Weight State Credentials National Credentials Drew Hildebrandt 106 2014 State 6th2013 State 8th 2014 USAW Folkstyle 2nd Garrett Pepple 113 2014 State 2nd2013 State 2nd 2014 USAW Folkstyle 4th2013 USAW Folkstyle 5th2012 USAW Folkstyle 7th Christian Warren 120 [/td] Jack Franklin 120 Tyler Futrell 120 Brandon James 132 2014 State 2nd2013 State 5th2012 State 3rd 2013 Junior Freestyle 7th2012 Cadet Freestyle 6th2011 Cadet Freestyle 8th Clarence Johnson 132 2014 State 7th William Bernard 132 Anthony Williams 138 Kyle Todrank 138 Andrew Herrin 145 Dan Reed 145 Bryant Haynes 152 Kellen Van Camp 152 2014 State Qualifier Ben Harvey 160 2014 State Qualifier2013 State 3rd2012 State 7th Dylan Lydy 170 2014 FloNationals 4th2013 Cadet Freestyle 4th Scottie Sopko 170 2013 State Qualifier2012 State 8th Randy Scott 195 2014 State 3rd 2013 Cadet Greco-Roman 2nd2013 Cadet Freestyle 8th Jacob Aven 195 2013 State Qualifier2014 State Qualifier 2014 USAW Folkstyle 2nd2013 USAW Folkstyle 6th Austin Cossel 220 Christian Redmond 220 Fletcher Miller 220 2014 State 2nd2013 State 2nd 2014 USAW Folkstyle 1st2013 Junior Freestyle 3rd Nick Joyner 285 [td][/table]7212014 Junior Greco-Roman Preview
Last 5 Years All-Americans
2010
189
2nd
Drake Stein
2011
160
8th
Kirk Johnson
2011
171
8th
Conner Lefever
2012
160
7th
Kirk Johnson
2012
170
7th
Sean Mappes
Only 13 Juniors are taking the mat in Greco-Roman this year for Team Indiana. They do however have two returning Greco-Roman All-Americans and another two-time state placer with the potential to be on the podium. Greco specialist Sage Coy will look to make the podium for the third straight time after finishing 6th and 8th as a Cadet. He has been superb in Greco over the years and will be a favorite to wrestle deep into the tournament. Randy Scott had a breakout performance last year making the podium in both freestyle and Greco. He made the finals in Greco and finished 8th in freestyle. After a 3rd place finish at state this season look for his hot streak to continue. Garrett Pepple will be making his first trip to Fargo after two state runner-up finishes. He has also made the podium three times at USAW Folkstyle Nationals. This will be his first Greco tournament since capturing an ISWA title in 2012.
Name
Weight
State Credentials
National Credentials
Garrett Pepple
113
2014 State 2nd2013 State 2nd
2014 USAW Folkstyle 3rd2013 USAW Folkstyle 5th
2012 USAW Folkstyle 7th
Sage Coy
126
2013 Cadet Greco-Roman 6th2012 Cadet Greco-Roman 8th
William Bernard
132
Anthony Williams
138
Tyler Hoel
138
Andrew Herrin
145
Logan Hurley
145
Stephen Kitko
145
Bryant Haynes
152
Randy Scott
195
2014 State 3rd
2013 Cadet Greco-Roman 2nd2013 Cadet Freestyle 8th
Austin Cossel
220
Christian Redmond
220
Nick Joyner
285
2761 42014 Mater Dei Holiday Classic Preview
By John Johnson
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water....
As 2013 was regarded as the toughest field in the 29th year of the event, this season's edition of the Mater Dei Holiday Classic provides a triple threat to fans: High-end talent, top teams and exceptionally deep weight classes.
Chad Red of New Palestine, Nick Lee of Mater Dei and Paul Konrath of Mt. Vernon return to the Classic with gold from Fargo. Lee bested the trio, as he earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the North Dakota summer extravaganza.
Eight wrestlers enter Mater Dei's gym with a top state ranking, while four more are ranked second. 29 additional grapplers tout a top-ten ranking.
Kentucky offers a veritable who's who from the Bluegrass state. Always-tough Union County is ranked #1, while St. Xavier is ranked third, followed by Trinity, who is ranked fourth.
The hosts sport Indiana's top ranking, while Franklin is ranked ninth, Avon is tenth and New Palestine is eleventh.
Belleville West is the lone representative from Illinois. Ranked 22nd in the 3A (large school) division, do not be fooled by Belleville's won-loss records. Belleville wrestles a brutal December schedule. Their wrestlers consistently place above their seeds and act as spoilers.
While Mater Dei is the returning team champion and a favorite to repeat, the race for the top slots will be a wild scramble. Upsets, wrestling to a seed and scoring bonus points will be crucial in the final team standings. Eight teams have a legitimate shot at one of the top two spots.
106- Union County's Saul Ervin brings his top Kentucky ranking to the Classic and will look to jump from last years' third place performance to the top of the podium. New Pal's Cameron Diep and St. Xavier's Konner Kraeszig will likely come through the other side of the bracket.
Spoiler Alert! Avon's Mason Miranda.
113- Mt. Vernon's Paul Konrath is the returning Classic champion and Indiana runner-up; look for him to repeat. Ranked wrestlers in New Pal's Alec White, Mater Dei's Kyle Luigs, Floyd Central's Tristan Sellmer, St. Xavier's Austin Cook and Union County's Micah Ervin populate this incredibly deep bracket. There will not be a dull moment at 113 pounds. Good luck seeding this one!
120- Will Egli and Paul Konrath earned the tournament's Most Outstanding Match award in 2013. Egli and Bryce Scheffer, Union County's returning State Champion, will likely lock horns in the final. Both are dynamic, wide-open wrestlers. One might find the top match of the finals at 120 pounds.
Spoiler Alert! New Pal's Eugene Starks. Starks is strong and physical. Coach Chad Red will have him ready to roll.
126- CJ Red owns two Indiana state titles and has yet to lose a high school match. Look for a rematch of the 2013 Holiday Classic final between Red and Mater Dei's Alex Johnson.
Spoiler Alert! Trinity's Danten Rice. Rice is tough and is wrestling very well.
132- Mater Dei's Nick Lee is the overwhelming favorite to repeat his 2013 title performance. Trinity's Keegan Duncan and Union County's Chance Oxford will wrestle for the right to meet Lee in the
final on December 30.
138- Joe Lee headlines at 138 pounds. Lee will likely earn the number-one seed. As it was in 2013, 138 is very deep. New Palestine's Jared Timberman, St. Xavier's Dallas Miles and Steven Matheny from Trinity are potential semi-finalists. Time your breaks around this weight class; every match should be good.
Potential Spoilers- Mt. Vernon's Austin Bethel is a race car. On any given day, Bethel can beat virtually anyone. Avon's Quinn Harris and New Albany's Hunter Castleberry. Harris is a worker; do not be surprised to see him defeat a higher seed. Castleberry is dangerous. Overlook him at your peril.
145- Mater Dei's Blake Jourdan and Trinity's Hudson Heidorf are the prohibitive favorites as finalists. Heidorf is ranked number one in Kentucky, while Jourdan is ranked sixth in Indiana. Both are very exciting. All of the elements exist for a thrilling final. Franklin's veteran Shane Wilkerson and Union County's Tim Pike will also compete for spots on the podium.
Potential Spoilers- Watch for Belleville's Nate Smalling. If you are planning your breaks, lump 145 in with 138There are too many physical, quick and risk-taking wrestlers in this weight for upsets not to happen. Don't blink or you might miss it.
152- Out of staters write the script at 152 pounds. Belleville West's Nick Foster sports a three-ranking in Illinois, while Trinity's Ben Barton and Union County's Jackson Oxford are ranked second and third, respectively. New Albany's Tre Lynch will be also reaching for a high medal placement.
Spoiler Alert! Look for a break out performance by Franklin sophomore Burk Van Horn.
160- Mater Dei's Ashton Forzley beat New Pal's Nick Brickens in the consolation semifinal in 2013. Look for a 2014 rematch for the gold. Depending upon the seeding, one of the two will have to get past St. Xavier's very tough Nathan Haddad.
170- Returning State Champion, Jacob Stevenson of Franklin sees his primary competitor as Kentucky's returning State Champ, St. Xavier's Dominic Lampe. Avon's Brendon Helm is no underdog; he lost to Stevenson in the 2013 final 8-6 and will look for revenge.
Spoiler Alert! Evansville Memorial's Noah Huelsing. Huelsing has a big motor will never say "die."
182- Trinity's Tyler Frankrone is the returning State Champion. The seeding is crucial as Avon's Evan Elmore, Mater Dei's Sam Bassemier and St. Xavier's Elijah Allgeir will compete for the other slot in the final.
195- Lucas Miozza of Trinity and Cole Sherman of Union County headline this group. 195 has the lightest credentials of any of the weight classes. A solid wrestler that puts together a couple of good days of wrestling should find himself wearing the gold.
220- Gunnar Larson of Avon finished second at the 2013 Classic to eventual State Champion, Conner Tolley of Franklin. Tolley has graduated and Larson is the next man up. Joseph Green of St. Xavier and Connor Sherman of Union County look to be factors.
Spoiler Alert! Tristan Choate of Mt. Vernon. Choate is wrestling well; it will be no surprise for him to perform.
285- The weight class formerly known as "heavyweight" should be...big. Franklin's Quinn York beat Union County's Raynel "Ray-Ray" Brown for the title last year; the two could also dance for the top spot in 2014.
Potential Spoilers- Who wants to bet against Avon's Brett Henson, Trinity's Landon Carolla, Mater Dei's Adrian Butler or Belleville West's Rickey Nelson? I didn't think so.
Hook's Predictions for the Big Winners:
The Coaches- The Holiday Classic's hospitality room has the reputation of some of the best food available in southern Indiana. Burgoo (ask any Evansville resident what it is), bar-b-q and Frank Schaefer's home-grown buffalo bratwursts headline the menu. Be jealous.
Fans Not Married to Chain Hotels- Le Merigot is a boutique hotel on the Tropicana property. Shop around and you can get a deal. You will not be disappointed.
Fans Not Married to Chain Restaurants- A strong arm can hit the Hilltop Inn with a rock from Mater Dei's parking lot. Frosty beverages and brain sandwiches led the Hilltop to be voted the "Manliest Restaurant in America." For carryout, Marx's Bar-B-Q is next door to the Hilltop; Tony Marx is the man. If you want pizza, Turoni's is a don't-miss. Go to Dilegge's for Italian and the Gerst Haus for authentic German cuisine. If you are an early riser, visit Hagedorn's Tavern on Franklin Street for a great breakfast and a fishbowl of beer. Trust me, everybody does it.
People That Do Not Like to Drive a Lot When They are in Evansville- All of these recommendations are within ten minutes of Mater Dei.
Hook's Predictions for the Big Losers:
People who Stay/Shop/Visit the East Side- The Lloyd "Expressway" is under construction. You have been warned. If you ignore this advice, expect to be late and in a bad mood.
Those Who do not Bring a Stadium Bleacher Chair- Have you ever been to Mater Dei's gym?
Last Tidbit for 2014- The bathrooms are at the top corners of the gym, above the bleachers.
9422014 Merrillville Semi-State Preview
106 – Much of the talk this season at 106 has been focused on the boys from Evansville but a couple of young lions from the region might have something to say about who's the best at this weight class next week. Griffith's Jeremiah Reitz is the odds on favorite and should have little difficulty navigating his quarter bracket. The second quarter bracket contains the most question marks. Senior Daniel Davis from Lafayette Harrison comes in with experience and a regional title. His ticket round match will either be Hanover Central's Issac Cortez who wrestled well at regionals or Warsaw's freshman Kyle Hatch. The bottom half of the bracket leads off with a barnburner between state placer Drew Hildebrandt of Penn versus super frosh Jack Tolin of Chesterton. The final quarter bracket should provide an entertaining ticket round match between Lowell's Colton Cummings and Merrillville's Michael DeLaPena.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Reitz, Cummings, Hildebrandt, Cortez
113 – This bracket appears to be well balanced through all four quarter brackets. Prior to this weekend, Munster's Jason Crary was the clear favorite. Michael Garza of Merrillville upset the freshman phenom at regional and making life difficult for others in his quarter bracket. I see South Bend Adams Austen Laughlin navigating a tough quarter bracket in defeating Rickie Rodriguez of Morton and regional champ Chris Trent of New Prairie. Crary's loss potentially gave him a tougher road to state but I feel he will handle Mishawaka's Jake Chadwick and the largely unknown Justin Porter of Logansport. It feels like Merrillville's Mike Garza has been around forever as a threat. The lil Pirate should not be distracted by the high top fade of South Bend Washington's Tondrew Tyler nor the grittiness of Valpo's Austin Line. The last quarter bracket should come down to a ticket round match between Penn's Austin Slates and Crown Point's Austin Torres. I see Austin as a winner.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Garza, Crary, Slates, Laughlin
120 – The top half of this bracket appears to be wide open with up to 5 grapplers legitimately trying to vie for 2 tickets to the state finals. I like Valpo's Tristan Dembowski to come from under the radar to qualify from the top quarter bracket. To do so, he must defeat '13 state qualifier Cody Allmon of Plymouth and most likely regional champ Cole Lukaszka. The second quarter bracket will probably feature the top ticket round match between Portage's Gaige Torres and South Bend Clay's Jake Hartman. The bottom half of the bracket appears to be dominated by Mishawaka's Jake Sinkovics. The tough Caveman will have the scrappy Zack Wells of LaPorte in round one and then tough Brendan Black of Hobart for the ticket to Indy. The final Indy slot will most likely come down to a tough ticket round battle between Crown Point's Daylan Schurg and Ruben Rodriguez.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Sinkovics, Torres, Schurg, Dembowski
126 – Unfortunately the bracket gods did the fans no favors at 126 when the placed Penn's Zack Davis and Hanover Central's two time state champ Stevan Micic on the same side of the bracket. The fans at Merrillville and a semi-state runner up from somewhere will not be happy. These two studs wrestled an awesome match under the lights in Indy last year are are the class of the field this year at Merrillville. The rest of the bracket features an interesting ticket round possibility between Merrillville's Clarence Johnson and Duneland Conference rival Riley Akers of Crown Point. I like Rochester's John Hunting to sneak through for the last ticket to Banker's Life.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Micic, Johnson, Davis, Hunting
132 – The Merrillville semi-state at 132 will be one of the most wide open of the day. McCutheon's Seth Carithers is another one of those athletes that has been seemingly around forever but has yet to break through at the state level. I look for him to qualify this year after a tough opener versus Triston Rodriquez. The second quarter bracket should feature a barnburner in the ticket round between Scott Warner of South Bend Riley and Zach Dondaldson of Crown Point. Calumet has their best chance to produce a state qualifier in a number of years with regional champ Alec Noworul. Waiting for him in the ticket round will be the winner of the Devin Childers/Walker Alderman match up. The final quarter bracket is loaded with solid kids. The top gun here should be regional champ Jacob Gross of Lowell.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Gross, Donaldson, Carithers, Childers
138 – A three horse race for the top spot at 138 appears to be developing. Drew Hughes of Lowell wrestled for a state championship last year and is on the bottom half of the bracket. Crown Point's Josh Fuqua and Merrillville's Jacob Covaciu both got the draw of death and will likely be facing each other in the ticket round. A shame as both young men deserve to wrestle in Indy. I am looking to a couple of dark horses to emerge in this bracket; Mishawaka Marian's Derek Glon was impressive at regionals and got a favorable draw. Senior Justin Atkinson of Benton Central is a pick to click at the bottom of the bracket. That bottom quarter looks extremely balanced and it wouldnt suprise me if any of the four earn a trip to Indy.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Hughes, Covaciu, Atkinson, Glon.
145 – This is one weight class that I don't anticipate a lot of drama. The four regional champs appear to be the favorites for the four slots in the state bracket. Crown Point regional champ Denton Schurg should coast into the semis as long as Ian McLuckey doesn't live up to his name. Returning state champ Tommy Forte might have a physical battle on his hands with his round one opponent Jaren Young. The third quarter bracket might contain the most potential ticket round match if both Isaac Rentes from Merrillville and Tommy Varner of Penn win their openers. At the bottom I like the Blonde Bomber out of Francesville, Parker Fritz. West Central has had some talented grapplers the past few years that have come up short at the semi-state level but I think Fritz is good enough to break through for the Trojans.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Forte, Rentes, Schurg, Fritz.
152 – Although not quite as epic as the Micic-Davis potential semifinals matchup, the 152 class will try to match it with a possible matchup between unbeaten Tristan Macri of Mishawaka and once beaten Darden Schurg of Crown Point. Macri and Schurg are clearly the top dogs in this weight class but one wrestler from the other side of the bracket will be the runner-up. I like senior Willie Armstrong from Merrillville to be the runner up. The last qualifying spot comes from the most balanced quarter bracket in the weight class. Alex Rinehart's experience as a two time state streeter should be enough to prevail.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor - Macri, Armstrong, Schurg, Reinhart
160 – The 160 pound class might be one of the deepest at Merrillville as many of the quarter brackets contain multiple contenders for a trip to Indy. The lead dog is undefeated Kennith Hughes from Lowell; he sports a sparkling 39-0 record and his section of the bracket is not as difficult as some of the others. Hughes is coming off a tight regional win over John Glenn's Adam Dodson. Dodson has an excellent 36-2 record and will likely face regional champ Jake Kleimola from Lake Central in a ticket round match up. The second quarter bracket could feature an entertaining ticket round match between junior studs Sawyer Hallas of Chesterton and Joey Mammolenti of Penn. The final quarter bracket is probably the deepest and any of the four wrestlers could realistically punch their ticket to state. Edmond Hogan is my pick to click.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Hughes, Mammolenti, Dodson, Hogan
170 – As difficult as it was to pick the 160 weight class, 170 seems a lot clearer to me. New Prairie's tough as nails Wade Young is wrestling his best at the right time of the year. What he lacks in technique, he more than makes up for it with toughness. Scotty Sopko has been there and done that. Already a 2 time state qualifier, Sopko won the Calumet regional and will likely face the winner of a great first round match up between Jade Doty and Michael Bates. Penn's Chase Osborn has quietly fashioned and outstanding 33-1 record and should cruise into the semis. Chesterton's Alex Katsafaros has run into the Wade Young hammer the past two weeks but possesses the skill and athleticism to hang with anyone in this semi-state.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Osborn, Young, Katsafaros, Sopko
182 – The 182 class features a couple of returning state placers in LaPorte's Mike Eldridge and South Bend St. Joe's Ryan Jankowski. Eldridge should be able to make a return trip to Indy if he can top Penn senior Jeff Wiseman for a second time this season. Jankowski is also a heavy favorite to return to Banker's Life but must deal with white hot wrestling of Chesterton's Jaycee Jensen. A third spot in Indy will likely be the winner of a potentially outstanding ticket round match between Merrillville's Matthew Hollins and Kankakee Valley's Tim Schoonveld. The final ticket looks to be a crap shoot but I will take a stab and say Calumet's Nick Fowler will be making the trip down I-65 with veteran coach Jim Watkins.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Jankowski, Eldridge, Schoonveld, Fowler
195 – Super soph Kobe Woods is my pick here. The youngster from Penn was very impressive last week at the Rochester regional and I think he is poised to become one of Indiana's elite upper weights. He will likely face off with Crown Point junior Morgan Kral in the semifinals. Kral is looking to avenge a disappointing semi-state in 2013 where he came into Merrillville with an unblemished record but was defeated in the ticket round. Also looking to avenge a disappointing 2013 semi-state is Hanover Central's Tyler Scott. Scott's regional title last week put him in a great position to qualify for state. Twin Lakes' Kevin Winkle is looking to match his older brother by qualifying for state in his senior year. Winkle must win two tough matches, the first with Knox' powerful Michael Sustaita.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Woods, Scott, Kral, Winkle
220 – It's the last go round for Lake Central's Gelen Robinson and the other 15 qualifiers in should provide little resistance for Mr. Robinson. The bigger questions are who will join Robinson in Indy. Stephen Potosky was the second best 220 in the Duneland conference and should navigate his quarter bracket and meet Robinson in the semis. On the top side of the bracket, I like another Kougar, Alex Berdine in a slight upset over regional champ and state qualifier Seth Meyer. Penn's big man, Clayton Stohler has fashioned an excellent senior season and will likely be Penn's seventh state qualifier for 2014.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Robinson, Stohler, Berdine, Potosky
285 – Although it rarely happens, I see all four regional champs punching their tickets to state this year. The clear front runner is super soph, Shawn Streck of Merrillville. There are probably only 4 or 5 heavies in the state that can hang with the Pirate big man. Streck will likely see Duneland conference rival Landon Blackburn of LaPorte in the semifinals. The one regional champ I see struggling to hold chalk is big John Duvall of West Lafayette. He will likely have his conditioning tested by a one loss Robert Yanez of River Forest. Big Caleb Coffel of Bremen is front runner in the final quarter bracket where he will likely face off with Valpo's Ian Suttles in the ticket round.
Hungus' 4 on the Floor – Streck, Duvall, Coffel, Blackburn
2155 142014 Mooresville Classic Preview
By Chad Hollenbaugh
IndianaMat Senior Writer
The holiday season has been known in the prep wrestling world as a time for high school teams to travel and seek out great competition. Sometimes this competition is close to home, and sometimes squads will travel to other parts of the state. Connersville and the Mishawaka Al Smith Invitational both have a statewide reputation for attracting teams from all over the state. The Mater Dei Holiday meet has a more regional draw but its line up of teams is very strong.
In recent years, a new player on the holiday tournament scene has developed south of Indianapolis. The Mooresville tournament now is at the level where it will attract both high school teams and fans throughout the state. Mooresville is now attracting teams from three of the four semi-states and may provide the top holiday individual match-up if Indianapolis Cathedral’s Blake Rypel and Mooresville’s Randy Scott make their way to the finals at Mooresville. This would be a battle between the #1 and #2 ranked 195 pounders. Both are Fargo All Americans and exciting, dynamic performers.
Yorktown is the clear frontrunner for team honors but the defending state champions, Indianapolis Cathedral should test the Tigers. Castle’s veteran coach, Bob Harmon, is not doubt interested to see how his young and talented Knights match up against some of the state’s best and don’t sleep on the Panthers from Jennings County.
106
The little guys will bring excitement as state ranked grapplers from three semi states will battle it out for top honors at Mooresville. Hamilton Heights fifth ranked junior David Bryant is the pre meet favorite but he will likely be challenged by Castle freshman Baxter Annakin, who is ranked 12th and fourteenth ranked Christian Hunt of Yorktown. Will the Husky veteran be able to navigate against wrestlers from two of the better programs in the state?
113
Returning state placer Skylour Turner of Indianapolis Cathedral is the big dog in the 113 class. The Cathedral sophomore placed eighth at state last year. A couple of ticket round 106ers from last season will make the trip south from the Fort Wayne semi state looking to test themselves. 15th ranked Josh Stephenson of Yorktown and junior Jack Franklin of Homestead should both challenge Turner. Thirteenth ranked Carson Willis of Evansville Central adds depth to this class.
120
The 120 pound class looks like it might provide some fireworks due to both the strength at the top and the depth throughout the bracket. Cathedral has another returning state placer here with Breyden Bailey. Bailey was one of the state’s elite 106 pounders last year when he placed 3rd in the state. He is up two weight classes this year and might run into fourteenth ranked Isaac Gomez from Plainfield. Several semi state ranked grapplers led by Gibson Southern’s Christian Pellacer.
126
Hamilton Height Husky Trezdon O’Neal and Evansville Central sophomore Conner Willis are the state ranked wrestlers at this weight. O’Neal comes into the Mooresville Invite ranked 14th in the state and Willis is currently slotted at number 12. Cathedral’s Zach Melloh and Yorktown’s Remo Hiestand are two wrestlers from tough programs that will push O’Neal and Willis. Terre Haute South’s David Lewis is the most likely Brave to perform well at Mooresville.
132
The Shamrocks of Westfield travel south of Indy for a nice warm up before wrestling in the team state duals. Their top wrestler, Evan Eldred will be the likely #1 seed at 132. He is currently ranked sixth in the state, was a Fargo All-American this past summer, and has a notable win over state placer Jack Chastain of Hamilton Southeastern. Looking to battle Eldred for Mooresville supremacy will be Yorktown senior Jacob Stephenson, currently ranked 11th in the state.
138
This class might be in the running for being the most competitive of the day. Hometown boy Mitch Anderson is a returning state qualifier that has yet to crack the state rankings this season.
The grappler he defeated to earn his trip to Bankers Life, Kyle Todrank of Gibson Southern is currently ranked sixth in the state. The fifth ranked Brad Laughlin of Yorktown will give the bracket a taste of the Tiger. Finally, Castle has yet another contender with semi state qualifier Austin Ramsey who comes in ranked thirteenth.
145
The top-heavy 145 class features two-time state placer Cael McCormick from Yorktown. McCormick keeps growing but still keeps winning and the Tiger is currently ranked third in the state. Ticket rounder Ethan Herrin of Jennings County is Hall of Fame coach T. Howard Jones top gun. Herrin is currently ranked fifth in the state. Castle’s Patrick Schnell qualified for state last year at 138 and is currently ranked #12.
152
The 152 class has the least amount of established talent in the bracket so it might just be the most unpredictable and interesting to keep an eye on. Jacob Farmer of Castle is the only state ranked wrestler in this bracket. He may have to face Martinsville Cayden Whitaker in the finals. This match-up might be a preview for the semi-state in February.
160
A highlight weight class at the Mooresville Invite, the 160 division could feature a finals match-up that will be repeated at the Evansville semi-state and state finals. Second ranked Gabe Koontz of Edgewood will make the short trip north to battle at Mooresville. Koontz was third in the state last year. His likely finals opponent is Isaiah Kemper of Evansville Central. Kemper is a two time state qualifier. Excellent depth in this weight class is provided by Hamilton Heights Isaac Ray, Martinsville’s Ethan Runyan, Castle’s Turner Lockyear and Jennings County’s Cole Chandler.
170
Not much depth here but the top two seeds could provide fireworks in the finals. Cathedral’s Ben Harvey had a disappointing state finals last year but is rolling through this season with possibly the state’s best win, a 4-2 decision over defending state champion, Jacob Stevenson of Franklin. Yorktown’s Dillon Jackson surprised many with his run to the semifinals last year at state and finished with a third place medal. Jackson has hit a couple of speed bumps this season and will look to get back on track with a win over Harvey.
182
The 182 weight class could be dominated by Yorktown’s Myron Howard-Anderson. He is currently ranked 2nd in the state and finished fourth at this weight class last in the state meet. He, however, has not been very active this season and might be dealing with injury. If that’s the case, this weight class is wide open with Bloomington North’s Hunter Dalton, Castle’s Evan Dowell, Jennings County Peyton Shepard and Homestead’s Wyatt Clem as contenders for the crown.
195
If there is one spotlight finals match-up that the entire state will keep an eye on, it is at 195. Top ranked Blake Rypel was a state runner-up last year, was a Fargo and Super 32 All American and currently is ranked 8th in the state by Flo and 11th by Intermat. His likely finals opponent will be hometown favorite Randy Scott. Scott finished third in the state last year and is also a former Fargo All American. On a busy day of wrestling state-wide, everyone will want to know the results of this brawl.
220
What the 220 class lacks in top end state level talent, it makes up for it with outstanding depth. Gibson Southern’s junior Cody Klem lost a narrow ticket round match to Franklin stud Conner Talley. Klem might be under ranked at 8th. Martinsville sophomore big man Clayton Scroggs is currently ranked tenth in the state. Depth is provided by Cathedral’s Ryan Guhl, Jennings County’s Brady Shepherd, Westfield’s Daryn Milton and Yorktown’s Noah Little.
285
The heavyweights have a trio of state ranked grapplers that will contend for top honors at Mooresville. The Quaker’s of Plainfield have a sophomore stud in seventh ranked Bryce Biddle. Greenwood will likely counter on the other side of the bracket with number 13 Gavin Fuqua. The top end of Jenniings County’s line up is in good hands with 16th ranked Brenden Sutton. Yorktown’s Dax Hiestand provides balance for the Tigers.
4322014 Pick'ems Results
Here they are fellas!
Scoring:
10 points for a wrestler placing(top 4 or 8)
-1 point for each placement they are off
Example:Your picks
1. Joe Caprino
2. Chad Hollenbaugh
3. Eric McGill
4. Mike Reiser
Outcome
1. Joe Caprino- 10 points
2. Stevan Micic- 0 points
3. Mike Reiser- 9 points
4. Chad Hollenbaugh- 8 points
If you have any disputes you know where to go
Click on the header of each category to sort by that column
[table id=56 /]
15802014 State Finals MEGA Preview
by Chad Hollenbaugh
The fireworks will begin around 6pm Friday night on south Pennsylvania street. Approximately three and a half hours later, dreams will be dashed for 112 young men... but the dream will continue for the 112 winners on the four mats of fun. Some very interesting story lines have emerged over the course of the season and all wrestling eyes will be focused this weekend to see how they play out.
[caption id=attachment_6275" align="alignleft" width="300] Gelen Robinson(right) could face a rematch with Fletcher Miller(left) in the 220lbs finals this year.[/caption]
BIG STORY #1 – THE ATTACK OF THE FROSH (106)
Talented freshman always make themselves known at the lightest weight class but the sheer number of highly skilled freshmen in this year's class is not normal. Nine of the sixteen finalists are in their first year of high school. A quick look at the rankings will show that the top five ranked kids are all frosh.
BIG STORY #2 – THE BIG RED MACHINE (120)
If you are as old as me, you remember “The Big Red Machine†was the nickname of the 1970s Cincinnati Reds. They got the nickname because they were a dynasty that won two World Series an were a yearly contender. Last season, freshman Chad Red burst on the scene and was dominant on his way to a state title at 106. As this young Dragon from New Palestine grows, will he develop into a one man grappling dynasty?
BIG STORY #3 – MICIC VERSUS LEE....OMG (126)
Stevan Micic is a two time state champ with various national wrestling credentials and scholarship to attend Northwestern University next season. You would think that he would be stone cold lock for his third state championship. However, a storm has been brewing in Evansville in the name of Nick Lee. This freshman from Mater Dei has plenty of credentials and has yet to be tested in his high school career.
BIG STORIES #4 & #5 – THE REMATCHES (132/145)
At 132 the entire state has the chance to be treated to round three of the rivalry developing between Warren Central's Deondre Wilson and Perry Meridian's Brandon James. Wilson has come out on top at the both the regional and semi-state, both by the slimmest of margins. The other big rematch could happen at 145 between a couple of state champs. Perry's Cody LeCount narrowly edged Mishawaka's Tommy Forte last month at Bellmont's Main Event. This rivalry has a chance to continue at the collegiate level as LeCount has signed with Central Michigan and Forte will join his former coach at Buffalo.
BIG STORY #6 – BIG CHIEF'S FINAL TOUR (220)
I have an admitted bias to three sport athlete's and the top dog at 220, Gelen Robinson, is one of the finest all around athlete's the state of Indiana has ever seen. A scholarship to play football at Purdue is Robinson's future but there is no doubt in my mind that if he focused on wrestling in college he could be a national champion. He is also an elite track athlete and one of few Hoosier high schoolers to ever toss the discus 200 feet. In this era of specialization, Gelen is a national level athlete in three sports. A rare competitor that should be appreciated this weekend. WEIGHT CLASS BREAKDOWNS
106 - As mentioned earlier this class is packed full of young talent and that talent is spread throughout the state. Evansville semi-state champ Paul Konrath of Mt. Vernon has separated himself from the other talented southerners by a slim margin. Cathedral's Breyden Bailey has shown he is the class of the Indy area this season and Griffith's Jeremiah Reitz has risen to the top in the North. Other talented lightweights are certainly capable of upsetting the frontrunners. Drew Hildebrandt is a returning medalist at this weight, Colton Cummings of Lowell and Will Egli of Mater Dei are just a tick behind their respective area rivals, and coming onto the radar fast is Lukas Long of Lakeland.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fight – Lukas Long vs. Kyle Hatch – Long surprised the field at Fort Wayne on is run to the title and the veteran senior grappler from Lakeland High School does not have much tournament experience. He must face the highly talented Hatch of Warsaw; who placed fourth in the deep field at Merrillville. Upset Alert.
Saturday Morning Slugfests – – Colton Cummings vs. Breyden Bailey and Will Egli vs. Jeremiah Reitz – Are you serious? These two battles are semifinal or final quality and we get to see them on Saturday morning. The crystal ball is telling me the region boys will reign supreme here.
Semifinal Smackdown – Cummings vs. Paul Konrath – Two super frosh from different corners of the state should be very entertaining for the fans of Indiana.
113 – There will be no shortage of excitement at the second weight class this weekend. A great mix of veteran studs and young guns will make this an exciting and unpredictable class to forecast. The veteran studs will be led by Franklin's DJ Smith, East Noble's Garrett Pepple and Merrillville's Michael Garza. Young guns and new faces on the state wide scene will be led by Evansville Reitz' Tyler Ferguson and Munster's Jason Crary. No clear cut frontrunner will make this an exciting class to keep an eye on.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fight – Austin Slates vs. Tyler Ferguson – Ferguson is the clear favorite in this match up but this will be no walkover. Slates has wrestled one of the states toughest schedules and has performed well in the post season. Ferguson is seen by some as a state title contender....a solid win over Slates would make a believer of me.
Saturday Morning Slugfests – – Skylour Turner vs. D.J. Smith and Tyler Ferguson vs. Garrett Pepple – Turner is flying under the radar at this point in time and he is talented enough to sneak up and beat some of the higher profile names in this weight class. Ferguson and Pepple should be an epic battle of two legitimate studs.
Semifinal Smackdown – Jason Crary vs. D.J. Smith – Crary has some legit wins against the studs of the north and this potential semifinal match up with Smith should be excellent. Smith is a super strong veteran of the two day state tournament looking to be a state champion and also helping his team fight for a state title. Crary is a slick freshman with potential to be a multi time finalist.
[caption id=attachment_6276" align="alignright" width="300] Chad Red(right) will bump up two weights in search of his second title.[/caption]
120 – Chad Red is the headliner here and most definitely the odds on favorite to win his second state title. However this class is one of the deepest and most talented group of sixteen to take the mats this weekend. I could see at least six other grapplers with a legitimate shot at the top spot if Red were to falter. The mix of styles and athletes will make this class very fun to watch.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Jacob Cottey vs. Forrest Glogouski, DeLawerence Gayfield vs. Matthew McKinney and Ruben Rodriguez vs. Bailey Lahue – These matches should really start Banker's Life cooking Friday Night and all three could go either way. Lahue was a pre-tournament favorite to make the finals but was tripped up at semi-state. Gayfield and Cottey are former medalists but have drawn studs for their first matches.
Saturday Morning Slugfests – – Brock Hudkins vs. Forrest Glogouski and Chad Red vs. Bailey Lahue. Two awesome matches potentially await the fans Saturday morning. Hudkins and Glo should be a low scoring grind it out affair with some tough riding throughout. Red vs. Lahue is a finals quality match up with contrasting styles that should provide lots of fireworks.
Semifinal Smackdown – Glogouski/Hudkins winner vs. Jake Sinkovics – Sinkovics talk was all the rage last year at this time and the young caveman had a disappointing weekend. This season Sinko has had a much lower profile but he has been no less dominating. The winner of Glo vs. Hudkins will come into the match with confidence and momentum.
126 – If the state association had any sense of drama, they would have adjusted the brackets so that the main event of the entire weekend, the potential match up of Stevan Micic and Nick Lee would have happened in the finals and not the semis. Oh well, this is the big one that has been the talk of the Indiana wrestling world this winter. Both old man Micic and young gun Lee seem to wrestling their best right now so lets all enjoy.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Elliott Molloy vs. Clarence Johnson, Cael McCormick vs. Aidan Kenny, AJ Belden vs. Anthony Vaughn. Molloy has the name recognition in this first key battle on Friday night but never underestimate a relative unknown from Merrillville. Coach Maldonado and staff have made old habit of having their kids peak at the right time of the season. The second match up of McCormick vs Kenny might have implications in the team race. Belden and Vaughn are evenly matched veterans.
Saturday Morning Slugfest – Erique Early vs. Molloy/Johnson winner. Fort Wayne Snider's Erique Early is a former state medalist who has been largely forgotten despite having an unblemished 26-0 record. He also has a strong wrestling bloodline as both his dad and uncle were former state champions. If Early can stay unbeaten he puts himself in position to possibly wrestle under the spotlight.
Semifinal Smackdown – Early vs. Zach Davis – OK, OK. Everyone knows that the big one is on the other side of the bracket but I am also interested in a potential Early/Davis match. Davis' strong run and tough battle with Micic last year put him on the radar for 2014. The future Midshipman from Penn is a clear favorite here but I'm feeling nutty....going with Early in an upset.
132 – This could be the most anticipated match under the lights Saturday night if both Brandon James and Deondre Wilson hold chalk. They have already battled the past two weekends with Wilson winning both in nail bitting fashion. These two studs are obviously evenly matched and both are very well coached. Don't leave for a shave ice during this tussle.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Blake Jourdan vs. Brandon James, Sam Lovejoy vs. Devin Childers, Daniel Hesch vs. Clayton Moore. Jourdan versus James sounds like an NBA argument but this battle Friday night will have implications on the team title race. James must be ready to go Friday night or he could be upset. Childers vs. Lovejoy is an interesting match up as both of these juniors are extremely strong, stout competitors. Hesch, from state power Mishawaka, has put together a very nice post season this year squares off against the very talented Moore, who hails from the virtually unknown North Manchester.
Saturday Morning Slugfest – Josh Davis vs. Seth Carithers. Carithers must survive a tough Friday night clash with Kegan Kern to match up with Davis, a seasoned tough southerner from Reitz. Can Carithers conjure up some Alex Griffin magic and make a run similar to his former teammate a couple of years ago.
Semifinal Smackdown – Devin Broukal vs. Deondre Wilson. Broukal of Bloomington South is one of those athletes that seems to have been around forever. That's a compliment because he is a multiple time state qualifier. I haven't seen Bloomington South wrestle much this year but if they coached as well as they were under Royce Deckerd, Broukal has a chance to slow the Tasmanian devil that is dressed as Deondre Wilson.
138 – The depth at the 138 is impressive but I am having a tough time getting real excited about any of the potential match ups. I'm not really sure why because there are plenty of talented grapplers in the field of sixteen. Three contenders stand out as having the best shot for the top of the podium: Drew Hughes of Lowell, Tommy Cash of Lawrence North and Skyler Lykins of Franklin.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fight – Jake Ruberg vs. Jacob Covaciu and Steven “Bam†Lawrence vs. Trent Pruitt. These two Friday night clashes involving three sophomores and one freshman might be glimpse into the future of middleweights in Indiana. Ruberg is a virtual unknown out of Lawrenceburg who impressed at Evansville. He will square off against Jacob Covaciu of Merrillville. Covaciu had a defining ticket round win over Jake Fuqua of Crown Point. “Bam†surprised me at semi-state and looked very strong. Pruitt is an up and coming stud from Warren Central looking to take the next step.
Saturday Morning Slugfests – – Tommy Cash vs. Wyatt Seng and Tyler Fleener vs. Drew Hughes. The bottom of the bracket serves up a couple of potentially interesting match ups. Cash is long and funky. How that style will play with the solid Seng will be fun to watch. Fleener is one of Indiana's premier brawlers who can score in bunches. Hughes is slick and hammer on top.
Semifinal Smackdown – Hughes vs. Cash. These two talented underclassmen should provide plenty of entertainment if they both reach the semis.
[caption id=attachment_6277" align="alignleft" width="300] Cody LeCount will look to capture his second state title.[/caption]
145 – Two division 1 titans dominate this bracket and if all goes to plan, they will face a second time. Cody LeCount and Tommy Forte are quite simply two of the states premier wrestlers. Their match in mid January was awesome to watch. Grab your popcorn and enjoy.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Evan Loe vs. Parker Fritz and Logan Neher vs. Isaac Rentes. Loe is a semi-state champ and Fritz is an unknown on the state level but I have a hunch this might be a heck of a match. Loe is solid but Fritz is a powerful and explosive athlete.
Saturday Morning Slugfest – Tommy Forte vs. Ben Harvey. Harvey has been ranked third for the entire season and got the unfortunate draw into Forte at the quarter bracket level. Harvey certainly won't be intimidated by the mighty Caveman and is certainly talented enough to pull off the upset if Forte is not on his game.
Semifinal Smackdown – Tommy Forte vs. Evan Loe. I'm not sure how close this will be but it appears to be the more compelling of the two semifinal matches. Similar styles could lead to a tight match but if Forte has his game right he just wrestles at a different level than most kids in the state.
152 – Another weight class where a threesome has appeared to separate themselves from the rest of the field. Top ranked Brendon Kelley of Evansville Central is on the same side of the bracket as second ranked Tristan Macri of Mishawaka. These two met last year in the state finals with Kelley losing to Macri in the 3rd/4th clash. Whomever wins the semifinal clash this year will likely face the ultra talented Chandler Carroll, who already has three state medals on his resume.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Willie Armstrong vs. Seth Ferguson and Michael Steele vs. Tylor Willms. The first Friday night clash pits the Pirate from Merrillville against the Artesian from Martinsville. This opener is made most interesting because the winner has to like his chances to make it to the semifinals. The second battle features Steele, who has been battle tested, against Willms. Willms represents tiny Fremont high school in the far northeast corner of the state. The Willms name is well known in that area of the state but 2014 is the first time in ten years that the Eagles have had a state qualifier.
Saturday Morning Slugfest – Darden Schurg vs. Brendon Kelley. Contrasting styles again should make this battle highly entertaining. The exciting and funky Kelley has been a joy to watch the past few years and he will have to deal with one of the thirty-four Schurg boys, all of whom are technically sound and rarely find themselves out of position.
Semifinal Smackdown – The aforementioned potential clash between #1 Kelley and #2 Macri is the highlight match of this bracket. Will Macri be able to neutralize the funk that Kelley will bring to the table? I'm not sure but it will be awfully fun to watch.
[caption id=attachment_6278" align="alignright" width="300] Vinny Corsaro has dominated all his opponents this season.[/caption]
160 – There is much chatter about the 160 state class despite the fact that the number one ranked wrestler, Vinny Corsaro, has been the undisputed number one guy all season. For some reason, wrestlers like Kenny Hughes of Lowell, Nick Borta of North Montgomery, Kyle Jolas of Huntington North and Joey Mammolenti of Penn are being spoken of as possible contenders for the crown. I am not buying it.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Isaiah Kemper vs. Kyle Jolas and Edmond Hogan vs. Nick Borta. Kemper, out of Evansville Central is a real goer and could catch the more hyped Jolas off guard on Friday night. Hogan should know best to keep the match with Borta on his feet and off the mat. Friday night in this weight class has plenty of great match ups throughout the bracket.
Saturday Morning Slugfests – – Rhett Hiestand vs Nick Borta and Jordan Partee vs. Joey Mammolenti. Borta has had his way with Yorktown's Hiestand in two previous match ups this year. An upset here could propel Yorktown into the team race title talk. Partee has quietly fashioned one of the best seasons in Madison's wrestling history but will he be able to stand up to the peaking Mammolenti of Penn.
Semifinal Smackdown – Kenny Hughes vs. Nick Borta – Will this be the year that three time qualifier Hughes lives up to his press clippings and makes a run for the state title or will the hard nosed Borta grind his way to a win and another match up with Corsaro in the finals.
170 – This class is as wide open as any weight class I have seen in some time and that makes it very difficult to project and predict. Couple that with the fact that there are some legitimate dark horses who might have slipped slightly at semi-state and it should make for interesting wrestling up and down the class.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Jacob Stevenson vs. Tristen Tonte and Jake Rickenbaugh vs. Colton Gonzalez. The first match up is particularly interesting because it could definitely impact the team race. Stevenson is the clear favorite here but if I know Tonte, I know there is a side headlock that could come from any angle. The second clash pits two wrestlers with a combined 92-2 record. The winner has a realistic shot at making the finals.
Saturday Morning Slugfests – – Jacob Stevenson vs. Tristan Wilson and Chase Osborn vs. Jake Rickenbaugh. Stevenson is the top ranked wrestler in the state but the top eight in this weight class are so closely bunched an upset is possible at every level. Wilson is not talked about a lot but his resume matches any in the bracket. Chase Osborn of Penn just keeps getting better and a projected match up with Rickenbaugh should be most entertaining.
Semifinal Smackdown – Dillon Jackson vs Chase Osborn – Osborn has one of the quietest one loss season I have ever noticed and he must win two tough matches to reach the semis but I like his chances. Who knows.....He has a legitimate shot to be Penn's first state champion in a long time. His potential semifinal foe would be Dillon Jackson of Yorktown. Jackson is peaking at the right time for the Tigers.
182 – As we move up the weight classes, I get into more familiar territory when it comes to prognosticating. I see the 182 class as a three man race for the title. South Bend St. Joe's Ryan Jankowski, Edgewood's Damien Chambers and Cathedral's Blake Rypel appear to have separated themselves from the field. Edgewood and St. Joe are not exactly wrestling powerhouses so I would give the coaching edge to Rypel who might be wrestling for team state title as well.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Nathan Warman vs. Myron Howard Anderson and Timothy Schoonveld vs. Michael Petrole. Warman of Perry Meridian versus Howard - Anderson of Yorktown is another Friday night match up of state title contending teams which will give it a little extra juice. Schoonveld and Petrole will match up two of the stronger athletes in this class.
Saturday Morning Slugfests – – Blake Rypel vs Jeffrey Wiseman and Corey Hinkle vs. Timothy Schoonveld. Cathedral and Penn are two other teams that have an eye on the big team trophy so Penn's staff will have a gameplan ready for Cathedral's Rypel. I have been extremely impressed with Penn's preparation of their wrestlers this post season. Hinkle comes in as the semi-state champ and is the decided favorite but the physicality that Schoonveld will bring might just be enough to propel the KV Kougar into the semis.
Semifinal Smackdown – Ryan Jankowski vs. Damien Chambers. Both of these studs have experience at Banker's Life as Jankowski was 6th last year and Chambers was a qualifier. Both are elite multi sport athletes. Jankowski is probably a little more unpredictable and this could either work for him or against him. Chambers has been under the radar all season but has big victories over numerous studs the past two seasons.
195 – This bracket looks extremely lopsided to me with the top half being a serious meat grinder. The entire bracket is filled with veteran toughness and young talent that his hitting its stride at the right time of the season. If New Palestine's vet Ryan Wagner can survive the minefield in front of him this weekend he deserves to be the champ. We will see this weekend if Wagner has been severely under ranked all season.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Morgan Kral vs. Randy Scott, Dakota Thacker vs. Kobe Woods and Jacob Aven vs. Kanez Omar. Friday night will be very fun at the 195 class with multiple key match ups. Kral of Crown Point will take on Scott of Mooresville. Kral is a tough physical match up with just about anyone in the state due to his 6'5†frame. Scott is the freestyle phenom who burst on the scene last summer. Two juniors to keep an eye on. Thacker and Woods might just be the premier Friday night battle in any weight class. Thacker is strong and seasoned with a Division 1 ride waiting for him at Indiana. Woods is a slick sophomore who surprised the Merrillville semi-state by qualifying last year. The last key battle in this class pits Purdue signee Jacob Aven against Fort Wayne Wayne big man Kanez Omar. Omar's only loss on the season was to top ranked Tieshawn Johnson.
Saturday Morning Slugfests – – Ryan Wagner vs. Kobe Woods and Tyler Scott vs. Kanez Omar. Wagner first test will be against the winner of Woods and Dakota Thacker. I project Woods to be man Wagner will be facing. Wagner's combo of strength and positioning will prove to be too much for the younger Woods. The second key match up pits Scott against the the super long Omar. Scott learned how to wrestle the long lanky types and this will serve him well against the Fort Wayne big man.
Semifinal Smackdowns – Tieshawn Johnson vs. Ryan Wagner and Katrell Moss vs. Tyler Scott. Johnson has been ranked #1 most of the season and has key wins over many top names. Wagner has more experience at this level where the pressure starts to mount. On the other side of bracket, Moss combines great strenth and athleticism in a difficult package to deal with. Scott is well coached and will come ready to do battle.
220 – “Outlined against the ruby red wrestling surface, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore their names are Death, Destruction, Pestilence and Famine. But those are aliases. Their real names are: Robinson, Miller, Tolley and Faulkenberg....†The four horsemen of Indiana wrestling inhabit the 220 class and might just make up the most intimidating group of big men the state has ever produced. Robinson is the returning state champ but there are those that claim its any one of the other three's turn to shine.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Gunnar Larson vs. Eliseo Guerra and Christain Warner vs. Seth Meyer. I will have my eye on Avon's Larson in his match up with the Elkhart Central big man. Larson appears to be the next in a long line of quality Oriole big men. I underestimated Lafayette Harrison's Meyer last week at semi-state so I want to take a closer look this week to see if he has the potential to make a run for the top next year. Zionsville's unknown Christian Warner will be his foe. One thing I do know about a Zionsville wrestler is that he will be extremely well coached.
Saturday Morning Slugfest – Connor Tolley vs. Christian Warner. The four top dogs are prohibitive favorites to make the semifinals but something tells me an unknown like Warner might have the combination of skill and coaching to give a big dog a scare. Tolley is no ordinary favorite, he is the 13th ranked 220 in the country.
Semifinal Smackdowns – Dylan Faulkenberg vs. Gelen Robinson and Connor Tolley vs. Fletcher Miller. Faulkenberg, the big man from small Cardinal Ritter High School, is the least well known of the four horsemen and that might be to his advantage. He has put together an impressive 99-1 record over the past two years but a narrow loss in ticket round at New Castle last year prevented him from making it to state. What more can be said about Robinson... I simply think he is the best athlete the state has produced in my 30 plus years of participating, watching and coaching high school sports. Tolley and Miller should be an old fashioned barnburner. The fans will certainly get a treat to watch finals quality matches during the afternoon.
[caption id=attachment_6280" align="alignright" width="199] Big Wes Bernard is one of the big dawgs looking for a title at heavyweight.[/caption]
285 – Onward to big boys. Unlike many wrestling fans, I really enjoy watching quality big man wrestling and this year's group of sixteen has plenty of quality. I do think that three heavyweights have clearly made themselves contenders for the crown. Cathedral's Wes Bernard has been around the block and is nationally decorated, Jay County's Eric Hemmelgarn owns a victory over last year's state champ, and Merrillville's young Shawn Streck was a medalist as a freshman, a rare feat indeed.
Projected Key Match Ups
Friday Night Fights – Nathon Trawick vs. John Duvall and Gavan Jolley-Little vs Darrius Connell. Trawick of Richmond and Duvall of West Lafayette will square off in a battle of Red Devils. Both are physical specimens that should lead to a high scoring affair. The second match up will be interesting to see if Jolley-Little can parlay some his freestyle success into a medal at the state level.
Saturday Morning Slugfest – 'Stormin' Norman Oglesby vs. Tyler Beeson. Oglesby is still just a junior who surprised the semi-state field at Evansville last year where he was the champ. A narrow lost to state runner up Joe Garland prevented the Purple Giant from medaling. If he can storm his way into the semi's I think he becomes a real threat for a state title in 2015.
Semifinal Smackdowns – Eric Hemmelgarn vs. Norman Oglesby and Wes Bernard vs. Shawn Streck. A great final four with this year's top two seniors battling it out with the top two underclassmen. Hemmelgarn will use his massive frame and height to try to neutralize the Ben Davis big boy and retain his state (#2) and national (#18) ranking. The other side of the bracket has Cathedral's top ranked Bernard facing off against Streck, who despite being just a sophomore will in no way back down from the Rutgers signee. I think Bernard's age and experience will be too much for Streck in this exciting battle.
12462014 State Finals: Expert Picks
[table id=55 /]
16452014 State Finals: Rankings Breakdown
Overall
There will be 224 wrestlers gracing the mats on Friday night with one goal in mind. Of those 224 wrestlers 171 of them were in our final Panko Strength and Speed Individual Rankings. Another 22 were on our watch list. On average each weight class has 12.2 ranked wrestlers. The best weight class was 160lbs where we had 15 of the 16 wrestlers ranked. Note that our rankings are finalized before sectional and do not take into account regional or semi-state draws. Thus there are many match-ups that cause ranked kids to lose in the ticket round. 106lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
Unranked qualifiers:
Jaron Katzer- Goshen
Kyle Hatch- Warsaw ***Watch List***
Mason Kaufer- Corydon Central ***Watch List***
Noah Franklin- New Washington
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#19 Ryan Hawkins- Perry Meridian vs. #3 Will Egli- Evansville Mater Dei
#1 Paul Konrath- Mt. Vernon vs. #14 Karl Wilhelm- Carmel
#15 Nathaniel Weimer- East Noble vs. #6 Drew Hildebrandt- Penn
#5 Colton Cummings- Lowell vs. #9 Hunter Langeloh- Columbia City
113lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 10
Unranked qualifiers:
Austen Laughlin- South Bend Adams
Colton Dawes- Southwood
Edward Loraine- Leo
Jacob Skaggs- Greenwood
James Pritchett- Ben Davis
Tyler Flood- Pendleton Heights ***Watch List***
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#20 Jon Becker- Bellmont vs. #8 Austin Holmes- Hamiliton Southeastern
#14 Austin Slates- Penn vs. #3 Tyler Ferguson- Evansville FJ Reitz
120lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
Unranked qualifiers:
Tristan Dembowski- Valparaiso ***Watch List***
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#7 Brock Hudkins- Danville vs. #20 Jake Hartman- South Bend Clay
#10 Jacob Cottey- Perry Meridian vs. #3 Forrest Glogouski- Fairfield
#6 Jake Sinkovics- Mishawaka vs. #13 Alex Johnson- Evansville Mater Dei
#11 DeLawerence Gayfield- Concord vs. #9 Matthew McKinney- Warren Central
#1 C.J. Red- New Palestine vs. #15 Brad Laughlin- Yorktown
#18 Ruben Rodriguez- Hammond Morton vs. #2 Bailey Lahue- Corydon Central
#5 Connor Knapp- East Noble vs. #19 Endrece Stansberry- Hamiliton Southeastern
126lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
Unranked qualifiers:
Anthony Vaughn- Elkhart Memorial
Austin Bethel- Mt. Vernon
John Hunting- Rochester
Logan Aldrich- F.W. Northrop
Quinton Harris- Avon
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#14 Elliott Molloy- Danville vs. #9 Clarence Johnson- Merrillville
#4 Cael McCormick- Yorktown vs. #8 Aidan Kenny- Perry Meridian
#7 Erique Early- F.W. Snider vs. #17 Rylan McCarty- New Palestine
132lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 10
Unranked qualifiers:
Clayton Moore- Manchester ***Watch List***
Devin Childers- Tippecanoe Valley
John Devine- Indpls. Cathedral ***Watch List***
Kegan Kern- Peru ***Watch List***
Logan Campbell- Yorktown ***Watch List***
Scott Warner- South Bend Riley
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#5 Blake Jourdan- Evansville Mater Dei vs. #2 Brandon James- Perry Meridian
#20 Lance Syverson- Fishers vs. #9 Joshua Davis- Evansville FJ Reitz
#1 Deondre Wilson- Warren Central vs. #16 Mitch Anderson- Mooresville
138lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Dominic Garrett- F.W. Bishop Dwenger
Jake Ruberg- Lawrenceburg
Mike Krzyston- Andrean
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#5 Zachery Krumlauf- DeKalb vs. #16 Ross Abram- Bloomington South
#18 Steven Lawrence- Portage vs. #8 Trent Pruitt- Warren Central
#1 Drew Hughes- Lowell vs. #17 Dillon Eldred- Westfield
#10 Dustin Hinkle- Western vs. #4 Tyler Fleener- Center Grove
#15 Wyatt Seng- Evansville Mater Dei vs. #13 Derek Ellinger- Adams Central
145lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Alexander Arney- Carroll (FW) ***Watch List***
Jake Sebahar- Lake Central ***Watch List***
Parker Fritz- West Central
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Tommy Forte- Mishawaka vs. #14 Ryan Baxter- Northridge
#15 Zach Batts- Cascade vs. #3 Ben Harvey- Indpls. Cathedral
#9 Jordan Lile- Fishers vs. #20 Korbin Karges- Princeton
#1 Cody LeCount- Perry Meridian vs. #5 Josh Pierre- Evansville Mater Dei
#19 Logan Neher- Bellmont vs. #4 Isaac Rentas- Merrillville
#11 Bailey Schober- Greenwood vs. #12 Kellen VanCamp- Lebanon
152lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
Unranked qualifiers:
Andrew Jones- Columbus North ***Watch List***
Austin Bauer- Angola
CJ Damler- Brownsburg ***Watch List***
Nathaniel Ryan- Alexandria
Willie Armstrong- Merrillville ***Watch List***
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#1 Brendon Kelley- Evansville Central vs. #7 Alex Rinehart- Penn
#10 Michael Steele- Westfield vs. #17 Tylor Willms- Fremont
#13 Chad Gaddis- Kokomo vs. #8 Eli Carlson- Carmel
160lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
Unranked qualifiers:
Luke Decker- New Castle ***Watch List***
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#7 Joseph Mammolenti- Penn vs. #16 Maximilian Dole- East Central
#18 Shaun Johnson- F.W. Wayne vs. #6 Jordan Partee- Madison
#1 Vinny Corsaro- Indpls. Cathedral vs. #11 Adam Dodson- Glenn
#8 Isaiah Kemper- Evansville Central vs. #4 Kyle Jolas- Huntington North
#14 Gabe Koontz- Edgewood vs. #9 Bryce Baumgartner- Bellmont
#5 Rhett Hiestand- Yorktown vs. #15 Ashton Forzley- Evansville Mater Dei
#13 Edmond Hogan- Culver Academies vs. #3 Nick Borta- North Montogmery
170lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
Unranked qualifiers:
Bennet Kempf- Evansville Mater Dei
Hunter Mote- Delphi
Jimmy Fisher- Columbus East ***Watch List***
Wade Young- New Prairie ***Watch List***
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#3 Jacob Stevenson- Franklin Community vs. #17 Tristen Tonte- Perry Meridian
#16 Kaine Luginbill- Adams Central vs. #15 Michael Bates- South Bend Washington
#4 Chase Osborn- Penn vs. #12 Keair Ross- Kokomo
#2 Jake Rickenbaugh- Heritage Hills vs. #8 Colton Gonzalez- Connersville
182lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
Unranked qualifiers:
Daniel Wright- Harrison (WL)
Evan Smith- Goshen ***Watch List***
Myron Howard-Anderson- Yorktown ***Watch List***
Tristin Anglin- Columbia City
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Ryan Jankowski- South Bend St. Joseph vs. #14 Andy Fischer- Southridge
#12 Evan Elmore- Avon vs. #7 Jeffry Wiseman- Penn
#5 Corey Hinkle- Western vs. #11 Ben Elliot- Noblesville
#8 Timothy Schoonveld- Kankakee Valley vs. #6 Michael Petrole- Franklin Community
195lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Bo Davis- Garrett ***Watch List***
Nick Cress- Peru
Noah Schrader- Indpls. Bishop Chatard
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Morgan Kral- Crown Point vs. #13 Randy Scott- Mooresville
#5 Dakota Thacker- Bloomington South vs. #3 Kobe Woods- Penn
#15 Mitchell Sandlin- Madison vs. #18 Kevin Winkle- Twin Lakes
#12 Tyler Scott- Hanover Central vs. #14 Blake Brown- Evansville Memorial
#9 Jacob Aven- Zionsville vs. #6 Kanez Omar- F.W. Wayne
220lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
Unranked qualifiers:
Christian Warner- Zionsville
George Brantley- Hamiliton Southeastern
Kasha` Wilder- Ben Davis ***Watch List***
Steven Potosky- Crown Point ***Watch List***
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#7 Brandon Joest- East Noble vs. #12 Ben Schoolcraft- Martinsville
#13 Gunnar Larson- Avon vs. #10 Eliseo Guerra- Elkhart Central
#3 Connor Tolley- Franklin Community vs. #8 Bradley Sadilek- Carroll (FW)
#11 Clayton Stohler- Penn vs. #6 Seth Vaughn- Franklin Central
285lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
Unranked qualifiers:
Caleb Coffel- Bremen
Chet Maxey- Hamiliton Southeastern
Guss Dajani- Bloomington South ***Watch List***
Owen Perkins- Oak Hill
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#6 Nathon Trawick- Richmond vs. #8 John Duvall- West Lafayette
#14 Landon Blackburn- LaPorte vs. #11 Tyler Beeson- Greenfield Central
#16 Jacob Smith- Southwood vs. #15 Guy Henson- Avon
#7 Gavan Jolley-Little- Jeffersonville vs. #17 Darrius Connell- Muncie Central
9682014 State Finals: Team Race Breakdown
by Chad Hollenbaugh
A year ago the IHSAA went old school and awarded the team championship the old fashioned way, by tournament scoring. Most would agree that this is not the ideal way to determine the best “team," but it should certainly add some excitement to the weekend. The team race will clearly have much more excitement than last year, when Perry Meridian nearly lapped the field and defeated runner up Yorktown by forty points. No team this year will be that dominant and there may be as many as six to eight squads who will be fighting it out for state hardware.
THE PROCEDURE
I projected every match this weekend to get placers and scored the placers: 16,12,9,7,5,3,2,1. I then went back and looked at individual draws and projected a best case scenario for each of the qualifiers. The first number is what my projections have each team scoring and the second number is their best case team score. Remember these are just one person's thoughts on how the weekend will go. Not trying to offend anyone. Note a * is for a qualifier that is not projected to place.
Total
106
113
120
126
132
138
145
152
160
170
182
195
220
285
Penn
38
2
*
X
7
X
X
X
*
9
12
5
3
*
X
61
5
0
12
0
9
16
5
9
5
Cath
57
5
3
X
X
*
X
5
X
16
X
12
X
X
16
63
5
5
0
5
16
16
16
YT
31
X
X
X
3
1
X
X
12
5
7
3
X
X
X
52
5
5
16
12
9
5
Merr
41
X
12
X
5
X
5
3
7
X
X
X
X
X
9
50
12
5
12
5
7
9
Fran
57
X
16
X
X
X
16
X
X
X
16
*
X
9
X
69
16
16
16
9
12
Mish
39
X
X
12
X
2
X
16
9
X
X
X
X
X
X
50
16
2
16
16
PM
26
*
2
*
*
12
X
12
X
X
*
*
X
X
X
52
0
5
5
5
16
16
0
5
MD
16
3
X
*
12
*
1
*
X
*
*
X
X
X
X
52
12
7
16
0
5
0
5
7
Penn 38/61
Cathedral 57/63
Yorktown 31/52
Merrillville 41/50
Franklin 57/69
Mishawaka – 39/50
Perry Meridian – 26/52
Mater Dei – 16/52
THE PRETENDERS
Mater Dei – The Wildcats are close but they are not quite yet back to the juggernaut of a decade ago. Coach Schaeffer's crew did qualify seven for the Big Show but the combination of tough draws and only two “sure thing†placers will make a run for the big trophy highly unlikely this year. Fear not west side whackos, MD is young and on the rise.
Mishawaka – The Cavemen only qualified four to state this year but what a foursome. Three of the four have a legitimate shot at wrestling under the lights. It would probably take all three winning along with some other help to put Mishawaka in serious contention.
CONTENDERS
Perry Meridian – The three time defending champs will know after Friday night if they will stay in the contenders status or be banished to the pretenders. Eight Falcons will make the effort at the title defense, led by hammers Cody LeCount and Brandon James. For the Perry to make a run, the other six boys in blue must get in the win column on Friday night despite many 50/50 draws. Upon reflection, I probably have PM losing too many of those 50/50 draw in my picks.
Yorktown – Last year's runner up would need to put together a nice weekend to be in contention for a trophy but it is definitely doable. All of the Tiger qualifiers stand a good shot of scoring points and the three headed monster of Chandler Carroll, Rhett Hiestand and Dillon Jackson all could score serious points.
Merrillville – Much like Yorktown, the Pirate's entire crew has a great chance to score points this weekend. Coach Maldonado's club just lacks a couple more studs that could be depended on to score some big points. All three of these teams in the contenders category have a long history of maximizing their opportunities and I would expect to hear all three schools on the PA system.
THE FRONT RUNNERS
Penn – Penn will travel down US 31 with near three quarters of their starting line up in an effort to not only earn medals but also make a run at a team state title that eluded them at the team duals back in January. The difference between them being champs or just contenders will come down to how a couple of their boys perform. The Kingsmen have a chance to pick up some big points at 195 and 220 that would keep them in contention.
Franklin – Veteran Grizzly Cub mentor Bob Hasseman might just have his strongest club ever in 2014. They won the coaches association team dual title in exciting fashion back in January and they currently hold national rankings in some polls. Franklin did themselves no favors by “only†qualifying five studs to the big show. The blue ring might just come down to a Friday night match between veteran Mike Petrole and Kankakee Valley's Timothy Schoonveld. I would project the winner of this matchup as a favorite to get to the semifinals and if Petrole were to make it, it would mean good things for Franklin.
Cathedral – Will it finally be the Year of the Irish? It appears that the stars might be aligned for Coach McGinley in 2014. Four legitimate title contenders (Bernard, Rypel, Corsaro, Bailey) and another big point producer in Ben Harvey make Indianapolis Cathedral the team to beat. Other squads have qualified more to Indy, but few will have as many standing high on the medal stand. I for one hope that fans of Indiana wrestling will keep it classy and give the Irish their due. In all my years of watching them under Coach McGinley, their kids have been great representatives of the sport and they deserve the appreciation of all the wrestling fans.
HOW IT ALL SHAKES OUT
Photo Finish? To close to call? My projections have Franklin and Cathedral in a dead heat for the crown. Looking deeper, I like Cathedral's “sure things†better than Franklin's and would give the slight edge to Fighting Irish. The great thing for fans is that an upset here or there might dump the entire apple cart and allows for other teams to make a run. And on a personal note, this will be the first time in four years that I am not helping coach a qualifier so I plan to sit back, relax and enjoy the show. See you Friday!!
8722014 Women's Freestyle Preview
Last 5 Years All-Americans
2009
Junior
109
4th
Sarah Hildebrandt
2009
Junior
139
6th
Demi Strub
2010
Junior
109
2nd
Sarah Hildebrandt
2010
Junior
139
2nd
Demi Strub
2011
Cadet
108
1st
Kayla Miracle
2011
Junior
112
8th
Gibby Paxton
2011
Junior
112
2nd
Kayla Miracle
2011
Junior
121
1st
Sarah Hildebrandt
2011
Junior
159
3rd
Demi Strub
2012
Cadet
124
3rd
Kayla Miracle
2012
Cadet
115
4th
Courtney Grey
2012
Cadet
101
7th
Brook Bunch
2012
Junior
121
1st
Kayla Miracle
2013
Cadet
101
4th
Lindsey Prozanski
2013
Cadet
124
4th
Courtney Grey
2013
Junior
139
2nd
Kayla Miracle
Women's wrestling in Indiana continues to be on the rise and this year is going to be no different at Fargo. Leading the way on this year's team is once again highly decorated Kayla Miracle. She will be performing double duty this weekend trying to earn a spot on the World Team and then later in the week wrestling in the junior championships. Her laundry list of accomplishments are too much to mention, just know that she is extremely talented and will continue to win at a high level. Two other Fargo All-Americans return in Lindsey Prozanski and Courtney Grey. Both were on the podium last year as Cadets and hope to repeat that performance as Juniors. Two other All-Americans in different events will make their Fargo debuts this week. The mighty Baron Susan Fozo will wrestle in the Junior division after placing 8th at Folkstyle Nationals this spring. Lastly, Mackenzie Turner will wrestle both Cadet and Junior divisions after a 3rd place finish at the FILA Cadet championships this spring.
Name
Division
Weight
Credentials
Mackenzie Turner
Cadet/Junior
198
2014 FILA Cadet Nationals 3rd
Susan Fozo
Junior
112
2014 Folkstyle Nationals 8th
Lindsey Prozanski
Junior
112
2013 Cadet 4th
Courtney Grey
Junior
125
2013 Cadet 4th
Makayla Bushman
Junior
130
Kayla Miracle
Junior
130
2014 Folkstyle Nationals 1st2014 Body Bar 1st
2014 World Team Trials 6th
4350 12015 Al Smith Preview
By Chad Hollenbaugh
Senior Writer
Seven state ranked teams will invade Michiana over the next few days as Mishawaka High School will once again play host to the state’s premiere individual tournament. Several new teams will be making their Al Smith debut this year or will be returning after an absence of several years. Warren Central will not be there this year but Portage and Fort Wayne Carroll will add plenty of strength to the tournament. Leroy Vega’s Portage Indian squad and Brad Harper’s Penn Kingsmen are probably in a class by themselves when it comes to the team race. Penn has won the event several years in a row but should be severely tested by Portage. The team state duals event at the end of the week might have some effect on the event as wrestlers who have been dinged up might not be able to compete in both events.
106
Four state ranked flyweights including returning state placer (7th) Tanner DeMien of Northwood headline the 106 pound class. Kory Cavanaugh of Penn is a state qualifier from last year is actually rated one spot higher than DeMien and might just meet him in the finals. Freshman Cayden Rooks of Columbus East has likely been beat up often enough by big brother to be extra tough and he no doubt wants to break out state wide with a victory in the frozen north.
113
Lowell’s Colton Cummings is a two time Al Smith champ at 106 and the returning state champ from last February. He is the clear #1 in this year’s field. Penn’s Austin Slates was banged up last year but has looked outstanding so far this year. A budding rivalry with Elkhart Memorial’s Christian Mejia might be relived in the semi finals on Wednesday. There might be a bitter fight to avoid the #4 and #5 seeds as to avoid Cummings but those slots are probably going to go to Portage’s Colin Poynter, Columbus East’s frosh, Jake Shoenegge, and placer from last year, Kyler McKinney of Princeton.
120
Things get real interesting at 120 where a couple of high state placers stand out from the field. Penn’s Drew Hildebrandt is a Division 1 signee to Central Michigan and a returning state runner up. On the other side of the bracket will likely be Columbus East’s Graham Rooks. Rooks has a 3rd place medal from last year’s state meet as well as a runner up finish is last years Al Smith. Bellmont’s Mason Mendez and Lawrence North’s Miguel Castro appear to be in good shape to also place high this year.
126
An absolute stacked field awaits the fans at 126, including a possible preview of the state title matchup. The top dog in the field is Northern Illinois recruit, Brock Hudkins. Hudkins won the state title last season at 120 but has never won an Al Smith title. Portage’s Gaige Torres also wrestled under the lights last season and will make his debut in Mishawaka over the next couple of days. Torres is ranked 3rd and is the prohibitive favorite to meet Hudkins in the finals. Both of these studs will have to navigate a talented group looking to make a name for themselves by knocking off one of the big boys.
132
The Danville Duo of Hudkins and Molloy have had a statewide reputation for quite some time but have yet to click at the same time at Mishawaka. Injuries or weather have both been the culprit denying the Michiana fans from seeing these two back to back. Molloy is legitimate threat to wrestle under the lights and was quite possibly the only Hoosier wrestler to take down Chad Red last season. Hobart’s Brendan Black (ranked 4th) and Bellmont’s Daniel Gunsett (ranked 6th) are both state streeters that can give Molloy a run for his money.
138
Two studs that have plenty of experience at both Mishawaka and on the state level highlight the 138 pound weight class. Warsaw’s Kyle Hatch and Munster’s Jason Crary are virtual locks for the top two seeds here. Both juniors have two state medals and an Al Smith title to their name. If the bracket holds chalk this should be a very entertaining final on Wednesday.
145
The race for the team title should be close between Penn and Portage and this weight class might go a long way in determining who takes the team title. The likely #1 seed is Portage’s Kasper McIntosh, Penn’s Cameron Beam might not get a top 6 seed but has the skills to knock off McIntosh. Throw South Bend Riley’s always dangerous Austen Laughlin into the mix and you have a bracket that might break several different ways and skew the team race.
152
One of Indiana Mat’s favorite grapplers leads the charge at 152 in Portage’s Steven “Bam†Lawrence. Bam is the top ranked wrestler in the state and big favorite to win here. Peru’s Peyton Sturgill and Prairie Heights’ Doug Levitz both have state experience and top four finishes at Al Smith. Penn’s Denzyl Prentice did not qualify for state last year but did reach the finals at the Al Smith and holds a higher state ranking. This is another weight class where seeding will be important in the team race.
160
The Merrillville Pirates have long been a mainstay at Mishawaka and are often among the top two or three in the team race. They may need some Maldonado magic to stay that high in team standings this year but they should have two of the most dominant individuals in the entire field. Senior Jacob Covaciu was last year’s state and Al Smith champion and should cruise to another title this year. There will, however, be a melee to figure out the other places. Seven other wrestlers are ranked, five have state experience, and two or three others have common opponent or head to head victories over higher ranked athletes. This one might extend the seeding meeting.
170
Lowell’s Drew Hughes has been a fixture at the top of the Al Smith podium and will attempt to become a rare four-time champion. Last year he spent less than eight minutes total on the mat in five matches when he wrapped up his 3rd title. The Michigan State recruit has 4 other top ten ranked wrestlers in the bracket but it shouldn’t matter much for the Red Devil hammer.
182
The region offers up another potential champion at 182 in Chesterton’s nationally ranked Andrew Davison. Despite the lofty ranking, Davison might not have as easy a route as Hughes or Covaciu. Lawrence North’s Cameron Jones has a state medal but has also improved significantly from last year. Jones is ranked 3rd in the state and might have a rematch with Elkhart Memorial’s David Eli in the semis to earn a crack at Davison.
195
This weight class is probably the most wide open bracket in field. Lake Central’s Jake Kleimola is ranked 3rd in the state and placed 3rd last year at 182. Besides Kleimola, the field has Erik Hobbs from Peru who is ranked 15th and Andrew Williamson at 16th. Will Portage or Penn be able to sneak a guy into day two and score some valuable team points?
220
Penn’s Kobe Woods is another wrestler looking to repeat as both Al Smith and Indiana state champion. The Purdue recruit will probably not be challenged as 8th ranked Garrett grappler Blake Davis is the probable two seed. Goshen’s Derek Paz has the talent to do very well at both this tournament and in the state tournament.
285
Merrillville will likely have its second champion on the day at 285 with big Shawn Streck looming at the top of the bracket. The rest of the bracket will be difficult to seed but there are potential state level talents here in Lawrence North’s 9th ranked Robert Samuels, Portage’s 6th ranked Gio Murillo, and Prairie Heights’ 13th ranked Braxton Amos.
24362015 Evansville Semi-State Pick'ems
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8688 282015 Evansville Semi-State Preview
Welcome to TripleB’s annual Evansville Semi-State Wrestling Preview Spectacular!!
Before we get into the good stuff, let’s cover what’s important:
TripleB presents the first ever Evansville Semi State Meet and Greet at The Gerst Haus, Friday night in Evansville at 8pm Evansville time. We’ll have 2 special guest as noted author and Evansville wrestling historian Hook and Half also known as John Johnson and incoming IHSWCA president Tskin himself, Tyson Skinner will be on hand to socialize with the Indiana wrestling community. This coincides with the Franklin Street Mardi Gras Pub Crawl. So come out and have a good time w/ The IndianaMat family!
This introduction and welcome to Evansville is brought to you by "literary titan and celebrated author Hook and Halfâ€:
10,000 years after Paleo-Indians initially settled the "River City", wrestling fans will descend upon the Ford Center for what promises to be an outstanding day of semi state action.
When the Delaware Indians formally relinquished the Evansville area to General William Henry Harrison in 1805, they surely did not understand the value of the grappling space of which there were ceding!
Our 16th President grew up about 35 miles east of Evansville in Spencer County. One can ride a bicycle from his boyhood log cabin to Heritage Hills High School. Lincoln, who is honored in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, was said to have lost only one match in nearly 300 bouts. The presence of the Great Emancipator will felt this Saturday.
Wow, thanks hook and half! How can I be expected to follow that?? We’ll preview all 14 weights. Each weight will feature:
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 - The Pickers of the Round Table has been assembled. There were very few, but any weight class where the pick for champion was unanimous, makes it a Ford Tough Lock. Ford Tough Locks were hard to come by this year as only 4 were given out.
Ford Fab 4 - After picks were gathered, points distributed, and the dust settled, we’ll have the Ford Fab 4.
Also at the end we’ll feature Hooks Picks as Mr. Johnson brings you a travel guide for things to do and places to eat in Evansville, along with some insider knowledge into the Ford Center.
Without further ado...UNLEASH THE PREVIEW!!
106: It’s appropriate that we start with this weight class, as it could be labeled “The Future Stars†of Evansville Semi-State. But for these guys their time is Now. 14 of the 16 wrestlers are freshmen and all 10 SS ranked wrestlers are here.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - No real matches jump off here, all the kids are solid. Trips will go with SS ranked #7 Tony Mosconi of Indian Creek vs. SS 8th ranked Dalton Craig of Jennings County. Mosconi has put together a solid Freshman season for the Braves. Craig’s 8 losses are a bit deceiving, he’s dropped multiple matches to conference Rival Graham Rooks. expect the winner here to push Levi Miller of North Posey in the the ticket round.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #1 Noah Hunt vs. #2 Mason Miranda...Whaaaaat?!? Triple B likes Miranda to win the match and the weight class Saturday! But the Pickers of the Round Table disagree.
Ford Fab 4 - The first committee vote featured 3 different favorites, but Frosh phenom Graham Rooks was the clear leader.
1st - Graham Rooks Columbus East, 2nd - Noah Hunt Bloomington South, 3rd - Tyler Mills Brownsburg, 4th - Levi Miller North Posey
113: The biggest questions at 113 - “Is he healthy enough?†“Is he gonna pull a Danny Williams?†Of course “he†is #1 ranked Paul Konrath and Konrath dominates this 113 discussion. After defaulting out at Regionals, questions have been flying. The P.O.T.R.T. say...he’s defaulting out to fourth. This weight is loaded with ticket round matches full of state worthy guys including state qualifiers Jacob Skaggs and Noah Franklin meeting up, as will former state qualifiers Kyle Luigs of Evansville Mater Dei and Hunter Fox of Cascade, and the high light might be Konrath and #4 Nick Weaver of Brownsburg.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Don’t be late Saturday! Freshman Phenom Tristan Sellmer has knocked off state qualifier Noah Franklin the last 2 weekends and his reward is….returning State Runner-Up Paul Konrath. Speaking of this Konrath kid…
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - #1 Paul Konrath and #4 Nick Weaver headline a spectacular ticket round session here at 113. Weaver might punch his ticket in any other quarterfinal, but this obstacle might be too big for the Bulldog.
Ford Fab 4 - The only thing of note here is that Konrath’s injury leaves the Pickers unsettled and because of that he is the first of five returning Semi-State champs to not get enough votes to be a Ford Tough Lock.
1st - Kyle Luigs Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Logan Dilbeck Gibson Southern, 3rd Jacob Skaggs Avon, 4th Paul Konrath Mt. Vernon
120: This weight class features dual winner for Curtain Jerker and Turrible Draw, 2 state qualifiers locking up first round does not make Sir Charles happy! Also of note, 120 features the second weight class where a returning semi state champ is not a Lock!
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker/Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Ben Davis Junior James Pritchett was a surprise state qualifier a year ago for the Giants. This year he will have his work cut out for him as he will have returning 5th place finisher Tyler Ferguson of Evansville Reitz. Zoinks….that’s a bad draw!
Ford Fab 4: I had to double check the registry….Brock Hudkins is not a FTL?!?!? Unrest in the South after Will Egli’s big win over Ferguson last week has cause some to convert!
1st - Brock Hudkins Danville, 2nd - Tyler Ferguson Reitz, 3rd - Will Egli Evansville Mater Dei, 4th Isaac Gomez Plainfield
126: 2 returning state qualifiers Elliott Molloy and Alex Johnson will hook up in one semi, while the other side will look to benefit from having those 2 on the other side. 126 will also feature the first tie as the Round Table couldn’t come to an agreement over Braedon Clopton of Castle and David Lewis of Terre Haute South.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Trevor Reese of Franklin might have something to say about the Clopton/Lewis match as he looks to crash that party when him and Clopton go at it in the first round. Consider Reese a dark horse here and could punch his ticket also.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Chayce Young of Madison and Brody Boles of Mooresville are both returning Semi State Qualifiers. It looked like Boles was possibly gonna punch his ticket a year ago before getting caught on his back late in his first round match and dropping a tough 8-6 decision to eventual SQ Austin Bethel. Young jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over Molloy in the ticket round before Molloy turned on his takedown machine and went to work. 2 questionable calls late in the match (I’m biased) cost Young his chance as he dropped a 10-8 OT decision. Now both seniors should put on the fireworks in their ticket round match...Charles can only shake his head….
Ford Fab 4: This was close on who wins Molloy/Johnson, but Molloy just pulled it out at the Table. Which could set up a nice revenge match in the finals w/ Young.
1st - Elliott Molloy Danville, 2nd Chayce Young Madison, 3rd Alex Johnson Evansville Mater Dei, 4th Winner of Clopton/Lewis.
132: Many people would expect this to be our first Ford Tough Lock….but stop the presses...Not So! You’ll have to skip ahead one weight class to see a Lee has our first FTL. The Hobbit from the North beLEEves in a Lee, but not the Wildcat. No he think’s Brayton Lee will shake Evansville to the core on Saturday.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Keep an eye on Tristin Dowell and Josh Elpers. Dowell has been a popular name on Indianamat this year, did New Albany just get the internet installed? Elpers has 13 losses, but wrestles in a tough area and could be ready to pull off a #4 over #1 come Saturday. Also Jaylen Lee vs. Cale McCoy. McCoy is a pick to get be Ford Fab 4 but Lee only has 3 losses and Ben Davis does not wrestle slouches. Could Jaylen Lee be this year’s James Pritchett?
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #2 Brayton Lee vs. #4 Austin Bethel, Freshman vs. State Qualifier. #1 Nick Lee vs. #5 Mitch Anderson. Bad draw’s abound here, all 4 of these guys are worthy of being SQ’s.
Ford Fab 4 - Once again the biggest shock is the Nick Lee is not a Ford Tough Lock, but we’ll see what happens come Saturday. Lee vs. Lee!!
1st - Nick Lee Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Brayton Lee Brownsburg, 3rd - Griffin Schermer Bloomington South, 4th - Cale McCoy Northview
138: It took 6 weight classes, but 138 gives us our first Ford Tough Lock - Evansville Mater Dei Freshman Joe Lee. There are some nice first round matches but overall it looks like the Castle Regional will reign supreme as projected top 3 all come from The Castle
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 2 matches both highlight the opening ceremonies at 138. Returning state qualifier Quinn Harris and Castle junior Austin Ramsey will both be looking to get to Bankers but first thing’s first… Also Franklin’s Shane Wilkerson and Gibson Southern’s Kyle Todrank will go at it. Wilkerson has been wrestling good as of late but is it enough to upend Todrank who is wanting a third match at Joe Lee
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - No complaints here, all looks good!
Ford Tough Lock - Our first one, Joe Lee Evansville Mater Dei. Todrank has kept it close, but expect the same result this weekend.
Ford Fab 4 - 1st Joe Lee Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Kyle Todrank Gibson Southern, 3rd - Austin Ramsey Castle, 4th - Nick Weddle Ben Davis
145: This weight features our second Ford Tough Lock, and he’s also a Wildcat, Blake Jourdan joins teammate Joe Lee as being a Ford Tough Lock. The Pickers also project 2 upsets, in terms of SS rankings, at this weight as Ethan Herrin (#5) is favored over Thomas Dull (#2) and Brennan Barlow (#8) is favored over returning state qualifier Bryant Haynes (#4)
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Potential #4 over #1 Madison’s Trenton Dempler and Mooresville’s Christian Warren look to go. Expect this match to be all go and Dempler’s matches never seem to be boring.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Herrin and Dull features a match where 2 kids that have been at the top all year is going home. Herrin’s come from behind win last week at regionals and Barlow finally catching Dull both show how close this match was from not happening, anything falls different and we are looking at different match ups here.
Ford Tough Lock - Blake Jourdan, Evansville Mater Dei
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Blake Jourdan Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Patrick Schnell - Castle, Ethan Herrin Jennings County, Brennan Barlow Bloomington South
152: 3 weight classes in a row with a Ford Tough Lock. This one is also from Evansville but not from Mater Dei! Central’s Isaiah Kemper looks to bring the Bears another Semi-State Champ. The Mooresville Regional will have some chances to take some cracks at Kemper as 1 loss junior Elijah Dunn and 4 loss junior Cayden Whitaker look to punch their tickets
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Nothing really jumps off the page. Look for some seniors to give favorites tough first round matches. Heritage Hills’ Cordell Miller will battle Whitaker and Brownsburg senior Brandon Gay, who is relatively new to 152, might frustrate Kemper.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - #5 Tre Lynch finds himself in a tough spot after dropping some tough losses at Sectionals and Regionals, he now finds himself against #2 ranked Dunn in the ticket round. Does the Bulldog senior have what it takes?
Ford Tough Lock - Isaiah Kemper Evansville Central
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Isaiah Kemper Evansville Central, 2nd - Cayden Whitaker Martinsville, 3rd Elijah Dunn Indian Creek, 4th - Jacob Farmer Castle
160: 160 features returning Semi-State Champ Gabe Koontz, but is he a lock, not according to the Round Table. Brendon Helm has an off season win over Koontz and some think he will win again come Saturday. Trips went against the grain and took Turner Lockyear in the upset, but he was voted down at the Table!
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - #8 Nick Buedel of Evansville Mater Dei is described as a high intense wrestler and his first round opponent, Wes Ferguson of Jennings County has worked his way into the Panthers line up and has a stellar 21-2 record. Neither senior wants their season to end in the first round!
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #3 Tristan McDaniel vs #5 Ethan Runyan - Runyan is battle tested as he’s had a tough path through the state tourney, will the battle tested Runyan be able to knock off the Tecumseh senior? #2 Brendon Helm vs. #4 Turner Lockyear - these guys have a total of 5 losses between them. Both started the season at 170 and dropped to 160 midway through. Both are seniors...Who wins?!?!?!?
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Gabe Koontz Edgewood, 2nd - Tristan McDaniel Tecumseh, 3rd - Brendon Helm Avon, 4th - Kody Caudle Danville
170: A returning state champ, and not the favorite, Franklins Jacob Stevenson has ran into rough competition w/ a bullseye. He took a loss last weekend to Ben Davis’ Dylan Lydy. Stevenson also got a late start and could still be feeling the effects of a football injury. With all of those factors the Pickers had to go with Lydy here.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - #3 Nathan Walton vs. #4 Noah Huelsing, Cra-Cra…. The freshman from Brownsburg has been in behind Lydy and Stevenson...now that pays off with #4 Huelsing in a great opening round match. This will definitely be better than Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania 28 (worst curtain jerker ever).
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - See above, the winner probably punches their ticket, but it’s a shame one of these guys are going home early.
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Dylan Lydy Ben Davis, 2nd - Jacob Stevenson Franklin Community, 3rd Nathan Walton Brownsburg, 4th - Blake Jeffress Castle
182: Undefeated Super Sophomore Kyle Shaffer from South Putnam seemed like sure lock, but not this year. However it does seem like we’ll see another round of Shaffer vs. Elmore. Can the senior from Avon finally knock off Shaffer? Super sleeper, 2 loss frosh Ryan Hammond from Whiteland got some love from the Pickers, not enough to get into the Fab 4 but enough to take notice.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 8th ranked Peyton Shepherd of Jennings County vs. the aforementioned Hammond. The winner will look to spoil Hunter Dalton’s ticket round.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #2 Evan Elmore vs. #3 Sam Bassemeier. Why wasn’t Shaffer a lock you ask? Some believe that Bassemeier will crash the North’s party and skate out of the Ford Center as Semi State Champ. Bassemeier’s one loss was a 5-2 decision to Elmore at the Mater Dei Classic. Turrible says Charles….just Turrible
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Kyle Shaffer South Putnam, 2nd - Evan Elmore Avon, 3rd - Matt Hayes Providence, 4th - Hunter Dalton Bloomington North
195: Randy Scott...need we say more? Well yes we do b/c Scott was not another victim of one of the pickers thinking he’s ripe for the upset this weekend. Scott had a big ticket round last year knocking off Dakota Thacker and rode that win to Semi-State runner up and 3rd place finish at state. Will Scott be the victim this year as he’ll likely face #2 Adam Lytle from Tecumseh in the ticket round.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - None of these first round matches really made Barry give himself a pat on the back. He wound up going w/ #7 Chase Thompson of Jeffersonville vs. #4 Garrison Lee of Monrovia. Sometimes styles clash, can Thompson keep the Red Devils state streak going?
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #1 vs. #2, #3 vs. #4….all in the ticket round. What’s up with that??? Jasper’s #3 Ian Songer vs. #4 Lee...The Table likes the upset here. #1 Scott vs. #2 Lytle Scott got the votes and was unanimous here. Sir Charles said that this weight was worse bad, just bad. He asked about going best of 7??
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Randy Scott Mooresville, 2nd - Chase Anslinger Evansville Mater Dei, 3rd - Garrison Lee Monrovia, 4th - Quade Greiwe Columbus East
220: 220 was a mess at The Table. Pickers chose everybody, I think DJ Radnovich even got a vote. 8 different wrestlers got votes, the most by any weight class by far. At one point there were 2 ties, we had look for hanging chads and almost drew straws. The consensus was the winner of Gunnar Lason and Corey Klem is the favorite to win state.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - #9 Brady Shepherd vs. #7 Kurtis Wilderman Evansville Mater Dei. 2 young, athletic big boys are gonna get after it. I don’t think this match will go 6 minutes. The winner here hopes to knock off the senior state qualifier from Ben Davis, Kasha Wilder.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Another #1 vs. #2 here as Gibson Southern’s Corey Klem was upended last weekend by La’Terrance Kyles, setting up this ticket round battle. The P.O.T.R.T. went with Larson here in a close one, however both guys were picked to win in all ballots. Another close one on the ballots was Kyles vs. #4 Martinsville Sophomore Clayton Scroggs. Trips likes Scroggs, but votes were close as Kyles ending getting the nod.
Ford Fab 4 - Due to the rare nature of Larson and Klem splitting votes, Larson ended up tying with Kasha Wilder. BBB gives Larson the nod and breaks the tie.
1st - Gunnar Larson Avon, 2nd - Kasha Wilder Ben Davis, 3rd - La’Terrance Kyles Evansville Harrison, 4th - winner of Tristin Choate and Dakota Short
285: The last of the weights features the last lock of the preview, Stormin’ Norman Ogelsby will look the gridiron in the fall with the Cincinatti Bearcats but hopes to finish up his season with a 3rd Semi-State title and push for a state title. This only the only weight that featured 4 locked picks as everybody agreed on the Ford Fab 4 here, but there were some disagreements on order.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - #3 Bryce Biddle, Plainfield vs. 3 loss senior Colten Dossett of Tecumseh. Tough first round match, with the winner jumping right into a Turrible Draw match. #6 Adrian Butler Evansville Mater Dei vs. #8 Brett Henson Avon is another great first round match. Avon and EMD always bring their best stuff to the Ford Center, this one should be no different.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Biddle vs. #2 Nathan Hayes Greensburg. Hayes hasn’t had the best of tournament runs and if the Pirate wants to finish his career in the Bank, he’ll need to knock off a game Biddle.
Ford Tough Lock - 3x Semi State champs are rare, and even rarer at HWT, but Norman Ogelsby should do just that Saturday in Evansville
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Norman Ogelsby Ben Davis, 2nd - Quinn York Franklin Community, 3rd - Adrian Butler Evansville Mater Dei, 4th - Bryce Biddle Plainfield
We’ll end this article with Hook’s Picks:
· Dinner- Turoni's has two Evansville locations and a microbrewery. Their pizza is special. DiLegge's is a locally-owned Italian restaurant whose food is out of this world. Visit theHilltop Inn, recently voted the Manliest Bar in America. The adventurous should order a brain sandwich. Non-adventurers will be safe and happy with a bowl of Burgoo (trust me). Mrs. Hook loves their chicken livers. I am a Stromboli fiend, accordingly, I have eaten them everywhere. Nobody beats Pizza King for Stroms. Nobody. The Gerst Haus serves authentic German cuisine and has over 30 varieties of beer on tap. Get ready for a carbohydrate and protein load up!
· Franklin Street has a vibrant night life featuring restaurants, bars, taverns and a night club. Park your car, as the city offers shuttle service for the Mardi Gras pub crawl taking place this weekend.
· Get your ticket early. There is only one door to enter the Ford Center and it is going to be cold and windy on Saturday morning.
· Bring money. The Ford Center is one of Indiana's premier venues; it comes at a price. They get NBA-style prices for the concessions. Methinks that the good people of Castle should take over food duties...
· Bring a hoodie. An ice rink is beneath the mats. The place is fa-rosty.
· 70 years ago, 130,000 Americans hit Normandy's beaches, liberated Europe and altered the course of western civilization. Many of our boys caught a ride to the shoreline on the LST, built right here in Evans-Vegas. The LST 325 is downtown and available for tours. You will not regret it.
· John Reitz was a 19th-century lumber baron along the magnitude of a Bill Gates or Donald Trump. His son is the namesake of FJ Reitz High School and Reitz Memorial High School. The Reitz home is open for tours. The Mrs. and the kids will enjoy this.
· The Children's Museum of Evansville (CMOE) is within walking distance of the Ford Center and is a grand slam. When my three children--Hooksly, Hookticia and PowerHalf--were tikes, it was one of their favorite things to do.
3034 32015 Fort Wayne Semi-State Pick'ems
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9734 312015 Fort Wayne Semi-State Preview
About every four years lucky ladies from around the state get to spend their Valentine’s Day nestled up in a warm gym watching some great wrestling. Gentlemen, be sure to get your cards and flowers early so you beat the lunch time rush to the nearest Wal Mart for a card and flowers. While, coaches and fans will be exchanging cards and flowers with their significant others off the mat, on the mat it is a different story. We will have numerous slobber knockers and knock’em down, drag’em out matches going on from start to finish.
The team race is Yorktown’s to lose, but they will be pushed by three NHC teams in Carroll, East Noble, and Bellmont. They also cannot overlook a team like Elkhart Memorial who has some tough wrestlers and favorable draws. Yorktown could punch anywhere from 5-10 tickets to state. East Noble could pose the biggest challenge as they have four wrestlers who could bring back championships. Carroll has a shot if they win some early matches with the Yorkies. Bellmont, they might not use magic, but bring ten to Fort Wayne that are ready to scrap.
Note, due to a certain team having quite a few representatives I am going to forgo any predictions on who will advance.
106lbs
No seniors qualified at this weight and this can be one of the most up for grabs weights on Saturday. The top quarter-bracket is the one with the most intrigue. You have regional champ JC Herring with only two losses, a freshman with on 3 losses in Austin Moore, and Wayne’s Geoffrey Davis who is having a very good season. Each of these wrestlers provide interesting match-ups and will make this quarter-bracket fun to watch.
Going down the line, the second quarter-bracket has the favorite Christian Hunt from Yorktown. He cannot overlook his ticket round match with either Christian Mejia or Joe Just.
On the top of the bottom bracket you will see one of the marquee ticket round matches of the day. In a battle of superb freshmen you’ll have Tanner DeMien of NorthWood battling super Starfire freshman Wyatt Miller. Both only have two losses on the season and are favorites to finish on the podium at Banker’s Life.
On the bottom bracket you have Carroll regional champion Ben Streeter who looks primed to punch his ticket to state. He will have to battle a tough Owen Eveler of Northridge right off the bat. Payton Lechner of Western or Adams Central’s Nick Liter will battle it out in the first round.
Early Slobber Knockers
Austin Moore- Central Noble vs. Geoffrey Davis- Wayne
Ticket Round Tussles
Tanner Demien- Northwood vs. Wyatt Miller- Northridge
JC Herring- Marion vs. Moore/Davis winner
113lbs
Defending semistate champion Garrett Pepple leads the way here at 113lbs. While he is the favorite, he cannot overlook Blake Glogouski who gave him a great 4-2 match at regional. Glogouski has a tough draw from start to finish as he will battle a very game Mason Mendez in the first round. The winner of that match gets one loss Jack Franklin of Homestead.
In the top bracket you have Flying Jet Anthony Mosser who is peaking at the right time after capturing sectional and regional championships. He will have a tough ticket round foe in Oak Hill’s Travis Davenport.
In the second quarter-bracket you have the aforementioned Pepple who could meet up with NHC foe Joel Byman for the third time or Western’s Tyler Lechner.
Jabin Wright has also been peaking at the right time as he captured the Peru regional championship last week. He will get the winner of Josh Stephenson of Yorktown and Kyle Mockensturm of Prairie Heights in the ticket round.
In the last quarter-bracket you have the previously mentioned trio of Franklin, Mendez, and Glogouski. Franklin’s only loss on the year is to Mendez at the conference tournament and Glogouski’s only loss is to Pepple last week.
Early Slobber Knockers
Mason Mendez- Bellmont vs. Blake Glogouski- Fairfield
Josh Stephenson- Yorktown vs. Kyle Mockensturm- Prairie Heights
Ticket Round Tussles
Anthony Mosser- Adams Central vs. Travis Davenport- Oak Hill
Jack Franklin- Homestead vs. Mendez/Glogouski winner
120lbs
Hey guess what? We don’t have a rematch of the 3rd place match in the ticket round at 120lbs this year! Past that, this weight should be fun to watch. All of the top competitors at this weight are fast paced and put points on the board. This weight is highlighted by #2 ranked Sawyer Miller, along with state placer Hunter Langeloh, and state qualifiers Jon Becker and Edward Loraine.
At the top you have state qualifier Loraine, who will have to go through a tough Brock House of Delta and Goshen regional champion Marcus Mejia of Elkhart Memorial. Mejia has had a great season and his potential match with Loraine could be a doozy.
In the second quarter-bracket you have a first round match-up between NHC foes Ben Cauffman of Carroll and Jon Becker of Bellmont. These two did not meet this year, so the jury is out on who will come out on top. The winner of that match will most likely get Peru regional champion Chad Elmore of Taylor.
On the top of the bottom bracket last year’s 106lbs 7th place finisher Hunter Langeloh comes in with only four losses and the heavy favorite. Don’t count out Yorkie freshman Colt Rutter as his 11 losses can be deceiving. Also in that quarter-bracket is NHC rival Kyle Davis of Dekalb who seems to be hitting stride at the right time.
Sawyer Miller highlights the last quarter-bracket with his unblemished record. He needs to stay the course as the last time a senior from South Adams came to the coliseum undefeated he left before lunch. He will have senior Kyle Rothgeb of Heritage first round and a potential meeting with Laker Cole Long in the ticket round.
Early Slobber Knockers
Ben Cauffman- Carroll vs. Jon Becker- Bellmont
Ticket Round Tussles
Marcus Meija- Elkhart Memorial vs. Eddie Loraine- Leo
126lbs
The big storyline at this weight is the possibility of four wrestlers from the same conference all punching their tickets to state. The Northeast Hoosier Conference(RIP) has five very fine competitors at this weight in regional champions Owen Doster of New Haven, Daniel Gunsett of Bellmont, and Nate Weimer of East Noble. Lastly Carroll’s Kobe Raypole is in the last bracket and if he navigates his first two opponents could break through to state.
At the top of the bracket Doster will have a wrestling battle with upstart Jimmie JD Greathouse. Doster has had a superb season after being put out of the tournament due to an injury last year. Greathouse is a darkhorse that placed 5th at the Al Smith and snuck into the last rankings update.
In the second quarter-bracket you have Gunsett on top with a tough first round opponent in Woodlan’s Nik Hoot. Hoot is an inspirational wrestler that should get a standing ovation whether he wins or loses. The winner of Hoot and Gunsett will get the winner of Devin Maggard of Marion and Logan Maynard of Goshen.
On the bottom half you have probably the most competitive quarter bracket with Oak Hill’s Zach Gunter coming in as the top seed. The 2 vs. 3 match will be a good one with Raypole battling a tough Remington Hiestand in the first round. The Hiestand vs. Raypole winner is considered a slight favorite by many to punch their ticket to state.
Lastly, the bottom bracket will probably feature a battle of NHC foes. Nate Weimer is looking wrestle at Banker’s Life for the second straight year, while nemesis Drake Rhoades is looking to derail those plans. Rhoades may have 13 losses, but he has the potential to beat anyone on any given day.
Early Slobber Knockers
Kobe Raypole- Carroll vs. Remington Hiestand- Yorktown
Ticket Round Tussles
Owen Doster- New Haven vs. JD Greathouse- Jimtown
Drake Rhodes- Homestead vs. Nate Weimer- East Noble
132lbs
One unique thing about this weight class is you have had pretty much two tough guys at each regional. This makes for solid separation of this weight and no cringe worthy draws. Two-time state placer Connor Knapp is the head of the class, but will be pushed by Sage Coy in the semi-finals. On the bottom half, Kyle Egolf and Caleb Maddox are favorites, but need to wrestle well to punch their tickets.
The top bracket has the heavy favorite Knapp. Last year’s run to the semi-state championship included wins over three wrestlers that were semi-finalists…this year’s road is a little less bumpy. He will likely face Bulldog Ryan Shaffer in the ticket round.
Sage Coy is making the most of his first state series after some bad luck the previous two years. He will have to battle one of two freshmen, Carroll’s Joel Arney or Eastbrook’s Christian Bratcher in the ticket round. Coy is a physical wrestler that has a wide array of attack from throws to shots to defense.
Going down the line, you get one of the more intriguing first round matches between relatively unknown Jamal Scott and well known Jacob Stephenson. The winner will get a tough Kyle Egolf in the ticket round. This is probably the toughest to predict quarter-bracket at 132lbs.
Lastly you have the senior who has paid his dues in Caleb Maddox and the fantastic freshman Fernando Luevano of West Noble. Along with the contrasting experience, Maddox is a tall and lanky lad, while Luevano is short and stocky. Look for this to be a very good match in the ticket round.
Early Slobber Knockers
Jacob Stephenson- Yorktown vs. Jamal Scott- Elkhart Central
Ticket Round Tussles
Fernando Luevano- West Noble vs. Caleb Maddox- Western
Kyle Egolf- Columbia City vs. Scott/Stephenson winner
138lbs
This weight is highlighted by two returning state qualifiers in mighty Squire Clayton Moore and the tough Tiger Brad Laughlin. Along with those two you have an undefeated Isaac Eicher and a state ranked Jay Franko also in the mix. This weight class will be one of the better ones to watch from the semi-finals on.
Early on you will see returning state qualifier Moore battle one of two tough juniors in the ticket round. Nathaniel Smith of Columbia City has the tools to give the top wrestlers a great match. He will have to get past Exuse(pronounced Zues) Brown of Muncie Central in the first round.
The jumpin' Jimmie Jay Franko looks to be the favorite in his quarter-bracket. However, the senior will have to fend off either Busco Bad Boy Chase Downing or the pink haired Robert Ford of Monroe Central. Both Ford and Downing come in with very few losses and have the potential to give Franko a run for his money.
Probably the most solid quarter-final lock would be Yorktown's Brad Laughlin. He is having a stellar sophomore campaign and will likely face Fremont junior Hunter Leskowyak in the ticket round.
The last quarter-bracket will see an undefeated Isaac Eicher of Leo as the early favorite. His biggest competition could be from Goshen's battle tested Joel Byler. Shane Curtis of Oak Hill cannot be overlooked as he has had a solid senior season.
Early Slobber Knockers
Exuse Brown- Muncie Central vs. Nathaniel Smith- Columbia City
Robert Ford- Monroe Central vs. Chase Downing- Churubusco
Ticket Round Tussles
Clayton Moore- Manchester vs. Brown/Smith winner
145lbs
With the way this weight was spread out in the semi-state, we knew there would be some good early matches. The Goshen regional boasts four solid grapplers that cannot be overlooked. Throw in two-time placer Cael McCormick and two-time ticket rounder Tanner Shipley, some good wrestlers will be buying a ticket at Banker’s Life next week.
In the top quarter-bracket you have two coaches sons battling in out in Cael McCormick and Logan Williams. McCormick has two state medals, but this could be his toughest ticket round match. Williams is a good wrestler that is very fundamentally sound. Look for a very good match here.
The second quarter-bracket is a toss-up with Prairie Heights standout Doug Levitz as the early favorite. He will need to go through two-loss Brody Hardcastle of Oak Hill to punch his first ticket to state.
The third quarter-bracket is going to be fun to watch. Tanner Shipley has been in the ticket round twice and comes in as the regional champ. He will have a very tough Nathan Housholder in the first round, with the winner facing Hunter Bates who is having an outstanding season. Bates defeated Shipley in a close match early in the season and Shipley defeated Housholder earlier in the season also.
The last quarter-bracket has returning state qualifier Tony Vaughn that is most people’s favorite to qualify. However, he cannot overlook either of his opponents. Kyle Leland has been wrestling very well as of late and he could push Vaughn in the first round. Joe Becker of Bellmont…well he’s from Bellmont, never count out a Brave in the ticket round.
Early Slobber Knockers
Tanner Shipley- Huntington North vs. Nathan Housholder- East Noble
Tony Vaughn- Elkhart Memorial vs. Kyle Leland- Homestead
Ticket Round Tussles
Cael McCormick- Yorktown vs. Logan Williams- DeKalb
Shipley/Housholder winner vs. Hunter Bates- Adams Central
152lbs
As we move up in weight the competition will get stiffer. At 152lbs you have #3 ranked Josh Garman leading the way with an unblemished 40-0 record. He will come in as the favorite, but will need to navigate some tough wrestlers like Peru’s Peyton Sturgrill and red hot Jimmie Marquis Schieber to bring the semi-state championship back to Huntertown.
At the top you have Garman as the favorite in his quarter bracket. He could meet up with Garrett Griffen of Northwood whom he pinned in the finals of the Wild Bill Invite. Griffin will have to get past three-loss sophomore Quentin Moore in the first round, while Garman has Tyler Leonard of Jay County.
The second quarter bracket has a good mixture of youth and experience. Dru Berkebile of Yorktown comes in with only five losses and is ONLY a freshman. He will face the winner of two three loss seniors that will battle it out in the first round. Taylor Grim of West Noble will face fellow senior Breighton Mullinix of Oak Hill who dropped to 152 late in the season.
On the bottom half, you have Marquis Schieber who has been on fire as of late. He won a very good sectional and regional after having a disappointing regular season. He will face the winner of small school studs Tate Burns of Eastside and TC Perry of Southern Wells.
The last quarter bracket is going to be another one that is an absolute toss-up. First round you have a rematch of the 3rd place match at the Al Smith when regional champion Peyton Sturgill battles Ronnie Longbreak. The other early match will have NHC rivals on the mat when Cross Dietrich takes on Tony Busse. Busse won a 9-6 match at the conference tournament just a few weeks ago. On top of all of that, Sturgill defeated Busse 1-0 at the Al Smith.
Early Slobber Knockers
Quentin Moore- Manchester vs. Garrett Griffin- Northwood
Taylor Grim- West Noble vs. Breighton Mullinix- Oak Hill
Peyton Sturgill- Peru vs. Ronnie Longbreake- Elkhart Memorial
Tony Busse- Bellmont vs. Thaddeus-Cross Dietrich- Columbia City
Ticket Round Tussles
Grim/Mullinix winner vs. Dru Berkebile- Yorktown
Sturgill/Longbrake winner vs. Busse/Dietrich winner
160lbs
With the potential of two state ranked wrestlers meeting in the ticket round many people are thanking the bracket gods for separating the top wrestlers here. Jake Weimer, Jacob Grey, and #800lbGorilla Bryce Baumgartner all come in with high expectations and high state rankings.
On the top you have Weimer as the favorite. He was a state qualifier as a sophomore, but was upended last year in the ticket round. The added size has made him an even more dangerous wrestler. He will have the winner of Logan Snyder and DeShawn Barbary in the ticket round.
Weimer could meet up with undefeated Jacob Grey if everything goes as “planned.†Gray had a mild upset over Baumgartner at regional in a very close match. His potential ticket round match will feature either Eastside’s Gage Delong or Eastbrook’s Chris Wickline.
Nick Potter drew the tough task of being a regional champion and running into a returning state qualifier. Potter and Baumgartner are very familiar with eachother as Baumgartner owns two wins over him this year.
The last quarter bracket will once again provide a great storyline. Will the upstart freshmen come out on top or will the senior play spoiler? In the first round you have Luke Liter of Adams Central battling Prairie Heights’ Jed Levitz in a rematch from the 1A state finals. Liter won by pin, but don’t count out the Panther freshman. Lurking after that will be super Tiger freshman Jordan Rader. Peru wrestles a competitive schedule so his five losses are legit.
Early Slobber Knockers
Luke Liter- Adams Central vs. Jed Levitz- Prairie Heights
Ticket Round Tussles
Liter/Levitz winner vs. Jordan Rader- Peru
170lbs
The main story-line here is the unknowns vs. the knowns. State 3rd place finisher Dillion Jackson leads the way, along with two-time state streeter Kaine Luginbill. Past those two though it is going to be interesting to watch.
At the top you have Jackson leading the way. He should be unchallenged to clinch his second trip to Banker’s Life.
Going down you have one of the unknowns in Concordia’s undefeated Zach Davis. He will have to get through five loss Colton Guy in the first round. Past that it will be a battle of two wrestlers with 10+ losses.
On the bottom bracket you have Luginbill as the favorite, but he will have to fend off two loss Luke Elliott in the ticket round. As with any match, Luginbill will make it interesting whether he wins or loses.
The last bracket will provide the most uncertainty. Regional champion Nick Ritchie comes in the slight favorite, but will be tested in the ticket round. That match will feature the winner of Brett Baker of Bellmont and Turtletown’s own Caleb Partin. The Baker name is synonymous with wrestling in Decatur so never look past him.
Early Slobber Knockers
Brett Baker- Bellmont vs. Caleb Partin- Churubusco
Ticket Round Tussles
Nick Ritchie- Elkhart Memorial vs. Baker/Partin winner
182lbs
Returning state 3rd place finisher Corey Hinkle made a late drop to this weight after wrestling 195lbs most of the season. Look for him to be the favorite, but past him it will be anyone’s guess as to who will punch their tickets to Banker’s Life.
At the top you have upstart Wyatt Clem of Homestead who comes in as the regional champion. He will have to fend off not only Jay County’s Andy Kohler, but also his coach’s impeccable beard.
Next you will have regional champion David Eli coming in as the favorite. He will be pushed early by Snider’s Russell Davies. After that he could face off with Daleville’s Corbin Maddox.
The bottom bracket will feature an interesting match between two teams vying for the semi-state title. Yorktown’s Hunter Hiestand will most likely battle Carroll’s Kayne Duncan in a great ticket round match.
Lastly, you have Mr. Hinkle who comes in with a zero in the loss column. He will however, be pushed in the ticket round by West Noble’s Oscar Reyes. Reyes got a late start to the season, but that could be in his advantage.
Early Slobber Knockers
David Eli- Elkhart Memorial vs. Russell Davies- Snider
Ticket Round Tussles
Wyatt Clem- Homestead vs. Andy Kohler- Jay County
Hunter Hiestand- Yorktown vs. Kayne Duncan- Carroll
Corey Hinkle- Western vs. Oscar Reyes- West Noble
195lbs
This is another weight class where the bracket gods separated the better wrestlers. The three returning state qualifiers all were separated from each other and that could make for an interesting day at the coliseum.
At the top you have returning state qualifier Tristin Anglin coming in as a four seed. He will have a tough match with Michael Leonard of Northwood who is no slouch. The winner of that match will get a tough Eagle junior in Scottie Evans. This top bracket is very hard to predict how it will come out.
Next we have the great unknown in Carroll’s Eric Dunten. He comes in without a blemish on his record in his first year on the varsity squad. He has three wins over both Anglin and Davis along with a win over #11 Sam Hipple. He will have a familiar foe in Bellmont’s Carter Friedt in the ticket round.
On the bottom half you will have returning state qualifier Bo Davis looking to make it to state once again. He will have to battle the winner of Mykal Taylor of Muncie Central and Lane Eckrote of North Miami.
Lastly, you have the heavy favorite Myron Howard of Yorktown. Howard was a 4th place finisher last year at 182lbs and is looking to add another medal this year.
Early Slobber Knockers
Michael Leonard- Northwood vs. Tristin Anglin- Columbia City
Lane Eckrote- North Miami vs. Mykal Taylor- Muncie Central
Ticket Round Tussles
Scottie Evans- Delta vs. Leonard/Anglin winner
Bo Davis- Garrett vs. Eckrote/Taylor winner
220lbs
For being an upper weight, this one provides a great mixture of youth and experience. Leading the way is last year’s 6th place finisher and 2nd ranked Eliseo Guerra of Elkhart Central. He has had a tough sectional and regional, which in turn will make his path to clinching another state berth “easier.†Each of the quarter-brackets will provide some intriguing match-ups.
At the top the mighty Railroader Blake Davis comes in as the regional champion. However, he will have to battle mighty Redskin Derek Paz for a state berth. Paz defeated Davis at the Al Smith 5-1, so this could be a very interesting match to watch.
In the next quarter-bracket, super Sophomore Evan Ellis looks to be the favorite. He will have a tough Goshen regional foe in Elkhart Memorial’s Kaleb Summers in the ticket round. Both are tough wrestlers and it is hard to give a confident nod to either grappler.
Guerra is the highlight of his quarter bracket. He could be pushed by Woodlan’s Edwin Barberena in the ticket round.
Lastly, the final quarter-bracket is probably the most mysterious with no clear cut favorites. Winchester’s Dustyn Hangen comes in with only one loss and on paper looks to be the favorite. He will have to battle the early round winner of Huntington North’s Lane Emery and Peru’s Erik Hobbs.
Early Slobber Knockers
Layne Emery- Huntington North vs. Erik Hobbs- Peru
Ticket Round Tussles
Blake Davis- Garrett vs. Derek Paz- Goshen
Evan Ellis- Eastern- Greentown vs. Kaleb Summers- Elkhart Memorial
Dustyn Hangen- Winchester vs. Emery/Hobbs winner
285lbs
This weight is the definition of toss-up. Whoever comes into the coliseum wrestling well could be the champion or qualify for state. In looking at each quarter bracket, there is one where there is a favorite. The other three it will be easier to pick a champion from flipping a coin than analyzing wins and losses.
Matt Swartz of Snider looks to be the easiest pick to make it to the semi-finals, however he cannot overlook his first match with Mason Morningstar. He will face the winner of Jimmie sophomore Nick Mammolenti and Marion’s De’Andre Hodge.
The second quarter bracket is about as crazy as it can me. Returning state qualifier Owen Perkins is the “headliner†of the group, however he cannot overlook anyone. Last year he defeated Dax Hiestand in the first round of semi-state, so he has an edge there. Brock Bergman of Lakeland is a big guy and will pose trouble for Perkins in the first round. Hiestand also cannot overlook the young buck from Carroll first round.
The third quarter-bracket comes with as much uncertainty as Indiana weather. Issac Barrios of Elkhart Central is solid, but drew a red hot Evan Beech of North Miami. In a battle of quick and athletic big guys, Daemon Williams of Bishop Luers will battle Kiaser Phillips of Monroe Central. Again, all these match-ups are toss-ups as any of these four guys can punch their ticket to Banker’s Life.
Lastly, the bottom quarter-bracket has just as many storylines. At team state Braxton Amos of Prairie Heights defeated Isiah Bollenbacher 2-0, however each needs to get past their first opponents. Amos will have Dante Graham of Western who has given guys like Perkins tough matches. Bollenbacher will have a game Drew Cummings of Columbia City who has some good wins this year.
Throw the rankings and past results out the window for this weight class as the only thing that will matter is who comes to wrestle on Saturday.
Early Slobber Knockers
Brock Bergman- Lakeland vs. Owen Perkins- Oak Hill
Evan Beech- North Miami vs. Issac Barrios- Elkhart Central
Daemen Williams- Bishop Luers vs. Kiaser Phillips- Monroe Central
Isiah Bollenbacher- Adams Central vs. Drew Cummings- Columbia City
Ticket Round Tussles
Dax Hiestand- Yorktown vs. Bergman/Owens winner
Beech/Barrios winner vs. Williams/Phillips winner
Braxton Amos- Prairie Heights vs.Bollenbacher/Cummings winner
36092015 IHSWCA Team State Information Center
Date: January 3, 2015
Location: Ball State University in Muncie, IN
- Wrestling Areas - “5 Court†Student Rec Center (4 mats) and the BSU Field Sports Building (8 mats) (1700 Neely Ave., Muncie, IN 47304)
- Team Drop Off/Registration on morning of Jan. 3 - 1700 Neely Avenue, Muncie, IN 47306 (south side of the complex)
- Fan parking - fans should enter parking area on north side of facilities off of Bethel Avenue
Draw: Selection show via Google Hangout approximately 7pm EST on Sunday December 28th. More details to follow.
Event Link: Click here for TrackWrestling link
Admission: $15
Other Notes: Fans are encouraged to bring lawn/camp chairs due to limited bleacher seating.
Teams will be permitted to bring “cold†food/drink items (coolers) into the facilities with them during registration. No “hot†food team tables will be permitted inside the facilities at this event (per Ball State University’s vending contracts)
Above mats 1-4 in the “5 court†rec center is an elevated (2nd story) open-air concourse where fans will be able to watch from above if desired
Participating Teams and Profile Links
3A(Large)
Penn
Evansville Mater Dei
Avon
Cathedral
Warren Central
Perry Meridian
Carmel
Carroll(Fort Wayne)
Bloomington South
Franklin
New Palestine
Westfield
2A(Medium)
Yorktown
Evansville Memorial
Mount Vernon (Posey)
Bellmont
Gibson Southern
Southmont
Lebanon
Leo
South Bend St. Joe
Franklin County
Columbia City
Rochester
1A(Small)
Churubusco
Eastside
Bremen
Tecumseh
West Central
Monrovia
Central Noble
Milan
Westview
Triton Central
Prairie Heights
Adams Central
Selection Shows and Links December 28th
1A Link approx. 7:00pm EST
https://plus.google.com/u/1/events/c080jsvkst505scnp8i4skv80ck
2A Link approx.7:30pm EST
https://plus.google.com/u/1/events/ct23a6rsgjtrimonhsieshovjtg
3A Link approx. 8:00pm EST
https://plus.google.com/u/1/events/c3luelfrnbhou4kjh0vn4hevvug
History:
The IHSWCA Classed Team State Duals is in its third year of existence.
It was held at Westfield High School during the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons
2012-13 Results
1A Champions Adams Central (2nd – Churubusco)
2A Champions Yorktown (2nd – Evansville Memorial)
3A Champions Perry Meridian (2nd – Franklin Community)
2013-14 Results
1A Champions Churubusco (2nd – Adams Central)
2A Champions Yorktown (2nd – North Montgomery)
3A Champions Franklin Community (2nd – Evansville Mater Dei)
View attachment: Event Format - Pools and Bracketing with times.pdf
23292015 IHSWCA Vice Presidential Candidate Greg Ratliff
1. Tell us what your background in wrestling is as a coach and as a competitor.
I have been wrestling since the 6th grade. I got cut from the basketball team and my PE teacher/ wrestling coach Rod Dorsey made sure I got involved with wrestling. I wrestled for 4 years at Franklin Community High School and graduated in 2001. During my last two years of college at IU, I got involved in coaching at the school I student taught at, Mooresville High School. I have coached 2 years at Mooresville (assistant), 1 year at Franklin Community (assistant), 1 year at Benjamin Rush Middle School (head), and 7 years at Edgewood High School (3 assistant and 4 head)
2. Why did you decide to run for office in the coaches association?
I want to be involved with the association because it is an opportunity for me to help improve our sport. Wrestling fans are passionate and often very giving of time, energy and support to help improve the sport. I would like to help be an extension of that for our sport.
3. What does the IHSWCA do well?
The IHSWCA always has our sport’s best interest in mind. I know they have many good ideas and there are many people that give tons of time to make the association work. I like the way they have focused on bringing back the old team state and improving it.
4. What can the IHSWCA improve on?
I believe that we can probably work more on communicating with our members and the voices of our sport. It sounds like there has also already been a movement to start to incorporate a little more technology like virtual meetings.
5. What do you think you can bring to the association as the VP and eventually president?
I am always open minded and trying to find ways to improve things. I am not a guy that is stuck in his ways. I am all for incorporating technology to our process of doing things. I do a good job of promotion and building enthusiasm. I also feel that one of strong suits is to pay attention to small details and do some gritty and detailed work.
6. Who was most influential in your life both as an athlete and coach?
I have had many influential people in my life and try to take little pieces of information from every coaching person I have been involved with. There is no doubt in my mind though, that I would have never got involved with wrestling from a professional stand point had it not been for my high school coach Bob Hasseman. I loved being around the sport. I couldn’t get enough of it. I always thought that Hasseman had the best job in the world. He got to watch kids play sports all day, hang out in a weight-room, and then be around wrestling. That sounded like nothing but fun. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t know reality beforehand. I always felt that I wanted to help people reach their potential like Coach Hassemen was doing on a daily basis.
7. How would you go about recruiting more coaches to be members of the association?
I think that coaches need to know why they should join. What is in it for them? I think there needs to be more email communication with the coaches on how to register.
8. What makes Indiana high school wrestling so great?
Wrestling is the greatest sport for many of those reasons that we often use to sell kids to join our sport; discipline, hard work and all of the other life lessons. Indiana is so great in particular because of the state tournament itself. It really is the best state finals of any sport in our state. I have had many people who attended their first wrestling event at the state finals and were absolutely impressed with the whole presentation.
9. What other experiences outside of wrestling do you believe would help you in this position?
My experiences as a Physical Education and Health teacher have helped me become a better leader and to manage situations and people effectively.
10. What issue(s) do you feel the coaches association should address?
I think we need to continue to address the team state tournament and making it an actual portion of the state tournament series.
I like the idea of coaches having a singular stat/ match reporting such as trackwrestling. Football and basketball games are all reported in some capacity. It would be nice if wrestling matches weren’t so secretive.
I like the idea of wrestle- back to determine a true top 4 at semi-state so we are less concerned with someone getting a bad draw. I also would like to see wrestle-backs to 3rd at the state tournament.
I also think we need to look at the number of Saturday matches that we are currently participating in. As a coach I’m not going to get rid of those currently because I want my wrestlers to get as many opportunities as everyone else. That being said, Saturday 5 way dual meets make it hard for the casual observer to come watch. We want our sport to grow, but I have a hard time asking students to come sit in a gym for 8 hours.
11. How would you improve communication between the IHSWCA and wrestling coaches?
Communication doesn’t have to be anything crazy. It appears that there has already been a message board created to allow for communication on Indianamat. I think that we need to have an email database with all wrestling coaches that allows to communicate issues to them and hear their thoughts. Using technology such as surveymonkey is a great way to help find out pressing issues to our coaches as well.
12. How does the IHSWCA become an association that is well respected by the IHSAA?
I cannot speak on the current standing with the IHSAA, but being well respected is all about creating relationships with people. We need to take a civil approach to dealing with them and make sure they understand we are not just attacking them.
13. In what direction do you see the IHSWCA Team State going?
I believe the IHSWCA is currently doing the best they can within the parameters they are given. It obviously would be best if they qualifiers were based on the current year, but I also understand that we are currently not able to do that. Out of the whole mess of losing team state, a much improved team state was created. I like that team state is classed into the right amount of groups. Other positives are that it is in one singular venue on one day and all teams get at least 3 matches so that each place is determined 1-12. I think the future has to have some sort of in-season qualifier or something based on in-season rankings. That means that it can’t take up points on the schedule though.
18582015 IHSWCA Vice Presidential Candidate Mark Line
1. Tell us what your background in wrestling is as a coach and as a competitor.
HS: Columbia City
Collegiate: Anderson (Hoosier-Buckeye Collegiate Conference Champion/NAIA qualifier)
University of Indianapolis
Coaching: Craig MS (Lawrence Twp. 3 yrs)
Knox HS/MS (1 yr)
North Newton HS (3 yrs as volunteer)
Boone Grove HS (2 yrs)
Ben Franklin MS/Valparaiso HS (2 yrs volunteer)
Valparaiso HS (2 yrs)
20 year IHSWCA Member and current Crown Point Regional Rep
2. Why did you decide to run for office in the coaches association?
To work with the Coaches throughout the state to help improve and advance wrestling in Indiana
3. What does the IHSWCA do well?
Clinics/Team State/Attempts to communicate desires to the IHSAA
4. What can the IHSWCA improve on?
Continue to grow membership
5. What do you think you can bring to the association as the VP and eventually president?
Desire to grow the Association and to try to communicate our desires to and work with the
IHSAA to incorporate them
6. Who was most influential in your life both as an athlete and coach?
My Father and Coach Don Armstrong (Columbia City)
7. How would you go about recruiting more coaches to be members of the association?
Email AD's, so they can pass it to their coach and then follow up with them, to encourage
Coaches to include their MS Coaches as well
8. What makes Indiana high school wrestling so great?
The State Tournament Series, the number of schools represented throughout and schools
of all sizes
9. What other experiences outside of wrestling do you believe would help you in this position?
I believe in negotiating in the business world will help prepare me in trying to negotiate and work
with the IHSAA on our proposals
10. What issue(s) do you feel the coaches association should address?
Wrestle-backs/ possibly modification of the scoring in the tournament
11. How would you improve communication between the IHSWCA and wrestling coaches?
Mass email and/or postings on IndianaMat.com
12. How does the IHSWCA become an association that is well respected by the IHSAA?
By continued growth (membership); open forum with members and the IHSAA
13. In what direction do you see the IHSWCA Team State going?
I would like to see it remain
30632015 Merrillville Semi-State Pick'ems
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7684 172015 Merrillville Semi-State Preview
By Chad Hollenbaugh
IndianaMat Senior Writer
From Lake Station to Logansport, from Lowell to LaVille, the northwest quadrant of the state’s finest wrestlers will congregate in the gym at Merrillville High School to determine the fifty-six athletes that will qualify for the big show. The team race should be dominated by Penn, Portage and Merrillville. Crown Point could add some spice into the team race if they have an outstanding day.
106
The bracket gods started off by playing a cruel joke on regional champ Kory Cavanaugh of Penn. The 15th ranked 106 pounder in the state got put in the same quarter bracket with #13 Collin Poynter of Portage and #11 Alex Bautista from Hanover Central. Poynter and Baustista meet right off the bat in the second match of the morning. The winner will likely have Cavanaugh in the the ticket round. Cavanaugh has a narrow win over Poynter but was handled by Bautista 10-1 earlier in the season. A brutal group of four no matter how you slice it.
The second set of four is also tough as nails. One loss Jon Anderson has piled up forty-four wins and a regional championship for Lafayette Jeff. He will be severely tested in the second round where he will likely face fourteenth ranked Ian Dembowski of Valparaiso.
The bottom half of the bracket will be low on ticket round drama but high on talent. Number one ranked Colton Cummings of Lowell and fifth ranked Tylor Triana of Hobart should cruise through the first two rounds and set up a semi final slugfest.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Alex Bautista – Hanover Central (26-5) vs. Colin Poynter – Portage (32-6).
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Jon Anderson – Lafayette Jeff (44-1) vs. Ian Dembowki – Valpo (39-6).
FAB FOUR
Cummings – Lowell
Poynter – Portage
Triana – Hobart
Dembowski - Valpo
113
The top half of the 113 bracket also appears to hold the greatest amount of early round drama while the bottom half seems to be more settled. Third ranked and undefeated Drew Hildebrandt from Penn should cruise to finals and be marginally tested in the semis by Rickie Rodriguez of Hammond Morton. The Kingman pinned the Governor earlier in the season. The top half features some interesting early round matches. Munster’s Cody Crary, Culver Academy’s Adam Davis and Lafayette Jeff’s Dustin Miller will battle it out in the top quarter while Crown Point’s John Moran and Merrillville’s Michael DeLaPena will likely reprise their Duneland Conference rivalry in the ticket round.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Cody Crary – Munster (38-7) vs. Adam Davis – Culver Academy (31-6). Two talented frosh meet for the right to battle Miller in the quarterfinals.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Austin Line – Valpo (32-8) vs. Rickie Rodriguez – Hammond Morton (31-2). Two seasoned veterans look for spot in state finals.
FAB FOUR
Hildebrandt – Penn
DeLaPena – Merrillville
Rodriguez – Morton
Miller – Lafayette Jeff
120
This 120 class might be one of the most evenly matched and exciting to watch this Saturday. Great storylines, state ranked wrestlers and tough match ups are littered throughout this bracket. Returning state champ Jeremiah Reitz of Griffith finished second at his regional in one of this year’s best rivalries with Hobart’s Brendan Black. Reitz is the definition of a death draw to regional champ Jack Tolin of Chesterton. Returning state placer Kyle Hatch of Warsaw will have his hands full with Portage’s conference champion Miguel Prado. Hobart’s Brendan Black and South Bend Clay’s Jake Hartman will probably face off in the ticket round. The final ticket punched in this bracket is a real toss up with Rensselaer Central’s one loss regional champ Brady White squaring off with the winner of Mishawaka’s Ryan Hardesty and Crown Point’s Austin Torres.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Ryan Hardesty – Mishawaka (29-7) vs. Austin Torres – Crown Point (25-7). Studs from two tradition rich programs should provide early fireworks.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Brendan Black – Hobart (26-3) vs. Jake Hartman – South Bend Clay (43-1). Hartman suffered his first lost of the season at regionals and will be extra focused in his last attempt to wrestle in Indy.
FAB FOUR
Reitz – Griffith
Hartman – South Bend Clay
Hatch – Warsaw
Torres – Crown Point
126
The sale of Pepto Bismol reached an all time high last Saturday as upsets were occurring all over the place. This put the 126 bracket at Merrillville in jumbled mess. It is quite possible that no regional champs will move onto Bankers Life next week. Wawasee’s Tristan Ponsler got toppled at regional and now has a likely ticket round match with the red hot Branden Truver. In the second quarter bracket, Plymouth’s Cody Allmon is in a great situation to earn his second trip to state. On the bottom half of the slate, Rochester’s John Hunting got the death card dealt to him when Truver upset second ranked Gaige Torres of Portage. Munster’s talented Jason Crary is the clear favorite in final set of four and has a major decision win over regional champ and likely ticket round foe Tristan Dembowski.
FIRST ROUND FISTCUFFS – Zac Wells – LaPorte (23-9) vs. Tristan Ponsler – Wawasee (40-2). Ponsler looks to rebound and Wells is wrestling very well right now.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Cody Allmon – Plymouth (30-8) vs. John Ragan – Delphi (31-9). Allmon looks to topple a fairly unheralded regional champ in Ragan.
FAB FOUR
Torres – Portage
Truver – Lake Central
Crary – Munster
Allmon – Plymouth
132
The 132 weight class lacks wrestlers with many state-wide credentials and that makes it very difficult to handicap. Tippy Valley’s Devin Childers has state experience but must get through the top ranked kid in the bracket. Crown Point’s Zach Donaldson. Benton Central regional champ Blake Strawsma has a great chance to break through to the state level. Portage’s Tyler Joseph must deal with the funky Austen Laughlin early on Saturday and will likely run into Bremen’s Joey Bailey in the semi finals.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Tyler Joseph – Portage (25-6) vs. Austen Laughlin – South Bend Riley (42-6). The physical Joseph and the lanky Laughlin should present an interesting style match up.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Devin Childers – Tippy Valley (39-2) vs. Zach Donaldson – Crown Point (33-2). Two senior studs meet up in the ticket round.
FAB FOUR
Donaldson – Crown Point
Joseph – Portage
Strawsma – Benton Central
Bailey - Bremen
138
Merrillville’s Clarence Johnson looks to be the front runner at 138 largely on strength of his major decision win over Riley Akers in the Duneland conference championship. Akers is the likely survivor of the second quarter bracket. Penn’s cagey Cameron Beam is the Jason Tsirtsis of this bracket. Three straight close wins put the Kingman in great shape to advance to Indy. The last quarter bracket has possibly the most compelling potential ticket round match where Logan champ Cole Lukaszka should square off with Culver Community’s Triston Rodriguez.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Tarvis Evans – South Bend Adams (29-8) vs. Diego Lemley – Chesterton (30-8). The long and athletic Evans faces talented frosh Lemley in this battle of third(Lemley) and fifth(Evans) placers at the Al Smith.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Cole Lukaszka – Benton Central (39-1) vs. Triston Rodriguez – Culver Community (35-2).
FAB FOUR
Johnson – Merrillville
Akers – Crown Point
Lukaszka – Benton Central
Beam - Penn
145
After looking over this bracket, it appears that there are pretty strong favorites in each of the quarter brackets. The fact that the first and third ranked kids in the state are from the same regional means that someone got the death draw and Logansport senior Ryan Schrock drew the short straw and will likely face Steven “Bam†Lawrence in the ticket round. Lawrence will likely face South Bend Adams talented Tavonte Malone in the semis. The other side of the bracket is dominated by Merrillville junior and last years state runner up, Jacob Covaciu. Crown Point’s Daylan Schurg will probably face South Bend Riley’s Kassius Breathitt in an entertaining ticket round match.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Ryan Schrock – Logansport (37-3) vs. Dustin Hochstetler – Penn (25-13). Don’t let the thirteen losses by Hochstetler fool you, he will give regional champ Schrock all he wants.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Daylan Schurg – Crown Point (33-5) vs. Kassius Breathitt – South Bend Riley (40-9). The contrast in styles should make for an exciting match. If the match is boring look for Breathitt’s dad giving a loud play by play account of the action.
FAB FOUR
Covaciu – Merrillville
Lawrence – Portage
Schurg – Crown Point
Malone – South Bend Adams
152
One young man clearly stands above the rest of the field at 152. Mishawaka’s Tommy Forte should cruise to a semi state crown on Saturday. The University of Buffalo bound senior is looking healthy and ready to win a second state title. The rest of the field contains four serious contenders for the remaining three tickets to Indy. Mike Krzyston will like make his second trip to Indy for the 59ers. Lake Central’s Kodie Christenson has wins over higher ranked kids in this bracket and a relatively easy quarter bracket to navigate. That leaves one spot left and it will likely be battled for by Lafayette Harrison’s Connor Armuth and Penn’s Jarrod Swank. Swank is ranked forth and has a slim overtime win over the ninth ranked Armuth five weeks ago on his ledger. It is the only loss on an otherwise spotless record for Armuth.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Brendan Makowski – South Bend St. Joseph (20-14) vs. Oszkar Kasch – Crown Point (18-7).
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Jarod Swank – Penn (29-4) vs. Connor Armuth – Lafayette Harrison (50-1). The margin is razor thin for these two titans. This will be one of the very best ticket round battles.
FAB FOUR
Forte – Mishawaka
Swank – Penn
Christenson – Lake Central
Krzyton – Andrean
160
Scary. Anyone looking at the bottom half of the 160 bracket at Merrillville has to cringe at prospect of trying to survive and advance this group of eight. Five of the state’s top ten are in this bracket and four of them are located in the bottom half. In the top half of the bracket, Lowell’s Drew Hughes should make short work of his opponents on his way to his third semi state crown. The second set of four is wide open. Regional champ Parker Fritz of West Central must defeat dangerous foes if he wishes to return to the state finals. Now the bottom half has returning state runner up and third ranked Darden Schurg of Crown Point in a probable match up with Hobart hammer Scottie Sopko who is ranked fifth. The other quarter bracket is not much easier as seventh ranked Adam Dodson of John Glenn will go to war with ninth ranked Denzyl Prentice of Penn. Scary depth at this class.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Evan Larsen – Hanover Central (35-6) vs. Parker Fritz – West Central (32-3). Larsen is a pinner and Fritz is an outstanding athlete. Look for lots of points scored in this one.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Take your pick between the Schurg/Sopko or Prentice/Dodson matchups.
FAB FOUR
Hughes – Lowell
Prentice – Penn
Schurg – Crown Point
Goering – South Bend Riley
170
Three of the four quarter brackets look to have fairly strong frontrunners. Penn’s Joey Mammolenti is the top dog here. He is undefeated at this weight and has wins over many of the other contenders. Undefeated Hunter Mote will attempt to keep the streak of Delphi state qualifiers alive while Lowell’s third regional champ, Isaac James will look to qualify for the first time. Hammond Morton upstart Andrew Key won the Calumet regional but he will likely be tested by LaVille’s gritty Ben Norton.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Ben Norton – LaVille (29-5) vs. Nate Spangle – Triton (35-4). Two small school studs will face off for the right to get to the ticket round.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Isaac James – Lowell (31-4) vs. Ismael Cornejo – Portage (26-6). Expect a physical brawl in this matchup. This might be a preview of the championship next year.
FAB FOUR
Mammolenti – Penn
Mote – Delphi
James – Lowell
Norton – LaVille
182
Penn’s Chase Osborn has gone wire to wire so far as the state’s top ranked 182 wrestler. He has been tested a couple of time by fellow regional champs Andrew Davison of Chesterton and Jake Kleimola of Lake Central. A finals match between Osborn and Davison would be one of the highlights of day. The final spot in Indy will like come down to a ticket round match up between Winamac’s Gage Garpow and Portage’s Alex Guerrero. Garpow has a fine record but Guerrero wrestles one of the state’s toughest schedules.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Jeremy Splix – Plymouth (31-6) vs. Daniel Wright – Lafayette Harrison (48-3). Wright is a returning state qualifier who was upset in the regional finals. Splix is a fast improving junior for Bob Read’s Rockies.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Gage Garpow – Winamac (34-2) vs. Alex Guerrero – Portage (30-6). Will it be the Warrior or the Indian that comes out on top? Expect a tight low scoring six minuts.
FAB FOUR
Davison – Chesterton
Osborn – Penn
Kleimola – Lake Central
Guerrero – Portage
195
Upsets at regionals make the 195 class another one that is tough to predict. It also makes for many very interesting match ups in the first two rounds. The bracket gods continue to be nice Coach Vega and the Portage squad. Fourth place at regional has put senior Indian Matt Hedrick in a quarter bracket with a regional champ that he majored earlier in the year. Hedrick did injury default at regional so hopefully he gets healthy by Saturday. Calumet’s burly Nick Fowler has taken on all comers in the region and is still undefeated. One point separated Merrillville’s Jarius Perry and Mishawaka’s Tanner Bradley at the Al Smith so their ticket round battle is likely to be tight.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – John Bigbie – Lowell (31-7) vs. Matt Hedrick – Portage (23-6).
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Tanner Bradley – Mishawaka (23-3) vs. Jarius Perry – Merrillville (32-3). Bradley is wrestling with a lot of confidence after is first period pin of Wes Beck at regional.
FAB FOUR
Fowler – Calumet
Perry – Merrillville
Hedrick – Portage
Kidwell – West Lafayette
220
Gelen Robinson has graduated so this class is an open shot for new blood to rise to the top. The new king of hill will likely be either Penn’s Kobe Woods or Crown Point’s Morgan Kral. Woods has remain unscathed on the season and is the state’s top ranked grappler in this class. Kral is the fourth ranked wrestler and has a lone loss on his record. Duneland rivals Alex Kukurugya of Valpo and Brandon Majewski of Portage will be likely opponents in the top quarter bracket. Lafayette Harrison’s Seth Meyer looks to make his third trip to the big dance in the final quarter bracket.
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Jesus Lowe – Bishop Noll (35-4) vs. Andrew Brock – Warsaw (33-9). While either is unlikely to knock of Kral, this should be a nice battle.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Alex Kukurugya – Valpo (38-9) vs. Brandon Majewski – Portage (28-6). Can Kukurugya solve the Majewski puzzle?
FAB FOUR
Woods – Penn
Kral – Crown Point
Majewski – Portage
Meyer – Lafayette Harrison
285
Merrillville’s top ranked Shawn Streck is head and shoulders above the rest of the heavyweight crowd. Nothing less than a state title will satisfy Big Purple. I expect the rest of the bracket to hold chalk with regional champs winning and punching their ticket to state. Valpo’s Ian Suttles is a little undersized but is a superior athlete. Mammoth Cody Christman from Penn will finalize the strong Kingmen crowd at state. The final slot should be manned by Lafayette Harrison strongman
FIRST ROUND FISTICUFFS – Andrew Hansen – John Glenn (28-6) vs. Brian Shaw – South Bend Riley (26-10). Riley wrestlers are always entertaining to watch and Shaw will work relentlessly to jack up big man Hansen and try to throw him.
TOP TICKET ROUND TILT – Michael Kern – Lafayette Harrison (47-4) vs. Jordan Shafer – Rochester (36-5). Will the athletic Shafer be able to withstand the pressure of the burly Kern.
FAB FOUR
Streck – Merrillville
Christman – Penn
Suttles – Valpo
Kern – Harrison
TEAM QUALIFIERS
Penn – 8
Portage – 7
Crown Point - 6
Merrillville – 5
Lowell – 3
Lake Central - 3
Benton Central – 2
Lafayette Harrison - 2
Valparaiso – 2
Bremen - 1
Calumet – 1
Chesterton - 1
Griffith – 1
Warsaw – 1
West Lafayette – 1
Hammond Morton – 1
South Bend Clay – 1
Hobart – 1
Lafayette Jeff – 1
Munster – 1
Plymouth – 1
South Bend Adams – 1
Andrean – 1
Delphi – 1
South Bend Riley – 1
LaVille – 1
Mishawaka - 1
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