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2453 2 2This week in wrestling November 17th-23rd
Dual Schedule
Date/Time Event Nov 18 06:00 pm Madison at Southwestern (Hanover) Nov 19 06:30 pm Franklin Central at Fishers Nov 20 07:00 am Hammond Clark at Highland Nov 20 07:30 am Hobart at Munster Nov 20 05:30 pm Mount Vernon (Fortville) at Decatur Central Nov 20 06:00 pm Cascade at South Putnam Nov 20 06:30 pm Prairie Heights at Columbia City Nov 20 06:30 pm Indian Creek at Martinsville Nov 21 05:30 pm Providence Cristo Rey at Indianapolis George Washington Nov 21 06:00 pm Greencastle at Crawfordsville Nov 21 06:00 pm East Chicago Central at River Forest Nov 21 06:00 pm Rossville at Caston Nov 21 06:30 pm Wabash at Peru Nov 21 07:30 pm Oak Hill at Huntington North Nov 22 06:00 pm Jeffersonville at Franklin Community Nov 22 07:30 pm Crown Point at Portage Multi-Dual Schedule
Date/Time Event Teams Nov 22 06:00 pm Triple Dual at Switzerland County at Switzerland County Teams: Greensburg Madison Salem Switzerland County Nov 23 08:00 am Taylor Invite at Taylor Teams: Carroll (Flora) Frontier Lafayette Jefferson Madison-Grant Marion North Miami Taylor Nov 23 08:00 am CMA Early Bird Duals at Culver Academies Teams: Concord Culver Academies Knox Plymouth Rochester South Bend Adams Nov 23 08:30 am Elwood Invitational at Elwood Teams: Alexandria Delta Elwood Frankton Greenfield-Central Lapel McCutcheon Shenandoah South Dearborn Tri Union County Nov 23 09:00 am Lawrence Township Wrestlemania at Lawrence North Teams: Connersville Hagerstown Lawrence Central Lawrence North Mount Vernon (Fortville) Pike Nov 23 09:00 am Parke Heritage Invitational at Parke Heritage Teams: North Montgomery North Vermillion Parke Heritage South Vermillion Western Boone Nov 23 09:00 am Dave Kiley Duals at Cloverdale Teams: Cloverdale Indianapolis Cathedral Indianapolis Crispus Attucks Indianapolis Emmerich Manual Sheridan South Putnam Nov 23 09:00 am Bronco Super Duals at Daleville Teams: Blackford Daleville Northeastern Union City Wapahani Nov 23 09:00 am Hamilton Heights Super Six at Hamilton Heights Teams: Cascade Hamilton Heights Noblesville North Central Pendleton Heights Tipton Nov 23 09:00 am Mooresville Invite at Mooresville Teams: Indian Creek Mooresville Nov 23 09:00 am Bedford Duals at Bedford North Lawrence Teams: Bedford North Lawrence Bloomington North Forest Park Madison New Albany North Harrison Nov 23 09:00 am Bluffton Invitational at Bluffton Teams: Bluffton Central Noble Fort Wayne Concordia Fremont Leo Wes-Del Nov 23 09:00 am Warsaw Invitational at Warsaw Teams: Calumet Elkhart Memorial Warsaw Nov 23 09:00 am Double Dual at Scottsburg at Scottsburg Teams: Brown County Scottsburg Southwestern (Hanover) Nov 23 09:30 am South Bend Clay Super Dual at South Bend Clay Teams: Culver Community South Bend Clay Westview Nov 23 10:00 am Lake Station Duals at Lake Station Edison Teams: Andrean Boone Grove Hammond Hammond Morton Lake Station Edison North Newton South Bend Washington Whiting Nov 23 10:00 am Boonville Invitational at Boonville Teams: Boonville Crawford County Evansville Harrison Mitchell New Washington Owen Valley Tournament Schedule
Date/Time Event Teams Nov 23 09:00 am John Hurrle at Indianapolis Arsenal Tech Teams: Eastern Hancock Fishers Hamilton Southeastern Indianapolis Arsenal Tech Kokomo Lebanon Monrovia Purdue Polytechnic Richmond Southport Warren Central Nov 23 09:00 am Capital City Classic at Beech Grove Teams: Beech Grove Franklin Central Greenwood Indian Creek Jeffersonville Perry Meridian Plainfield Westfield1556 2 1Triples with TripleB
Our newest weekly article is a quick hit look at the week ahead and a recap of the previous week. TripleB will give you three things you need to know, three events to watch for this week, and three questions with someone in wrestling.
3 Things You Need to Know
1. New Coaches look to make an impact
40 programs have new coaches at the helm this season, including 5 ranked teams. will it be business as usual or will there be a disruption in the force??
#7 1A Eastern(Greentown)- Zach Pence
#2 1A Southridge- Kurt Collins
#18 Franklin- Jim Tonte
#17 Portage- Andrew Bradbury
#5 Warren Central- Matt Krulik
2. Post Season Dynasties
There’s dominant, then there’s #PainTrain dominant. Brownsburg is a phenomenal 16-0 at IHSWCA Dual Team State Championships and have won the last 4 in a row. Can the Bulldogs add a ring to their thumbs this year??
Brownsburg Coach Darrick Snyder, “At Brownsburg we take a lot of pride in our performance at dual state. We want to be the best team in the state. We put a huge emphasis on dual state because we know that shows the best team”
Cathedral needed 4 leaf clovers and all the luck of the Irish last year as Jordan Slvika and Elliott Rodgers turned in monumental efforts to lock up individual state championships and help Cathedral rally for a 3rd consecutive big old Indiana plaque at Bankers Life. Will the luck of the Irish be on their side for a fourth consecutive title?
Indianapolis Cathedral Coach Sean McGinley, “Look for the Irish to struggle a bit out of the gate. However, if we do our jobs and keep getting better each week, by tournament time we feel we will be one of the few teams that people are talking about with a chance to bring home a team state championship.”
3. How will the football runs impact early season matches?
7 of the top 10 preseason ranked teams are still alive as Indianapolis Cathedral, Evansville Mater Dei, Warren Central, Roncalli, Carmel, Merriville, and Hobart all played in regional games on Friday night. Will these ranked hammers stumble out of the gate as teams patiently wait for football players to wrap up, get healed, and get in wrestling shape? Look for the holiday tournaments before some of these teams are fully loaded. Merrillville, Carmel, Mount Vernon(Fortville), Hobart, and Adams Central will all be playing this week at semi-state.
3 Feature Matches
1. Opening dual of the season!
The Battle for the Paddle; Madison at Southwestern
Since the incarnation of the Battle, Madison has ran the tables winning all nine duals. What this match has lacked is over all dual excitement as forfeits on both sides have been an issue, but the scuttlebutt is that this year both teams will be bringing full line ups into the Dual and Southwestern is hoping to keep the paddles in Hanover!
2. Crown Point vs Portage
Portage graduates 4 state qualifiers and new coach Andrew Bradbury jumps right into the frying pan in this Region kick off dual. Returning state qualifiers Ty Haskins and Damari Dancy will look to keep this dual close but on paper Crown Point appears to be too strong. Lead by returning state champ Jesse Mendez, with 5 freshman and 2 sophomores in starting lineup, the Bulldogs will look to rack up bonus team points early and often!
3. Capital City Classic
Through the years Triple C is one of the toughest opening weekend tournaments with teams like Beech Grove, Perry, Warren, Bloomington North, Mishawaka, and North Central winning the very first one. Perry Meridian looks to be the front-runner for the 38th annual Capital City Classic.This years line up includes - Beech Grove, Franklin Central, Greenwood, Indian Creek, Jeffersonville, Perry Meridian, Plainfield, Westfield
3 Questions with Mike Reiser
1. What is your background in wrestling?
I wrestled for Coach Jim Wadkins at Calumet High school. I graduated in 2001 and was a part of some successful teams. We were three-time team sectional champs, two-time regional champs, and two-time Lake Athletic Conference champs. Individually I was a two-time sectional champ and two-time semi state qualifier.
2. Why do rankings, it seem very stressful and thankless, what drives you to do rankings?
There are times that the rankings can be stressful, but I learned early on that you can’t make everyone happy. I love doing the rankings both semi state and state. I think it is the best job in the state it has given me a lot of opportunities to broadcast and do the gorilla radio.
3. What do you do when you are not neck deep in wrestling?
When I am not doing the rankings and going over results, I work my actual job which is a Project Manager for an Environmental Company. I also coach my 2 daughters in softball which is becoming a full time job also.
1200 2Purdue’s Lydy Earns B1G Wrestler of the Week Honors
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - After going three seasons without a weekly honor from the conference, the Purdue wrestling team has now seen an individual recognized in back-to-back weeks to open 2019-20 as senior Dylan Lydy was named the Big Ten Wrestler of the Week on Tuesday. Lydy posted a 3-0 mark at the Journeymen Duals on Saturday, including wins over a pair of top-15 ranked wrestlers to guide Purdue to a 2-1 dual record for the weekend.
Lydy opened his trip to New York with his third bonus-point victory of the season, a 12-3 major decision over Buffalo’s Jake Lanning. The Boilermaker senior followed with two wins in dramatic fashion, going to overtime for a 4-2 victory over No. 12 Kimball Bastian of Utah Valley and gutting out a 3-1 decision over No. 10 Anthony Valencia of Arizona State.
After trading escapes in regulation, and going scoreless through a minute of sudden victory, Lydy and Bastian went to a pair of 30-second tiebreaker rounds. Both wrestlers escaped quickly in their opportunities off bottom, but Lydy finished the second period with a takedown to account for the final difference.
Lydy’s final match of the day appeared to be headed in the same direction, sitting tied 1-1 after both wrestlers escaped to start the second and third periods. However Lydy began creating action in the final minute of the third, nearly getting a takedown in front of the Arizona State bench and beating the buzzer with a takedown on the edge to seal the win.
Following freshman teammate Kendall Coleman sharing Big Ten Wrestler of the Week honors last week, Lydy makes it two straight.
The Boilermakers continue dual action Sunday, heading to North Dakota State University for a 1 p.m. CT contest at the Scheels Center. The dual will air live on GoBison.com and FloWrestling.
1255 1Fishers, Indiana Native wins Super 8 Invitational
Platteville Wis.- University of Wisconsin-Plattville sophomore Alexander Strueder (Fisher, Indiana) scored a takedown in sudden victory to win the 157 pound championship in the annual Super 8 Invitaional in the Pioneers’ Williams Fieldhouse.
With the score tied 3-3 late in the third period, Strueder needed a take down due to the point for riding time that Jessy Diaz of the University of Dubuque would have been rewarded. Stueder got the take down and what was thought to be for the championship as time ran out. The officials got together and determined that Strueder let go of Diaz with one second on the clock and rewarded Diaz with a point for escaping and the extra point for riding time to force sudden victory period.
Starting in neutral position, Stueder made short work as the aggresser in the sudden victory period recording the takedown 10 seconds into the period to officaly be crowned the champion.
“Coach (Mike) DeRoehn always preaches to fight your butt off, how hard can you fight. I gave up a takedown early, but came back and got the takedown with a second left, going in to overtime I knew I was prepared, we been working our butts off in the (wrestling) room,” Strueder said. “I knew I had an opportunity to go out there and make a statement and not leave it in the hands of the officials and take the match in my hands. I went back to what was working for me, my double underhooks, and took him down and that was the match.”
“Mindset was the difference maker for Strueder today. Throughout the tournament, he did a great job of listening to the coaches and then executed some crucial in-match technical adjustments,” DeRoehn said. “It was outstanding to see him keep his composure under pressure in the championship match and we’re really proud of his fight out there today.”
The Pioneers return to the mat Nov. 20 at UW-Whitewater.
Written by: Jason Piddington, Public Relations Writer-Athletics, Communications, 608-342-7645, piddingj@uwplatt.edu
Photo taken by: Andy McNeill, Campus Photographer, Communications
21002019 IndianaMat Preview Magazine
IndianaMat 2019 Preview Magazine
By Joe Caprino in IndianaMat.com Magazines
44 pages, published 11/2/2019
Preview of the 2018 Indiana wrestling season1550 1Indiana Wrestling Season Preview: 165-285
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– The Indiana wrestling team begins the season this week with the Michigan State Open on Nov. 2. The Hoosiers will host their first dual on Nov. 22 against North Dakota State.
IU head coach Angel Escobedo said he has been pleased with the dynamic between the freshmen and upperclassmen.
"The one thing we have been trying to gain in the program is for it to be a lot more competitive to make the team," Escobedo said. "Our freshmen are pushing our upperclassmen and knocking on the door of beating them, which is good. It is going to elevate everyone and that is what we are looking for this season."
165 POUNDS
165 will likely be Davey Tunon or Dillon Hoey. Both have experience in the lineup. The Hoosiers will look for one of these guys to step up and be the guy at this spot. Tunon tallied a record of 10-5 last season and Hoey went 4-11 on the season. The Hoosiers will be looking to fill the void left by national qualifier Bryce Martin, who graduated.
174 POUNDS
Jacob Covaciu is the expected starter at 174. He is the leader of the team and the only returning NCAA qualifier from last season. Coach Escobedo said he is hungry and working the hardest he has ever seen him work. He wants to be an All-American and a National Champion and he is training for that. Covaciu posted a record of 17-14 last season and won five bouts in dual matches. Covaciu helped the Hoosiers beat No. 12 North Carolina at the South Beach Duals last season with an 18-5 major decision. Covaciu won the Edinboro Open last season and finished second at the Cleveland State Open. Covaciu has been ranked 30 by TrackWrestling in their preseason rankings.
184 POUNDS
Jake Hinz will be moving up from 174. He was in the lineup a couple matches last year. He has made a big jump over the summer and it will be exciting to see what he can do. He has the potential to be an NCAA qualifier. Hinz finished in second at the Greyhound Open last season.
197 POUNDS
Jake Kleimola or Spencer Irick will be the expected starters at 197. Kleimola finished in eighth-place at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Kleimola and Irick are going into their last year of competing and both will be looking to make nationals for the first time in their careers.
285 POUNDS
Rudy Streck will start the season at heavyweight. Streck was the starters for the first half of last season. He is experienced and has one year under his belt. The Hoosiers will look for him to build on that experience from last year.1362 2 2Indiana Wrestling Season Preview: 125-157
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– The Indiana wrestling team begins the season this week with the Michigan State Open on Nov. 2. The Hoosiers will host their first dual on Nov. 22 against North Dakota State.
IU head coach Angel Escobedo said he has been pleased with the energy at the start of the season.
"We have a new focus," he said. "When you get a lot of new guys they are hungry. They want to change the program and elevate it and elevate themselves. That has been the theme of the room, how great can I be and that has been great to see. They are putting in extra work because they want to be great. We have fresh bodies and fresh mind and they are motivated."
125 POUNDS
125 will be very competitive between returner Liam Cronin and transfer Brock Hudkins. Cronin finished with a 17-13 overall record and was in and out of the lineup with Elijah Oliver. Cronin finished fourth at the Hokie Open and second at the Cleveland State Open. This past summer he was one spot away from making the U23 World Team in Greco Roman. Hudkins is a transfer from Northern Illinois and a two-time national qualifier. Hudkins was ranked No. 26 by TrackWrestling. Both guys are motivated and hungry, are putting in extra work and they understand someone is right behind them. They are trying to outwork each other and it is creating a good dynamic with good competition.
133 POUNDS
133 is a little up in the air. Kyle Luigs will be coming down from 141. Luigs went 19-16 last season with a highlight win by fall at Iowa against No. 12 Max Murin. Luigs wrestled for the Hoosiers at the Big Ten Championships. Cayden Rooks will be redshirting at 133. Jonathan Moran will also be in the mix. Moran redshirted last season.
141 POUNDS
Paul Konrath will be moving up from 133. He cut a lot of weight last year and this is more of his natural weight. Konrath posted a record of 20-11 last season with a 5-5 dual match record. At the South Beach duals Konrath beat No. 4 Tariq Wilson of NC State. The Hoosiers are looking for Konrath to have a great season. Konrath was ranked No. 27 by TrackWrestling.
149 POUNDS
Graham Rooks will be the starter at 149. Rooks was the best freshman last year, as he posted a record of 15-7. Rooks won the Cleveland State Open at 149 last season. He beat multiple guys that qualified for NCAAs on the season last year.
157 POUNDS
Fernie Silva will be going up from 149. Joey Sanchez will also be in the mix after coming off a redshirt. The plan is to use the first few tournaments to determine a starter. Also Diego Lemley will compete for a spot at 157. Sanchez finished in third place at the Greyhound Open. Silva lost a tight 8-7 decision against No. 1 Anthony Ashnault.
Tomorrow look for 165-Heavyweight in our season preview part two.1184 1Purdue Wrestling Season Preview: 174-285
2019-20 Schedule / Always Aggressive Podcast
Preview 125-141 / Preview 149-165
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The final installation of the Purdue wrestling team’s season preview series features a run of successful, familiar faces, and a pair of top-10 preseason ranked wrestlers. The Boilermakers will see a lot of wins from this group and have their sight set on the podium at the NCAA Championships.
174 POUNDS
Senior Dylan Lydy aims to make his final season in West Lafayette one to remember, regarded as one of the top wrestlers in the nation at 174 pounds. He finished seconds shy of an All-America honor in 2019, and looks to correct that in Minneapolis in March. Ranked eighth in the NCAA by TheOpenMat.com and TrackWrestling, No. 9 by Win Magazine and No. 12 by FloWrestling, Lydy has 80 career victories at Purdue, 18 of which came over ranked opponents.
Lydy placed fifth at the 2019 Big Ten Championships and sixth at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational before advancing to the blood round at the NCAA Championships. He came back from a first-round loss in Pittsburgh to win three straight and meet Nebraska’s Mikey Labriola in the Round of 12. The pair wrestled a full 11 minutes, finishing tied at 3-3, but granted the nod to the Cornhusker on riding time after the second tiebreaker.
Lydy needs 20 wins in his final season to become just the 17th wrestler in Purdue history to hit the century mark, and the first since Luke Manuel and Logan Brown in 2011. Lydy is also 22 takedowns shy of a spot in Purdue’s all-time top-20, entering the season with 194 to his credit.
While previously mentioned at 165 pounds, sophomore Tanner Webster will offer support of Lydy at 174 as well.
184 POUNDS
The Boilermakers field another returning national qualifier at 184 in the form of junior Max Lyon. The Dyersville, Iowa native has racked up 43 victories over the last two seasons, including 24 in 2018-19, and is ranked in the top-20 of every preseason poll published to date. Lyon’s top marks came from FloWrestling and WIN Magazine, where he was tabbed the No. 15 wrestler in the country at his weight.
Lyon scored the most points of any Boilermaker on the roster last season, piling up 252 over 38 matches, and logged notable victories over American’s Tanner Webster at the NCAA Tournament, Michigan State’s Cameron Caffey and Michigan’s Jelani Embree at the Big Ten Tournament. He placed at both the Princeton Open, Journeymen Collegiate Classic and Big Ten Championships, in addition to a seventh-place showing at the 2019 U23 Freestyle World Team Trials.
Sophomore Jared Florell offers his skills up at 184 as well, posting a 10-4 mark last season with three tournament placewinning performances. He won the South Beach College Individual title at 184, was second at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic (C-Draw) and third at the Loras Open. In addition, junior Trevor Blue joins the Purdue roster after a four-year stint in the U.S. Navy as a Gunner’s Mate.
197 POUNDS
Purdue head coach Tony Ersland is not lacking options at 197, boasting a three-time returning NCAA Qualifier in addition to a rising star and 2019’s most outstanding freshman. Christian Brunner owns at 73-39 career record at 197 pounds, falling just shy of All-America honors in 2019 with a Round of 12 loss to Fresno State’s Josh Hokit. A second-round upset win over Iowa State’s Willie Miklus made Brunner Purdue’s first NCAA Quarterfinalist since 2010. Brunner has been in the Boilermakers’ starting lineup since he stepped on campus, leaving him eligible for a redshirt season. While he’s yet to announce his intentions, he remains near the top of the 197-pound national rankings, including No.8 marks from TrackWrestling and WIN Magazine and the No. 10 spot from TheOpenMat.com.
Anxious to start his collegiate career, freshman Thomas Penola is ready to go at 197 pounds after a redshirt season spent competing at 184. He won the Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open and Indianapolis Greyhound Open, took fourth in the frosh/soph division at Michigan State and placed eight at the prestigious Midlands Championships. In addition, Penola finished sixth at the UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships in April, putting the final touches on an impressive rookie season.
285 POUNDS
Several individuals will get a shot at the starting heavyweight job for the Boilermakers, including a pair of newcomers and a rising sophomore moving up from 197 pounds to heavyweight. Sophomore David Eli takes his talents to heavyweight, owning the only match experience for the Boilermakers at the top weight. He wrestled 18 matches in 2018-19, placing at the Michigan State Open, Journeymen Collegiate Classic and the Greyhound Open.
Junior Jairus Perry and true freshman Jacob Somlai will throw their respective hats in the ring as well. Perry joins the Boilermaker roster after spending the past few years in the U.S. Army, while Somlai comes to Purdue from Brookfield, Wisconsin, where he won a state championship with an undefeated 52-0 record at 220 pounds.
Freshman Eli Pokorney had a decorated high school career at Chesterton High School in Indiana, winning the 2018 state title and being ranked as high as fourth in the country at heavyweight and No. 74 overall in the class of 2019. However, the Boilermaker rookie will sit out 2019-20 recovering from knee surgery and will be ready to go in 2020-21.
1499Purdue Wrestling Season Preview: 149-165
2019-20 Schedule
Always Aggressive Podcast
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team is ready to launch a new era in its middle weights, featuring a few familiar faces at a new weight and some freshmen eager to launch their varsity careers for the Old Gold & Black.
149 POUNDS
The Boilermakers will open 2019-20 with two NCAA qualifiers vying for time at the same weight. As mentioned in the lower-weight preview, senior Nate Limmex will open the season at 149 pounds, garnering a variety of national rankings in the 141-pound preseason polls. On the other end, junior Griffin Parriott is coming down a weight from 157 pounds, where he advanced to the national tournament in 2018-19.
Limmex has 57 wins under his belt over the last three seasons, including a 19-17 mark last year that featured a second-place effort at the Princeton Open and a runner-up finish at the Journeymen Classic. He earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships in Pittsburgh, where he went 1-2 with a win in the wrestlebacks over Northern Colorado’s Christopher Sandoval 7-4.
Parriott finished 17-13 in 2018-19 at 157 pounds and is 33-26 for his career, earning his first NCAA Tournament appearance last year. He made the most of his trip to Pittsburgh, knocking off the No. 13 and No. 14 seeds as he finished 2-2. Parriott also finished second at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, knocking off No. 1 seed Tyler Berger of Nebraska on his way to the finals, and won the Loras Open. He’s been ranked in the top-20 of every preseason poll released for 2019-20, including the No. 12 spot at 149 from TheOpenMat.com and a No. 14 nod from FloWrestling.
Other names at 149 pounds are sophomore Pat Cody and freshman Aaron Galef, who both will stay ready for opportunities on the year and aim to see action at the season-opening Michigan State Open.
157 POUNDS
Freshman Kendall Coleman aims to be the man at 157 pounds for Purdue head coach Tony Ersland, and aims to pick up where he left off on an outstanding summer on the freestyle circuit. The three-time Illinois high school state placewinner took fifth at 70 kg at the U23 Freestyle World Team Trials in June and was seventh at 70 kg at UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships in April.
Sophomore Elijah Davis and freshman Hayden Lohrey bolster the ranks at 157 and are ready to step in as needed. Davis logged 12 matches in his rookie season, including a Big Ten dual appearance against Penn State in 2019, while Lohrey comes to Purdue from nearby Middletown, Indiana, where he won 158 career matches at Shenandoah High School.
165 POUNDS
Another Boilermaker rookie sits ready to start his career at 165 pounds as Emil Soehnlen is primed to take on a varsity schedule. The Canton, Ohio native did enough in his redshirt campaign to earn a pair of preseason rankings, getting the No. 23 spot via FloWrestling and a No. 28 ranking from TrackWrestling. He placed at four different open tournaments in 2018-19, winning the Indianapolis Greyhound Open and Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open Amateur Division, and taking second in the Frosh/Soph Division at Michigan State.
Sophomore Tanner Webster will look to get in the mix as well, going 5-7 in his first varsity season including dual appearances against Missouri and North Carolina State. He also placed third in the Amateur Division at Maryville Kaufman/Brand/Bayly Open.
1146Purdue Wrestling Season Preview: 125-141
www.PurdueSports.com
Always Aggressive Podcast
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue wrestling team is less than two weeks from the start of their 2019-20 competition schedule, opening Saturday, Nov. 2 at the Michigan State Open. The Boilermakers’ lower weights will see a little bit of consistency from 2018-19, but a lot of change and new faces as they open the season.
125 POUNDS
The Boilermakers return a welcome and familiar face at the bottom of the lineup in junior Devin Schroder. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native has won 40 matches over his first two seasons, including a 21-13 mark as Purdue’s starter last year. He placed eighth at the 2019 Big Ten Championships, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships, and had three other placewinning performances at tournaments during the season, including the Princeton Open and the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational.
Schroder’s top-game continues to be his strength on the mat, racking up 100+ back points in each of his first two seasons, and already ranking eighth all-time at Purdue on the list. He’s earned several preseason rankings across the country to open up this year, including a No. 8 nod from WIN Magazine and No. 10 overall from TrackWrestling.
Schroder will get ample support from sophomore Marshall Craig and freshman Nate Cummings. Craig had three wins in his first season of varsity action, and appeared in a quartet of duals in relief of Schroder, while Cummings appeared in several tournaments in redshirt action, placing at Loras and Indianapolis.
Purdue will see a pair of new faces at 125 in Michael Leveille and Kooper Loehr, with both expected to redshirt their inaugural seasons. Both are Illinois natives with Leveille placing at the 3A state championships twice and Loehr getting on the 2A state podium on two occasions as well.
133 POUNDS
The graduation of multi-year starter Ben Thornton leaves a new opportunity in the Boilermaker lineup and a few fresh faces ready to embrace the challenge. The front-runners for the gig are sophomore Jack Cheney and true freshman Travis Ford-Melton, both ready for the 2019-20 varsity spot.
Cheney was 13-4 in his first varsity season, all coming in tournament appearances. He took home the Indianapolis Greyhound Open title, took second at the Maryville Kaufman/Brand Open and was third in the frosh/soph division at Michigan State. He also appeared at the 2018 Midlands Championships, where he scored a fall in his first match, one-of-seven for the California native in his freshman campaign.
Purdue head coach Tony Ersland has not been afraid to put true freshmen into the varsity lineup in his five years in West Lafayette, and Ford-Melton could be the next one in that line in 2019-20. Regarded as one of the nation’s top freshman prospects at 133 by FloWrestling, he is a four-time Illinois state placewinner and finished near the top of the podium at several top amateur tournaments in his high school career. He racked up 154 wins in high school and looks to pick up where he left off as he puts on the Old Gold & Black.
Sophomore Bjorn Schroeder is another face Purdue could see at 133 pounds this season, but there’s potential for him to bump to 141 pounds as well. Schroeder has eight victories in his varsity career, and has competed in four dual meets, including two Big Ten battles.
141 POUNDS
The third spot in the Boilermakers’ varsity lineup brings in an interesting mix of familiar faces with new opportunities. Senior Nate Limmex is a two-time NCAA Championship qualifier at the weight, and is eligible to wrestle at 141 pounds again for Ersland, but will start the year at 149 pounds, leaving the door open for some young blood.
Sophomores Parker Filius and Alec White will scrap for the starting spot to open the year, both very capable of making an impact for the Boilermakers. Filius drops down from 149 pounds, where he had a tough freshman year, while White returns to 141 for the second straight season. Filius had several solid performances in his redshirt season at 141 pounds, including the Eastern Michigan Open Frosh/Soph title and runner-up finishes at Michigan State and Northern Iowa.
Limmex owns preseason rankings from nearly every outlet to start the season at 141, including a No. 16 nod from WIN Magazine and No. 25 via FloWrestling.
2545 1 32019 Super 32 Preview
Over 40 of the best wrestlers from Indiana are heading to North Carolina to take on the Super 32 Challenge this weekend. If you have been living under a rock, this is the toughest high school tournament in the country and some brackets that feature over 150 wrestlers. You will see future NCAA All-Americans not place here and even potentially see some future NCAA Finals matches. Indiana’s representatives feature 35 guys that have qualified for state including five state champions.
History Lesson
Indiana has only had four grapplers take home a belt: Ethan Raley in 2010, Jared Brooks in 2011, Chad Red in 2014, and Blake Rypel in 2015. The first placer was in 2008 when Camden Eppert took 3rd. No Indiana native has placed three times in the high school division, but six wrestlers have placed twice(Blake Rypel, Chad Red, Jason Tsirtsis, Brayton Lee, Joe Lee, and Drew Hughes). Since 2015 Indiana has placed five wrestlers each year at the Super 32 with many others being a round or two from placing.
Click here for a listing of all the past Super 32 placers.
https://indianamat.com/index.php?/history/super32placers.html/
The Contenders
This tournament is deep, REALLY deep and placing here is a huge accomplishment. Some of the weights feature as many as 15 of the top 20 ranked kids so placing top 8 is an extreme accomplishment.
The top contender to bring back a belt is #2 ranked Jesse Mendez. He is fresh off an impressive performance at Who’s #1 and the favorite for a title. Potential match with his first opponent from Who’s #1, Ryan Jack, is off as he has pulled out. Jesse will still be challenged by the 13 others that are nationally ranked in this weight class.
State champ and the only returning Super 32 placer, Brayden Littell is going to look to finish higher than 8th this year. He has shown he can bang with the best and is not flying under the radar this year like he was last year. He’ll likely be seeded which should make his path a little easier to finish higher on the podium
Zeke Seltzer is rolling along this spring, summer, and fall with impressive performances throughout the off-season. He was runner-up at Fargo and then won a loaded weight class at this year’s IHPO. He is in the mix to make a deep run this year. The 120lbs weight class is one of the deepest there is, but he is battle tested and ready to do some damage in Greensboro.
Matt Lee is another one to watch from Indiana. While he will be forgoing the high school season he will be taking one more shot at placing at the Super 32. He has the tools to bring back a belt and could make his last high school event memorable with a title.
Under the Radar
Folks in Indiana know these names, but the following guys are ones I have a sneaky feeling will make deep runs and potentially place in this event. Every year Indiana has a few guys surprise everyone with great performances. Look no further than Nick South’s run to the finals last year or Brayden LIttell finishing 8th in a loaded weight.
Elliott Rodgers is someone we all know and know he’s as tough as they come, but nationally he isn’t as well known. Rodgers’ ability to ride is huge in an event with shortened periods on the first day and in the consolations. He also has a knack to find a way to win. Don’t be surprised to see him finishing high here.
Colton Drousias is an Indiana guy that wrestles in Illinois during the high school season. He has had national success placing at Fargo in 2018. He was a state champion in Illinois last year, so he has the tools to make the podium in Greensboro.
Evan Bates has a very good shot at bringing back some hardware. He burst onto the scene at Fargo placing in both styles after a 3rd place finish at state last year. He’s known now and should make a deep run at 195lbs. The upper weights are as loaded as ever, but usually do not field as deep of a field as the lower and middle weights.
Graham Calhoun has wrestled every where and always shown he is a contender at any tournament he enters. He has been in and out of the national rankings and beaten a lot of the best guys in the country. This could be his year to bring back a medal.
Five state runner-ups from this year all should have deep runs here. Alex Cottey, Alec Viduya, Blake Boarman, Ray Rioux, and Cooper Noehre are all solid grapplers that could make a surprise appearance on the podium. Cottey and Boarman have both had some national success and could surprise some people here. Rioux is an extremely dangerous wrestler that cannot be overlooked by the top guys. Viduya has been in the mix nationally and always wins matches at the big events. Noehre had a breakout season last year and is one that has the tools to place here.
Others to watch
There are many others than I’m gonna keep my eye on that may just find their way to day two and the podium after the dust has settled.
Alec Freeman and Eli Dickens from Mater Dei are both solid wrestlers that have shown they can compete with the best. Logan Bailey has had a fantastic off-season and his ability to ride and turn could pose a hazard for his opponents. Mason Winner had a good GFC this past weekend and like others he is good on the mat which can make a huge difference here. Brock Ellis has had national success and going to be down at 145lbs.
Some incoming freshmen to watch are Sam Goin of Crown Point, Christian Carroll of Penn, and Sergio Lemley who will go to Mount Carmel. They will have tough roads to hoe, but should be on the podium in Greensboro during their careers.
Where to Watch
You can watch the action starting on Saturday on FloWrestling.org. Brackets will be on Arena.FloWrestling.org. You can also check out @IndianaMat on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.
Indiana also has many wrestlers in the elementary and middle school divisions that hit the mat on Sunday. You can find all the entries and other tournament information at Super32.com.
Indiana Entries
Weight Name School 106 Sam Goin Crown Point, IN 113 Alexzander Cottey Perry Meridian H.S. 113 Cole Ross Evansville Mater Dei 113 Sergio Lemley Mount Carmel 120 Braden Haines Brownsburg high school 120 Christian White New Palestine High School 120 Colton Drousias Chicago - Mount Carmel 120 David Pierson Warren Central High School 120 Giovanni Diaz Wheeler high school 120 Landon Bertsch Bluffton 120 Riley Bettich Crown Point High School 120 Zeke Seltzer Indianapolis Cathedral 126 Alecsander Freeman Mater Dei High School 126 Brayden Littell Center grove 126 Hayden Watson Center Grove High School 126 Kysen Montgomery Brownsburg 126 Stephen Roberson Jr Crown Point 132 Blake Boarman Evansville Mater Dei 132 Jesse Mendez Crown Point 132 Raymond Rioux Avon High School 138 Anthony Poindexter Jr. Harrison High School 138 Aundre' Beatty Warren Central High School 138 Drake Campbell Brownsburg 138 Logan Bailey Cathedral High School 145 Alec Viduya Roncalli 145 Brady Mckivitz Perry Meridian High School 145 Brock Ellis Chesterton High School 145 Jaden Reynolds Avon High School 145 Kailan Keith Ben Davis 152 Brice Coleman Warren Central High School 152 Matthew Lee Lee Homeschool 152 Nick Buchanan Coldwater 152 Tristen Hood Harrison (WL) 160 Christian Carroll Penn High School 160 Cooper Noehre Greenfield Central 160 Eli Dickens Mater Dei 160 Elliott Rodgers Indianapolis Cathedral 160 Isiah Levitz Prairie Heights 170 Graham Calhoun Plymouth 182 Joseph Walker Mishawaka High School 182 Mason Winner Jay County High School 195 Evan Bates Chesterton High School 195 Robert Bowman Mount carmel high schol
1712Purdue Announces 2019-20 Schedule
Full 2019-20 Schedule
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue wrestling head coach Tony Ersland announced his 2019-20 schedule Thursday, unveiling three tournaments and 17 dual contests for the Boilermakers this season. Purdue will compete at home five times, hosting the Boilermaker duals in the non-conference slate and welcoming four Big Ten foes to West Lafayette in 2020.
"We're excited about the opportunities that lay ahead," said Ersland. "We feel like this year's schedule features some great challenges and will have us ready to succeed come March at the Big Ten and NCAA Championships."
The Boilermakers open 2019-20 at the Michigan State Open on Nov. 2, and will send the majority of their roster to East Lansing to get the season underway. They'll remain on the road the next couple weeks, set to compete in a trio of duals at the 2019 Journeymen Classic at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York on Nov. 9 and heading to Fargo, North Dakota to face North Dakota State on Nov. 17.
Purdue will square off with Buffalo, Utah Valley and Arizona State in the Empire State, and meet the Bison for the second time in the last three years, defeating NDSU 26-6 on Jan. 26,2018.
The first home meet of the season is scheduled for Nov. 24 as the Boilermakers welcome Clarion, Northern Illinois and Indianapolis to Holloway Gymnasium, and will wrestle a round-robin set of duals in front of a home crowd.
The Boilermakers return to Las Vegas in early December for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational, with another star-studded field awaiting in the desert. Purdue finished 10th in 2018 behind place-winning performances from Griffin Parriott, Devin Schroder, Dylan Lydy and Christian Brunner, including a runner-up finish from Parriott at 157 pounds.
The last two non-conference dates are set for a Dec. 19 dual at SIU Edwardsville and the 2019 Midlands Championships. Purdue last met the Cougars in 2017, beating SIUE 31-9 at Holloway Gymnasium. Northwestern will host Midlands at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, as the Boilermakers return as a full team after finishing seventh with 84 points in 2017.
The Big Ten schedule begins Friday, Jan. 10 with the Boilermakers heading back to Northwestern for the conference opener, and returning home Sunday, Jan. 12 to host Iowa. Purdue's annual rivalry bout with Indiana follows Monday, Jan. 20 in Bloomington.
Purdue has two duals in each of the following weekends, heading to Maryland and Rutgers on Jan. 24 and 26, respectively, and then hosting Minnesota and Wisconsin on Jan. 31 and Feb. 2. The Boilermakers' homestand continues Feb. 7, hosting Nebraska for the final home dual of the season and the conference slate wraps up on the road Sunday, Feb. 16, heading across the state line to face Illinois for the Big Ten finale.
The postseason opens with the Big Ten Championships on March 7, hosted by Rutgers at the RAC in Piscataway, N.J. and the Boilermakers return six national qualifiers with plans to head to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the 2020 NCAA Championships.
Purdue awaits word of potential television broadcast matchups from the Big Ten Network, and all duals are subject to change based on that schedule.1584Hoosiers Release 2019-20 Schedule
Click here for the full schedule
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– The Indiana wrestling team under second year head coach Angel Escobedo have released their 2019-20 schedule.
In the Hoosiers first season with Escobedo at the helm, Indiana picked up a victory over No. 12 North Carolina at the South Beach Duals. It was the first win over a top-15 opponent since 2008. Indiana also took down No. 25 Stanford, to achieve multiple ranked wins in a season for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
In the upcoming season, the Hoosiers will match up against four teams that finished in the top-10 at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
"I'm looking forward to another great competition season," IU head coach Angel Escobedo said. "We have a tough schedule, but you have to compete against the best and beat the best to be the best."
The Hoosiers will open the season at the Michigan State Open on Nov. 2 in East Lansing, Mich. Following that competition, they will go to New York for the Journeyman on Nov. 10 and the Black Night Invite at West Point on Nov. 17.
Indiana will host its first dual meet of the season as they welcome North Dakota State to Wilkinson Hall on Nov. 22.
Following the NDSU dual, the Hoosiers will compete in the UNI Open on Dec. 14 and the Midlands tournament Dec. 29-30.
January 10 will be a date to circle on the calendar as the Hoosiers host Iowa in their Big Ten opener at Wilkinson Hall. Another key home match will be Monday Jan. 20 when the Hoosiers host Purdue.
Other home matches include Wisconsin (Jan. 31), Minnesota (Feb. 2), Nebraska (Feb. 9) and SIUE (Feb. 16).
The Big Ten Championships will be hosted by Rutgers (March 7-8) and the NCAA Championships will be in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Viking, March 19-21.
1484 2Ersland Adds Leroy Vega to the Purdue staff
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue head coach Tony Ersland rounded out his coaching staff Monday, naming Leroy Vega as his volunteer assistant coach for the 2019-20 season. A three-time NCAA All-American, Vega will work primarily with the lower weight classes.
Vega's name is widely known on the Indiana high school wrestling scene, from his days on the mat and to most recently, his days in the corner. He joins the Purdue staff after eight years as the head coach at his alma mater, Portage High School, in northwest Indiana. During his span as head coach, Vega had 41 Indiana High School Athletic Association state tournament qualifiers, with 10 appearing in the finals and three Portage wrestlers claiming an individual title. In 2015, the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association named Vega its coach of the year.
As a prep at Portage, Vega was a two-time state champion in 1996 and 1997. His success translated on the international scene as well. In 1998, Vega placed ninth at 60 kg the UWW Junior Greco-Roman World Championships. The following year, competing at 54 kg in freestyle, he placed seventh at the world championships.
Vega wrestled collegiately at Minnesota from 1999 to 2002 and scattered his name throughout the legendary program. Individually, Vega earned All-America honors three times at 125 pounds and captured the Big Ten Conference 125-pound title in 2002. His performances helped the Gophers win three Big Ten team titles and back-to-back NCAA team titles in 2001 and 2002.
Vega tallied a career record of 135-26, with his 135 wins ranking fifth all-time at Minnesota and his .839 winning percentage ranking 17th. He owned a career dual record of 65-14, with the 65 wins tied for seventh on the Gophers' individual dual wins list.
Prior to his head coaching appointment at Portage, Vega was named the inaugural head coach at Calumet College of St. Joseph in Whiting, Indiana, with the birth of the program in 2008. He was at the helm through the 2009-10 season before returning to his roots in Portage.
Vega earned his Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and teaching from Minnesota in 2002. He and his wife, Sarah, have two daughters, LillyAnna and Lilah, and a son, Lydon.1235 1Lewis Joins Purdue Wrestling Staff
The former Missouri Tiger was a four-time All-American
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue wrestling head coach Tony Ersland made a splashy hire Wednesday, welcoming four-time NCAA All-American Daniel Lewis into the Boilermaker wrestling room as a graduate assistant. The former Missouri Tiger competed at 165 and 174 pounds over the last four NCAA seasons, graduating as one of the top wrestlers in program history.
“It’s not every day you have the opportunity to bring a four-time All-American into your room, and we’re thrilled to welcome Daniel to our team,” said Ersland. “His success on the mat speaks for itself, his abilities in the classroom are even more impressive and I can’t wait to get him around our guys.”
The Blue Springs, Missouri native racked up a career record of 118-17 for the Tigers, earning All-America at 165 pounds as a freshman and sophomore and then at 174 pounds in his final two seasons. He’s one of only three four-time All-Americans in Missouri wrestling history, joining Ben Askren and J’Den Cox.
“I feel blessed to be granted such an amazing opportunity to continue my education and start giving back to the sport that gave me so much,” said Lewis. “My glory days of college wrestling are over, but I plan to find success in the lessons and experiences I pass on to my new Boilermaker family.”
Lewis won four straight Mid-American Conference individual titles, leading Missouri to the team championship in every season and was named the MAC Most Outstanding Wrestler in 2018. Fifty-three of his 118 career wins came by fall (44.9%), good for second-most in Missouri history, and he took home the 2019 Gorarrian Award for recording the most falls at the NCAA Championships.
He earned MAC Freshman Wrestler of the Year honors and Missouri’s Marshall Esteppe Most Outstanding Freshman award in 2016, finishing 29-6 at 165 pounds and finishing fourth at the NCAA Championships. He followed up with a 28-6 mark in 2017, again at 165, and took sixth at the national tournament.
After moving up to 174 pounds as a junior in 2017-18, Lewis reeled off 32 straight victories to start the season, including a flawless 26-0 mark in the regular season and his third straight MAC title. His 17 falls were a team and career high, and he went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Championships. Lewis’s senior season brought a similar level of success, posting a 28-3 overall mark with 17 falls, earning his fourth straight MAC crown and another fourth-place effort at the national tournament. He went undefeated in duals over his final two years and finished 25-1 in dual competition for his career. He shared Missouri’s Most Outstanding Wrestler honors in each of his last two seasons and was named the University of Missouri Male Athlete of the Year in 2019.
Lewis earned his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in May of 2019 from Missouri with an emphasis in aerospace engineering and will be pursuing his master’s degree in Business Administration from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue. He completed a construction/property management internship with The Kroenke Group in Columbia, Missouri in the summer of 2018, and worked at ProCraft Mechanical in Broomfield, Colorado as a project operations intern in 2019.
3327 8Tonte moving back to the south side
After four years at the helm of Warren Central Jim Tonte will head back south to take over the Franklin Grizzly Cubs this year. In his first year guiding the Warriors Tonte captured his fourth state title as a coach and became the first coach in Indiana history to coach two different schools to a state title.
Tonte spent 19 years at the helm of Perry Meridian where they captured state titles in 2011, 2012,and 2013. The first two titles were in the dual meet championship era and in 2013 was when the scoring at the state finals determined the team champions.
Longtime Franklin coach Bob Hasseman stepped down last month after leading the Grizzly Cubs for 33 years. The Grizzly Cub program is heavily involved with the ISWA and always has a strong youth presence.
Tonte will leave open a prime position at Warren Central that returns two state placers and was runner-up at Team State last year. He will have to leave behind his trademark gold jacket, but don't be surprised to see him in a flashy new silver on at the state finals this year.
1005 1Hoosiers Add NCAA Champion Jason Tsirtsis to Coaching Staff
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – IU head coach Angel Escobedo has announced the addition of three time All-American and NCAA Champion Jason Tsirtsis as a volunteer assistant coach.
Tsirtsis, a native of Crown Point, Ind., where he won four state championships in high school, started his college career at Northwestern where in his redshirt freshman season he won the NCAA Championship at 149 lb. That year, in 2014, Tsirtsis also was the Big Ten Champion, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Intermat Freshman of the Year and Midlands Champion.
Tsirtsis concluded his collegiate career in 2017-18 with Arizona State as an All-American with a seventh-place finish at NCAAs. He was named the Comeback Wrestler of the Year at the NCAA Championships by FloWrestling.
I'm very excited to add Jason Tsirtsis to our staff,” Escobedo said. “Since day one, our focus has been to keep the best kids in state and I believe having an Indiana legend like Jason will help achieve this goal. He will work directly with our middle weights (149-165) and we are excited to have him join our program.”
“I am extremely excited to join the wrestling family down in Bloomington,” Tsirtsis said. “Angel has done a great job at changing the culture within the program and I'm thrilled to help further the growth & development of our wrestlers. I can't wait to get down to Bloomington!”
22832019 Summer Events Schedule and Details
16U Greco-Roman National Duals
When: June 12 and 13
Where: Spokane, Washington
Who: Team Indiana featuring wrestlers aged 15 and 16, formerly the cadet age group.
Link to Brackets and Video: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=421806132
14U Greco-Roman National Duals
When: June 13 and 14
Where: Indianapolis, Indiana(Warren Central High School)
Who: Team Indiana featuring wrestlers aged 13 and 14, formerly the schoolboy age group.
Link to Brackets and Video: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=421804132
16U Freestyle National Duals
When: June 14 and 15
Where: Spokane, Washington
Who: Team Indiana featuring wrestlers aged 15 and 16, formerly the cadet age group.
Link to Brackets and Video: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=421805132
Final X Lincoln
When: June 15
Where: Lincoln, Nebraska
Who: Kayla Miracle and Sarah Hildebrandt wrestle for a World Team spot.
Link to Video: https://FloWrestling.org
14U Freestyle National Duals
When: June 15 and 16
Where: Indianapolis, Indiana(Warren Central High School)
Who: Team Indiana featuring wrestlers aged 13 and 14, formerly the schoolboy age group.
Link to Brackets and Video: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=421803132
Junior Greco-Roman National Duals
When: June 19 and 20
Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Who: Team Indiana featuring wrestlers 15 and older that are in high school.
Link to Brackets and Video: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=421809132
14U Girls's Freestyle National Duals
When: June 20 and 21
Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Who: Team Indiana featuring wrestlers aged 13 and 14, formerly the schoolboy age group.
Link to Brackets and Video: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=421810132
AAU Disney Duals
When: Community Divisions- June 21-24
All-Star and Developmental- June 19-22
Girls- June 19-21
Where: Orlando, Florida
Who: All-Star teams and high schools from across the state.
Community 1 Community 2 Bloomington South Purple Dead Mouse Mafia Silver(Avon) Brownsburg Purple FC Boom Squad(Franklin Central) Carroll Chargers Indiana Marauders(Mount Vernon(Fortville)) Dead Mouse Mafia Gold(Avon) NWI Gladiators(Hammond Gavit) Garrett Terre Haute South Braves Black Indiana Cornbrawlers(Oak Hill) T.O.P. Orange(Columbus East) T.O.P White(Columbus East) Warrior Elite Black(Warren Central) Terre haute South Braves Red Warrior Elite Gold(Warren Central) All-Star Developmental Indiana Outlaws Select Beech Grove WC IndianaMat Gold DC Elite(Decatur Central) IndianaMat Silver DC Select(Decatur Central) MXW White MXW Black(Penn) MXW Blue(Penn) Girls MXW Gold(Penn) South Select Girls MXW Grey(Penn) Link to Brackets and Video:
All-Star, Developmental, and Community Divisions
https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=434069132
Girl's Division
https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=434070132
Junior Freestyle National Duals
When: June 21 and 22
Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Who: Team Indiana featuring wrestlers 15 and older that are in high school.
Link to Brackets and Video: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/teamtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=421808132
UWW Cadet Pan-American Championships
When: Greco-Roman June 28, Freestyle June 29-30
Where: Morelia, Mexico
Who: Jesse Mendez at 60kg
Link to Brackets and Video: https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/opentournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=278613132
Fargo
When:
16U Freestyle- July 13-15
16U Women Freestyle- July 13-14
Junior Freestyle- July 14-16
Junior Women- July 16-17
16U Greco-Roman- July 17-18
Junior Greco-Roman- July 18-19
Where: Fargo, North Dakota
Who: Team Indiana featuring wrestlers 15 and older
Link to Brackets and Video: Coming soon
1297 1Tallinn is beautiful in August
More people from Indiana have Googled Estonia over the past few days than ever before and with good reason. After this weekend Indiana will have four representatives at the Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. For those of you that want a little geography lesson, Tallinn is the largest city and capital of Estonia. Estonia is a country that has about 1.3 million people and is about half the size of Indiana. It is a very historical city and sits on the Baltic Sea. Wikipedia has a lot of great information Tallinn and Estonia, just click here for that info.
Now onto the wrestling part, which is why you’re here. Last week Alara Boyd was dominant in her quest to make her first Junior World Team at Women’s Nationals in Texas. After medaling twice as a cadet she is looking for her third world medal in as many tries this year.
The men duked it out this weekend in Raleigh this past weekend looking to join Boyd in Tallinn. Lucas Davison had an immense advantage sitting out until the second day already in the best of three finals. Brayton Lee was the top seed in the challenge tournament in an extremely deep weight class. Lastly, Mason Parris decided a couple weeks ago to start training for the event and with his Fargo placement last year was given the three seed. The tournament brackets were small due to a limited number of qualifiers. Most brackets were 8 man or less with a couple that had around 10 competitors.
Parris’ path to Estonia was quite unique to say the least. Not only was entering the trials a late decision, the top two wrestlers from the Junior Open did not come to the trials. That left the weight wide open as Anthony Cassioppi was considered a big favorite to win the weight.
Parris had one match on Saturday where he defeated Virginia Tech’s John Borst 7-4. That put him in the best of three finals against Wiconsin’s Trent Hillger with whom he defeated during the NCAA season. In the first match of the best of three series Hillger topped Parris 7-6 after a late flurry of action that almost gave Parris the win. The second an third matches were quite different as Mason go after it early with a tech fall in the second match and a pin in about a minute in the last match.
Lucas Davison saw North Carolina’s Brandon Whitman in the finals. Whitman was an NCAA qualifier last year for the Tar Heels as a true freshman. Davison dominated the first match 9-0 with a big 8 point first period. In the second match he wrestled a little more conservatively and won 5-0. Not only will Davison have Indiana friends on the Junior World Team, his Wildcat teammate Yahya Thomas is also on the team.
Brayton Lee had quite the weekend to say the least. Brayton employed quite a unique strategy all weekend long and while it took a few more hairs off his dad Brett’s head it worked out well in the end. He started Friday out with a late tech fall of Justin McCoy who wrestles for Virginia. After that match the drama began. In the challenge bracket semi-finals he faced off with rival Jacori Teemer. They have wrestled three times before and every match was pure pandemonium. This match would be no different. Teemer raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first period on a couple snatch singles and pushout. At the start of the second period something changed…that being Lee broke the ice. He scored 12 straight points to take the lead and ended up winning 12-9.
In the bracket finals Lee had Peyton Robb who was a redshirt for Nebraska last year. This time Robb raced out to an 8-2 lead late in the first period before rattling of four late points to close the gap to 8-6 at the break. The second period once again was all Lee as he racked up 11 more points to win 17-6.
Next up for Lee would be Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso who made quick work of him in Vegas. Lee was prepared to not give up a leg lace, but early on may have forgotten about leg defense. Sasso came out hungry and was up 6-0 after the first period. Another early score in the second period it looked like the match would be cut early due to a tech fall. However, Mr. Lee had other plans. He kept the pressure on and started to crack the ice with constant pressure and heavy hands. Lee started with one takedown, then another with a turn, then a pushout and for good measure two more takedowns to eventually break Sasso. The final score was 11-8 after 11 straight points by Lee.
The final match had a little less drama as you could tell Sasso was still tired both mentally and physically from the first one. Sasso got an early push-out, but Lee rattled off another 8 points to win convincingly 8-1 and earn his trip to Tallinn. On the weekend Lee scored 47 points in the second period while only allowing 7(3 to McCoy and 2 each to Teemer and Sasso).
This year is the third time we have had multiple representatives in the same age group and style at a World Championships. The two other times were when Angel Escobedo and Reece Humphrey both represented the USA at the University Championships in 2010 and the Senior Championships in 2013. Before this weekend Indiana has had six others qualify for the Junior World Championships: Leroy Vega(1999), Matt Coughlin(2006), Angel Escobedo(2007), Andrew Howe(2009), Jason Tsirtsis(2013), and Stevan Micic(2015). Micic and Howe both brought home bronze medals.
On the senior side of things three Indiana natives had solid days on the mat. Kayla Miracle fresh off claiming her third straight spot on a U23 team made quick work of Desiree Zavala spending less than two minutes on the mat total in two matches. She pinned Zavala in 1:10 in the first match and almost broke a sweat in a 34 second tech in the second. She clinched a spot in Final X where she will face Mallory Velte in the best of three series for a spot on the senior world team. Last year Velte won the series in three matches and went on to win a bronze medal at the World Championships.
On the men’s side of things Riley Lefever and Ben Harvey came into the challenge bracket as a 5 and 7 seed respectively. Both exceeded seed expectations and placed 3rd and 4th. For Lefever he lost to Ohio State’s Kollin Moore in his first bout. He beat three-time All-American Tim Dudley in his first consolation match then avenged his loss to Moore for 3rd place.
Harvey faced Mark Hall first round and dropped that match. He defeated Stacey Davis and Geno Morelli in the consolations before falling to Nick Becker in the 3rd place bout.
Overall Indiana had a great few days on the mat and will be well represented at the world level. Currently we have five representatives on teams with the cadet teams determined in a couple weeks and both Hildebrandt and Miracle two wins from earning their spots at Final X. Both girls will be at Final X in Lincoln on June 15th.
2083 1 2Indiana natives in the hunt for World Team spots
The spring is always “rather throw you than know you’ season and while our state freestyle and Greco championships are complete the regional and national events are just getting started. Last week saw two Indiana natives make the World Team for women. Kayla Miracle, now wrestling out of Iowa City, won the U23 Trials along with Yorktown’s Alara Boyd making her first Junior World Team.
This weekend we will have the Junior World Team Trials and the final spots for the seniors for Final X determined in Raleigh, North Carolina. There will be a handful of Indiana natives looking to make the World Team and we’ll highlight them for you here.
Junior Men’s Freestyle
Bracket Link
Three Indiana natives from the class of 2018 will be looking to join Alara Boyd in Tallinn, Estonia in mid-August. Leading the way will be Lucas Davison who will not wrestle until the best of three series on Saturday. He won the Junior Open, thus giving him an automatic berth in the finals. His biggest competition will be Arizona State’s Kordell Norfleet and North Carolina’s Brandon Whitman. Note that Indiana fans saw Whitman at the Dream Team Classic last year against Mason Parris.
Speaking of Parris, it seems as if he will be entered at heavyweight. He did not wrestle at the open and thus could see his seed affected by that. He also has very limited freestyle credentials, but he is training with Adam Coon, so that should help him. His biggest competition will be Iowa’s Anthony Cassioppi who is sitting until the best of three on Saturday. Cassioppi is also a two-time IHPO champion if you’re keeping track at home.
Brayton Lee is another contender for a trip to Tallinn at 70kg(154lbs). He was second at the open to Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso and should come in as the challenge tournament top seed. Lee’s budding rival, Jacori Teemer, looks to be dropping to 65kg which will make this weight a little “easier.” However, he will have to fend off Missouri true freshman All-American Brock Mauller along with Peyton Robb, and former Dream Teamer Jared Franek. Even without Teemer this is still a really tough weight class.
Thomas Penola had a great redshirt season for Purdue and continued doing well with a 6th place finish in Vegas. At 86kg, he will have to navigate a deep field of top level talent. Currently he is not registered, so we won't know for sure until Friday morning if he is attending the event.
The schedule for Juniors starts on Friday at 10am with the challenge tournament. The winner of the challenge tournament will wrestle Saturday in the best of three series against the Junior Open champion.
Senior Greco-Roman
One former and one current Indiana Hoosier will be wrestling on the Greco side of things. Current Hoosier sophomore Liam Cronin will be at 60kg, while former Former Hoosier upperweight Lucas Sheridan will be at 97kg where he has been one of the top guys in the country recently.
Senior Women’s Freestyle
With Sarah Hildebrandt automatically advancing to Final X due to her silver medal at last year’s World Championships there is only one Indiana native to watch here. Kayla Miracle made the move from Kentucky to Iowa last year and it seems to have paid dividends. She won the US Open and thus will be in the best of three finals on Sunday. Just last week she earned what seems to be her 100th spot on a World Team by winning the U23 trials. She will be looking to make her first senior world team after advancing to Final X last year and losing to eventual world bronze medalist Mallory Velte.
The schedule for the women’s freestyle portion begins on Saturday with the challenge tournament. The best of three finals will be on Sunday starting at noon.
Senior Men’s Freestyle
Men’s freestyle is always exciting and provides a great crop of dream match-ups throughout the weekend. This weekend we will have four guys with Indiana ties looking to earn a spot in Final X in either Lincoln, Nebraska or Piscataway, New Jersey.
Current college star Ben Harvey is entered at 79kg after finishing 7th at the US Open. Harvey was a state runner-up at Cathedral and made the round of 12 for Army West Point this past season. He is currently a Junior and has one more year of NCAA eligibility left. The 79kg weight class is highlighted by the likes of three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer, three-time NCAA finalist Mark Hall, and freestyle extraordinaire Chance Marsteller. Harvey will likely be one of the lower seeds due to his US Open placement.
Another state runner-up still making an impact is Riley Lefever. Before he won four DIII NCAA titles for Wabash he was a runner-up for Carroll High School…the one in Fort Wayne. He has been training in State College, Pennsylvania with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club for the past two years. He placed 6th at the US Open and is likely going to slot in at the 5th seed in the challenge tournament at 92kg. He will likely see Ohio State’s Kollin Moore in the round of 8 and then Hayden Zillmer in the semi-finals.
Two others with ties to Indiana to keep your eye on is Indiana University All-American Nate Jackson. He is being coached by former three-time Indiana state champion Reece Humphrey at the New Jersey RTC. He will be entered at 86kg. Last, but not least we always like to keep tabs on Gable Steveson. Even though he is eligible for the Junior age group he has once again entered the Senior division. He didn’t wrestle at the US Open so he will get knocked down a little with his seed. The winner of the challenge tournament here will see Adam Coon in the best of three finals on Sunday.
The schedule for the men’s freestyle will start with the challenge tournament bracket on Saturday and finish with the best of three finals on Sunday. The challenge tournament should be about a 7-10 man bracket for most weight classes. You can follow along on FloWrestling.com and as always check out our social media, especially Twitter(@IndianaMat) for updates throughout the weekend.
Full Schedule
Friday May 17
Session I
UWW Junior Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2
10:00 am – 2:00 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS)
Senior Greco-Roman: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2
10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS)
Session II
UWW Junior Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals, Consolation Rd. 3-Semis
4:00 pm – 8:30 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS)
Senior Greco-Roman: Semi-Finals, Finals, Consolation Rd. 3-Semis
4:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS)
Saturday May 18
Session III
Senior Women’s Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1
10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
Senior Men’s Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2
10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
Session IV
UWW Junior Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary)
1:30 pm – 5:15 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS)
Senior Greco-Roman: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary)
1:30 pm – 5:15 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS)
Session V
Senior Men’s Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals and Consolation Rd. 3, Cons-Semis.
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
Senior Women’s Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals and Consolation Rd. 3, Cons-Semis.
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
Sunday May 19
Session VI
Senior Men’s Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary)
12:00 pm – 3:45 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
Senior Women’s Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary)
12:00 pm – 3:45 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
1817 1 3Hoosiers Add Two-Time NCAA Qualifier Brock Hudkins
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana wrestling program and IU head coach Angel Escobedo have announced the addition of Brock Hudkins.
Hudkins, a native of Danville, Ind., started his collegiate career at Northern Illinois where he twice qualified for the NCAA Championships at 125 lb.
At Danville Community High School, Hudkins posted a perfect 83-0 record as a junior and a senior. Hudkins was a four-time state qualifier and two-time State Champion.
"We are excited to bring Brock Hudkins back to Indiana," IU head coach Angel Escobedo said. "A two-time NCAA qualifier, Brock will add national level experience to our team."
Brock Hudkins
Danville, Ind. | Danville Community High School
Weight Class: 125
Intended major at IU: Pre-Physical Therpay
2X NCAA Qualifier
4X State Qualifier in High School
3X State Placer
2X State Champion
Won Sagamore Conference, Hendricks County, Sectional, Regional and Semi-States titles all four years.
Team captain from 2013-16, MVP three years in a row
"I think what Angel is doing at Indiana is special," Hudkins said. "I believe in what he is trying to accomplish and I think he's the guy to do it. He can get me to the next level I'm looking for. Angel has been to the highest level and knows what it takes. A big thing that stands out is the culture change he is trying to make. Not many people realize what he had to do as far as isolating himself from the culture he was surrounded by, to accomplish his dreams and how much time and effort he had to put in by himself. I can relate to that on many levels and believe he's making this place better for all the guys who are tired of dreaming and ready to be something greater than their thoughts.
"I really connected with the coaching staff and believe it's the best fit for me," Hudkins added. "When I think about IU I see myself not only accomplishing my degree and graduating, I see myself not pursuing my dream of a national champion, but accomplishing it. I believe with this team, these coaches, the academic staff I will have, I will be put in a situation where I'll have no other choice but to win and be successful in all aspects of life."1224Purdue Wrestlers Hit Freestyle Mat in Las Vegas
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships
South Point Convention Center / Las Vegas, Nevada
Friday, April 26
6 p.m. ET / Preliminary round, consolation
Saturday, April 27
Noon ET / Quarterfinals, consolation rounds
8 p.m. / Consolations, consolation semifinals, championship semifinals, third-, fifth-, seventh-place matches, finals
Tournament Central / Brackets, Results / Live Video (subscription required)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Five Purdue wrestlers will represent the Boilermaker RTC at the two-day UWW Junior Freestyle National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. Action opens from the South Point Convention Center at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, followed by two sessions on Saturday.
PURDUE'S COMPETITORS WEIGHT (kg) NAME 65 Alec White 70 Kendall Coleman 79 Emil Soehnlen 86 Thomas Penola 86 Jared Florell
A top-eight performance in Las Vegas earns a spot in the UWW Junior Freestyle World Team Trials Challenge Tournament, with the national champion earning an automatic berth to the best-of-three wrestle-off against the challenge tournament winner. The UWW Junior Freestyle World Team Trials will run alongside the senior freestyle World Team Trials Challenge Tournament in Raleigh, North Carolina, May 16 to 18.
Kendall Coleman has already qualified for the UWW Junior Freestyle World Team Trials, hitting two qualifying criteria (PDF) in 2018: a sixth-place finish at 65 kg at the UWW Junior National Championships and a fourth-place finish at 152 pounds at the U.S. Marine Corps Junior Freestyle National Championships.
Luke Welch, a 2018 Purdue wrestling graduate, makes his return to the mat in the 57 kg bracket of the Marine Corps U.S. Open Men's Freestyle National Championships. The first of two senior-level sessions starts at noon on Friday with preliminaries, quarterfinals and consolation rounds 1-3. Action resumes at 6 p.m. with consolation rounds 4 and 5, along with championship semifinals.
1460 2Paul Rademacher to Lead Indiana Tech Women’s Wrestling Program
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Indiana Tech has hired Paul Rademacher to lead its women’s wrestling program, Director of Athletics Debbie Warren announced Monday.
“We are ecstatic to bring Paul into the Warrior Family and lead our women’s wrestling program,” Warren said. “His background in freestyle wrestling, knowledge of the NAIA and overall experience elevated him in this highly competitive search and we look forward to seeing him build the program and grow the sport of women’s wrestling in the Midwest.”
A former wrestler at Oregon State University, Rademacher comes to Tech following a two-year stint at Southern Oregon University, where he was the Associate Head Coach for the women’s wrestling team.
“I am very excited and honored to be selected to be the first Women's Wrestling Head Coach at Indiana Tech,” Rademacher said. “It was very obvious that Indiana Tech was fully invested in starting this program and being successful. I believe Fort Wayne will be a great place for Women's Wrestling and that student-athletes will come from around the country to join the Warriors and be a part of the Indiana Tech community.”
During his two years with the Raiders he went 14-14 and led the team to an eighth place finish at the first-ever NAIA National Invitational this past March and a 12th-place performance at the Women’s College Wrestling Association (WCWA) Championships in 2018. He mentored six All-Americans during his time in Ashland.
“The opportunity to start the program from scratch and set a culture of character, integrity, academic and athletic excellence was a major draw for me,” Rademacher said. “I look forward to working with the other athletic programs to continue the national success that Indiana Tech has produced. I would like to thank AD Debbie Warren, Dr. Daniel J. Stoker (VP for Student Affairs), and President Dr. Karl W. Einolf for believing in me and for this opportunity.”
Prior to his time at SOU, Rademacher served as the head coach for the boys and girls wrestling teams at Henley High School (Ore.) for two seasons and was in charge of Mount Vernon High School (Wash.) before that. he had 40 wrestlers place during his time at the prep ranks while four became state champions under his tutelage, while he recorded two top-four finishes in the Oregon State Athletic Association (OSAA) Tournament.
A 1999 graduate of Chiloquin High, Rademacher competed from 1999-2003 at Oregon State, where he named to the Pac-10 All-Academic Second Team as a senior. He continued to compete post-collegiately, and in 2014 placed second in the Veteran’s Greco Roman Division B 76-kilogram class and third in the Veteran’s Freestyle Division B 76-kilogram class. He was a quarterfinalist in the 2014 US Open Freestyles at 74-kilograms and won the 2012 Washington State Tournament Greco-Roman in the 85-kilogram division.
Rademacher is a USA Wrestling Bronze Certified Coach and was the head coach of the Oregon Junior National Team from 2015-18. He served as a wildland firefighter from 2000-15 at Baker River IHC was a member of the U.S. Forest Service in Washington.
He received his Master’s Degree in Teaching – Science from Western Governors University in 2017 and graduated from OSU with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise and Sports Science with a concentration in Fitness Management. Rademacher and his wife, Gretchen, have been married since 2004.
The Warriors will begin competing as a team in the 2020-21 academic year. To learn more about women’s wrestling in the NAIA click here. To learn more about Indiana Tech women’s wrestling, click here. Interested student-athletes may fill out a recruit questionnaire here.
12470 6 22019 State Finals Information Center
State Finals Hashtag: #INWRState19
Social Media
IHSAA on Twiiter
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Finals Broadcast TV Listing
Click here for a list of providers
Brackets
TrackWrestling.com
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Pick'em Contests
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Mat Burns Pick the Champions
Gorilla Radio
Episode 67 talking about 106-145
Episode 68 talking about 152-285
Featured Articles
State Finals by the Numbers
State Finals #WAYL2
IHSAA State Finals Preview
2019 State Finals Media Guide
Top 5 Storylines
History of the State Tournament
General Information
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 125 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis | Website
Security: All people as well as their bags, purses, and coolers (athletes only) entering Bankers Life Fieldhouse will be subject to a security inspection. A full list of prohibited items can be found in the Fieldhouse Fan Guide. Additionally, misconduct, mistreatment of Fieldhouse staff, or other prohibited behavior will be addressed promptly and violators are subject to ejection from the premises or arrest. The code of conduct is found in the Fieldhouse Fan Guide.
Admission: $8 per session or $20 both days. Children 24 months old and younger admitted free of charge.
Television: Saturday's state championship bouts in each weight class will air live on Fox Sports Indiana. Hosted by Mark Jaynes (play-by-play), Mike Goebel (analyst), Blake Maurer (analyst) and Greg Rakestraw (mat interviews).
Webstream: Friday's first round and Saturday's quarterfinals, semifinals and consolation matches may be viewed via live stream for a subscription fee at TrackWrestling.com. For Saturday night's championship round, viewers outside of the Fox Sports Indiana coverage area, a live stream will be available at IHSAAtv.org. For those within the FSI coverage area, the stream will be available only on delayed basis following the conclusion of the telecast.
State Finals Pairings Show
The brackets in each weight class will be announced exclusively via IHSAAtv.org beginning at 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT on Sunday, February 10, 2019. Greg Rakestraw and Hall of Fame coach Mike Goebel will serve as hosts.
Friday, Feb. 15, 2019
Parade of Champions 5:45 pm ET
First Round | 6 pm ET (Gates open at 4:30 pm ET)
Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019
Quarterfinals | 9:30 am ET with semifinals to follow (Gates open at 8 am ET)
Consolations | 5 pm ET (Gates open at 4 pm ET)
Finals | 7:30 pm ET
4669 17History of the State Tournament
This information was compiled by Dave Holman in his book "Ready Wrestle" and Dick Neal better known as The Ancient Elder.
1922-1949
“The first Indiana state high school wrestling tournament was held by Indiana University in 1922 under the auspices of the IHSAA. There were 19 wrestlers from 7 schools participating in this first state tournament. The individual champions in each weight class were awarded gold medals and the championship team was awarded a plaque.
It is interesting to note that from 1922-1935 a regulation high school wrestling match consisted of one eight-minute period with both wrestlers starting in the neutral position on their feet. There was no point system and the winner was determined solely on riding time or by a fall. If a wrestler could gain a takedown, ride his opponent and accumulate the majority of riding time, or if he could pin his opponent, he would be the winner. In the 1935-36 season, a point system and periods were added to make the matches more interesting for spectators.
From 1922 to 1951, the only IHSAA rules that governed Indiana high school wrestling were the general IHSAA rules that applied to all sports in Indiana, such as eligibility and age requirements. The rules used for the state tournament and for meets during the regular season were the National Intercollegiate Wrestling coaches and enforced as rules by the tournament officials. As the sport of wrestling grew, and as more teams and coaches began to participate in the state tournament, it became harder to enforce these rules. Beginning with the 1951-52 wrestling season, a new set of rules was adopted by the IHSAA for the governing of Indiana high school wrestling. The rules were written jointly by coaches Chauncey McDaniel of Southport High School and Clifford Myers of Bloomington High School. These rules remained in effect until the 1957-58 wrestling season when certain modifications were made. One of these modifications resulted from a controversy over weight loss. Prior to 1957, the so-called "50 percent rule" was in effect. This rule stated that in order to be eligible for the sectional tournament a wrestler must merely wrestle at a certain weight for 50 percent of his matches. At a tournament a boy could wrestle several times and each of his matches would count toward the 50 percent. There 'was basically no restriction on how much weight a wrestler could lose during the season. There was nothing to prevent him from weighing-in at a weight for 50 percent of his matches, then going up to any other weight for the rest of the season, and then dropping back down for the sectional. It was decided that all of this was a misinterpretation of the purpose of the rule, which was to prevent excessive weight loss during the season. The new rules stated that a wrestler must be certified at a certain weight by mid-season. The wrestler could not go down in weight after that date and must weigh-in at that weight at a minimum number of meets during the regular season in order to be eligible for the sectional tournament. The modified rules remained in effect until 1973 when the National Wrestling Federation Rules were written, for which the Indiana rules served as a model.
From 1922 to 1932 the IHSAA bought the awards and paid for lodging; however, Indiana University actually hosted the tournament. The state tournament created great interest in wrestling and a rapid growth followed. By 1930 there were about 20 teams throughout Indiana. Due to the rapid growth of wrestling in the state, the IHSAA took over the complete sponsorship of the state tournament from 1933 to 1943). During these years the tournament was still hosted by Indiana University. Sadly, during the years of the "Great Depression" and the early years of World War II, many schools dropped their wrestling programs and a steady decline followed.
From 1944 to 1949, Indiana high school wrestling was at its lowest point and the IHSAA was forced to drop sponsorship of the state tournament. During these years a few of the schools throughout the state still continued to compete. These schools kept the state tournament alive by hosting an invitational tournament each year. The main schools which participated and the years these various schools hosted the tournaments were: Southport in 1944 Crawfordsville in 1945 and 1946; Bloomington in 1947 and 1949; and Lafayette Jeff in 1948.In 1950 the IHSAA once again took over sponsorship of the state tournament, and it continues to do so today. From 1950 to 1959, the tournament was hosted on alternate years-by Bloomington and Lafayette Jeff. From 1960 to 1980 the tournament was hosted by Southport, who at that time had one of the largest high school field houses in Indiana with 7,200 seats. The state tournament finally outgrew even this facility and from 1981 through 1999 the tournament was moved to Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. Again size became an issue and in 2000 the tournament was shifted to Conseco Field house in Indianapolis.
From 1922 to 1949, the tournament was held over one weekend. During these early years of the state tournament, a school could enter an entire team or just a few individuals. All of the wrestlers entered in a certain weight class were paired up by a "blind draw". Since it was possible for the two best wrestlers to meet in the first round, it was made a double elimination tournament with full wrestle-backs. Wrestle-backs were actually used from 1922 to 1949, long before the modern state tournament used them between 1981 and 1984.
Growing from 7 teams in 1922 to approximately 20 in 1949, the day finally came when it could no longer be held in just two days. Beginning in 95O the tournament format consisted of various sectionals throughout the State serving as a preliminary to reduce the number of wrestlers competing at the state finals. The following sections of this chapter will outline the growth and changes that have occurred in the tournament format from 1950 to the present.
1950
In 1950, the state tournament began at two sectional sites around the state with ten teams in each sectional. The two sectional sites were located at Bloomington and East Chicago. There were 20 schools and 240 wrestlers participating in the 1950 state tournament. Both the champion and runner-up in each weight class from each sectional advanced to the state finals held one week later. There were 48 wrestlers from 13 schools participating in the state finals. There were four finalists per weight class competing with the top four place finishers each awarded a medal. The finalists were paired up so that the champion and runner-up from the same sectional were in opposite brackets and the sectional champions would not meet until the final match. There were two semifinal matches. The two semifinal winners wrestled a championship match to determine first- and second-place finishers. The two semifinal losers wrestled a consolation match to determine third- and fourth-place finishers.
1951-1953
From 1951 to 1953, the state tournament began at four sectional sites around the state with five or six teams in each sectional. The following were the four sectional sites from 1951 to 1953: Bloomington, Lafayette Jeff, Southport, and South Bend Central.
There were 22 schools and 264 wrestlers participating in the 1951 state tournament. From 1951 to 1953 only the champion in each weight class from each sectional advanced to the state finals held one week later. There were 48 wrestlers from 12 schools participating in the state finals in 1951. There were four finalists per weight class competing with the top four place finishers each awarded a medal. The four sectional champions were paired by a blind draw. There were two semifinal matches. The two semifinal winners wrestled a championship match to determine first- and second-place finishers. The two semifinal losers wrestled a consolation match to determine third- and fourth-place finishers.
1954-1957
From 1954 to 1957 the state tournament began at four sectional sites around the state with nine teams in each sectional. The following were the four sectional sites from 1954 to 1957: Bloomington, East Chicago Lafayette Jeff and Muncie Central.
There were 35 schools and 420 wrestlers participating in the tournament. From 1954 to 1957 both the champion and runner-up in each weight class from each sectional advanced to the state finals held one week later. There were 96 wrestlers from 27 schools participating in the state finals in 1954. There were eight finalists per weight class competing with the top four place finishers each awarded a medal. The finalists were paired up so that the champion and runner-up from the same sectional were in opposite brackets and the sectional champions would not meet until the semifinal and final matches. There were four quarterfinal matches and the winners advanced to the semifinals and the losers were eliminated. The two semifinal winners wrestled a championship match to determine first- and second-place finishers. The two semifinal losers wrestled a consolation match to determine third- and fourth-place finishers.
1958-1962
Due to the rapid growth in interest in wrestling, the number of sectionals was doubled from four to eight and two regional meets were added between the sectional and state finals. From 1958 to 1962, the state tournament began at eight sectional sites around the state with six to ten teams in each sectional. The following were the eight sectional sites from 1958 to 1962: Bloomington, East Chicago, Indianapolis Broad Ripple, Indianapolis Manual, Kokomo, Muncie Central, New Albany, and South Bend Adams. There were 62 schools and 744 wrestlers participating in the 1958 state tournament. From 1958 to 1962, both the champion and runner-up in each weight class from each sectional advanced to one of two regionals, which were held one week later. Bloomington and Lafayette Jeff hosted the regional action from 1958 to 1962. Qualifiers from 4 of the eight sectionals went to a northern regional, usually held at Lafayette Jeff. Qualifiers from the other four sectionals went to a southern regional, usually held at Bloomington. There were eight wrestlers per weight class competing in the regional tournament and they were paired up so that the champion and runner-up from the same sectional were in opposite brackets. They would not wrestle each other again until the final match of the regional and two sectional champs would not meet until the second round. During the years from 1958 to 1962, the champion and runner-up in each weight class from each regional advanced to the state finals, which was held one week later. There were 48 wrestlers from 26 schools participating in the state finals in 1958. There were four finalists per weight class competing with the top four place finishers each awarded a medal. The finalists were paired up so that the champion and runner-up from the same regional were in opposite brackets and the two regional champions would not meet until the finals. There were two semifinal matches. The two semifinal winners wrestled a championship match to determine first- and second-place finishers. The two semifinal losers wrestled a consolation match to determine third- and fourth-place finishers.
1963-1971
Once again due to the rapid growth in interest in wrestling, the number of sectionals was doubled from 8 to 16 and the number of regionals doubled from 2 to 4. From 1963 to 1971, the state tournament began at 16 sectional sites around the state with 12 to 14 teams in each sectional. The following were the 16 sectional sites from 1963 to 1971: Anderson, Crawfordsville, Crown Point, East Chicago, Elkhart, Evansville Mater Dei, Franklin Central, Gary Wirt, Hammond Tech, Indianapolis Broad Ripple, Indianapolis Washington, Kokomo, New Albany, New Castle, South Bend Adams, and Warren Central.
There were 103 schools and 1,236 wrestlers participating in the 1963 state tournament. From 1963 to 1971, only the champion in each weight class from each sectional advanced. Qualifiers advanced to one of four regionals, which were held one week later. Regional sites from 1963 to 1971 were Bloomington, East Chicago, Indianapolis Arlington, and Lafayette Jeff. Qualifiers from 4 of the 16 sectionals went to each regional site. There were four wrestlers per weight class competing in the regional tournament and they were paired up by a blind draw. During the years from 1963 to 1971, only the champion in each weight class from each regional qualified for the state finals held one week later. There were 48 wrestlers from 26 schools participating in the state finals in 1963. There were four finalists per weight class competing with the top four place finishers each awarded a medal. The finalists were paired up by a blind draw. As in the regional tournaments there were two semifinal matches. The two semifinal winners wrestled a championship match to determine first- and second-place finishers. The two semifinal losers wrestled a consolation match to determine third- and fourth-place finishers. By the early 1970' s the various sectionals had grown to include as many as 16 to 18 teams in each sectional. Some sectionals had as many as 20 teams. In 1972, the tournament format would have to be expanded further.
1972-1975
From 1963 to 1972, wrestling had, perhaps, its most rapid growth. Due to this growth, the tournament format was changed to include 32 sectionals and 8 regionals. From 1972 to 1975, the state tournament began at 32 sectional sites around the state with 8 to 10 teams in each sectional. The following were the 32 sectional sites from 1972 to 1975: Anderson, Bellmont, Bloomington, Brookville, Calumet, Crown Point, East Noble, Elkhart, Evansville Mater Dei, Franklin Central, Greencastle, Greenfield Central, Greenwood, Hobart, Jasper, Lafayette Jeff, Lawrence Central, Logansport, Mooresville, Muncie Southside, New Albany, New Castle, New Haven, Noblesville, Indianapolis Pike, Portage, Rensselaer, South Bend Adams, South Bend Washington, Taylor, Triton, and Wabash. There were 265 schools and 3,100 wrestlers participating in the 1972 state tournament. From 1972 to 1975, both the champion and runner-up in each weight class from each sectional advanced to one of eight regionals, which were held one week later. The following were the eight regional sites from 1972 to 1975: Bloomington, Fort Wayne Northside, Gary Wirt, Indianapolis Arlington, Indianapolis Pike, New Castle, South Bend Adams, and Twin Lakes.
There were eight wrestlers per weight class competing in the regional tournament and they were paired up so that the champion and runner-up from the same sectional were in opposite brackets. They would not wrestle each other again until the final match of the regional and two sectional champs would not meet until the second round. During the years from 1972 to 1975, only the regional champion in each weight class from each regional advanced to the state finals, which was held one week later. There were 96 wrestlers from 63 schools participating in the state finals in 1972. There were eight finalists per weight class competing with the top four place finishers each awarded a medal. The finalists were paired up by a blind draw. As in the regional tournaments there were four quarterfinal matches and the losers were eliminated. The winners advanced to the semifinal round. There were two semifinal matches. The two semifinal winners wrestled a championship match to determine first- and second-place finishers. The two semifinal losers wrestled a consolation match to determine third- and fourth-place finishers.
1976-1980
Due to the continuing growth in wrestling, the state tournament format was changed once again in 1976. This was the last major change and included 64 sectionals and 16 regionals. Also added were four semistate tournaments held between the regional and state finals. From 1976 to 1980, the state tournament began at 64 sectional sites around the state with 4 to 6 teams in each sectional. The following were the sectional sites from 1976 to 1980 and most have continued to be sectional sites up to the present: Adams Central, Bloomington South, Brookville, Brownsburg, Calumet, Center Grove, Crawfordsville, Crown Point, Culver Military, Delphi, East Chicago Washington, East Noble, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, Knightstown, Lafayette Jeff, Lakeland, Lawrence Central, Lebanon, Logansport, Manchester, Marion, Mishawaka, Mooresville, Elkhart Memorial, Evansville Mater Dei, Evansville Reitz, Fort Wayne Carroll, Fort Wayne Northside, Fort Wayne Wayne, Fountain Central, Franklin Central, Gary Wirt, Goshen, Greencastle, Greenfield Central, Greensburg, Hagerstown, Hammond High, Highland, Huntington North, Indianapolis Chatard, Indianapolis Howe, Indianapolis Pike, Jay County, Mount Vernon, Muncie Northside, Muncie Southside, New Castle, New Haven, New Prairie, Noblesville, Pendleton Heights, Rensselaer, Shelbyville, South Bend Washington, Southport, Southridge, Taylor, Terre Haute North, Valparaiso, Warsaw, Washington, and Wes-Del.
There were 305 schools and almost 4,000 wrestlers participating in the 1976 state tournament. From 1976 to 1980, both the champion and runner-up in each weight class from each sectional advanced to one of 16 regionals, which were held one week later. The following were the 16 regional sites from 1976 to 1980 and most have continued to be up to the present: Bloomington North, Calumet, Crown Point, Elkhart Central, Castle, Fort Wayne North, Fort Wayne Snider, Indian polis Arlington, Indianapolis Pike, Lebanon, Muncie Northside, New Castle, New Prairie, Seymour, Shelbyville, and Twin Lakes. There were eight wrestlers per weight class competing in the regional tournament and they were paired up so that the champion and runner-up from the same sectional were in opposite brackets. They would not wrestle each other again until the final match of the regional and two sectional champs would not meet until the second round. From 1976 to 1980 both the champion and runner-up in each weight class from each regional advanced to one of four semi-state tournaments, which were held one week later. The following were the four semi-state sites from 1976 to 1980: Bloomington South, Fort Wayne Northside, Indianapolis North Central, and New Prairie.
There were eight wrestlers per weight class competing in the semi-state tournament. The same format was followed that was used at the regional tournaments. From 1976 to 1980, both the champion and runner-up in each weight class from each semi-state advanced to the state finals, which were held one week later. There were 104 wrestlers from 74 schools participating in the state finals in 1976. There were eight finalists per weight class competing with the top four place finishers each awarded a medal. The same format was followed that was used at the regional and semi-state tournaments. There were four quarterfinal matches and the losers were eliminated. The winners advanced to the semifinal round. There were two semifinal matches. The two semifinal winners wrestled a championship match to determine first- and second-place finishers. The two semifinal losers wrestled a consolation match to determine third- and fourth-place finishers.
1981-1983
From 1981 to 1983, the state tournament format remained basically the same but with the following minor changes. The top three placers in each weight class from each semi-state advanced to the state finals. There were 1 2 finalists per weight class competing which made it necessary to begin wrestling on Friday evening. During the first round, the second- and third-place finishers from different semi-states wrestled and the semi-state champions would wrestle the winners of these preliminary matches in the second round. The first round losers were eliminated. From 1981 to 1983, wrestle-backs were used. Wrestlers losing in the quarterfinals to an eventual semifinal winner would have an opportunity to qualify by wrestle-backs for the consolation match to determine third- and fourth-place finishers. From this point on, the format remained the same with the top four 'place finishers each awarded a medal. In 1981, there were 320 teams with 4,070 wrestlers competing in sectional action. The finals of 1981 saw 93 teams competing with 156 wrestlers. By 1983, there were 314 teams with 4,070 wrestlers competing in sectional action. The finals of 1983 saw 87 teams with 156 wrestlers in action.
1984-1985
From 1984 to 1985, the state tournament format again remained basically the same except for some additional minor changes. The top four placers in each weight class from each semi-state advanced to the state finals. There were 16 finalists per weight class competing which made it necessary to continue the Friday evening first round session. The main difference was that everyone wrestled on Friday. This change was brought about because many felt it a disadvantage for the semi-state champions not to wrestle the first round, as had been the case during 1981 to 1983. The previous format also had prevented the semi-state champions from earning fall points during the opening round. During the first round, the first- and fourth-place finishers from different semi-states wrestled and the second- and third-place finishers from different semi-states wrestled. The first round losers were eliminated and the winners advanced to the second round. Wrestle-backs were also used in 1984. In 1985, a snow storm delayed the tournament for one week, therefore the tournament site had to be moved from Market Square Arena to New Castle. Since the tournament had to be held on one day, wrestle-backs were eliminated because of the time factor. From this point on true wrestlebacks were excluded from the tournament. The format remained the same with the top four place finishers each awarded a medal. Participants in 1984 included 316 teams with 4,100 wrestlers at sectional sites and 113 teams with 208 wrestlers at the state finals. In 1985, participants included 312 teams with 4,050 wrestlers at sectional sites and 106 teams with 208 wrestlers at the state finals.
1986-1991
From 1986 to 1991, the state tournament format still remained basically the same. Some additional changes finally resulted in the current format used today. The most recent changes were as follows. The top three placers in each weight class from each regional advanced to the semi-state. There were 12 wrestlers per weight class competing in the semi-state. This made it necessary to wrestle a preliminary round between the second- and third-place finishers from different regionals. The winners would wrestle the regional champions in the second round. From this point on, the format remained the same. The top four placers in each weight class from each semi-state advanced to the state finals. The format of the state finals remained unchanged except from 1986 to 1991 the top six place finishers were each awarded a medal. Wrestlers who lost in the Quarterfinals to the eventual finalists wrestled consolation matches to determine fifth- and sixth-place finishers. In 1986 there were 311 teams with 4,037 wrestlers involved in sectionals and 118\teams with 208 wrestlers involved in the state finals. The 1991 tournament had 306 teams with 3,775 wrestlers competing in sectional action and 112 teams with 208 wrestlers advancing to the state finals.
1992
The format of the state finals remained unchanged in 1992 except the top eight place finishers were each awarded a medal. The first round losers were eliminated and the winners advanced to the second round. Wrestlers who lost in the Quarterfinals to the eventual finalists wrestled consolation matches to determine fifth-and sixth-place finishers. Wrestlers who lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual semifinal losers wrestled consolation matches to determine seventh- and eighth- place finishers. The 1992 tournament had 307 teams with 3,724 wrestlers competing in sectional action and 123 teams with 208 wrestlers advancing to the state finals.”
- Dave Holman
"Ready, Wrestle" - 1992
1996-2009
In 1995-1996 the IHSAA implemented a team state championship series to be ran parallel to the individual series.
In 2002-2003 the number of sectionals were reduced from 64 to 32. And the third and fourth place finishers from each sectional were advanced to the regionals.
In 2008-2009 the 4th place finishers from each regional were advanced to the semi-state.
As mentioned in the last few sections of this chapter, the number of teams and individuals participating in the state tournament had increased dramatically until the mid-1970's. However, for the past 15 years the numbers have remained fairly constant. This does not mean that the interest in wrestling has declined. The main reasons are that almost all of the schools in Indiana had started wrestling programs by the mid-1970's, and that many of the smaller schools, which had wrestling by the 1960’s, were involved in consolidations. As a result, the increase in the number of teams during this period was offset by a decrease due to many school consolidations. Many changes have been made through the years to keep pace with the growth of the sport and no doubt further changes will be made in the future. For the benefit of the high school wrestlers in the state of Indiana and through the efforts of many dedicated individuals, wrestling will continue to be the great sport it has always been.
- Dick Neal aka The Ancient Elder
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