Parity Makes Appearance at Al Smith Invitational

The 2010 edition of the Mishawaka's annual winter break wrestling extravaganza, the Al Smith Invitational, will likely be more tightly contested than it has been in recent memory.  Seven of IndianaMat.com's top twenty teams are set to do battle on Wednesday and Thursday and no one appears to have set themselves apart after the brackets were released Sunday afternoon.

Arch rivals #8 Penn and the host #5 Mishawaka lead the way with eight seeded wrestlers each.  #4 Merrillville and #20 Jimtown both have seven seeded wrestlers.  Perennial state powers #7 Lawrence North and #10 Bellmont check in next with six seeded wrestlers.  #12 Center Grove has five seeded wrestlers.  Other schools that appear primed to have a say in the team race include Elkhart Memorial, Columbus East and Prairie Heights.

Unlike the team race, the majority of the weight classes seem to have clear favorites this year.

Weight Class Previews

103

This year's most hyped frosh, Lawrence North's Nathan Boston is the number one seed and the number one ranked wrestler in the state.  He earned his lofty ranking by making mincemeat out of everyone he has faced this year.  Included in Boston's path of destruction is the second seeded and fourteenth ranked Santo Marciano.  Boston defeated the Raging Calf 17-5 a couple of weeks ago at Calumet.  Expect a closer match on Thursday, but not close enough to make Lawrence North coach Jared Williams sweat too much.  Other wrestlers to keep an eye on are #16 Michael Garza of Merrillville and Codey Flickinger of Elkhart Memorial.

112

The 112 pound class is one of the deeper classes at Mishawaka this year with many fine wrestlers not earning seeds.  At the top is defending 103 champion and 4th ranked Jarred Brooks of Warsaw.  Brooks will look to shake off some rust after missing the first half of the season.  The top half of the bracket has many other fine wrestlers such as Zech Weese of Rochester, Grant Martsoff of Mishawaka, and Anthony Scholettle of Center Grove.  None, however, appear to have the ammo to take down Brooks.  The bottom half of the bracket is absolutely brutal.  Up to seven of the wrestlers in this half of the bracket have legitimate shot at the finals.  Third seeded and thirteenth ranked Aurelio Medina of Munster is my pick but state placer Danny Hamm of Prairie Heights, Lawrence North's Alex Sparks, and South Bend Adams' super soph Sammy Ferdig will all provide stiff challenges to Medina.

119

Another clear favorite appears at the top of the bracket at 119.  Lake Central's Kyle Ayersman was the state champ last year at 112 and has picked up where he left off last year.  The number one seed, Ayersman, did suffer his only loss of the season in the finals of the Al Smith last year.  Second seeded and 5th ranked Robert Boston of Lawrence North comes into the tournament on a hot streak after defeating highly ranked Levi Moss of Ben Davis in the finals of the Marion County Tournament.

125

Yet another clear front runner headlines the 125 lb. bracket with Mishawaka's 3rd ranked Layten Binion.  Binion appears to have separated himself from the field after a breakout campaign as a sophomore which saw him place 7th in the state at 119.  Binion has signature wins this year over former state runner-up Dustin Kief of Franklin and 6th seeded Tyler Chapple of Penn.  It is unfortunate that Merrillville's Adam Garcia is on the same side of the bracket as I believe he might be the second best wrestler in the bracket.  Princeton's veteran Alex Griesemer might just navigate the bottom of the bracket on his way to the finals.

130

Alex Gregory's decision to wrestle at 135 for the tournament probably made the 130 weight class as wide open as any this year.  This class is still the deepest of any at Mishawaka.  Prairie Heights' top seeded Travis Barroquillo won two out of three matches with seconded seeded Taylor Wisler of Mishawaka last year and they are ranked third and fourth respectively in the state.  The lower seeds are not far behind and they include Merrillville's Al Padilla, Lawrence North's Jordan Johnson, Jimtown's Collin Crume, Penn's Trevor Manspeaker, and Columbus East's Zach Reiker.  Four unseeded wrestlers with 2 or fewer losses make this class outstanding.

135

The addition of Penn's Alex Gregory to the 135 bracket made a strong field even stronger.  There are not the same number of kids here with state wide credentials (yet) but there is plenty of talent.  I would expect Gregory to have little trouble with the top half of the bracket.  The four seeds in the bottom half have four total losses.  I like Steven Rieker of Columbus East to become the Olympians' first Al Smith finalist.

140

The 140 class features two returning state placers and two other ranked individuals.  Lake Central has another top seed in Bradley Wartman.  Wartman has a 5th place state medal(at 135) on his resume which garnered him the top seed over Lawrence North's Matt Rattay who placed 7th at 135.  Throwing a monkey wrench into the equation is Bellmont's Brooks Faurote who defeated Wartman in the 3rd place match at last years tournament.  Goshen's Ryan Ntende has Al Smith hardware from last year as well and comes in as the four seed.

145

Calling any weight class weak at the Al Smith Invite does not make sense but 145, 152, and 160 probably do not have the depth that many of the other class possess.  What this often means is that there is an opportunity for some relatively unknown wrestlers to make a name for themselves on the statewide scene.  At 145, Elkhart Memorial's Dantrell Goodman(12th ranked) is the number one seed and highest ranked wrestler. Penn's Grant Anglemyer is ranked thirteenth and the number two seed.  I like Merrillville's Javier Avalos to author a couple of upsets on his way to finals where he will likely face Anglemyer.

152

Elkhart Memorial has two number one seeds in a row with standout Cam Matteson topping the 152 bracket.  He must be ready to go right off the bat as he faces unseeded but very tough Kelly Kolat of South Bend Riley in the first round. This entire bracket seems wide open.  I like Munster's underrated Luke Smith to upset Matteson in the semis on his way to the finals where he might meet sixth seeded Darius Marshall of Mishawaka in the finals.  Marshall is a big match veteran.  Honestly it would not surprise me to see any of about eight different wrestlers in the finals at 152.

160

There has been no sign of Chesterton's Anthony Quiroz in any results this year but the former state runner up is scheduled to make his first appearance this year at the Al Smith as he is top seed.  He should have a couple of tests if he wishes to defend his championship as he will probably have to defeat Prairie Heights' Ryan Chandler, Columbus East's David Johnson and LaPorte's top gun and Duneland Conference rival, Alex Stewart.  If Quiroz can navigate that minefield, he will likely face the winner between ninth ranked Sean Mappes of Center Grove and fourteenth ranked Michael Taylor of Lawrence Central.

171

If there is a sure thing at this year's tournament, it is Drake Stein of Princeton. Ranked first in the state, defending state champion, and two time Al Smith champ are just the tip of the Stein resume.  He is a Purdue recruit as well as a national greco runner up.  His likely finals opponent is Bellmont's second seeded and fifth ranked Ryley Hankenson.  Other challengers include ranked wrestlers, Joe Peco of Hobart (14th), Aston Brierly of Columbus East(12th) and undefeated Brandon Weinkauf of Jimtown.

189

189 should be a deep and exciting class with no clearcut favorite.  State qualifier Brandon Dillenbeck of Goshen is the number one seed and ranked ninth in the state.  He should be tested on his side of the bracket by NLC rivals Ross Hoover of Warsaw and Chase Spears of Elkhart Memorial.  The four seeded wrestlers in the bottom half of the bracket have two total losses.  Included in this foursome is fourth ranked Kourtney Berry of Merrillville(2nd seed), Jimtown's dangerous Tanner Adams(3rd seed), Lawrence North's undefeated and underrated Jeremy Haskett (6th seed), as well as 21-1 Alex Skipper of South Bend Adams.

215

The Bellmont fan brigade will be in Mishawaka until the end as the Braves have secured the top seed at both 215 hand heavyweight.  Travis Thatcher claimed the top spot at 215 based on his 7th place finish at state last year as well as an Al Smith title at 189.  Second seed Taylor Grubb of Prairie Heights also has a state medal on his resume.  Grubb is currently ranked third and Thatcher 4th in the state.  Not far behind these two are the third seeded Devin Reagan of Penn and Munster's fourth seed Jack Seaman.  These two are ranked 7th and 8th respectively.  All four have been tested in the first half of the season so the semi finals should be very exciting.

285

Bellmont's little big man, Daniel Meyer tops the heavyweight bracket as he looks to add an Al Smith championship to his already impressive body of work.  Meyer uses his quickness and hustle to outwork most heavyweights he has encountered over the past three years of battling the big boys.  If Jimtown's second seeded Eric Forrest can get to the finals he might possess the right combination of size and athleticism to cause Meyer some headaches in the finals.