Pendleton Heights Regional Preview 2010

103

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #7 Mike Venezia, 28-2, Cathedral

2. Tyler Elmore, 34-5, Hamilton Heights

3. Riley Newkirk, 31-8, Lawrence Central

4. Alex Sparks, 23-9, Lawrence North

Outlook: This is a bit of a tossup after Venezia. Elmore, Newkirk, Sparks, Alexandria's Nick Naselroad (32-9) and Pendleton Heights' Zach Wise (34-5) are all capable of advancing. In the end, I think the tough schedules wrestled by Lawrence Central and Lawrence North propel Newkirk and Sparks into the next round. Elmore had better not look too far past opening round opponent Antonio Perez of Manual (27-4).

112

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #10 Mason Todd, 37-1, Pendleton Heights

2. #9 Brian Harvey, 32-3, Cathedral

3. #8 Dominique Price, 29-3, Arsenal Tech

4. Robert Boston, 23-4, Lawrence North

Outlook: This is a remarkably loaded field, featuring 3 top-10 wrestlers, and each match, including the opening round matches, should be very competitive. North Central's Kieno Scott (23-11) is a tough first opponent for Mason Todd and Alexandria's Luke Blanton (35-5) could send Boston home. Todd, Harvey and Price are all very close in ability and results, so any of the three could win this weight, but perhaps more importantly, one of the three will finish 3rd or 4th, making getting through New Castle even more treacherous. Last year at this regional at 103, it was 1) Harvey, 2) Price, 3) Todd and 4) Boston. One of the premier regional weight classes in the state, without a doubt.

119

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #1 Brandon Nelson, 33-1, Lawrence North

2. Andre Butts, 24-12, Lawrence Central

3. Levi Lanning, 32-7, Alexandria

4. John Hummel, 21-13, Cathedral

Outlook: Nelsen should cruise here. After the Lawrence North standout, it's pretty wide open. I like Andre to steal some of his brother's postseason magic from a year ago and snare a second place finish. Lanning is very capable of finishing second here. Tri Central's Austin Anderson (25-4) could knock off Hummel.

125

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #13 Jordan Johnson, 24-11, Lawrence North

2. Justin Eshelman, 34-4, Pendleton Heights

3. #18 Charlie McGinley, 32-5, Arsenal Tech

4. Alex Collignon, 26-10, Cathedral

Outlook: '09 semistate qualifier Johnson is the favorite, but Eshelman and McGinley are formidable opponents and could provide a surprise at this weight. A possible McGinley/Eshelman matchup could be a good one; the same is true for the opening round match between Alexandria's Josh Blanton (25-6) and Collignon.

130

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #10 John Stringfield, 32-3, Cathedral

2. Greg Bell, 24-8, Lawrence North

3. Eli Walker, 38-3, Alexandria

4. Tyler Gadient, 24-9, Noblesville

Outlook: Stringfield, Bell and Gadient are all returing semistate qualifiers. Stringfield is the favorite, but Walker is a very impressive freshman coming off of an oustanding sectionals performance. Chatard's Matt Barkley (32-8)/Gadient and Anderson's Michael Achenbach (25-5)/Bell should be excellent opening round matches.

135

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #2 Mason Berryman, 26-0, Anderson Highland

2. #14 Matt Rattay, 25-8, Lawrence North

3. Keegan Pyke, 34-3, Tri Central

4. Charlie Smith, 32-7, North Central

Outlook: Berryman's domain. Beyond the talented Scots wrestler, look for fireworks from Pyke/Rattay. Some great opening round matches here: Pyke (34-3)/ Tech's Dominick Duff (32-6) and Alexandria's Jon Blanton (35-6) / Smith.

140

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. Haydon Buck, 30-2, Tri Central

2. #20 Tiandre Edwards, 27-7, North Central

3. Zach Long, 29-7, Elwood

4. Braydon Alley, 24-9, Hamilton Heights

Outlook: A fairly wide open field here, with the formidable Buck leading the way. Buck and Alley are returning semistate qualifiers. Scecina's Joseph Doucleff (27-8)/Alley and Noblesville's Wayne Specht (18-5)/Edwards are very solid opening matches.

145

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. Montrail Johnson, 39-0, Tri Central

2. Chris Lucas, 33-5, Chatard

3. Clint Nicholson, 21-11, Pendleton Heights

4. Max Hamm, 21-15, Cathedral

Outlook: Johnson and Lucas should cruise to the finals. It's a very unpredictable weight class past those two. Tipton's senior Justin Pore (28-10) might give Lucas a very tough match if he's overlooked. Noblesville's Alex Bowers (27-12) is capable of the upset in his clash with Hamm.

152

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #1 Sam Bennett, 31-0, Anderson Highland

2. Mike Taylor, 32-7, Lawrence Central

3. #17 Austin Neibarger, 31-4, Cathedral

4. Charlie Orzeske, 26-11, North Central

Outlook: Bennett will be pushed, with tough potential matches with Neibarger and Taylor, but he should prevail to sew up a top seed at New Castle and beyond. Tri Central's senior Cody Byrd (32-5) could surprise talented frosh Neibarger, but Cathedral's schedule and Neibarger's talent make me pretty skeptical.

160

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #2 Tyler Willis, 33-1, Cathedral

2. #13 Quinton Brooks, 30-6, Lawrence North

3. Dylan Gregg, 25-4, Anderson

3. Cole Kelly, 31-10, North Central

Outlook: What you talkin' about, Willis? He's talking about earning his first regional title (he was upset by North Central's Komilov last year) en route to his march to Conseco. Willis is number 2 in the state for a reason and will land the top seed at New Castle. Brooks is a pretty clear second best and will be positioned well at semistate.

171

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #17 Mike Smith, 32-1, North Central

2. #11 Kevin Moats, 36-2, Tipton

3. Anthony Bill, 27-3, Chatard

4. Casey Devlin, 17-10, Cathedral

Outlook: This is a very top-heavy weight class and a difficult one to handicap. Bill, Moats and Smith are all returning state qualifiers, with Moats actually placing higher at New Castle last year than Smith and Duckworth. Should be a dogfight for first, second and third. The senior Devlin vs. Alexandria's senior Aaron Taylor (34-7) should be a great battle for the final advancement spot.

189

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. Ibragim Komilov, 15-1, North Central

2. Austin Enghauser, 26-9, Lawrence Central

3. Derrick Holpuch, 28-10, Noblesville

4. William Carter, 36-12, Howe

Outlook: The long, tall Komilov should reign here. He had a great regionals performance last year, knocking off Tyler Willis before ultimately falling to Matt Todd in the finals. He should lock up a number one seed for New Castle, with Enghauser second best. Not the deepest weight of the day.

215

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #17 Jake Buchanan, 28-3, Cathedral

2. Kyle Smitherman,34-4, Pendleton Heights

3. #13 Arthur Wright,30-3, Arsenal Tech

4. Kevin Gaughan, 34-9, North Central

Outlook: Buchanan and Smitherman both advanced to New Castle last year and both should be able to duplicate that success this year. Wright looms as a very tough semis match for Buchanan, but he's battle-tested at heavyweight this year and should prevail. Lapel's J.R. Smart (26-4) had the misfortune to draw Wright, or else he might be moving on.

285

Punching a ticket to New Castle:

1. #14 Willie Henson, 32-2, North Central

2. Eric Thigpen, 18-4, Lawrence Central

3. Wesley Stokes, 16-6, Cathedral

4. Damien Stone, 15-8, Arsenal Tech

Outlook: Henson should follow in last year's standout Ethan Cuevas' shoes and bring home a regional title to North Central. Returning semistate qualifier Thigpen is solidly second here. It's pretty unpredictable past the first two.