Perry Meridian Regional Preview

106

This weight class has 4 very good wrestlers in the field with all four capable of winning the regional. CJ Whitten beat Vance Ellis once and also beat Jacob Cottey 3 times. However, each match against Cottey gets tighter. Tommy Cash beat both Ellis and Cottey handily. However, Cottey has beaten Ellis by a very slim 1-point margin. Needless to say, this will be a very competitive Semifinal round.

3 Ranked wrestlers: #3, #9, #11

Best first round match:

Charlie Baker 10 Crispus Attucks 33-4 vs. Vance Ellis 10 Roncalli 24-7

Predictions:

1 Tommy Cash New Palestine 9

2 CJ Whitten Ben Davis 12

3 Jacob Cottey 10

4 Vance Ellis 10

113

This weight class is also competitive and has 4 very good wrestlers with Brandon James from Perry Meridian being the favorite. James beat Deondre Wilson 10-0 last weekend at Sectionals. Taylor Fee beat Barry McGinley 12-6 at sectionals.  With very few match ups between the four ranked wrestlers in this weight class, things could get interesting. Keep a close eye on Barry McGinley as his length can cause problems for some wrestlers.

4 Ranked wrestlers: #2, #9, #13, #14

Best first round match:

Deondre Wilson 10 Arsenal Tech 20-3 vs Travis McMillan 10 Franklin Central 24-9

Predictions:

1 Brandon James Perry Meridian 9

2 Taylor Fee New Palestine 11

3 Barry McGinley Roncalli 11

4 Deondre Wilson Arsenal Tech 10

120

All of the top wrestlers in this weight class are capable of beating each other, evidenced by their match ups this season. Andrice Martin hasn’t lost since the first week of the season, which was dealt by Perry Meridian’s Aidan Kenny. Martin has since beat Kenny twice with the last match up being a pretty convincing score of 11-2. When you throw in Roncalli’s Josh King, who beat Kenny last year a couple of times, and Ramirez, whom had 3 close matches with Kenny, is easy to see why this weight class will be one to watch.

2 Ranked wrestlers: #6, #10

Best first round match:

David Ramirez 12 Warren Central 30-11 vs Jose Garay 10 Indpls Northwest 18-6

Predictions:

1 Andrice Martin Franklin Central 11

2 Aidan Kenny Perry Meridian 10

3 Josh King Roncalli 11

4 David Ramirez Warren Central 12

126

The clear-cut favorite in this weight class in Perry Meridian’s Sophomore Cody LeCount. But the battle for 2-4 will be a hard fought as the other participants in the regional seem to be evenly matched. Mikhail Randall from Ben Davis has been wrestling well as of late and might surprise some people and sneak into the finals. He will have the hard task of beating the tough sophomore from Greenfield Central, Sam Locke, to make it to the finals.

1 Ranked wrestler: #4

Best first round match:

Devon Caldwell-Valdez 12 Indpls Northwest 30-4 vs. Cody Clark 12 Shelbyville 25-6

Predictions:

1 Cody LeCount Perry Meridian 10

2 Sam Locke Greenfield Central 10

3 Mikhail Randall Ben Davis 11

4 Devon Caldwell-Valdez Indpls Northwest 12

132

This is a pretty deep weight class with a talent pool that includes Jared McKinley from Perry Meridian, Levi Moss from Ben Davis, and Robert Duncan from Arsenal Tech. Throw freshman Garrett Wilson from Franklin Central and Senior Brennan Ellis from Roncalli into the mix and this you’re looking at a very competitive weight class. Look for McKinley and Moss to meet up in the final match for their fourth battle of the season.

2 Ranked wrestlers: #1, #7

Best first round match:

Brennan Ellis 12 Roncalli 25-10 vs. Robert Duncan 11 Arsenal Tech 25-3

Predictions:

1 Jared McKinley Perry Meridian 12

2 Levi Moss Ben Davis 11

3 Robert Duncan Arsenal Tech 11

4 Garrett Wilson Franklin Central 9

138

A lot of wrestlers looking will be looking for revenge against Perry Meridian’s Nick Bova in this class. During the last match up between Bova and Greenfield Central’s Josh Farrell, Bova won by fall. Expect Robbie Elsea of New Palestine to put up a strong fight in an effort to settle the scores after Bova’s 6-1 victory after 2OT’s during their last matchup. This weight class could be won any of these 3 wrestlers.

3 Ranked wrestlers: #4, #6, #8

Best first round match:

Dylan Lydy 9 Ben Davis 15-9 vs. David Mappes 12 Roncalli 7-1

Prediction:

1 Josh Farrell Greenfield Central 11

2 Nick Bova Perry Meridian 11

3 Robbie Elsea New Palestine 11

4 Dylan Lydy Ben Davis 9

145

This is the deepest class in this regional as several kids have been ranked at one point in the season.  Nick Ulrey, Clayton Davenport, Riley McClurg, Nick Ader, Shabaka Johns, and Brian Boucher all are tough kids but only 4 of them will get the nod to move on.

3 Ranked wrestlers: #10. #11, #14

Best first round match:

Nick Ader 12 Roncalli 29-9 vs. Brian Boucher 12 Southport 38-7

Prediction:

1 Riley McClurg Perry Meridian 11

2 Clayton Davenport Ben Davis 12

3 Nick Ulrey New Palestine 11

4 Nick Ader Roncalli 12

152

With a weight class loaded with seniors, you can bet these wrestlers will be putting it all on the line. Although Kyle Riedling of Warren Central has been battling injuries all year, he can make a run at the podium if he is able to wrestle at 100%. Tre Spencer of Pike might have something to say about that; they could meet in the finals in a rematch from the Marion County semi finals. Paul Matthews of Perry Meridian turned it on as of late and beat some tough opponents last week at sectionals. Paul’s first round match is against Austin Rose of Greenfield Central who beat Paul  5-2 early in the season. Logan Zielinski of Roncalli also faces a tough opponent in Drake Duncan of Ben Davis. One guarantee is that all 8 wrestlers in this class will leave it all on the mat.

3 Ranked wrestlers: #10, #11, #17

Best first round match:

Paul Matthews 11 Perry Meridian 17-11 vs. Austin Rose 11 Greenfield Central 26-6

Predictions:

1 Kyle Riedling Warren Central 12

2 Tre Spencer Pike 12

3 Paul Matthews Perry Meridian 11

4 Drake Duncan Ben Davis 12

160

This is Kirk Johnson’s tournament to lose as he has beat almost everyone in the field (some multiple times). Although he’s had close matches with New Palestine’s Conner Robinson and Roncalli’s Danny Rojas, Johnson consistently comes out on top. However, this field is full of athletes and anything could happen making this an exciting weight class to watch.

2 Ranked wrestlers: #2, #17

Best first round match:

King Hubbard 10 Arsenal Tech 16-11 vs. Katrell Moss 10 Warren Central 31-10

Predictions:

1 Kirk Johnson Perry Meridian 12

2 Danny Rojas Roncalli 12

3 Conner Robinson New Palestine 12

4 Katrell Moss Warren Central 10

170

The weight class is filled with exciting wrestlers with the likes of Jake Masengale, Dezmen McGinley, Joe Ardizzone, and Noah Perdue. Masengale has wrestled Ardizzone in two single-point matches this year and should meet in an exciting semi final match up. The winner will likely wrestle McGinley of Greenfield Central who had a very high scoring match with Masengale early this season and dominated Ardizzone at Sectionals.

4 Ranked wrestlers: #6, #9, #17,#18

Best first round match:

Noah Perdue 10 Arsenal Tech 26-5 vs. Brian Wagner 10 New Palestine 27-7

Predictions:

1 Jake Masengale Perry Meridian 11

2 Dezmen McGinley Greenfield Central 12

3 Joe Ardizzone Roncalli 12

4 Noah Perdue Arsenal Tech 10

182

This weight class is filled with talent and will certainly be a hard fought battle for whomever comes out on top. CJ Martin of Perry Meridian and Tony Jehn of Beech Grove each have 4 losses and look to be on a crash-course for the finals. But they definitely can’t look past any opponent in this field or they’ll be cutting their season shorter. Desean Mills of Arsenal Tech had a disappointing sectional tournament and is looking to avenge it with a good regional showing. The regional title is up for grabs; let’s see who steps up and takes what they want.

2 Ranked wrestlers

Best first round match:

Aaron Murray 12 Pike 20-9 vs. Max Hernandez 10 Warren Central 14-5

Predictions:

1 CJ Martin Perry Meridian 12

2 Tony Jehn Beech Grove 12

3 Max Hernandez Warren Central 10

4 Matt Miller Southport 12

195

Ian Early is the a clear-cut favorite in this weight class. He already handily beat Devante Ash of Perry Meridian and Dyrek Chowning of Warren Central. Ash and Chowning are likely to meet up in the semi’s for their third battle this season. Chowning won both previous match ups.   Seniors Nolan Fenwick of Southport and Cameron Denney of New Palestine will face each other in the first round, which should be a great match. With a lot of seniors in the field expect a lot of hard-nosed wrestling.

4 Ranked wrestlers: #6, #17, #18, #19

Best first round match:

Jordan Brown 12 Cardinal Ritter 27-5 vs. Dyrek Chowning 12 Warren Central 26-7

Predictions:

1 Ian Early Greenfield Central 12

2 Dyrek Chowning Warren Central 12

3 Devante Ash Perry Meridian 12

4 Nolan Fenwick Southport 12

220

With several rematches and a talented bunch of big guys, this weight class has the possibility of some great match ups.  Jordan Naughton Perry Meridian and Georgio Blades Warren Central split 2 matches earlier this year. There is also a chance that Naughton will face Justin Sanders of Pike for the fifth time this season. They split previous match ups this season with 2 wins a piece. Who will come out on top? We will have to wait and see.

4 Ranker wrestlers: #11, #16, #17, #20

Best first round match:

Jordan Naughton 12 Perry Meridian 32-6 vs. Georgio Blades 11 Warren Central 25-8

Predictions:

1 Austin Geralds Greenfield Central 12

2 Jordan Naughton Perry Meridian 12

3 Justin Sanders Pike 12

4 Dylan Faulkenberg Cardinal Ritter 10

285

Donte Winfield of Perry Meridian is the favorite at this weight class. He beat his probably finals opponent, Larry Carter of Warren Central, on two occasions this season. Tyler Uhls of Shelbyville could be the road block to this rematch in an generally unpredictable weight class.

2 Ranked wrestlers: #5, #14

Best first round match:

Norman Oglesby 9 Ben Davis 19-7 vs. Tyler Beeson 10 Greenfield Central 20-10

Predictions:

1 Donte Winfield Perry Meridian 11

2 Larry Carter Warren Central 12

3 Tyler Uhls Shellbyville 11

4 Tyler Beeson Greenfield Central 10

Overall we are looking at 39 ranked wrestlers battling for 56 spots at semi-state. This should be a very competitive regional and have a lot of exciting matches.