Warren Central sectional up for grabs

Even Nostradamus would be scratching his head trying to predict the team that will reign supreme at Warren Central Saturday morning. #14 Roncalli, #16 New Palestine, Warren Central, Greenfield-Central, Franklin Central, Mt. Vernon (Fortville) and Beech Grove all bring strong squads to bear against one another this weekend. While on paper Roncalli and New Pal might appear to have the inside track, Warren was ranked just a couple of weeks ago and lost close matches to both ranked teams. It's also important to consider that Warren's record is a little deceiving; the Warriors have run a gauntlet of tough teams, including some tough competition at the Gateway Duals in Missouri. So, who will win? Will it be Roncalli's team of topflight lower weights, led by the Kieffer clan? The Rebels have 5 #1 seeds and 2 returning state placers.  Will it be the always consistent Dragons from New Pal, with 3 #1 seeds and 5 wrestlers seeded 2nd through 4th? Warren, with its 3 #1 seeds and a roster of battle-tested Warriors? Or even Beech Grove, with 5 #2 seeds and 8 total top-4 seeds? There's no doubt that bonus points are going to play a huge role in the outcome. Just on a hunch, I'm going with Roncalli. From 103 to 125, there are few, if any, lineups in the state that can compete with the Kieffers, err, Rebels. However, it won't be a big surprise if New Pal or Warren are standing atop the heap at the end of Saturday's action.

One interesting feature of this sectional is that 2 #4 seeds are returning state qualifiers: Mt. Vernon's Jake McCarthy at 119 and New Pal's JR Corman at 140.

103 Favorite: Aaron Davis (Roncalli), Probable regional qualifiers: Kaleb Barajas (Franklin Central), Clint Schmith (Beech Grove), Cody Morgan (Mt. Vernon)

112 Favorite: #5 Josh Kieffer (Roncalli), Probable regional qualifiers: Kaleb Kemp (Franklin Central), Lucas Ruff (Greenfield-Central), Kris Cushing (Eastern Hancock)

119 Favorite: #5 Justin Kieffer (Roncalli), Probable regional qualifiers: Seve Duncan (Beech Grove), Matt Mooreland (Warren Central), Jake McCarthy (Mt. Vernon)

125 Favorite: Joe Kieffer (Roncalli), Probable regional qualifiers: Alex Louzon (Beech Grove), Jake Williams (Shelbyville), Zach Baughman (Warren Central)

130 Favorite: #9 Nick Odom (Warren Central), Probable regional qualifiers: Nick Roberts (Beech Grove), Coltin Dickey (Roncalli), Joal Mogollan (Mt. Vernon)

135 Favorite: Josh Williams (Mt. Vernon), Probable regional qualifiers: Bailey Kesterman (Triton Central), #14 Tommy Pearson (New Palestine), Kyle Ettner (Franklin Central)

140 Favorite: Josh Ramage (Beech Grove), Probable regional qualifiers: Travis Varga (Greenfield-Central), #14 Blaik Kesterman (Triton Central), #15 JR Corman (New Palestine)

145 Favorite: #13 David Waldroup (New Palestine), Probable regional qualifiers: Zach Heald (Greenfield-Central), Nick Gates (Beech Grove), Kenny O'Brien (Franklin Central)

152 Favorite: #14 Jake Jennings (New Palestine), Probable regional qualifiers: Cody Pinkinston (Beech Grove), Brian Larner (Shelbyville), Dylan Tackett (Mt. Vernon)

160 Favorite:  #6 Brett Durphey (Shelbyville), Probable regional qualifiers: Nick Holaway (Greenfield-Central), Jaymes Horan (New Palestine), Stephen Lutgring (Roncalli)

171 Favorite:  Mike Phelps (New Palestine), Probable regional qualifiers: Dakota Gruell (Greenfield-Central), Jimmy Melene (Eastern Hancock), Grant Randolph (Triton Central)

189 Favorite: #8 Michael Johnson-Jones (Warren Central), Probable regional qualifiers: Cruz Dyson (Beech Grove), Austin Netherton (Franklin Central), Jacob Poynter (New Palestine)

215 Favorite: #5 Gabe Berry (Warren Central), Probable regional qualifiers: Antonio Halbert (New Palestine), Sam Balbach (Mt. Vernon), Josh Matthews (Roncalli)

HWT Favorite: Tony Bell (Roncalli), Probable regional qualifiers: Kyle White (Warren Central), Zach Kirages (Franklin Central), Brandon Howe (Greenfield-Central)