Articles

Date
October 2, 2021

Registration
*Registration is open*
Click here for registration
 
Brackets and Streaming
TrackWrestling Link for brackets

Location:
Mount Vernon High School
8112 N 200 W
Fortville, IN 46040
 
Event Schedule
Weigh-ins
Friday October 1st from 5:00-7:00 pm ET Weigh-ins
Saturday October 2nd from 7:30-8:30 am ET Wrestling Session 1
Saturday October 2nd 9:00am-11:00pm ET
Girls Middle School and High School divisions Wrestling Session 2
Saturday October 2nd 11:00pm-2:00pm ET
Middle School and 11U divisions
Wrestling will begin promptly at 11am.  
Weigh-In Information
Friday October 1st from 5:00-7:00 pm EST
Saturday October 2nd from 7:30-8:30 am EST
*Note: No weight change fee No Satellite Weigh-ins Weigh-ins will be in a singlet or NFHS approved two-piece uniform  
Entry Fee
$40 Registration by September 30th at 10:00pm EST or 500 paid entries, whichever comes first. No membership card is required to wrestle You must pay online by credit card ONLY! Per TrackWrestling policy there will be no refunds of paid entries.  If the event is canceled due to COVID-19 we will issue refunds to everyone. Online registration ONLY will be accepted this year. Registration will be cut off at the first 500 paid entries or September 29th at 10pm EST whichever comes first.  The Tournament Committee will retain the right to add up to an additional 25 wrestlers, at their discretion, via a petition process, after the entry cutoff. Information about the petition process will be posted within a day after registration closes. Once we reach the entry limit registration will be shut down. After that point the ONLY way to enter is through a petition.  
Tournament Gear and Apparel

3X Gear is the official gear distributor for the IndianaMat Gorilla Melee. They will be on hand with a full selection of tournament apparel and other wrestling apparel and supplies.
 
Spectators
$10 per person
 
Age Groups and Weight Classes
*Tournament committee reserves the right to combine weight classes with fewer entries
Middle School(14 weights)
70, 77, 84, 91, 98, 106, 114, 122, 130, 140, 150, 160, 180, 235

Girls High School(12 weights)
9th-12th grade
100, 107, 114, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 165, 185, 235.

Girls Middle School(10 weights)
5th-8th grade
75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 150, 170, 200

11U(14 weights)
Age as of August 31st, 2021
45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 105, 120, 160

Awards
Top 4 will receive custom awards
 
Contact
Joe Caprino
joe@Indianamat.com
 
Wrestling Information
-Wrestling will take place on Saturday October 2nd, 2021
-Double elimination wrestle-backs to 4th place
-Period lengths 2-1-1 Championship 1-1-1 Consolation
-Overtime will be 1 minute sudden victory neutral and 30 second rideout
-We will seed 4-16 wrestlers so please include your state or national credentials when registering 
-2020/2021 NFHS rules will be utilized, except the overtime modification
-Wrestling will be on full mats
-Singlet or approved NFHS uniform is required
-Headgear is not required, but recommended
-Mouthpieces are required if you have braces
-Wrestlers need to be clean shaven when they step on the mat, long hair is allowed.
 

By Dane Fuelling
 
Decades ago, the stretch of land from Fort Wayne to Muncie was the heart of high school wrestling in Indiana. Storied programs like Bellmont, Delta and the now-shuttered high schools of Muncie South and Muncie North won 11 of the twenty-one state championships from 1974 to 1994. Since Bellmont’s title in 1994, the area has fallen behind the rest of the state. While plenty of wrestling fans around the state like to talk about the struggles of the Fort Wayne area, two men have taken big steps in their lives to put actions where others will only speak words. 
Wade McClurg has been hired to a new dual position in the Indiana Tech athletic program. He will simultaneously be assistant coach for the Warrior program and the head of its new Warrior Regional Training Center. 
 
“With the Warrior RTC,” says McClurg, “we have an opportunity to positively impact hundreds of boys and girls in the Fort Wayne community and surrounding area through the sport of wrestling.  In return, we will not only have the ability to produce elite athletes, but we will strive to form servant-leaders and mold outstanding individuals through the world’s oldest and greatest sport.”
 
On the other side of town, coach Andy Oberlin has opened a new wrestling-focused facility on Goshen Road, not far from the Zoo in Fort Wayne. Oberlin has invested much of his own personal money and time into a venture that has no guarantee of success. It is a new idea for the city, a place for clubs and teams to host camps, retreats and for visiting coaches to hold clinics. 
 
Oberlin has hooked up with ONE for sponsorship and his facility has new wall mats and wrestling mats being installed this week. He has enlisted the help of Anton Talamantes, one of the city’s all-time wrestling greats, to host the very first clinic at his facility. That will take place on June 12th. 
 
Coach McClurg was a graduate of Beech Grove High School in Indianapolis who went on to wrestle for the Greyhounds of the University of Indianapolis. In five years at the helm of the Roncalli program, McClurg won 84 duals with 18 losses and had 17 state qualifiers, including three state champions. He qualified for Team State in his final four seasons and won a semi-state title in 2019. 
 
With all that time spent on the south side of Indy, moving to Fort Wayne will be a big change for the coach. A state of the art, 25,000 square feet facility was a good place to start.    
 
For Oberlin, Fort Wayne is home and since wrestling against two-time state champion Tim Myers multiple times in his high school career at DeKalb High School, Oberlin has also seen the drop in competitiveness in the area. 
 
“The question is whether we have gotten worse or everyone else has gotten better,” says Oberlin. “But I think it is a combination of both.”
 
Oberlin feels that the strong group of wrestlers out of Griffith High School in the early 2000s, which included current IU head coach Angel Escobedo, transformed high school wrestling in Indiana and created a new, higher ceiling. 
 
“We have so many more kids competing nationally,” he says. “Just look at how many D1 wrestlers we have produced now. Things are so much more competitive now than they were 25 years ago.”
 
Both Oberlin and McClurg see potential for the sport in the state’s largest school district, Fort Wayne Community Schools. 
 
“Kids today need to see some success to get hooked on the sport,” declares Oberlin. “And when you try to get them to start the sport in high school, there isn’t much of a chance for success against experienced wrestlers. We need to change that.”
 
McClurg’s program will open in September, and with established men’s and women’s wrestling teams at the school, things might just be looking up for wrestling in our area.

Date
September 11-12, 2021

Registration
Registration has reached capacity, please see the petition information
Click here to register
 
Petition Information
Click here to fill out the petition
 

Brackets and Streaming
TrackWrestling Link for brackets and streaming
FloWrestling streaming link

Stud List
2021 Stud List

Location:
The Plex South
5702 Engle Rd
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
 
Event Schedule
Weigh-ins
Saturday September 11th from 1:00-4:00 pm EST Wrestling Session 1
Weights: 109, 129, 155, and 173
Saturday September 11th from 5:00-9:00 pm EST Wrestling Session 2
Weights: 116, 135, 148, 198, and 288
Sunday September 12th from 9:00 am-1:00 pm EST Wrestling Session 3
Weights: 123, 141, 163, 185, and 223
Sunday September 12th from 1:00-6:00 pm EST  
Weigh-In Information
Saturday September 11th from 1:00-4:00 pm EST
*Note: No weight change fee No Satellite Weigh-ins Weigh-ins will be in a singlet or NFHS approved two-piece uniform  
Entry Fee
$40 Registration by September 8th at 10:00pm EST or 800 paid entries, whichever comes first. No membership card is required to wrestle You must pay online by credit card ONLY! Per TrackWrestling policy there will be no refunds of paid entries.  If the event is canceled due to COVID-19 we will issue refunds to everyone. Online registration ONLY will be accepted this year. Registration will be cut off at the first 800 paid entries or September 9th at 10pm EST whichever comes first. Please note we had had around 650 preregistered entries the past four years and we sold out the past two years. The Tournament Committee will retain the right to add up to an additional 25 wrestlers, at their discretion, via a petition process, after the entry cutoff. Information about the petition process will be posted within a day after registration closes. Once we reach the entry limit registration will be shut down. After that point the ONLY way to enter is through a petition.
  Tournament Gear and Apparel

3X Gear is the official gear distributor for the IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open. They will be on hand with a full selection of tournament apparel and other wrestling apparel and supplies.
 
Spectators
$15 per person cash only to be purchased at the door during weigh-ins or before each session.
 
Age Groups
Students currently enrolled in 7th-12th grades will be wrestling in one division.

Awards
Top 4 will receive medals and the top 4 will qualify for Super 32 early entry
 
Contact
Joe Caprino
joe@Indianamat.com
 
Wrestling Information
-Wrestling will take place on Saturday September 11th and Sunday September 12th, 2021
-Weight Classes: 109, 116, 123, 129, 135, 141, 148, 155, 163, 173, 185, 198, 223, 288
-Wrestlers in 7th-12th grade may participate
-Double elimination wrestle-backs to 4th place
-Period lengths 2-1-1 Championship 1-1-1 Consolation
-Overtime will be 1 minute sudden victory neutral and 30 second rideout
-We will seed 4-16 wrestlers so please include your state or national credentials when registering 
-2020/2021 NFHS rules will be utilized, except the overtime modification
-Wrestling will be on full mats
-Singlet or approved NFHS uniform is required
-College out of bounds rules will be utilized.
-Headgear is not required, but recommended
-Mouthpieces are required if you have braces
-Wrestlers need to be clean shaven when they step on the mat, long hair is allowed.
 
Seeding Information
Each wrestler that qualifies will be given a "Separation Criteria" from the list below. The criteria are ranked in order.
1. Nationally ranked in FloWrestling or MatScouts rankings
2. State Champion/IHPO Champion
3. State 2-3/IHPO 2-4
4. State 4-5
5. State 6-8
6. State Qualifier/IHPO Top 6 or 8
7. Other Credentialed athletes that deserve separation
 
With these groups we will determine seeds.  Here is an example
If we have 2 wrestlers with #1 criteria, 4 with #2, 2 with #3, 2 with #4 and 5 with #5 this is how it will work.
 
The top two seeds will be the two wrestlers with #1 criteria in a random order
Seeds 3-6 will be the wrestlers with #2 criteria in a random order
Seeds 7-8 wrestlers with #3 criteria in a random order
Seeds 9-10 wrestlers with #4 criteria in a random order
Seeds 11-14 wrestlers with #5 criteria in a random order
The seeds will be determined randomly by TrackWrestling. 
 
Host Hotel
Hampton Inn- Fort Wayne Southwest
8219 West Jefferson Blvd.
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46804
Booking Link: https://group.hamptoninn.com/hf9te9
Group Name: INDIANA MAT
 
College Coaches
We will offer a special college coaches package for $50. Please follow this link to preregister in advance.
You may pay in advance or pay if you are not attending the event and want the entry database using this button
Click here for the PayPal link.
The package will include:
Registration list of all high school aged wrestlers with name, address, grade, weight, accomplishments, GPA, and college test scores* Admission to the tournament and floor access for up to two coaches. Preliminary entry list sent after registration closes  
*Tournament entry information with addresses and contact information will be sent the week after the event and will have all high school aged wrestlers that opted to have information released to coaches.
 
Past Results
2020 Results(707 wrestlers from 16 states)
2019 Results(610 wrestlers from 11 states)
2018 Results(605 wrestlers from 12 states)
2017 Results(607 wrestlers from 10 states)
2016 Results(647 wrestlers from 11 states)
2015 Results(580 wrestlers from 11 states)
2014 Results(586 wrestlers from 14 states)
2013 Results(598 wrestlers from 10 states)
2012 Results(444 wrestlers from 8 states)
2011 Results(254 wrestlers from 9 states)
2010 Results(171 wrestlers from 9 states)  
 
IHSAA Rules
Regarding Coaching at the IHPO
15-2 During School Year Out-of-Season
15-2.1 Individual Sports (Cross Country, Golf, Gymnastics, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Wrestling)
a. Students may participate in non-school contests as individuals or as members of a non-school team in non-school contests provided that participation during school time is approved by the school principal or his/her designee.
b. Coaches, from a member school coaching staff, may coach students in that sport if NOT under the organization, supervision and operation of the member school.
c. Member schools may not organize, supervise or operate athletic practices or interschool athletic contests.
d. Member schools may not provide school-owned uniforms (jerseys, shirts, shorts, pants, singlets, or swimsuits, etc.) worn by the student in non-school contests.

This week the women get a change to make some world teams in Texas. The annual Women’s Nationals(formerly Body Bar) is taking place with competition at the 14U, U15, Cadet, Junior, and U23 age levels. There will be 19 competitors from Indiana participating with some doubling up in age divisions. Competition starts today and will run through Sunday.
 
UWW Juniors
Four girls will be taking the mat in the Junior age group. Leading the way is Alara Boyd who was a team member in 2019. She was 4th at the Olympic Trials and is a favorite to make another world team. Three others that are still in high school will take the mat against a mixture of high school and college stars. State champions Trinity Malave and Torieonna Buchanan will be at 50kg and 53kg respectively. The last one to participate is Delta’s state runner-up anna Krejsa at 57kg.
 
U23
Three girls will be on the mats for this age division with two of them doubling up as both Alara Boyd and Torieonna Buchanan will also participate in the Junior division. Mishawaka’s Salome Walker will be the other competitor in this division. She attends McKendree University with Boyd and will wrestle at 59kg.
 
UWW Cadets
Indiana will have six representatives in the cadet division at the Women's Nationals. Wrestlers that are doubling up include Heath Crull, Rianne Murphy, and Trinity Malave. The three that are going only this division include Devyn Moore at 49kg, Sydney Delois at 53kg, and Kaylie Petersen at 65kg. Moore was an IHSGW runner-up in 2019 and an ISWA freestyle champ this year. Delois was 4th at the IHSGW finals along with being a runner-up last week at ISWA freestyle state. Petersen was champion at both ISWA state and IHSGW state this year.
 
U15
This is the largest representation for Indiana natives at this age division with 9 participants. This is a young and tough group of girls that will be tough outs and we could see more than one on the Pan Am team. Leading the way is Rianne Murphy who is attending Wyoming Seminary currently. Heather Crull was second at middle school state against the boys and placed 8th in freestyle against the boys. The O’campo sisters, Ysabella and Julianna, have both had a lot of success within the state and could surprise some folks in Texas. Amelia Murphy has had some success within the state and should be one to watch at 42kg. Joy Cantu is the daughter of former Hobart placer John Cantu and is another one with a lot of success within the state.  Highland’s Aleksandra Bastaic and Pendleton’s Maddie Marsh will both be at 54kg and have won multiple ISWA titles during their short careers.
 
14U
This age division will see five representatives from Indiana. Both Aleksandra Bastaic and Maddie Marsh will be doubling up age divisions here. The others include a pair of girls from Muncie in Paislee Chambers and Ella Gahl. Gahl won ISWA freestyle and folkstyle titles while she was runner-up at middle school state. Chambers was 2nd at freestyle state and middle school state, while winning a folkstyle title. Lastly, Olivia Crull will take the mat for Indiana. She was a runner-up in both ISWA freestyle and folkstyle state while finishing third at middle school state.
 
Brackets
https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/2c98bfde-365d-1d75-26b1-ca5128585398
 
Schedule
Friday, May 7th
Session I - Preliminaries
UWW Junior Women
9:30am to 1:00pm
 
Session II - Quarterfinals, semifinals, consolations
UWW Junior Women
2:00pm - 6:00pm
 
Session III - Best 2 out of 3 Championship Finals and 3rd, 5th, 7th place matches
UWW Junior Women
6:00pm - 8:00pm
 
Saturday, May 8th
Session IV - Preliminaries
14U & 10U girls
9:00am - 12:30pm
 
UWW Cadet Women
10:00am - 12:30pm
 
Session V - Quarterfinals, semifinals, consolations
UWW Cadet, 14U & 10U Girls
1:30pm - 4:30pm
 
Session VI - All placement matches
14U & 10U
4:30pm - 6:00pm
 
Best 2 out of 3 Championship Finals and 3rd, 5th, 7th place matches
UWW Cadet Women
6:00pm - 8:00pm
 
Sunday, May 9th
Session VII- Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations
UWW U23, UWW U15, 12U & 8U Girls
9:30am to 2:00pm
 
Session VIII - All placement matches
12U & 8U Girls
3:00pm - 4:30pm
 
Best 2 out of 3 Championship Finals and 3rd, 5th, 7th place matches
UWW U23 and UWW U15 Girls
3:00pm - 5:00pm
 
Participants
Division Weight Name Club 14U Girls 119 lbs Aleksandra Bastaic Highland Wrestling Club 14U Girls 119 lbs Maddie Marsh Indiana Girls Wrestling IGNITES 14U Girls 127 lbs Ella Gahl Spartans Wrestling Club 14U Girls 136 lbs paislee chambers Spartans Wrestling Club 14U Girls 92 lbs Olivia Crull Indiana Girls Wrestling IGNITES U15 Women 42 kg Amelia Murphy Crown Point U15 Women 42 kg Ysabelle Ocampo Penn Wrestling Club U15 Women 46 kg Heather Crull Indiana Girls Wrestling IGNITES U15 Women 46 kg Julianna Ocampo Penn Wrestling Club U15 Women 50 kg Joy Cantu Legends of Gold Las Vegas U15 Women 50 kg Rianne Murphy Wyoming Seminary U15 Women 54 kg Aleksandra Bastaic Highland Wrestling Club U15 Women 54 kg Maddie Marsh Indiana Girls Wrestling IGNITES U15 Women 58 kg Ella Gahl Spartans Wrestling Club U23 Women 53 kg Torieonna Buchanan Team Green Wrestling Club U23 Women 59 kg Salome Walker McKendree Bearcat Wrestling Club U23 Women 65 kg Alara Boyd McKendree Bearcat Wrestling Club UWW Cadet Women 46 kg Heather Crull Indiana Girls Wrestling IGNITES UWW Cadet Women 46 kg Rianne Murphy Wyoming Seminary UWW Cadet Women 49 kg Devyn Moore Region Wrestling Academy UWW Cadet Women 49 kg Trinity Malave Munster UWW Cadet Women 53 kg Sydney Delois Indiana Girls Wrestling IGNITES UWW Cadet Women 65 kg Kaylie Petersen Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club UWW Junior Women 50 kg Trinity Malave Munster UWW Junior Women 53 kg Torieonna Buchanan Team Green Wrestling Club UWW Junior Women 57 kg Anna Krejsa Delta UWW Junior Women 65 kg Alara Boyd McKendree Bearcat Wrestling Club  

We are in full swing of the international styles and this weekend will be no different as three big events are taking place. First, we have the ISWA Freestyle and Greco-Roman state finals at Avon. The two other events will run simultaneously in Iowa. The UWW Junior World Team Trials and Senior Nationals will be held in Coralville, Iowa.
 
ISWA Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Finals
Over 900 wrestlers are currently registered for this year’s event that is schedule to take place at Avon High School. From 5 years old to 40+ wrestlers will be looking for a coveted ISWA state title. In the 14U, 16U, and Junior age groups spots on Team Indiana are on the line. Wrestlers who win those divisions will be offered the opportunity to represent the state in the USAW duals and potentially at Fargo this summer. There are many deep weight classes that will be fun to watch play out with many state qualifiers, placers, and champs in the brackets.
 
Here is the link to registration to see the current entries(click continue as guest)
https://www.trackwrestling.com/registration/TW_Register.jsp?tournamentGroupId=195735132
 
Brackets
Freestyle
https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/opentournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=627909132
Greco-Roman
https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/opentournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=627915132
 
ISWA Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Schedule
Saturday Freestyle
Session I
8 AM EST Pee Wee, Bantam, Schoolboy Junior, UN/SR/VT 
Session II
2 PM EST: Intermediate, Novice & Cadet
 
Sunday Greco-Roman
Session I:
8 AM EST Bantam, Schoolboy, Cadet, UN/SR,/VT
 
Session II:
1:00 pm EST Intermediate, Novice, Junior
 
Session III:
10 am EST SUNDAY Girls Freestyle all divisions 
 
Senior Nationals
Iowa will once again play host to another big USAW event. The Senior Nationals will serve as a qualifier for the World Team Trials in September. After the Olympics UWW will still host a World Championship event, so the top 5 finishers will join the previous qualifiers that were at the Olympic Trials for a World team spot.
 
Indiana will be represented by eight wrestlers in the senior division. Vanessa Ramirez wrestling for McKendree and the former Warren Central wrestler will be in the women’s freestyle portion, while everyone else will be in the men’s freestyle division.
 
Former Junior World Team members Brayton Lee and Lucas Davision lead the way for the men’s freestyle division. Lee will be at 70kg, while Davison is scheduled to wrestle 125kg. Dylan Lydy who recently took his talents to Bloomington will represent the Indiana RTC at 79kg. He will be joined by current Indiana grappler Graham Rooks at 65kg. Current DIII wrestlers Kyle Hatch and Kobe Woods will test their skills at the senior level. Hatch will represent the Little Giants at 79kg, while Woods will represent Wartburg at 97kg. Lastly, two-time state champion Shawn Streck is entered at 125kg.
 
Brackets
https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/e275b9c6-ddff-bf7b-0f6f-16b08df88a28
 
Schedule
Friday
Session I
Senior Women's Freestyle
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals  and Consolations
11:30 AM – 2:30 PM
 
Session II
Senior Women's Freestyle
Consolations and Medals
3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
 
Session III
Senior Women's Freestyle
1st Place Matches
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
 
Saturday
Session IV
Senior Men’s Freestyle- All weights
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and consolations
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
 
Session V
Senior Men’s Freestyle- All weights
Consolations, Consolation Semifinals and 3rd, 5th and 7th place
4:30 PM - 7:00 PM
 
Senior Men’s Freestyle- All weights
1st Place Matches
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM
 
Entries
Freestyle 65 kg Graham Rooks Indiana RTC Freestyle 70 kg Brayton Lee Gopher Wrestling Club - RTC Freestyle 79 kg Dylan Lydy Indiana RTC Freestyle 79 kg Kyle Hatch Wabash Freestyle 97 kg Kobe Woods Burg Training Center Freestyle 125 kg Lucas Davison Wildcat Wrestling Club Freestyle 125 kg Shawn Streck Titan Mercury Wrestling Club (TMWC) Women's Freestyle 53 kg Vanessa Ramirez McKendree(Warren Central)  
Junior World Team Trials
Indiana will be well represented in the Junior World Team Trials this weekend with 24 wrestlers taking the mat. Wrestlers will wrestle in a full bracket with the championship finals be a best of three series to determine a spot on the world team. The last time there was a Junior World Team trials Indiana was represented by three athletes in Brayton Lee, Lucas Davison, and Mason Parris. The Junior age group is basically anyone who turns 18-20 years old during the current year. This division is always very intriguing as it matches up some of the top high school talent with wrestlers who have a year or two of college experience. From the early registration it looks like Purdue, Indiana, and Marian all have sent a good number of athletes to compete.
 
Only one wrestler will participate in Greco-Roman as Christian Carroll will be doubling up at the event. He is slated to wrestle 97kg in both styles. There are a handful of other current high schoolers in the field including three-time state champion Jesse Mendez. Mendez is a former Cadet World Team member and would have been a favorite to represent the USA last year. Others still in high school include Mendez’s teammate Logan Frazier and a trio of Mater Dei wrestlers in Blake Boarman, Brody Baumann, and Gabe Sollars.
 
The other 18 entries from Indiana are all in college and have a mixture of experience in freestyle. Penn State’s Matt Lee will wrestle at 70kg. Two current Purdue Boilermakers will enter the field with true freshmen Cooper Noehre and Macartney Parkinson wrestling at 74kg and 86kg respectively. Five current Indiana wrestlers will join Lydy and Rooks at the event. True freshmen Jonathan Kervin, Isiah Levitz, Paul(Robert) Deters, and Andrew Irick will join sophomore Donnell Washington. The biggest contingent will be Steven Bradley’s Marian squad who will have ten wrestlers in the event. They will be lead by state champion Elliott Rodgers along with placers Jacob Simone, Aundre Beatty, Seth Johnson, and Will Stewart.
 
Brackets
https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/e275b9c6-ddff-bf7b-0f6f-16b08df88a28
 
Schedule
Friday
Session I
UWW Junior Greco-Roman
Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals  and Consolations
10:00 AM – 2:30 PM
 
Session II
UWW Junior Greco-Roman
Consolations and Medals
3:30 PM – 5:30 PM
 
UWW Junior Greco-Roman
Best 2 out of 3 Finals
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
 
Saturday
Session IV
UWW Junior Freestyle- All weights
Preliminaries and consolations
10:00 AM – 2:30 PM
 
Session V
UWW Junior Freestyle- All weights
Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolations
4:30 PM - 9:00 PM
 
Sunday
Session VI
UWW Junior Freestyle- All weights
Consolation, Consolation Semifinals, 3rd Place, 5th Place and 7th Place
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
 
Session VII
UWW Junior Freestyle- All weights
UWW Junior Best 2 out of 3 Finals
12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
 
Entries
 
Freestyle 57 kg Jacob Simone Marian Freestyle 57 kg Logan Frazier Region Wrestling Academy Freestyle 61 kg Jesse Mendez Region Wrestling Academy Freestyle 65 kg Aundre Beatty Marian Freestyle 65 kg Blake Boarman Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club Freestyle 70 kg Matt Lee Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Freestyle 70 kg Ricky Hegedus Marian Freestyle 70 kg Seth Johnson Marian Freestyle 74 kg Brody Baumann Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club Freestyle 74 kg Cooper Noehre Boilermaker RTC Freestyle 74 kg Elliott Rodgers Marian Freestyle 74 kg Jonathan Kervin Indiana RTC Freestyle 79 kg Aaron McKinley Marian Freestyle 79 kg Donnell Washington Indiana RTC Freestyle 79 kg Isiah Levitz Indiana RTC Freestyle 79 kg Joe Rice Marian Freestyle 79 kg Paul Deters Indiana RTC Freestyle 86 kg Gabe Sollars Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club Freestyle 86 kg Macartney Parkinson Boilermaker RTC Freestyle 86 kg William Stewart Marian Freestyle 92 kg Christian Carroll Midwest Regional Training Center Freestyle 97 kg Austin Lane Marian Freestyle 125 kg Andrew Irick Indiana RTC Freestyle 125 kg Jacob Bullock Marian Greco-Roman 97 kg Christian Carroll Midwest Regional Training Center

The national scene for wrestling is starting to get back to normal this spring. In the past the spring has been littered with national level events and this week is no different with two big events going on. In Wisconsin there will be the UWW Cadet, UWW U15 and UWW Futures divisions and in Virginia Beach the NHSCA grade level nationals will be held. Indiana will have many representatives in each event.
 
UWW Cadet/U15/Futures in Wisconsin
As of registration on Thursday morning Indiana will have 15 different wrestlers participating at this event with most of them doubling up in both freestyle and Greco-roman. The UWW Cadet division has a lot at stake as winners will be representing the USA in the world and Pan Am championships this off-season. The UWW U15 age group winners will represent the USA at the Pan Am championships this off-season. At the cadet division you will see wrestlers from 15 to 17 years old, which encompasses basically 8th graders through high school juniors. The U15 age group is 13 to 15 year olds and the Futures division is 10-12 year old competitors.
 
In the Futures division we have two competitors, Samuel Rioux and Elias Faith. Rioux is a name that will likely be in the Avon lineup until about the year 3000, so keep an eye on all of the brothers coming up. Samuel is a multiple time ISWA placer. Faith is wrestling in both styles and is a multiple time ISWA champion and placer. He wrestles for the Maurer Coughlin wrestling club. Both of these guys are wrestling at the 28kg weight class which is just under 62lbs.
 
The U15 age group has some very intriguing wrestlers to watch for the future in Indiana wrestling. At 38kg we have both Nathan Rioux and Caleb Schaefer. Rioux has had an immense amount of success at the state level. Schaefer is the son of Mater Dei coach Greg Schaefer and has had quite a bit of success himself. Revin Dickman is one to keep an eye on not only this weekend, but in the years to come. He has been nationally ranked for a couple years and certainly is a contender for a title here. He will be wrestling 41kg. Another Rioux will take the mat at 44kg in Luke. He was a starter this year for Avon and while undersized had a fine freshman year. Speaking of brothers Isaiah Schaefer will be wrestling 48kg. He was a middle school state runner-up and has been a fixture at the top of ISWA events for a while. Delta freshman Wyatt Krejsa will be wrestling 62kg. He was a semi-state qualifier this year at 126lbs and has won folkstyle state and Indy Nationals this off-season so far. Lastly, De’Alcapon Veazy will be taking his talents to the mat at 85kg. Veazy is another one that has been recognized in the national rankings and will be one to watch this weekend. Both Rioux’s, Dickman, Krejsa, and Veazy will all be wrestling both styles this weekend.
 
Six wrestlers will test their abilities against the best in the country trying to make the UWW Cadet World Team this weekend. Leading the way is state champion Sergio Lemley at 60kg. According to the experts he is a strong contender to win the spot in a very deep weight class. Indiana will have some very talented wrestlers in the upper weights. At 80kg Seth Willems and Drake Buchanan will both be participating. Buchanan was on the U15 Pan Am team before his freshman year and was a runner-up this year at state. Willems has been a solid contributor in the upper weights for Crown Point. At 92kg we will have West Lafayette’s Connor Barket. He has steadily improved each year finishing this year as a state placer. Leighton Jones will be a contender at 110kg. Jones placed third this past year at heavyweight and was a Cadet Greco-Roman All-American back in 2019. Michael Tharpe of Center Grove is the last competitor from Indiana. He will be wrestling 55kg. He was a state qualifier at 126lbs this season. All six of these wrestlers will be wrestling both styles to increase their chances of making Team USA.
 
Schedule
Friday, April 23rd
Session I
UWW U15 Greco-Roman
UWW Cadet Greco-Roman
Preliminaries and Consolation
10:00am – 2:00pm
 
Session II
UWW U15 Greco-Roman
UWW Cadet Greco-Roman
Consolation, Semifinals, Consolation Semis, 3rd-7th place matches, Best 2 out of 3 Championship Finals
4:00pm – 8:00pm
 
Saturday, April 24th
Session III
UWW U15 Freestyle
UWW Cadet Freestyle
Preliminaries and Consolation
10:00am – 2:00pm
 
Session IV
UWW U15 Freestyle
UWW Cadet Freestyle
Quarterfinals, Consolations
4:00pm – 8:00pm
 
UWW Futures Freestyle
Preliminaries to completion
4:00pm – 8:00pm
 
Sunday, April 25th
Session V
UWW U15 Freestyle
UWW Cadet Freestyle
Semifinals, Consolation, Cons Semis, Best 2 out of 3 Championship Finals, 3rd-7th place matches.
10:00am – 2:00pm
 
UWW Futures Greco-Roman
Preliminaries to completion
10:00am – 2:00pm
 
Brackets
On Arena.Flowrestling.org
Participants
Age Weight Name Team U15 Freestyle 38 kg Nathan Rioux Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 38 kg Caleb Schaefer Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U15 Freestyle 41 kg Revin Dickman Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 44 kg Luke Rioux Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 48 kg Isaiah Schaefer Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club U15 Freestyle 62 kg Wyatt Krejsa High Rollers Wrestling Academy U15 Freestyle 85 kg De'Alcapon Veazy Warrior Elite Wrestling U15 Greco-Roman 38 kg Nathan Rioux Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 41 kg Revin Dickman Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 44 kg Luke Rioux Contenders Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 62 kg Wyatt Krejsa High Rollers Wrestling Academy U15 Greco-Roman 85 kg De'Alcapon Veazy Warrior Elite Wrestling UWW Cadet Freestyle 110 kg Leighton Jones Red Cobra Wrestling Academy UWW Cadet Freestyle 55 kg Michael Tharpe Center Grove Wrestling Club UWW Cadet Freestyle 60 kg Sergio Lemley Region Wrestling Academy UWW Cadet Freestyle 80 kg Seth Willems Bulldog Premier Wrestling Club UWW Cadet Freestyle 80 kg Drake Buchanan Center Grove Wrestling Club UWW Cadet Freestyle 92 kg Connor Barket Red Cobra Wrestling Academy UWW Cadet Greco-Roman 110 kg Leighton Jones Red Cobra Wrestling Academy UWW Cadet Greco-Roman 55 kg Michael Tharpe Center Grove Wrestling Club UWW Cadet Greco-Roman 60 kg Sergio Lemley Region Wrestling Academy UWW Cadet Greco-Roman 80 kg Seth Willems Bulldog Premier Wrestling Club UWW Cadet Greco-Roman 80 kg Drake Buchanan Center Grove Wrestling Club UWW Cadet Greco-Roman 92 kg Connor Barket Red Cobra Wrestling Academy UWW Futures Freestyle 28 kg Samuel Rioux Contenders Wrestling Academy UWW Futures Freestyle 28 kg Elias Faith Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club UWW Futures Greco-Roman 28 kg Elias Faith Maurer Coughlin Wrestling Club  
 
NHSCA Nationals
The NHSCA grade level nationals always brings in the best competition from around the country. This year Indiana will have 34 wrestlers participating with most of them from the Indianapolis area. Perry Meridian is bringing 16 of those wrestlers with Warren Central and Southport having four representatives each. Unlike the event in Wisconsin, this is a folkstyle event.
 
In the senior divison we will have only two wrestlers. Southport’s Luke Goodwin will be wrestling at 132lbs. Goodwin placed 7th the past two years at 132lbs and 138lbs respectively. Perry Meridian’s Aidan Warren will be wrestling at 182lbs. Warren is no stranger to national level competition and accumulated three third place medals during his career as a Falcon.
 
The junior division will have three wrestlers with state placements in the mix. At 106lbs Southport’s Nathan Smith will be competing. He was 7th this year at 106lbs. Penn’s Matteo Vargo is no stranger to the area and will bring his 5th place finish back to an area that he is familiar with. Tyler Jones of Warren Central will be wrestling at 160lbs. He has placed 6th and 7th the past two years.
 
Leading the way in the sophomore division will be two-time state runner-up Cheaney Schoeff of Avon. He will be at 126lbs. The only other state placer in the field from Indiana is Perry Meridian’s Toby Billerman. He was 3rd at 106lbs this year and is at that weight this weekend. A pair of state qualifiers rounds out the top wrestlers in Hobart’s Devin Wible at 126lbs and Perry Meridian’s Keaton Morton at 120lbs.
 
State third placer Kyrel Leavell will be at 113lbs in the freshman division. Leavell was very impressive for the Warriors this past year. State qualifier Duke Myers will be at 170lbs representing the storied Bellmont program. He is no stranger to national level success so keep an eye out for him.
Do not be surprised if some of the young studs from Perry Meridian or Warren Central have deep runs in this division. Both teams have some very good wrestlers entered that will make an impact soon on the state level.
 
In the middle school division keep an eye on ISWA champion Angelo Vargo from Penn. Others that were recent ISWA folkstyle placers include Perry Meridian’s Peyton Brummitt and Hobart’s Seth Aubin.
 
Schedule
Friday April 23rd
7:45am: Session 1 Championship Matches Only, No Consolation Matches
Boys Freshman Division: 106lbs-HWT
Boys Sophomore Division: 170lbs -HWT
 
11:00am: Session 2 Championship Matches Only, No Consolation Matches
Boys Sophomore Division: 106lbs-160lbs
 
2:15pm: Session 3 Championship Matches Only, No Consolation Matches
Boys Junior Division: 106lbs-160lbs
 
5:30pm: Session 4 Championship Matches Only, No Consolation Matches
Boys Junior Division: 170lbs-HWT
Boys Senior Division: 113lbs-HWT
 
Saturday April 24th
7:45am: Session 1
Boys Freshman Division: 106lbs-HWT
Boys Sophomore Division: 170lbs -HWT
 
11:00am: Session 2
Boys Sophomore Division: 106lbs-160lbs
 
2:15pm: Session 3
Boys Junior Division: 106lbs-160lbs
 
5:30pm: Session 4
Session 2 wrestlers
 
Sunday April 25th
7:45am: Session 1
High School All-Americans
 
11:00am: Session 2
Middle School and Girls High School
 
Brackets
https://arena.flowrestling.org/event/34134d1f-0569-4435-b8bb-db2266ec16f6
 
Participants
Senior(2)
132 Luke Goodwin- Southport
182 Aiden Warren- Perry Meridian
 
Junior(6)
106 Nathan Smith- Southport
120 Trevor Schammert- Hobart
126 Matteo Vargo- Penn
160 Tyler Jones- Warren Central
170 Jesse Herrera- Highland
285 Kai SanAgustin- Perry Meridian
 
Sophomore(9)
106 Toby Billerman- Perry Meridian
120 Kenny Shotts- Perry Meridian
120 Keaton Morton- Perry Meridian
126 Cheaney Schoeff- Avon
126 Devin Wible- Hobart
138 Andrew Goodwin- Southport
160 Daunte Hon- Perry Meridian
195 Ronin Hammond- Perry Meridian
285 Nolan Martin- Perry Meridian
 
Freshman(12)
113 Ryan Taylor- Perry Meridian
113 Kyrel Leavell- Warren Central
126 Keegan Logan- Southport
132 Zachariah Harris- Perry Meridian
132 Kohlten Rhonemus- Delta
152 Zach Huckaby- Perry Meridian
152 Branson Beckam- Perry Meridian
160 Anthony Cashman- Warren Central
170 Duke Myers- Bellmont
170 Cadyn McBride- Perry Meridian
220 Jaylen Young- Perry Meridian
220 Timothy Wine- Delta
 
Middle School(5)
85 Jack Richardson- Perry Meridian
95 Peyton Brummitt- Perry Meridian
105 Seth Aubin- Hobart
112 Angelo Vargo- Penn
127 Michael Ortega- Portage
 

Every spring the NFHS makes rule changes within the sport. Some years the changes are small in nature and just small clarifications to existing rules. Last year there were grumblings that the NFHS was ready to pull the trigger on reducing the number of weight classes. With participation levels different in each state the threat of losing weight classes is always looming.
 
This year there are three major rule changes that were highlighted by the NFHS. Here they are and a quick reaction to each of them.
 
Change #1
Each state has an option of three different weight class sets for boys and girls that includes 12, 13, or 14 weights effective for the 2023-2024 season.
Girls weight class options
12 Weight Classes – 100, 107, 114, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 165, 185, 235.
13 Weight Classes – 100, 106, 112, 118, 124, 130, 136, 142, 148, 155, 170, 190, 235.
14 Weight Classes – 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190, 235.
Boys weight class options
12 Weight Classes – 108, 116, 124, 131, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 190, 215, 285
13 Weight Classes – 107, 114, 121, 127, 133, 139, 145, 152, 160, 172, 189, 215, 285
14 Weight Classes – 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 144, 150, 157, 165, 175, 190, 215, 285
Reaction:
This is a great move by the NFHS to allow states to have flexibility in their weight class options. This gives states with lower participation the option of having less weight classes without going against the NFHS’ wishes. For the most part, states do not like to go against the NFHS’ rule recommendations and having this option gives each state solid options to choose from. This also keeps things as close to uniform as possible.
 
Having different options for girls weights is great as the sport is growing on the girls side of things. This gives state the option to start with 12 weights and as the sport becomes more popular go up to 13 or 14 weights. 
 
As far as the weight classes go, they look to be geared a little closer to the old weights, but with a little more separation in the middle weights. In all honesty, teams and coaches will adapt to the weight classes. There are no perfect set of weights as each team has different demographics and even each season provides different obstacles for filling of the weight classes in the best possible manner. 
 
Change #2
Head and neck injury time will be a separate injury time.
Reaction:
This should make it easier for referees and coaches to keep track of this time. Previously there were many nuances to the rule that combined this type of stoppage versus blood or injury time. Hopefully this clears things up and referees don’t have to spend hours trying the if this, then that scenarios of stoppages.
 
Change #3
Allow athletes to have six matches during one day during a state series event.
Reaction:
For high school wrestling this is great. This could mean a lot for Indiana wrestling as currently we have the one and done round at most sectional sites. This would allow the state to give those wrestlers a full wrestle-back to placement if they wish. I do not know if the IHSAA will look into utilizing this exception but having it on the table can lead to good discussions with making our state series better.
 
Click here to read the full NFHS press release
 

Photos by Tony Rotundo
 
One weekend, two matches, and a lifetime of preparation are what separated wrestlers from their dreams of being an Olympian. Five Indiana natives took the mat this weekend with a trip to Tokyo in August on their minds. The competition is a who’s who of wrestling with former Olympians, World medalists, World team members, NCAA champions, and more going after that elusive spot on the team.
 
In men’s freestyle we saw Nick Lee and Mason Parris put it on the line while they still had college eligibility. Lee lost to the eventual champion Jordan Oliver in his second match. That did not deter him as he take out three consecutive NCAA champions to earn a third place finish. In his first consolation match he took out former Cornell national champion Nahshon Garrett by tech fall 12-2. In the consolation semi-finals he faced off with Nittany Lion Wrestling Club teammate, friend, and training partner Zain Retherford. Utilizing two big 4-point moves Lee pulled the upset 10-4. The final match, with a spot on the US National team on the line, was no easier as he had two-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis. The match was an instant classic as they both let it fly. There were three crazy scrambles that ended up with multiple scores for each wrestler. Lee came out on top in the end by the score of 16-8. The National Team designation includes perks such as preference for national team camps, overseas competitions, a stipend, and more.
 
Mason Parris came into the weekend as the third seeded wrestler. His first match did not go as planned as he lost to Daniel Kerkvliet 4-4(criteria). Parris had defeated Kerkvliet at the Big Tens a month ago. Battling back through the consolations Parris beat Tanner Hall, Dom Bradley, and Anthony Nelson in succession to also earn a spot on the US National Team. In the end, he actually finished higher than Kerkvliet who defeated him in the quarter-finals.
 
The success did not stop on the women’s side of the bracket. Alara Boyd was in the challenge tournament, while Kayla Miracle and Sarah Hildebrandt both sat until Saturday’s best of three finals.
 
Boyd came into the event seeded 5th in the challenge bracket. She quickly upended the 4th seed, Ashlynn Ortega, in the quarter-finals to earn a spot in the semi-finals. Her next opponent was veteran Forrest Molinari. Boyd was up for the task, but came up short 4-3. Boyd battled back to make it to the third place match where she lost to the 2nd seeded Alexandria Glaude 2-2 on criteria. She was just shy of making the US National team designation. Being only a college sophomore, she has a bright future and will be in the hunt for the 2024 squad.
 
Sarah Hildebrandt had the luxury of sitting out of competition until the best of three finals on Saturday night. The only caveat was that she would have to make scratch weight both on Friday and Saturday for the competition. As she waited the bracket that would determine her finals opponent was hotly contested. There were a few upsets of the top seeds and the 3rd seeded Victoria Anthony prevailed to face Hildebrandt. Anthony was a formidable foe as she had twice placed 5th in the World on the senior level and was a two-time junior level champion.
 
In the first match Anthony fired off a double leg to start and took Hildebrandt down. Hildebrandt was able to get a takedown of her own before the end of the first period. It was almost two minutes into the second period when Hildebrandt got her second takedown. With about 30 seconds left, Hildebrandt got another takedown and three consecutive leg laces to end the match 12-2 and put herself one win from Tokyo.
 
The second match was slower getting started, but dominated by Hildebrandt from start to finish. She got a takedown and leg lace about 2 minutes into the first period to take a 4-0 lead to the break. In the second period she executed three takedowns to secure the tech fall and her spot in history.
 
Kayla Miracle was in the same situation as Hildebrandt with the privilege of waiting until Saturday night for the best of three series. Her challenge bracket was won by Macey Kilty who has many world level accolades including two junior level silver medals and a cadet level championship.
 
In the first match Miracle came storming out and lead 6-0 after the first period. The second period saw Kilty score a takedown and a couple step-outs to Miracle’s one takedown. The final score was 8-4 with Miracle one match from going to Tokyo.
The second match had a much different feel to it. Miracle was stifled by Kilty’s defense and never really got her rhythm. Kilty took Miracle down late in the first period and early in the second to storm out to a 4-1 lead. Miracle could only muster a couple step-outs to make the final score 4-3 and force a pivotal round three.
 
The third match saw Kayla Miracle come out with a sense of urgency and hunger for her spot in Tokyo. Less than 20 seconds after the whistle Kayla was in deep on a shot and looking for a turn. That is when it appeared that Kilty injured her shoulder. Kilty tried to finish the match, but it was ended 30 seconds into the match after she could not continue. While the type of win was not what Miracle envisioned, she punched her ticket to Tokyo and into history.
 
Hildebrandt and Miracle will join Stevan Micic in Tokyo in August. Micic qualified for the Olympics for Servia and will represent them at 57kg in men’s freestyle. This is the first time Indiana has had multiple Olympic participants in wrestling and the first since Muncie Northside’s David Butler in 1988. The last time an Indiana native brought back an Olympic medal was Richard Voliva when he took silver in 1936.
 
 
 

This weekend USAW is hosting their annual Folkstyle Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa. As usual, Indiana has many entries in this prestigious event across every age division. Here is a listing of all the entries that registered for the event. As with any tournament some athletes may not attend the event or may move up or down a weight class.
 
You can follow all the action at the following link on TrackWrestling.
USAW Preseason Nationals Brackets
 
Schedule
Thursday, April 1st
Session I - 16U (Preliminaries, Consolation and Quarterfinals)
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
 
Session II – Junior (Preliminaries, Consolation and Quarterfinals) 
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
 
Friday, April 2nd
Session III - Junior & 16U Session II (Semifinals, Consolations, Medal Matches) 
16U and Junior Finals at 11am
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
 
Session IV - 14U (Preliminaries, Consolation and Quarterfinals) 
9:00 AM - 1:00 PM
 
Session V – 14U (Semifinals, Consolations, Medal Matches) 
3:00pm – 7:00pm
 
Session V – 12U & 10U (Preliminaries, Consolation, Quarterfinals) 
3:00pm – 7:00pm
 
Session V – 8U (Preliminaries through medal matches) 
3:00pm – 7:00pm
 
Saturday, April 3rd
Session VI – 12U & 10U (Semifinals, Consolations Medal Matches) 
9:00am – 12:00pm
 
Session VI - Masters Competition 
9:00 AM – 4:00pm
 
Session VI - College Open Competition 
9:00am – 4:00pm
 
Division Weight Name Team 10U Boys 105 lbs Noah Fitzgerald Indian Creek Wrestling Club 10U Boys 120 lbs Gavin Brown Indian Creek Wrestling Club 10U Boys 56 lbs Jeremiah Maldonado   10U Boys 59 lbs Tucker Dowty Indian Creek Wrestling Club 10U Boys 71 lbs William Smith Patriots Wrestling Club 10U Boys 71 lbs Alexander Ponce Merrillville Pirates Wrestling Club 10U Boys 71 lbs Ethan Alvarez   10U Boys 77 lbs JJ Doty Red Cobra Wrestling Academy 10U Boys 93 lbs Azarius Overstreet   12U Boys 108 lbs Jackson Smith Patriots Wrestling Club 12U Boys 67 lbs Jeremy Carver Delta Wrestling Club Inc. 12U Boys 78 lbs Cruz Orueta Merrillville Pirates Wrestling Club 12U Boys 78 lbs Timothy Maldonado   12U Boys 78 lbs Colton Stinson Indian Creek Wrestling Club 12U Boys 86 lbs Patrick Dowty Indian Creek Wrestling Club 14U Boys 102 lbs Griffin Van Tichelt Bulldog Premier Wrestling Club 14U Boys 106 lbs Evan Stanley Region Wrestling Academy 14U Boys 119 lbs Oliver Hallett Indian Creek Wrestling Club 14U Boys 130 lbs Christian Arberry Warren Wrestling Academy 14U Boys 149 lbs Zachary Blevens   14U Boys 165 lbs Kyle Harden Central Indiana Academy Of Wrestling 14U Boys 165 lbs Hayden Smith Patriots Wrestling Club 14U Boys 165 lbs Miguel Rojas   14U Boys 77 lbs Case Bell Contenders Wrestling Academy 14U Boys 83 lbs Lincoln Underwood Peacock Wrestling Club, LLC 14U Boys 83 lbs Ayden Campbell Peacock Wrestling Club, LLC 14U Boys 83 lbs Justin Williamson Region Wrestling Academy 14U Boys 87 lbs Gavin Lewis   16U Boys 106 lbs Tanner Tishner Western Wrestling Club 16U Boys 106 lbs Lincoln Parsons Greenfield Wrestling Club 16U Boys 120 lbs Kyrel Leavell Warren Wrestling Academy 16U Boys 126 lbs Gavin Phillips Greenfield Wrestling Club 16U Boys 126 lbs Adrian Cohen Warren Wrestling Academy 16U Boys 132 lbs Cohen Hager Greenfield Wrestling Club 16U Boys 138 lbs Isaiah Holden Greenfield Wrestling Club 16U Boys 138 lbs Aidan Torres Region Wrestling Academy 16U Boys 138 lbs Alexander Smith Patriots Wrestling Club 16U Boys 145 lbs Mitchell Betz Western Wrestling Club 16U Boys 145 lbs Rider Searcy East Central Wrestling Club 16U Boys 160 lbs Clay Guenin Greenfield Wrestling Club 16U Boys 160 lbs Anthony Cashman Warren Wrestling Academy 16U Boys 220 lbs Brandon Johnson Central Indiana Academy Of Wrestling 16U Boys 285 lbs Dominic Burgett Legends of Gold 16U Boys 88 lbs Jude Heaston Indian Creek Wrestling Club 8U Boys 85 lbs Isabella Smith Patriots Wrestling Club College Men 197 lbs Jacob Huffman Fighting Irish Wrestling Club College Men 285 lbs Ethan Bunce KNIGHTS WRESTLING CLUB Junior Boys 106 lbs Jackson Heaston Indian Creek Wrestling Club Junior Boys 120 lbs Michael Tharpe Center Grove Wrestling Club Junior Boys 126 lbs Sergio Lemley Region Wrestling Academy Junior Boys 126 lbs Matteo Vargo Penn Wrestling Club Junior Boys 126 lbs Anthony Hughes Lawrence North Wildcat Wrestling Club Junior Boys 132 lbs David Pierson Warren Wrestling Academy Junior Boys 132 lbs Jeremiah Henderson Central Indiana Academy Of Wrestling Junior Boys 145 lbs Cody Goodwin Peacock Wrestling Club, LLC Junior Boys 145 lbs James Smith Penn Wrestling Club (PWC) Junior Boys 195 lbs Connor Barket Red Cobra Wrestling Academy Junior Boys 220 lbs Ali Richardson Central Indiana Academy Of Wrestling Masters A 100 kg Joshua Branson   Masters A 78 kg Brendon Helm   Masters A 88 kg Mark Maldonado Highland Wrestling Club Masters B 100 kg Christopher Myers Carroll Wrestling Club Masters C 100 kg Adam Miller Shelbyville Wrestling Club

Becoming an Olympian is the pinnacle of wrestling and something little boys and girls always dream of when growing up. The chance to represent the USA on the biggest stage in sports comes only once every four years. Obviously with COVID everything got pushed back a year and this is the weekend we have been waiting for in over a year. There are five Hoosier natives vying for the coveted spot on the Olympic team this weekend.
 
Watching the trials will be on NBCSN on TV along with the Peacock Network online. The Peacock Network has a free seven day trial to use that would be enough for this weekend. The schedule is at the bottom of this article for reference during the weekend. The format for the Olympic Trials differs slightly in each division, however the base is the same. Some weight classes have wrestlers sitting until the best of three finals, some do not. On Friday the bracket challenge will occur where wrestlers will wrestle in a single elimination tournament. The finals on Saturday will be a best of three series to determine the USA representative. If a weight has someone sitting out until the finals the bracket will be wrestled until a champion is determined. If not the bracket will halt at the finals with the finals being a best of three series.
 
For the Olympics each country must qualify their weight via their placement at the World Championships and a series of continental and last chance qualifiers. The USA is qualified in every weight for Women’s Freestyle. Men’s freestyle is not qualified at 65kg, while Greco-Roman is not qualified at 77kg and 130kg. There is one more last chance qualifier for every country that has not qualified the specific weight to enter. That event is May 6-9 in Bulgaria where the USA will look to qualify the remaining three spots.
 
Indiana has the most representatives in the Women’s Freestyle division at the Olympic Trials. Both Sarah Hildebrandt and Kayla Miracle have the privilege of already being in the best of three finals. They earned the bye to the finals via qualifying the weight class for the Olympic Trials at the Pan-Am championships a year ago. Yorktown’s Alara Boyd is in the challenge bracket at 68kg.
 
In 2018 Granger native and Penn grad Sarah Hildebrandt brought back a silver medal at the World Championships and is looking to make her first Olympic team. She is sitting until the finals on Saturday and will be the winner of a bracket that consists of 14 women battling it out for the right to wrestle her. The top seed is Whitney Conder while the second seed is Alyssa Lampe. Hildebrandt has recently beaten Conder in a special wrestle-off last February to wrestle at the Pan-Am championships. She teched Lampe in November on a Wisconsin RTC card.
Bloomington native and Culver Academies grad Kayla Miracle has had success at every level possible in this sport. She was the first girl to qualify for the state finals in Indiana and has been breaking down barriers since she strapped on her first headgear. She will be sitting out until the best of three finals at 62kg. The top seed in her weight is Maya Nelson and the second seed is Macey Kilty. All three of these women were on the 2019 U23 World Team where Miracle and Kilty both won silver medals. Nelson was at 65kg and Kilty was at 68kg.  The last time Miracle wrestled Nelson was 2012 at Fargo and it does not appear as if she has wrestled Kilty. Nelson defeated Kilty at the World Team Trials tournament in 2019 and should be the favorite to win again.
 
Alara Boyd has brought back world medals two out of three times while representing the USA. She was a Cadet bronze medalist in 2016 and silver medalist in 2017. She also wrestled at the world championships in 2019 in the Junior age group. She comes into the Olympic Trials as a 5 seed at 68kg.  Boyd qualified for the trials via winning the NCWWC championship about a month ago. In the first round she will have a familiar opponent in Ashlynn Ortega. Boyd defeated Ortega just over a year ago at the WCWC Nationals in the semi-finals by the score of  7-1. The likely next opponent would be Forrest Molinari. Molinari has been a mainstay on the women’s circuit that includes a 5th place finish in the world in both 2018 and 2019. The second seed and likely finalist out of the bottom bracket is Alex Glaude who was a 2019 Final X finalist. Sitting in the best of three finals in 2019 World Champion Tamyra Stock-Mensah.
 
On the men’s side of things Indiana will have two representatives in Mater Dei’s Nick Lee and Lawrenceburg’s Mason Parris. Others to watch include former Indiana University runner-up Nate Jackson at 86kg and Gable Steveson at 125kg. Steveson grew up in the state and won multiple ISWA titles during his youth.
 
Lee will come in as the 6th seed and have Minnesota’s Mitch McKee in the first round. They have wrestled multiple times in folkstyle with Lee gaining all the recent victories. McKee is very dangerous in folkstyle and will be an interesting first round match. The winner of that will face off with #3 seed Jordan Oliver, a former Oklahoma State national champion. Lee was teched by Oliver at the US Nationals in December of 2019. The two-seed at this weight is Yianni Diakomihalis that could be a potential semi-final opponent. Also lurking in that side of the quarter bracket is 2016 Olympian Frank Molinaro whom Lee beat at 2019 US Nationals. On the top half of the bracket is another Penn State stud in Zain Retherford along with multiple-time world team member James Green.
 
Just like the NCAA’s, the heavyweight bracket is loaded with talent at the Olympic Trials. Mason Parris will come in as the 3rd seed and have Daniel Kerkvliet in the first round. They recently wrestled at the Big Tens where Parris won by major decision. Kerkvliet has multiple world medals and a dangerous opponent in the international styles. The semi-finals would feature another familiar foe in Gable Steveson. While they have not met in freestyle, Steveson owns three folkstyle wins over Parris. The top half of the bracket features world team mainstay Nick Gwiazdowski and former NCAA champions Anthony Nelson and Dom Bradley. Parris was 1-1 with Gwiazdowski at the RTC cup this fall.
 
Indiana does not have any natives on the Greco-Roman side of things. However, former Indiana University starter Lucas Sheridan is the 2nd seed at 97kg. He has had a solid amount of success in Greco-Roman and would be Indiana’s first Olympic representative since Charles Burton in 2000. There are also four wrestlers participating that have wrestled at the IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open. Mason Manville is the 6th seed at 77kg in Greco-Roman. He was an IHPO runner-up in 2011. Nick Lee won IHPO as a 7th grader in 2011, while making the semi-finals in 2012. Logan Massa participated in the IHPO in 2010 as an 8th grader and will be at 74kg at the trials. Lastly, Gable Steveson was a middle school champion in 2012 at IHPO.
 
 
U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials Broadcast Schedule
Day Competition Time (ET) Network Friday Challenge Tournaments 11 a.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAMS   Challenge Tournament Finals Mat 2 7:30 p.m. NBCSN | LIVE STREAM   Challenge Tournament Finals Mats 1, 3, 4 7:30 p.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAMS   ‘Rulon’ film premiere on Rulon Gardner 11 p.m. NBCSN | STREAM Saturday Challenge Tournament Consolations 1 p.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAMS   Championship Series Mat 2 7:30 p.m. NBCSN | LIVE STREAM   Championship Series Mats 1, 3, 4 7:30 p.m. Peacock | LIVE STREAMS  
Useful Links
USAW's Olympic Trials Information Center
TrackWrestling brackets
 

Joe and Drew talk about the NCAA finals in depth including about the great tournament by Indiana wrestlers.

By Drew Hughes
This year there will be 13 Indiana guys competing in St. Louis across 8 different weight classes. This puts only 7 other states ahead of us for the number of qualifiers. Out of these 13 qualifiers only 1 of them is not from the Big Ten.
 
Drew Hildebrandt will be competing in the 125-pound bracket for the Central Michigan Chippewas. This will be Drew’s 3rd NCAA tournament appearance and has earned the 4th seed. The Penn High School graduate also won his 2nd MAC title to qualify for the tournament and is undefeated on the season.
 
Nick Lee will be competing in the 141-pound bracket for Penn State and will be in the hunt to win a national title. Lee comes into the tournament as the 2nd seed just like he was last year for the cancelled championships. The Evansville Mater Dei graduate is 8-1 on the season with his 1 loss coming in the Big Ten finals to the 1st seed Eierman.
 
Chad Red will be competing in the 141-pound bracket for Nebraska where he will be looking to All-American like he has at every NCAA tournament he’s wrestled in. Red comes into the tournament as the 8th seed with his only losses this year coming from the 1st and 3rd seeds of the tournament. As most people have seen, the New Palestine grad has always showed up for the big show.
 
Cayden Rooks will be competing in the 141-pound bracket for Indiana where he will be wrestling in his first NCAA tournament. Rooks earned an at-large bid to qualify for the tournament and will be the 32nd seed. Cayden is a Columbus East High School graduate where he won 2 state titles.
Graham Rooks will be competing in the 149-pound bracket for Indiana, and this was his 2nd time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. After a 6th place finish at the Big Ten tournament, Rooks earned himself the 21st seed. Graham is also a Columbus East grad and is the older brother of previously mentions Cayden Rooks. 
 
Brayton Lee will be competing in the 157-pound bracket for Minnesota, and this was his 2nd time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. After being seeded 7th for last year cancelled tournament Lee will be 1 spot higher at the 6th seed this year. The Brownsburg native is coming off of an impressive 3rd place Big Ten finish.
 
Jake Tucker will be competing in the 165-pound bracket for Michigan State, and it is a little controversial to claim him for Indiana. Tucker went to Mount Carmel High School in Illinois BUT has lived in Lowell Indiana his entire life. Since he has an Indiana driver’s license, I think it’s only fair we get to claim the now 2-time NCAA qualifier. Tucker earned the 25th seed after finish 6th place at the Big Ten tournament.
 
Joe Lee will be competing in the 165-pound bracket for Penn State where he will be wrestling in his first NCAA tournament. The Evansville Mater Dei grad will be the 23rd seed of the tournament after placing 8th at Big Tens. While Joe didn’t get a top 8 seed like his brother Nick, he does still have 1 more state title then his older brother.
 
Donnell Washington will be competing in the 174-pound bracket for Indiana where he will be wrestling in his first NCAA tournament. The Portage grad has really proved himself this year and will be the 9th seed. Washington is coming off a 6th place Big Ten finish and holds a win over the 3rd seed.
 
Drew Hughes (also the person writing this article) will be competing in the 174-pound bracket and is the 32 seed. This will be his 4th NCAA tournament and holds one of the worst records in the entire tournament at 3-7 on the year. All that we can know for sure is that the Lowell High School grad is going to choose top and probably get hit for a few stalling calls.
 
Lucas Davison will be competing in the 197-pound bracket for Northwestern, and this will be his 2nd time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Davison is coming into the tournament as the 12th seed after placing 5th at Big Tens. The Chesterton native will be looking to become an All-American just like his dad was back in the day.
 
Thomas Penola will be competing in the 197-pound bracket for Purdue, and this will be his 2nd time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Penola qualified for last years cancelled tournament at 285-pounds. This year he’s down a weight and earned himself the 19th seed of the tournament. The Zionsville High School graduate finished 7th at the Big Ten tournament.
 
Mason Parris will be competing in the 285-pound bracket for the Michigan wolverines, and this will be his 3rd NCAA tournament. Parris will be the 2nd seed of the tournament for the 2nd year in a row. The Lawrenceburg native has placed 2nd at the big ten tournament the last 2 season and will be looking for a rematch of the Big Ten finals in the NCAA finals. 

By Drew Hughes
 
The 2021 NAIA Women’s Wrestling National Invitational will be taking place March 12-
13 in Jamestown North Dakota. This is the 3 rd year of this event including the 2020 tournament
getting cancelled because of Covid. This event is still considered an Invitational and once there
are 40 programs that sponsor the sport it will go to a vote for championship status. With 38
NAIA programs that already sponsor the sport, the tournament should be a sanctioned
championship by next year. Indiana will have 4 women competing at this tournament with 3 of
them competing for the new Indiana Tech program.
 
Korigan Wilkey will be competing in the 109-pound bracket for Indiana Tech where she
will wrestle Lisa Megargee of Eastern Oregon first round. Wilkey went to Elwood High School
where she was a 2-time girl’s state placer.
 
Alyssa Schuller will be competing in the 116-pound bracket for Indiana Tech, she is the 6
seed of the tournament and will have Raven Guidry of Oklahoma City first round. Schuller is
from Decatur and went to Woodlan High School where she was a girl’s state runner-up in 2017.
 
Riley Horvath will be competing in the 116-pound bracket for Indiana Tech and will
wrestle Daviona Bonner of Central Methodist first round. Horvath is from Elkhart and went to
Jimtown High School where she was a 2-time girl’s state placer.
 
Cierra Broukal will be competing in the 116-pound bracket for Campbellsville and will
wrestle Jasmine Alexander of Grand View first round. Broukal went to Bloomington South High
School and was a 2-time girl’s state champion. Broukal was also a Semi-State qualifier as a
junior in 2018.
 
This tournament will be streamed live on Flowrestling.
Click here for brackets