Articles

Chad Hollenbaugh
IndianaMat Senior Writer
 

Cathedral Looks to Repeat, Red to Three-Peat


 
A number of great storylines accompany this weekend’s festivities in Indianapolis at the 2015 IHSAA State Wrestling finals. The incredibly deep 120 weight class should have outstanding matches starting early Friday evening and contains this year’s most compelling in season rivalry between Jeremiah Reitz of Griffith and Brendan Black of Hobart. The 170 pound class is wide open with five to six wrestlers that can legitimately make a run for the top of the podium and the heavyweight bracket contains three Division One athletes at the top of the rankings.
Although all three of these stories will quite compelling, two other stories have a special appeal. The team race currently has Penn High School in the pole position but last year’s champ, Indianapolis Cathedral, has the pieces in place to repeat should Penn falter. Other teams that should be in contention include Perry Meridian, Warren Central, Yorktown, and Avon.
The second major story will be the Chad Red show. Unbeaten in his first two seasons of high school, Red is a heavy favorite to continue his dominance and win a third straight state championship. If anyone was unsure of just how great Red is, Cael Sanderson’s recent visit to New Palestine should remove any doubts. In his junior season, Red is currently ranked first in the country by Flo Wrestling and number three by Intermat. Much like Stevan Micic last year and Jason Tsirtsis before him, Red appears to be that type of wrestler that seems to be destined to be a factor at the next level.
 
BREAKING IT DOWN
 
106
This year’s crop of flyweights contain the usual high number of new faces (9 freshmen) that look to make their bones on the Banker’s Life floor. Columbus East semi-state champ Graham Rooks, Hobart’s Tylor Triana and Avon’s Mason Miranda are the frosh poised to make the deepest run in this bracket.
 
POLE POSITION (FAVORITE)
 
COLTON CUMMINGS – LOWELL (41-1). Cummings will look to erase his Friday night memory of last year where he was pinned by Columbia City’s Hunter Langeloh in fifty nine seconds. Cummings has been nothing short of dominant (He has a win over Rooks) this year with his only loss coming while wrestling two weight classes up against Perry Meridian’s David Clayton.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER (RELATIVE UNKNOWN)
 
JON ANDERSON – LAFAYETTE JEFF (47-2) and CAINAN SCHAEFER – SOUTH DEARBORN (45-2). Anderson was a surprise runner up at Merrillville where he looked very solid against competition with more press clippings. Schaefer wrestles in the southeast corner of the state and gets very little press but he had a break out performance at the New Castle semi state where he pinned highly regarded Klayton Anderson of Hamilton Southeastern. These two hard chargers may meet Saturday morning with a trip to the semis on the line.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL (BEST FRIDAY NIGHT MATCH UP)
 
TYLOR TRIANA – HOBART (37-4) VS. MASON MIRANDA (20-5) – The winner here has a great opportunity to make a run to the finals. Triana is the higher ranked wrestler (5th vs 9th) but Miranda is wrestling very well and his team is in the hunt for state hardware.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Cummings.
 
113
East Noble’s Garrett Pepple has established himself as a force in this weight class but there is also outstanding depth here. Pepple season started with an All-American run at the pre-season Super 32 (4th) and has not been seriously tested. He currently holds top ten rankings nationally by both Flo and Intermat. Last year’s state runner up at 106, Paul Konrath of Mount Vernon seems to be wrestling with a bum leg but dominated the field at the Evansville semi state. Others looking to rain on Pepple’s parade include Hamilton Southeastern’s Austin Holmes, Penn’s undefeated Drew Hildebrandt and Fairfield’s Blake Glogouski (who has only lost to Pepple).
 
POLE POSITION
 
GARRETT PEPPLE – EAST NOBLE (42-0). All the pieces seem to be in place for the Indiana recruit. Pepple has experience (two runner-up finishes), training (teammate Conner Knapp and coach Andy Uhl), and confidence. If anyone were to topple Pepple, it would be considered a fairly substantial upset.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
BLAKE GLOGOUSKI – FAIRFIELD (49-2). Glogouski was knocked out in the ticket round last year but don’t be surprised if he has an outstanding weekend. The Falcon does have a brutal draw which might include Paul Konrath and Drew Hildebrandt to go along with Friday night’s tussle with New Pal’s Alec White.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
ALEC WHITE – NEW PALESTINE (40-4) VS. BLAKE GLOGOUSKI. White was one of the favorites to win the New Castle semi state but was pinned by Cathedral’s Skylour Turner in the semis. This set up the Friday night fight with Glogouski who finished second at Fort Wayne to Pepple.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Pepple.
 
120
This insanely deep class will be one of the best to watch starting on Friday night. Nearly a half dozen different wrestlers have a legitimate shot at taking the crown. Top ranked Breyden Bailey of Cathedral is undefeated and has won a couple of close matches with contender Cornelious Elliot of Perry Meridian. The state’s best in season rivalry between Brendan Black of Hobart and Jeremiah Reitz of Griffith could be played out one more time under the lights.
 
POLE POSITION
 
BREYDEN BAILEY – CATHEDRAL (43-0). Bailey has run the table this season and Cathedral’s schedule is no joke. Hobart’s Black is as hot as any wrestler in the state right now. No easy draws in this bracket.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
TYLER FERGUSON – EVANSVILLE REITZ (10-2). Ferguson has a fifth place medal from last year and started the year ranked first. He has been out of action for most of the season and many thought a comeback was not in the cards. This Panther certainly has the skills to sound that siren.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
BRENDAN BLACK – HOBART (30-3) VS. WILL EGLI – MATER DEI (29-4). Two medalists match up on Friday night in this battle. Other Friday night matches between returning medalists include Elliot vs. Langeloh and Ferguson vs. Reitz. Wow!
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Bailey.
 
126
Whereas there was no front runner at 120, the 126 class is about as sure bet as any class this weekend. Chad Red of New Palestine has shown no weaknesses in his game. On his feet, Red dominates. On the mat, Red dominates. He is the complete package. The drama here is who will Red meet in the finals. Portage’s Gaige Torres, Perry Meridian’s Ngun Uk, East Noble’s Nathan Weimer and Cathedral frosh Zach Melloh all could be under the lights.
 
POLE POSITION – CHAD RED – NEW PALESTINE (43-0). Red….’Nuff said.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
ZACH MELLOH – CATHEDRAL (36-7). Don’t call him Melloh Yellow, this Irish freshman has flown under the radar but has wrestled tough all season and run to the semi-finals is not out of the question.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
BRANDON TRUVER – LAKE CENTRAL (29-10) VS. DANIEL GUNSETT –BELMONT (32-9). Nineteen losses between these two does not mean either caught a break or were lucky in some way to qualify. These are two high quality kids that can beat anyone in the bracket not named Red.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Red.
 
132
Handicapping this bracket is much like the 126 bracket. All you have to do is substitute Mater Dei’s Nick Lee for Chad Red. Lee has been every bit as dominating as Red. The only difference is that Lee ran into the top wrestler in the country at 126 last year in Stevan Micic and finished third. The other side of the bracket offers up a few potential finalists in East Noble’s Conner Knapp, and Griffin Schermer of Bloomington South.
 
POLE POSITION
 
NICK LEE – MATER DEI (31-0). Lee is currently ranked 4th and 6th in country by Intermat and Flo. He had to spend less than six minutes on the mat last Saturday in winning his second semi state crown. He should not be seriously tested this weekend. He IS that good.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
SAGE COY – DELTA (39-1). Coy has had a series of unfortunate events during his first two high school seasons and his move from the closed down Muncie South to Delta has brought better luck. Coy brings a high energy attack that should be highly entertaining to watch this weekend.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
CONNER KNAPP – EAST NOBLE (41-2) VS. AUSTIN BETHAL – MT. VERNON (37-4). Bethal shocked the state with his stunning pin of super frosh and second ranked Brayton Lee of Brownsburg. Standing in his path on Friday night is veteran stud Conner Knapp of East Noble. Knapp already has two state medals on his resume. Honorable mention goes to Westfield’s Evan Eldred vs. Merrillville semi state champ, Austen Laughlin of South Bend Riley.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Lee.
 
138
A third straight class where one wrestler stands above the field. Amazingly, that wrestler is not returning state champion Tommy Cash but it is Perry Meridian’s Brandon James. James has three top-5 medals to his name and national rankings of 9th and 12th. You can’t count out returning champ Cash even though he has been beaten a couple of times by James. Out of the south is freshman Joe Lee, who has taken down James earlier in the season during his only loss. Clarence Johnson of Merrillville is wrestling awesome right now and Maldonado Magic always seems to strike during the state finals weekend.
 
POLE POSITION
 
BRANDON JAMES – PERRY MERIDIAN (41-0). James has been a formidable force in the Falcon line up and a threat to win a state title since his freshman season. The stars seem to be aligned for Coach Tonte’s star grappler this season. He will be relaxed, focused and motivated to win his first title on Saturday night.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
KYLE TODRANK – GIBSON SOUTHERN (43-3). Todrank is largely unknown but has progressed tremendously the past couple of years. He has wrestled Mater Dei super frosh Joe Lee tough the last couple of weeks.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
KASPER McINTOSH – PORTAGE (29-9) VS. CLAYTON MOORE – MANCHESTER (35-1). A four over one potential upset lurks here. Both are big and physical 138s who will mix it up. McIntosh is a freshman who wrestles one of the toughest schedules in the state. Moore is a returning qualifier from a small school where he rarely is tested.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – James.
 
145
We finally have a weight class where there is real drama involved. A nice Duneland conference rivalry has developed between returning runner up Jacob Covaciu of Merrillville and returning medalist Steven “Bam” Lawrence of Portage. Covaciu has a win over New Castle champ Trenton Pruitt of Warren Central on his resume. It’s strange to say but Yorktown’s Cael McCormick has kept a fairly low profile despite a dominating season where he often wrestled up a class. It would not be a huge upset if he were to topple Covaciu in the semi-finals.
 
POLE POSITION
 
JACOB COVACIU – MERRILLVILLE (40-1). Despite his loss in the semi state championship match, Covaciu still has to be considered the front-runner in this class. Lawrence and McCormick are not that far back.
 
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
ANDREW HERRIN – JENNINGS COUNTY (46-2) – Herrin wrestled awesome last weekend at semi state. He avenged one of his regular season losses with a win over Castles Patrick Schnell. Along the way he put the hammer to Mater Dei’s Blake Jourdan. A deep state run would not be out of the question.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
EVAN SMILEY – BEECH GROVE (39-5) VS. ANTHONY VAUGHN – ELKHART MEMORIAL (40-3). Two stud seniors will face off on Friday night. Both have been previous state qualifiers and appear to be evenly matched. Expect a very tight match here.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – McCormick.
 
152
Tommy Forte of Mishawaka is the wrestler to beat at 152. He has not been tested this season and I would be surprised if anyone gives him much resistance this weekend. Tommy’s knee is a little dinged up but it doesn’t show and he cruised to the semi state title last weekend. The other side of the bracket holds a few potential finalists in Yorktown’s Dru Berkebile, Lebanon’s Kellen VanCamp, and Forte’s conference rival Jarod Swank of Penn. Evansville Central’s Isiah Kemper deserves mention as he is a three time state qualifier.
 
POLE POSITION
 
TOMMY FORTE – MISHAWAKA (33-0). Forte is ranked 9th and 15th respectively by Intermat and Flo. He is wrestling next year for Buffalo and former coach Bryce Hasseman. It would be a huge upset if anyone were to beat Forte this year.
 
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
MARQUIS SCHIEBER – JIMTOWN (30-8). I saw Schieber wrestle during a couple of mid-season tournaments and frankly was quite disappointed. He looked disinterested and ready for it to end. After watching him at his conference meet, I saw a rebirth. Athletic and skilled this Jimmie is a difficult match up for anyone and has great momentum going into the state meet.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
ELIJAH DUNN – INDIAN CREEK (42-2) VS. JAROD SWANK – PENN (32-5). A contrast of styles between the funky Dunn and the controlled, methodical Swank should prove interesting. It will likely come down to who can impose their will on the other.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Forte.
 
160
Another weight class where the state’s top ranked wrestler also has national credentials and rankings on his resume. Lowell’s Drew Hughes is a favorite to become Lowell’s second state champ in 2015, joining Colton Cummings. He wrestled under the lights as a frosh and got spladled by Ty Fleenor last year on Saturday morning. Experience and motivation along with an unparalled ability to turn guys on top make Hughes a tough package to deal with.
 
POLE POSITION
 
HUGHES – LOWELL (40-0). A clear front runner but must face Edgewood’s Gabe Koontz in the quarter finals and possible Delta’s Jacob Gray, Avon’s Brandon Helm or local rival Darden Schurg from Crown Point in the finals.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
TRISTAN GOERING – SOUTH BEND RILEY (37-11). Goering got an absolute great draw for a fourth place finisher and has a good chance to reach the semi-finals for coach Bill Flatt and the Wildcats.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
ADAM DODSON – JOHN GLENN (36-2) VS. ETHAN BRIGGEMAN – CARDINAL RITTER (36-4). Two evenly matched senior studs from lesser known programs make this an interesting matchup. Each will be fighting to get on that podium and wrestle on day two.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Hughes.
 
170
The furious five (Stevenson, Lydy, Jackson, Harvey, Mammolenti) became the splendid six after watching the Google Hangout with state’s ‘experts’. I am convinced that Lawrence North’s Cameron Jones has the goods to challenge for a title as well. It did appear that returning state champ Jacob Stevenson might have seriously injured his leg at semi-state. Let’s all hope he can end his high school career on the mat.
 
POLE POSITION
 
DYLAN LYDY – BEN DAVIS (42-0). Lydy has wins over Stevenson, Jones and Dillon Jackson of Yorktown. This is just enough to edge Ben Harvey of Cathedral as the pre meet favorite. The top tier here is incredibly close and this should be one of the marquee weights to watch because just about any results are possible.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
CAMERON JONES – LAWRENCE NORTH (38-6) – If things fall right for Jones, he could find himself wrestling under the lights. However it shakes out, Jones has clearly put himself in position to be a serious state title threat as a senior next year.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
ISHMAEL CORNEJO – PORTAGE (29-7) VS. JACOB STEVENSON (34-6). Keep an eye on this match to see how last year’s state champ Jacob Stevenson is wrestling on his injured leg. He can’t expect any sympathy from Portage’s Cornejo.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Lydy.
 
182
Penn’s Chase Osborn is a returning state runner up and has been ranked #1 all season. That should make him the favorite to take home title but I have seen probably more variety of picks in this weight class than any other. Western’s Corey Hinkle, Chesterton’s Andrew Davison, Avon’s Evan Elmore and Lawrenceburg’s Mason Parris are all receiving some love as potential state champions. Osborn and Hinkle have the most experience, Elmore is coming in hot, and both Davison and Parris represent the future will be filled with great upper weight wrestling.
 
POLE POSITION
 
CHASE OSBORN – PENN (35-0). As mentioned before, Osborn has experience under the lights and an unblemished record this year. This adds up to a number 1 ranking and front runner status.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
GAGE GARPOW – WINAMAC (37-3). Garpow was one of the big surprises of the Merrillville semi state. He had Osborn on the ropes in their match up and dominated state ranked Jake Kliemola of Lake Central.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
CONNER JAMES – RONCALLI (44-1) VS. ANDREW DAVISON – CHESTERTON (38-2). An absolutely brutal Friday night matchup between two wrestlers with three losses between them. The winner will get the honor of facing Western’s undefeated Corey Hinkle. A nasty quarter bracket.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Davison.
 
195
This is one of the few brackets that should hold chalk through the semi-finals with all four semi state champs winning. That does not mean that the winner is in much question at this weight class. Cathedral’s junior Blake Rypel season has been every bit as dominating as Chad Red or Nick Lee. He is just too explosive for anyone to handle in the state of Indiana. Mooresville’s Randy Scott, Perry Meridian’s Tristan Tonte and Yorktown’s Myron Howard will battle it out for the chance to meet Rypel under the lights.
 
POLE POSITION
 
BLAKE RYPEL – CATHEDRAL (43-0). Rypel has the skills to lap the field here. Ranked seventh by Flo and tenth by Intermat, no one should challenge Rypel this weekend.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
TANNER BRADLEY – MISHAWAKA (26-4). Much like Sampson, there is much power in the hair of Tanner Bradley. Don’t get mesmerized by the mullet, Bradley is an athletic freak who can put you on your back at any time. A run to the finals is not out of the question for this Caveman.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
TRISTON TONTE – PERRY MERIDIAN (40-2) VS. MATT HEDRICK – PORTAGE (29-7). Tonte is a very exciting sophomore who will wrestle with no fear of the big stage. Hedrick wrestled smart tactical matches at semi state to earn his bid to Indy.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Rypel
 
220
The 220 class is led by preseason top ranked Kobe Woods of Penn. Woods has maintained that ranking by fashioning a perfect 40-0 record. In fact, Woods has even cracked the national rankings at #19 by Flo. This class is by no means a slam dunk (sorry) as several challengers could step up if Woods were to falter. Conference rival and returning state placer, Eliseo Guerra of Elkhart Central has had two tight matches with Woods. Warren Central Courvoisier Morrow was narrowly defeated by Woods at the Al Smith tournament.
 
POLE POSITION
 
KOBE WOODS – PENN (40-0). The Penn big man has gone wire to wire and has the experience, skill and coaching to bring home the gold.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
EVAN ELLIS – EASTERN (44-2). Ellis was a ticket round causality last year and wrestling at small school Eastern has kept him off many people’s radar. He is a talented wrestler that could make a run deep in this bracket.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
BLAKE DAVIS – GARRETT (47-4) VS. MORGAN KRAL – CROWN POINT (36-2). Davis has been largely over shadowed by his higher ranked older brother but one could argue that Blake has had a slightly better season than his brother Bo. He will face Kral, who is looking for his first state medal and has a state champion older brother in Tyler Kral.
 
DRINKING THE MILK - Woods
 
285
It looks like a two horse race for the big boys between nationally ranked top ten wrestlers Shawn Streck of Merrillville and Norman Oglesby of Ben Davis. There looks to be lots of purple under the lights on Saturday night. Both big men have state medals and lots of experience wrestling on Banker’s Life floor. Oglesby, a senior, has already accepted a football scholarship to Cincinnati while Streck is a junior who will likely have his pick of offers in both football and wrestling.
 
POLE POSITION
 
SHAWN STRECK – MERRILLVILLE (42-0). The bracket gods were kind to wrestling fans by putting Streck and Oglesby on opposite sides of this bracket.
 
HUNGUS’ HARD CHARGER
 
BRYCE BIDDLE – PLAINFIELD (30-3). Plainfield’s promising sophomore Bryce Biddle has had one of the toughest roads to qualify for state going clear back to his sectional. He got a nice draw and could parlay this to a semi-final trip in his sophomore campaign.
 
FRIDAY’S BRICKYARD BRAWL
 
QUINN YORK – FRANKLIN (40-4) VS. JASION BROGAN – WARREN CENTRAL (38-5). These two juniors are just a shade under the top tier heavyweights and will battle Friday night for state hardware.
 
DRINKING THE MILK – Streck.

Brought to you by EI Sports
 

By JEREMY HINES
jerhines@cinergymetro.net
 
Rivalries bring a new level of intensity to sports. It’s what drew thousands to watch Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier go toe-to-toe three times. It’s why baseball games between the Red Sox and the Yankees are always a little bit more heated, and the fans a little bit more passionate. It’s why college stadiums sell out anytime Ohio State and Michigan square off.
 
But rivalries do more than just keep sports interesting. In wrestling, having a rival can be one of the biggest determining factors in an individual’s internal drive to success.
 
Some of Indiana’s greatest wrestling rivals admit that without their counterpart, they would not have been as good as what they were.
 
Perhaps the top rivalry in Indiana wrestling history was that of Anderson Highland’s Camden Eppert and Warren Central’s Brandon Wright.
 
The two squared off a total of 12 times in high school. Three of those times came in the championship match of the state finals. Wright owned the overall better record between the two at 7-5, but Eppert won two of the three championship matches.
 
“There were other people I knew I had to wrestle,” Eppert said. “But in the back of my mind I always knew Brandon was going to be in my way. We were always on the opposite side of the bracket in regionals, semistate and state. Everyone wanted to see us collide.”
 
Eppert, who was one grade ahead of Wright, defeated Wright 6-3 as a sophomore in 2007 to win the 103 pound class. Wright came back the next season and beat Eppert 5-2 to claim the 112 pound title.
The final showdown between the two ended up being the closest of them all.
 
The two met under the lights for the 119 pound championship in 2009. After three grueling periods the match went into overtime. Eventually Eppert escaped with a 3-2 victory.
 
“I’m glad I faced him,” Eppert said. “We developed something special. Even though I only faced one opponent in all three of the finals matches, I wouldn’t take it back for anything.”
 
Wright went on to dominate the 125 pound class the next season, after Eppert had graduated. He easily won the state title with a 9-1 victory.
 
“That rivalry really grew me as a wrestler,” Wright said. “It took both of us to a whole different level. I think it has to be the best rivalry in Indiana history.”
 
The two were certainly not the best of friends in high school.
 
“It was pretty cut throat,” Eppert said. “I don’t think we hated each other, but when I shook his hand before a match we both knew we were going for blood.”
 
Looking back, both wrestlers know that without each other, they may have never gotten as far as they did with the sport.
“We had such intense matches,” Wright said. “He made me focus more. Because of him I learned to prepare for matches. All of the hours I put into wrestling, he caused me to become strategic on the mat. That’s where I really learned the most. I knew I couldn’t just muscle him, I had to learn to be a better wrestler, mentally, when I went up against Camden.”
 
Eppert went on to wrestle at Purdue. Wright is currently wrestling for Grand View where he is a returning NAIA national champion.
 
Wright knows Eppert was always the one who pushed him the most in wrestling. So when he was in Indianapolis a while back and needed a drill partner, Eppert was the one he called.
 
“I talk to him quite a bit now,” Eppert said. “He will win another national championship this year. We stay in touch now and when he needs a drill partner, I’m there.”
 
Another great Indiana rivalry was built in one season. In 2007 Munster’s Eric McGill and Hobart’s Brennan Cosgrove met seven times at 140 pounds. The two were 3-3 against each other leading up to the championship match. McGill beat Cosgrove 6-5 in the final to win the series 4-3.
 
“Our rivalry was pretty heated,” McGill said. “We both wanted the same thing, and we were both standing in each other’s way.”
 
McGill won the first meeting between the two, a dual meet at Hobart. He scored a late takedown to earn the victory.
 
The second time the two squared off was at their county championship.
 
“That was probably my favorite of all of them,” McGill said. “He threw me in the first 30 seconds. I was down 5-0 and came all the way back and won 10-9. I had to have a bunch of takedowns at the end. I remember my last takedown came with under 20 seconds to go.”
 
Cosgrove bounced back though. In their conference meet he defeated McGill 3-1. Cosgrove went on to beat McGill at the Hobart Invitational and regional. He was winning the matchup in semistate as well until an illegal slam gave McGill the disqualification victory.
 
“That was the most dominating match of them all,” McGill said. “He was beating me badly. It was definitely the most one-sided of all of our matches.”
 
After losing three in a row, and then winning on a DQ, McGill began to question whether he could beat Cosgrove.
 
“That year we were head and shoulders above everyone else in the state in our class,” McGill said. “I major, teched or pinned everyone but him. To have someone that good right here in my backyard that I had to compete against seven times, more than anything, made me a better wrestler.
 
“It tested my resolve. It was the first time I had experienced a setback where I had lost to someone three times in a row. It was wearing on my mind wondering if I could turn it around. By semistate I started to think he was widening the gap. But our last match, I just told myself that whatever happens, happens. I’m going to live with the outcome. I wasn’t too nervous or too fired up.”
 
Cosgrove remembers wrestling McGill even in elementary school.
 
“We were the same age group and we went to the same camps together,” Cosgrove said. “In high school our matches were intense. It was awesome. I loved every one of them.”
 
The two are now friends, although both admit they weren’t at all during high school.
 
Cosgrove went on to wrestle for Purdue and McGill wrestled at Cornell.
 
“It’s hard to explain what having that rival out there does for you,” Cosgrove said. “But my experience with Eric back then was awesome. I hate losing, but when I would lose I walked off the mat knowing I wasn’t going to lose the next one. We pushed each other to be better wrestlers.”
 
Rivalries will always develop in wrestling. One of the newest rivalries is that between Fort Wayne Wayne junior Geoffrey Davis and Fort Wayne Northside junior Ben Streeter.
 
Last season Streeter wrestled Davis one time, and dominated to the tune of a 9-0 win.
 
Streeter and Davis have wrestled three times this season. They met in the Summit Athletic Conference finals, in regional and then again in semistate.
 
Davis turned things around at the SAC championship, winning the title.
 
“Honestly I came out at the SAC thinking I could just do what I did last time,” Streeter said. “I knew he was good competition, but I didn’t realize how much he improved. I wasn’t expecting him to beat me.”
 
That defeat refocused Streeter. The next time the two wrestled came in the regional final where he won 12-11.
 
Davis bounced back to win semistate 9-4 after trailing 4-0.
 
“I honestly think wrestling him makes me better,” Davis said. “You have to work twice as hard when you know there is a guy out there that can beat you.”
 
Streeter echoes Davis’ sentiments.
 
“If I win or lose, I know he’s out there working,” Streeter said. “He isn’t going to stop. You have to keep going too, because you know he’s going to. He could be that roadblock that I have to learn to get around.”
 
Both Streeter and Davis would like to face each other one more time this season. If so, it might mean they are wrestling under the lights against one another.
 
Perhaps the state championships this year will spawn even more Indiana rivalries.

Overall
We hear the saying “rankings don’t matter” all the time, however our IndianaMat rankings have been spot on over the years. Remember that our rankings are finalized before sectional, so they do not take into account the draws at regional or semi-state. This year’s preseason magazine had an astounding 166 wrestlers ranked that made the state finals! Remember, this takes into account incoming freshmen, kids that move out of state, injuries to top wrestlers, and other reasons for top wrestlers not wrestling this year. Here are the previous year’s and how many ranked kids made the state finals.
2015- 172
2014- 171
2013- 171
2012- 170
2011- 157
2010- 159
2009- 143
106lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Ben Streeter- Fort Wayne North Side
Jon Anderson- Lafayette Jefferson
Levi Miller- North Posey
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#3 Graham Rooks- Columbus East vs. #15 Kory Cavanaugh- Penn
#8 Christian Hunt- Yorktown vs. #2 Klayton Anderson- Hamilton Southeastern
#17 Cainan Schaefer- South Dearborn vs. #16 Tanner DeMien- Northwood
#19 Geoffrey Davis- Fort Wayne Wayne vs. #4 Cameron Diep- New Palestine
#5 Tylor Triana- Hobart vs. #9 Mason Miranda- Avon
 
113lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Anthony Mosser- Adams Central
Jabin Wright- Kokomo
Kadin Poe- Decatur Central
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#11 Rickie Rodriguez- Hammond Morton vs. #16 Jacob Skaggs- Avon
#1 Garrett Pepple- East Noble vs. #10 Ethan Smiley- Beech Grove
#4 Kyle Luigs- Evansville Mater Dei vs. #17 Dustin Miller- Lafayette Jefferson
#2 Paul Konrath- Mt. Vernon vs. #9 Michael DeLaPeña- Merrillville
#5 Alec White- New Palestine vs. #8 Blake Glogouski- Fairfield
 
120lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
Unranked qualifiers:
Dameion Rutledge- Southport
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#9 Kyle Hatch- Warsaw vs. #14 Isaac Gomez- Plainfield
#1 Breyden Bailey- Indianapolis Cathedral vs. #11 Eddie Loraine- Leo
#7 Tyler Ferguson- Evansville F.J. Reitz vs. #4 Jeremiah Reitz- Griffith
#5 Brock Hudkins- Danville vs. #19 Ryan Hardesty- Mishawaka
#15 Hunter Langeloh- Columbia City vs. #3 Cornelious Elliot II- Perry Meridian
#6 Brendan Black- Hobart vs. #8 Will Egli- Evansville Mater Dei
#13 Caleb Bocock- Lebanon vs. #16 Ben Cauffman- Carroll (Fort Wayne)
 
126lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Chris Diaz- Hammond Clark
David Lewis- Terre Haute South
Kobe Raypole- Carroll (Fort Wayne)
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#7 Zach Melloh- Indianapolis Cathedral vs. #16 Chayce Young- Madison
#1 Chad Red- New Palestine vs. #5 Alex Johnson- Evansville Mater Dei
#12 Daniel Gunsett- Bellmont vs. #11 Branden Truver- Lake Central
#3 Elliott Molloy- Danville vs. #9 Joel McGhee- Warren Central
#4 Jason Crary- Munster vs. #8 Owen Doster- New Haven
 
132lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
Unranked qualifiers:
Austen Laughlin- South Bend Riley
Cale McCoy- Northview
Fernando Luevano- West Noble
Jarrett Carden- Cass
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#3 Connor Knapp- East Noble vs. #11 Austin Bethel- Mt. Vernon
#8 Griffin Schermer- Bloomington South vs. #12 Kyle Egolf- Columbia City
#5 Jack Chastain- Hamilton Southeastern vs. #10 Zach Donaldson- Crown Point
#17 Blake Strawsma- Benton Central vs. #7 Nick Ellis- Roncalli
 
138lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Alan Dixon- Evansville F.J. Reitz
Connor Moore- Southmont
Kasper McIntosh- Portage
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#4 Clarence Johnson- Merrillville vs. #18 Jay Franko- Jimtown
#6 Keegan Stansberry- Hamilton Southeastern vs. #5 Kyle Todrank- Gibson Southern
#10 Isaac Eicher- Leo vs. #14 Riley Akers- Crown Point
#1 Brandon James- Perry Meridian vs. #19 Hunter Castleberry- New Albany
#17 Triston Rodriguez- Culver Community vs. #7 Brad Laughlin- Yorktown
 
145lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
Unranked qualifiers:
Daylan Schurg- Crown Point
Tanner Shipley- Huntington North
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#6 Trent Pruitt- Warren Central vs. #19 Doug Levitz- Prairie Heights
#15 Bryant Haynes- Charlestown vs. #1 Jacob Covaciu- Merrillville
#2 Cael McCormick- Yorktown vs. #18 Alston Bane- Richmond
#14 Tavonte` Malone- South Bend Adams vs. #5 Blake Jourdan- Evansville Mater Dei
#4 Evan Smiley- Beech Grove vs. #7 Tony Vaughn- Elkhart Memorial
#3 Steven Lawrence- Portage vs. #10 Patrick Schnell- Castle
 
152lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
Unranked qualifiers:
Corbin Gregg- Hamilton Southeastern
Dru Berkebile- Yorktown
Gleason Mappes- Center Grove
Isaiah Michaels- Centerville
Marquis Schieber- Jimtown
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Isaiah Kemper- Evansville Central vs. #13 Mike Krzyston- Andrean
#7 Elijah Dunn- Indian Creek vs. #4 Jarod Swank- Penn
#6 Kellen VanCamp- Lebanon vs. #12 Peyton Sturgill- Peru
#16 Kodie Christenson- Lake Central vs. #10 Cayden Whitaker- Martinsville
 
160lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
Unranked qualifiers:
Dezmen Goddard- Warren Central
Evan Stambaugh- Lebanon
Jordan Rader- Peru
Kody Caudle- Danville
Tristan Goering- South Bend Riley
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#11 Jacob Weimer- East Noble vs. #12 Tristen McDaniel- Tecumseh
#2 Gabe Koontz- Edgewood vs. #10 Bryce Baumgartner- Bellmont
#14 Jesse Archer- North Montgomery vs. #3 Darden Schurg- Crown Point
#7 Adam Dodson- John Glenn vs. #8 Ethan Briggeman- Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter
 
170lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
Unranked qualifiers:
Ben Norton- LaVille
Blake Jeffress- Castle
Brett Baker- Bellmont
Zach Davis- Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran
Zach Worm- Southmont
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#9 Nathan Walton- Brownsburg vs. #10 Hunter Mote- Delphi
#4 Dillon Jackson- Yorktown vs. #19 Spencer Irick- Hamilton Southeastern
#17 Ismael Cornejo- Portage vs. #5 Jacob Stevenson- Franklin Community
 
182lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Andy Kohler- Jay County
Caleb Hoots- New Castle
Gage Garpow- Winamac
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Corey Hinkle- Western vs. #20 Ryan Hammond- Whiteland
#4 Conner James- Roncalli vs. #3 Andrew Davison- Chesterton
#5 Mason Parris- Lawrenceburg vs. #9 Jake Kleimola- Lake Central
#13 Hunter Hiestand- Yorktown vs. #10 Kyle Shaffer- South Putnam
#17 Matt Hayes- Providence vs. #16 David Eli- Elkhart Memorial
 
195lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
Unranked qualifiers:
Carter Friedt- Bellmont
Christian Redmond- Jennings County
Jake LaMar- Castle
Justin Akers- Crown Point
Scottie Evans- Delta
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#11 Sam Hipple- Carmel vs. #16 Tanner Bradley- Mishawaka
#9 Matt Hedrick- Portage vs. #4 Tristen Tonte- Perry Meridian
#5 Nick Fowler- Calumet vs. #10 Scott Fuller- Zionsville
#17 Bo Davis- Garrett vs. #18 Garrison Lee- Monrovia
 
220lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
Unranked qualifiers:
Blake Davis- Garrett
Dustyn Hangen- Winchester
Tristin Choate- Mt. Vernon
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#2 Eliseo Guerra- Elkhart Central vs. #18 Braden Majewski- Portage
#9 Kasha Wilder- Ben Davis vs. #13 Erik Hart- Lebanon
#15 Ryan Guhl- Indianapolis Cathedral vs. #10 Clayton Scroggs- Martinsville
#5 Gunnar Larson- Avon vs. #17 Noah Grable- New Palestine
#7 Seth Meyer- Harrison (West Lafayette) vs. #8 Evan Ellis- Eastern (Greentown)
 
285lbs
Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 9
Unranked qualifiers:
Brendan Sutton- Jennings County
Dax Hiestand- Yorktown
Drew Cummings- Columbia City
Drew Hobick- Zionsville
Evan Beech- North Miami
Jordan Shafer- Rochester
Robert Samuels- Lawrence North
First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
#7 Quinn York- Franklin Community vs. #8 Jasion Brogan- Warren Central

State Finals Hashtag: #INStateFinals15
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 125 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis | Website
Admission: $8 per session or $20 both days.
Match Results: TrackWrestling.com
 
Friday, Feb. 20, 2015
First Round | 6 pm ET.
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015
Quarterfinals | 9:30 am ET with semifinals to follow.
Consolations | 5 pm ET.
Finals | 7:30 pm ET. Important Links
TrackWrestling Link
IndianaMat brackets(with rankings)
 
Video via TrackWrestling's Trackcast
$5 fee to watch all weekend
TrackWrestling Link
 
Streaming and Broadcast Information
 
State Finals Pick’ems
 
Takedown and Release
 
Rankings by the Numbers
 
State Finals Preview

A family that wrestles together stays together
There are seven sets of brothers at the state finals this year, including two sets from Crown Point. The biggest difference in weight is between the Akers brothers coming in at 138lbs and 195lbs.
Sets of Brothers
Riley and Justin Akers from Crown Point
Bo and Blake Davis from Garrett
Dax and Hunter Hiestand from Yorktown
Nick and Joe Lee from Evansville Mater Dei
Darden and Daylan Schurg from Crown Point
Evan and Ethan Smiley from Beech Groove
Jake and Nate Weimer from East Noble
 
Grade Breakdown
There are 19 freshmen that qualified for state, none above 182lbs and 8 qualified at 106lbs.
There are 43 sophomores that qualified for state with nine coming at 113lbs and at least one in every weight class.
There are 66 juniors that qualified for state with the most being at 145lbs with 8 and least being 285lbs with 3.
There are 96 seniors that qualified for state with 10 at 138lbs and 285lbs and with zero at 106lbs.
 
Wins are good, losses are bad
The most wins coming into the event is 52 by Harrison’s Seth Meyer. Mason Parris of Lawrenceberg has the most wins without a loss with 51. There are 21 wrestlers with zero losses, 22 with one loss, and 25 with two losses.
 
The most losses belong to Gleason Mappes of Center Grove with 19 losses on the season. There are 15 wrestlers with 10 or more losses.
 
In total the wrestlers at the state finals have combined for 8,149 wins and 989 losses or an average of 36.4 wins and 4.4 losses.
 
Rankings Matter
In the preseason magazine there were 166 wrestlers ranked that made the state finals, which is 66%. Note that the preseason rankings only rank 16 wrestlers. In the final rankings there were 172 ranked wrestlers or 75% that qualified for state. Of the unranked wrestlers to make it to state, three were semi-state champions: Austen Laughlin, Dru Berkebile, and Dezman Goddard.
 
I am #1
Seven wrestlers were ranked preseason #1 and still ranked #1 at the end of the season: Colten Cummings at 106lbs, Garrett Pepple at 113lbs, Chad Red at 126lbs, Tommy Forte at 152lbs, Blake Rypel at 182lbs(now at 195lbs), Kobe Woods at 220lbs, and Shawn Streck at 285lbs. Brandon James started the season ranked #1 at 138lbs, but was #2 for a few weeks and now is #1 once again. The same goes for Dylan Lydy at 170lbs, who started the season at #1 and fell, but is now back at #1.
 
Conference foes qualify for state
Four wrestlers from the Northeast Hoosier Conference all qualified for state at 126lbs: Nate Weimer, Owen Doster, Daniel Gunsett, and Kobe Raypole. Even more interesting is all of these wrestlers are underclassmen AND the alternate is also from the same conference.

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About every four years lucky ladies from around the state get to spend their Valentine’s Day nestled up in a warm gym watching some great wrestling. Gentlemen, be sure to get your cards and flowers early so you beat the lunch time rush to the nearest Wal Mart for a card and flowers. While, coaches and fans will be exchanging cards and flowers with their significant others off the mat, on the mat it is a different story. We will have numerous slobber knockers and knock’em down, drag’em out matches going on from start to finish.
 
The team race is Yorktown’s to lose, but they will be pushed by three NHC teams in Carroll, East Noble, and Bellmont. They also cannot overlook a team like Elkhart Memorial who has some tough wrestlers and favorable draws. Yorktown could punch anywhere from 5-10 tickets to state. East Noble could pose the biggest challenge as they have four wrestlers who could bring back championships. Carroll has a shot if they win some early matches with the Yorkies. Bellmont, they might not use magic, but bring ten to Fort Wayne that are ready to scrap.
 
Note, due to a certain team having quite a few representatives I am going to forgo any predictions on who will advance.
 
106lbs
No seniors qualified at this weight and this can be one of the most up for grabs weights on Saturday. The top quarter-bracket is the one with the most intrigue. You have regional champ JC Herring with only two losses, a freshman with on 3 losses in Austin Moore, and Wayne’s Geoffrey Davis who is having a very good season. Each of these wrestlers provide interesting match-ups and will make this quarter-bracket fun to watch.
 
Going down the line, the second quarter-bracket has the favorite Christian Hunt from Yorktown. He cannot overlook his ticket round match with either Christian Mejia or Joe Just.
On the top of the bottom bracket you will see one of the marquee ticket round matches of the day. In a battle of superb freshmen you’ll have Tanner DeMien of NorthWood battling super Starfire freshman Wyatt Miller. Both only have two losses on the season and are favorites to finish on the podium at Banker’s Life.
 
On the bottom bracket you have Carroll regional champion Ben Streeter who looks primed to punch his ticket to state. He will have to battle a tough Owen Eveler of Northridge right off the bat. Payton Lechner of Western or Adams Central’s Nick Liter will battle it out in the first round.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Austin Moore- Central Noble vs. Geoffrey Davis- Wayne
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Tanner Demien- Northwood vs. Wyatt Miller- Northridge
JC Herring- Marion vs. Moore/Davis winner
 
113lbs
Defending semistate champion Garrett Pepple leads the way here at 113lbs. While he is the favorite, he cannot overlook Blake Glogouski who gave him a great 4-2 match at regional. Glogouski has a tough draw from start to finish as he will battle a very game Mason Mendez in the first round. The winner of that match gets one loss Jack Franklin of Homestead.
In the top bracket you have Flying Jet Anthony Mosser who is peaking at the right time after capturing sectional and regional championships. He will have a tough ticket round foe in Oak Hill’s Travis Davenport.
 
In the second quarter-bracket you have the aforementioned Pepple who could meet up with NHC foe Joel Byman for the third time or Western’s Tyler Lechner.
 
Jabin Wright has also been peaking at the right time as he captured the Peru regional championship last week. He will get the winner of Josh Stephenson of Yorktown and Kyle Mockensturm of Prairie Heights in the ticket round.
 
In the last quarter-bracket you have the previously mentioned trio of Franklin, Mendez, and Glogouski. Franklin’s only loss on the year is to Mendez at the conference tournament and Glogouski’s only loss is to Pepple last week.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Mason Mendez- Bellmont vs. Blake Glogouski- Fairfield
Josh Stephenson- Yorktown vs. Kyle Mockensturm- Prairie Heights
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Anthony Mosser- Adams Central vs. Travis Davenport- Oak Hill
Jack Franklin- Homestead vs. Mendez/Glogouski winner
 
120lbs
Hey guess what? We don’t have a rematch of the 3rd place match in the ticket round at 120lbs this year! Past that, this weight should be fun to watch. All of the top competitors at this weight are fast paced and put points on the board. This weight is highlighted by #2 ranked Sawyer Miller, along with state placer Hunter Langeloh, and state qualifiers Jon Becker and Edward Loraine.
At the top you have state qualifier Loraine, who will have to go through a tough Brock House of Delta and Goshen regional champion Marcus Mejia of Elkhart Memorial. Mejia has had a great season and his potential match with Loraine could be a doozy.
 
In the second quarter-bracket you have a first round match-up between NHC foes Ben Cauffman of Carroll and Jon Becker of Bellmont. These two did not meet this year, so the jury is out on who will come out on top. The winner of that match will most likely get Peru regional champion Chad Elmore of Taylor.
 
On the top of the bottom bracket last year’s 106lbs 7th place finisher Hunter Langeloh comes in with only four losses and the heavy favorite. Don’t count out Yorkie freshman Colt Rutter as his 11 losses can be deceiving. Also in that quarter-bracket is NHC rival Kyle Davis of Dekalb who seems to be hitting stride at the right time.
 
Sawyer Miller highlights the last quarter-bracket with his unblemished record. He needs to stay the course as the last time a senior from South Adams came to the coliseum undefeated he left before lunch. He will have senior Kyle Rothgeb of Heritage first round and a potential meeting with Laker Cole Long in the ticket round.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Ben Cauffman- Carroll vs. Jon Becker- Bellmont
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Marcus Meija- Elkhart Memorial vs. Eddie Loraine- Leo
 
126lbs
The big storyline at this weight is the possibility of four wrestlers from the same conference all punching their tickets to state. The Northeast Hoosier Conference(RIP) has five very fine competitors at this weight in regional champions Owen Doster of New Haven, Daniel Gunsett of Bellmont, and Nate Weimer of East Noble. Lastly Carroll’s Kobe Raypole is in the last bracket and if he navigates his first two opponents could break through to state.
 
At the top of the bracket Doster will have a wrestling battle with upstart Jimmie JD Greathouse. Doster has had a superb season after being put out of the tournament due to an injury last year. Greathouse is a darkhorse that placed 5th at the Al Smith and snuck into the last rankings update.
 
In the second quarter-bracket you have Gunsett on top with a tough first round opponent in Woodlan’s Nik Hoot. Hoot is an inspirational wrestler that should get a standing ovation whether he wins or loses. The winner of Hoot and Gunsett will get the winner of Devin Maggard of Marion and Logan Maynard of Goshen.
 
On the bottom half you have probably the most competitive quarter bracket with Oak Hill’s Zach Gunter coming in as the top seed. The 2 vs. 3 match will be a good one with Raypole battling a tough Remington Hiestand in the first round. The Hiestand vs. Raypole winner is considered a slight favorite by many to punch their ticket to state.
 
Lastly, the bottom bracket will probably feature a battle of NHC foes. Nate Weimer is looking wrestle at Banker’s Life for the second straight year, while nemesis Drake Rhoades is looking to derail those plans. Rhoades may have 13 losses, but he has the potential to beat anyone on any given day.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Kobe Raypole- Carroll vs. Remington Hiestand- Yorktown
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Owen Doster- New Haven vs. JD Greathouse- Jimtown
Drake Rhodes- Homestead vs. Nate Weimer- East Noble
 
132lbs
One unique thing about this weight class is you have had pretty much two tough guys at each regional. This makes for solid separation of this weight and no cringe worthy draws. Two-time state placer Connor Knapp is the head of the class, but will be pushed by Sage Coy in the semi-finals. On the bottom half, Kyle Egolf and Caleb Maddox are favorites, but need to wrestle well to punch their tickets.
 
The top bracket has the heavy favorite Knapp. Last year’s run to the semi-state championship included wins over three wrestlers that were semi-finalists…this year’s road is a little less bumpy. He will likely face Bulldog Ryan Shaffer in the ticket round.
 
Sage Coy is making the most of his first state series after some bad luck the previous two years. He will have to battle one of two freshmen, Carroll’s Joel Arney or Eastbrook’s Christian Bratcher in the ticket round. Coy is a physical wrestler that has a wide array of attack from throws to shots to defense.
 
Going down the line, you get one of the more intriguing first round matches between relatively unknown Jamal Scott and well known Jacob Stephenson. The winner will get a tough Kyle Egolf in the ticket round. This is probably the toughest to predict quarter-bracket at 132lbs.
 
Lastly you have the senior who has paid his dues in Caleb Maddox and the fantastic freshman Fernando Luevano of West Noble. Along with the contrasting experience, Maddox is a tall and lanky lad, while Luevano is short and stocky. Look for this to be a very good match in the ticket round.
 
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Jacob Stephenson- Yorktown vs. Jamal Scott- Elkhart Central
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Fernando Luevano- West Noble vs. Caleb Maddox- Western
Kyle Egolf- Columbia City vs. Scott/Stephenson winner
 
138lbs
This weight is highlighted by two returning state qualifiers in mighty Squire Clayton Moore and the tough Tiger Brad Laughlin. Along with those two you have an undefeated Isaac Eicher and a state ranked Jay Franko also in the mix. This weight class will be one of the better ones to watch from the semi-finals on.
 
Early on you will see returning state qualifier Moore battle one of two tough juniors in the ticket round. Nathaniel Smith of Columbia City has the tools to give the top wrestlers a great match. He will have to get past Exuse(pronounced Zues) Brown of Muncie Central in the first round.
 
The jumpin' Jimmie Jay Franko looks to be the favorite in his quarter-bracket. However, the senior will have to fend off either Busco Bad Boy Chase Downing or the pink haired Robert Ford of Monroe Central. Both Ford and Downing come in with very few losses and have the potential to give Franko a run for his money.
 
Probably the most solid quarter-final lock would be Yorktown's Brad Laughlin. He is having a stellar sophomore campaign and will likely face Fremont junior Hunter Leskowyak in the ticket round.
 
The last quarter-bracket will see an undefeated Isaac Eicher of Leo as the early favorite. His biggest competition could be from Goshen's battle tested Joel Byler. Shane Curtis of Oak Hill cannot be overlooked as he has had a solid senior season.
Early Slobber Knockers
Exuse Brown- Muncie Central vs. Nathaniel Smith- Columbia City
Robert Ford- Monroe Central vs. Chase Downing- Churubusco
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Clayton Moore- Manchester vs. Brown/Smith winner
 
145lbs
With the way this weight was spread out in the semi-state, we knew there would be some good early matches. The Goshen regional boasts four solid grapplers that cannot be overlooked. Throw in two-time placer Cael McCormick and two-time ticket rounder Tanner Shipley, some good wrestlers will be buying a ticket at Banker’s Life next week.
 
In the top quarter-bracket you have two coaches sons battling in out in Cael McCormick and Logan Williams. McCormick has two state medals, but this could be his toughest ticket round match. Williams is a good wrestler that is very fundamentally sound. Look for a very good match here.
 
The second quarter-bracket is a toss-up with Prairie Heights standout Doug Levitz as the early favorite. He will need to go through two-loss Brody Hardcastle of Oak Hill to punch his first ticket to state.
 
The third quarter-bracket is going to be fun to watch. Tanner Shipley has been in the ticket round twice and comes in as the regional champ. He will have a very tough Nathan Housholder in the first round, with the winner facing Hunter Bates who is having an outstanding season. Bates defeated Shipley in a close match early in the season and Shipley defeated Housholder earlier in the season also.
 
The last quarter-bracket has returning state qualifier Tony Vaughn that is most people’s favorite to qualify. However, he cannot overlook either of his opponents. Kyle Leland has been wrestling very well as of late and he could push Vaughn in the first round. Joe Becker of Bellmont…well he’s from Bellmont, never count out a Brave in the ticket round.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Tanner Shipley- Huntington North vs. Nathan Housholder- East Noble
Tony Vaughn- Elkhart Memorial vs. Kyle Leland- Homestead
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Cael McCormick- Yorktown vs. Logan Williams- DeKalb
Shipley/Housholder winner vs. Hunter Bates- Adams Central
 
152lbs
As we move up in weight the competition will get stiffer. At 152lbs you have #3 ranked Josh Garman leading the way with an unblemished 40-0 record. He will come in as the favorite, but will need to navigate some tough wrestlers like Peru’s Peyton Sturgrill and red hot Jimmie Marquis Schieber to bring the semi-state championship back to Huntertown.
 
At the top you have Garman as the favorite in his quarter bracket. He could meet up with Garrett Griffen of Northwood whom he pinned in the finals of the Wild Bill Invite. Griffin will have to get past three-loss sophomore Quentin Moore in the first round, while Garman has Tyler Leonard of Jay County.
 
The second quarter bracket has a good mixture of youth and experience. Dru Berkebile of Yorktown comes in with only five losses and is ONLY a freshman. He will face the winner of two three loss seniors that will battle it out in the first round. Taylor Grim of West Noble will face fellow senior Breighton Mullinix of Oak Hill who dropped to 152 late in the season.
 
On the bottom half, you have Marquis Schieber who has been on fire as of late. He won a very good sectional and regional after having a disappointing regular season. He will face the winner of small school studs Tate Burns of Eastside and TC Perry of Southern Wells.
 
The last quarter bracket is going to be another one that is an absolute toss-up. First round you have a rematch of the 3rd place match at the Al Smith when regional champion Peyton Sturgill battles Ronnie Longbreak. The other early match will have NHC rivals on the mat when Cross Dietrich takes on Tony Busse. Busse won a 9-6 match at the conference tournament just a few weeks ago. On top of all of that, Sturgill defeated Busse 1-0 at the Al Smith.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Quentin Moore- Manchester vs. Garrett Griffin- Northwood
Taylor Grim- West Noble vs. Breighton Mullinix- Oak Hill
Peyton Sturgill- Peru vs. Ronnie Longbreake- Elkhart Memorial
Tony Busse- Bellmont vs. Thaddeus-Cross Dietrich- Columbia City
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Grim/Mullinix winner vs. Dru Berkebile- Yorktown
Sturgill/Longbrake winner vs. Busse/Dietrich winner
 
160lbs
With the potential of two state ranked wrestlers meeting in the ticket round many people are thanking the bracket gods for separating the top wrestlers here. Jake Weimer, Jacob Grey, and #800lbGorilla Bryce Baumgartner all come in with high expectations and high state rankings.
 
On the top you have Weimer as the favorite. He was a state qualifier as a sophomore, but was upended last year in the ticket round. The added size has made him an even more dangerous wrestler. He will have the winner of Logan Snyder and DeShawn Barbary in the ticket round.
 
Weimer could meet up with undefeated Jacob Grey if everything goes as “planned.” Gray had a mild upset over Baumgartner at regional in a very close match. His potential ticket round match will feature either Eastside’s Gage Delong or Eastbrook’s Chris Wickline.
 
Nick Potter drew the tough task of being a regional champion and running into a returning state qualifier. Potter and Baumgartner are very familiar with eachother as Baumgartner owns two wins over him this year.
 
The last quarter bracket will once again provide a great storyline. Will the upstart freshmen come out on top or will the senior play spoiler? In the first round you have Luke Liter of Adams Central battling Prairie Heights’ Jed Levitz in a rematch from the 1A state finals. Liter won by pin, but don’t count out the Panther freshman. Lurking after that will be super Tiger freshman Jordan Rader. Peru wrestles a competitive schedule so his five losses are legit.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Luke Liter- Adams Central vs. Jed Levitz- Prairie Heights
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Liter/Levitz winner vs. Jordan Rader- Peru
 
170lbs
The main story-line here is the unknowns vs. the knowns. State 3rd place finisher Dillion Jackson leads the way, along with two-time state streeter Kaine Luginbill. Past those two though it is going to be interesting to watch.
 
At the top you have Jackson leading the way. He should be unchallenged to clinch his second trip to Banker’s Life.
Going down you have one of the unknowns in Concordia’s undefeated Zach Davis. He will have to get through five loss Colton Guy in the first round. Past that it will be a battle of two wrestlers with 10+ losses.
 
On the bottom bracket you have Luginbill as the favorite, but he will have to fend off two loss Luke Elliott in the ticket round. As with any match, Luginbill will make it interesting whether he wins or loses.
 
The last bracket will provide the most uncertainty. Regional champion Nick Ritchie comes in the slight favorite, but will be tested in the ticket round. That match will feature the winner of Brett Baker of Bellmont and Turtletown’s own Caleb Partin. The Baker name is synonymous with wrestling in Decatur so never look past him.
Early Slobber Knockers
Brett Baker- Bellmont vs. Caleb Partin- Churubusco
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Nick Ritchie- Elkhart Memorial vs. Baker/Partin winner
 
182lbs
Returning state 3rd place finisher Corey Hinkle made a late drop to this weight after wrestling 195lbs most of the season. Look for him to be the favorite, but past him it will be anyone’s guess as to who will punch their tickets to Banker’s Life.
 
At the top you have upstart Wyatt Clem of Homestead who comes in as the regional champion. He will have to fend off not only Jay County’s Andy Kohler, but also his coach’s impeccable beard.
 
Next you will have regional champion David Eli coming in as the favorite. He will be pushed early by Snider’s Russell Davies. After that he could face off with Daleville’s Corbin Maddox.
 
The bottom bracket will feature an interesting match between two teams vying for the semi-state title. Yorktown’s Hunter Hiestand will most likely battle Carroll’s Kayne Duncan in a great ticket round match.
 
Lastly, you have Mr. Hinkle who comes in with a zero in the loss column. He will however, be pushed in the ticket round by West Noble’s Oscar Reyes. Reyes got a late start to the season, but that could be in his advantage.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
David Eli- Elkhart Memorial vs. Russell Davies- Snider
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Wyatt Clem- Homestead vs. Andy Kohler- Jay County
Hunter Hiestand- Yorktown vs. Kayne Duncan- Carroll
Corey Hinkle- Western vs. Oscar Reyes- West Noble
 
195lbs
This is another weight class where the bracket gods separated the better wrestlers. The three returning state qualifiers all were separated from each other and that could make for an interesting day at the coliseum.
 
At the top you have returning state qualifier Tristin Anglin coming in as a four seed. He will have a tough match with Michael Leonard of Northwood who is no slouch. The winner of that match will get a tough Eagle junior in Scottie Evans. This top bracket is very hard to predict how it will come out.
 
Next we have the great unknown in Carroll’s Eric Dunten. He comes in without a blemish on his record in his first year on the varsity squad. He has three wins over both Anglin and Davis along with a win over #11 Sam Hipple. He will have a familiar foe in Bellmont’s Carter Friedt in the ticket round.
 
On the bottom half you will have returning state qualifier Bo Davis looking to make it to state once again. He will have to battle the winner of Mykal Taylor of Muncie Central and Lane Eckrote of North Miami.
Lastly, you have the heavy favorite Myron Howard of Yorktown. Howard was a 4th place finisher last year at 182lbs and is looking to add another medal this year.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Michael Leonard- Northwood vs. Tristin Anglin- Columbia City
Lane Eckrote- North Miami vs. Mykal Taylor- Muncie Central
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Scottie Evans- Delta vs. Leonard/Anglin winner
Bo Davis- Garrett vs. Eckrote/Taylor winner
 
220lbs
For being an upper weight, this one provides a great mixture of youth and experience. Leading the way is last year’s 6th place finisher and 2nd ranked Eliseo Guerra of Elkhart Central. He has had a tough sectional and regional, which in turn will make his path to clinching another state berth “easier.” Each of the quarter-brackets will provide some intriguing match-ups.
 
At the top the mighty Railroader Blake Davis comes in as the regional champion. However, he will have to battle mighty Redskin Derek Paz for a state berth. Paz defeated Davis at the Al Smith 5-1, so this could be a very interesting match to watch.
 
In the next quarter-bracket, super Sophomore Evan Ellis looks to be the favorite. He will have a tough Goshen regional foe in Elkhart Memorial’s Kaleb Summers in the ticket round. Both are tough wrestlers and it is hard to give a confident nod to either grappler.
 
Guerra is the highlight of his quarter bracket. He could be pushed by Woodlan’s Edwin Barberena in the ticket round.
 
Lastly, the final quarter-bracket is probably the most mysterious with no clear cut favorites. Winchester’s Dustyn Hangen comes in with only one loss and on paper looks to be the favorite. He will have to battle the early round winner of Huntington North’s Lane Emery and Peru’s Erik Hobbs.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Layne Emery- Huntington North vs. Erik Hobbs- Peru
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Blake Davis- Garrett vs. Derek Paz- Goshen
Evan Ellis- Eastern- Greentown vs. Kaleb Summers- Elkhart Memorial
Dustyn Hangen- Winchester vs. Emery/Hobbs winner
 
285lbs
This weight is the definition of toss-up. Whoever comes into the coliseum wrestling well could be the champion or qualify for state. In looking at each quarter bracket, there is one where there is a favorite. The other three it will be easier to pick a champion from flipping a coin than analyzing wins and losses.
 
Matt Swartz of Snider looks to be the easiest pick to make it to the semi-finals, however he cannot overlook his first match with Mason Morningstar. He will face the winner of Jimmie sophomore Nick Mammolenti and Marion’s De’Andre Hodge.
 
The second quarter bracket is about as crazy as it can me. Returning state qualifier Owen Perkins is the “headliner” of the group, however he cannot overlook anyone. Last year he defeated Dax Hiestand in the first round of semi-state, so he has an edge there. Brock Bergman of Lakeland is a big guy and will pose trouble for Perkins in the first round. Hiestand also cannot overlook the young buck from Carroll first round.
 
The third quarter-bracket comes with as much uncertainty as Indiana weather. Issac Barrios of Elkhart Central is solid, but drew a red hot Evan Beech of North Miami. In a battle of quick and athletic big guys, Daemon Williams of Bishop Luers will battle Kiaser Phillips of Monroe Central. Again, all these match-ups are toss-ups as any of these four guys can punch their ticket to Banker’s Life.
 
Lastly, the bottom quarter-bracket has just as many storylines. At team state Braxton Amos of Prairie Heights defeated Isiah Bollenbacher 2-0, however each needs to get past their first opponents. Amos will have Dante Graham of Western who has given guys like Perkins tough matches. Bollenbacher will have a game Drew Cummings of Columbia City who has some good wins this year.
 
Throw the rankings and past results out the window for this weight class as the only thing that will matter is who comes to wrestle on Saturday.
 
Early Slobber Knockers
Brock Bergman- Lakeland vs. Owen Perkins- Oak Hill
Evan Beech- North Miami vs. Issac Barrios- Elkhart Central
Daemen Williams- Bishop Luers vs. Kiaser Phillips- Monroe Central
Isiah Bollenbacher- Adams Central vs. Drew Cummings- Columbia City
 
Ticket Round Tussles
Dax Hiestand- Yorktown vs. Bergman/Owens winner
Beech/Barrios winner vs. Williams/Phillips winner
Braxton Amos- Prairie Heights vs.Bollenbacher/Cummings winner

Welcome to TripleB’s annual Evansville Semi-State Wrestling Preview Spectacular!!
 
Before we get into the good stuff, let’s cover what’s important:
 
TripleB presents the first ever Evansville Semi State Meet and Greet at The Gerst Haus, Friday night in Evansville at 8pm Evansville time. We’ll have 2 special guest as noted author and Evansville wrestling historian Hook and Half also known as John Johnson and incoming IHSWCA president Tskin himself, Tyson Skinner will be on hand to socialize with the Indiana wrestling community. This coincides with the Franklin Street Mardi Gras Pub Crawl. So come out and have a good time w/ The IndianaMat family!
 
This introduction and welcome to Evansville is brought to you by "literary titan and celebrated author Hook and Half”:
 
10,000 years after Paleo-Indians initially settled the "River City", wrestling fans will descend upon the Ford Center for what promises to be an outstanding day of semi state action.
 
When the Delaware Indians formally relinquished the Evansville area to General William Henry Harrison in 1805, they surely did not understand the value of the grappling space of which there were ceding!
 
Our 16th President grew up about 35 miles east of Evansville in Spencer County. One can ride a bicycle from his boyhood log cabin to Heritage Hills High School. Lincoln, who is honored in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, was said to have lost only one match in nearly 300 bouts. The presence of the Great Emancipator will felt this Saturday.
 
Wow, thanks hook and half! How can I be expected to follow that?? We’ll preview all 14 weights. Each weight will feature:
 
The Charles Barkley “Turrible” Draws - ticket round matches that shouldn’t be happening in the ticket round!
 
The Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Best first round matches!
 
The Built Ford Tough Locks - The Pickers of the Round Table has been assembled. There were very few, but any weight class where the pick for champion was unanimous, makes it a Ford Tough Lock. Ford Tough Locks were hard to come by this year as only 4 were given out.
 
Ford Fab 4 - After picks were gathered, points distributed, and the dust settled, we’ll have the Ford Fab 4.
 
Also at the end we’ll feature Hooks Picks as Mr. Johnson brings you a travel guide for things to do and places to eat in Evansville, along with some insider knowledge into the Ford Center.
 
Without further ado...UNLEASH THE PREVIEW!!
 
 
106: It’s appropriate that we start with this weight class, as it could be labeled “The Future Stars” of Evansville Semi-State. But for these guys their time is Now. 14 of the 16 wrestlers are freshmen and all 10 SS ranked wrestlers are here.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - No real matches jump off here, all the kids are solid. Trips will go with SS ranked #7 Tony Mosconi of Indian Creek vs. SS 8th ranked Dalton Craig of Jennings County. Mosconi has put together a solid Freshman season for the Braves. Craig’s 8 losses are a bit deceiving, he’s dropped multiple matches to conference Rival Graham Rooks. expect the winner here to push Levi Miller of North Posey in the the ticket round.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #1 Noah Hunt vs. #2 Mason Miranda...Whaaaaat?!? Triple B likes Miranda to win the match and the weight class Saturday! But the Pickers of the Round Table disagree.
 
Ford Fab 4 - The first committee vote featured 3 different favorites, but Frosh phenom Graham Rooks was the clear leader.
 
1st - Graham Rooks Columbus East, 2nd - Noah Hunt Bloomington South, 3rd - Tyler Mills Brownsburg, 4th - Levi Miller North Posey
 
 
113: The biggest questions at 113 - “Is he healthy enough?” “Is he gonna pull a Danny Williams?” Of course “he” is #1 ranked Paul Konrath and Konrath dominates this 113 discussion. After defaulting out at Regionals, questions have been flying. The P.O.T.R.T. say...he’s defaulting out to fourth. This weight is loaded with ticket round matches full of state worthy guys including state qualifiers Jacob Skaggs and Noah Franklin meeting up, as will former state qualifiers Kyle Luigs of Evansville Mater Dei and Hunter Fox of Cascade, and the high light might be Konrath and #4 Nick Weaver of Brownsburg.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Don’t be late Saturday! Freshman Phenom Tristan Sellmer has knocked off state qualifier Noah Franklin the last 2 weekends and his reward is….returning State Runner-Up Paul Konrath. Speaking of this Konrath kid…
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - #1 Paul Konrath and #4 Nick Weaver headline a spectacular ticket round session here at 113. Weaver might punch his ticket in any other quarterfinal, but this obstacle might be too big for the Bulldog.
 
Ford Fab 4 - The only thing of note here is that Konrath’s injury leaves the Pickers unsettled and because of that he is the first of five returning Semi-State champs to not get enough votes to be a Ford Tough Lock.
 
1st - Kyle Luigs Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Logan Dilbeck Gibson Southern, 3rd Jacob Skaggs Avon, 4th Paul Konrath Mt. Vernon
 
 
120: This weight class features dual winner for Curtain Jerker and Turrible Draw, 2 state qualifiers locking up first round does not make Sir Charles happy! Also of note, 120 features the second weight class where a returning semi state champ is not a Lock!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker/Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Ben Davis Junior James Pritchett was a surprise state qualifier a year ago for the Giants. This year he will have his work cut out for him as he will have returning 5th place finisher Tyler Ferguson of Evansville Reitz. Zoinks….that’s a bad draw!
 
Ford Fab 4: I had to double check the registry….Brock Hudkins is not a FTL?!?!? Unrest in the South after Will Egli’s big win over Ferguson last week has cause some to convert!
 
1st - Brock Hudkins Danville, 2nd - Tyler Ferguson Reitz, 3rd - Will Egli Evansville Mater Dei, 4th Isaac Gomez Plainfield
 
126: 2 returning state qualifiers Elliott Molloy and Alex Johnson will hook up in one semi, while the other side will look to benefit from having those 2 on the other side. 126 will also feature the first tie as the Round Table couldn’t come to an agreement over Braedon Clopton of Castle and David Lewis of Terre Haute South.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Trevor Reese of Franklin might have something to say about the Clopton/Lewis match as he looks to crash that party when him and Clopton go at it in the first round. Consider Reese a dark horse here and could punch his ticket also.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Chayce Young of Madison and Brody Boles of Mooresville are both returning Semi State Qualifiers. It looked like Boles was possibly gonna punch his ticket a year ago before getting caught on his back late in his first round match and dropping a tough 8-6 decision to eventual SQ Austin Bethel. Young jumped out to an early 5-0 lead over Molloy in the ticket round before Molloy turned on his takedown machine and went to work. 2 questionable calls late in the match (I’m biased) cost Young his chance as he dropped a 10-8 OT decision. Now both seniors should put on the fireworks in their ticket round match...Charles can only shake his head….
 
Ford Fab 4: This was close on who wins Molloy/Johnson, but Molloy just pulled it out at the Table. Which could set up a nice revenge match in the finals w/ Young.
 
1st - Elliott Molloy Danville, 2nd Chayce Young Madison, 3rd Alex Johnson Evansville Mater Dei, 4th Winner of Clopton/Lewis.
 
132: Many people would expect this to be our first Ford Tough Lock….but stop the presses...Not So! You’ll have to skip ahead one weight class to see a Lee has our first FTL. The Hobbit from the North beLEEves in a Lee, but not the Wildcat. No he think’s Brayton Lee will shake Evansville to the core on Saturday.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Keep an eye on Tristin Dowell and Josh Elpers. Dowell has been a popular name on Indianamat this year, did New Albany just get the internet installed? Elpers has 13 losses, but wrestles in a tough area and could be ready to pull off a #4 over #1 come Saturday. Also Jaylen Lee vs. Cale McCoy. McCoy is a pick to get be Ford Fab 4 but Lee only has 3 losses and Ben Davis does not wrestle slouches. Could Jaylen Lee be this year’s James Pritchett?
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #2 Brayton Lee vs. #4 Austin Bethel, Freshman vs. State Qualifier. #1 Nick Lee vs. #5 Mitch Anderson. Bad draw’s abound here, all 4 of these guys are worthy of being SQ’s.
 
Ford Fab 4 - Once again the biggest shock is the Nick Lee is not a Ford Tough Lock, but we’ll see what happens come Saturday. Lee vs. Lee!!
 
1st - Nick Lee Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Brayton Lee Brownsburg, 3rd - Griffin Schermer Bloomington South, 4th - Cale McCoy Northview
 
 
138: It took 6 weight classes, but 138 gives us our first Ford Tough Lock - Evansville Mater Dei Freshman Joe Lee. There are some nice first round matches but overall it looks like the Castle Regional will reign supreme as projected top 3 all come from The Castle
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 2 matches both highlight the opening ceremonies at 138. Returning state qualifier Quinn Harris and Castle junior Austin Ramsey will both be looking to get to Bankers but first thing’s first… Also Franklin’s Shane Wilkerson and Gibson Southern’s Kyle Todrank will go at it. Wilkerson has been wrestling good as of late but is it enough to upend Todrank who is wanting a third match at Joe Lee
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - No complaints here, all looks good!
 
Ford Tough Lock - Our first one, Joe Lee Evansville Mater Dei. Todrank has kept it close, but expect the same result this weekend.
 
Ford Fab 4 - 1st Joe Lee Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Kyle Todrank Gibson Southern, 3rd - Austin Ramsey Castle, 4th - Nick Weddle Ben Davis
145: This weight features our second Ford Tough Lock, and he’s also a Wildcat, Blake Jourdan joins teammate Joe Lee as being a Ford Tough Lock. The Pickers also project 2 upsets, in terms of SS rankings, at this weight as Ethan Herrin (#5) is favored over Thomas Dull (#2) and Brennan Barlow (#8) is favored over returning state qualifier Bryant Haynes (#4)
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Potential #4 over #1 Madison’s Trenton Dempler and Mooresville’s Christian Warren look to go. Expect this match to be all go and Dempler’s matches never seem to be boring.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Herrin and Dull features a match where 2 kids that have been at the top all year is going home. Herrin’s come from behind win last week at regionals and Barlow finally catching Dull both show how close this match was from not happening, anything falls different and we are looking at different match ups here.
 
Ford Tough Lock - Blake Jourdan, Evansville Mater Dei
 
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Blake Jourdan Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Patrick Schnell - Castle, Ethan Herrin Jennings County, Brennan Barlow Bloomington South
 
 
152: 3 weight classes in a row with a Ford Tough Lock. This one is also from Evansville but not from Mater Dei! Central’s Isaiah Kemper looks to bring the Bears another Semi-State Champ. The Mooresville Regional will have some chances to take some cracks at Kemper as 1 loss junior Elijah Dunn and 4 loss junior Cayden Whitaker look to punch their tickets
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Nothing really jumps off the page. Look for some seniors to give favorites tough first round matches. Heritage Hills’ Cordell Miller will battle Whitaker and Brownsburg senior Brandon Gay, who is relatively new to 152, might frustrate Kemper.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - #5 Tre Lynch finds himself in a tough spot after dropping some tough losses at Sectionals and Regionals, he now finds himself against #2 ranked Dunn in the ticket round. Does the Bulldog senior have what it takes?
 
Ford Tough Lock - Isaiah Kemper Evansville Central
 
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Isaiah Kemper Evansville Central, 2nd - Cayden Whitaker Martinsville, 3rd Elijah Dunn Indian Creek, 4th - Jacob Farmer Castle
 
 
160: 160 features returning Semi-State Champ Gabe Koontz, but is he a lock, not according to the Round Table. Brendon Helm has an off season win over Koontz and some think he will win again come Saturday. Trips went against the grain and took Turner Lockyear in the upset, but he was voted down at the Table!
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - #8 Nick Buedel of Evansville Mater Dei is described as a high intense wrestler and his first round opponent, Wes Ferguson of Jennings County has worked his way into the Panthers line up and has a stellar 21-2 record. Neither senior wants their season to end in the first round!
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #3 Tristan McDaniel vs #5 Ethan Runyan - Runyan is battle tested as he’s had a tough path through the state tourney, will the battle tested Runyan be able to knock off the Tecumseh senior? #2 Brendon Helm vs. #4 Turner Lockyear - these guys have a total of 5 losses between them. Both started the season at 170 and dropped to 160 midway through. Both are seniors...Who wins?!?!?!?
 
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Gabe Koontz Edgewood, 2nd - Tristan McDaniel Tecumseh, 3rd - Brendon Helm Avon, 4th - Kody Caudle Danville
 
170: A returning state champ, and not the favorite, Franklins Jacob Stevenson has ran into rough competition w/ a bullseye. He took a loss last weekend to Ben Davis’ Dylan Lydy. Stevenson also got a late start and could still be feeling the effects of a football injury. With all of those factors the Pickers had to go with Lydy here.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - #3 Nathan Walton vs. #4 Noah Huelsing, Cra-Cra…. The freshman from Brownsburg has been in behind Lydy and Stevenson...now that pays off with #4 Huelsing in a great opening round match. This will definitely be better than Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan at Wrestlemania 28 (worst curtain jerker ever).
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - See above, the winner probably punches their ticket, but it’s a shame one of these guys are going home early.
 
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Dylan Lydy Ben Davis, 2nd - Jacob Stevenson Franklin Community, 3rd Nathan Walton Brownsburg, 4th - Blake Jeffress Castle
 
182: Undefeated Super Sophomore Kyle Shaffer from South Putnam seemed like sure lock, but not this year. However it does seem like we’ll see another round of Shaffer vs. Elmore. Can the senior from Avon finally knock off Shaffer? Super sleeper, 2 loss frosh Ryan Hammond from Whiteland got some love from the Pickers, not enough to get into the Fab 4 but enough to take notice.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 8th ranked Peyton Shepherd of Jennings County vs. the aforementioned Hammond. The winner will look to spoil Hunter Dalton’s ticket round.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #2 Evan Elmore vs. #3 Sam Bassemeier. Why wasn’t Shaffer a lock you ask? Some believe that Bassemeier will crash the North’s party and skate out of the Ford Center as Semi State Champ. Bassemeier’s one loss was a 5-2 decision to Elmore at the Mater Dei Classic. Turrible says Charles….just Turrible
 
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Kyle Shaffer South Putnam, 2nd - Evan Elmore Avon, 3rd - Matt Hayes Providence, 4th - Hunter Dalton Bloomington North
 
195: Randy Scott...need we say more? Well yes we do b/c Scott was not another victim of one of the pickers thinking he’s ripe for the upset this weekend. Scott had a big ticket round last year knocking off Dakota Thacker and rode that win to Semi-State runner up and 3rd place finish at state. Will Scott be the victim this year as he’ll likely face #2 Adam Lytle from Tecumseh in the ticket round.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - None of these first round matches really made Barry give himself a pat on the back. He wound up going w/ #7 Chase Thompson of Jeffersonville vs. #4 Garrison Lee of Monrovia. Sometimes styles clash, can Thompson keep the Red Devils state streak going?
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #1 vs. #2, #3 vs. #4….all in the ticket round. What’s up with that??? Jasper’s #3 Ian Songer vs. #4 Lee...The Table likes the upset here. #1 Scott vs. #2 Lytle Scott got the votes and was unanimous here. Sir Charles said that this weight was worse bad, just bad. He asked about going best of 7??
 
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Randy Scott Mooresville, 2nd - Chase Anslinger Evansville Mater Dei, 3rd - Garrison Lee Monrovia, 4th - Quade Greiwe Columbus East
 
220: 220 was a mess at The Table. Pickers chose everybody, I think DJ Radnovich even got a vote. 8 different wrestlers got votes, the most by any weight class by far. At one point there were 2 ties, we had look for hanging chads and almost drew straws. The consensus was the winner of Gunnar Lason and Corey Klem is the favorite to win state.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - #9 Brady Shepherd vs. #7 Kurtis Wilderman Evansville Mater Dei. 2 young, athletic big boys are gonna get after it. I don’t think this match will go 6 minutes. The winner here hopes to knock off the senior state qualifier from Ben Davis, Kasha Wilder.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Another #1 vs. #2 here as Gibson Southern’s Corey Klem was upended last weekend by La’Terrance Kyles, setting up this ticket round battle. The P.O.T.R.T. went with Larson here in a close one, however both guys were picked to win in all ballots. Another close one on the ballots was Kyles vs. #4 Martinsville Sophomore Clayton Scroggs. Trips likes Scroggs, but votes were close as Kyles ending getting the nod.
 
Ford Fab 4 - Due to the rare nature of Larson and Klem splitting votes, Larson ended up tying with Kasha Wilder. BBB gives Larson the nod and breaks the tie.
 
1st - Gunnar Larson Avon, 2nd - Kasha Wilder Ben Davis, 3rd - La’Terrance Kyles Evansville Harrison, 4th - winner of Tristin Choate and Dakota Short
 
285: The last of the weights features the last lock of the preview, Stormin’ Norman Ogelsby will look the gridiron in the fall with the Cincinatti Bearcats but hopes to finish up his season with a 3rd Semi-State title and push for a state title. This only the only weight that featured 4 locked picks as everybody agreed on the Ford Fab 4 here, but there were some disagreements on order.
 
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - #3 Bryce Biddle, Plainfield vs. 3 loss senior Colten Dossett of Tecumseh. Tough first round match, with the winner jumping right into a Turrible Draw match. #6 Adrian Butler Evansville Mater Dei vs. #8 Brett Henson Avon is another great first round match. Avon and EMD always bring their best stuff to the Ford Center, this one should be no different.
 
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Biddle vs. #2 Nathan Hayes Greensburg. Hayes hasn’t had the best of tournament runs and if the Pirate wants to finish his career in the Bank, he’ll need to knock off a game Biddle.
 
Ford Tough Lock - 3x Semi State champs are rare, and even rarer at HWT, but Norman Ogelsby should do just that Saturday in Evansville
 
Ford Fab 4 - 1st - Norman Ogelsby Ben Davis, 2nd - Quinn York Franklin Community, 3rd - Adrian Butler Evansville Mater Dei, 4th - Bryce Biddle Plainfield
 
 
 
We’ll end this article with Hook’s Picks:
 
· Dinner- Turoni's has two Evansville locations and a microbrewery. Their pizza is special. DiLegge's is a locally-owned Italian restaurant whose food is out of this world. Visit theHilltop Inn, recently voted the Manliest Bar in America. The adventurous should order a brain sandwich. Non-adventurers will be safe and happy with a bowl of Burgoo (trust me). Mrs. Hook loves their chicken livers. I am a Stromboli fiend, accordingly, I have eaten them everywhere. Nobody beats Pizza King for Stroms. Nobody. The Gerst Haus serves authentic German cuisine and has over 30 varieties of beer on tap. Get ready for a carbohydrate and protein load up!
· Franklin Street has a vibrant night life featuring restaurants, bars, taverns and a night club. Park your car, as the city offers shuttle service for the Mardi Gras pub crawl taking place this weekend.
· Get your ticket early. There is only one door to enter the Ford Center and it is going to be cold and windy on Saturday morning.
· Bring money. The Ford Center is one of Indiana's premier venues; it comes at a price. They get NBA-style prices for the concessions. Methinks that the good people of Castle should take over food duties...
· Bring a hoodie. An ice rink is beneath the mats. The place is fa-rosty.
· 70 years ago, 130,000 Americans hit Normandy's beaches, liberated Europe and altered the course of western civilization. Many of our boys caught a ride to the shoreline on the LST, built right here in Evans-Vegas. The LST 325 is downtown and available for tours. You will not regret it.
· John Reitz was a 19th-century lumber baron along the magnitude of a Bill Gates or Donald Trump. His son is the namesake of FJ Reitz High School and Reitz Memorial High School. The Reitz home is open for tours. The Mrs. and the kids will enjoy this.
· The Children's Museum of Evansville (CMOE) is within walking distance of the Ford Center and is a grand slam. When my three children--Hooksly, Hookticia and PowerHalf--were tikes, it was one of their favorite things to do.

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Brought to you by EI Sports
 
 

By JEREMY HINES
jerhines@cinergymetro.net
 
Brock Hudkins is hoping his bad luck is finally behind him.
 
The Danville junior 120-pounder has had untimely illnesses and injuries throughout his career. He broke his hand as a freshman, suffered from a severe case of dehydration at the state tournament as a sophomore and just recently recovered from a fractured finger.
 
“Brock really has had a lot of bad luck,” Danville coach Steve Pugliese said. “He broke his hand his freshman year, and then he was sick at weigh-ins at state and couldn’t wrestle as a sophomore. This year he was working out on a Friday and ended up smashing his finger severely and had to lose a month of the season.
 
“But he doesn’t let it affect him. “He understands that as long as he’s OK for the state tournament series, he can be a force.”
 
When he has been on the wrestling mats, he’s been dominate. He missed a month of this season, but has advanced to Saturday’s Evansville semistate with a perfect record. Hudkins is currently 25-0 on the year.
 
Hudkins started the season out as the No. 1 ranked 120-pounder in the state. Currently he is ranked fifth.
 
As a freshman Hudkins finished fifth at 106 pounds.
 
“I went into my high school career with the goal of winning four championships,” Hudkins said. “I finished fifth as a freshman. Everyone was telling me that fifth was a big deal. They would congratulate me on winning regional and semistate. But that wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted a state title.
 
“I felt like I let myself down. I set my sights on winning the next year, but the cards didn’t play in my favor at all when I got sick at weigh-ins. But now, it’s all I think about. I want more than anything to get under those lights.”
 
While most high school juniors enjoy video games, movies and having fun – Hudkins said his fun is wrestling. There is nothing else.
 
“I completely believe that,” Pugliese said. “He has earned his success. He is always training. When he says he doesn’t do anything else, it’s true. He’s not just saying that. I think in the summer he probably wrestled 50 matches across the country and I don’t think he got beat.”
 
Hudkins has a total of three losses in high school, yet he knew there were plenty of things to improve upon. According to Pugliese, he’s done that.
 
“He has gotten a lot better on his feet,” Pugliese said. “We work on that 90 percent of our practice time, and it’s really showing now.”
 
Pugliese feels that wrestlers at the elite level that Hudkins is at, have a certain quality that most wrestlers don’t exhibit.
 
“When I took this job, Hudkins was in fourth grade,” Pugliese said. “Everyone talked about him and talked about him. Finally, when I saw him compete I found out why they were hyping him so much.
 
“For him, like a lot of elite wrestlers, attitude is everything. He gets out in front of a bunch of people, and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care who’s watching him. He knows what he can do. He knows he’s earned his success. He knows he deserves to win the match.”
 
Pugliese also said that Hudkins is never arrogant or cocky about his abilities.
 
Hudkins truly loves wrestling.
 
“I love everything about it,” he said. “It’s fun. It’s the main reason why I wrestle. But I also love competing against other people. You don’t have to rely on teammates. It’s you and one guy in the middle of the mat going at it. Best man wins.”
 
After high school Hudkins hopes to wrestle for a Division 1 school. He is still contemplating his educational goals, but he’s narrowed it down to either a lawyer, a physical trainer or an engineer.
 
Hudkins will face Evansville Memorial sophomore Nolan Schaefer (27-18) in the first round of the Evansville semistate on Saturday.
 
If you have a #WrestlingWednesday feature idea, please contact Jeremy Hines at jerhines@cinergymetro.net.