Articles

No Clear Favorite in Northern States Race
- Jimtown, New Prairie appear strongest
 
The theme of the 2009 Northern States Conference wrestling tournament appears to be depth. The team that will take the crown will likely be the one that can place the most wrestlers in the most weight classes as no one team appears to be dominant.
Both Jimtown and New Prairie appear to have the depth necessary to carry themselves to a team title but Knox may have a say in the outcome as they will bring many outstanding grapplers to the clash Saturday at Jimtown High School. Following is a weight class breakdown of the meet:
 

103 –
 
Matt Lindsey of Triton brings a 21-1 record to Jimtown Saturday with his only loss coming to Jacob Schroeder of Rochester. Michael Wireman is the second seed with a 20-8 record.

112 –
 
This class appears to wide open as each of the seeded wrestlers beat one or more of the other seeds. LaVille’s Sean Webb (20-8) is the top seed, followed by Glenn’s Travis Mowery (15-8), Jimtown’s Zach Slough (14-6), and Knox’s Dakota Martin (17-10).

119 –
 
Knox’s ninth ranked Danny Bradley is the class of the field with his 25-0 record. Second seeded Kaleb McCallum of Glenn has bumped up to 119 late in the season and brings a 24-8 record to the table.

125 –
 
A two man battle looks to be waged here as number one seed Collin Crume (28-6) of Jimtown might face off with second seeded Kyle Hernandez of Knox (25-4) in the finals.

130 –
 
Another weight class where the top seeds all own victories over each other, this weight class seeds went based on winning percentage with Bremen’s Justin Bogart (23-5) earning the #1 seed, New Prairie’s Joe Zigler (25-7) at number two, Knox’s Devann Biddle (14-4) at three and Jimtown’s John Michael Moore (23-9) at four.

135 –
 
Jimtown’s returning semi-state qualifier Jeremy Hill (33-3) is the clear favorite here and he is the one seed, New Prairie’s Aaron Jeske (20-8) and LaVille’s Danny Kline (20-8) are the number two and three seeds respectively.

140 –
 
New Prairie’s dangerous Dillan Escobedo (15-13) earned the #1 seed based on victories over second seeded Darius Stevens (22-9) of Triton and #3 seed Matt Hill (20-11) of Jimtown.

145 –
 
Niles Goodman of New Prairie (20-9) is the one seed followed by LaVille’s Preston Pittman (15-12) and largely untested Mike Stout (10-4) of Culver.

152 –
 
Jordan Martin of New Prairie looks to be the class of the field with his 23-4 record. Knox’s Mike Hernandez (20-9) and Glenn’s Josh Dunbar (21-11) both look to challenge for a spot in the finals as the second and third seeds respectively.

160 –
 
A three man battle shapes up at 160 where top seeded Jimmy Krause (19-8) will battle New Prairie’s second seeded Ryan Balanow (23-6) and Triton’s third seed, Zach Clark (27-5).

171 –
 
This may be the deepest weight class of the meet. Jimtown’s Zach Spurgeon enters battle tested and as the top seed. Second seeded Robert Molebash of Culver owns a victory over state ranked Reece Farnham of Northridge and Knox’s Adam Winebrenner (3rd seed) has an outstanding 25-4 record. 4th seeded Dylan Senff (18-5), along with unseeded Jake Cornell (23-6) and New Prairie’s Jeff Jurczak (19-7) appear very capable of upsetting the big guns at this weight class. **NOTE: Triton’s eighth ranked state qualifier Blake Hoffer was injured last Saturday and is taking a week off to heal for sectionals.

189 –
 
Knox’s Alex Windbigler brings an outstanding 25-5 record to the top seed and he will be chased by New Prairie’s second seeded Eric Singleton (20-8).

215 –
 
New Prairie’s third ranked Kannon Keigley (31-1) is the clear favorite here. He has one loss on the season to Lowell’s second ranked Nathan Cleveland. Keigley has a win over highly regarded Christain Lentz of Mishawaka and will be looking at the conference meet as way to springboard him to a deep tournament run over the next month.

HWT –
 
John Glenn goliath Craig Fitzgerald (ranked second in the state) and Jimtown senior Zack Stone (ranked #15) appear to be class of this field. Fitzgerald, undefeated on the year, is the returning conference champ and placed 6th in the state last year. Stone is a semi-state qualifier from last year and placed 3rd at the Al Smith tournament. There was no head to head match-up as Stone was dinged up earlier in the year when Glenn and Jimtown matched up

Isaiah Kemper
11 years old
6th grade Thompkins Middle School/Evansville Central
 
 Isaiah won the Fern Creek Annual Invitation going 4-0 in the 117 lb weight class, 15-2, Fall,7-5 OT and a 4-2 victory in the finals. Isaiah followed that up by placing 1st in the Princeton Folkstyle Open over the weekend going 3-0 with 3 falls. Congratulations from everyone at indianamat.com

This weekend will be the annual tournament for the Hoosier Hills Conference. There will be 96 wrestlers competing, but only 14 champions will stand tall. There are a few returning champions and runner ups, but there are a few standouts I HAVE to mention.
 
At 119lbs, New Albany junior Tim Martin is the #1 seed. He has only 3 losses on the season and he looks very strong. He was a champion last year and is in the driver's seat to come away with anther title. He was undefeated at the conference duals, so defending his title should not be a problem.
 
At 130lbs #1 seed Joe Reitman of Jennings County looks very strong at his new weight class, but Brett Walker of Jeffersonville, Aaron Witt of Floyd Central, and Nestor Rodriguez of New Albany look to knock off the senior for the HHC title.
 
At 140lbs, #16 ranked Luke Armand of Jennings County looks to take this weight class as he will have a little competition in Darien Tatgenhorst of Jeffersonville. He is the younger brother of senior 189 Tyler Tatgenhorst, a semi-state qualifier last year that was previously ranked.
 
Finally, Jonathan Clark of Jefferson will look to reclaim the HHC title he won as a sophomore.  Clark is currently ranked #3 in the state along with being a state qualifier last year. He looks tough this year and you will most likely see him at Conseco again.
 
In the HHC it all comes down to which team will win it all. Floyd Central has beaten every team heads-up, but can they do it in a tournament? The Jeffersonville Red Devils have came close to beating the #2 ranked team Evansville Mater Dei and have a record of 22-7 on the season. Can the Red Devils win it? We will see on Saturday which team will reign supreme. Good luck to all teams this weekend. And please bring your "A" game. Have a good weekend everyone!

Click here for the Hoosier Conference brackets
 
Teams includ: Twin Lakes, Delphi, West Lafayette, Rensselaer, Tipton, Sheridan, and Benton Central

Click here for Woodlan Invitations brackets
 
Teams include: Bishop Luers, Bluffton, Churubusco, Elmhurst, Fremont, Greenville(Ohio), Leo, Wayne Trace(Ohio), and Woodlan

Full Rankings and Breakdowns can be found here:
 
1. Mishawaka (17-0)
2. Evansville Mater Dei (8-0)
3. Crown Point (11-1)
4. Cathedral (10-2)
5. Perry Meridian (14-1)
6. Merrillville (10-2)
7. Bellmont (16-2)
8. Evansville Reitz (20-0)
9. Portage (21-4)
10. Lawrence North (9-4)
11. Castle (7-1)
12. Yorktown (21-0)
13. New Palestine (23-4)
14. South Bend Riley (7-1)
15. Carmel (4-3)
16. Center Grove (16-0)
17. Penn (7-2)
18. Elkhart Memorial (11-0)
19. Warren Central (9-10)
20. Hamilton Heights (18-2)
 
Honorable Mention: Franklin, East Central, Avon, Roncalli, Pendleton Heights, New Castle, Westfield.

[caption id=attachment_268" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bloomington North's Joe Arthur][/caption]
 
This week's Toe to Joe is more of a Joe to Joe with Joe Arthur of Bloomington North High School.  Arthur was a Cadet National Champion in 2007 in the heavyweight division.
 
1. How did you get started wrestling and how many years have you been wrestling?
My father introduced me to wrestling. My father is BEST friends with Joe Van Deventer, father of the legendary Heath Van Deventer. Joe told My Dad that I should give it a try. I was always bigger than anyone my age and therefore I started on the mats throwing side headlocks when I was 4 years old.
 
2. What other interests/hobbies/sports do you participate in outside of wrestling?
I love football! And I also participated in track my freshman and sophomore years. My favorite thing to do in my spare time is hunting and fishing. I enjoy the outdoors very much. I also enjoy farming. There is nothing better then getting out on a BIG International Tractor and tilling up some land in southern Indiana.
 
3. Who is the toughest wrestler you have faced and why?
The toughest wrestler I have ever faced would be Atticus Disney from Kansas. Atticus gave my first defeat ever. Atticus is a redshirt freshman on a full ride scholarship to Minnesota.
 
4. What are your future plans after high school?
I plan to attend a 4-year school and either wrestle or play football, or both. I want to study some kind of Agriculture, or Criminal justice
 
5. What are more exciting matches to watch, the lightweights or the big guys and why?
I am a big guy so of course the big guys.  Not many of us cut weight so it all comes down to who has worked harder in the offseason, and during the season. And it is very exciting to see guys who look like they are not very mobile but really they are very agile!
 
6. What is the most memorable match you have wrestled and why?
My National championship match in Fargo, North Dakota is my favorite match yet. I really enjoy wrestling freestyle a lot. Being on that stage and everyone in the Dome watching you it was truly memorable, and something I will never forget. I can remember we were at St. Josephs College for the camp before we went to Fargo.  It was right after a practice and I was all hot and sweaty and I can remember looking in a mirror and asking myself are you the best freestyle heavyweight in the nation.  Automatically my mind said yes I believe you are and I really focused on that after I didn't all American in Greco. That was a turning point in my wrestling career.
 
7. You're in the third period in the state finals going for your first title and down by one point with 30 seconds left and on your feet, what move are you going to hit to bring home the title?
I would have to say foot sweep to a single and finish with a treetop.
 
8. Who is the most influential person in your life? Why?
My father because he just pushes me, and makes me understand how important certain things in life are.
 
9. Do you have any superstitions or routines when it comes to wrestling?
Yes I wear the exact pear of underwear and socks every weekend. I do wash them but it is a must have when I'm off to a meet. I just don't feel right without them!
 
10. What makes wrestling so great?
It is a ONE man sport. You have one goal go out and at the end of the match get your arm raised and you know you did what needed to be done. If you lose there is none else to blame but yourself

IndianaMat.com

Wrestler of the Week 1/5 - 1/10/2009


 
 
[caption id=attachment_273" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Perry Meridian's Sampson Cook][/caption]
 


Perry Meridian Senior
Sampson Cook
Cook was undefeated at the Bellmont Super Duals including a win by fall over then #1 ranked and 3 time state champion Josh Harper from Mishawaka.  Cook, a state qualifier last season, is currently 16-1 on the season and has moved to #2 in the rankings after his performance this past week.  Cook's lone loss came to the hands of IndianaMat Pound for Pound #1 Cashe Quiroga at the Marion County Tournament.  Cook's future plans include joining the United States Marine Corps.


 

Honorable Mention:
Fort Wayne SS -  145 pound senior Jordan Dulaney from Yorktown.  Dulaney was undefeated at the Franklin Super 6 this past Saturday including a win over Seyka of Holt, Michigan.
 
Evansville SS -  119 pound senior Alex Johns from Evansville Reitz.  Johns won the Lafayette 5 Star Classic in Lexington, KY and was named most outstanding wrestler while defeating 2 time Kentucky State Champion Matt Zarth of Lexington Henry Clay.
 
Merrillville SS - 119 pound junior John Petrov from Hanover Central won the Lake County Tournament while beating Al Smith champion and now #11 Jake Lamb of Lowell in the championship match.

Click here for the final Mid-States Conference brackets
 
Click here for the final team scores
 
Teams include: Decatur Central, Franklin, Greenwood, Martinsville, Mooresville, Plainfield, and Whiteland

Click here for the Hoosier Hills Conference brackets
 
Teams include: Bedford North Lawrence, Columbus East, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, Madison, New Albany, Seymour

[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="118" caption="The Juggernaut in action][/caption]
 
From the edge of the mat, your faithful narrator Dingo here with a look at the Good, the Great and the Ugly for Indiana wrestlers competing at the Cliff Keen National Duals at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa this past weekend.
 
The Good
 
 The Good starts with a young Juggernaut living in Madison, Wisconsin continuing to show just Howe good he is, even as a true freshman. Although Wisconsin's stay in the tourney was relatively brief, consisting of just 3 matches, Howe has shown that youth will be served this year at 165. Howe started off the Duals with a clutch 7-6 decision win over perennial contender Tyler Sherfey of Boise State. Some of you might remember Sherfey as the villain from Washington state who spoiled Alex Tsirtsis' bid for a Senior Nationals title with (literally) a last second takedown. Howe was one of only four victorious Badgers' wrestlers versus Boise State. Andrew helped Wisconsin avoid Indiana's fate (0 for 2 BBQ...more on that in a minute), as his 8-6 win over IU's Fightin' Paul Young was pivotal in the outcome of the dual. Simpy put, if Howe loses that match, Wisconsin loses to IU. The Juggernaut from Cedar Lake finished his tourney by beating a very solid Scott Glasser of Minnesota 6-3. In short, Howe beat everyone placed in front of him, joining top-10-ranked teammates Kyle Ruschell and Zach Tanelli as the only Badgers to win all three matches.
 
[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="124" caption="Alexander the Great][/caption]
 
Also falling under the category of The Good was the performance of Alexander Tsirtsis. Perhaps still smarting from his loss to Tanelli in the championship match at the Midlands, Alex joined Howe in beating everyone in front of him. Unlike Howe, Tsirtsis beat four opponents. First on the menu was Wyoming's Cole Dallasera;  tech fall victory, 16-1. Next--Minnesota's 8th ranked (Intermat) Mike Thorn; another Tsirtsis nail-biter, a 2-1 decision win. Alex didn't take his foot off the gas versus Nebraska's Curtis Salazar, earning another decision, this time by a 7-2 count. T-shirts finished the weekend as one of only four Hawkeyes to win all 4 of their matches. Alex wrapped up his fantastic day with a 10-2 major decision over Cornell's Corey Manson. Tsirtsis is continuing what has been a masterful season thus far.  He has a lot of close matches, as he has for his entire collegiate career, but this year he's winning nearly all of them.
 
[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Dolly is BACK!][/caption]
 
One last dose of The Good....this one from a guy who went 0-2 at the Duals. I've admitted before that I'm a big Alex Dolly fan, but all biases aside, it's great to see the gritty, gutty senior from Mishawaka back in action. Dolly lost his first match by an 11-2 score to reigning national champ Mike Pucillo of Ohio State. Alex dropped his second and last match to Michigan's Anthony Biondo by fall. I'm sure those weren't results that pleased Alex, but his past history has shown that he peaks at Nationals. With a much shortened season this year, that trend may be in jeopardy, but I wouldn't be surprised by a late season roll by Dolly. It's just great that he's back wrestling for the Panthers.
 
 
 
 

The Great
 
[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="600" caption="HUMP nosed viper][/caption]
 
Under almost any other situation, Tsirtsis and Howe would belong here. However, Reece Humphrey won the Most Outstanding Wrestler award at the duals. He did so in spectacular fashion, downing Intermat's #2, #4 and #17 ranked 133 pounders. Reece's undefeated weekend began with a pin of UNI's Josh Baldridge. Hump was just getting started, as he followed up the fall with a dominant 10-3 decision victory over All-American Mike Grey of Cornell. At this point, the rout was on, and Humphrey next added a 19-7  major decision over Missouri's Taylor Crane. Next up was Reece's biggest win of the season, and one of the biggest of his career--a 6-4 win over Boise State's 2nd ranked Andrew Hochstrasser. Not content with an already very impressive performance, Hump capped off his weekend with a huge 5-4 decision over last year's 125 lb. national runner-up and current 4th-ranked 133 lber, Jayson Ness of Minnesota. Reece got out to an early lead and held on to beat the extremely dangerous Ness, a notorious pinner. Hump finished as one of four Bucks to win all of their matches. This is a prime example of Humphrey's improved conditioning coming into play this season. With his march through some of the elite competitors in his weight class, Reece has put himself in a position that might see him with a high seed at Big 10s and Nationals. It's conceivable that Hump might join Tsirtsis and Escobedo as Hoosiers ranked #1 in their weight class this season. It is unknown whether or not the former Lawrence North standout busted out some of his dance moves after his huge performance, but who could blame him if he did?

OK, now for The Ugly

 
[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="136" caption="IU][/caption]
 

I hate to go negative, especially against my beloved Hoosiers. However, this has been a strange season in Bloomington. The season, which has featured some puzzling individual losses by IU veterans and a poor Midlands performance (Scott Kelly excluded), took another tough turn at the Duals, as IU was blanked 35-0 by an admittedly very strong Iowa State team in the opening round of action. It's baffling that a team as talented as IU could be completely shutout, even against an elite team like ISU. To their credit, the Hoosiers fought back hard in their consolation match against Wisconsin, losing a tight one to the Badgers. For the record, I can't criticize a bunged-up Angel Escobedo for losing to a very tough Tyler Clark of Iowa State. Like all IU wrestling fans, I'm hoping against hope that his shoulder holds up adequately through Big 10s and Nationals. Otherwise, this could be a disappointing season for the former Griffith stud.
Speaking of former Griffith studs, Andrae Hernandez continues to struggle at his new weight. While his first round battle with Nick Gallick was a fairly encouraging 4-2 loss, his 13-4 major decision setback to Tanelli was a continuation of what has been a very, very rough season for the former All-American. This performance on the heels of a poor Midlands performance has this IU fan wondering--What, exactly, is eating Andrae Hernandez this year?
 
[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="129" caption="What's eating Andrae Hernandez?][/caption]
 


While on the subject of former IU All-Americans who would just as soon forget this season to this point, there was a Matt Coughlin sighting at the Duals. Coughlin went 1-1, losing a tight 3-1 decision to #5 Cyler Sanderson of ISU and beating Wisconsin's Ben Jordan 3-2. It was nice to see that Matt was back in action, as Coughlin was supplanted this season by Kurt Kinser. It's a shame that two of IU's finest wrestlers are in the same weight class, and it would be great if both could somehow participate at Nationals. I know I'm not the only IU fan with his fingers crossed for the rest of the season. The talent is there, the experience is there....the word snake-bitten comes to mind as a description of the season thus far.
 
[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="124" caption="Ouch! Snakebitten like IU!][/caption]
 


Despite IU's struggles this season, this has been a stellar season for Indiana wrestlers. Tsirtsis and Escobedo have spent many weeks as the men to beat in their weight classes, and it's possible that Humphrey might ascend to that position as well. Hump and Tsirtsis appear to have excellent chances to obtain valuable high seeds at Big 10s and Nationals; it kind of goes without saying that Escobedo could conceivably run the table if his shoulder holds up. Howe and Kinser are beating elite wrestlers at their respective weights and are extremely capable of becoming All-Americans this season. Guys like Hernandez, Dolly, Navy's Casey Caldwell, Walpole, Young, PU's Chris Kasten and Nick Corpe and Northern Illinois' Bryan Deutsch
have all had excellent moments this season and might be darkhorses when the postseason rolls around. Combined with the success Indiana's high school wrestlers had this past offseason, this is one of the stronger seasons for Indiana wrestling that I can remember. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.
 
[caption id=" align="alignleft" width="127" caption="Indiana darkhorses][/caption]
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Well, this dingo is tired.  
[caption id=" align="alignnone" width="124" caption="One tired dingo][/caption]
 
See you all next time at the edge of the mat.

-- 5-0 at Bellmont Invite
 
Nobody would accuse the Mishawaka Cavemen of dodging the competition in their bid to repeat as team state champions for 2009. By looking at their schedule alone, everyone would get a pretty clear picture of whether Mishawaka would be the force they were last year.
The regular season schedule is now nearly complete. Saturday, the Cavemen defeated sixth ranked Bellmont 38-21, downed #2 Perry Meridian 29-25 along with defeating Whitko, Bloomington South and Evansville Memorial to run their season dual record to 16-0.
It does appear that Mishawaka is poised to make a strong run in defense of its state championship as they have faced nearly half of the states top twenty teams and beaten them all. If the schedule were not enough, the Cavemen have also had to battle injuries and ineligibilities that has left nearly a third of their projected preseason varsity line up either not wrestling or wrestling at something less then 100%. Rather then make excuses and wonder about 'what could have been', coach Darrick Snyder has used these hurdles as opportunities, not obstacles, for other wrestlers to step up and contribute against some of the state's best.
Saturday it was 152 pound backup, Marty Friedman who came up huge for the Cavemen. Subbing for an ailing, Tim Forte, Friedman scored a key win over #8 Blake Wood to help Mishawaka stay undefeated on the season. This was the swing match in a dual that saw Josh Harper get pinned in a tight cradle early in the second period and the Cavemen give up six uncontested points by forfeiting at the 103 lb. weight class.
It surely will be interesting to see if Mishawaka can stay healthy enough through the individual series to make it two straight or whether the likes of Mater Dei, Yorktown, Crown Point, Cathedral or Perry Meridian will be able to come up with the formula to defeat these resiliant Cavemen.

MATCH SUMMARIES - #1 Mishawaka 38 - #6 Bellmont 21The match-ups between state champ Josh Harper of Mishawaka and state placer Will Sheets along with top ranked Billy Baker of the Braves squaring off against #7 Christain Lentz highlighted this battle of longtime state powers.
With Mishawaka holding an early 8-3 lead, Baker scored an first period takedown by dumping a single. Lentz escaped late in the period to narrow the score 2-1 at the end of the first period.
In the second Lentz escaped early to tie the score at two until Baker was able to work a front headlock into a snap down position and was able to get behind the burly Lentz to take a 4-2 lead. Lentz was able to escape before the end of the period and the score was 4-3 at the end of the second period.
Baker chose down, quickly escaped and finished a third takedown midway through the third period, extending his lead to 7-3. Lentz made a flurry late, garnered an escape and takedown to narrow the lead to 7-6. The Caveman was forced to cut Baker and attempt a takedown to tie the match but Baker was able to counter and score, ending the match 10-6.
In the second battle of ranked wrestlers, #1 Josh Harper decisioned #6 Will Sheets of Bellmont, 8-2. Harper had a minor scare as he got a tad high riding with legs and Sheets sucked him under. Sheets was unable to hold him and only got a reversal.

#2 Perry Meridian 37 - #6 Bellmont 24
Bellmont started fast with wins at 215 and HWT. At 215 #1 Billy Baker rode #5 Chris Schafer the entire 2nd period and then escaped in the third, added a late takedown to take the win 3-0. AT HWT, tiny Daniel Meyer, who doesn't look like he weighs over 200 lbs muscled Devin Schafer to his back to collect a pin in 23 seconds. Just like that the Braves had a 9-0 lead and momentum.
Perry's line-up is too strong to let momentum build and just like a number one starter is expected to end a losing streak in baseball, the Falcon's young stud, Jared McKinley made short work of Bellmont's Blake Adams, pinning him with a cradle to cut the difference to three points.
Bellmont regained the momentum by picking up three close decisions at 112, 119, and 125. The Braves led 18-6 after six matches. Next up for Perry was #4 ranked Samson Cook who cut the lead to 18-12 with a pin in 1:02.
Sticking with the baseball analogies, Cook's pin was just the start of the Falcon's 'murderer's row' from classes 130 to 160. #8 Chris Goodwin @ 135, #10 Jacob Tonte @ 140, and #7 Jacob Taseff @ 145 all collect first period pins to swing the meet score to 30-18 in the Falcon's favor.
#14 Tyler Baker of Bellmont was able to momentarily stop the bleeding with his narrow 3-2 victory over #8 Blake Wood. At 160, Perry's #9 Chris Hudgins overcame two defeats earlier in the day to major John Mahlan, and 171 Jordan Robinson decisioned Grant Melcher to put the match out of reach at 37-21.

#1 Mishawaka 29 - #2 Bellmont 25Both Mishawaka's coach Darrick Snyder, and Perry Meridian's coach Jim Tonte issued promises earlier in the week. Tonte said that he thought his team was overrated but still could could contend for a state title. Snyder only promise was that his grapplers would handle both winning and losing in a better fashion than they did last year. It turned out that Snyder was correct, the Cavemen had no issues with attitude, and Tonte was wrong, the Falcon do not appear to be overrated at all.
Mishawaka started off hot, Dustin Boyd secured a decision on Perry freshman Andre Richards 4-0 and #7 Christain Lentz scored a minor upset with his 3-0 win over #5 Chris Schafer. Lentz rides with legs as well any big man in the state and used the hook to control Schafer the entire 2nd period, despite many strong scramble attempts by Schafer. Lentz was able to get off bottom in the third and finished a low double leg takedown to take the win.
Junior HWT Caveman, Travis Thomas kept things rolling for his team when he bundled up Devin Schafer in a crossface butcher to secure a pin with 20 seconds left in the first period. At 103 Perry's Jared McKinley took a forfeit to narrow the score to 12-6.
At 112 and 119, Mishawaka got rolling again with Paul Beck picking up a major decision and Matt Guerra defeated Jason Simmons 7-1 to stretch the Caveman lead to 19-6. Perry rebounded at 125 when freshman Kirk Johnson defeated Nick Schrader 8-3.
The score was 19-9 when 130 lb. wrestlers Samson Cook and Josh Harper took to the mat. Number one versus number four in the state, it had the makings for a great matchup. Harper gained the early advantage by using a wrist tie to pass Cook and get the initial takedown. Harper then rode Cook for the remainder of the period. Cook had choice to start the second and took the top position. The long armed senior proceeded to hook up a crossface cradle on Harper. The Mishawaka faithful probably were not to worried as Harper had fought off a similar cradle attempt by Cashe Quiorga at the Al Smith meet 10 days ago. It was not to be however as Cook turned Harper with surprising ease and garnered the pin.
The Falcons cut the lead to 19-18 when eighth ranked 135 lber. Chris Goodwin defeated gritty Aaaron Mersich 7-4. In a most entertaining contest, returning state champ Steven Sandefer avoided enough close calls and headlocks that came from all angles to major Jacob Tonte 22-13. This stretched the team score to 23-18. At 145, Jacob Taseff nullified Sandefer's major with one of his own defeating Alex White of Mishawaka 14-5.
Down by one point, the Perry fans had to be feeling good as they had favored wrestlers at the next two weight classes. At 152, Mishawaka backup, Marty Friedman took eighth ranked Blake Wood to overtime and was able to finish a takedown to win 3-1. Mishawaka's Dick Morin followed up Friedman's inspiring win with a minor upset of ninth ranked Cory Hudgins, 5-2. This put the Cavemen up 29-22 with one match left. Jordan Robinson narrowed the team score to 29-25 with his decision over Mishawaka's Drew Childress.

Tyler Fleener
12 yrs old/7th Grader
Perry Meridian Middle School
 
Tyler is currently 3-0, with wins over wrestlers from Gray Middle school of Ohio, Trinity Middle of Kentucky, and Elder of Cincinnati after bumping up a weight class to fill a whole in the line up. Perry won the tournament by 90 pts. He is a leader in the classroom and the practice room. He was a triple crown champ as a first year midget in 2005 and a ISWA Multiple State Champ and Place winner. Tyler is wrestling the 80 lb weight class this year. Keep up the good work Tyler!