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Manage articlesHigh School News419Northeast Hoosier Conference Brackets
Click here for NHC brackets
Teams include: Bellmont, Columbia City, Dekalb, Homestead, East Noble, Carroll(Ft. Wayne), Norwell, New Haven
High School News455Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference
Click here for MIC brackets
Teams include: Ben Davis, Carmel, Center Grove, Lawrence North, North Central (Indianapolis), Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South, Warren Central
High School News311Indianamat.com Team Rankings 1/18
1. Mishawaka
2. Evansville Mater Dei
3. Crown Point
4. Cathedral
5. Perry Meridian
6. Merrillville
7. Castle
8. Yorktown
9. Bellmont
10. Portage
11. Lawrence North
12. Evansville Reitz
13. South Bend Riley
14. New Palestine
15. Carmel
16. Roncalli
17.Center Grove
18. Penn
19. Elkhart Memorial
20. Hamilton Heights
High School News582Trine’s Seniors Lead the Way on Senior Night
-Trine comes away with a close 21-18 victory against Indianapolis
Trine University came away with a 21-18 win over the Indianapolis Greyhounds in the first ever meeting between both teams. Trine is still in the infancy of their program, but have matured at an accelerated pace under head coach Dan Callahan and assistant Mike Ester. On Tuesday, the Thunder got two big wins from their seniors and added two forfeits to seal the victory over the visiting Greyhounds.
The match started out at 125lbs with Jimmy Nichols(Westfield, IN) utilizing 1:57 of riding time and an escape to come away with a narrow 2-1 victory over Brandon Harvey(Elkhart, IN). Harvey had two near takedowns in the first period, but the veteran Nichols funked out of the attempts both times. Harvey's only point came on a late stalling call, but it was not enough for the freshman to upset the senior. Indianapolis was out to a 9-0 lead after a forfeit at the 133lbs weight class.
The 141lbs match featured two Northeast Hooser Conference products in former Homestead wrestler Bryan Wight of Trine and former Bellmont state champion Matt Irwin from Indianapolis. After a scoreless first period Irwin was out quick to start the second period. Irwin then finished a beautiful double leg to go up 3-0. Wight escaped after the takedown and to start the third period, but could not garner any more points as Irwin squeaked out a close 3-2 decision.
Senior Kyle Pittman(Greensburg, IN) stepped out on the mat for Trine against Indianapolis' freshman David Lopez(Napanee, IN) at 149lbs. Both wrestlers were of identical short and stocky builds which made for a very entertaining match with lots of scrambles and near takedowns. Pittman scored a takedown with 22 seconds left and Lopez's late desperation scramble could only muster an escape point as time ran out. The decision by Pittman closed the gap to 12-3 after four matches.
At 157lbs Indianapolis' Corey Fornal(Rochester, IN) squared off with Trine freshman George Markou(Peru, IN).  Fornal scored an early double leg and racked up 1:57 of riding time in the first period. In the second period Markou rode Fornal for nearly the whole period, but a late escape extended Fornal's lead to 3-0. To start the third period, Markou chose the top position and Fornal didn't waste time as he got an early reversal. Fornal didn't let Markou escape his grip as he regained his riding time to come away with a 6-0 victory.
The 165lbs match was by far the most entertaining of the night as Indianapolis' Jacob Blackwell(Indianapolis, IN) barely got by Trine's Kyle Long(South Bend, IN). After a scoreless first period, Blackwell put Long to his back for a three count, but Long rolled through and gained a reversal to tie things up at two. Blackwell got a reversal 30 seconds into the third period and rode Long out until he got another reversal to tie things up. The reversal was too little, too late as Blackwell had barely enough riding time to garner the extra point and the 5-4 victory.
Trine then utilized their experience in the next two weight classes as they had junior Nick Kraus(Rolling Prairie, IN) going to the mat at 174lbs and senior Louis Posa(Tecumseh, MI) at 184lbs. Kraus got the ball rolling early executing a great single leg finish to start the scoring in the first period. He later added a double leg to take a 4-1 lead in the first period over JT Jenkins(New Albany, IN). Kraus then put the hurting on Jenkins with a backbow to score three nearfall and almost come away with the pin in the second period. After two periods, Kraus had a 7-1 lead along with 2:46 of riding time. In the third period Kraus got a takedown and then three nearfall and a near pin before letting Jenkins up again to go for the tech fall. Jenkins held off the late throw attempts to save the team valuable points as Kraus won 15-2.
Nothing was more suiting for senior night than for the match to come down to Trine's all-time win leader Louis Posa. Posa has racked up 94 wins on his career and could be the first(and only) Trine wrestler to eclipse the 100 win mark. Posa has been a mainstay in the line-up since his freshman year and has steadily improved each year, including just barely missing out on going to nationals last year. Posa sprinted out of the gate with three takedowns in the first period on Indianapolis' Kevin Smith(Boggstown, IN) including an absolutely amazing low single off the whistle that excited the crowd. Posa got his fourth takedown of the match to stretch his lead to 8-3 in the second period. Posa then reversed Smith in the third period before a late escape by Smith kept the match to a regular decision. Posa's 11-4 victory made the team score 9-18, but two forfeits by Indianapolis at 197lbs and heavyweight made the final score 21-18 in favor of the home Thunder.
The crowd at Hershey Hall on the Trine campus was filled with many coaches and wrestlers from South Bend, Northwood, Northrop, Jimtown, Leo and many more area schools. Many fans came out to watch some of the best small school college wrestling in the state. With the state series just around the corner, there is nothing like going down memory lane watching some of the former high school stars at the collegiate level.
On a personal note, I want to say congratulations to the Trine seniors that were honored tonight. Levi Mundy, Bryan Wight, Kyle Pittman, Cory Boyles and Louis Posa were a part of the first team in Trine(Tri-State) history and laid the foundation for a very exciting future. I coached all of these great young men as freshman and saw the fire in their eyes as they stepped out on the mats as inexperienced freshmen at the collegiate level. There is nothing better than seeing how they have matured into very good wrestlers and even more importantly, great young men. Congratulations and good luck in the future to all of you.
High School News879Northeast Hoosier Conference Tournament
Northeast Hoosier Conference Tournament
Teams: Bellmont, Carroll, Columbia City, DeKalb, East Noble, Homestead, New Haven, Norwell
The Northeast Hoosier Conference (NHC) has annually been the best conference in the Northeast quarter of the state. The conference was especially successful last year, sending a total of fifteen wrestlers to the state finals. Bellmont returns two state placers from last year, Will Sheets (4th) at 130 and Tyler Baker (6th) at 152. East Noble returns Taylor March (3rd) at 135. Six different teams took multiple wrestlers to Conseco last year, and the conference looks to continue that history of success in the upcoming weeks.
NHC teams are split up into 4 different sectionals come tournament time. The NHC dominated those four sectionals last year, bringing home four titles and three runner-ups. The only team not to finish 1st or 2nd was Norwell, who was 3 points away from finishing 2nd at the Jay County Sectional to Bellmont.
In the dual portion of the season, Bellmont continued its' dominance in NHC Dual competition. Bellmont came into the season having only lost one dual meet (Nov '06 to Columbia City) since the conference formed in 1989. Bellmont swept through the competition with a 7-0 record. The Braves soundly defeated dual season runner-up Carroll 41-15 in December. BJ Faurote's squad got their toughest match from the Knights of East Noble at 40-23. With Bellmont being the clear favorite to secure their 19th NHC Tournament title in the last 20 years, Coach Faurote added, "I think it will probably be a race between us and Carroll for the top spot. Carroll is solid through most of the weight classes, with 6 guys seeded in one of the top two spots compared to seven for us." Head Coach of the host Norwell Knights John Heller agreed with Faurote, saying, "Carroll is more than likely second best in the conference. It is definitely one of the toughest conferences around." Heller pointed out an especially tough 130 weight class as a good example, "130 is really stacked. You've got a returning state placer (Will Sheets) as a number four seed, and he has been beaten by all three guys in front of him." Along with Bellmont and Carroll, Faurote predicted, "East Noble could be well represented in the final round with March and Krock, but they will really be hurt by losing Waring." Heller confirmed, saying, "East Noble will definitely be down without their 171." Both coaches were referring to #13 ranked Henry Waring from East Noble, who is out for the year because of a knee injury. Faurote and Heller also agreed that the teams finishing 3rd through 7th place in the dual portion of the schedule will be very competitive come Saturday. "Overall, it will be good entertainment and a good day of wrestling," said Heller.
Four wrestlers will be returning champions when they walk onto the mat in Ossian on Saturday. Andy Franklin of Homestead was the champion at 103 last year, Taylor March of East Noble was the champion at 125lbs, while a pair of Bakers from Bellmont, Tyler and Billy, took home titles at 145 and 189 respectively. Bellmont won the tournament with 233.5 points, besting New Haven's 174 points and Homestead's 150.
(All rankings quoted come from Indianamat. com)
103 lbs.
The #1 seed will be (15-2) Logan Ables from Carroll. Ables is currently ranked #8 in the Fort Wayne Semi-State. The #2 seed will be 16-5 Derek Kissinger from Columbia City. Andrew Bowman (HOM), Blake Adams (, and Tyler Miller (D) will also be in the mix for a spot in the finals.
112 lbs.
At 112, returning conference champ Andy Franklin, ranked 8th in the Semi-State, will be the #2 seed to Norwell's Brandon Tucker (21-4). Tucker spent most of the year at 119 before making the drop to 112. Faurote said of Tucker, "He has a good shot at making a run deep into the [state] tournament." Franklin was a match away from a ticket to the state finals, losing to eventual state runner-up Casey Kenney (Jay Co.) in the ticket round at the Coliseum last year. Look for Greg Sexton of DeKalb and Kalib Jackson of East Noble to battle for one of the top spots.
119 lbs.
Tommy Poynter of DeKalb will be the #1 seed at 119 lbs. Poynter won the seed by virtue of his 4-1 victory over promising freshman Brooks Faurote (20-6), son of the Bellmont Hall of Fame head coach.
125 lbs.
The 125 weight class is shaping up to be a battle between two wrestlers with stellar records. Tucker Smith of Homestead will be the #1 seed over (24-3) Tanner Bowman of Dekalb. Carlin Hormann of Bellmont may have something to say about that battle, as he lost a close match with Smith, 8-6, in the dual meet.
130 lbs.
130 promises to be worth the price of admission, even if the only matches you could see were between the top 4 seeds. Will Sheets is a three-time state qualifier, finishing 4th last year in a very good 125 pound class. Despite Sheets' past successes, he is seeded fourth for Saturday. Sheets comes in ranked 4th in the state at 125, where he will presumably drop after this weekend. The top seed will be #8 Brock Norton of Carroll, coming in with an unblemished record of 16-0. Coach Faurote said that he has been very impressed with Norton this year. "Norton has beaten some very quality kids already this year in Sheets and Egolf." Austin Egolf (CC) comes in at 11-1, losing only to Norton. Jimmy LaRowe (EN) will be the #3 seed after splitting matches with Sheets this year.
135 lbs.
#3 Taylor March (EN) will enter his fourth and final NHC conference tournament looking for his 4th conference championship. March has finished 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd at the state tournament the last three years and looks to be one of the favorites to stand at the top of the podium this year at Conseco. He will most definitely go down as one of the all-time NHC greats. Taylor has compiled an astounding 144-11 career record at East Noble. The #2 seed will be Nate Bloomfield (19-6) of New Haven. Look for Cody Ward (#5 in the SS) to challenge for a top spot.
140 lbs.
Bryce Krock (EN) will be the #1 seed at 140. Krock comes into the tournament with a record of 17-3. Reece Lefever of Carroll will be the #2 seed with a record of 11-3. Heller looks for one of his own, Justin Sprow, to make a solid run, "Sprow comes in unseeded, but only lost to the #1 seed 3-1 in the dual."
145 lbs.
Ryley Hankenson (17-6) of Bellmont will be the top seed at 145 lbs. Hankenson, a SS-Qualifier from a year ago as a freshman at 135, was unbeaten in conference action, including a 13-5 major decision of #2 seed Jon Timmerman (15-1) of Carroll. #4 Seed James Landis of Norwell was a SS-Qualifier a year ago.
152 lbs.
#10 Tyler Baker (22-3) of Bellmont comes in as a returning champion and three-time state qualifier, finishing 6th a year ago at 145. On the opposite side of the bracket, Wes Graves (16-4) of Columbia City will be the #2 seed.
160 lbs.
Bobby Natusch (H) will be the #1 seed with an 18-3 record. He is coming off a big win over previously state-ranked Trent Busse of Bellmont, who is the #3 seed. Busse was a match away from Conseco last year at 152. Busse has been out with an injury since that match, missing several matches for the Braves. Busse was also out for the dual meet against New Haven because of a death in the family. The Bulldogs' Matt Klemm picked up the #2 seed for Coach Barry Humble's squad.
171 lbs.
Presumed top seed Henry Waring (EN), ranked 13th in the state is out for the season with a knee injury. Replacing him in the top spot on the bracket will be Bellmont's Grant Melcher (20-6). Tyler Thomas (14-3) of Carroll will be the #2 seed.
189 lbs.
The conference will once again be missing a likely #1 seed as Bellmont's Andrew Bultemeier is out with an injury. Bultemeier defeated the #1 seed Kris Pappert (26-4) of New Haven in a very exciting match, at 285 nonetheless, 6-4 at the beginning of the year. Bellmont sub Travis Thatcher (9-2) has filled in nicely for Coach Faurote's Braves and will come in as the #2 seed.
215 lbs.
The state's top-ranked wrestler at 215 lbs. is Billy Baker (23-0) of Bellmont. Baker was a state qualifier two years ago at 189 and lost to eventual state champion Steve Stahl in the ticket round last year at the Coliseum. Baker is the favorite to go all the way this year, having already defeated three top-ranked wrestlers and this year's #1 seeded Heavyweight in the conference. The #2 seed will be Ben Russer of Carroll with a 14-3 record. Brad Mills (H) comes in rated 5th in the SS as the #3 seed. Shori Gerardot (CC) is also ranked in the SS (8th). He will be on Baker's half of the bracket as the #4 seed.
285 lbs.
The #1 seed at Heavyweight will be Trey Cahill of DeKalb. Cahill has a stellar 24-3 record, with one of those losses coming to #1 ranked (215) Billy Baker. Bellmont's Daniel Meyer, seemingly giving up weight to every opponent he faces, comes in as the #2 seed at 15-4. Meyer is coming off a big win over previously unbeaten #9 Dan Borkowski of Evansville Memorial.
High School News123438th Annual Allen County Athletic Conference Wrestling Tournament
Teams: Adams Central, Bluffton, Garrett, Heritage, Leo, South Adams, Southern Wells, Woodlan
The Allen County Athletic Conference(ACAC) is one of the premier small school wrestling conferences in the state. The conference has many superb individuals along with some very talented teams this season. The conference that features schools in 3A, 2A and 1A in football, only has four, yes four forfeits in the whole entire tournament. Six of the eight teams have full line-ups, which will lead to a very competitive tournament.
During the regular season, the South Adams Starfires ran the table and beat everyone in the conference. They beat both Garrett and Southern Wells by narrow four point margins. The Starfires are also the defending tournament champions and will look to retain the title on their home floor. They will find stiff challengers in the other seven teams who will aim to knock them off any chance they get.
103lbs
At 103lbs, the #1 seed is Todd Batt from South Adams. He sports a superb 27-2 record on the season. The #2 seed is Logan Buuck of Woodlan who has a record just under .500, beat the #3 seed Brandon Bennett of Heritage 7-3 earlier in the season. The sleeper of the tournament could be Nate Hess of Adams Central. He comes in with only nine matches under his belt, but he is a returning regional qualifier from last year.
112lbs
Phillip Gerber of Bluffton has the top seed at this weight class. The freshman comes into the conference tournament with a 20-8 record and has beaten the #2 seed Gabe Sprunger of South Adams and #3 seed Michael Hirshy of Adams Central during the season. Once again, there is no slouch at the #4 seed in Heritage's Alex Richman who comes into the tournament with a stellar 19-4 record.
119lbs
This weight class is going to be one of the most interesting of the day. Bluffton gets their second #1 seed in a row with Bobby Perry and his 24-3 record taking the honors. One of those losses however is to the #3 seed from Garrett, Logan Lee. The #2 seed is Adams Central's Zeke Schultz. Schultz and Lee did not wrestle during the dual and sport nearly identical records. South Adams rounds out the top four seeds with Cajon Dailey taking the 4th seed.
125lbs
Returning ACAC champion Troy Fiechter claimed the top seed at this weight class. Fiechter sports a superb record of 27-2 after bumping up from 112lbs last season. He will have some tough wrestlers to go through this year to defend his title. The #2 seed, John Striker of South Adams comes in with only three losses on the season, including one to Fiechter's brother Darin. The #3 seed, Shea Novy of Garrett comes in with a 24-4 record. Bluffton's Seth Higgins, wrestling at a more natural weight this year, took the 4th seed, but will face a tough Blake Thieme of Adams Central in the first round.
130lbs
This will be one of the best weight classes to watch on Saturday, with one returning state qualifier and two semi-state qualifiers battling it out for top honors. As with his brother Troy, Darin Fiechter of Southern Wells is a defending champion and has the #1 seed. Darin has only one blemish on his record, a loss to Andrew Heistand of Yorktown. Second seed Jace German also sports just one blemish on his record, a 6-4 loss to Darin Fiechter. The #3 seed is returning state qualifier Josh Ehr of South Adams. While he has seven losses on the season, he has lost to some tough kids while wrestling 135lbs most of the season. The #4 seed is the very talented freshman from Woodlan Cody Zink.
135lbs
This is another interesting weight class with some very tough wrestlers. Earning the #1 seed is Matthew Gerber of Bluffton who has a 25-2 record on the season. His two losses have come to Zach DeHaven of Evansville Memorial and Chris Goodwin of Perry Meridian. The #2 seed is Garrett's Bryce Schendel. Schendel only has one loss on the season and that is to Gerber. Gerber will be looking to capture his second straight title, while Schendel will be going for his third title in three years. While these two are the top contenders in this weight, they cannot overlook #3 seed Josh Morris of Southern Wells, #4 seed Taylor Isch of Adams Central or unseeded Jordan Buuck of Woodlan.
140lbs
Leo brings in back to back #1 seeds at 140lbs and 145lbs respectively. The first is Justin Beck at 140lbs. He has an outstanding 20-2 record on the season with his only losses to the top two seeds at 135lbs, Bryce Schendel of Garrett and Matt Gerber of Bluffton. The #2 seed is Matt Kaehr of Adams Central who comes in with a 26-4 record on the season. TJ Burnfield of South Adams has the third seed and comes in with a very impressive 25-5 record on the season. The fourth seed is Garrett's Brayden Moreau who comes in with only three losses in limited action this year.
145lbs
Returning state qualifier and ACAC champion Cam Friend is the headliner in this weight class. The tournament features seven wrestlers with only a single loss, but Friend is the only wrestler without a defeat this season while wrestling mostly 152lbs and 160lbs until just recently. Garrett senior Nik Isham is the #2 seed, while Levi Jones of Southern Wells is the 3rd seed. The 4th seed is Dustin Hunt of South Adams, who has only four losses in limited varsity action this year.
152lbs
Defending ACAC champion Zac McCray of Garrett is back at this weight class for the third straight year. He comes into the tournament with a 23-5 record on the season and is looking to bring home his second ACAC title. Chase Sprunger of South Adams is the second seed and will be looking to claim his second ACAC title also. Sprunger won a title in 2006 as a sophomore, but was defeated in the finals last year. Last year's runner-up, Jayme Schwartz of Woodlan is the third seed at this weight class. The fourth seed is Leo's Caleb Eicher.
160lbs
Bluffton has yet another top seed, this time Josh Fiechter at 160lbs. Fiechter comes in as the heavy favorite with a 23-5 slate on the season. The second seed is Joe Taube of Garrett who has an 18-6 record on the season. Ben Sowles of Woodlan who has the third seed with a 12-5 record will push Taube in the lower half bracket. The fourth seed is Heritage's Dan Gibson.
171lbs
This is another weight class that will be fun to watch with two wrestlers having only one blemish on their record. The top seed is Garrett's Luke Rieke with a 26-1 record. Not to be outdone, Adams Central's Trey Schultz has a 21-1 record on the season. Rieke was the runner-up last year at 171lbs, while Schultz won the title at 160lbs. While those two wrestlers are very talented, they cannot overlook the #3 seed Matt Morrissey of Bluffton or #4 seed Brandon Biberstine of Southern Wells. Tyler Unsicker of Heritage is unseeded, but could give fits to the seeded wrestlers, as he is 15-10 on the season.
189lbs
Heritage's lone #1 seed is Taylor Scott at 189lbs. Scott comes in with 20 wins on the season against only three losses. The second seed is Bluffton's Levi Mock who comes in with 21 wins himself. The #3 seed is Garrett's Logan DeMarco, while Leo's Ben Meeks has the 4th seed.
215lbs
South Adams rounds out the last two weight classes with returning champions and #1 seeds. The first is Jackson Werst at 215lbs, who comes in with a stellar 29-1 record on the season. His only loss is to #4 seed Seth Biberstine of Southern Wells. The second seed is Garrett's Geoff Getts, while Adams Central's Aden Feasel has the third seed. Biberstine defeated Werst by major decision less than a week ago, but Biberstine lost to both Getts and Feasel earlier in the season. On top of that Werst has defeated both Getts and Feasel. If you are too confused to follow, just come to Berne on Saturday to see everything sort itself out!
285lbs
Finally, the last weight class is also one that has two top competitors. South Adam's Jim West comes in as the defending champion and #1 seed with a 24-4 record on the season. Joe Grueb of Woodlan is the second seed with only one loss on the season at 14-1. The third seed is Leo's Nick McAbee and Alex Reinhard of Adams Central rounds out the top four seeds. Not to be overlooked is Heritage's Josh Mitchel who has a 17-9 record on the year and is unseeded.
Team Race
Lovely Berne, Indiana and South Adams High School will play host to this great tournament. The team championship race looks like a two-horse race with the host Starfires and Garrett Railroaders looking to lead the way. Adams Central, Bluffton, Leo and Southern Wells each bring in their fair share of top seeds and could add some excitement to the team race. Look for the team race to be hotly contested with all the teams potentially affecting the outcome.
IndianaMat.com Ranked Wrestlers
135lbs #10 Matt Gerber- Bluffton
135lbs #11 Bryce Schendel- Garrett
145lbs #11 Cam Friend- Leo
171lbs #9 Trey Schultz- Adams Central
High School News553Wrestler of the Week 1/12 – 1/17/2009
IndianaMat
Wrestler of the Week 1/12 - 1/17/2009
[caption id=attachment_328" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bloomington South's Brannigan Barlow][/caption]
Bloomington South Junior
Brannigan Barlow
Barlow won the Conference Indiana Tournament at 130 pounds. Barlow beat then #2 Sampson Cook of Perry Meridian, who was named IndianaMat WOW last week, in the semi final 10-4. Barlow then defeated #1 ranked D'Marcus Spencer of Pike 6-3 in the final. Barlow is 27-4 on the season and has also logged wins against #9 Nick Odom of Warren Central, #15 Logan McWhorter of Columbus North and #4 at 125 Will Sheets of Bellmont.
Honorable Mention:
Fort Wayne SS -Â 215 pound senior Aris Allen of Fort Wayne North Side. Allen won the Goshen Invitational including defeating #3 ranked in Michigan D4 Travis Gump of Bronson, MI.
New Castle SS - 135 pound senior Chris Goodwin of Perry Meridian. Goodwin was undefeated for the week while beating #13 Dominic Corsaro of Cathedral and then cruising through the Conference Indiana Tournament winning by tech fall in the final.
Merrillville SS - 125 freshman Jason Tsirtsis of Crown Point. #2 Tsirtsis won the Duneland Conference Tournament defeating #3 Anthony Napules from Merrillville and #14 Luis Acuna from Portage.
High School News508Northern State Conference Brackets
Click here to view Northern State Conference brackets
Teams include: Bremen, Culver Community, Triton, Jimtown, John Glenn, LaVille, New Prairie and Knox
High School News418Allen County Athletic Conference Brackets
Click here for the full program
Click here for brackets only
Teams include: Adams Central, Garrett, Leo, Woodlan, Southern Wells, South Adams, Heritage, and Bluffton.
High School News330Northern States Conference Preview
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
High School News407Youth "Wrestler of the Week" 01-19-09
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
High School News365Hoosier Hills Showdown
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!
High School News465Hooser Conference Brackets
Click here for the Hoosier Conference brackets
Teams includ: Twin Lakes, Delphi, West Lafayette, Rensselaer, Tipton, Sheridan, and Benton Central