ontherise219 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 StoryDiscussionFont Size: Default font size Larger font size BY NATE ULRICH nate.ulrich@nwitimes.com 219.933.3374 | Thursday, February 12, 2009 | (No comments posted.) At last Saturday's Calumet Regional, two wrestlers with a combined weight of 470 pounds and a combined record of 65-0 battled each other for local big-man bragging rights. Merrillville junior James Travis and Highland senior Coty Anderson are the area's premier heavyweights. And both are on missions to qualify for their first state tournament at Saturday's Merrillville Semistate. Northwest Indiana has produced 170 state champions since the IHSAA wrestling tournament began in the 1932-33 season, and 15 of those title winners competed as heavyweights. No other weight class has manufactured as many state champions from the Region as the heavyweight division has. However, in the past 20 years, local heavyweight state champions have become increasingly rare. There have been just three since 1989, and eight other weight classes have yielded more during that span. Travis (38-0) and Anderson (28-1) now have a chance to restore some power to the Region's historically rich heavyweight tradition. "When you have two studs like that in the same weight class, it's good," Merrillville coach David Maldonado said. In their recent clash, Travis scored a takedown with 1:37 left in the third period to go ahead 5-0. Sixteen seconds later, he pinned Anderson to win his first regional title. "It was about conditioning, definitely, because the first period was way different from when I pinned him," Travis said. "He just got worn out in that third period http://nwi.com/articles/2009/02/12/sports/indiana_prep_sports/doc7b27890f04c61e7f8625755b0002110c.txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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