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New Castle semi-state preview?


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Here is the preview from the New Castle paper.  I know it's not one that talks about every wrestler, but it is something.

 

 

Area wrestlers are two wins away from qualifying for state

 

Jeremy Hines

Sports Editor

 

Win two and you're in. That's the mission all 224 top-tier wrestlers will have Saturday in the largest event held anually in the Fieldhouse.

 

The New Castle wrestling semistate is loaded with highly ranked grapplers in all 14 weight classes. There is no easy road for anyone in the competition. The Trojans have eight wrestlers competing in the event. Shenandoah and Hagerstown both have two competitors and Tri has one.

 

If a wrestler wins his first two matches of the day, he qualifies for next week's state meet. The top four placers in each weight class advance.

 

"This is a huge event," New Castle coach Rex Peckinpaugh said. "We are hosting the middle school state on Sunday too, so that might make this the biggest sports weekend of the year for New Castle."

 

One possible matchup that has created quite a buzz in the wrestling community is the potential showdown between New Castle's No. 13-ranked Alex Catron and Roncalli's second-ranked Josh Kieffer in the 125 pound class. The two would potentially meet up in the ticket round of the semistate.

 

Catron is 44-1 on the season and Kieffer is 38-3. Last season Catron placed eighth in state at 119 pounds and Kieffer finished fourth.

 

"Alex is highly capable of winning that match if things go right," Peckinpaugh said. "Alex matches up well with about anyone. He's a solid wrestler on his feet. He's incredibly tough on top and very few guys can ride him. It's going to come down to who makes a mistake."

 

Before either wrestler can worry about the second round, they must get through their first-round opponents. Catron will go up against Franklin Central's Joey Tucker (32-7) while Kieffer will take on Indianapolis Tech's Aaron Thurman (29-5).

 

There are five ranked wrestlers out of the 16 competitors at 125 pounds (all rankings are made by indianamat.com). Perry Meridian's Jared McKinley is No. 1 in the weight class. Keiffer is No. 2, Carmel's Ben Sommers is No. 3, Catron is No. 13 and Alexandria's Luke Blanton is No. 15.

 

"I think someone figured it up and there could be over 20 ranked wrestlers not advance out of the semistate," Peckinpaugh said. "That just shows how tough the competition is here."

 

New Castle's Brenden Campbell is one of seven ranked grapplers at 119 pounds competing in the Fieldhouse. Campbell, who is undefeated at 47-0, won semistate last year at 112 pounds.

 

The wrestlers that finished behind Campbell in last year's semistate are all very highly ranked. Jared McKinley was second to Campbell last year. He is now ranked No. 1 at 125 pounds. Brian Harvey was third last year and this year he is the top ranked wrestler at 130 pounds. Mason Todd was fourth at 112 pounds last season and is now ranked No. 2 in that same weight class.

 

Campbell is the highest ranked wrestler at 119. He is currently second in the state. The No. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 16th ranked 119 pounders are also competing in the New Castle semistate.

 

Campbell's first-round matchup is against Alexandria sophomore Lincoln Kyle (32-9).

 

Hagerstown's Sean McDaniel is also competing at 119 pounds. McDaniel (21-7) will go up against Cathedral's No. 4-ranked Michael Venezia in the first round.

 

Campbell, Catron, Jonathon Decker, Connor Mullins and Jeff Mofield all won their weight classes in last week's Richmond regional.

 

Decker is surprisingly not ranked despite his stellar 47-2 record. The Trojan junior has wrestled at 160 pounds for most of the season but dropped to 145 before the North Central Conference tournament.

 

There are four ranked wrestlers in Decker's bracket, including No. 11-ranked Jordan Maple of Connersville who Decker defeated 8-0 in the regional championship.

 

Decker takes on Westfield's Lucas Rooney (18-14) in the opening round.

 

Shenandoah junior John Slivka will also compete in the 145 pound class. Slivka (34-7) will take on Carmel's No. 3-ranked Grant Scurria (36-0) in the opening round.

 

Mullins is one of seven ranked wrestlers at 152 pounds. The Trojan junior is currently 47-1 on the season and ranked third. The No. 4, 5, 11, 13 and 14th ranked wrestlers are also competing in the semistate.

 

Mullins goes up against Hamilton Heights sophomore Ethan Sloderbeck (27-15) in the opening round. If Mullins wins his first two matches and Tri Central's Montrail Johnson wins his first two, it will set the stage for a battle of the No. 3 and No. 4 wrestlers in the weight class. Johnson is currently 42-0.

 

Mofield is one of six ranked wrestlers at 215 pounds. The Trojan senior 215-pounder is ranked No. 16. The No. 14, 15, 17, 18 and 19th ranked grapplers at 215 are also competing.

 

Mofield (44-3) takes on sophomore Dalton Hardy (24-8) in the first round.

 

Trojan freshman Brad Broyles (22-9) will be competing at 103 pounds. His first match is against Alexandria's Ben Branson (39-5).

 

There are two local wrestlers battling in the 135 pound class. New Castle freshman Luke Decker (33-10) will go up against North Central senior Charlie Smith (36-5) in the first round. Tri's lone competitor, senior Robbie Parrish (22-15) will take on No. 18-ranked freshman Vinny Corsaro (35-5) of Cathedral.

 

New Castle senior Levi Rose will try to punch his ticket to the state finals at 140 pounds. Rose (38-7) will go up against junior Graham Lough (32-6) in the first round.

 

Shenandoah freshman Chandler Hale (35-8) is competing in the 130 pound class. His first match will be against Roncalli's Nick Ader (25-10).

 

Hagerstown junior Toby Fox (20-10) will wrestle No. 12-ranked Michael Taylor (21-6) in the opening round at 160 pounds.

 

Last year Campbell and Mullins won their semistate weight classes. Both ultimately finished third at state. Catron and 2010 graduate Cody Fellers also advanced to state.

 

Another interesting match in the semistate could come at 112 pounds where Union County's No. 1-ranked, two-time state champion Cody Phillips (36-0) could square off against No. 2-ranked, undefeated Mason Todd (27-0) of Pendleton. Phillips, a junior, has never lost a high school match.

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