Coach Hull Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 2015 All-Indiana Junior National Dual Team Selection Sectionals are here! 2015 has already gotten off to a hot start this IHSAA season and it’s looking to heat up even more as we all get closer to Banker’s Life in February. It is also time for Indiana’s National Teams to begin preparations on making this an even better summer than last! In 2014, Indiana Cadets placed 4th and Juniors placed 15th at the Asics/Vaughn Cadet & Junior Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, the official measurement of Indiana high school wrestling. As good as a finish as this was - led by three national champions in Konrath, Red and Lee - we have much, much more room to grow as a state. One of the premier events leading up to Fargo is the USAW Junior National Dual Championships. It will be held this June 23-27th in Tulsa, Oklahoma and features 7+ guaranteed matches against some of the best competition in the country! These teams, including Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Oklahoma, etc., feature the best-of-the-best in their state and are oftentimes filled from top to bottom with National Champions, All-Americans, nationally ranked wrestlers, state champions, etc. One weight class even featured 6 of the top 12 nationally ranked wrestlers in the country! Last year, Indiana had tough duals against Illinois, Florida, South Carolina, Arkansas, Ohio, New York, Utah, and several others. Our wrestlers competed hard, but the caliber and physical demand was, and has consistently been, just too much for our athletes. However, although we did not place higher as team, the experience our athletes receive individually at this tournament is absolutely invaluable. To show you what we are up against, below is a list of last year’s teams and their line-ups. Take notice of the national champions, All-Americans, nationally ranked wrestlers, many of which are now premier collegiate athletes in the NCAA. Athletes, parents, coaches: I implore you to look up individuals in your weight class and see the quality of competition you would receive at this tournament. Illinois Minnesota Oklahoma 100 Hayes, Louis 100 Gliva, Victor 100 Adams,Wyatt 106 Johansen, Kirk 106 Molitor, Rylee 100 Nafieh, Mason 106 Punke, Dack 106 Crowe, Alex 106 Gfeller, Kaden 113 Fuentez, Carlos 106 Ka, Sodan 113 Nieman, Andrew 113 Lukanich, Nick 113 Jones, Brent 113 Bridges, Montori 120 Akins, Kyle 120 Petry, Skylar 120 Fix, Daton 120 Cullen, Michael 120 Fitterer, Paul 120 Duffield, Dalton 120 Oliver, Elijah 126 McKee, Mitchell 126 Brock, Kaid 126 Marmolejo, Jonathan 132 Thorn, Tommy 132 Harding, Gary Wayne 132 Mehrholz, Andre 132 Tschida, Blane 132 Moore, Keegan 132 Polakowski, Stephan 138 Berg, James 138 Sheets, Wyatt 138 Butler, Alex 145 Voss, Mark 138 Moran, Tristan 145 White, Isaiah 145 Berge, Brady 145 Blaylock, Jonce 152 Early, Larry 152 Brolsma, Carson 152 Smith, Joe 152 Brill, Bryce 152 Schauer, Jackson 152 Mendez, Kristen 160 Sutton, Garrett 160 Moore, Paden 160 Smith, Jacobe 170 Bey, Kamal 160 Krone, Brandon 160 Loving, Cameron 170 Dietz, Vincent 170 Hall, Mark 170 Rogers, Chandler 182 Carr, Colin 182 Moore, Keegan 182 Dixon, Lance 182 Traxler, Nathan 182 Johnson, Kade 195 Howard, Conner 220 Marsden, Andrew 195 Steveson, Bobby 195 Dixon, Joel 285 Hobbs, Michael 220 Cheney, Paul 220 Dixon, Andrew 285 Jones, Adarios 220 Pegelow, Nickolas 220 Childers, Kyler 285 Pinto, Luis 285 Walker, Korey As you can see, this tournament is legitimate. It is a true opportunity to compete against the best wrestlers in the country, whether you are looking to climb the national rankings, become nationally ranked in the first place, or simply looking to get guaranteed experience against the nation’s elite. We have consistently been out-gunned at this event with our best athlete’s competing in Disney, but this year we want to showcase OUR best talent and officially let everyone know Indiana is here. Selection Process In an effort to make Indiana more competitive, give our Indiana athletes more national exposure, and truly work to bring a legitimate national dual championship back to Indiana, the ISWA has decided to adjust the Junior Dual Team Selection process to fit current national trends. For almost the past 2 decades, we used the results of the ISWA State Tournament Series to fill the team, with the ISWA State Champions in each weight class getting first right of refusal, and then working ourselves down the results until we got a commitment. This was to ensure fairness and promote ISWA and USAW participation across the state. At one time Indiana used to take multiple teams filled with Indiana’s best, once taking over a team with a combined 15 individual state titles. Recent trends, however, began causing problems with filling our best teams because some athletes could not participate at the ISWA State Tournament, or due to the timing of Disney Duals or Virginia Duals, had already committed to a team. Consequently, this led to us to having to take a more “developmental” team to Oklahoma, where we don’t place high but our individuals use this experience as a platform for eventually becoming some of the state’s top contenders. From a competitive standpoint, however, not being able to get our best athletes to this event is why we are out of contention. For example, Minnesota Blue had 29 seeding points, led by national standouts including Mark Hall, Bobby Steveson, Tommy Thorn, Mitchell McKey, and many others. Defending national champion Illinois led in seeding points with 48 and had the guns and names to prove it. These are just A FEW examples of how tough this tournament is and who you could potentially wrestle. Well this year is looking to be different! We are excited to announce the ISWA has adjusted the selection process to now allow a selection committee (ISWA Board, national team coaches, Directors, etc.) to pick the first team and alternates, consistent with the other top states in the country. The selection process will now be primarily based off the separation criteria used in the tournament (outlined below) and the athletes we feel based off of ISWA placement, participation, national experience, etc. that ultimately gives us one of the best shots at competing for a national dual championship. Seeding Criteria A) FILA Junior World Champion - 5 points Junior National Champion - 5 points C) FILA Junior National Champion - 5 points D) Cadet/FILA Cadet National Champion - 4 points E) FILA Junior World Place Winner - 3 points F) Junior National Place Winner - 3 points G) FILA Junior National Place Winner - 3 points H) FILA Junior World Team Member - 2 points I) Cadet/FILA Cadet National Place Winner - 2 points J) Current Year Junior Regional Champion - 1 point 2015 All-Indiana Junior Dual Team Selection Because of the caliber of competition and the physical demand of wrestling 7+ matches a day against the country’s best, taking alternates is major part of building a national contender. From wrestlers getting dinged up to simply having better match-ups, alternates are necessary and oftentimes get just as many high-quality matches as their counterpart. Using the above stated criteria along with the ISWA selection committee’s input, the official 2015 Indiana Junior Freestyle Dual Team selection are listed below. The highlighted athletes provide current separation points, non-highlighted names are athletes we feel give us a good shot at competing better at this level, and the OPEN slots are available to additional Indiana wrestlers interested and ultimately voted on by the board. 100 – OPEN 106 – Colton Cummings (Lowell) Cameron Diep (New Palestine) 113 – Paul Konrath (Mt. Vernon), Drew Hildebrandt (Penn) Garrett Pepple (East Noble) 120 – Brock Hudkins (Danville) Cornelius Elliott (Perry Meridian) Breydan Bailey (Cathderal) 126 – CJ Red (New Palestine) Guage Torres (Portage) OPEN 132 – Nick Lee (Evansville Mater Dei) Evan Eldred (Westfield) Matt McKinney (Warren Central 138 – Brandon James (Perry Meridian) Tommy Cash (Lawrence North) Joe Lee (EMD) 145 – Jacob Covaciu (Merriville) Steve Lawrence (Portage) Trent Pruitt (Warren Central) 152 – Tommy Forte (Mishawaka) OPEN OPEN 160 – Drew Hughes (Lowell) OPEN OPEN 170 – Dylan Lydy (Ben Davis) Ben Harvey (Cathedral) Jacob Stevenson (Franklin) 182 – Chase Osborne (Penn) OPEN OPEN 195 – Blake Rypel (Cathedral) Randy Scott (Mooresville) Jacob Cavins (Milan) 220 – Kobe Woods (Penn) OPEN OPEN 285 – Shawn Streck (Merriville) Norman Oglesby (Ben Davis) OPEN To the above athletes, coaches and parents: We understand that some athletes may not be available, are still growing physically, ultimately may not be able to go, or want to go but not at the selected weight class. Again, this is a HUGE OPPORTUNITY to wrestle the best in the country, especially as a pre-cursor to Fargo. Either way, for accepting or declining this selection, or for more information on this opportunity, please contact Tom Erikson (Team Leader) at 765.426.7072 or terik28901@aol.com or Nick Hull (Asst. Team Leader) @ 317.800.5369 or coachnhull@gmail.com. We look forward to a new era in Indiana wrestling and feel you would help Indiana bring home the legitimate title at the 2015 USAW Junior Dual National Championships! To other Indiana athletes: We are also looking to take an additional Freestyle and Greco Team based on previous selection criteria and implore ALL ELIGIBLE INDIANA WRESTLERS who are interested to stay tuned on how you too can also participate in this high-quality event. Eligibility based off of Indiana high school wrestlers, age, participation in ISWA tournaments, ISWA State series, Freestyle and Greco-Roman, participation at RTCs, USAW Regional Tournaments, etc. It is no secret that many former team members use this experience as a platform for eventually becoming some of the state and country’s top contenders. What: 2015 USAW Junior National Dual Championships When: June 23-27, 2015 Where: Cox Business Center 100 Civic Center Tulsa, OK 74103 http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Events Costs: On average the trip ranges between $400 - $700. This depends on size of team, eventual hotel, etc. but the ISWA will work to ensure we are as affordable and efficient as possible. This price includes national team camp, gear, transportation, entry fees, lodging, etc. Athletes are encouraged bring spending money as not all meals are included and other opportunities may pop up like visiting the Wrestling Hall of Fame. As soon as more information is released by USAW, we will be able to finalize the trip cost. Our hope at getting it out this early is to help get a jump on any necessary fundraising opportunities. Deadline: We are looking to finalize the team as soon as possible and urge all selections to secure their spot immediately if possible to begin individual preparations with National Team Coaching Staff. However, our tentative date to have made contact with the above selection is as early as February at the IHSAA State Tournament, and at the culmination of the ISWA State Series in May. Our final deadline on submitting the roster will be at the end of July. CONCLUSION We look forward to a great 2015 IHSAA State Tournament Series these next few weeks, and also to a great summer of Indiana wrestling on the national stage. We will be at Banker's Life in February to continue securing commitments and building new relationships. In the meantime, continue focusing on the IHSAA State series and Team Indiana and ISWA will be waiting for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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