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What are your all-time favorite wrestling events ever excluding IHSAA State Finals?


blueandgold

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It's hard to narrow down, but I'll give a solid few.

 

IHSWCA Team State Duals (2015) | Highlight(s): Evansville Mater Dei vs. Perry Meridian, Perry Meridian vs. Penn

  • The third ever IHSWCA Team State Duals headed to Muncie for the first time, leaving its old grounds at Westfield, and the best the state had to offer in three classes were set to do battle. In Class 3A in particular, it was a three-team race between top-ranked Perry Meridian, second-ranked Evansville Mater Dei, and third-ranked Penn. After pool play had finished, Perry Meridian and Penn went to war in an all-time classic dual meet that swayed in momentum from start to finish. Complete with upsets, surprises, and one of the most incredible comeback sequences ever, Perry Meridian was able to escape Penn by the skin of their teeth, winning 33-32 on the sixth criteria for which team had the most bonus points which was ultimately decided on Brandon James' technical fall. With a Falcon victory, the two most storied programs of the 21st century in Indiana collided in a showdown of epic proportion when the Nick Lee-led Wildcats took on the Brandon James-led Falcons. The Wildcats took the lead early, but the ever-resilient Falcons kept finding a way to sway the momentum until the gas ran out. The Wildcats narrowly won 31-27, upsetting the top-ranked Falcons to earn their first IHSWCA Team State Dual Championship after finishing runner-up the year prior.

 

Al Smith Classic Wrestling Invitational (2018) | Highlight(s): Jesse Mendez vs. Hunter Watts, Brayden Littell vs. Riley Bettich

  • Something was in the air at Mishawaka that day. Everyone was competing at an extremely high level. The finals matches were a treat to behold, though. Matt Gimson vs. Geremia Brooks, Alex Mosconi vs. Aiden Warren, Jordan Slivka vs. Brooks Davis, and Nick South vs. Joe Walker were all phenomenal, but the two matches of the tournament were Brayden Littell vs. Riley Bettich and Jesse Mendez vs. Hunter Watts. With the former, we saw two elite grapplers go toe-to-toe in an overtime thriller that was won by Littell's high mat IQ, and in the latter we saw the birth of a legend in a freshman Jesse Mendez effectively controlling a returning state champion in Watts, an elite competitor in his own right.

 

IHSAA Semi-State Championship at New Castle (2014) | Highlight(s): Brandon James vs. Deondre Wilson

  • Perry Meridian's stranglehold on the state had been broken a month prior as the Falcons suffered their first defeat in over three years at the IHSWCA Team State Duals to the Bob Hasseman-led Grizzly Cubs of Franklin Community. That didn't discourage Coach Jim Tonte, however, as he put his Falcons in position to reclaim their place on the top of the mountain after winning their regional a week prior, but what stood in the way was a stubborn Cathedral team looking to win their first state championship in program history, and with no better way to make a statement, the Fighting Irish wanted to make a statement to the rest of Indiana at New Castle. Although, the Falcons qualified more wrestlers, Cathedral walked away with more champions led by top-ranked Wes Bernard at heavyweight, thus winning by a narrow 3½ point margin over Perry Meridian, 117.5-114.0, and had placed themselves in position to capture the gold next weekend at Bankers Life. The New Castle Fieldhouse was no short of great matches either, headlined by a Deondre Wilson and Brandon James rematch from the prior weekend in the 132-pound championship that saw Wilson prevail in an ultimate tiebreaker thriller.

 

IHSAA Regional Championship at Mooresville (2022) | Highlight(s): Logan Miller vs. Reese Courtney, Gunner Henry vs. Drake Buchanan

  • This year's state tournament series was unforgettable. The always brutal and unforgiving Mooresville regional didn't disappoint either and started out the gate hot with a ranked match-up between Martinsville's Trevor Hott and Brownsburg's Braiden Haines. Brownsburg, who took the title in dominant fashion, had some great finals match-ups with runner-up Center Grove, including the 120-pound and 182-pound championship contests. Logan Miller, in his final career victory, found a way to upend Center Grove's Reese Courtney in overtime with a beautiful surfboard that saw him take the crown with a 7-2 decision. The 182-pound match and this year's match of the year saw the arrival of Gunner Henry. The Brownsburg freshman was able to be the first and only wrestler all season to knock off the top-ranked Trojan and returning state runner-up in Drake Buchanan. A carefully wrestled match-up that told a great story, Henry was able to smell blood as the bout progressed and Buchanan waned, eventually pulling off the upset in spectacular fashion that sent Mooresville up to the point the event could be measured on the Richter scale.

 

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2018 Dream Team Classic 

Indiana came ready to scrap with the best in the country. Ty Mills PINNED the #1 ranked guy in his home gym and almost blew the roof off the place. Brayton Lee had an epic match that was decided in overtime. Every match was great and it was awesome seeing the whole Indiana community cheering for our guys. 

 

 

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Y2CJ41 said:

2018 Dream Team Classic 

Indiana came ready to scrap with the best in the country. Ty Mills PINNED the #1 ranked guy in his home gym and almost blew the roof off the place. Brayton Lee had an epic match that was decided in overtime. Every match was great and it was awesome seeing the whole Indiana community cheering for our guys. 

 

 

 

 

I wish I had been present that day to watch. I saw the highlights on Flo of Ty Mills’ pin and Brayton Lee’s overtime takedown. I can only imagine the atmosphere inside of Brownsburg that day.

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1 hour ago, blueandgold said:

I wish I had been present that day to watch. I saw the highlights on Flo of Ty Mills’ pin and Brayton Lee’s overtime takedown. I can only imagine the atmosphere inside of Brownsburg that day.

I was there, Angel was Getting ready to take over the IU program and knew most of the dream team but didn’t seem to be able to get any bites that year.  Good program. Who put that event together? Any body we know?

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Several of the 5 way each year ,with castle , md , Jasper, bloom south, and? Always like the Illinois challenge.  
out side of Indiana, Big Tens and southern scuffle, midlands. Obvious, D1 NCAA.  

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3 hours ago, Y2CJ41 said:

2018 Dream Team Classic 

Indiana came ready to scrap with the best in the country. Ty Mills PINNED the #1 ranked guy in his home gym and almost blew the roof off the place. Brayton Lee had an epic match that was decided in overtime. Every match was great and it was awesome seeing the whole Indiana community cheering for our guys. 

 

 

 

 

100 percent. I actually hosted a couple of the boys from team USA at my home. Those kids had solid college careers. I appreciate @Y2CJ41 for allowing me to help those kids. Joe did a great job… one of the best events in Indiana history. Very proud to have been a very small part of that event. 

Edited by Mattyb
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2 hours ago, Disco said:

I was there, Angel was Getting ready to take over the IU program and knew most of the dream team but didn’t seem to be able to get any bites that year.  Good program. Who put that event together? Any body we know?

Not sure what your point is or if you are being sarcastic.


Angel was officially announced as the head coach that week. It was early April and most, if not all the kids, were already committed to wrestle in college. He wasn't going to snag any of them that late, plus he isn't going to go after kids that are already committed.

 

To your second question, the event was put on by IndianaMat and Brownsburg high school.

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5 hours ago, Y2CJ41 said:

2018 Dream Team Classic 

Indiana came ready to scrap with the best in the country. Ty Mills PINNED the #1 ranked guy in his home gym and almost blew the roof off the place. Brayton Lee had an epic match that was decided in overtime. Every match was great and it was awesome seeing the whole Indiana community cheering for our guys. 

 

 

 

 

That Ty Mills match is one of my favorites out of an Indiana wrestler. Even down 0-4 before the pin, he was wrestling confidently, going non stop on offense, and was being a hammer on top.

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When you refer to IHSAA state finals I assume you are referring to the individual state finals. The old team state finals had their barn burners ( I may be a bit biased) MD vs Caramel in 97 MD vs Hobart (not sure the year) and MD vs Portage in 04 (hated to lose that one but it was a hell of a match). Old old Indiana's best tournament MD vs Lawrence North in 91 I believe, MD VS Belmont in 93. MD vs Evansville Central in 92 or 93 (at MD PACKED HOUSE Central was very confident that year). All great duals!

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14 hours ago, Ahawkeye said:

When you refer to IHSAA state finals I assume you are referring to the individual state finals. The old team state finals had their barn burners ( I may be a bit biased) MD vs Caramel in 97 MD vs Hobart (not sure the year) and MD vs Portage in 04 (hated to lose that one but it was a hell of a match). Old old Indiana's best tournament MD vs Lawrence North in 91 I believe, MD VS Belmont in 93. MD vs Evansville Central in 92 or 93 (at MD PACKED HOUSE Central was very confident that year). All great duals!

LN beat MD 27-21 at Indiana's Best in 91.  MD returned the favor in 92 by the exact same score.  MD vs Ev Central in front of the full house at MD was in '93.

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17 hours ago, Y2CJ41 said:

Not sure what your point is or if you are being sarcastic.


Angel was officially announced as the head coach that week. It was early April and most, if not all the kids, were already committed to wrestle in college. He wasn't going to snag any of them that late, plus he isn't going to go after kids that are already committed.

 

To your second question, the event was put on by IndianaMat and Brownsburg high school.

The bigger point is whY that kind of event was, it seems, a one and done? It created a lot of excitement as an aside event. Or can it be done again?

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2 minutes ago, Disco said:

The bigger point is whY that kind of event was, it seems, a one and done? It created a lot of excitement as an aside event. Or can it be done again?

The Dream Team Classic rotates around to different states and is put on in conjunction with Cliff Keen and Wrestling USA magazine. The owner of Wrestling USA magazine selects a host state after either soliciting a state or having someone inquire about hosting. Cliff Keen provides gear for the wrestlers as a partner with the event.

 

Due to COVID the event has not been held the past few years. We definitely hope to bring the event back in the near future. 

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5 hours ago, ReformedPoster said:

LN beat MD 27-21 at Indiana's Best in 91.  MD returned the favor in 92 by the exact same score.  MD vs Ev Central in front of the full house at MD was in '93.

I could be wrong but I thought the match that happened between MD and LN that MD won happened before new years. I remember being a freshman wrestling at a freshman invitational at MD and the score being announced. But yes the match happened during the 91/92 school year for sure.

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12 hours ago, Ahawkeye said:

I could be wrong but I thought the match that happened between MD and LN that MD won happened before new years. I remember being a freshman wrestling at a freshman invitational at MD and the score being announced. But yes the match happened during the 91/92 school year for sure.

No, it was in early January. 

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1 hour ago, leggin89 said:

My obvious choice is NCAAs.  But beyond IHSAA Individual and IHSAA/IHSWCA Team State, my favorite in state event is the DII Midwest Classic.  Brings so much talent to Indiana.  Excited for when UIndy brings NCAA DII to Indiana in a couple years.

I also like the college events. Big tens are a condensed NCAA event, as most of the elites in the country are enrolled in the conference. But the whole Indiana high school tournament is my favorite time of the year. 

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This was great to watch at North Side Gym in Elkhart.  Elkhart Memorial's Nick Corpe wrestled Mishawaka's Ian Hinton in a rematch of their state championship match a few years prior.

https://purduesports.com/news/2009/2/18/Clash_With_The_Spartans

https://msuspartans.com/news/2009/2/19/Wrestling_Drops_Tough_Contest_At_Purdue_19_17.aspx

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Every NC SEMI STATE that I didn't lose in ticket round..

02' team semi state finals NC vs Yorktown.. I luckily won beating Josh Noel... After getting a 18 point lead , I ended seeing seeing something I never seen and it was my team so happy to see our Guy get mauled, once Mosier "only" secured a tech, it made it mathematically impossible for us to lose 😂 unfortunately that was the last semi state title we won and would go on to place 5t getting beat to death by that legendary EMD team and I was teched by Blake Mauer😂

 

 

 

 

There's 2 events I didn't get to attend Purdue vs Ohio state wrestled at New Castle fieldhouse in the 90s and I wish I was old enough to go to the state finals when NC hosted them.. Does anybody the circumstances? 

Edited by FCFIGHTER170
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12 hours ago, ReformedPoster said:

No, it was in early January. 

You are correct, I was in the garage and messing around. Looked up and the pull down stairs were right above me. I pulled them down and found my old poster board bracket. Title on the top said Mater Dei Freshman invitational 1992. 

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