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Congratulations to Coach Peckinpaugh on his #1000th Dual Meet Win! An amazing milestone to add to an already long list of coaching accomplishments. Congrats Peck!

First Day Thoughts: Tournament flew by today! There were no dedicated consolation rounds. All wrestlers no matter the round wrestled simultaneously. And, everyone was done by 5p. Bravo. Biggest surprise: Penn - Big boys carried them all day. Couple big quarter final swing matches. Second place after Day1. Great day. Harper is a maniac walking the floor coaching. Great stuff. Strugglebus: Perry - Losing Fair to injury and missing a couple others, they were off all day. Warren has nasty edge. Cottey is a stud. Spent much of the day in the small weight gym, but a few wrestlers that stood out: Littel 120 (CG) - sooo smooth. Whether upper body or shots, he makes it look effortless. Watts 126 (Jimtown) - Furious pace. Workmanlike. Gimsons - Fireman Carry clinic all day. L. Wagner 126 (Zionsville) - Super conditioning and good motor. Beat a tough Walendzak in the quarter. Berta 220 (Penn) - Good position and nice shots for a biggun. Mendez 126 (CP) - super frosh great on top with tilts. Cathedral has a decent lead, but plenty of contenders loom. Also, Mishawaka gyms are a mile apart, but the history oozes from the old initial gym. Looking forward to a great final day tomorrow. Some excellent athletes and an injury free day from what I saw.

The Wildcat gym was rocking last night, but I want to take a moment to give Y2 & IndianaMat some much deserved kudos. Providing the masses across the state & beyond the opportunity to see the action from this dual is what makes this site special. Awesome job!

Good morning wrestling fans. The day has arrived. We have the spot light in place. Custom T-shirts for all wrestlers, varsity and junior varsity. A well known local announcer. Our historic gymnasium will be at capacity and rocking tonight. Get there early and get a half pot ticket. To the Perry wrestler and fans be safe in your travels. Lets get ready to rummmmbbbbllleee.

Or you could simply answer his question.

A shout out to Craig Akers--he made the 2:09 trip to Evansville to bring you the match. He's a big wrestling fan and a completely likable fella. A few things you did not catch by watching it online: 1. Mike Goebel and Randy Helfrich had on noise-cancelling headsets. Watching it online really took the crowd out of it. The gym was very loud. There was a number of times that the noise shook the house. 2. Perry Meridian brought a nice crowd that was VERY vocal. 3. Perry's coaching staff appears to be a class act. Mater Dei fans noticed and appreciated it. 4. I have never, nor do i ever again expect to, experience another JV match like the one last night. It was incredible! Have you ever seen the student section chant a JV kids' name? Several times, the entire building was on its feet. This match had it all--lead changes, come from behind wins and overtimes. You could live through an entire wrestling season and not see a dual rise to the level of excitement that was produced by the PM/MD JV dual. 5. The sense of humor possessed by referee Travis Cross. He is a respected official in Evansville--but got zero love from MD fans. PM fans also landed some punches! Travis is a great guy and is good for the sport of wrestling. He reffed FOUR hours of JV and varsity last night. I don't know what they paid him, but MD got its money's worth! The towel man is his brother Denver, who is also a good guy. Give them both some love the next time you see them. 6. Lots of emotion from the kids. Winning was ecstasy, losing was agony. 7. I saw wrestlers, fans and coaches from virtually all of the area schools. This was one of four huge duals, in Mater Dei's gym...since 1993! The grapplers, from both teams, got to experience what few wrestlers do: compete in a high-stakes tightly contested dual in front of 2000 hysterical fans.

Beep beep. I’ll remind all of you what EdP, Northside Indy, and Hamilton County deal with in spades: Vaginitis. Little Johnny doesn’t get a bloody nose perhaps in his whole life unless he wrestles. No bike or skateboard accidents....they’re in the basement playing Fortnight. They’re on the iPad getting an allowance to make their bed. The Carmel life is real and it’s an epidemic. I fight it daily with some youngster programs, but the struggle is real with these middle class kids. Kopnisky finally threw in the towel at Carmel. Most of the north side Indy schools are grinding to keep kids in the sport. Lacrosse, boys’ volleyball, and a slew of other sports are decimating wrestling. The CYO in Indianapolis has added 140 boys’ volleyball teams in competition with wrestling in the last 3 years. So, CoachP and many of us in Indy are marketing our asses off to preserve the sport. It might feel good for “The County” and the Indy County teams, but it is an assault to the sport. We’ll make it at Cathedral because we’ll find great, committed kids. However, I fear for the 75 kids in K-4 that end up prancing off to volleyball in 5th grade. Give me a violin, perhaps, but our sons are getting weaker. It pisses me off.

I just want to brag on my guy a bit. Aaron Black from Greensburg placed 8th at 182 as a first year wrestler. I couldn't be more proud of the work he puts in every day. Way to go Aaron!!

Unfortunately this is how he and his ilk conduct themselves when discussing a controversial issue. Beacon of tolerance and diversity...unless it's diversity of opinion. In that case, they have no tolerance. His rebuttal will be he doesn't tolerate, "racist behavior," never mind there is not one piece of evidence that would suggest this incident has anything to do with racism other than the wrestler involved is black. Any fair-minded person would see that the coach, wrestler, and official all play a part in this unfortunate incident but somehow the coach and kid get a pass and the official is the racist boogey-man. At the end of the day, the kid did not report legally equipped to wrestle and the official enforced the rule. The kid could have forfeited the match and then made sure he had a legal head cover for the next meet. He chose to cut his hair mat-side which is on him and his coach. Yes, this should have been resolved at weigh-ins and the official is at fault for that mistake. Again, all three parties are at fault for this debacle.

There are numerous factors that come in to play. The one I use most though is the dart board I have in my garage. I usually just put all the names of every wrestler I have in each weight on it and throw a handful of darts labeled 1-8. Whatever happens, happens.

Brooks Wathen will in fact not be able to compete this year due to his recovery from ACL patellar graft reconstruction. Early in the football season Brooks sustained a grade 3 tear of his right ACL, and at that time with guidance from his orthopedic surgeon, he made the decision to attempt to continue to play football in a brace with hopes of also wrestling in the brace. Brooks was able to complete the football season while missing only a couple of games and as the wrestling season began, Brooks was optimistic as he was learning how to manage wrestling in the large apparatus. As the second and third weeks of practice came and went, I was becoming less and less hopeful. I watched Brooks return home each night in excruciating pain and knowing that things would only get worse as matches began, I began to lose any hopes that I possessed of Brooks competing at all this year, let alone making a return to Bankers Life. In Brooks’ last few practices, while compensating for lack of use of his right knee, he began to strain his left LCL. At this point, with the realization that Brooks would ultimately not be able finish his senior year and most likely end up needing both knees reconstructed, I encouraged him to surrender. If you have spent any time at all around Brooks, you know that there is no quit in him and you understand how difficult not being able to finish is for him. His ride started at age four at pee wee 40 and concludes 14 years and 125 lbs later somewhat short of his goal. Time sure does fly! Brooks' Dad

Looking at team matches is exhausting, as I said earlier I see the potential for many teams to move around wrestlers to gain an advantage. Here is some data to chew on: #1 Cathedral: State ranking -- 4 wrestlers in top 4 (113, 132, 152, 160), 3 ranked between 5th - 8th (126, 138, 145) and 1 more ranked (182); 1 ranked in Semi-State only (106) -- 8 TOTAL Individual State Finals experience: 126 (2x), 132, 138, 145 (3x), 152 (2x), 160 (3x) // 1 Returning State Champ, 2 Returning State Runner-up // Loaded with skill & experience, if you are going to beat them you best chance is to win almost all of the matches between 106-120 and 170-285 and stay off your back in every other match. If you can steal a match in the middle that will be a huge bonus because the lineup (126 - 160) is similar to 'Alabama Football', pure talent. With all that said I do believe there are a couple of teams that fit the bill and will battle them to the end. #8 Avon: State ranking -- 4 wrestlers in top 4 (126, 132, 152, 182), and 3 more ranked between 9th -13th (120, 138, 145); 1 ranked in Semi-State only (220) -- 8 TOTAL Individual State Finals experience: 120, 126 (2x),132 (3x), 152 (3x), 182 // 1 Returning State Champ (2-timer) // They have 4 kids who are serious contenders to be a 2019 State Champ; the rest of the group has plenty of experience on their side as well. They have wrestled the hardest schedule YTD and are more than ready to do battle in Fort Wayne. It has been mentioned several times they have been forfeiting 2 weight classes and they were missing a stud for several of their matches as well. They will be a tough out and entertaining to watch. Penn: State ranking -- 1 wrestler in top 4 (195), and 3 between 5th - 9th (120, 220, 285) and 2 more ranked (145, 182); 2 ranked in Semi-State only (132, 138) -- 8 TOTAL Individual State Finals experience: 120, 132, 195 // Unfortunately down in Indy we are not provided many opportunities to watch the teams from the ECSS. With that said Penn is known throughout the state as a hard nosed team with plenty of heart & technique. If any match comes down to the wire and Penn has 182 - 285 remaining they will win the match. Between 106 - 170 they have several wrestlers ranked and are more than capable of winning a big match for the team. Don't sleep on the Kingsmen, if you do you may be behind on the scoreboard after the 14th match. POTENTIAL MATCHES: 120 Vince Sparrow - Penn (#9) vs Tyler Conley - Avon (#13) 126 Ray Rioux - Avon (#4) vs Lukasz Walendzak - Cathedral (#6) 132 Asa Garcia - Avon (#1) vs Logan Bailey - Cathedral (#3) (1st match was 1-0 Garcia) 152 Nathan Conley - Avon (#3) vs Elliott Rodgers - Cathedral (#1) #2 Evansville Mater Dei: State ranking -- 3 wrestlers in top 4 (113, 120, 145), 7 ranked between 7th - 13th (106, 126, 132, 138, 152, 160, 170); 1 ranked in Semi-State only (182) -- 11 TOTAL Individual State Finals experience: 113,120,126, 145 (2x), 152 // Although EMD is located 3 hours south of my location I am familiar with this group of wrestlers. They reload each year better than any school in our state. Never one to back down from a challenge; they don't get pinned, or give up any bonus points for that matter, and when given the opportunity to win in that fashion they usually seize the moment. Look for them to be laser focus in their quest to win Team State this coming weekend. #7 Carmel: State ranking -- 1 wrestler in top 4 (106), and 4 more ranked between 5th -15th (132, 170, 182, 195); 1 ranked in Semi-State only (285) -- 6 TOTAL Individual State Finals experience: None // The 'Rodney Dangerfield' of Team State. Personally I believe Carmel to be very dangerous with enough athletes to make it difficult for any team to beat them. Outside of their only loss this season (29-27), they have decimated their competition with the closest dual being a 25 point victory. Extremely well coached and intelligent wrestlers, they typically will not 'beat themselves'. They are better than the individual rankings indicate, look for them to pull off an upset along the way. Portage: State ranking -- 2 wrestlers in top 4 (113, 160), and 3 more ranked between 5th -15th (120, 126, 132); 2 ranked in Semi-State only (106, 152) -- 7 TOTAL Individual State Finals experience: 113 (2x), 126 (2x),132, 160 // 1 Returning State Champ // Portage is strong where Portage is strong, which means don't expect to beat them where they have a ranked wrestler participating. In order for them to pull the upset they will need to accumulate points from 113 - 132, 152 & 160 and pull off a few surprises at the other weights. The program has a reputation of being one of the best in the state for a very good reason, and underestimating this group will give a team headaches for the remainder of the day. POTENTIAL MATCHES: 106 Suhas Chundi - Carmel (#4) vs Alec Freeman EMD (#7) 113 Jacob Moran - Portage (#1) vs Cole Ross - EMD (#4) 120 Ty Haskins - Portage (#15) vs Blake Boarman - EMD (#2) 126 Brook Peele - Portage (#5) vs Kane Egil - EMD (#7) 132 Ricky Hegedus - Portage (#9) vs Kyle Holman - Carmel (#14) vs Clay Egil - EMD (#10) 160 Donnell Washington - Portage (#1) vs Gabe Sollars - EMD (#9) 170 Logan Hart - Carmel (#5) vs MaCartney Parkinson - EMD (#7) ** I will do the other 2 pools sometime in the next 24 hours....sorry for any mistakes.

The two matches mentioned above were definitely the best. Some other good ones were both the 170 semifinals. Fielden wrestled South very, very tough and Walker needed a last second takedown to beat Blubaugh.

Most of the results not entering results here are not in Track either. Rankings are just another tool for fans, wrestlers and recruiters. One thing people need to remember is that rankings are an imperfect yet pretty accurate snapshot with opinion built in of the current state of a weight class. They are a moment in time, not a prediction of the future as many people on the internet (not just speaking about wrestling rankings) and change as results change. If rankings were 100% accurate of how things will end, why would we even have the events? So people should learn not to allow their panties get in a wad every time there is an upset and crow at the guys doing the rankings.

Since I was a first timer at the Al Smith, I have a few more thoughts about Day2: 1. The tournament was run incredibly. Done with wrestling at 5pm yesterday and 4pm today. There were NO breaks (outside of a short faceoff organization after the 7th/8th round matches). When do the Cavemen eat? Are they super human? Was it to be done in time for the ND kick-off? If so, that was a waste Great job to all of you. I spent about 20 years at Connersville as a competitor, coach, and fan. Night and Day. 2. Hands to the face calls were frequent. Cathedral lost a couple very close matches to this, but it was called very liberally across all teams. Makes me nervous for the IHSAA state series. The heavy hands attack is an important one and even more subjective than stalling calls. 3. Conditioning of every contender. I kept waiting for a squad to show some cracks in conditioning, but every program seemed to put a premium on their wind. Almost zero "sucking wind" in injury time. 4. Gym was awesome. Felt like the Hoosiers' version of wrestling at Hickory. 5. Cathedral - I don't like prognosticating about my squad, but they wrestled 4 out of 5 very solid rounds. They were pretty shaky in the Blood Round this morning, but pulled it together for placement matches. Nice job, Irish! 6. The Region teams were very formidable. Merrillville and Crown Point would not go away. Sounds like Penn had a couple individual issues at weigh-in and medical scratch, but as I mentioned yesterday, they wrestled solid. (PS. I've decided Coach Harper is the doppelganger of Nick Nolte and Gary Busey. Props to him on a nice program). 7. Columbus East could have 2 champs and two high place winners. Will be dangerous at Bankers! I'll try to discuss some weights, but I did try to drive back to Indy for the 2nd half of the ND-Clemson game. I missed 195 - Heavy Finals. I am regretful I left that great environment to witness that embarrassment on the gridiron. 106 - Cottey was the class of the weight. He did play it a little close in the finals, but Malik Hall wrestled him tough. 113 - I know Mendez is the talk of the state, but no one can say Zeke Seltzer wasn't arguably the OW too. He dismantled Martin Cruz in a incredibly active, high scoring final of 17-6. Not sure if Zeke or his dad were more happy with the W. 120 - Match of the Day! Wherever Crown Point got Riley Bettich, he was great. 4 undefeated wrestlers in the semis at this weight. I thought Littell left a little on the table after he scored early, but he was my favorite to watch all tourney long. His strength and hips for a 120 pounder are impressive. Hoping he might make it under the lights with Boarman. What a final that would be! 126 - Deepest weight in my opinion. Mendez vs Watts was a close second for match of the finals. Hunter certainly didn't back down from Mendez. In fact, I thought he was gonna pin Mendez for a fleeting couple second on a scramble. That will be a fun rematch at Bankers. Walendzak avenged his loss to L. Wagner. 132 - Lotta drama in the semis here, but Geremia Brooks is the real deal. He does not take his time on his feet! Congrats to Matt Gimson. His fireman game is super strong. 138 - Rooks is a beast. I feel like he was challenged the least of the small and mid-weight champs all tourney. No one really got close. 145 - Mosconi vs. Warren was a great dual. Good action in the first and two kids that play to their mean streaks. Warren tried a few 360 spins to a double that cost him big. 152 - Rodgers is just wrestling great right now. It was an unimpressive W for him in the finals, but I felt like he was sleep walking a bit. And, by the way, Schonegge has a little Jim Varney look about him. Hey Vern!! Great wrestler though. Tolin gave Rodgers a good test in the semi. 160 - What can I say about Jordan Slivka?! He might never win a match by more than a point for the rest of his high school career, and I think I'm great with that. Gamer and superior mental toughness. 170 - More semi-final drama with a stalling call and a late takedown that even surprised the ref in the Blubaugh-Walker match, but Derek kept it too close. Not sure he was beating Nick South though. He's thicccc. And, can I say Nick South is the greatest porn name of all time without getting this post removed? If not, just edit it Y2/OTR/etc. 182 - Weaker weight, but LaPlace was the class of it. 195 - I am shocked Rockne Hurley lost. He is a giant at 195. Both he and Austin Lane will be podium guys at Bankers. 220 - Love the Fowler legacy wrestling history at Calumet. If Jacob Bolte continues to master his Russian tie attack, he could score some big points for CE in the IHSAA Finals. Heavy - Man, this weight class is wide open without Portoney. Congrats to Devault and all the Penn heavies. Not sure who is working with them, but it is noticeable. All for now, lads and lassies. The NCAA Semi-final football games are so terrible, I needed to take my mind off of the TV. See you at IHSWCA Team State! Go Irish!

CARSON WINS OVER #16 7-1 Awesome Tournament Carson !

A quick summary to add to what Mattyb and TeamGarcia have provided.... Remaining wrestlers @106 Logan Miller BB - lost in Quarters, needs 1 win to guarantee placement @113 Jacob Moran Port - In Semifinals @113 Blaze Garcia Avon - Needs 2 wins to guarantee placement @113 KT Nelson BB - lost in Quarters, needs 1 win to guarantee placement @120 Kysen Montgomery BB - In Semifinals @120 Tyler Conley Avon - lost in Quarters, needs 1 win to guarantee placement @126 Ray Rioux Avon - lost in Quarters, needs 1 win to guarantee placement. Possible matchup with Brock Peele next. @126 Brock Peele Port - Needs 2 wins to guarantee placement. Will wrestle Ray Rioux in blood round if he wins 1st match in the morning. @132 Asa Garcia Avon - In Semifinals. Faces nationally ranked Mick Burnett. @132 Drake Campbell BB - lost in Quarters, needs 1 win to guarantee placement. Decisioned Ricky Hegedus in Round of 16 @132 Ricky Hegedus Port - Needs 2 wins to guarantee placement. @138 Drew Kreitzer BB - lost in Quarters, needs 1 win to guarantee placement @138 Jaden Reynolds Avon - Needs 2 wins to guarantee placement. Will wrestle Kreitzer in blood round if he wins 1st match in the morning. @145 Roy Reynolds Avon - Needs 2 wins to guarantee placement. @152 Nathan Conley Avon - In Semifinals. Decisioned nationally ranked Austin Boone in quarterfinals. Faces nationally ranked Victor Voinovich in semis. @152 Jacob Beehn Port - Needs 2 wins to guarantee placement. Could face Boone in blood round. @160 Donnell Washington Port - In Semifinals. @160 Peyton Asbury BB - Needs 2 wins to guarantee placement. @170 Thierry Jean-Baptiste BB - Needs 2 wins to guarantee placement @182 Carson Brewer Avon - In Semifinals. @220 Jayden Williams Avon - lost in Quarters, needs 1 win to guarantee placement @285 Dorian Keys BB - lost in Quarters, needs 1 win to guarantee placement Overal nice day for the Indiana guys. Work left to do tomorrow!

Connersville version of track wrestling

Pass

I really appreciate how Indianamat is showcasing our Indiana wrestlers this is a great thing for our state and sport,

By JEREMY HINES Thehines7@gmail.com Kyle Cornwell was ready to give up wrestling for good. Almost every time he stepped on the mat, he would eventually watch his opponent have his hand raised in victory. The losses piled up, and the frustration mounted along with it. “I’ve had some mental blocks in wrestling,” Cornwell said. “In sixth grade I was something like 1-26. I was so frustrated with myself. I didn’t think wrestling was for me. I really wanted to just throw in the towel.” That’s when Cornwell got a little encouragement from his family and one of his closest friends. “My dad (Jade Cornwell) and friend Jalen Morgan talked me into sticking with wrestling,” Kyle said. “Jalen told me we have to start training. We’re not going to get better without putting in the work. So, we started training. We trained and trained and trained. By my 8th grade year we went to a preseason national tournament in Iowa and Jalen finished third in his weight class and I won mine.” That tournament success vaulted Cornwell’s wrestling career. He fell in love with the sport and is now ranked No. 1 in the state at 220 pounds and will wrestle for Indiana University next season. The Elwood senior’s training partner is still that same kid that told him in sixth grade to stick with wrestling. Morgan is ranked fourth at 182 pounds. “Jalen and I have been friends since fourth grade,” Kyle said. “We wrestle every day at practice. He has more speed than I do, so that helps me, and I am stronger than him, so that helps him.” Last season Cornwell finished fifth at 220 pounds. He was a state qualifier in the same weight class in 2017. He is happy to be ranked No. 1 this season. “It’s really a relief to be ranked No. 1,” Cornwell said. “Yeah, you have a target on your back a little, but I’ve been ranked behind Mason Parris for a while and it’s nice to have that top spot now. You have to be confident to be that No. 1 guy or you are going to lose. You don’t go to a match with your head down. You know who you are and that you can beat anyone.” Cornwell wrestled Parris last season in the New Castle semistate championship. That match didn’t work out well for Cornwell, as Parris pinned him in 1:14. “It was a really good experience to wrestle Mason,” Cornwell said. “He’s one of the top kids in the nation. It opened my eyes to what I need to be like and what I need to be training for. It really helped me step up to that next level.” Cornwell committed to improving in the offseason, with a focus on pushing the pace and scoring. His mission is to score as many takedowns and points as possible. He wrestled over 100 matches during the offseason and feels right now he’s at the best he’s ever been. “Kyle has a funk to him that he’s been getting into for the last few years,” Elwood coach Fred Short said. “He likes to do the scrambling like they do in college. In high school it’s a little weird to see when you’re not used to it. He is a lot slicker now than he was last year. I think a lot of that is because of wrestling with Jalen and really having to be quick against him.” Cornwell’s goals this season were to go undefeated and win a state championship. Elwood, as a team, is down this season. The team had 10 wrestlers early on but are down a few since that time. Coach Short, who has been a wrestling coach in some capacity since the early 1980s, is retiring after this season. View full article

All around it was great to watch some high level wrestling and have a great quality stream and commentating. I put it on my big TV and sat on the couch and watched great matches all night. Big thanks to all those that made this happen as I can't wait to do a few more this year as we expand into streaming a little more.

Please take this as constructive, or nitpicky if you must, but this is a big pet peeve of mine. Saying Avon lost to Cathedral 21-43 is akin to a double negative. The winning score ALWAYS goes first. Stating they won or lost tells the reader which team had which score. I've seen this a lot lately and no clue why. Maybe it's an internet thing, because you don't see it in any respectable print (the few that remain). Sorry for the rant, but listing a score as 27-29 drives me nuts and is just wrong. Back to your regularly scheduled argument with Avon and Perry fans!

Just because our back up is better than him doesn't make it an upset.