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but I don’t care. I’m certain it’s happened before excluding freshmen and out of state wrestlers, but I just need to celebrate my man. Didn’t qualify for state last year, #evansvillesemistate, #baddraw, but he plowed through the state tournament. I was his middle school coach. I made my way down to the floor during the team celebration, found him, and told him how proud of himI was. His response: “Thanks. Can I come into practice on Monday and. drill with Goose (his little brother) and the other wrestlers?” Obvious yes. What a kid. I’m more proud of who he is as a person than who he is as a wrestler, and he’s a damn good wrestler.

Here are my thoughts: 1.) Find great assistant coaches. Don’t be so insecure that you won’t take on someone who is way more credentialed than you as a wrestler. Smiley and Ayersman are a 100 points better than I was on my best day. One of my first hires at Mishawaka was Fabian Chavez. He had teched me at a local Greco Tournament years before. I was like I have to get that guy on my staff full time. Our current staff didn’t happen overnight. Think Coach Lynn was the only one who was on our first state championship team’s staff. I consistently looked for ways to add quality coaches. 2.) Implement your system and philosophy at all levels of your program. They were a big Greco team when I got here. Braylon has a nice arm spin. We have never shown that and never will. 3.) We are lucky here and have outstanding administrative support. It’s one of the main reasons I took this job. I don’t know how to create this right away. I would just say that all of our administrators have changed - some multiple times. We continue to get great support. I know part of that is because of the character our wrestlers show in classroom and on the mat. 4.) Have cool gear. A catchy saying or something to make people pay attention. I did #PainTrain when I first got here. Next year I heard our softball team was breaking on that. The Champion Factory went on the back of our club shirts. Thanks for thinking of that Pat Day. 5.) Make your dual meets more entertaining- spotlights, music, DJ or announcer who can make it exciting. Throw shirts out, etc. Do something different. Run down the bleachers to the mat. Come out of a tunnel. Fog machine. Something different. 6.) Hopefully, you have close and elite academy training available. It is a game changer. We wrestle year round. Supplement that with academy training. One of the first tournaments I went to I found Coach Parrish of Contenders and introduced myself. Coach Red at Red Cobra and I had already been friends for a decade. Prior to my arrival, wrestlers were discouraged from going to academies. People told me I had to pick one if I was going to push academy training. To this day, I tell them to try both and pick the one that is best for them. Some go to both. 7.) Make your schedule more difficult. Find tournaments where even your best guys are likely to lose. Doesn’t need to be every weekend, but at least a couple tournaments. 8.) We have families come to Brownsburg to be a part of what we have athletically, academically, socially, and facility wise. Brownsburg is always ranked high in test scores and the community is outstanding, etc. a.) I have heard I have an apartment building they live in. That my wife is assistant superintendent and helps. My wife teaches 1st grade and I assure you we can’t afford an apartment building. Lots of other wild stories. No one came my first couple of years. I worked for a year and half to convince Brayton Lee to stay in Brownsburg. His family still lives 30 seconds from Brownsburg High School. I improved the staff. Improved the schedule. Made the team better so he had drill partners. b.) List all the stud wrestlers you know who moved to a different school and had full eligibility, but that staff refused to wrestle him on varsity. I don’t know of a single one. That’s my probably too honest answer. I can’t say I want to grow the sport and not follow through with my own thoughts on our program when asked. Snyder

Both of these incredible young ladies just concluded their Indiana wrestling careers and aren't garnering enough attention on our forum. Julianna finished as the first ever female to become a 4X state qualifier in the boys state tournament, as well as becoming the first ever female to become a state placer (6th) in the boys tournament. Heather finished as a 3X state qualifier in the boys tournament. She would be the most accomplished female wrestler in the history of the boys tournament if it weren't for Ocampo. Both of these ladies finished their senior seasons undefeated in the regular season. I want to wish both of them success in their upcoming careers. I'm positive both will represent the state of Indiana well.

Can we give a shout out to Joe, Mike, and everyone else at Indianamat for keeping us up to date and entertained?! I mean these guys pour countless hours into this website, podcasts, rankings, traveling and showing up at tournaments ect. It is really mind-boggling to me, considering they have jobs, kids in travel sports, and WIVES..... come to think of it, should probably give those ladies a shout out for putting up with it lol. Thanks guys, I appreciate everything you do for the sport of Indiana Wrestling.

Just won JUCO National Championship!

I am a little bias but 2017 126 Pounds - Alec White. Had to get through the gauntlet to win! Friday Night, beat 2x State Champion Colton Cummings. On Saturday, beat eventual State Champion Matt Lee, State Champion and multiple-time NCAA D1 Qualifier Graham Rooks, and NAIA All-American Blake Mulkey.

#1 You have no clue who or who is banned on the site. Other than spammers there are very few if any people outright banned. Sometimes people get time-outs but rarely does the outright ban hammer come out. The discussion part of the website basically peaked about 2010. That is for a myriad of reasons. No more do I run home to post a big result after a meet. Today I have my phone where I can text my buddies or the rankers that a highly ranked wrestler went down. I can also tweet it, put it on BoomerBook, or however else I want to spread the info. The platforms to spread information have increased along with how fast the information gets out. Back in the day I would patiently await people to post the Bloomington South regional results for semi-state brackets. Now I just go to Track and grab them as the finals are finishing up. Messageboards in general have been dying for the past 15 years, it is honestly amazing this one is still extremely active compared to Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, etc. I remember many high school kids would post on the old forums, but they do not now. Maybe they like their Instagram or likely know they don't want to be caught up in trash talk with a bunch of crazy parents and fans. As @Thor stated the content on here is amazing and there is no need to post on the board asking about a result or why someone is ranked above another person. The traffic here is as high as it has ever been and the time spent on the site per visit is considered abnormal by website standards. The page views per visit are also extremely high for any type of website. There is "competition" out there, but they can't keep up and are no threat to our traffic. We still own a 99.9% market share and it's not going down. The IndianaMat logo is recognized state wide by non-wrestlers which is a testament to the fans and marketing that has been done over the past 16 years. The influence of the website has never been stronger and will only continue to grow. Even last night I got a text from a coach that is in another state and basically said "I wish we had an IndianaMat here." I think we are doing fine, but always working to continue to grow.

They need to add the blood round to Saturday wrestling. There is no reason a kid should have to come back another day to wrestle a single match if they lose. Just do one more round and do placers on Sunday.

You get what you earn! One weekend does not define a season, but it does crown a team champion. I will not complain about what we did or didn't do, because I know my guys gave everything they had. Now it's time to move on to the spring and build for next season. DPR, you have the freedom to cheer us on or critique us when we fall, and that's what's great about our country and this sport. Here's to all of you being with your team through the HIGHS AND LOWS. Congrats to Coach Snyder and Brownsburg Bulldogs. Coach Lorek

Big thing I've noticed, I'll click on a discussion I'm interested in, and there's only a few post retaining to the actual topic. And then there's just 3 people posting gifs back and forth to eachother. Gets pretty old pretty fast.

Both are fantastic young men. Avon has some studs. More importantly they show incredible character in victory and defeat. Favorite Tommy Gibbs story. Shortly after he won state and showed absolutely no emotion, I found him in the back. I was like, "Tommy you just won a State Title! It is okay to be excited!". He looked at me very calmly and said, "Coach, I am excited." I lost it and just started cracking up. I hate Indiana's stupid no-wrestle back system. It was an absolute crime that Tommy was not at State last year. Very proud of him for getting over it and training to win it this year. I am still not over it. Snyder

Unreal run! Alacron the kid he Beat was 4x Colorado State Champ Fargo AA & NHSCA AA Was down 4-0 got escape then shot in with 10 secs left and got td 1 second left then beat him on SV 7-4! Finishes 36-2 with 26 Bonus point Wins, and is the First ever NC and Indian Hills Natty Champ and Lead their team to a Team National Title !!! He's improved so much, We're so proud! We Love you STUD!!

The Utilitarian viewpoint = the greater societal gain. I have currently settled on this viewpoint myself. Yes, our one class tournament is an incredible product, and those that reach the precipice of the mountain are highly revered and respected, rightfully so. Yes, having classed wrestling would diminish that achievement to a SLIGHT degree (to the diehards), as well as the spectacle. So? If in a 3 class system the end result is that 42 KIDS get to feel the sense of accomplishment that only 14 champs once felt, and 294 KIDS get to feel the feeling that only 98 placers once felt, and that 672 KIDS get to feel the feeling that only 224 qualifiers once felt, why is that a bad thing?? That is 3 times the amount of hallway walks high fiving elementary kids, 3 times the amount of kids that leave the sport with a sense of achievement, and potentially 3 times the amount of people who fall in love with the sport and pass it on to their kids, and potentially stay in it by coaching or officiating. And all we have to sacrifice is a little bit of "We Are So Special" state pride. Easy trade off in my eyes. Wrestling coaches, parents, fans love to talk the talk about what great character-building qualities wrestling provides our youth. Yet when it really comes down to it, seems many really only value PRIDE above all else.

It's hard to argue against Griffith in 2003. 125 - Angel Escobedo 64-0 130 - Andrae Hernandez 64-0 135 - Alex Tsirtsis 65-0

I feel this young man has not gotten enough attention on here. He made history by becoming the first ever Freshman to win a State Title at HWT. He finished his season with only one loss which he avenged how many times? This was extremely impressive. I can't believe I haven't seen more about him on this forum since the conclusion of the tournament. BB has dominated the discussion, which is well deserved, but this young man deserves some recognition as well. I actually asked about him in another topic & my question was ignored. What other accomplishments does he have to his credit? Particularly on a national level. I need to know more about this young man.

My daughter asked me this weekend how we did it before. When I described the staging area, carrying bout sheets, signing with cramped hands and having to return it to the head table she looked at me like I was from the stone age!

As someone who has coached in a couple classed states, I've experienced both types of tournaments. The big difference I've noticed is the overall "vibe" and "energy" in the post season as well as the facilities for the tournament. Indiana's small schools are typically not super excited about making a run for state. I've noticed they are usually super excited about qualifying for semi-state for the majority. There are great programs and athletes that have higher expectations, but that's not the typical 1a kid. Decades of this have probably led to lowered expectations. The classed states have lots of energy and excitement for the post season and the kids didn't care about the different classes champs. Sometimes our 6a champ was not better than the 5a champ. No one cared. They had already wrestled during the season. When we placed 2nd as a team, we were crushed at not winning it all, but we didn't care that we were better than the 5a champ. Indiana has some really great wrestlers and a lot of talent. I think a classed system would make more money and drive numbers up at the lower classes. It's about the kids. Right now, kids will say whatever their coaches say. I've seen too many kids leave the state series feeling like a failure. That is not a good thing. I want them walking away feeling they did their best in a situation that was a positive experience with no regrets about opportunities given to them. Too many Indiana kids don't wrestle in college because they don't feel they are good enough. Some of our semi-state kids are clearly better than many state placers or champs from other states. I've coached many state champs and even had a Fargo champ. The classed system never hindered us from our training and the thought of other state champs from the lower classes didn't bother us. State tournament: I dislike the fact that the wrestlers are corralled into a little hall and expected to sit/stand there until they are needed. One little bathroom? No warmup mat? It seems that if you are wrestling or coaching in the tournament, they don't want you watching it. Kinda weird. Brackets: With a lack of wrestle backs, we have a system that tells kids, coaches, and parents that we only care about the champ. The 2nd place guy is insignificant. That is not the message we want to send to our future generation. That 2nd place guy worked his ass off for years. Right now it's', "Work your ass off and hope for a good draw at semi-state." I also find this kinda All this being said, Indiana wrestlers are awesome. If they want it, they know what they have to do. The bigger schools obviously have advantages, but that is the case of every sport in every state. I used to benefit from that myself. Small schools have the same big hurdles in every state as well. The other states have made attempts to evolve their wrestling to create positive environments for the student athletes. Not all agree with my take on it, but that's okay. I respect the other sides opinions. I think having experience on both sides of the isle gives me a perspective different than most coaches.

Indiana had 315 schools with wrestling teams in the year prior. The only classes that exist in Indiana wrestling are the ones the IHSWCA uses for dual team state. IHSWCA has ~100 of the smallest programs make up 1A. The next largest ~100 make up 2A. 3A and 4A make up the largest ~100. 4A is the largest ~40 (including highly competitive programs like Mater Dei and Cathedral) with 3A being the rest. To my knowledge there are only three large/significant wrestling states that don’t class wrestling: Indiana, New Jersey, California. Kentucky also doesn’t class, but they have roughly 100 total teams, so it kind of makes sense given it’s so small. New Jersey and California take 32 to state in each weight class and use full wrestle backs. I was in New York City this week and talked with a friend from New Jersey about their state tournament (his son wrestles in NJ). He said New Jersey has three rounds (regionals, districts, state). They have 32 total regionals and the top 3 out of their regionals make it to districts. 4 regionals go to the same district (so 12 man bracket). 1 seeds get a bye and 2s and 3s wrestle in first round. The top 4 from the 8 districts make it to state. So that’s 32 kids from each weight that make it to state. Their state tournament is 32 man bracket with full wrestle backs to 8. They take double what Indiana takes to state and they don’t send home half of the kids they do take to state in a single match. He showed me some pictures of the venue and I could see at least 6 mats. The place looked huge and packed! Greg Hughes 1A/2A Wrestling Coach who believes in classing wrestling greg@continuumgames.com 317-753-7786

Former lifetime wrestler, current assistant high school and club coach and father to a wrestler who started when he was three, here. This totally is case by case. There is no cookie cutter version of this that will work with every kid. I was a child who enjoyed the aggressiveness, discipline and technical aspects of this sport from a young age. I started when I was three and immediately started doing tournaments and found a ton of success in it as did my two older brothers. We would wrestle every weekend, every regional and national tournament and did camps all the time. It was our identity and what we loved to do. Fast forward to my son. He does not like the aggressiveness yet. If he gets cross-faced too hard he cries on the mat and shuts down, where I would have smiled and "ate it". We do not do tournaments besides duals, and he only does that because his buddies are there and its a blast. I am the opposite as people would've believed I would've been. They all thought I would push him into every gym and force him to love it. You can't. He has fallen in love with different aspects of the sport. He loves the work, the technical side, learning new moves. He's just not mentally ready for competition, and that's just fine. All that will come with time along with a dash of aggressiveness I'm guessing once he moves into middle school. Ultimately he's a baseball kid who wrestles and that's fine. Him and my daughter both have naturally gravitated towards this sport I love and that's great, but at the end of the day if they never win a state title, but learn the hard earned lessons that this sport teaches you and become great humans, I would be very happy. If they both end up champs, cool, but its not why we do it. I wouldn't get hung up on what they win and would put more emphasis on loving the sport and embracing what it offers. The success will come if its meant to be.

Man I could write a book on this one. I have four boys. Two have graduated, one Sophomore and one an 8th grader. if anyone wants to talk call me. Jacob has two state medals and easily would have been four. Tristen was a three time state runner up both were different as kiddos. Jacob picked up on wrestling right away. Won his 60 plus state bracket at 10 I believe. Tristen, well, not so much. I believe he didn’t win a match till year three and never really showed signs of winning until 7th grade. consistency and no pressure to win. Do what you are coached to do and do it to the best of your ability. Scoreboard doesn’t matter. My kids have all learned to handle losing before they won. You better in the sport.

I haven’t been around since 2008, but I remember when it was hopping a little more. In retrospect to commenting on the board, Joe made the website too good. Gone are the days where everyone is discussing who beat who, big matchups, etc. Cause now there’s a website for that. We have every dual, tournament, and significant result at our fingertips. Long story short, board is a little slower than it used to be, but the website is better than ever.

Sending out a big congrats to Riley Dempewolf from Indiana Tech. She is in the NAIA finals. She was a 4x state champ in Indiana. Her road in college has been challenging, but she has proved that she is still right there with the best of the best.. Bring it home, Riley!

What a comeback by Allred .

Thank you. It's been a lot of fun (and challenging at times), but very rewarding. Thankful to have been given the opportunity to continue a rich tradition at PH

The IHSAA has 409 member schools, though the exact number with wrestling programs is unclear. According to a 2021 post by Greg Hughes, there were 213 Class A and AA wrestling programs representing Indiana’s small schools. Additionally, WTHR reported that 177 schools sponsor girls' wrestling, a rapidly growing sport in the state. While this number doesn’t fully reflect boys' wrestling participation, it's reasonable to estimate at least 200 boys' wrestling programs. Given this, I will structure this proposal concept into two divisions: AA (small schools) and AAA (large schools). This is long-winded, buckle up. Postseason Structure Three-week format: Sectionals, Regionals, and State Two-class system: AA (small schools) and AAA (large schools) 32 Sectionals (16 per class) 8 Regionals (4 per class) State Tournament with two class divisions Sectionals Bracket Type: 16-man pigtail bracket with wrestle-backs to 3rd place, place top 6 First-round losers are eliminated Full consolation bracket for quarterfinal losers Seeding Criteria: Based on regular season performance, considering head-to-head matchups, winning percentage, match count, etc. Advancement: Top 4 placers qualify for Regionals 5th and 6th place finishers serve as first and second alternates Regionals Bracket Type: 16-man bracket with wrestle-backs to 3rd place, place top 8 Full consolation bracket from the first round Seeding Criteria: Auto-seeded using pairing system based on Sectional finish (1st Place vs. 4th Place, 3rd Place vs. 2nd Place) Advancement: Top 6 placers qualify for State 7th and 8th place finishers serve as first and second alternates State Bracket Type: 32-man bracket with wrestle-backs to 3rd place, place top 8 Regional champions and regional runners-up receive first-round byes, first-round match-ups consist of Regional 3rd vs. Regional 6th, Regional 4th vs. Regional 5th Full consolation bracket from first round Duration: Three days, seven sessions (Thursday thru Saturday) Session 1 - Thursday Afternoon: First Round (Championship) Session 2 - Thursday Night: Second Round (Championship), First Round (Consolations) Session 3 - Friday Afternoon: Quarterfinals (Championship), Second & Third Round (Consolations) Session 4 - Friday Night: Semifinals (Championship), Blood Round (Consolations) Session 5 - Saturday Morning: Medal Round - 3rd, 5th, and 7th Place matches (Consolations) Session 6 - Saturday Afternoon: AA Finals (Championship) Session 7 - Saturday Night: AAA Finals (Championship) Strengths ✓ Three-Week Format Keeps the Postseason Manageable – Avoids an overly long postseason while maintaining a high level of competition. ✓ Two-Class System (AA & AAA) – Allows both small and large schools to have fair competition while still keeping the state’s best wrestlers competing at a high level. ✓ Sectionals: Well-Balanced Advancement & Wrestlebacks 16-man pigtail bracket ensures everyone gets a chance, while early eliminations maintain a competitive standard. Full wrestlebacks for quarterfinal losers means no one gets eliminated due to an unlucky early draw. Advancing the top 4 with alternates (5th & 6th) ensures depth while keeping the competition selective. ✓ Regionals: Tougher but Fair Advancement 16-man bracket with full wrestlebacks makes the competition deeper but fair. Auto-seeding (1st vs. 4th, 2nd vs. 3rd) rewards sectional placement while keeping balance. Top 6 qualify with 7th & 8th as alternates—this gives more true qualifiers compared to the traditional system. ✓ State: A Premier Event with Smart Structuring 32-man bracket keeps it deep and competitive. Regional champs & runners-up receive byes – rewards excellence but still requires winning tough matches. Consolations start immediately – this eliminates the problem of “win-or-go-home” rounds in early stages. Three-day, seven-session format allows proper rest while maintaining a high-energy finals atmosphere on Saturday night. Scenario for Visualization I'm going to use three parochial schools Cathedral, Roncalli, and Bishop Chatard due to their overlap with one another in several occurrences throughout the season but ultimately being in two different classes. Wrestler A (Cathedral, AAA): 40-1 Rank: #1 in AAA 113 Beat Wrestler C (Chatard, AA) in City Championship during current season Lost to out-of-state competition during current season Lost to Wrestler B (Roncalli, AAA) in dual meet during last season Indianapolis City Championship: 1st Holiday Tournament Championship (Al Smith): 1st Conference Championship: N/A (IHSAA Independent) Seed: #1 in AAA Sectional (Loss to B last season doesn't affect his top placement and H2H win over common opponent during current season gives him top seed) Wrestler B (Roncalli, AAA): 39-1 Rank: #2 in AAA 113 Lost to Wrestler C (Chatard, AA) in Conference Championship during current season Beat Wrestler A (Cathedral, AAA) in dual meet during last season Marion County Championship: 1st Holiday Tournament Championship (Mater Dei): 1st Conference Championship (Circle City): 2nd Seed: #2 in AAA Sectional (Win over A last season doesn't affect current standing and H2H loss over common opponent during current season gives A an advantage) Wrestler C (Chatard, AA): 30-4 Rank: #4 in AA 113 Beat Wrestler B (Roncalli, AAA) in Conference Championship during current season Lost to Wrestler A (Cathedral, AAA) in City Championship during current season Other losses to wrestlers in class or in different class City Championship: 2nd Holiday Tournament Championship (Mooresville): 3rd Conference Championship (Circle City): 1st Seed: #1 in AA Sectional (While he has wrestled both A & B in current season with a loss to the former and a win over the latter, neither result affects his seeding as he is in a different class altogether) SECTIONALS: First Step to State AAA Sectional Highlights (Cathedral & Roncalli Compete Here) Wrestler A (#1 seed) and Wrestler B (#2 seed) are proven to be among the best in their class and reach finals convincingly. Finals: Wrestler B defeats Wrestler A for sectional title Advancement: Both move on to Regionals as 1st & 2nd place finishers AA Sectional Highlights (Bishop Chatard Competes Here) Wrestler C (#1 seed) dominates through the bracket Advancement: Wins sectional title, easily qualifying for Regionals REGIONALS: Bigger Brackets, Tougher Matches AAA Regional Highlights Wrestler B (2nd in Sectional) faces a tough 3rd place finisher in Round 1 → Wins Wrestler B (1st in Sectional) faces a scrappy 4th place finisher from another sectional → Wins Quarterfinals: Wrestler A wins a tight match versus a sectional champion → Moves on to semis Wrestler B gets caught and loses a close one to a sectional runner-up → Falls to wrestlebacks Consolation Path: Wrestler B battles through wrestlebacks, avenges a loss, and eventually places 3rd Semifinals & Finals: Wrestler A handles another sectional champion in the semis and another in the finals, being crowned regional champion Advancement: Both Wrestler A & B finish in the top 3, each earning one of the six automatic qualifying bids to state AA Regional Highlights Wrestler C (1st in Sectional) dominates early rounds Semifinals: Wins a close match against another ranked opponent Finals: Falls just short but still finishes 2nd Advancement: Automatically qualifies for State STATE TOURNAMENT: The Best of the Best AAA Bracket (32-Man, Wrestler A & Wrestler B Compete) Round 1 Wrestler A (Regional Champion) earns a first-round bye Wrestler B (3rd at Regionals) faces a tough 6th-place regional finisher → Wins and advances Round 2: Wrestler A wins a tough match versus a regional 4th place finisher → Advances to quarterfinals Wrestler B wins a tough match versus a regional runner-up → Advances to quarterfinals Quarterfinal: Wrestler A wins another match, this time versus a regional runner-up → Advances to semifinals Wrestler B wins another match, this time versus a regional champion → Advances to semifinals Semifinal: Wrestler A wins another match, handling a regional champion → Advances to finals Wrestler B drops a close match to a regional champion → Falls to consolation semifinals Consolation Semifinals: Wrestler B drops another match to a wrestler who'd been taken out earlier → Falls to 5th Place Match 5th Place Match: Wrestler B closes out his season with a win to secure fifth place AAA 113 Championship: Wrestler A closes out his season with a win in the AAA 113-pound state championship match AA Bracket (32-Man, Wrestler C Competes) Round 1: Wrestler C (Regional Runner-Up) earns a first-round bye. Round 2: Wrestler C drops his first match to a regional 3rd place finisher → Falls to consolation round 2 Consolation Round 2: Wrestler C earns a victory to keep his season alive → Advances to consolation round 3 Consolation Round 3: Wrestler C earns another victory to keep his medal hopes alive → Advances to blood round Blood Round: Wrestler C earns another victory to be awarded a medal → Advances to consolation round 5 Consolation Round 5: Wrestler C takes a second loss after winning three straight → Falls to 7th Place Match 7th Place Match: Wrestler C earns fourth victory of the tournament to secure seventh place Final Results Wrestler A (51-2) → IHSAA AAA 113-pound State Champion Wrestler B (52-4) → IHSAA AAA 113-pound State 5th Wrestler C (41-7) → IHSAA AA 113-pound State 7th Hopefully, this visualization is able to capture the benefits of the two-class system, the importance of wrestlebacks, and how seeding affects the postseason journey. Key Takeaways: ✓ Seeding Accuracy: Wrestler A gets the top AAA seed due to H2H results over a common opponent, while Wrestler C’s performance in a different class ensures he isn’t unfairly impacted. ✓ Wrestlebacks Matter: Wrestler B recovers from an early regional loss to take 3rd at Regionals and 5th at State, proving why wrestlebacks are essential. Wrestler C also battles back from an early loss at State to place. ✓ Two-Class System Increases Opportunity: Without two classes, Wrestler C might not have qualified at all, but here he secures a state medal in AA. ✓ Strength of Schedule & Different Competition: Each wrestler faced strong in-class and out-of-class opponents, giving them a battle-tested resume for the state tournament. This system balances fairness and competition, allowing the best wrestlers to rise to the top without eliminating deserving talent too soon. In contrast, we can also observe a scenario that assesses how Indiana's current system affects all involved. In this scenario, Wrestler A (Cathedral, AAA), Wrestler B (Roncalli, AAA), and Wrestler C (Bishop Chatard, AA) all compete in a single-class system. This means: Sectionals: Top 4 advance to Regionals (Full wrestlebacks for quarterfinal losers). Regionals: Only semifinalists (top 4) advance. No wrestlebacks. Semi-State: Only semifinalists (top 4) advance. No wrestlebacks. State: 16-man bracket. First-round losers are out, quarterfinal losers can only wrestle back for 5th. This system increases the risk of an early loss eliminating a strong wrestler. SECTIONALS: Stage One Wrestler A (#1 seed) dominates and wins the sectional title. → Advances to Regionals Wrestler B (#2 seed) reaches the final but loses to A, finishing 2nd. → Advances to Regionals Wrestler C (#3 seed) loses in the semifinals to Wrestler B, drops to consolation. In wrestlebacks, he wins two consecutive matches to place 3rd. → Advances to Regionals The 4th place finisher also moves on. 5th and 6th place finishers serve as first and second alternates. ✓ All three advance to Regionals REGIONALS (Stage Two): NO WRESTLEBACKS – An Early Loss Ends Your Season Wrestler A wins his first-round match and reaches semifinals → Automatically qualifies for Semi-State Wrestler B wins his first-round match and reaches semifinals → Automatically qualifies for Semi-State Wrestler C draws a tough sectional runner-up in the first round. For the sake of being dramatic and to overemphasize, let's say he is winning the match, dominating even, and pins himself in a tilt while up 10 on his opponent thanks to a questionable call from the referee. There are NO wrestlebacks—his season is over. Despite having beaten multiple state-level competitors in the regular season, he does not qualify for Semi-State. ✗ Wrestler C is eliminated despite being one of the top competitors in his class. SEMI-STATE (Stage Three): Another No-Wrestleback Round Wrestler A wins his quarterfinal match and advances to the semifinals. → Qualifies for State Wrestler B wins his quarterfinal match and advances to the semifinals. → Qualifies for State Meanwhile, other strong wrestlers lose in the quarterfinals and are eliminated with no wrestlebacks. Only the four semifinalists move on. STATE TOURNAMENT (Stage Four): No Wrestlebacks for First-Round Losers Round 1: Wrestler A wins. → Advances to quarterfinals. Wrestler B gets beat in an upset and loses in the first round. He is eliminated immediately—no wrestlebacks. ✗ Quarterfinals: Wrestler A wins. → Advances to semifinals. Semifinals: Wrestler A loses a tough match, dropping to the 3rd Place Match. Final Placement: Wrestler A places 3rd. Wrestler B, despite being one of the best in the state, doesn’t place at all. Final Outcome in Single-Class System Wrestler Sectionals Regionals Semi-State State A (Cathedral, AAA) 1st → ✓ 1st → ✓ 1st → ✓ 3rd B (Roncalli, AAA) 2nd → ✓ 2nd → ✓ 2nd → ✓ ✗ First-round exit C (Chatard, AA) 3rd → ✓ ✗ First-round loss (no wrestlebacks) ✗ Eliminated ✗ Eliminated How the System Fails Wrestler C was eliminated at Regionals simply because he lost in the first round with no chance to wrestle back. Wrestler B was eliminated in the first round of state with no chance to prove himself in wrestlebacks. Despite being a state-level talent, Wrestler C doesn’t even make Semi-State, let alone State. Wrestler B, who placed 5th in the hypothetical two-class system, finishes with nothing in single-class. Without wrestlebacks, one bad match can end a deserving wrestler's season. How Two Classes and Full Wrestlebacks Fix This In the Two-Class System: Wrestler C competes against schools his size and makes AA State, finishing 7th. With Full Wrestlebacks: Wrestler C could have placed top 4 at Regionals and advanced to Semi-State. Wrestler B could have wrestled back at State and placed instead of being eliminated first round. While I used this scenario of three individuals from parochial schools of varying sizes in a large metropolitan city due to overlap, the larger conversation also speaks to the disparity of the single-class system as it pertains to opportunities for smaller schools. Large schools with extensive resources and depth are favored in a single-class while small schools with one or two standout talents are often eliminated before state which not only reduces parity and fairness in competition, but lowers morale, and ultimately participation, which could lead to the collapse of programs. Additionally, an extra week of competition before state increases injury risk and fatigue, further stacking the deck in favor of powerhouse programs with deeper lineups and year-round training. Ultimately, this round acts as an unnecessary bottleneck that limits state representation and reduces the overall quality and fairness of the tournament. The current system not only affects individual wrestlers but also threatens the overall health of high school wrestling in Indiana. Thank you for coming to my TEDx (they wouldn't give me a TED talk). #squabbleup

Okay well don't cry to me again when I have unranked kids placing then.

Senior year Camden Eppert taking out 4x placer Justin Brooks, 2x placer and UFC fighter Casey Kenny, and then concluding the rivalry with a win over Brandon Wright.

Confidence they can compete, some get it when they’re young . Some get it later in their school years . I’ve seen the best wrestlers find it within themselves that losing wasn’t an option. Asa got his end of 6th to end 7th grade . Never won ISWA/MS/AAU/USAW Titles to that point Always a decent wrestler, discipline. 8th Grade Confidence snap, I can beat anyone mentality and he did . Winning everything . It was at Indy Nationals after Middle School end of 7th grade that the Coaches seen that fire . Look it up . Blaze never won ISWA/MS/AAU/USAW even early HS years it wasn’t there . Junior year for him I’d say it Clicked for him . He’s been wrestling since he 4 years old just never had it until then. To me it’s Confidence

Okay, I want to get responses to as many of these as I can. There have already been talks of having it over 2 days. The problem of waiting 5 or 6 weeks after the season ends likely is not solved easily. If we are to have it over 2 days, it will be quite difficult to have officials to go around. I will speak a little more later on this since goldj has mentioned it. Talk has also been made about moving the Grade School and Girls to another venue with a couple more mats. There is an alternate reasoning for why it is Sunday morning. Don't you want to be wrestling your best and to be fresh to decide if you are going to be a place winner? We continually look into this, but felt like people would like to have themself as fresh as possible. Again, things can be changed, but then we also get the complaint that everything takes too long. And then people start complaining that we should just have it all in 1 day. So there is no magic number. People complain, it is as guaranteed as death. The round order was messed up. We have only had 2 total 32 (wo)man bracket's in the past 8 years of girls wrestling in FR/SO State. It is something that is getting fixed. I am not going to say that they will all end together, but we will have to wrestle more of the 32 man brackets before being done with the 8 and 16s. But this is a 1 time problem, because it can be fixed. Also, to say do better for the girls because of a wrong wrestler checking in. That is a slap in the face to the kids working the tables, who for the most part did a pretty darn good job of doing things right. Have you ever sat yourself at a table and saw how people check in? Have you ever heard a kid say their name when they are in a rush to get to the mat? Did you opponent actually come and check in? Did the official make eye contact with the table to get the okay to start? This same issue happened twice in the boys side where the wrong wrestlers started a match. It is something that happens in more tournaments than a few. I used to work for TrackWrestling and it was something that I had to deal with at least every Sunday through wrestling season as a Live Event Customer Service rep. Again with the issue of needing it closer to the end of the season. I don't disagree, it would be great if it were closer to the end of the season. And I have a feeling that we will be changing the Boys State Tournament Series in the next couple years to just be 3 weekends. Unfortunately, you are dealing with some issues with officiating. When would you suggest us to do this tournament? This weekend was picked originally for 2 reasons. 1.) obviously it is the week after Boys State and it keeps everyone in the room for the state run, which in turn should help wrestling grow. and 2.) it was the weekend with the least amount of local kids tournaments to take that money from the local events. First, as anyone who has ever been in a coaches meeting has heard. We are now at a point where an EMERGENCY is an understatement in officials numbers. The average age of an official at the IHSAA Boys State Finals this year was 60, I believe I heard. We do not replace the same amount of officials that we lose each year. As a person who assigns officials to events, we need more officials. And if we don't change something here soon, we are going to be in grave danger of filling all of the events that are currently held on Saturdays. I officiated more matches this year than I have in many years. I picked up a number of girls matches last minute (including a couple the day of), because we are just that short. Secondly, most events/conferences/counties have officials assigned and contracted for events many years in advance. The schools have found the officials that they want and have them locked in. Moving more girls events to the weekend would only get you newer officials, who, while they need to get experience are sometimes not as well versed in the rules as some of the more experienced officials who have been contracted multiple years in advance for boys events. But again, I don't disagree that we need to change something to allow for equality of having weekends for girls families, community fans, and such to see what the girls can do on a wrestling mat. Just something that everyone is going to have to help to get ironed out. Andy, are you saying that we need to make the awards podium different? Are you suggesting that we stop wrestling like at the State Finals for this? We heard from coaches the first couple years that they did not like extending the tournament by keeping all weights together and doing an awards podium announcement. So we adapted and just did it once everyone (or at least 7 of the 8 ) were at the podium. We have tried to get better with each year. Just wondering what your comment was or if you had suggestions! Thanks for your input! And thanks for recognizing the event as a good one. Thanks for your thoughts! I do appreciate it. We are in talks about how we are handling the blood round at regionals. We were hoping that allowing them to wrestle at the qualifiers it would keep them in the room since it was so far out from their state tournament. We had a qualifier in Northeast Indiana the first year of the event. There was no one to run it, so I had to drive over from Portage to run it. I then almost fell asleep at the wheel while driving back home at 2AM. So I decided that I would host where I live. I apologize for the Ft. Wayne area, since you are like us, always traveling for events. Central Indiana is a different story as they have the last qualifier at Indy Nationals in their backyard. I know it is more expensive, but it is also the only qualifier that has awards for placing in the top 8. We have never been approached since that year in Fort Wayne with a specific plan to host another one in Ft. Wayne and a TW Administrator to host it. But we would need a guarantee of getting officials, volunteers, tableworkers, as well as everything else that comes with running a tournament. Personally, I feel like we have one of (if not) the best tournaments in the state so we want that level of support to consider an addition to the event.

Unfortunately, this has happened to me plenty of times. This is a phenomenal tournament. I am going to push it even more next year with our wrestlers and coaches for that matter. The competition is top-notch. It's a great way to keep those underclassmen in the room training all the way through the state series and ready for ISWA Folkstyle State. They get to go compete against semi-state and state-level kids and see where they are at with them or even win the thing. The big 3 definitely treat it that way. One of the cool things was watching upperclassmen that just placed at State or even won State there supporting their teammates and sometimes coaching them. Keep growing it and making a bigger show for the awards and I could see starting to have a wall in a wrestling room with Frosh-Soph placers. I saw kids getting emotional at the top of the podium because it meant so much to them. Some of these kids grind in silence in their rooms behind some of the States or even Nations best and this gives them opportunities. It put a smile on my face to see that. It's all about opportunities and this is a great one. As a coach yes it is a grind to be right after high school state. But... tis what separates programs. Thank you to all who put this together and run it.

Man I look at that Warren coaching list and I coached three of their coaches. Must mean I’m pretty good (still coaching at Franklin )or old. Lol Darrick’s responses are spot on btw!

Hazelett this year. I believe he beat #3, #2, and #1 on Saturday!

Most Skilled - Alex Mosconi, won everything in grade school . USAW, ISWA, fantastic HS career. Most Accomplished- Ty Mills, 4x Semi Finalists, 2x Runner, 2x 3rd . Fantastic High School career.

When I Watch Wrestling, I See America This weekend’s championships will be a lesson in virtue. By David McCormick March 20, 2025 5:29 pm ET Carter Starocci celebrates after defeating Ohio State's Rocco Welsh in the finals of the NCAA wrestling championships in Kansas City, Mo., March 23, 2024. Photo: Charlie Riedel/Associated Press America’s best college wrestlers will square off this weekend in Philadelphia at the National Collegiate Athletic Association championships. You’ll find me in the front row cheering them on, alongside President Trump. I grew up wrestling across Pennsylvania, from Shikellamy to Shickshinny and from Selinsgrove to Schuylkill Haven. In those hot, crowded arenas, generations of high-school wrestlers have faced the ultimate test: six minutes on the mat with nowhere to hide. As wrestling legend Dan Gable famously said, “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.” Wrestling is more than a sport. Every season, packed auditoriums of spectators watch excellence emerge from years of hard, often lonely work. They see young people engaged in the brutality and beauty of competition. They see ferocity tempered by sportsmanship and respect. They see the values that made America great. The first value is hard work. On Saturday, Pennsylvania State University’s wrestling team will defend one of the greatest dynasties in college sports history. Under Coach Cael Sanderson, they’ve won 11 of the past 13 national titles. Such sustained excellence requires hard work, every day. Similarly, the American experiment isn’t self-sustaining, nor is American strength predestined. Our nation has big problems. We’ve begun to turn the corner, but it will take dutiful commitment to keep it going. The second value is courage. It’s easy to criticize from the bleachers, but as Theodore Roosevelt said, “It is not the critic who counts.” Wrestlers have to summon the courage to step into the arena. This next generation of Americans must show similar courage in public life to lead the country. Third is the capacity to overcome adversity. When a match reaches the final period, it becomes a test of character and grit: the strength found within. Spencer Lee, who grew up in Pennsylvania, tore his ACL during the 2019 NCAA wrestling championships. He still won the title. Two years later, he tore his other ACL yet won the title again. My greatest lessons haven’t come from success but from overcoming setbacks. We can’t all show the grit of Mr. Lee, but we must try. Such perseverance is what it will take to get America back on track. The U.S. has shown remarkable resilience throughout its short history. It can and will do so again. Saturday will be a celebration of sportsmanship and respect. Wrestlers will dig deep to dominate their opponents. But when the whistle blows, each will stand, shake hands and walk off the mat. Those of us in politics could learn from them. Hard work, courage, resilience and respect are on display every time wrestlers step on the mat. As long as these wrestling virtues are in our nation’s bloodstream, America’s future will be bright. Mr. McCormick, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania and was the co-captain of the Army wrestling team while a cadet at West Point.

Who is a wrestler you’ve seen that made you say, “Nah, he/she really like that!” In other words, who is the real deal? When was the moment you recognized this wrestler was HIM/HER? I’ve got a few recent names: Mike White (Lawrence North); #LikeThat Moment: Pinning Salas in the quarters. Rianne Murphy (Crown Point); #LikeThat Moment: Wrestling at Midlands while still in high school Jake Hockaday (Brownsburg); #LikeThat Moment: Dubbing Ashton Jackson in the 120 State final Tylin Thrine (New Castle); #LikeThat Moment: Pinning Reyes in the 2023 Semi-State final Noah Weaver (Rossville); #LikeThat Moment: First period tech in this year’s 220 state final A few retro names: Nick Lee (Mater Dei); #LikeThat Moment: Majoring Zach Davis at 2014 Team State Alex Cottey (Perry Meridian); #LikeThat Moment: Nearly tech pinning Lane Gilbert in under a minute in the 2020 113 State semis Brody Baumann (Mater Dei); #LikeThat Moment: Throwing Major with double overs in the 2021 160 State final Tristen Tonte (Perry Meridian/Warren Central); #LikeThat Moment: 360 Double off the whistle to Joey Mammolenti at 2015 Team State Mitch Sliga (Fishers); #LikeThat Moment: Pinning Kourtney Berry in the 2012 195 State final Tyler Fleener (Center Grove); #LikeThat Moment: Spladling Drew Hughes in the 2014 138 State quarters Jacob Stevenson (Franklin Community); #LikeThat Moment: Pinning Ben Stewart at the Traicoff Unaffiliated with Indiana, but throwing it in just because I’m thinking about it: Drake Houdashelt (Missouri); #LikeThat Moment: Pinning #1 Nick Dardanes (Minnesota) with a toe in at the 2014 Southern Scuffle

Both are awesome ways to get better. I started RWO's to have freedom in "open mat" structure, etc. I did not want to be sent a practice plan, told what technique to show or be told what clinicians I would have. All of that can be helpful and is not a bad thing. I have been at it too long for that, though. I want to run my room the way I see best. Snyder

At least you aren't using AOL.

Good thing transfers are next weeks topic lol.

Team Indiana competed hard, we had some great matches, a few tough decisions not go our way and a couple of upsets, all in all it was a great weekend. Special thanks to my girls associate head coach Andrew Nedelsky and girls assistant coach Francesca Nedelsky for helping organize and making sure everything went smooth for both teams. Also shout out to Jeff Schaeffer and EI Sports apparel for the great gear package. This event started back in 1994, its a great way for the IHSWCA to showcase our best seniors. I talked to numerous college coaches in attendance, so juniors who do not solidify a college offer next year and are looking for an avenue to showcase your skills, be sure to mark your calendar, tentative dates for next year will be March 14-15. It will be back in Indiana next year at Mooresville High School.

Gunnar Henry has done the same thing at Brownsburg East middle school. The Monday after state he came to practice and has not missed a practice or meet since he won his title. He has cornered our kids and shared some great technique. The last two nights we had the Hendricks County middle school tournament. All of the Avon guys were there for their middle schoolers also. The level of wrestling was insane for middle school. The gym was absolutely packed and very loud. We also had some of the best refs in Indiana working this middle school tournament. Years ago I was on a text message with @DLane@JMILL and @TeamGarcia at that time The Region guys were kings of Indiana wrestling. I suggested that we need a brand. Something that would catch on and admittedly piss people off. Danny was a big hashtag guy at the time. So we came up with #TheCounty. And yes @TeamGarcia has been hammering it home ever since and I semi-apologize for it. With that said, it’s REAL. The wrestling culture here is amazing. Tommy and Gunnar are perfect examples of what wrestling in Hendricks county is all about and what it will continue to be for many many more years. It’s the culture. Proud of our guys!!!

It is multifactorial and rarely just “one thing” causes these shortages. But I sincerely believe referee abuse across almost all sports is creating this vacuum. It’s a well documented phenomenon. I am friends with a few IHSAA refs from football and basketball and the horror stories are ridiculous. I also help run a youth and high school rugby team and we just can’t get enough refs. You might say that’s because rugby is a “fringe” sport but it’s one of the fastest growing sports in the US so new blood should outpace retirements. We have doubled ref pay. We have offered closer and more frequent training classes. Nothing helps. Sidelines behavior has become really bad across most youth sports. There’s an old joke: Q: “Which sports team has the worst fan base”? (I.e Philadelphia Eagles, NY Yankees, etc). A: 12U Girls Travel Soccer

Seems like Angel is working on a PA pipeline. Brought in three PA guys this past year. Garvick (will be good after taking a redshirt year next year and sits behind bryce), Caleb Marzolino (pa runner up), Nick Pavlecheko (multiple time placer and super 32 placer). Hoping he can continue to pull these types of guys while adding a few more big name in state recruits. Add a few guys next year like Tyler Guerra (same school as tOSU stud Ben Davino, Carson Thomas (Ohio state champ and highly national ranked), Hunter Sturgill (Ironman placer and nationally ranked), Jackson Blum (4x michigan state champ), Matt Kowalski (Ohio state champ and goes back and forth with Gunner Henry), plus a few of our in-state guys. Don’t forget we have guys on the bench like Sam Goin (would’ve been an NCAA qualifier and might be better than DJ right now) and Bryce Lowery who’ve would’ve been another qualifier for the Hoosiers. The future is bright and will still be a couple more years but as a fan I like where things are headed.

With the coming increase of transfers, you could list previous schools on the wrestler bio. This is not meant as a negative, by the way, but there were multiple times this year where I was pretty sure a name sounded familiar from a different school and had to do extensive research to figure out where they previously wrestled. On that note, you could also do "County of Birth" so we could more quickly and directly shame wrestlers for the unforgivable crime of crossing imaginary lines in their wrestling career.

Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 106 Traevon Ducking Brownsburg 1st 10 2 106 Daniel Brown Jr. Center Grove 2nd 10 3 106 Case Bridge Avon 3rd 10 4 106 Connor Maddox Westfield 4th 10 5 106 Reed Wicker Delta 5th 10 6 106 Cruz Orueta Lake Central 6th 10 7 106 Sam Westfall Crown Point 7th 12 8 106 Joey Warner FW Carroll 8th 10 9 106 Caleb Morrow Indianapolis Lutheran SQ 11 10 106 Chase Mikels Portage SQ 11 11 106 Ramon Sierra Garrett SQ 12 12 106 Julian DeLuna Hanover Central SQ 11 13 106 Tate St. Laurent Indianapolis Cathedral SQ 10 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 113 Case Bell Brownsburg 1st 10 2 113 Peyton Schoettle Roncalli 2nd 12 3 113 Noel Verduzco Lowell 3rd 10 4 113 Colin Strayer Crown Point 4th 10 5 113 Kaid Jackson Delta 5th 12 6 113 Eli Ogle Tri-West 7th 12 7 113 Rex Moore Manchester 8th 12 8 113 Charlie Fleshman Central Noble SQ 12 9 113 Zavier Acuna Portage SQ 10 10 113 Bakari Cooper New Haven SQ 11 11 113 Nash Burke Munster SQ 12 12 113 Justus Thrasher Center Grove SQ 12 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 120 Revin Dickman Brownsburg 1st 12 2 120 Mason Goelz Avon 2nd 12 3 120 Gavin Lewis Crown Point 3rd 11 4 120 Blake Getz Roncalli 5th 12 5 120 Royce Malone Center Grove 7th 11 6 120 Caiden Underwood Lawrence North 8th 11 7 120 Joseph Mendoza Benton Central SQ 12 8 120 Lincoln Underwood Portage SQ 10 9 120 Caleb Asa Garrett SQ 10 10 120 Chance Smith Mishawaka SQ 11 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 126 Nathan Rioux Avon 1st 12 2 126 Elijah Broady Mount Vernon (Fortville) 4th 12 3 126 Dominic Brown Center Grove 5th 12 4 126 Bradyn Volz Eastern Hancock 8th 11 5 126 Angelo Vargo Penn SQ 11 6 126 Hickson Love Marion SQ 11 7 126 Richard Rogers Franklin Central SQ 12 8 126 Sean Harris New Haven SQ 11 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 132 Tylin Thrine New Castle 3rd 12 2 132 Sam Mosier Delta 4th 11 3 132 Hunter Douglas Homestead 5th 12 4 132 Donald Bowie Warren Central 6th 11 5 132 Layne Horn Rochester 7th 12 6 132 Tripp Haisley Madison Grant SQ 12 7 132 Warren Brown Merrillville SQ 12 8 132 Caleb Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei SQ 11 9 132 Cullen Crowley Indianapolis Cathedral SQ 12 10 132 Anthony Zuranski Avon SQ 10 11 132 Landon Hawkins Crown Point SQ 12 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 138 Braylon Reynolds Brownsburg 2nd 11 2 138 Evan Stanley Lowell 3rd 11 3 138 Peyton Richards Switzerland County 4th 12 4 138 Gunner Butt New Palestine 5th 12 5 138 Jack Davis Indianapolis Bishop Chatard 6th 12 6 138 Dylan Ogg Adams Central SQ 11 7 138 Sontonio Sessa Crown Point SQ 12 8 138 Cade Zuber Greenfield-Central SQ 12 9 138 Henry Faurote Bellmont SQ 11 10 138 Cooper Wilkins Portage SQ 12 11 138 Ashton Goney Cowan SQ 10 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 144 Tommy Gibbs Brownsburg 1st 12 2 144 Peyton Hornsby Center Grove 2nd 11 3 144 Luke Reid Valparaiso 4th 12 4 144 Jeffrey Huyvaert New Prairie 5th 12 5 144 Cohen Long Columbus North 8th 11 6 144 Dakoda Willoughby Fountain Central SQ 11 7 144 Cavan Tom Wawasee SQ 11 8 144 Lincoln Frazee North White SQ 11 9 144 Wyatt Hoppes Yorktown SQ 12 10 144 Chase Kline Avon SQ 11 11 144 Jacob Unger Cowan SQ 11 12 144 Logan Haney Crown Point SQ 12 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 150 Parker Reynolds Brownsburg 1st 12 2 150 Linkin Carter Eastside 3rd 12 3 150 Wyatt Cooksey Bloomington South SQ 12 4 150 Dallas Davidson Angola SQ 12 5 150 Tyler Lavin Indianapolis Cathedral SQ 12 6 150 Teigan Newell Crown Point SQ 11 7 150 Zach Kenney Griffith SQ 12 8 150 Hank Phenicie Zionsville SQ 12 9 150 Brason Schortgen Adams Central SQ 11 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 157 Matthew Staples New Prairie 1st 10 2 157 Jackson Bradley Cowan 5th 12 3 157 Brank Beck Rochester 7th 12 4 157 Maverick Dubach Adams Central 8th 12 5 157 Asher Ratliff Columbus North SQ 12 6 157 Jacob Weaver Rossville SQ 12 7 157 Anthony Bustamante Merrillville SQ 12 8 157 Deacon Dresller Gibson Southern SQ 11 9 157 Griffin VanTichelt Crown Point SQ 12 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 165 Jesus Lopez Terre Haute South 7th 12 2 165 Jacob Cole Rossville SQ 12 3 165 Israel Sinnott Hanover Central SQ 12 4 165 Griffan Larson Avon SQ 12 5 165 Jaxsin Prater East Central SQ 11 6 165 Ben Clark Crown Point SQ 11 7 165 Camden Baumann Evansville Mater Dei SQ 12 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 175 Waylon Cressell Warren Central 1st 12 2 175 Vincent Freeman Penn 3rd 12 3 175 Xavier Smith Fishers 5th 12 4 175 Michael Morton Roncalli 8th 12 5 175 Brody Wingate East Central SQ 11 6 175 Tyson Barrow North Posey SQ 11 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 190 Michael White Lawrence North 2nd 12 2 190 Kyle Harden Indianapolis Cathedral 4th 12 3 190 Ceasar Salas Crown Point 5th 10 4 190 Seer Godwise Perry Meridian 7th 12 5 190 Xavier Palacios Bellmont 8th 12 6 190 Sam Howard Boonville SQ 11 7 190 Alessio Retzloff Penn SQ 12 8 190 Colin McMahon Columbus East SQ 11 9 190 Aiden Granger Hobart SQ 12 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 215 Austin Reading Crown Point 5th 12 2 215 Kellen Fellure Franklin Community 6th 11 3 215 Jett Goldsberry Heritage Hills 8th 12 4 215 Julian Burgett Fishers SQ 12 5 215 Hartley Hoover North Miami SQ 12 6 215 Derek Morrison Wawasee SQ 12 Weight Name School State Placement 2026 Grade 1 285 Kameron Hazelett Lowell 1st 10 2 285 Declan Gard Rochester 4th 12 3 285 Isaiah Coolman Leo 5th 12 4 285 Jacarei Markey Warren Central 6th 12 5 285 William Glesing New Palestine 8th 11 6 285 Job Mavrick Westfield SQ 12 7 285 Jacob Reynolds Garrett SQ 12 8 285 Keenan Mowery-Shields South Putnam SQ 11 9 285 Manford Osburn Terre Haute North SQ 12

Kind of, but with a twist where we assign random numbers to teams and make a cool graphic.

Related, but slightly off-topic: Do a couple of these guys, assuming they place high, become really desirable D1 recruits now with the new rules that JC years don't use up any eligibility? They're 2 years more mature physically (basically ages 21 to 25 available for D1 years), they're proven against college competition, and they're a proven commodity in terms of the wrestle/study grind. Wouldn't D1's going forward view a proven JC hammer more favorably than, say, an 18-year-old who is #15 in the nation at his high school weight? Second point on that: Will more kids going forward view JC as a more desirable route since they're not using up NCAA eligibility? Example: My offers are an out-of-state MAC or an in-state good small-school. I think I'm Big 10 material. I'll go to a JC and prove I'm Big 10 material--plus give myself 2 more years of doing what I love. If I fail to prove myself, I can still go to the smaller schools anyway. And I can still graduate in 4 years if I decide to anyway.

Also dont text this number and expect a response during the The Bachelor!

@jets I will say in my opinion here is the answer to your questions........... sometime around '05 the youth club was kicking into full gear (I joined in with my oldest son about '07). That youth club gave a large group of kids/good & great athletes the love and direction for the sport and it continued to grow until they needed more. Then a lot of them went to local academies in their back yard or nearby town (CWA,RC). This helped to take all these kids to the next levels in their own right. There is always parental support which is HUGE and can not be under-estimated as this is crucial !!!!!! The head Coach is great and can literally sell ice to eskimos and get the kids to buy in to any goal and direction. He surrounds himself with mostly top level guys that share the same goals and directions for the program and individuals. Lastly I think there is the right place right time aspect because it seems like the affordability of the community made it possible for people to call home and then the success of the program became like a snowball rolling down hill and with anything else the better and better something is the more and more people outside want to be a part of it. At the end of the day winning is important and is contagious and attractive to people. The key is going to be longevity and how long will this last and keep going. Its been a long great ride so far so here is to hoping it continues.