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One thing that might resolve some issues is expanded sponsorship of ISWA teams. If ISWA can line up sponsors so that "Team Indiana" events are virtually free for the wrestlers and their families, then you would take away the cost argument and may start seeing some families that have earned a spot but can't afford the trip begin to participate more. Wrestling has a lot of successful, extremely loyal alumni. I think it would be appealing to know you are sponsoring the official "Team Indiana" and be able to show a lineup of events they are raising money for.

MANHEIM, Pa. – Juniors Ben Harvey and Cael McCormick of the Army West Point wrestling team added to their academic honors for 2019 by being named Scholar All-Americans by the National Wrestling Coaches Association on Friday. https://goarmywestpoint.com/news/2019/4/26/wrestling-harvey-mccormick-named-nwca-scholar-all-americans.aspx?path=wrestling Congrats Ben and Cael! #studentathletes

Ya-Sin has only played six years of organized football. Wonder where he comes by such amazing athleticism...maybe it is those two high school state wrestling championships he won in Georgia. Rock, stop in to see the IHSAA Wrestling Finals in February.

We shared this video with our families. Wanted to share with all. FUN trip. Thank you parents! 2019 AAU Elementary National Champs #Indiana #CompoundStrong #MFFM Kenny Harden

I have had the opportunity to coach at Kingsport twice for Team North Carolina when my nephews (Who wrestle at Campbell now) were on the team and have coached both the elem and middle school teams at Heartland over last couple years. Both tourneys has their shares of studs but I would say for the depth and overall talent level of the teams Heartland wins it going away. Kingsport is a neat tourney and I agree would be a great meet to introduce our kids new to national level competition too.

How impressive was Cornell sophomore Yianni Diakomahalis at the US Open? He runs the a murderers row of Frank Molinaro, Jordan Oliver and Zain Retherford to win the title. His ability to turn an opponents attack into a scoring opportunity was just incredible. Now the question becomes who will fight their way back to challenge him at the WTT? After the match against Oliver, I gave him a chance against Retherford, but thought Zain would have too much - I was definitely proven wrong! Also impressive was Daton Fix taking out Thomas Gilman, Bo Nickal winning his weight class, and Northwestern wrestler Ryan Deakin beating world team member James Green on a last second score The World Team Trials are May 17-19 in North Carolina. Should be some excellent rematches!

I’ll be watching my back all day now. Dang it!!! And if Allred shows up.... I’m running!

It was nice knowing you Matt. I'm sure the Muncie Mafia will be visiting you soon.

Wow. That sounds awesome!

Marian University will be hosting Knights Wrestling Club practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00-7:30 pm all summer long for Schoolboys, Cadets, and Juniors. These practices will be specifically geared towards furthering our success in Schoolboy, Cadet, and Junior duals, as well as Fargo. The majority of these practices will be ran by Marian University Head Coach Steven Bradley, who was a 3x Cadet All American, 2x Junior All American, and a UWW Junior All American. These practices will start on Tuesday, May 7th. We will provide a full schedule for practices soon. These practices will be free of charge, as the goal of the club is to improve the success of Indiana wrestling on the national stage. All participants will need a USA Wrestling Card, as well as a waiver filled out on the Marian University website (link provided below) Enter through the west doors of the P.E. center, the wrestling room is located on the second floor. If you have any further questions, contact Steven Bradley. 317-374-4825 sbradley@marian.edu Waiver Form- http://www.muknights.com/d/Marian_University_Policy_for_Protecting_Minors_on_Campus--Parent_Version_Short_Medical_Form_2019.pdf You can find the paper work on MUKnights.com under wrestling.

God I remember seeing bracket of 65 78 kids in state bracket while being In vertical pairing. Good ole Indiana state fair grounds.

Another great workout last night! Thanks to Kyle Hatch for showing some sick funk to score from a Russian Tie. Nasty stuff. Next week will be our last RWO. After next week, we are going to turn our attention towards preparing for the Disney Duals. We are going to use that Kyle Ayermsan guy we found walking around Brownsburg...he won a few State Championships in Indiana, but did lose TWO times in high school - half of his losses were to my wrestler - just saying...wrestled in the Big 10...that's okay, but it's not the CCIW... Take a ride on the #PainTrain next Thursday in the #BoneYard Snyder

IMO.... any USAW or UWW sanctioned event should count as a qualifier. I think the rule was put into place to ensure our wrestlers were training and actually learning freestyle. Hats off to the kids that went other national regional events and to any UWW events. It would be a shame if any of these kids were left out of state. For being short on qualifiers.

Final X If you are a World medalist you automatically advance to Final X. In freestyle Colon, Burroughs, Dake, Taylor, Cox, Snyder, and Gwiz all qualified this way. If there is no World medalist in your weight the US Open champion goes to Final X. In freestyle Fix, Yianni, and Deakin all qualified this way. US Open and other qualifiers Wrestlers qualify for the World Team Trials by placing top 7 at the US Open or via other qualifiers. Those include being a current NCAA champ, previous World medalist, highest placing American at the Dave Schultz, etc. World Team Trials The WTT will determine the second person at each weight for Final X. If there is a World medalist in your weight the US Open champion has a bye to the finals on Sunday. For instance Bo Nickal, Kyven Gadson, etc are already in the finals for Sunday's best of 3 format. To determine the opponent there will be a bracketed tournament on Saturday with the winner facing the person who is sitting out. If there is no medalist there will be a bracketed tournament and the finals of the bracket will be best of 3 on Sunday. Saturday's wrestling will be a bracketed format with usually 8-12 wrestlers competing. On Sunday it is just the best of 3 finals that will take place. Note that not only are Final X spots on the line there is also a National Team spot on the line which is the top 3 at each weight. Being on the National Team gets you paid(a little) and advantages for camps and travel overseas. Everyone wrestling needs to make scratch weight both days, that includes the ones with byes to Sunday. Flo put out their projected seeds with who has qualified and who is expected to attend. There is one more qualifier this weekend that will allow one more wrestler to enter WTT. https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/6468234-projected-seeds-for-the-2019-world-team-trials-challenge-tournament

Agreed, I think we should be able to land a corporate sponsor for Heartland teams.

Another packed room last night! Thanks to Coach Smiley for showing some excellent technique. Next week we have Kyle Hatch: Multiple time State Placer 2X All-American at Wabash (and still two years left!) You never stay at the same level. You either get better or get passed. It's that simple. Come chase your dreams with us next Thursday at 6PM! #PainTrain Snyder

They just said on FRL today that the U17(UWW Cadet) specifically will be earlier due to U17 Worlds being a lot earlier next year. There will be some big changes due to an earlier than usual Olympics. Indiana may have an advantage with our folkstyle state series being so early and we can start training earlier for that event.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana wrestling program and IU head coach Angel Escobedo have announced the addition of Brock Hudkins. Hudkins, a native of Danville, Ind., started his collegiate career at Northern Illinois where he twice qualified for the NCAA Championships at 125 lb. At Danville Community High School, Hudkins posted a perfect 83-0 record as a junior and a senior. Hudkins was a four-time state qualifier and two-time State Champion. "We are excited to bring Brock Hudkins back to Indiana," IU head coach Angel Escobedo said. "A two-time NCAA qualifier, Brock will add national level experience to our team." Brock HudkinsDanville, Ind. | Danville Community High SchoolWeight Class: 125Intended major at IU: Pre-Physical Therpay2X NCAA Qualifier4X State Qualifier in High School3X State Placer2X State ChampionWon Sagamore Conference, Hendricks County, Sectional, Regional and Semi-States titles all four years.Team captain from 2013-16, MVP three years in a row "I think what Angel is doing at Indiana is special," Hudkins said. "I believe in what he is trying to accomplish and I think he's the guy to do it. He can get me to the next level I'm looking for. Angel has been to the highest level and knows what it takes. A big thing that stands out is the culture change he is trying to make. Not many people realize what he had to do as far as isolating himself from the culture he was surrounded by, to accomplish his dreams and how much time and effort he had to put in by himself. I can relate to that on many levels and believe he's making this place better for all the guys who are tired of dreaming and ready to be something greater than their thoughts. "I really connected with the coaching staff and believe it's the best fit for me," Hudkins added. "When I think about IU I see myself not only accomplishing my degree and graduating, I see myself not pursuing my dream of a national champion, but accomplishing it. I believe with this team, these coaches, the academic staff I will have, I will be put in a situation where I'll have no other choice but to win and be successful in all aspects of life."

The spring is always “rather throw you than know you’ season and while our state freestyle and Greco championships are complete the regional and national events are just getting started. Last week saw two Indiana natives make the World Team for women. Kayla Miracle, now wrestling out of Iowa City, won the U23 Trials along with Yorktown’s Alara Boyd making her first Junior World Team. This weekend we will have the Junior World Team Trials and the final spots for the seniors for Final X determined in Raleigh, North Carolina. There will be a handful of Indiana natives looking to make the World Team and we’ll highlight them for you here. Junior Men’s Freestyle Bracket Link Three Indiana natives from the class of 2018 will be looking to join Alara Boyd in Tallinn, Estonia in mid-August. Leading the way will be Lucas Davison who will not wrestle until the best of three series on Saturday. He won the Junior Open, thus giving him an automatic berth in the finals. His biggest competition will be Arizona State’s Kordell Norfleet and North Carolina’s Brandon Whitman. Note that Indiana fans saw Whitman at the Dream Team Classic last year against Mason Parris. Speaking of Parris, it seems as if he will be entered at heavyweight. He did not wrestle at the open and thus could see his seed affected by that. He also has very limited freestyle credentials, but he is training with Adam Coon, so that should help him. His biggest competition will be Iowa’s Anthony Cassioppi who is sitting until the best of three on Saturday. Cassioppi is also a two-time IHPO champion if you’re keeping track at home. Brayton Lee is another contender for a trip to Tallinn at 70kg(154lbs). He was second at the open to Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso and should come in as the challenge tournament top seed. Lee’s budding rival, Jacori Teemer, looks to be dropping to 65kg which will make this weight a little “easier.” However, he will have to fend off Missouri true freshman All-American Brock Mauller along with Peyton Robb, and former Dream Teamer Jared Franek. Even without Teemer this is still a really tough weight class. Thomas Penola had a great redshirt season for Purdue and continued doing well with a 6th place finish in Vegas. At 86kg, he will have to navigate a deep field of top level talent. Currently he is not registered, so we won't know for sure until Friday morning if he is attending the event. The schedule for Juniors starts on Friday at 10am with the challenge tournament. The winner of the challenge tournament will wrestle Saturday in the best of three series against the Junior Open champion. Senior Greco-Roman One former and one current Indiana Hoosier will be wrestling on the Greco side of things. Current Hoosier sophomore Liam Cronin will be at 60kg, while former Former Hoosier upperweight Lucas Sheridan will be at 97kg where he has been one of the top guys in the country recently. Senior Women’s Freestyle With Sarah Hildebrandt automatically advancing to Final X due to her silver medal at last year’s World Championships there is only one Indiana native to watch here. Kayla Miracle made the move from Kentucky to Iowa last year and it seems to have paid dividends. She won the US Open and thus will be in the best of three finals on Sunday. Just last week she earned what seems to be her 100th spot on a World Team by winning the U23 trials. She will be looking to make her first senior world team after advancing to Final X last year and losing to eventual world bronze medalist Mallory Velte. The schedule for the women’s freestyle portion begins on Saturday with the challenge tournament. The best of three finals will be on Sunday starting at noon. Senior Men’s Freestyle Men’s freestyle is always exciting and provides a great crop of dream match-ups throughout the weekend. This weekend we will have four guys with Indiana ties looking to earn a spot in Final X in either Lincoln, Nebraska or Piscataway, New Jersey. Current college star Ben Harvey is entered at 79kg after finishing 7th at the US Open. Harvey was a state runner-up at Cathedral and made the round of 12 for Army West Point this past season. He is currently a Junior and has one more year of NCAA eligibility left. The 79kg weight class is highlighted by the likes of three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer, three-time NCAA finalist Mark Hall, and freestyle extraordinaire Chance Marsteller. Harvey will likely be one of the lower seeds due to his US Open placement. Another state runner-up still making an impact is Riley Lefever. Before he won four DIII NCAA titles for Wabash he was a runner-up for Carroll High School…the one in Fort Wayne. He has been training in State College, Pennsylvania with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club for the past two years. He placed 6th at the US Open and is likely going to slot in at the 5th seed in the challenge tournament at 92kg. He will likely see Ohio State’s Kollin Moore in the round of 8 and then Hayden Zillmer in the semi-finals. Two others with ties to Indiana to keep your eye on is Indiana University All-American Nate Jackson. He is being coached by former three-time Indiana state champion Reece Humphrey at the New Jersey RTC. He will be entered at 86kg. Last, but not least we always like to keep tabs on Gable Steveson. Even though he is eligible for the Junior age group he has once again entered the Senior division. He didn’t wrestle at the US Open so he will get knocked down a little with his seed. The winner of the challenge tournament here will see Adam Coon in the best of three finals on Sunday. The schedule for the men’s freestyle will start with the challenge tournament bracket on Saturday and finish with the best of three finals on Sunday. The challenge tournament should be about a 7-10 man bracket for most weight classes. You can follow along on FloWrestling.com and as always check out our social media, especially Twitter(@IndianaMat) for updates throughout the weekend. Full Schedule Friday May 17 Session I UWW Junior Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2 10:00 am – 2:00 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS) Senior Greco-Roman: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2 10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS) Session II UWW Junior Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals, Consolation Rd. 3-Semis 4:00 pm – 8:30 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS) Senior Greco-Roman: Semi-Finals, Finals, Consolation Rd. 3-Semis 4:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS) Saturday May 18 Session III Senior Women’s Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1 10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS) Senior Men’s Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS) Session IV UWW Junior Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary) 1:30 pm – 5:15 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS) Senior Greco-Roman: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary) 1:30 pm – 5:15 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS) Session V Senior Men’s Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals and Consolation Rd. 3, Cons-Semis. 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS) Senior Women’s Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals and Consolation Rd. 3, Cons-Semis. 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS) Sunday May 19 Session VI Senior Men’s Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary) 12:00 pm – 3:45 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS) Senior Women’s Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary) 12:00 pm – 3:45 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS)

Asa with an 8-7 win over former state champ Viduya!

We have been talking about having a weeknight event or two. Maybe two in the same day, one starts at 8am, the other at noon and you get both qualifiers done in one day!

Final US Open Placers with Indiana ties Senior Freestyle Riley Lefever 6th at 92kg Ben Harvey 7th at 79kg *Both qualify for World Team Trials on May 18th in Raleigh, NC Junior Freestyle Lucas Davison 1st at 92kg Brayton Lee 2nd at 70kg Thomas Penola 6th at 86kg *Davison now is automatically in the best of three finals Senior Women Kayla Miracle 1st at 62kg *Miracle gets a bye into the WTT finals best of three. If she wins that she will advance to Final X Masters Nick Hull 1st Jordin Humphrey 1st in freestyle and Greco

Raymon Torres commits to wrestle for Coach Maldonado at Calumet college http://www.inkfreenews.com/2019/04/29/warrior-duo-sign-the-dotted-line/

Big win for B. Lee over J. Teemer in the semi’s. Score was 9-9 but Lee has criteria from a 4pt move early in the match. He will advance to Junior Freestyle finals vs. an old rival S. Saso.

Well let me tell you something brother..... I didn’t even know AAU wrestling still existed, that’s cute, good for them. I just took my third trip in 4 years to Heartland. I have zero personal investment and I spend a ton of money. I go because I want to see Indiana compete on a national level. It helps, it helps w recruiting, it helps w exposure, it’s helps w everything. I’m about “Team Indiana” and growing the state because when the dads come and go w their kids, I’ll still be here plugging along trying to raise the level of wrestling in Indiana. Heading to some AAU dual in a sweaty gym in nowhere TN is nothing more than medal chasing.