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Penn State will visit the state of Indiana this weekend, wrestling at Purdue Friday night and at IU Sunday afternoon. Nick Lee will make his first appearance in our state since HS. With the matches avoiding Saturday and HS Sectionals, this will be a great opportunity to see Nick wrestle again and see one of the most powerful college lineups in a long time. The Nittany Lions have won 7 out of the last 8 National Championships and are currently on a 52 meet dual winning streak and feature a combined 7 National Titles The Nittany Lions lineup (with likely opponents) will likely look like this: @125 Devin Schnupp - Schnupp is a place filler in the lineup for PSU. He stepped in last year after Nick Suriano transferred to Rutgers and before grad transfer Carson Kuhn was eligible and ready. This year, he has been seen as holding the weight for either Brody Teske, 4x Iowa State Champ or Gavin Teasdale. Teasdale, has had issues and left school for a bit, came back and today it was announced he is transferring. Teske has only wrestled in one open tournament has battled some injury issues. So it looks as if Schnupp will hold 125. He has really improved after being undersized and not strong enough last year. He's battled much tougher this year and is 5-9 on the season. Both Purdue and IU should be favored at this weight. vs. Purdue - Devin Schroder - Grand Rapids MI vs. Indiana - Liam Cronin - Orange, CA or Elijah Oliver - Washington, IL (Cronin has been getting most of the starts recently) @133 #13 Roman Bravo-Young - A true freshman, Bravo-Young was a heralded star coming out of HS in Arizona where he went 182-0 and was a 4x State Champion and was Flo's #1 ranked wrestler at 132. He is 15-1 on the year and has lived up to expectations thus far. Konrath seems to be IU’s best option and has bounced between 133 and 141 this year and wasn’t in the lineup against Purdue. I’d give Bravo-Young the nod here against in both meets. Thornton is a veteran who could give him some issues. But RBY is explosive and extremely quick. I think he’ll be too much this weekend. vs. Purdue – Ben Thornton - Stoddard, WI vs. Indiana – Paul Konrath – Mt. Vernon, IN or Garrett Pepple – East Noble HS, IN @141 #7 Nick Lee from Mater Dei in Evansville. Lee finished 5th at the NCAA last year earning All-American status as a true freshman. He’s 17-1 on the year and has scored bonus points in all but 3 matches. Lee is coming off a win over Indiana HS 4x’er Chad Red in Sunday’s dual against Nebraska. An interesting twist to this weekend could have Lee facing off against former teammate, IU’s Kyle Luigs. Luigs has filled in, along with Konrath, for Cole Weaver. Lee was 2-0 against both Limmex and Weaver last year. Expect to come out of the weekend unscathed, however a match up against either Luigs or Konrath would certainly be fun. vs. Purdue – Nate Limmex – Ada, MI vs. Indiana – Kyle Luigs – Mater Dei HS, IN or Cole Weaver – Hudson, MI or Paul Konrath @149 #10 Brady Berge – A RS Freshman from Minnesota, Berge was a 3x Minnesota State Champion and his only HS loss was an injury default in the State Semifinals of the year he didn’t win. He is 14-2 on the year. Expect wins by Berge in both matches. vs. Purdue – Parker Fillius – Havre, MT vs. Indiana – Fernie Silva – Rockton, IL @157 #1 Jason Nolf – Nolf 16-0, is as dominant as anyone in the NCAA in a long time. He is the Penn State career leader for most falls and is a 1 point loss to Isaiah Martinez in the NCAA Final his freshman year from being a 3x National Champ. Expect more domination from Nolf this weekend as he marches to his 3rd NCAA Title. Nolf easily defeated #2 & #3 recently. vs, Purdue – #8 Griffin Parriott New Prague, MN vs. Indiana – Jake Danishek – Lebanon, OH @165 #1 Vincente Joseph – Joseph, a junior is a 2x NCAA Champ taking out Isaiah Martinez both times. He is 15-0 on the year. I expect Joseph to make quick work of both, winning by at least a major decision. vs. Purdue – Cole Wysocki – Edwardsville, IL vs. Indiana – Bryce Martin – Bakersfield, CA @174 #1 Mark Hall – The first 6x Minnesota HS Champ, Hall won an NCAA Title as a freshman and was runner-up last year to Zahid Valencia. He avenged that loss to Valencia earlier this year and is 16-0. Despite facing two former IN HS State Champs, expect more greatness from Hall this weekend. vs. Purdue - #14 Dylan Lydy – Ben Davis HS, IN vs. Indiana – Jake Covaciu – Merrilville HS, IN @184 #3 Shakur Rasheed – Rasheed finished 7th in the NCAA last year at 197 and dropped to 184 after Bo Nickal bumped up a weight for this season. He is 15-0 and is a legit threat to #1 ranked Myles Martin of Ohio State. Rasheed sat out PSU’s match Sunday against Nebraska, but is expected to return this weekend. He is a pinning machine and combines strength with excellent quickness. There is no reason for that to change this weekend. vs. Purdue - Max Lyon – Dyersville, IA vs. Indiana – Norman Conley – St. Louis, MO @197 #1 Bo Nickal – Nickal is often worth the price of admission himself. Nickal, a 2x NCAA Champ is just 3 falls behind Nolf for most career falls at Penn St. Nickal can turn a close match into domination in seconds and finds pinning combinations from just about anywhere, as evidenced in last year’s NCAA title match when he hit an elevator to turn a deep blast double from Myles Martin into a fall cementing the Nittany Lions team title. If for no other reason, this weekend is a great chance for wrestling fans to see Nolf and Nickal in person, both likely 3x Champs. @285 #3 Anthony Cassar – Cassar has finally gotten his chance to shine at Penn State. The starter at 197 last year, he was overtaken by Shakur Rasheed despite beating top-tanked Kollin Moore of OSU and sat out the NCAA Tournament. He came back rather than transfer, gained 30-35 pounds, competed with and beat out 2x All-American Nick Nevills this year. Cassar is 14-1 on the year and should take care of business this weekend. vs. Purdue – Jacob Aven – Zionsville HS, IN vs. Indiana – Fletcher Miller - Kokomo HS, IN While this weekend may not provide much success for the Boilermakers or Hoosiers, it is a good chance to see up close what the best of the best looks like and what it will take for these programs to compete at the top. Not to mention a chance to see a slew of NCAA Champions, a final opportunity to Jason Nolf and Bo Nickal and to provide a welcome home to Nick Lee.

Since it looks like the brackets are being held hostage, send them to me at joe@indianamat.com. I'll update this as I get them. Sectional Brackets Received East Chicago SS Twin Lakes Twin Lakes.pdf Mishawaka Mishawaka.pdf Laporte Laporte.pdf Portage Portage.pdf Plymouth Plymouth.pdf Lafayette Jeff Lafayette Jeff.pdf East Chicago Central East Chicago Central.pdf Fort Wayne SS Carroll Carroll.pdf Jay County Jay County.pdf Westview Westview.pdf New Haven New Haven.pdf Oak Hill Oak Hill.pdf Peru Peru.pdf New Castle SS Warren Central Warren Central.pdf Crawfordsville Crawfordsville.pdf Elwood Elwood.pdf Frankfort Frankfort.pdf Shenandoah Shenandoah.pdf Southport Southport.pdf South Derborn South Dearborn.pdf Arsenal Tech Arsenal Tech.pdf Evansville SS Avon Avon.pdf Bloomington North Bloomington North.pdf Jeffersonville Jeffersonville.pdf Evansville Central Evansville Central.pdf Castle Castle.pdf Jennings County Jennings County.pdf

Jordan is such a great kid. I get a kick out of people saying he doesn’t score enough points. He does what he’s supposed to do. He scores enough to get his hand raised most the time. We’ve known him for many years and the cool thing is he’s even a better person than he is a wrestler. Graham loves being around him and thankful they have got to wrestle on many teams together.

By JEREMY HINES Thehines7@gmail.com Jordan Slivka may not be the fastest wrestler in the state, the most powerful or the most dynamic – but, he just might have the most heart. “He’s probably the most mentally tough wrestler I’ve ever had,” Cathedral coach Sean McGinley said. “He loves the big matches. As coaches we ask ourselves who we want to have out there, down one going into the third period. I’d put Jordan Slivka in that spot over anyone.” Slivka, a senior for the Irish, showed just how much ice is in his veins in the state tournament last season. The Irish needed a win in the worst way if they were going to have a shot at winning the team state title. Slivka just told them to relax, he was going to win. That’s what he did. He claimed his first individual state championship by beating Yorktown’s Christian Hunt 1-0. That win also sealed Cathedral’s team state title. “Winning state felt amazing,” Slivka said. “I envisioned it before I won it. I told myself in the locker room before my match that I knew it was going to come down to my match. I said I was going to win it, and I knew that’s what I was going to do.” Slivka has made a career out of winning the close matches. In the state tournament Slivka is 16-3 in matches determined by three points or less. “I come out in each of my matches with a game plan,” Slivka said. “I don’t try to rush things and I don’t try to force points. I have the mentality that nobody can take me down, nobody can escape me and nobody can ride me. I’m confident that I own people on the mat.” This season Slivka has continued to shine in the close matches. Recently in a dual meet with Indianapolis Roncalli Slivka bumped up to 170 to face No. 5-ranked Elijan Mahan. In that match Slivka injured his ribs and had to take two injury time outs, but he didn’t want to quit. He eventually escaped with a 6-4 victory which helped lead the Irish to the team win as well. “He just gutted that win out,” McGinley said. “He was in a lot of pain. You really see his mental toughness in matches like that. As the seasons go on you just see how many of those close matches he wins, and you know he’s the guy you want out there in those situations.” Slivka also edged No. 7-ranked (160) Peyton Asbury and No. 5-ranked (160) Nathan Conley by 1-0 scores. He beat No. 3-ranked Brooks Davis 3-2 and No. 4 ranked Peyton Pruett 5-2. He did lose one close match this season, falling to Conley 3-2. Slivka started out in the Shenandoah school district. He went to Shenandoah until his freshman year. His dad was one of the coaches who helped turned that program around. His father, John, is a former state champion in Georgia. “My dad, in that Shenandoah room made sure we were all tough,” Slivka said. “One of the drills we had was we would get in our stance and dad would walk around a bunch and snap our necks down. We kept going long after we were tired. It taught me to be tough.” Slivka’s older brother, Johnny, was also a solid wrestler for the Raiders. Jordan even has a game plan for wrestling his older brother. “If we do takedowns, Johnny might beat me,” Jordan said. “But in a full match I have him now. He’s a little out of shape. The first and second period he might get me, but come the third, he’s mine.” Slivka is ranked No. 2 at 160 pounds behind Portage senior Donnell Washington. The two wrestled earlier in the season with Washington claiming the 8-3 victory. “I am 1 and 1 against him,” Slivka said. “He beat me this year and I beat him last year. I’ve taken losses before and have been able to come back from them. I hope this is no different.” Slivka’s goal this season is to win another state title. He admits it will be very hard to top last year’s title – with the team state championship being on the line as well. “I have no clue how you top that,” Slivka said. “Only thing I can think of is doing it again and scoring more points.” Next year Slivka will wrestle for Ohio University. “My plan is to be as good as I can be in college. It’s the next challenge. View full article

Well..technically if you go back to BracketGate2015 it's tied at 1-1....and I'm not so sure Faulken's won't pull something on this one either.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Tl9p8Q9bfnvyd4MiW3hxApP7oqfdDtKHuUebEHCySSU/edit?usp=sharing

Once the records of the wrestlers have been posted on Track I will update the spreadsheet. When new rankings are posted it will be updated as well. After Sectional, Regional and Semi-state I will update the list to reflect who is still alive. Currently I only have 2 weights done but it will be completed before Thursday. 2019 Wrestling Rankings.xlsx

Joe got them concede and put the brackets up in less than a day. Good job Joe. Now know need him working on the govt shutdown, he'd have it done by tomorrow.

Every sectional should be up on TW now.

Awesome Kid, Great Family and great partner to have in any room.

Eli Dickens of MD 132 to 152 and a #1 ranking.

Y2- 1 IHSAA- 0 I like it this way... you can bring up several pdf tabs with different sectionals on each one and bounce back and forth checking out the same weight class across to see potential regional/SS matchups... if that makes sense!

In 10 years 9 State Champions 4x IHSWCA Dual State Champions IHSAA Team State Champion 62 State Medals Giving the size of Hendricks County compared to our neighbors like Marion it’s not even close. I’m pretty Proud of TheCounty of what they accomplished. The State knows Hendricks County Wrestling is a Powerhouse . When you look at the west side of Indy you know where TheCounty is . You drive around 465 or 74 and you see Avon/Brownsburg/Plainfield exits you know it’s a Wrestling County. We’re bring our best to a High School near you . “Hendricks County Westside Best” The Notorious TheCountyPride

And looks like a 170 pounder

those same ppl complaining about his scoring output also aren't in those big matches or probably never have been.. wrestlers have enough adversity to overcome without having to hear about winning wrong!

Where are those Delta Brackets AJ?

Gavin Layman from Chesterton wrestled 126 last year - This year 160

I see Laplace went from 145 to 182. These are all big jumps (132-170, 182-220, 145-182)

152: Jake Schoenegge (COLE) over Jacob Cookerly (BRON) (MD 13-1) 160: Sam Morrill (COLE) over Peyton Asbury (BRON) (Dec 11-5) 170: Nick South (COLE) over Jean Baptiste (BRON) (MD 10-2) 182: Noah White (COLE) over Greg Glover (BRON) (Dec 4-2) 195: Cody Edmonds (BRON) over Aaron Cepeda (COLE) (Dec 7-6) 220: Jacob Bolte (COLE) over Lawson Aiken (BRON) (Dec 10-9) 285: Dorian Keys (BRON) over Shawn Tyler (COLE) (Fall 1:49) 106: Noah Lykins (COLE) over Ethan Early (BRON) (Dec 8-6) 113: KT Nelson (BRON) over Kenton Wilson (COLE) (Fall 1:24) 120: Braden Haines (BRON) over Nathaniel John (COLE) (Dec 8-6) 126: Evan Lawhead (BRON) over Jeremy Clark (COLE) (Dec 5-3) 132: Joey Gordon (COLE) over Drake Campbell (BRON) (MD 12-3) 138: Cayden Rooks (COLE) over Nick Cicciarelli (BRON) (Fall 1:34) 145: Kade Law (COLE) over Griffin Ison (BRON) (Dec 5-2)

Good stuff,Thanks for the write up.

Bryer Hall from South Dearborn wrestled 126 last year and is at 145 this season.

Indeed!! I am certain that Kyle could be competitive at 106 right now. Given 4 more years who knows, might be the next Seltzer or that other freshman at 126...I can't remember his name. Just saying!

great summary

Great Kid. Great Pick up for the Berg

So what is the IHSAA logic for the late bracket release occurring the 25th at 9AM Eastern? Heres some of my theories. 1. Historically, as everybody knows, they've been released much earlier. 2. Are they waiting for the let coaches digest or even give them an opportunity to make complaints or recommendations for changes prior to the brackets being released? 3. Has there been a problem with any public commentary in the past creating controversy? Maybe the IHSAA feels by waiting for time closer to the tournament, they'll get less annoying public input from fans & parents. 4. Is the IHSAA tired of people complaining about wrestle backs and class wrestling and in a petty way punishing fans for their complaints. 5. Maybe some "Southern Cowboys" broke the rules and submitted earlier than they wanted, and as a result are going to make everybody wait till Friday? because of a few bad apples? 6. Maybe they're concerned about Y2CJ41 control and monopolization of the wrestling media, and are sending him a message that they control the message. 7. Maybe its the bad guy good guy theory. They project to the fans that fans you got to wait till Friday, then they give them early like an early Christmas present, then we end up loving them. 8. TrackGopher has a secret back door agreement with the IHSAA, and they're going to announce this afternoon that you can get access to brackets early by getting Trackwrestling premium membership. 9. Maybe Y2 has a secret agreement with IHSAA and, Y2 will announce this afternoon that he will send brackets to you if you buy a Indiana mat shirt or early subscription to next seasons preview. Hey just theories.

I got the brackets to come up..... Some predictions.... 106: Freeman, Amento, Newman, Fitts... 113: Ross, Kendall, Ziller, Holder... 120: Boarman, Ziller, Elpers, Garcia... 126: Egli, Amento, Kelley, Spencer.... 132: Egli, Polen, Wright, Martin.... 138: Mayer, McNeely, Morgan, Wellmeier... 145: Lee, Bryant, Bittner, Hollinger... 152: Dickens, Hook, Dilbeck, Myers... 160: Singleton, Sollars, Schmidt, Wargel... 170: Parkinson, Martin, Curl, Hoover... 182: Kemper, Willman, Ritzert, Pierson... 195: Carrier, McGennis, Price, McGrew... 220: Robison, Huggins, Buck, Ricketts.... 285: Brievogel, Wimpelberg, Collins, Myers...

For future reference, take screenshots of brackets before they pull them, then we can blast them all over social media, and they would have no reason to keep them hidden.

Jesse Mendez is a frosh with the best chance followed by Zeke who has a tall order in Moran.

As the Ben Davis guy who has been around a long, long time I will try to give you a couple. Don't get me wrong, they sound like excuses and I don't like excuses much. And, none of this is personal, hopefully my comments aren't construed as being a shot at anyone. Some comments i won't make in this forum as it isn't the right forum. However, there is my list, top of my head. 1. Resources - many programs develop talent by charging their kids $ every month or kids go to a "pay to play" facility like CIA, Red Cobra, Contenders, etc... In a lot of cases, we have kids who can't afford shoes, the sport fee or don't even know where they are staying tonight. Now, add on the cost of a USA card, tournaments, etc... and that is money our families need to spend elsewhere. Sure, we fund raise, but you can't cover costs for 50+ kids in a youth program to develop them in wrestling the way we would like. By the way, very few of our kids have a great support system. I can't imagine, as a 16 year old kid trying to cut weight, get to a Saturday practice, pay for a sport fee, new shoes, etc... without any parental support 2. All of the BD families from my era and later have moved to Avon, Brownsburg, Plainfield, Danvile, etc... i.. And, no families move into Ben Davis. Everyone is heading out West over the last 15 years, ncluding my family. I know I have coached a dozen or so kids in Junior High that have gone on to be successful at the state level in other programs. Good for those families for getting themselves into what they see as better situations personally. 3. I think BD has a remarkable amount of kids that start as Sophomores and Juniors. Sounds great to have bodies in the room, but wrestling in the MIC, Marion County and the same Sectional as Avon (you), Brownsburg and Plainfield - 90- percent of the time these kids just can't compete with someone who has had 4+ years of experience get frustrated and quit. And, how hard is it to sell this story "If you bust your butt, give everything you can you might win half of your matches" and "to be the most competitive you can, you need to learn how to eat right and maybe watch what you eat a little". They can't because they don't have quality food in the house. 4. The sport has no "middle class" anymore, there are elite wrestlers and everyone else. We all know the sport is hard - if you are getting beat up all the time it isn't fun, if it isn't fun you quit (unless you are an idiot like me and wired differently). We have a lot of great kids in this state who do well nationally. So, I am a 3rd year kid who has grown up wrestling some of the many studs on the WestSide and Marion County and I get pounded every time, I get discouraged. I get discouraged and just don't love the sport the way I need to love it to get better - I could have been a good wrestler, not elite, but good, maybe a Semi-State or even a State qualifier, but I can't get out of sectionals. I tihnk it was 2 years ago at the Avon Sectional at 106, 3 of those kids placed in the top 7 at state and I believe 3 others from MIC and Marion County placed as well. 5. I can keep going, but will conclude with this... I would rather build better young men (as I am sure we all do). It has taken me a while to admit that winning isn't as important to me as making someone successful at life (and this statement in no way makes me think that the previous 2 statements are exclusive, I am a better person, employee, boss, etc.... for being a wrestler). At some point, we are trying to get kids to graduate because we are now their parents. I could throw in a bunch of stats, but they don't change the situation. I would love to be singled out in a post about our wrestling, not the lack of our wrestling, but that isn't where we are at right now. Don't misinterpret any of this, I want to beat everyone. I don't want to lose. but, spend a few months inside the program and you will see it isn't just a numbers game. For better or worse, I am BD wrestling - as are a group of guys that I am proud to coach along side who also fight the daily battle to keep this program together and moving forward. Brett Nabb BD 1987 and 20 years coaching wrestling in Wayne Township

Here are some real-world examples from this year's preliminary brackets - no names will be used, and no offense to the wrestlers with losing records receiving a bye to the second round: FW Carroll 182 pounds - SENIOR wrestler has a 10-13 record, and is unseeded. Randomly drawn into facing the #1 seed in the first round, so likely this senior is done. Meanwhile wrestlers with 5-9 and 6-19 records draw to an open spot so they get a bye straight to the 2nd round (and can wrestleback). Also, the 3rd seed in this bracket is 9-11 and the 4th seed is 12-16 so those spots to advance to Regionals are pretty wide open. Elwood 106 pounds - Wrestlers with 11-9 and 15-7 records go against each other in first round - loser goes home. Meanwhile a wrestler with 0-3 record draws to a slot with a first round bye and will get opportunity to wrestleback for regionals FW Carroll 120 pounds - Wrestlers with 15-16 and 19-7 in first round. Wrestlers with 7-9 and 9-19 draw byes

I know that many of us enjoy/love our sport of wrestling without government politics in it. So my apologies. The Government shut down but they seem to pick what departments remain open.... I guess to get to my point, has there been any type of “Shutdown” in the Bracket/ Seeding Dept?? Some sectional brackets have been chosen to be viewed... Where is my darn Delta sectional brackets????