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What a great article on Warsaw's Jacob Bass who qualified for semi-state this weekend. http://www.inkfreenews.com/2019/02/08/once-a-slave-warsaws-jacob-bass-celebrates-freedom-through-wrestling/

New castle semi state taking place at “The Big Green Dome” in New Castle , Indiana. The big green dome built in 1959 holds a whopping 9,325 people. This being one of the largest gyms in the nation and some great wrestling is about to go down there and I can smell it in the air. FYI if you have never been to the Big Green Dome you are in for a treat if you bring some extra spending money for the concessions. They have the best hot dogs I really don’t know what it is about these hot dogs but they just melt in your mouth then take a big gulp of their awesome Mountain Dew and you will have one tasty belch. But let’s get into it boys and girls Boy oh Boy , here it is SEMI STATE. My second to favorite weekend of the year. The weekend where dreams come true and dreams are crushed. Let’s get into some predictions for this years New Castle Semi State ( hosted at the biggest GREEN DOME IN THE WORLD) like seriously guys it’s huge. My first prediction is that a lot of tears will be shed. Wrestling is an emotional sport and when you really leave everything on the mat but come up short, it hurts. Speaking of hurting the 106 weight class has to deal with Alex Cottey of Perry Meridian: 106 The field is headed by undefeated and returning state runner up Alex Cottey. Also in the field is #4 Suhas Chundi, although his record looks a little rough he is a complete stud. Other wrestlers include #7 Carlton Perry, #9 Elijah Anthony, #10 Logan Carrendar, and #15 Kody Glithero. My first round predictions Cottey Condo Carrendar Anthony Crousore Perry Chundi Glithero Ticket round Folks if you attend I suggest you grab your popcorn during the first round because you’ll need it for the start of the ticket round headlined by #10 Carrendar vs #9 Alexander and #4 Chundi vs #15 Glithero . My predictions our that Cottey will pin Condo and run over and watch Carrendar vs Anthony with the rest of you. Carrendar will sneak past Anthony by dec , Perry over Crousore quite easily I might add, and Chundi over Glithero however I believe this match could go either way with a seasoned vet of Perry lurking in the semi finals I can’t wait guys. Picks in order Alex “too good” Cottey Suhas “I cut weight better than everyone else” Chundi Carlton “Banks” Perry Logan “ backpack” Carrendar 113. This weight however is not as exciting as 106 is still bringing the heat to the bigger version of West Vigos Green dome. Like seriously the BIG GREEN DOME is 4x the size of the puny West Vigo Fieldhouse. Headlined by Freshman phenom Zeke Seltzer , Christian White brother of State Champion Alec White (who can’t forget the absolute thriller of a match that he won over returning TWO time State Champ Colton Cummings), Jake Simone (Returning ticket rounder), and returning state placer David Pierson. First Round picks Seltzer Haggerty Hughes White Simone Johnson Pierson Jefferson Ticket Round Predictions This weight is very boring for the ticket round so you can sit back and relax after that exhausting first ticket round at 106 Seltzer vs Haggerty I believe Haggerty has a slight advantage due to him being a sophomore, but seltzer has wrestled forever and has done very well this season. Look for him to get the swamp there first state bound wrestler in this match. Seltzer takes it 6-3 Hughes vs White I believe Michael Vick will be in the building for this one because it will be a literal dog fight, White is in the Shadow of his brother I believe he will come out barking so better watch out I believe he wins this one 3-2 in ultimate overtime. Simone vs Johnson I talked to Simone last week after he defeated Sv legend Dominic Brooks. Simone was pissed off about losing in the ticket round and claimed he will pin his way to state this year. That being said I got Simone pinning Johnson with a headlock Pierson vs Jefferson Returning state placer knows deep down that he will have to wrestle his hardest to make it back onto Bankers life floor next week. Jefferson ain’t no slouch being a semi state qualifier a year ago. I’ll take Pierson in this bout but expect for this one to go down to the wire because Jefferson is dangerous in any position. Picks in order Zeke “Alka” Seltzer David “That’s my Momma” Pierson Christian “Already better than Alec” White Jacob “I beat Dom Brooks” Simone 120 This weight will be one of the best to ever come through this ENLARGED Green Dome (It really is oversized, what’s the deal with that?). In the field you got Brayden Lowery, Carson Eldred, Harrison Hadley, Christopher Stewart , Logan Gailbraith , and Parker Mosley. First round Picks Eldred Otto Lowery Johnson Hadley Stewart Galbraith Mosely Ticket round This might be the best ticket round in the state. It’s bringing some serious heat ( maybe this is the cause of global warming @ Al Gore) to this semi state buckle your seatbelts folks your in for a ride Eldred vs Otto Eldred a returning state placer and possibly the best leg rider I’ve ever seen looks to make it back to the bank I believe he will pin Otto with a move coming from a leg ride on top , good season Otto and I’m sorry because I can feel your pain of his leg riding. Lowery vs Johnson/ Condo Lowery a two time state placer also a leg rider I’m so sorry new castle 120 semi state. I believe this match will last up until 1 minute but will not finish the first period. Brayden Lowery congrats you’re going back to the bank but I’m sorry condo and Johnson you are unfortunately done for this season, heck of a run by two studs. That’s what happens at this OVERSIZED GREEN DOME good kids seasons come to a sad end. Hadley vs Stewart This might be my favorite one of the day Senior Hadley will look to make it back to the bank but he has a very tough , very very tough Christopher stewart to go through. I believe this will come down to the wire but Stewart gets the fall in the third period and Hadley holds his head high because he wrestled his tail off. Galbraith vs Moseley This one will be a good one Parker Moseley a returning ssq is a beast. Wrestling with Seth Johnson everyday probably makes him better. For Galbraith to win this match he will need to ride Mosley. Galbraith also had an injury in the season, I got Moseley in this one but really don’t count Gailbraith out this one will be a fun one. Picks in order Brayden “ Ill spladle you” Lowery Christopher “not Tony” Stewart Carson “ been here before” Eldred Parker “I got 4th but still happy ” Moseley 126 This is a loaded weight and will be an awesome to watch. Headed by Logan Wagner returning state placer and brother of wabash stand out and state placer Kody, #9 Chase Wilkerson , #11 Jevian Ross , #18 undefeated Grant Stapleton , and #6 Lukasz Walendzak . First round predictions go as follows Stapleton Walendzak Slivka Brown Wilkerson Ross Wagner McKee Ticket round Stapleton vs Walendzak This will be a very interesting one where Stapleton who used to practice with mason Parris the animal who is as big as the Green dome this match will take place in. And Walendzak a two time state placer meet. Walendzak took a loss last week but I believe he will use his swampy powers in this one to knock off unbeaten Stapleton. Slivka vs Brown Sam Slivka, obviously related to THE Jordan Slivka, has been taking lessons from his cousin and it is showing. Brown who shocked Mattingly in the first round at last years semi state for most of the match is no slouch and should not be looked past. He beat Walendzak, however I was not in attendance, but I heard through the grapevine that that match was rigged (The rigging going on in this country is ridiculous, Many Democrats are trying to prove that Donald Trump rigged the election with the help of Mother Russia. I believe this is completely false and we could not be a truly free nation if we allowed for other countries to rig our elections and our 126 matches I’m sorry for the little rant it grinds my gears when things are rigged )With this being said, no one can rig a match with the flawless officiating that occurs in the Big Green Dome, therefore Slivka gets it done over the stud Brown , however look for this stud in the next couple years at Bankers Life. Ross vs Wilkerson Ross ranked 11 and Wilkerson ranked 9 this will be a good match. Both are battle tested and both ready for war . This will be worth the admission with that being said I will have to go with Wilkerson in this one. Wagner vs McKee In this one Wagner seems to be the clear favorite however don’t count out McKee because he could possibly be related to two Minnesota wrestlers in Pat and Mitch. I cannot prove this to be true so I won’t count him out but Logan Wagner has a Sammy brooks demeanor and is very hard to beat. One day he might wrestle for the hawks ( he has an Iowa like style) But be ready for this Sammy brooks look alike to win this match. Picks in order Lukasz “ It was rigged” Walendzak Logan “Sammy Brooks Jr” Wagner Chase “ the ball” Wilkerson Sam “ cousin of Jordan” Slivka 132 Ohhhhh baby I’m ready for this one to go down in the big green dome. This weight includes Logan Bailey state 3rd placer ( the Bailey curse shall be broken this year) last year who finally found out what food was after last season to get all the way up to 132 haha just kidding but hit a growth spurt and fills out the weight class nicely , Seth Johnson a state placer two years ago, Alec viduya a state champion two years ago, and Milo Merkel however fairly unknown he defeated a current wabash wrestler in Rodney Lee Hendricks the third at the north Montgomery regional a year ago. First round picks Brown Merkel Bailey Beatty Viduya Wilkerson Johnson Bryant Ticket Round This weight class makes me want to rub my tummy looking at these ticket round matches. Brown vs Merkel This looks to be a really good one between two guys that know how to scrap, Brown from Cambridge city looks to be a state qualifier for one of the first times in school history , Merkel has put in work at CIA wrestling academy over the summer and definitely has the ability to win. Bailey vs Beatty This will be a very good match with bailey the brother of iu wrestler Breydan Bailey who lost to Jason nolf in a close one this year faces Beatty who is no slouch. Beatty has been training at warren wrestling academy for awhile will likely challenge bailey to a good match but I’ll take bailey in this one. Viduya vs Wilkerson Viduya state champion who is known for his quote of “ working my ass off” will easily win this match because Wilkerson is good but is just no match for a stud of viduyas caliber. Johnson vs Bryant Seth Johnson is the clear favorite. He is a very technical wrestler and looks to make it back to the bank I got him by fall in this one. Picks in order Alec “ Im winning this year” Viduya Logan “ breydan but I don’t get 3rd” Bailey Seth “ I miss being 106” Johnson Milo “ and Otis” Merkel 138 Although this weight may seem like there isn’t that many known guys trust me these guys can scrap and it for sure will make the crowd happy. This weight is led by Tyce Freije looking to make a trip back to the bank after losing the the ticket round last year and Chris Wilkerson First round picks Wilkerson Lauy Freije Luhmann Holman Smith Phillips Rowlett Ticket round matches Wilkerson vs lauy Lauy has a very unorthodox way of wrestling so I will never count him out but I will go with Wilkerson in this one. Freije vs Luhmann Luhmann is a beast and proved he can wrestle with anybody but Freije is looking to return to the bank so I will pick him in this one. Holman vs Smith Smith is a beast and Holman is a regional champ but smith has been grinding all season and I have to go with him in this one. Phillips vs Rowlett Phillips undefeated and an absolute beast and trying to get redemption after ending on an injury last year will try to make it to state but standing in his way is Rowlett ,a senior , is trying to return to state to end his career so with that I choose Rowlett in this awesome match up. Picks in order 1.Tyce “south side rebellion is alive” Freije 2. Gabe “no Johns not my dad” Smith 3.Jared “going to the bank” rowlett 4.Chris “back to the bank” Wilkerson 145 Let’s just say that if Crae Kunkleman did not exist this would be the weight class I would be looking forward to the most. This weight class is headlined by stars such as Aiden Warren and Alex Mosconi. There is a dark horse, Shane Bates, who is well coached with two former Purdue wrestlers as his coaches so I would not sleep on him. Although the first round has some pretty straightforward matchups that will set up for excellent ticket round and placement bouts. Seven of the top eight ranked wrestlers at the new castle semistate will wrestle in this first round. Four of them are ranked in the top five at 145. They all will do work in the Dome this Saturday. First round picks Theriot Warren Mosconi Wright Graves Dunasky Hall Leavell Ticket Round Theriot vs Warren Warren is only a sophomore but as his record shows, his is what the kids these days call “deece”. I believe that is short for decent but I’m not entirely sure. Anyway, he’ll get the job done and move on. Mosconi vs Wright Mosconi is very highly rated in the state so some would consider him the favorite but you can never count out a senior, this would be the grade of Noah Wright, therefore he can not be counted out. With this being said, he still loses to fellow senior Alex Mosconi Graves vs Dunasky A battle of the 4 and 5 ranked wrestlers in the New Castle Semistate to get to the state tournament. Now I am new to this but I believe that is how it’s supposed to work. Well done Indianamat. I have Graves getting the job done. Hall vs Leavell Look at that. Indianamat does it again #3 Hall vs #6 Leavell. If I didn’t know any better I’d say they make the brackets. This will be a great match with Leavell doing his best to keep his career alive, sadly I don’t believe he will. Hall by decision Now here is a great weight class for some state qualified wrestling. We have Warren vs Mosconi and Graves vs Hall. Warren vs Mosconi I do not see a clear favorite here because Mosconi beat Warren in the season but Warren’s cousin beat me so there is no favorite. Sorry to you gamblers out there. I believe that just like in the season Mosconi will win a very tight one. I would not be surprised to see some tempers flare in this one. Graves vs Hall Another great matchup here. Graves coming from the same school that graduated the legend Keyaun Murphy. Hall coming from the school that I don’t know any greats from but I know there’s been some. I’ll give the favor to Graves on a -2 (O/U 10). In some good, high pace action we will see Graves end up with the win and go to his match against Mosconi Placement Matches Warren vs Hall A duel of sophomores who are probably not done seeing each other this season. Warren will be fired up from his tight match in the semifinals vs Mosconi and he will come out and put it to Hall early. Despite the late comeback Warren will still get it done Mosconi vs Graves This will possibly be the best championship match of the day. The dome will erupt when Mosconi gets the sealing takedown for his win over Warren in the semis. It is sad there has to be a loser here considering they both are undefeated on the day. I see this going similar to the semifinal match Mosconi was in. He will get the approval of the crowd when he wins his second semistate title. My picks Alex “I win close matches” Mosconi Antwaun “ I beat Kasper” Graves Aiden “stop sleeping on me” Warren Bryer “South Dearborn Legend” Hall 152 After watching that loaded 145 we are going to cool it down for you in this bracket. Headed by returning state runner up Elliot Rodgers. What can I say this dude is a beast when it comes to the post season. Also in the field lurks Sammy Fair who is also a state runner up from last year at 120. And Brice Coleman is also in the mix. Cooper noehre is also in the field who lost a heartbreaker in ot to go to state last year. First round picks Rodgers Coleman Davin Fair Otto Mangus Noehre Williamson Ticket round matches These prove there should be wrestlebacks at semi state Rodgers vs Coleman In this match we have two top ten ranked guys. Coleman unfortunately got 2nd last week and got the death draw but I will not count him out because Rodgers also got the death draw I got Rodgers in this one but Coleman ain’t no slouch look for him to try and upset Elliot. Davin vs Fair Davin was a regional champ but it seems he didn’t get a “fair” draw. As my favorite quote goes “The only thing that makes life unfair is the delusion that it should be fair”. This has nothing to do with the match result but it’s a good saying and it has one wrestlers last name in it. Anyway, I got Fair 6-3 over Davin good season buddy Otto vs Mangus Here is another south Dearborn guy who trains with the south Dearborn legend but I believe Mangus coached by Chad And Doug Welch can not be counted out with his beautiful sweep single. He will throw the whole kitchen sink at Otto. I take Mangus in this close match. Noehre vs Williamson Williamson recovering from wrist surgery last season will have a tough road ahead of him. He will fight and fight but I believe Noehre will be to tough for him to handle. Picks in order Elliot “Not Aaron” Rodgers Cooper “I got” Noehre Sammy “not so” Fair Matthew “ I really just did this” Mangus 160 Well Indianamat clearly didn’t work their magic on this one because there’s four top seven New Castle semistate guys, in one quarter! “Professionals”. Speaking of professionals, Jordan Slivka is basically one at winning. Last year he clutched out a state title with a win in the state tournament over Kasper McIntosh. This year he has been churning out dubs as well. First Round Picks This one is a little tougher than the past two but as usual I will do my best. There are a couple of studs here that get easy wins but there is also tight matches My Picks Lowe Harrington Lohrey (Although anyone named Andy is always tough against semistate qualifier she ) Moore Slivka (No easy matches on the day) Hiner (Not to be confused with Hiney) Davis Sharp Ticket Round This will be a very interesting round. Full of close matches. Lowe vs Harrington Although Lowe has already beaten Harrington this season, I believe that Harrington has enough fight in him to avenge his previous loss for him to do this it will have to include not allowing Lowe to get to his legs because Lowe has one of the highest finish rates once he has your legs after Harrington wins he will take his non ranking in semistate ( via Indianamat) and tell them to “shove it”u Lohrey vs Moore After a tough victory over the senior Miller, Moore will not get a full recovery before facing Stud Hayden Lohrey. Lohrey will come out firing and punch his ticket to the Bank. Slivka vs Hiner Slivka will have his second difficult match of the day. He wrestles ninth ranked Ronan Hiner. Hiner also having a tough first round match wrestling Andrew Roth, drill partner of Grant Stapleton (Probably). Considering both’s wrestling abilities and styles, I believe Slivka will be victorious. Davis vs Sharp Don’t let Sharp’s record fool you, he deserves to be in this match. He will prove this when he earns the first takedown over Brooks Davis before getting reversed, slammed, turned, and pinned. Good match here Slivka vs Davis (semis) This will be an awesome match, but I can’t promise high scoring. Davis a returning state placer and Slivka a returning state champion look to do battle for the second time this season. This match could go either way , if Slivka takes this match into overtime there is no way I will bet against him. This kid has the most heart I’ve ever seen. He’s very hard to score on and he can ride you for a full two minutes which makes him almost impossible to beat. For Davis to win this match he will need to end it in 6 minutes. I’m taking Slivka in an overtime battle. My Picks in Order Jordan “clutch” Slivka Hayden “I’m placing this year” Lohrey Brooks “I deserved second” Davis Bradley “Momma I made it” Harrington 170 This will be a good weight to watch. Headlined by three returning state placers in Cody Klettheimer , Elijah Mahan, and Tucker Coffman. Be ready for this weight to be a straight scrap. First round picks Saez Wagner Mahan Kendrex Coffman Lowe Klettheimer Hart Ticket round matches Refill your popcorn folks this is going to be a good one starting hot out the gates Saez vs Wagner Saez a ticket rounder and uindy commit will look to make it over the hump in his last go around. Saez is a beast on his feet so if he can maintain the match in neutral look for him to be wrestling next Friday in Indy. Mahan vs Kendrex Mahan a returning state placer will look to make it back to the bank but in his way is Drake kendrex a returning state qualifier this will be now easy task but look for Mahan to come out on top. Coffman vs Lowe This will be a very hard fought match. With two seniors going head to head. Lowe lost his first match last week and Coffman is a returning state placer. This one is a toss up but I’ll go with Coffman but like I said it could go either way. Klettheimer vs Hart This will be a wild one with 2 time state qualifier Klettheimer vs 3 time ssq Logan hart , hart has wins over saez and Mahan this season but I don’t know if that will be enough to get over the jump this season I’ll take Klettheimer in a close match. Picks in order Cody “My name is tattooed on my back” Klettheimer Elijah “Patrick Mahomes lookalike” Mahan Tucker “In when you leave” Coffman Kyle “I do what my momma” Saez 182 This is a very loaded bracket I can tell this one will be a good one. This bracket is headed by JD Farrell , he is strong as an ox , Cameron Bacon, and Jalen Morgan. Recently there has been Instagram beef between Bacon and Morgan where Morgan claimed to Bacon “ to put the money where his mouth is” however this will not involve money he was implying for Bacon to prove he can beat him. First round picks Flipovich Farrell Combs Sterett Bacon Dycus Morgan Viel Ticket round matches These matches make me fired up. I can’t wait for these to go down good luck boys put on a show!! Flipovich vs farrell Normally I would probably select Flipovich but looking at Farrell’s results he is a returning ticket rounded and pinned fellow ticket rounder Roehm at regionals I’m choosing him in this one Combs vs sterett Combs a senior looks to be a good wrestler and sterett also a senior so the loser goes home forever to a pit of regret and sadness and their lives will likely never be the same because they wish they would have won the match but they didn’t so they sit in disbelief for awhile, however I choose sterett Bacon vs dycus Bacon is the clear favorite , but Dycus can’t be slept on because he hails from the great Warren Central who are always tough as hails, I’ll take Backn via fall in this one , have fun at bankers bacon eat some eggs for me Morgan vs viel I’ll take Morgan because I want to see him versus Bacon. Although having Viel win will set up a comical matchup between two wrestlers having last names of cuts of meats!! BACON VS MORGAN the match everyone in the big green dome is waiting for I’ll take Morgan in this one due to him being a state qualifier a year ago. Morgan doesn’t score a lot but In return is very hard to score on. He’s a hammer on top and can ride and even turn you if he needs too. I’m taking Morgan in this one. Picks in order Jalen “I’m the 12th best 182 pounder in the state” Morgan J.D “John Deere” Farrell Cameron “Chris P.” Bacon P.J “Papa Johns” Sterett 195 Now this weight is a doozy. Many potential stars that could finally punch their ticket to the greatest venue in sports, Bankers Life. Many will try and avoid the inevitable and escape the GREAT GREEN DOME. However, their is sure to be failures and dreams crushed. But that’s beside the point as 4 lucky contestants/wrestlers will achieve glory, (Not to be mistaken for Pat Glory) and will fulfill their dreams. No more waiting around let’s get right in to it. First Round Picks Heldt Roudebush Lane Pierce Bynum Medlen Allred Shew Ticket Round aka The Ticket Round These matchups are just crazy and once again IndianaMat puts on a stellar bracket to create some fiery matchups that will surely make the BIG GREEN DOME erupt in insanity. Without further ado let’s jump in: Heldt vs Roudebush First of all, I can’t even pronounce either of these kids last names but that’s besides the point. Anyhow, Heldt, hailing from Carmel he is a sure fire winner in this matchup as he is an absolute unit. This guy will score and score and score until the opponent is begging for mercy. He has claimed 1st place in sectionals (which is hard to do let me tell ya) and regionals. Not to mention an impressive placement at conference aswell. MIC is nothing to joke about. However you can’t count of my main man KJ “The destroyer” Roudebush. He is another powerhouse who can take you down and you’re still looking for your GF in the stands to see if she actually showed up. Furthermore, he sports an impressive record of 24-2 which is absolutely mind boggling. But despite his stellar season, the LARGE GREEN DOME takes another victim. Finals score 8-3. Lane vs Pierce Now this a classic showdown of two top tier schools that consistently bring kids to state. However, one shall fall and one shall perish. My guy Austin “The freight train” Lane is having a amazing season with only 4 losses to his name this year. You heard it right folks, 4 LOSSES. Not just anyone can do that. Anyhow, Blaine Pierce is out for blood, he’s looking for redemption as he’s consistently placed 2nd in Sect., Reg, and Conference. After not making it out of regionals last year, he is fired up to the max. However, “The Freight Train” has punched his ticket to State but is a close one indeed. Final score 5-3, with both guys gasping for air because they just laid it all out on the line for the fans. Medlen vs Bynum I once had a teacher with the last name Bynum but it was spelt Byrum. Little different but it’s aight. Medlen is from Westfield and not their bitter rivals Eastfield. After defeating Tanner “The Mirror” Dreher at regionals this past weekend but yet falling to Joey Shew of Clinton, Indiana he is sure to make a scene once on the mat. After failing to achieve 1st place once this season, he comes to the Dome, (not the Dom) to achieve greatness. He has an impressive record of 29-9 as a SENIOR. My god I don’t think anyone can stop him. But wait… Tremor “The Earthquake” Bynum is the man of the day. As he will not only take down Medlen but will be victorious with a FALL!!! Oh my lord people this weight class is off the hook. He’s sure to make the BIG GREEN DOME erupt (get it cause his name is tremor lol). Final score Fall 2:34 Silas vs Shew The matchup of the day that everyone will surely be on the edge of their seats. Silas is an absolute stud. From a relatively known powerhouse school of Shenandoah. This school just keeps pumping out units. He is pure muscle as he is out for revenge after falling to accomplish 1st prize last year at Bankers. He sports a spotless 27-0 record for his Junior campaign. Absolute beast-like. Silas still has another year of competition left for his high school years. So if he takes the crown this year, surely no one will be able to stop this absolute beast. Even with all his accomplishments you can’t count out Joey “The Farmer” Shew. He is built of raw power after chucking hay bales during the summer. You what they say about baling hay, I don’t know personally but maybe you will. Anyways, Joey shows a stud-like record of 20-3 as a Sophomore. That is very impressive for sophomore from the small podunk town of Clinton Indiana, where you’re driving trucks or spitting chaw. Now South Vermillion Wildcats will be his future alma mater (the true Wildcats, not the Evansville MildCats). This match will be an absolute blood bath, as it can go two ways. Either a quick pin or a brutal full 6-minute match with people biting their lips from the intensity. However, Silas will come home victorious with Shew left in his Shoes. Final Score 17-3. Semi Final matches Heldt vs Lane Heldt has beaten Lane before but today is a new day, famous words from the legend himself, Jon C. Spurr. After escaping the wrath of Pierce, Lane is in store for yet another Pay Per View matchup with a complete stud of Heldt. But Lane is surely not gonna let this happen again. This powerhouse of a kid is gonna make it through to the finals. An absolute uproar will make the crowd go crazy and his day has come. Final score 6-4. Bynum vs Allred Easy... Allred wins. Thank u, Next (Classic song, give it a listen if you haven’t) Final score Fall 4:14 Finals Allred vs Lane My god people, this is a classic showdown of two titans. The unstoppable Austin “Freight Train” Lane versus the impenetrable Silas “I’m built like a silo” Allred. This upcoming Cornhusker will be tested today. Silas is a absolute unit as I said previously, especially in neutral position. He can score from anywhere on his feet. I doubt even Bo Nickal could take him down, trust me I know. He waved at me once. Anyhow, even more, he’s a tank on top. As he will put you on your back quicker than the ref can say “Twoooooooooooo”. He will have you counting lights all day. Despite this, “Freight Train” will put up a durable fight as he is no pushover. These two haven’t met yet, but Lane will be out for blood after falling to Current PURDUE BOILERMAKER Thomas Penola to end his season last year. He’s wanting that ticket more than the fat kid off of Willy Wonka. After placing 2nd for two years running at Marion County Conference. He is fired up and ready to start chugging along the tracks and mowing down anyone in his way. Austin hails from the Prestigious Perry Meridian Falcons. Can a falcon even wrestle?? Anyways, Lane will put up a good fight but will be surely taken care of by Silas. An amazing run to the finals but will surely come up short. Finals score 13-4 SILAS ALLRED. Final Picks Silas “Cornfed” Allred Austin “Freight Train” Lane Jack “ Can’t pronounce my last name” Heldt Tremor “The earthquake” Bynum The pin times may be very precious to you guys, but trust me on this. I know my stuff, I’ve been to sectionals 4 times… in a row. Tell me if anyone else has done that. I’ll be waiting. 220 This one looks to be wide open with the graduating of an absolute tank of a person like seriously mason parris could bulldoze through the huge green dome. But look for Andrew Irick, Taylor Webster, and Kyle Cornwell to really scrap this weekend. All these wrestlers have the ability to be standing on the podium next Saturday they just have to show up and scrap this weekend. First round picks Cornwell Van Beyen Guhl Irick Webster Young Browning Campbell Ticket round This should be exciting to see these beasts of young men scrap. I love watching these atheltic boys wrestle. Grab your water because these matches will sure make you thirsty and sweaty. Cornwell vs Van Beyen This looks to be a very good match with returning state placer Cornwell vs A Carmel stud in Van beyen I believe that Van Beyen has been grinding in the room and definitely has what it takes but I believed season veteran in Cornwell makes another appearance to Bankerslife. Guhl vs Irick Guhl is quite the household name at the upperweights the last couple of years but in this one I got to go with Irick, I believe he has the most experience from his brothers both wrestling d1 so he will have the knowledge of what to do in this close match. But look for guhl to fight in a hard match Webster vs young Webster a ticket rounder a year ago looks to make quick work and push himself the next step this year. I’ll take him via pinfall Browning vs Campbell Match up between two juniors who are a little under the radar. Browning has had a good post season so far so look for him to punch his ticket to the bank in a close one here. Semi final match ups Cornwell vs Irick This match will be the third time they wrestled , Irick has been the previous winner in the last two but look for him to be mentally ready this time and take it to Irick in a close one. Webster vs browning Browning is having an amazing season however I believe Webster will be a little too much for him to handle setting up a Webster vs Cornwell match up. Finals Cornwell vs Webster These two have not met all season but look for Cornwell to finally bring home a semi state title after being defeated by the Green dome Wrecker in Mason Parris . This will be a tight match and can go either way however look for both of these studs on the podium next weekend. Picks in order Kyle “As a child I ate my” Cornwell Taylor “The dictionary” Webster Andrew “How many Iricks are there??” Irick Cullen “My parents liked Twilight” Browning Heavyweight If you have read my predictions this far, you know that I am so excited for the scrapping and tossing that will occur in the Granddaddy of them all, HEAVYWEIGHT. This is by far one of the most exciting years for heavyweight we’ve had in a while. It is wide open, Jamichael Watts will be looking to close the door on hopeful competitors while my man Crae Kunkleman looks to steal the show. First Round This will be a good one with matches such as Kunkleman vs Antone Alexander and Dennis Hubbard vs Jonathon Williams. My picks Harris Zack “Not Lightning” McQueen Keller Berger Ahrens Kunkleman Watts Hubbard Ticket Round Ah yes. Heavyweights going all out to see who can weigh the most and fat man roll the best. Well this round will weed out those who can not do so as well as the others and send them rolling home. Harris vs McQueen A battle of two great seniors with terrific records. It is a shame that one of them has to go home. I believe that Harris will get the job done over fellow senior, McQueen. This will be a very good match and end with a hug out of respect. Keller vs Berger Another grinder of a match, this time between two juniors. Again with the big men you can expect respect and no love lost when they do battle. I love to see matches like this where they really push each other. I believe Keller will be the victor. Ahrens vs Kunkleman Two outstanding seniors set to face off for a shot at state. This will be a true test for both wrestlers. Although he is very underrated, Ahrens is the favorite he according to the Vegas odds at -1.5. This will be a match for the ages, I believe it will resemble the classic match between Rickie Clark and Robert Samuels except with less scoring. (Love that match, best I’ve ever seen) Anyway I believe that in the end Kunkleman will be able to keep his season alive. Watts vs Hubbard A Battle of top ten heavyweight competitors here. It should be a good one, especially considering the winner could get to wrestle Crae Kunkleman. All in all Watts is very solid at the heavyweight position and I believe that he will be able to get the win to complete a great round of ticket punching. Overall I would like to see my man Crae place first but Watts is one heck of a competitor so I believe it will go like this: Jamichael “more than one juul per second” Watts John “Not related to Kamala” Harris Kolt “45” Keller Crae “Cray” Kunkleman Team Placements This is not guaranteed for I do not have the time on my hands to calculate the team scores from the brackets but in general this should be pretty accurate Indianapolis Cathedral Everyone Else To conclude I believe this will be a good day of wrestling and definitely worth the price of admission at the big green dome. I’m so excited as I hope you guys are as a wrestling fan these next two weekends are my favorite of the year. The excitement and emotion of the wrestlers due to all their hard work they have put in really makes this sport great. Cathedral shows they are still a huge powerhouse going into state. I believe there will be many stand out performances and many upsets like usual but like previously stated wrestling is a hard sport mostly mentally and it is sad when you work your hardest at something and end up coming short and I’m sorry to any wrestlers that go through that this weekend. But best of luck young men.

Best predictions I’ve seen...some of those nicknames are pure Gold.

By Caleb Spires Every mid-February, 3/4ths of Indiana wrestling fans go to their semi-states and are forced to spend all day watching inferior wrestling, laughably under the impression that they are aren’t missing out on the REAL Indiana wrestling. The other fourth of us, however, know the truth. And we get the pleasure of traveling to Fort Wayne and witnessing the only semi-state worth watching! After years of Yorktown taking the team title, it is wide open this season with multiple teams that have a shot at taking home the gold. In case you are new to the semi-state scene and not positive on how the tournament works, here is a basic rundown. Each semi-state has four feeder regionals. Those four regionals take the top four wrestlers from each weight class and blindly pair them in to four quarter brackets with a regional champion vs. 4th placer and a runner-up vs. 3rd placer. Placement is simple; win your first two matches, you’re a state qualifier and will continue wrestling to determine your spot 1st-4th. Lose one of your first two matches, and you’re done for the day, as well as the season. Without any more hesitation, let’s jump into the weight class breakdowns. Early #SlobberKnockers - First round matches you won’t want to miss. State Street Fights - Ticket round matches that should bring you to your feet. #WAYL2 - Who are your losses to? 106: Not too surprisingly, our lightest weight class brings a slew of kids you’re going to continue watching in the coming years; not a single wrestler in this bracket is a senior. But while youthful, there is still a lot of talent here. Up top, Bellmont freshman Isaac Ruble has been one of the favorites at this weight all season, and so far in the postseason there isn’t much reason to disagree. He has been absolutely unchallenged at sectionals and regionals. Regardless, it would be unwise to overlook Blake Kinney of Maconaquah, who comes in with wonderful season under his belt. He is dangerous and could send Ruble packing early if he’s not careful. Moving on, Central Noble freshman Alex Ocampo comes in with a spotless record, albeit with only about a half-season. He is incredibly athletic, strong, and scrambles like his life is on the line. Harvey Barr of Kokomo and Colton Weimer battle in the first round with a potential match with Ocampo looming in the ticket round. Three of Weimer’s eight losses have come to Ocampo this season. Wabash freshman Jared Brooks has looked wonderful this season. After his first slip up of the season, a 10-1 loss to Kinney at sectionals, he responded tremendously with an 11-0 victory at regionals. His path to Banker’s Life won’t be easy. A first round match between Muncie Central’s Gage Cline and Northridge’s Jasper Graber features two tough wrestlers who will do everything in their power to push their seasons an extra week. Lastly, we are likely to see part 4 in the Brady Lewis vs. Aidan Sprague saga. Sprague(East Noble) has a 2-1 advantage over Lewis(Huntington North) this season with a combined 11-9 advantage. This is anybody’s match. Early #SlobberKnockers: Jasper Graber(Northridge) vs. Gage Cline(Muncie Central) State Street Fights: Isaac Ruble(Bellmont) vs. Blake Kinney(Maconaquah) Brady Lewis(Huntington North) vs. Aidan Sprague(East Noble) Alex Ocampo - 9 Jared Brooks - 9 Isaac Ruble - 9 Aidan Sprague - 9 #WAYL2 Jared Brooks(1): Blake Kinney Blake Kinney(4): Jared Brooks(2) Brady Lewis(4): Aidan Sprague(2), Isaac Ruble Isaac Ruble(5): Carlton Perry, Brennen Cernus, Hudson Harreld, Shephan Roberson, Alex Cottey Wyatt Corkwell(5): Eli Johnson(2), Gage Cline(2), Isaac Ruble Nick Olson(6): Jasper Graber(2), Johnny Cortez, Dylan Tom, Luke Stento, Aidan Sprague Aidan Sprague(7): Alex Ocampo(3), Brady Lewis, Isaac Ruble(2), Kody Glithero Colton Weimer(7): Alex Ocampo(3), Ruben Padilla, Sean Johnson, Brady Lewis(2) Gage Cline(7): Colin Reagan, PJ Pritchett, Will Castle, Harvey Barr, Isaac Ruble, Blake Kinney, Andrew Stachler(OH) Jasper Graber(7): Alex Cottey, Logan Miller, Malik Hall, Ryan Purvis(2), Nick Olson, Alex Ocampo Emmanuel Ellis(8): Stefen Vittello, Michael Denvit, Colton Weimer(2), Jose Martinez, Jasper Graber, Jake Necessary, Aidan Sprague, Gage Cline Harvey Barr(8): Carlton Perry(2), Ethan Brawley, Elijah Anthony, Eli johnson, Romello Williams, Jared Brooks 113: This should be one(of many) fun weight(s) to watch throughout the day. No wrestlers at 113 have made it to state before, but eight of them were here last year with six of them only one match away from being state qualifiers. We should be seeing some talented, accomplished wrestlers punch their first tickets to state this weekend. Jett Boots of Angola was a very close loss last year from wrestling in the state finals. This season he has come back hungry and determined, and is coming off the momentum of a huge regional championship win. Jacob Veatch of Leo, a ticket-rounder in his own right, will be a tough roadblock for Boots to be state-bound. What a tough quarter-bracket. You might as well close your eyes and draw names out of a hat for this. Harper Dedman of Oak Hill was a match away from state last year but gets a tough match right off the bat in Lakeland’s talented Ben Miller. It won’t be much easier in the ticket round for winner of that match, as they will face the winner of Snider’s Brady Ester(semi state qualifier last year) and Bellmont’s Dominic Litchfield. Don’t be fooled by Litchfield’s 11 losses. Bellmont’s schedule has him prepared for Saturday. Next up, Preston Teusch of Huntington North is the favorite to continue his season past this weekend. He has two former semi-state qualifiers in Northridge’s Justin Puckett and Western’s Justin Brantley who will do battle with each other in the first round before getting a crack at him. The final spot is favored to go to West Noble senior Isaac Weimer. He is making his third trip to Fort Wayne and is eager to make it out for the first time. Standing in his way is Landon Bertch, a slightly-under-the-radar freshman out of Bluffton who has amassed a 36-1 record en route to a regional championship. Early #SlobberKnockers: Eli Johnson(Norwell) vs. Jacob Veatch(Leo) Brady Ester(Fort Wayne Snider) vs. Dominic Litchfield(Bellmont) State Street Fights: Harper Dedman(Oak Hill) vs. Ester/Litchfield Preston Teusch(Huntington North) vs. Justin Puckett(Northridge) Landon Bertch(Bluffton) vs. Isaac Weimer(West Noble) Preston Teusch - 10 Jett Boots - 11 Isaac Weimer - 12 Brady Ester - 11 #WAYL2 Landon Bertch(1): Drayk Kallenberger(OH) Preston Teusch(1): Jacob Simone Isaac Weimer(2): Alex Ocampo, Jett Boots Harper Dedman(4): Jett Boots, Justin Brantley, Drayk Kallenberger(OH), David Schulte Jett Boots(5): Isaac Weimer(3), Justin Puckett, Anrico Cunningham(OH) Brady Ester(6): Chandler Shearer, Preston Teusch(2), Matt Adamczyk, Christian White, Jacob Veatch Justin Brantley(6): Jacob Veatch, Tyler Brubaker, Harper Dedman(2), Carson Johnson, Jake Lemieux Justin Puckett(6): Andrew Haggerty, Chris Merrill, Isaac Weimer, Martin Cruz, braden Haines, Jett Boots Ben Miller(7): Jett Boots(3), Jake Armstrong, Isaac Weimer Jacob Veatch(7): Dominic Litchfield, Jett Boots, Preston Teusch(2), Brady Ester 120: Like you usually see with the 120 lb weight class, there are a lot of names here you’ll probably recognize, given this is a typical transition weight for a majority of the most accomplished sophomores and juniors who are starting to get bigger. If you want some evidence, we can start with the fact that 11-of-16 of these wrestlers were here last season, with eight of them being 10th or 11th graders. However, it is likely that the champion will be coming down to one of the few seniors. Beau Humphrey of Snider was a heartbreaking loss to an exciting match away from a state qualification last season and has been even stronger this year, down a weight class. He is likely to break through this year but will be pushed early by the winner of Wabash’s Ethan Higgins and Goshen’s Rasheek Bonds. Despite Bonds’ record of 30-11, he has faced a lot of quality wrestlers and has been wrestling well so far in the state series. He and Higgins should have a great first round match. Also on that side of the bracket, Kade Zadylak of Norwell looks to punch his second ticket to state in his last go-round. Zadylak has had a fantastic career that I’m sure he wants to culminate in a semi-state championship and standing atop the state podium next weekend. His sole loss is a bit of a head-scratcher, but he responded well in redeeming himself a week later. Two other former semi-state qualifiers should put on a great first round match in Elkhart Central’s Eric Garcia and Western’s Chandler Ciscell. After capturing his first regional championship, Aidan Hardcastle of Oak Hill will have a great shot to make it to state, but his quarter-bracket is tough. His first round opponent, Christian Pfieffer-Laguerre of Concord, upset previously one-loss Sam Levitz at regionals to earn his spot in Fort Wayne. Should Hardcastle win that match, he will battle the winner of Dominic Heath(Churubusco) and John Robinson(Delta). Robinson has been superb this year and owns a 12-5 win over Heath earlier this year, but Heath is a talented wrestler with some good wins this year and should push him in this rematch. The final quarter-bracket is Evan Beasley of Northridge’s to lose. He has come up one match shy at semi-state the last two seasons and has put together his best season yet in one last effort to not only make it out of semi-state, but to win it as well. His likely ticket round foe comes from Garrett, Chandler Shearer. Shearer has had somewhat of an up-and-down season, but he is capable of catching Beasley off guard of Beasley is overlooking him. Early #SlobberKnockers: Ethan Higgins(Wabash) vs. Rasheek Bonds(Goshen) Eric Garcia(Elkhart Central) vs. Chandler Ciscell(Western) State Street Fights: Aidan Hardcastle(Oak Hill) vs. John Robinson(Delta) Evan Beasley - 12 Kade Zadylak - 12 Beau Humphrey - 11 John Robinson - 11 #WAYL2 Beau Humphrey(1): Brayden Lowery Kade Zadylak(1): Carter Thomas Ethan Higgins(2): Dominic Heath, Chandler Ciscell Evan Beasley(2): Brayden Littell, Kysen Montgomery Aidan Hardcastle(3): Chandler Ciscell, John Robinson, Kade Zadylak John Robinson(3): Camden Spears(2), Kade Zadylak Chandler Shearer(5): Carter Thomas, Kade Zadylak, Rasheek Bonds, Sam Levitz, Beau Humphrey Toby Abbott(5): John Robinson92), Carson johnson, Colin Reagan, Kade Zadylak Eric Garcia(6): Evan Beasley(2), Giovanni Diaz, Dylan Stroud, Vince Sparrow, Rasheek Bonds Darryn Kuhl(7): Kade Zadylak, Parker Moseley, Beau Humphrey, Chandler Shearer 126: The potential championship match alone at this weight should be worth the price of admission, the gas money and time spent driving, and even the outrageous price of the concession stand food. Between just two wrestlers at this weight, there are already 6 state placements, 5 semi-state championships, 4 state championship appearances, and 3 state championships. One of these two competitors is riding the longest current IHSAA winning streak, winning his last 115(!!) IHSAA matches. The last time these two faced each other was for the semi-state championship at 106 pounds when they were both freshman. That match was 6-4. Strap in folks, we’re in for a show. Atop the first quarter-bracket, we have a “who will be have the best day?” situation. Western freshman Hayden Shepherd won his regional and has beaten many tough 126 pounders this season. It will be an early test for him in former semi-state qualifier Tonner Johnson of Norwell, who had the misfortune of a tough regional and isn’t your ordinary 4. The winner of that will likely meet up with Carroll’s Evan Ulrick who seems to be peaking at the right time. Moving on, remember that guy that I said is on a 115-match winning streak? His name is Brayden Curtis and he’s from Yorktown. You probably haven’t heard of him, but he has finished his high school seasons with placements of 7th, 1st, and 1st, and hasn’t tasted in-season defeat since the consolation semifinals at state his freshman year. He shouldn’t be remotely challenged on his way to a fourth state qualification. Later on in the bracket, however… The bracket gods hocked a big loogie right in Payne Blackburn of Delta’s face. Blackburn qualified for the state finals last year but has his work cut out for him if he plans on doing so again. After losing to Curtis at regionals, Payne has drawn into Hunter Watts of Jimtown. Hunter’s career so far has gone as such; 6th, 2nd, and 1st while moving up one weight class each season. Not only is Watts coming off a state championship last season, but his offense has been kicked up multiple notches this year. Blackburn has had a wonderful season, wrestling Curtis tough multiple times, but he may need the best match of his life to make it back to Indy. Rounding out the 126 weight class, Ian Heath of Leo is looking to make his second trip to state in as many years as he has been in high school. Two stout freshman will try to spoil that party. Alex Currie of Adams Central and Dylan Stroud of Manchester do battle to meet Heath in the ticket round. Early #SlobberKnockers: Hayden Shepherd(Western) vs. Tonner Johnson(Norwell) Alex Currie(Adams Central) vs. Dylan Stroud(Manchester) State Street Fights: Shepherd/Johnson vs. Evan Ulrick(Carroll) Hunter Watts(Jimtown) vs. Payne Blackburn(Delta) Hunter Watts - 12 Brayden Curtis - 12 Ian Heath - 10 Evan Ulrick - 10 #WAYL2 Hunter Watts(1): Jesse Mendez Ian Heath(1): Evan Burge Alex Currie(5): Carter Thomas, Braden Brooks, Payne Blackburn(2), Blayne Daniels Dylan Stroud(6): Justin Risten, Beau Humphrey, Braden Brooks, Hayden Shepherd Hayden Shepherd(6): Ian Heath(3), Chase Wilkerson, Skyler Blackwell(2) Issac Hawkins(6): Kyler Brown(3), Hunter Watts Kyler Brown(6): KJ Williams, Brendon Mark, Brock Hogenson, Blaine Malott Payne Blackburn(6): Evan Burge, Brayden Curtis(3), Chase Wilkerson, Jared Brown Bhupesh Chauhan(7): Hayden Shepherd(2), Blayne Daniels, Troy Smith(2) 132: Ooooooo-eeeeeee. Did somebody ask for a single bracket with; 6 state qualifiers, 2 others who have been one match away, and an undefeated regional champion? I’m sure the coaches of the 16 schools at this weight didn’t, but it should certainly be a treat for us fans! This is one of those weights you could wrestle 10 times and it may not turn out the exact same a single time. We are started off by two-time state qualifier out of Western, Hunter Cottingham. Cottingham has not failed at making it to state yet, but it certainly won’t be a walk in the park to go 3/3. His first match is against former ticket-rounder from East Noble, Adam Ledesma. Ledesma didn’t have the best regional, but he is still a wonderful wrestler who cannot be overlooked. He was defeated in the ticket round last year by Ricky Haught of Huntington North who, surprise, is also in this quarter bracket. A former state qualifier is bound to go home here. Next up, one of our two undefeated wrestlers at this weight. The middle child in the Jimtown lineup of death, Matt “slightly smaller” Gimson. A former 8th placer at state, Gimson will be looking for his third straight semi-state championship appearance, and second title in those three years. His ticket round shouldn’t be a piece of cake though. He’ll be facing the winner of Bellmont state qualifier Kyle Lawson, and New Haven’s Elijah Chacon. Chacon has been on fire this season and the Bellmont guys are always well-coached and prepared for tough matches. Another wrestler trying to go back to state is Logan Mosser of Adams Central. He has one only one loss, up at 138 to another potential state qualifier. Tallan Morrisett of Eastern was a match away from qualifying for state last year and should pose a tough threat to Mosser in the ticket round. The final quarter-bracket includes a marquee match-up between an undefeated wrestler, and another wrestler who only just lost for the first time at regionals. Owen Krider of Carroll is a senior, has not lost, and is yearning for his first trip to Banker’s Life. His opponent out of Central Noble, Chris Schuller, is also a senior but has made a trip to state two years ago. Up until Gimson at regionals, he had not taken a loss on the season. This is a massive match for two hungry seniors, but also for their teams, as Carroll and Central Noble could both be very alive in the team race. Early #SlobberKnockers: Hunter Cottingham(Western) vs. Adam Ledesma(East Noble) Elijah Chacon(New Haven) vs. Kyle Lawson(Bellmont) State Street Fights: All of them. All four should be good. Matt Gimson - 12 Owen Krider - 12 Hunter Cottingham - 11 Logan Mosser - 12 #WAYL2 Chris Schuller(1): Matt Gimson Logan Mosser(1): William Fiechter Hunter Cottingham(2): Geremia Brooks, Matt Gimson Adam Ledesma(5): Alec Viduya, Ricky Haught, Chris Schuller, Christian Santos, Matt Gimson Gage Kelly(5): Hunter Cottingham(2), Tallan Morrisett, Dillon Tuttle Tallan Morrisett(6): Ryan Rasler, Aundre Beatty, Dason Tichenor, Christian Santos, Hunter Cottingham(2) Christian Santos(7): Cody Betourne, Andres Moreno, Joey Gordon, Zeke Rowdown, Matt Gimson, Chris Schuller, Geremia Brooks Elijah Chacon(8): Adam Ledesma(2), Hunter Cottingham, Logan Mosser, Owen Krider, Ricky Haught Ricky Haught(8): Logan Mosser, Adam Ledesma, Kyle Lawson, Owen Krider(2), Elijah Chacon 138: Were you wanting the fun to stop? If so, that’s a shame, because 138 features many more talented and accomplished wrestlers. 10 of the 16 have been here before. 4 of those 10 have made it to state. And 2 of them have numbers behind their name(one in Michigan). Expect some good wrestling at this weight. The champion at this weight from last year returns. His name is Conner “slightly bigger” Gimson from Jimtown, and he looks to come away with his second consecutive semi-state championship after a 5th place finish at state last year. His likely ticket round opponent is Macaiah White of Eastern who has been to semi state before and hopes to make it out in his final attempt. Last year William Fiechter of Southern Wells had the upset of the state tournament by knocking off the first ranked 138 lb. wrestler at regionals, but he couldn’t capitalize the next week with a loss in the ticket round. This season should be different. He has a favorable quarter-bracket and is likely to extend his season an extra week. At the second consecutive weight class, Carroll and Central Noble have to prepare for a huge ticket round match against one another. In a battle of seniors, Reis Schrock(Carroll) would like to go out with a bang and head to Banker’s Life. In order to do so, he will have to get through Tanner Schoeff(Central Noble) who has qualified for the state tournament the last two years. This could go either way and, again, could be vital in the team race. The only undefeated wrestler at this weight class, Dylan Goudy of Western, had a relatively quiet season last year and managed to navigate through to state. There’s nothing quiet about him anymore and he’ll make an attempt to duplicate his success. Nick Buchanan of Prairie Heights night have something to say about that, though. Buchanan placed 6th at state in Michigan and is a tough, athletic wrestler capable of giving Goudy his sole loss of the season at the worst possible time. Early #SlobberKnockers: Zach Bullock(Maconaquah) vs. Clayton Jackson(Leo) State Street Fights: Reis Schrock(Carroll) vs. Tanner Schoeff(Central Noble) Dylan Goudy(Western) vs. Nick Buchanan(Prairie Heights) Conner Gimson - 12 Nick Buchanan - 11 Tanner Schoeff - 12 William Fiechter - 11 #WAYL2 Conner Gimson(1): Cayden Rooks Tanner Schoeff(4): Conner Gimson, Nick Buchannan(2), Gabe Phillips Nick Buchanan(5): Braxton Alexander, Cayden Rooks, Tanner Schoeff, Matt Gimson William Fiechter(5): AC Eberle, Macaiah White, Nick Buchanan, Tanner Schoeff, Tyce Freije Reis Schrock(6): Nick Buchanan, Alec Viduya, Cayden Rooks, Anthony Rivera, Gabe Steyer(OH), Michael Tippmann Macaiah White(7): Luke Goodwin, Dylan Goudy(3), William Fiechter Tori Forrest(7): Drew Mason, Dylan Goudy, Cristian Ponce, Drake Buchanan, Macaiah White, Zack Bullock, Fernando Rebullo 145: While there is only one wrestler at 145 who has wrestled at Banker’s Life, there are plenty of others in this bracket who have come close. Many of the top names at this weight have already faced each other this year and it has been very tight. With the stakes at its highest, we’ll see a lot of talented wrestlers with a lot of heart. Homestead’s Jake Jenkins has not made it to state yet, but has really proved himself this season. He hasn’t taken a loss to anybody in this bracket, while having beaten a majority of them. He is the favorite to make it to state, but has two other former semi-state qualifiers. Mississinewa’s Courtland Smith qualified two years ago and Josh Beeks was here last season. Either could make things difficult for Jake. This next ticket match should be a tight one. Ryan Rasler of Prairie Heights has lost at semi state the last two seasons by just one point each time. His likely opponent, Aaron McKinley of Maconaquah, has also been here before and has been wrestling fantastic this season. Rasler defeated him 6-2 earlier this season but McKinley will be prepared for this rematch, assuming he manages to beat Jay County senior Jordan Schricker. Logan Macklin of Adams Central is the only state qualifier out of this bunch. He punched his ticket two seasons ago but failed to do so last year in a very tough bracket. He looks to get back on track this year but could be challenged by a few seniors who are starving to make the most out of their last run. Northridge’s Adam Hooley is a very solid wrestler and Bishop Dwenger’s Michael Garrett has been on the cusp of breaking through for seemingly a couple years now. In our last quarter-bracket, we can just draw names from a hat. Tytus Morrisett from Eastern had a huge regional win this last weekend and is hoping that will help him make it to state in his third attempt to get out of Ft. Wayne. Early on he starts off with Monroe Central’s Tyler Jones who is a fabulous wrestler in his own right. The winner of that will take on the winner of Scottie Saylor(Carroll) and Shayne Tierney(West Noble). All four kids are capable of beating one another and we’ll just have to see who is having the best day. Early #SlobberKnockers: All of the 2 vs. 3 matches. Each could go either way. Tytus Morrisett(Eastern) vs. Tyler Jones(Monroe Central) State Street Fights: Ryan Rasler(Prairie Heights) vs. Shricker/McKinley Morrisett/Jones vs. Saylor/Tierney Logan Macklin - 12 Jake Jenkins - 12 Ryan Rasler - 12 Tytus Morrisett - 11 #WAYL2 Aaron McKinley(3): Jake Jenkins, Ryan Rasler, Tytus Morrisett Logan Macklin(3): Ryan Rasler(2), Jake Jenkins Ryan Rasler(3): Daniel Park, Jacob Burford, Jake Jenkins Jake Jenkins(4): Bryer Hall, Ethan Hicks, Jacob Burford, Isaiah Bretz(OH) Tyler Jones(4): Josh Beeks(2), Jordan Schricker, Jake Jenkins Tytus Morrisett(4): Brice Coleman, Jorden Douglass, Josh Beeks, Gage Holder Adam Hooley(5): Cayden Rooks, Drake Buchanan, Gabriel Smith, Shayne Tierney Michael Garrett(5): Gage Schuckman, Logan Macklin, Scottie Saylor, Jake Jenkins, Isaiah Bretz(OH) Shayne Tierney(6): Ryan Rasler(4) Zane Hall(6): Tytus Morrisett(2), Tori Forrest, Courtland Smith(2) Josh Beeks(7): Logan Macklin(4), Noah Wright, Ryan Rasler, Tytus Morrisett Courtland Smith(8): William Fiechter, Josh Beeks, Tytus Morrisett, Aaron McKinley Jordan Schricker(8): Jake Jenkins, Josh Beeks, Brayden Ploehs(OH), Eric Heistand, Paul Faurote, Ethan Hicks, Josh Beeks, Logan Macklin 152: While this weight may not be the deepest at Fort Wayne, the top guys are all tough as nails. There is a 2x defending semi-State champion who arguably isn’t the favorite to defend his crown. Luckily, the bracket gods appeared to to be kind to 152 by allowing quite possibly the four best guys to all hail from separate regionals. Up top we have a Prairie Heights wrestler as regional champion. His name is Isiah Levitz. I bet you’re shocked to see that last name, huh? Levitzs that come from Prairie Heights are always a hoot to watch and are always capable of finding ways to win. His ticket round opponent Gage Schuckman of Norwell is having a good season and will push him to his limits if he expects to finally qualify for state. Moving forward, we have arguably the favorite at this weight. Ethan Hicks from Carroll qualified for state last year but that doesn’t appear to be enough for him. He has looked much improved this season from the talented wrestler he already was. It will be interesting to see how Eastern freshman Brodie Porter can hang with him. Porter hasn’t wrestled a schedule quite like Carroll’s, but a 35-2 record for a middle-weight freshman is impressive no matter how you slice it. Of course, he will have an accomplished senior from Jay County in Thomas Hemmelgarn before getting the opportunity. Probably the closest call of all the ticket round matches, Haydn Prater of Rochester should likely be squaring off with Huntington North’s Cody McCune in a battle of juniors. Prater won his regional and is probably a very slight favorite, but McCune doesn’t give up many points and can wrestle with the best of them, as evidenced by his 2-1 match with Hicks at regionals. Eric Hiestand of Yorktown is a two-time semi-state champion but has yet to place at state. I’m sure with this being his senior season, he intends on going out with a bang and would like to finish with three consecutive semi-state championships. His ticket round foe certainly will make him work for it though. Kamden Goering of Elkhart Memorial has turned the corner this season after a lackluster sophomore year and looks every bit of a state finals caliber wrestler. Early #SlobberKnockers: Thomas Hemmelgarn(Jay County) vs. Brodie Porter(Eastern) State Street Fights: Haydn Prater(Rochester) vs. Cody McCune(Huntington North) Eric Hiestand(Yorktown) vs. Kamden Goering(Elkhart Memorial) Ethan Hicks - 12 Eric Hiestand - 12 Haydn Prater - 11 Isiah Levitz - 11 #WAYL2 Ethan Hicks(1): Jake Schoenegge Brodie Porter(2): Jackson Williams, Haydn Prater Eric Hiestand(2): Cooper Noehre, Isiah Levitz Haydn Prater(4): Austin Heckman, Brad Springer, Brice Coleman, Jake Lowe Isiah Levitz(4): Brock Ellis, Coleman Beeks, Ellisston Ross, Ethan Hicks Kamden Goering(4): Jake Schoenegge, Noah Baker, Isiah Levitz(2) Gage Schuckman(5): Devin Jimenez, Cody McCune(2), Eric Hiestand, Jacob Mikesell(OH) Cody McCune(6): Ethan Hicks(2), Brad Harrington, Jake Lowe, Brice Coleman, Jon Ruble 160: Plenty of experience at this weight class. 7 of the wrestlers in this bracket were wrestling at semi state one year ago, though only 2 made it out. Those two are separated by the brackets and wouldn’t meet until the finals, leaving at least two spots open for a first time state finals qualifier. Starting off is one of last year’s two state qualifiers, Jackson Pettigrew of Columbia City. His great state run last season must have lit a spark, as he is much improved from just one year ago. Looming in the ticket round is a match-up with talented senior Jadon Crisp of Central Noble. Both wrestlers have an identical record of 35-2. Another one of Rochester’s talented upperweights is coming off a regional championship and only one loss on the season. It is likely that his ticket round match will be against Jed Perry of Southern Wells. Perry has had some good wins over accomplished wrestlers this season. Both were one match away from Banker’s Life and will keep their foot on the gas the whole match in an effort to get their first state qualification. Stop me if you’ve heard this yet, but hey, look! Another good ticket round match between two former semi-state qualifiers looking for their first trip to Indy! Clayton Lundy of Elkhart Memorial is down a weight from his freshman year and looked very fundamentally sound at regionals. He is likely to face Joe Parrish of Homestead who has also looked much improved from last year and eager to punch his ticket. Lastly, Jon Ruble of Bellmont qualified for state last year and should be able to do so again. He has already beaten Pettigrew this year, so he is capable of beating anybody in this bracket. Early #SlobberKnockers: Clayton Lundy(Elkhart Memorial) vs. Paul Faurote(Adams Central) State Street Fights: Drew Sailors(Rochester) vs. Jed Perry(Southern Wells) Clayton Lundy(Elkhart Memorial) vs. Joe Parrish(Homestead) Jon Ruble Jackson Pettigrew Joe Parrish Drew Sailors #WAYL2 Drew Sailors(1): Braden Welch Jackson Pettigrew(2): Isiah Levitz, Jon Ruble Jadon Crisp(2): Jed Perry, Clayton Lundy Joe Parrish(3): Eric Hiestand, Parker Bates, Jackson Pettigrew Jed Perry(4): Bryce Buckley, Grant Suding, Jon Ruble(2) Clayton Lundy(5): Abel Verbeek, Brooks Davis, Parker Bates, Peyton Pruett, Brock Hueber Jon Ruble(6): Brice Coleman, Trae Reynolds, Elliott Rodgers, Brooks Davis, Peyton Pruett, Ethan Hicks Zian Constable(6): Drew Sailors(4), Abel Verbeek, Jordan Slivka Jacob Duncan(7): Brayden Terrell, Tucker Coffman, Thomas Hemmelgarn, Grant Suding, Leo Calderon(2), Jed Perry Paul Faurote(8): Jed Perry, Seth Sutton, Carter Siefring, Jackson Pettigrew, Dirk Herschberger, Jon Ruble(2), Jacob Duncan Austin Garcia(9): Hunter Yoder, Jacob Atkins, Thomas Hemmelgarn, Justin Davis, Jacob Simpson, Abel Verbeek, Michael Garcia, Clayton Lundy, Jadon Crisp 170: While there is one clear favorite at this weight, it will be quite an enjoyable ride to seeing who occupies 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Only one wrestler at this weight has qualified for state before so the other 3/4ths of the state are going to be seeing at least fresh faces at Banker’s Life next weekend. We start off with that ‘clear favorite’ in the top quarter bracket. Clayton Fielden of Garrett has looked absolutely wonderful this year. He is tough to score on and isn’t scared of pressing the action. He may be a foreigner to the state finals so far, but he is a Fargo all-American. Luke Lechner of Western has undoubtedly looked good this year and hopes to pull off the upset. Next up is a ticket-round match you won’t want to miss. Two very talented seniors do battle, one of them for the last time in his high school career. Regional champion Parker Bates of Adams Central has only one loss this season and waiting for him in the ticket round is Manchester’s Delton Moore, the sole state qualifier in this bracket. Moore has struggled with Rochester’s Zane Gilbreath this season, but otherwise is still a tough wrestler who isn’t going to go down for the last time without scratching tooth and nail. Speaking of Zane Gilbreath, he has looked superb this season on his way to a regional championship, defeating Delton Moore 3 or 4 times. Like most of the wrestlers in Fort Wayne though, he can’t expect to press through without being challenged. Christian Summersett of South Adams may well be the biggest surprise in the semi state this year. Relatively unknown as a 132 lb freshman last year, Summersett has made the jump up to 170 fabulously, being a tough match for anybody who has faced him. This is another classic case of who is most feeling it on Saturday. Eenie-meenie-miney-mo. There is no clear-cut favorite in the final quarter bracket. Jaden Miller of Northwood, Bryce Buckley of Eastern, and Jacob Fletcher of Leo all have similar records and if placed in a round robin every weekend, the results would likely vary. Early #SlobberKnockers: Jaden Miller(Northwood) vs. Bryce Buckley(Eastern) State Street Fights: Parker Bates(Adams Central) vs. Delton Moore(Manchester) Zane Gilbreath(Rochester) vs. Christian Summersett(South Adams) Miller/Buckley vs. Jacob Fletcher(Leo) Clayton Fielden - 11 Zane Gilbreath - 12 Parker Bates - 12 Jacob Fletcher - 12 #WAYL2 Parker Bates(1): Laik Minnick Clayton Fielden(3): Parker Bates, Nick South, Derek Blubaugh Christian Summersett(4): Clayton Fielden, Parker Bates(3) Delton Moore(5): James Snyder, Zane Gilbreath(4) Orlando Clark(5): Gage Demarco, Peyton Anderson Zane Gilbreath(5): Eli Pack, Graham Calhoun(2), Josh Lowe(2) Bryce Buckley(6): Luke Lechner(3), Damon McClain, Mikey Smith, Delton Moore Jaden Miller(6): Clayton Lundy, Laik Minnick, Nick South, Raymon Torres, Orlando Clark Jacob Fletcher(7): Damon McClain(2), Luke Lechner, Zane Gilbreath, Clayton Fielden(2) 182: “There is a lot of talent at this weight,” said the broken record. But that broken record isn’t lying. Luckily separated on the brackets, there are two juniors who are already state placers that could meet up in the finals. It doesn’t stop with just them, as there is a lot of depth here. Mason Winner is just that; a winner. This is his third high school season and his chance at his third semi-State championship. He has placed 7th and 8th respectively at state. He should be able to navigate his way to Banker’s Life yet again, though another semi-state championship is a tall task. Next up we have two seniors with a combined 66-3 record doing battle to determine who will get to finish off their career on a high note. Bradley Rosman of Oak Hill kicked it up a notch this year and has been majorly impressive, beating nearly everybody in his path. Brandon Bergman of Lakeland is quick and slick, and was only a match away from state last year. Expect a high energy battle here. Moving forward, Austin Leech of Garrett captured his first regional championship last week, putting him in good position to move forward. In order to do so, however, he’d have to get passed Garrett Hetzner who hopes this is his year after falling short last season. A former state qualifier is guaranteed to go home here. Lone caught first last year during the tournament and rode that fire to an 8th place finish in the state finals. Kyler Funk of Mississinewa didn’t place at state, but he as well caught fire last year at semi-state and wrestled wonderfully. It’s a shame one of these two won’t get the chance to duplicate their success, but if Lone can move on he might be looking at his first semi state championship as he has already beaten Winner this year. Early #SlobberKnockers: Caid Lacey(Northridge) vs. Justin McDonald(Wayne) State Street Fights: Austin Leech(Garrett) vs. Garrett Hetzner(Eastern) Jake Lone(Northwood) vs. Kyler Funk(Mississinewa) Mason Winner - 11 Jake Lone - 11 Bradley Rosman - 12 Garrett Hetzner - 12 #WAYL2 Bradley Rosman(1): Mason Winner Brandon Bergman(2): Garrett Hetzner, Jake Lone Mason Winner(2): Jake Lone, Trey Sizemore(OH) Jake Lone(3): Clayton Fielden, Evan Bates, Graham Calhoun Justin McDonald(4): Manny Knight, Austin Leech(2) Austin Leech(5): Mason Winner, Luke Davis, Jacob Huffman, Brandon Bergman(2) Caid Lacey(7): Brock Hueber, Noah Perez, Julio Navarro, jared Clayton, Ben Kahl, Henry Gratzol, Jake Lone Garrett Hetzner(7): JD Farrell, Bradley Rosman, Kyler Funk(2), Mitchell Wyrick, Nathan Willman Kyler Funk(8): Bradley Rosman(3), Jake Combs, Noah Brown 195: Any and all matside trainers better have some beta-blockers on hand when we get to the 195 matches, because there will be some coaches with skyrocketing blood pressure. This bracket is so ridiculous, I don’t know where to start. There are so many different conceivable ways that this weight class could end up going. Let’s take a shot at it… Charlie Agnew of Huntington North has been competing with the best of them for the past two seasons now. A tough draw kept him from reaching the state finals last year. That should change this go-round. There certainly isn’t such thing as an easy draw right now, but he seemingly has the most favorable. No disrespect to Jon Messer of Prairie Heights, a very solid senior; Agnew has just been on fire this year. In the next quarter-bracket we have our first undefeated guy since the 138 weight class. Granted it was only part of a season, Chandler Chapman sports a spotless 14-0. He is coming off his second straight regional championship, hoping to fare better than the first round upset he received last season. A loss in the ticket round certainly would be no upset though. He will have Victor Lee of Marion, the only previous state qualifier in this bracket who spent a lot of his season up a weight. Just one of many “who really knows?” matches here. While slightly under my radar this year, Ibrahim Khaoucha has put on a show the last two weeks with a great start to the postseason. Can the fire keep burning? It better, if he wants a trip to state. Because he has some stiff competition to get that far. Waiting in round two for him is the winner of Carroll’s Allen Ives and Norwell’s Cale Gray. Cale can compete with anybody and may make a run for the semi state championship. It’s almost over… Finally, Stewart Mossholer of Oak Hill has, like so many others here, put together a marvelous season. A trip to state in his last chance would require him beating one of two very talented wrestlers in New Haven’s Tristen Martz and Muncie Central’s Andrew Abbott. Abbott fell victim to Funk’s super run last year in overtime, and Martz has looked like a brand new wrestler this year. Tough, tough quarter-bracket. Early #SlobberKnockers: Allan Ives(Carroll) vs. Cale Gray(Norwell) Andrew Abbott(Muncie Central) vs. Tristen Martz(New Haven) State Street Fights: All of them, again. Charlie Agnew - 12 Cale Gray - 11 Chandler Chapman - 12 Stewart Mossholder - 12 #WAYL2 Charlie Agnew(1): Jacob Kowalski(OH) Andrew Abbott(2): Dakota Cates, Cale Gray Stewart Mossholder(2): Cale Gray, Jalen Morgan Cale Gray(4): Charlie Agnew(2), Chandler Chapman(2) Jon Messer(4): Damien Rodriguez, Nolan Wampler, Ibrahim Khaoucha Victor Lee(4): Stewart Mossholder(2), Levi Leffers Jasper Donaldson(6): Alex Kolkman, James Snyder, Zion Ryan, Victor Lee Tristen Martz(7): Cale Gray(2), Charlie Agnew(3), Caden Friedt, Chase Lovell Zion Ryan(7): Ashton Moore, Julio Navarro, James Goldsborough, Colin Fee, Jasper Donaldson92), Stewart Mossholder 220: While not the deepest weight at Ft. Wayne, we should still see some competitive wrestling at the penultimate weight class, headlined by only one state finalist who placed 6th at this weight a year ago. Also, before breaking down the quarter-brackets, I’d like to wish a speedy recovery to Western’s Braydon Erb, a talented wrestler who had season-ending surgery after winning a sectional championship. Levi Leffers of Central Noble would be that guy. After placing 6th a year ago, Leffers comes back his senior year with only one loss early on, and has all the tools to make a run at the 220 state championship. His likely ticket round opponent would be Keegan Miller of Eastside, who has had a very inconsistent season with some great wins, but also less-than-great losses. Dakota Cates of Madison-Grant could send him packing early if he isn’t careful. One of the bigger surprises late in the season, for me at least, would be Jashawn Berlanga of Adams Central. A senior with a record of 36-3, Berlanga was not getting much buzz all season, but has been dominant in the postseason. Nobody has yet to keep from being pinned by him. He is peaking at the absolute best time. Reese Wicker of Churubusco has been a heavy hitter the last couple years at 220 and will pose a big threat to Berlanga’s mission of finishing out his career at the state finals. Jayden Elwood of Leo has been one of the top wrestlers in the semi-state at 220 since last season, and started the season off strong giving Leffers his only loss. Elwood has yet to qualify for state, but this senior looks like he is ready to finally break through on that. And rounding things out, a quarter-bracket that could be anybody’s for the taking after super sophomore Braydon Erb had to sit out regionals. Christin Graft has the most experience, but comes in as a fourth out of a tough regional. He’ll be wrestling Fred Durben of Oak Hill who is celebrating his first regional championship, in what could be a very tight match. The winner is likely to face Angola’s Kevin Hartman. Early #SlobberKnockers: Keegan Miller(Eastside) vs. Dakota Cates(Madison-Grant) Fred Durben(Oak Hill) vs. Christian Graft(Huntington North) State Street Fights: Jashawn Berlanga(Adams Central) vs. Reese Wicker(Churubusco) Durben/Graft vs. Kevin Hartman(Angola) Levi Leffers - 12 Jayden Elwood - 12 Jashawn Berlanga - 12 Christin Graft - 12 #WAYL2 Levi Leffers(1): Jayden Elwood Jayden Elwood(2): Braydon Erb, Levi Leffers Jashawn Berlanga(3): Conner Ray, Evan Hill, Christian Graft Thad Eiler(4): Cullen Browning, Kadin Johnson, Corbin Badger, Dawson Frasher Dawson Frasher(5): Sam Evans, Blaine Pierce, Jashawn Berlanga(2), Cullen Browning Reese Wicker(6): Levi Leffers, Tytan Grote (OH), Victor Lee, Keegan Miller, Jayden Elwood, ??? Fred Durben(9): Braydon Erb(2), Kevin Hartman, Zion Ryan, Brady Pease 285: Make sure you stick around until the very end of semi-state, because if you don’t, you’re going to be missing out on some talented big boys. There is not a single easy quarter-bracket and likely top four, who are all separated from each other, are all so close in talent that 1st-4th place could likely differ from day-to-day. Only one state finalist at this weight, and he actually was the semi-state champion last year, but he is not the overwhelming favorite you’d expect. Holden Parsons of Yorktown is that guy. He had a fantastic day at semi-state last season, taking the championship with him before being uppened on Friday night at state. His bracket seems tougher this season if he wants to repeat as semi-state champion, but he is fully capable of doing so. His ticket round date with Brian Bergman will be no walk in the park; Bergman was in the ticket round last year and as a senior will be wrestling his heart out to finish as a state finalist. Carroll sophomore Reeve Muncie put on his “freshman 40,” and has made the transition from 220 to heavyweight very well. He is coming off a regional championship with back-to-back wins over one of his regular season losses. He will have a tough senior in AJ Jones of Madison-Grant aiming to spoil Muncie’s first semi-state trip. Atop the second half of the bracket is the only undefeated heavyweight in Fort Wayne, Adam Bowman of Maconaquah. Bowman was at semi-state last year but fell short. This season he already holds a 13-4 victory over the wrestler who ended his season last year, as well as a victory over last year’s semi-state champion. He is in wonderful position to win his bracket, though Logan Swallow of Monroe Central can put a damper on those plans. Vince Yoder of Fairfield has been in the ticket round the last two years and has been unsuccessful. After his first regional championship, things don’t look to be getting easier. He will have to go through Eastside’s Chase Leeper to do so. Leeper has been dominate all year, pinning Yoder in the first period on two separate occasions this year. That said, Yoder has been red hot in the state series to this point, and will be bringing his A-game in his last visit to the Coliseum. Early #SlobberKnockers: Jose Rosales(Goshen) vs. AJ Jones(Madison-Grant) State Street Fights: Holden Parsons(Yorktown) vs. Brian Bergman(Lakeland) Reeve Muncie - 10 Adam Bowman - 12 Holden Parsons - 11 Chase Leeper - 11 #WAYL2 AJ Jones(2): Adam Bowman, Andre Hughes Holden Parsons(2): Adam Bowman, Muhammad Sidibe Logan Swallow(3): Venice McCullough, Logan Shaffer, Holden Parsons Reeve Muncie(4): John Harris, Hezzy Devault, Adam Bowman, Chase Leeper Brian Bergman(5): Adam Bowman, Chase Leeper, Vince Yoder(2) Chase Leeper(5): Jacob Petit(OH), Jeff Meyer(OH), Reeve Muncie(2) Vince Yoder(5): Chase Leeper(2), Levi Leffers, Zach McQueen, Hezzy Devault Bryce Kamphues(6): Adam Bowman(3), Billy Smith, Grant Warmuth Logan Shaffer(6): Venice McCullough, Logan Swallow(3), Andre Hughes, Holden Parsons Jose Rosales(8): Will Crider, Jason Foster, Rhent Addis, Cameron McDaniel, Keenan Perkins(2), Brian Bergman, Vince Yoder Team Race: Yorktown has owned the team race for so long that I can’t even find that last time they didn’t(at least 6 consecutive years, with what looks to be a very tight battle with Bellmont in 2012). But luckily for a bunch of other teams, they are not going to plow through so easily this year with only five wrestlers. Not all hope is lost as three of those five are absolutely capable of winning their weight classes, but now there are plenty of teams that can swoop in. Jimtown as well has three potential champions that could put up a lot of bonus points. Adams Central and Carroll both have the most amount of wrestlers competing at 9, and both are capable of sending at least four on through to the state finals. Central Noble, coming off a tight regional championship, could also get multiple wrestlers through with a couple champions. Teams like Western, Oak Hill, Norwell, and Huntington North even have the horses capable of getting multiple state qualifiers and making things interesting. The team race should be tight the whole way through and will be fun to monitor. Some major factors to look out for; -Championship at 126. Jimtown and Yorktown both have a legit chance at three champions, but a head-to-head will prevent them from both doing so. -The ticket round at 132 and 138. There are two Carroll/Central Noble swing matches that could factor in massively if one of those teams could manage to send both their wrestlers through. -Semifinals at 285. Carroll and Yorktown meet up before the finals, and a potential difference between 1st and 4th could be the deciding factor at the last weight class. Everybody strap in and get ready for an awesome day of wrestling. View full article

Top 4 in order... 106 - Right off the bat you get an intriguing 4 v 1 matchup here and I think Bailey of River Forest will give Dominic Skees everything he can handle. And no slight to their potential blood round matchup but the winner of that match will be favored over the 2 v 3 matchup between a pair of unranked wrestlers. Cernus and Roberson are on the other side of the bracket in what would be a semifinal. Malik Hall is probably my 4th. Give me Cernus, Hall, Roberson, Bailey. 113 - Man you have to feel for senior Colin Reagan of Frontier, who has a devastatingly tough road to state as fellow senior Martin Cruz of Merrillville stands in his way. Reagan is a two time state qualifier, while Cruz would be making his first trip. I'm taking Cruz here in an ultra tight emotional win, and he likely faces of with Giovanni Diaz who has a favorable road to the semis. On the other side Moran is a relative automatic to the semis and really, would be heavily favored in any of his potential semifinal matchups, though the battle to be Moran's opponent in that match is intriguing. As it shows on the bracket Tattini, Fogarty, and Armstrong are 5,6,7 respectively in the rankings so look for an excellent scrap in that chunk of the bracket. I'm going to take a shot in the dark with Fogarty since Armstrong/Tattini have to battle it out first round while he faces #4 seed frosh Trevor Shammert in a match he will will be favored in. I'll take Moran, Diaz, Cruz, Fogarty. 120 - While I do think this class may have some upsets, I really thinks Bettich stands above the field here and takes the title down. Tolin of Chesterton makes for a heckuva blood round matchup for regional champion Ty Haskins of Portage. I'm going stick with Haskins in an ultra tight SV type of win. Trey Finnearty of Culver Academies probably gets through without much trouble to be Haskins opponent in the semis. Jace Alexander deserves a mention as the #16 state, but his path to a state semifinal with Bettich is a tough customer in regional champ and #7 SS Tyler Brubaker of McCutcheon. Brubaker pinned Braden Nuest of West Central in that Logansport Regional final in 2:21, so he is wrestling well right now. I still like Alexander to step in and make it the semis, but Bettich takes that one by 6-8 point decision. Give me Bettich, Finnearty, Haskins, Alexander. 126 - Yeah, Mendez. It is quite unfortunate for Brock Peele of Portage to have Mendez standing in his way. With Peele's 4th and 7th places previous finishes at state, he figures to shake up the state brackets from a lower seed as this unfortunate draw will likely drop him to 3rd, though what a time for the senior Peele to step up a pull a big upset over the super frosh. I remember attending the Merrillville SS a few years ago when Steven "Bam" Lawrence finally got over the hump and pulled off the shocker vs Jacob Covaciu. I like Burge and Mark's chances to wrestle their way to the other semifinal matchup, and I have Burge there. Give me Mendez, Burge, Peele, Mark 132 - Really tough potential blood round matches here, with seniors Andres Moreno of Lowell (7th @ 113 last year) and Reese Rodriguez of Morton (2 time state qualifier @ 126) headlining those potential bouts. If he makes it through to the semis he would like get the winner of a showdown between juniors Nate Hadary of Penn and Elijah Hickman of Rensselaer. I'll take Hickman because he is a fellow Jasper county resident, and also because his confidence is likely high after winning the Logansport Regional by tech fall over Isaac Switzer of Lafayette CC. On the other side RIcky Hegedus looks to keep it rolling after his regional championship win over Rodriguez, which he won by a score of 12-8. He likely gets senior SS #6 Brayden Ruiz of New Prairie, who must get through Switzer to get there. Hegedus has wrestled some elite talent this year and fared pretty well, beating #11 state Clay Egli of Mater Dei 2-0 and losing to #5 state Logan Bailey of Cathedral. Look for Hegedus to battle it out in semis with Geremia Brooks of Wawasee, who for me is the man to beat. Brooks would edge Bailey by the same 5-4 score at the Al Smith before suffering his only loss to state #3 ranked Matt Gimson of Jimtown by a 12-9 decision. I'll take Brooks, Moreno, Hegedus, Hickman. 138 - This will be a tale of two sides of the bracket, as it looks a bit imbalanced with the two highest ranked wrestlers meeting in the semis in SS #1/state #4 senior Wawasee's Braxton Alexander and SS# 3/state #18 junior Tyson Nisley of LaPorte. The number 2 ranked wrestler in the EC SS, senior Gabe Weeks of Mishawaka, has faced both wrestlers losing 9-4 to Alexander and winning 10-5 over Nisley. Weeks will have to knock off a pair of DAC studs to punch his ticket, and I really think Rivera of Merrillville will give him everything he can handle before falling. I have unranked AJ Poindexter of Laffy Harrison finding a way through to meet weeks in the other semifinal. Give me Alexander, Weeks, Nisley, Poindexter. 145 - I like the balance in this weight class, and it should line up to be a very entertaining final between senior #8 state/#2 SS Jake Burford of Crown Point and junior #6 state/#1 SS Jorden Douglass of Attica. Burford certainly has the edge in strength of schedule, but Douglass is a fine wrestler for the tiny Attica Red Ramblers. However in order to reach said finals, Burford will have to get through junior Jacob Maldonado of rival Merrillville. Should be noted though that Maldonado's first round match is with Shawn Hollis of Lowell, who battled Maldonado close before falling in a SV 4-2 final. Burford has won twice over Maldonado earlier in the season by scores of 5-0 and 4-2, but beating a close rival three times in one year is no picnic. In the other semifinal against Douglass, it should be a pretty epic section of the bracket as I think the first round match between a pair of seniors in Park of Lake Central and Watts of Hammond Morton starts things off with a bang. Winner of that match likely faces of with Penn senior Jeffrey Harper. Harper and Burford did wrestle earlier in the year, with Burford taking it 5-2. Burford also has beaten Park three times by decision 10-3, 16-4, and 9-7. I'll take Douglass, Burford, Maldonado, Watts. 152 - Another case of imbalance here as the two top dogs in this weight class would meet in a semifinal, with those two wrestlers being sophomore #8 state/ #1 SS Brock Ellis of Chesterton and senior #10/#2 Cole Cervantes of Griffith. Ellis beat Cervantes handily 17-5 in their only meeting of the season. Cervantes has just one other loss on the season, and that belongs to SS #4 Tyler Turley of Hobart, though they did wrestle 4 times and Cervantes won the other 3 matches albeit by close decision. Turley would have to come through to the finals for a rematch being on the other side of the bracket, however his entire road there is fraught with perilous matches. He starts it off with a grind of a match vs SS #9 junior Noah Hollendonner of Crown Point, which would set up a match with Logansport Regional champ soph Spencer Phillips of McCutcheon. Should he make it through that he does have a winnable match in the semis vs SS #7 senior Isaiah Mohmed of Wheeler. I am putting Mohmed in the semis but clearly Penn Regional champ soph Drew Mason of Mishawaka or #5 SS Jacob Beehn of Portage could slide in here as well. I'll take Ellis, Turley, Cervantes, Mohmed. 160 - Well this class is essentially the Donnell Washington show, and while there are some good wrestlers here I really don't see anyone in the field that can honestly pull a shocker...but that's simply a credit to the senior D Wash and not at all a knock on the rest of the field at 160. He's wrestling in peak form right now, pinning all three opponents at the Hobart Regional in the first period including SS #6 Jaymeire Johnson from Hammond Gavit in the final. Johnson has a heckuva battle in the blood round should he win his opening match with soph Jason Tankersley of Winamac. Love seeing the small schools like Winamac, Attica, and North White representing, but here at the SS we really start to see the benefit of wrestling a tough schedule and you start to throw out the records really because just looking at a couple match-ups like frosh Jacob SImpson of Hobart (24-8) and senior Koaldon Kerr of Attica (33-5). Simpson is 7th in the SS while Kerr is unranked because Attica is quite rural and at the mercy of their geographical footprint, as most of the schools nearby are 1A schools with a few 2As sprinkled in, and so you get some inflated records. Not to dismiss Kerr, because regardless 33 wins is an impressive accomplishment...and as a matter of fact I'll ride the Red Rambler to the blood round. Unfortunately waiting for him will likely be super frosh Braden Welch of Culver Military, who is wrestling out of his mind as he devastated the field at the Penn Regional, winning all three matches by first period fall including a 47 second championship victory over soph Brandon Estepp of Warsaw. What does he receive for snagging a regional runner-up? An unfortunate draw as junior and #2 SS Abel Verbeek of Lowell will toe the line opposite Estepp in that first round battle. Look for Verbeek to face off with senior and state #13 and SS #3 Brock Merkel of Harrison WL. Kind of a toss-up here so I'll take the senior Merkel as my pick to have his chance at Washington. Merkel hasn't wrestled most of the field here so he will be a wild card, but he showed he's in prime condition as he also pinned all three opponents in the first period. Lastly I wanted to highlight the opening round match between junior #9 Garcia of Penn and junior #8 Matt Neff of LaPorte...who I have riding into the semis where I have him falling to the red-hot frosh Welch. Neff has beaten Verbeek 7-2 and other fellow EC SS participant Chesterton's Gavin Layman (4-0) but split a pair with SS #10 Nick Taborski of Crown Peezy...winning once by pin but dropping a 9-5 decision. Unfortunately for Taborski he opens with the super frosh Welch. Give me Washington, Welch, Merkel, and Neff. 170 - If you ask me this has to be one of the most exciting weight classes that EC will offer up, with several different scenarios all likely to play out. Headlining the field will be the two Penn Regional championship contestants, with winner #4 state/#2 SS Joseph Walker of Mishawaka and #2/#1 Graham Calhoun of Plymouth...who suffered his first loss in the 4-3 decision. Those two did wrestle earlier in the season, with Calhoun winning that bout by an 8-7 decision. Walker has only lost one other time this season, and actually that was an impressive match nonetheless as he dropped a 2-1 decision to top ranked Nick South of Columbus East. South is one of the best wrestlers in the state in my opinion, regardless of class with a 2nd place finish at the Super 32 and an impressive 10-5 victory over Donnell Washington. Luckily Walker and Calhoun are on opposite sides of the bracket. My hometown Kankakee Valley's own sophomore Aiden Sneed has had a good season at 31-5, and has flirted with the bottom of the SS rankings for much of the season...but the key is that Sneed is wrestling his best matches of the season here lately as he won the CP regional with a pair of pins in the first two matches, including the semifinal win by fall (2:28) over fellow EC SS entry senior Luke Lenig of New Prairie and the impressive upset victory over #16/#4 soph Colin Kwiatkowski of Valparaiso by a 10-6 decision. Kwiatkowski will likely be in a tight blood round contest with #7 SS senior Josh Warmick of Portage, should Warmick handle felow senior SB Riley's #10 SS David Sheley. Warmick has had an up and down season with the 16-9 record, and likely battled injuries that reduced his match totals but he seems to be wrestling well as of late. His Hobart regional championship win over soph #8 SS Jason Streck of Merrillville probably wasn't an upset but the win by fall in 2:42 was certainly a surprise to this fan. I like Kwiatkowski to advance here and try to shock the state vs Walker...though I certainly am not predicting it. Looking back at Sneed's path, if he wins his favored 1st round match vs Twin Lakes senior Kaleb Cauble...he's in for a heckuva battle in the blood round. Jason Streck probably thought he would be favored as 2 seed in his opening match, but unfortunately for him the Penn regional had more than just the two hammers Walker and Calhoun...as #12/#3 soph Eli Pack of CMA was also in the field and fell to third place after a 9-3 semifinal loss to Walker. He would take out that frustration on Sheley in the 3rd place match, winning by fall in just 39 seconds. I'll take Sneed in a nail-biter, though mostly through hometown love as opposed to logic. The finals between Calhoun and Walker alone will be worth the price of admission here, and I'll take Calhoun to rebound. Give me Calhoun, Walker, Sneed, and Kwiatkowski. 182 - This will be a tale of broken hearts in this class, as we have some blood round matches that figure to light up the gymnasium. Part of the reason for the imbalanced field was a monumental Mishawaka Sectional upset as senior Alex Castro of Wawasee pulled off a 6-5 decision over previously unbeaten super frosh #4/#2 Andrew Donahue of CMA. This led to a semifinal match at the Penn regional with #2/#1 junior Jacob Laplace of Mishawaka, which would be a truly epic battle that Donahue would take with a 1-1 UTB victory. Senior #15/#5 Noah Brown did give Donahue quite a battle in the finals of that regional losing a 6-5 decision. Should both wrestlers win their favored matches, Brown will face off with Hobart Regional champ junior Khris Walton of Merrillville who won his title with a 4-3 decision over soph Cameron Smith of Hobart. Smith's blood round opponent would be the aforementioned Donahue, a tall order for the Brickie wrestler. One section of the bracket provides us a couple interesting matches, especially Attica's unranked Jack Hargan and his 33-2 record vs upset specialist Castro. Hargan was pretty impressive at the Logansport Regional, winning all three matches by fall with two in the first period and his championship pin in 3:04 over Logan's own, junior Joshua Manfred, who gets the unfortunate 1st round draw with LaPlace. Hargan's blood round opponent will likely be LaPorte senior #17/#6 Noah Perez, and with the unfamiliarity its hard to gauge this match. I have Hargan simply because I always root for the sub-500 student enrollment schools, and also because the young man is rolling. The final blood round match is a freaking doozy as Laplace will do battle with #5/#3 soph Evan Bates of Chesterton...and how unfortunate for the young Trojan wrestler to draw the top ranked Laplace after Bates pinned his way to the CP regional title match where he promptly dispatched of Perez by tech fall. My picks here are Laplace claiming the title, followed by Donahue, Brown, and Hargan. 195 - Looks like another weight class with the top two wrestlers likely meeting in the semis, as senior #2/#1 Ewan Donovan of Hebron and fellow senior #6/#2 Rockne Hurley of Penn. Hurley suffered just his second loss on the season in the Penn Regional final...dropping a 12-7 decision to upstart senior SS #10 James Snyder of Triton, who was perhaps a relative unknown before the tournament being from 1A Triton. However a Penn Regional title can change that in a hurry. Snyder opens with a winnable match as he will be heavily favored to knock out Munster senior Jonah Clark (5-5 record), but his blood round match will be a battle because fellow Crown Pizzle senior #18/#3 Ethan Potosky will present him with perhaps his most difficult opponent this year (no disrespect to Hurley). I'm going to stay on the Snyder train and ride him into the semis where his opponent is rather tough to predict. An opening round match between senior #14/#8 Damien Rodriguez of Wawasee and soph SS #5 Bobby Babcock of Hobart is a tough draw for both wrestlers, especially Babcock as Rodriguez is about as tough a 4 seed as you can get, but I'll take Babcock in light of his momentum and regional title. Likely meeting the winner of that match will be New Prairie senior SS #5 Grant Johnson...who I have taking that match and moving on to the semis to face Snyder. Donovan is obviously the odds on favorite here but look out for his blood round match that will feature either Merrillville senior #20/#4 Seyi Akinwumi or unranked senior Jacob Trefarn of CMA, who has just one loss on the season and claimed 3rd at the Penn Regional via a 9-4 decision over Rodriguez. I have Donovan, Snyder, Hurley, and Johnson moving on. 220 - Another weight class loaded with intriguing blood round matchups, and one where the top two wrestlers are on opposite sides of the bracket. I can't wait to see how Calumet senior and #2 state / #1 SS AJ Fowler performs as he looks like a man on a mission to rectify his loss to top ranked Jacob Bolte of Columbus East next week at the state finals. First things first though, and the draw did him no favors after his runner-up finish at the Hobart Regional, as he faces a likely blood round matchup with Penn Regional champ junior Johnathan Thomas (#17/#4) of SB Adams. I have him facing off with CP Regional champ junior Bryer Stoner of Lowell, who I have coming out of his four man section of the bracket in which all the wrestlers are unranked. The CP regional actually did not feature a ranked wrestler for 220, but Stoner did punctuate his journey with a 35 second pin for the championship over CP senior Frank Keller. If Stoner and Fowler were to meet in semis, it would be a rematch of a Fowler win by fall in 4:31. I have Fowler moving on. Hobart Regional champ senior Drew Bailey of Merrillville, who scored a tight 4-3 victory for the title over Fowler, should be heavily favored in his opening bout and figures to lock into a battle with senior Adam Berta of Penn for a spot in the semis. Bailey will prove to be a bit too much for Berta, and that would likely mean a semifinal vs #6/#2 senior Joey Kidwell (excellent football family too) of West Lafayette. Could go either way on this one obviously but I'm taking Kidwell in a tight one. A couple matches to consider...Ewan Donovan did win a 5-2 decision earlier this season over Kidwell, giving Kidwell his only loss, Bailey has two victories over Thomas this season, albeit very tight ones (4-3 & 8-7 SV). Fowler did pin Bailey in an earlier matchup this season, earning the fall in 5:31. I'm gonna go with Fowler, Kidwell, Bailey, and Stoner. 285 - Likely here on paper we will have a championship bout with junior #2/#1 Yehezquel Devault of Penn and undefeated senior #5/#2 Alex Cartwright of LaVille. Those two would have an epic championship bout in the Penn Regional final, with Cartwright coming out ahead 2-1. This is rather unfortunate news for Crown Point regional champ senior Nick Garcia (#13/3) of Lake Central, who would see Devault in the blood round should both wrestlers advance as expected...this would be a rematch which Devault won the first time 1-0. I have Devault squeaking by once again to face #18/#5 Will Crider of Harrison, who wouldn't face a ranked wrestler until he meets up with Devault. The Crider boys always bring it so expect him to give Devault everything he can handle. Cartwright will likely get the winner of a rematch between Merrillville senior #19/#4 Anthony Atria and Lowell senior and SS #8 Chandler Austgen. Atria won the first match 7-3...and i have him moving on to battle it out with Cartwright. I like Cartwright to rep the small schools and take it down. I have Cartwright, Devault, Crider, and Atria. Thank you for slogging through my write-up, I feel i am especially ready for Saturday now after all this research. Good luck to all participants.

By JD Greathouse Team Race at a Glance This is a four team race between #1 Mater Dei, #3 Columbus East, #4 Avon, and #12 Brownsburg. Brownsburg sent 14, Mater Dei sent 14, Columbus East sent 14, and Avon sent 13, respectively. Whoever can get the most through, and whoever wins the team title this weekend could be considered the favorite to hoist up the IHSAA team trophy on the floor of Banker’s Life. It looks like Mater Dei has too much firepower down low for any of the other teams to match, however, a few upsets and everything could change. If Mater Dei doesn’t win semi-state this weekend, my crystal ball tells me its Avon. Ranked Wrestlers Galore The Ford Center will have 87 state-ranked individuals competing on the floor this weekend. That averages out to 6+ ranked kids per weight class. Did someone say early morning fireworks? Undefeated Wrestlers 113 Cole Ross (Mater Dei) 120 Noah Gardner (Edgewood) 120 Brayden Littell (Center Grove) 120 Blake Boarman (Mater Dei) 145 Matthew Lee (Mater Dei) 170 Nick South (Columbus East) 182 Carson Brewer (Avon) 182 Levon Bellemy (Edgewood) 195 Will Nunn (Castle) 220 Jacob Bolte (Columbus East) 106 This weight class is relatively wide open with the exception of #3 Alec Freeman of Mater Dei being the heavy favorite to win out at the Ford Center. Two freshman in Logan Miller of Brownsburg and Blaze Garcia of Avon look to challenge the Mater Dei Wildcat. Miller lost a close one to Freeman earlier in the year, and Garcia/Freeman have yet to meet. The Front Runners #3/#1 Alec Freeman (Mater Dei) #8/#2 Logan Miller (Brownsburg) #3/#12 Blaze Garcia (Avon) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch #3/12 Blaze Garcia (Avon) vs. -#5 Ayden Amento (Evansville Central) OR -/#6 Cole Gentry (Tell City) Dark Horse(s) Being relatively unknown and winning regionals, could Milanes pull something out of his back pocket and punch his ticket to #TheBank? -/- Jainier Milanes (Jasper) #BankBound Top 4 Although anything can happen in the Ford Center, there shouldn’t be too many wrenches thrown into the 106 bracket this weekend. #3 Alec Freeman (Mater Dei) #8 Logan Miller (Brownsburg) #12 Blaze Garcia (Avon) Chris Newman (Mt. Vernon Posey) 113 There’s an immense amount of young talent at this weight highlighted by #5 Cole Ross of Mater Dei. Five other competitors are worthy of challenging Ross, but only four will punch their ticket to Banker’s Life on Saturday. There’s two ticket round matches especially intriguing, and after KT Nelson topped Hayden Watson last weekend, who knows what could happen this weekend. The Front Runners #5/#1 Cole Ross (Mater Dei) #6/#3 Ben Dalton (Monrovia) #8/#4 Hayden Watson (Center Grove) #9/#2 Gavin Alstott (Floyd Central) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch Here are four state qualifier worthy competitors, and only two will advance. Ross and Castelluccio competed previously this year - Ross the 6-4 winner. Alstott and Watson have yet to compete against each other, but Watson has had more quality competition and better wins. Don’t get too comfortable as the roof could come down early when these guys take the mat. #5/#1 Cole Ross (Mater Dei) vs. #19/#5 Nicolas Castelluccio (Bloomington South) #9/#2 Gavin Alstott (Floyd Central) vs. #8/#4 Hayden Watson (Center Grove) Dark Horse(s) KT Nelson beat Hayden Watson last weekend in the Mooresville regional final, 6-2. With a very nice draw and Brownsburg wrestling especially well in the postseason it wouldn’t be surprising to see KT Nelson make the finals on Saturday. #17/#6 KT Nelson (Brownsburg) #BankBound Top 4 #5 Cole Ross (Mater Dei) #8 Hayden Watson (Center Grove) #17 KT Nelson (Brownsburg) #6 Ben Dalton (Monrovia) 120 What. A. Bracket. 8 of the Top 20 will be here this weekend and the fireworks will start before you can even get in your seat! Conley vs. Scott and Casebolt vs. Montgomery all in round one? Blasphemy. Unfortunately, both Blake Boarman and Brayden Littell were thrown on to the same side of the bracket, so we may see a state finals match in the semifinals at the Ford Center . The Front Runners #1/#2 Brayden Littell (Center Grove) #2/#1 Blake Boarman (Mater Dei) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch With two wrestlers who have proven themselves worthy of being on the podium next weekend, how could you not want to watch Casebolt vs. Montgomery right away? The winner could make the finals, and better yet, set themselves up for a run to the semifinals in Banker’s Life next weekend. The quarter bracket consisting of Gardner, Conley, and Scott is eye-opening as well as only one will emerge through the smoke and punch their ticket. Will two younger men dethrone Noah Gardner’s last chance at making it on the podium, or will Gardner prevail? #9/#6 Noah Gardner (Edgewood) vs. #11/#4 Tyler Conley (Avon) OR #20/#7 Sam Scott (Heritage Hills) #7/#5 Devin Casebolt (Castle) vs. #6/#3 Kysen Montgomery (Brownsburg) Dark Horse(s) With so much firepower in one weight, is there truly one dark horse at this weight? Look for Sam Scott to try and break through the first time and qualify for the state tournament. #20/#7 Sam Scott (Heritage Hills) #BankBound Top 4 #2 Blake Boarman (Mater Dei) #6 Kysen Montgomery (Brownsburg) #1 Brayden Littell (Center Grove) #11 Tyler Conley (Avon) 126 With the Mooresville regional being loaded with talent, that set up some distasteful draws for this weekend. 6 of the Top 20 are in this bracket with this being Ray Rioux’s bracket to lose. Close behind are Kane Egli, Evan Lawhead, Cade Meier, and J Conway. Egli qualified two seasons ago at 113, and is the favorite to challenge Rioux in the finals. The Front Runners #4/#1 Ray Rioux (Avon) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch The quarter bracket with #17 Jeremy Clark, Landon Boe, and #14 Cade Meier is a meat-grinder. Meier and Clark have split on the year, and most likely will wrestle in the ticket round. #16 J Conway beat Meier last week and will have to get through #10 Evan Lawhead to make it to The Bank. #17/#6 Jeremy Clark (Columbus East) vs. #14/#4 Cade Meier (Bloomington South) #16/#5 J Conway (Floyd Central) vs. #10/#3 Evan Lawhead (Brownsburg) Dark Horse(s) Not a dark horse perse, but J Conway could make the finals this weekend and set himself up to make the podium at Bankers Life as a freshman in a very difficult 126 bracket. #16/#5 J Conway (Floyd Central) #BankBound Top 4 #4 Ray Rioux (Avon) #12 Kane Egli (Mater Dei) #16 J Conway (Floyd Central) #14 Cade Meier (Bloomington South) 132 Future Hoosier, Asa Garcia, has ran through in-state competition with his only loss coming in Ohio. Rumor has it coming from #TheCounty is that Asa keeps it rolling this weekend. The battle for second is a 5th place rematch from last year between Logan Boe and Drake Campbell. With a couple of terrible draws in each half of the bracket, this weight could fall apart on Saturday. The Front Runners #1/#1 Asa Garcia (Avon) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch Not in the ticket round, but Clay Egli has been cursed with terribly tough first round / ticket round matches throughout the course of his high school career. The senior has yet to qualify for the state tournament. Although Boe is the heavy favorite, Logan Boe vs. Joey Gordon is also a good ticket round match to watch. #11/#3 Clay Egli (Mater Dei) vs. #18/#5 Tyler Fuqua (Franklin Community) #7/#2 Logan Boe (Danville) vs. #19/#6 Joey Gordon (Columbus East) Dark Horse(s) Joey Gordon has been wrestling tough, and if he can upset Logan Boe, he could make the finals. #19/#6 Joey Gordon (Columbus East) #BankBound Top 4 #1 Asa Garcia (Avon) #9 Drake Campbell (Brownsburg) #7 Logan Boe (Danville) #11 Clay Egli (Mater Dei) 138 The top half of this bracket is loaded with four state-ranked wrestlers, and two interesting ticket round matches. The bottom half is relatively wide open with there being only two state ranked wrestlers. An Indiana commit, Cayden Rooks is looking to run through the competition as he has done at 138 all year. The Front Runners #1/#1 Cayden Rooks (Columbus East) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch The Mooresville regional is subject to another tough ticket round match between #10 Blaine Mayer and #15 Jayden Reynolds. With #14 Justice Cash getting upset in tiebreakers by #19 Owen Sego, it set up yet another year of Cash getting the short end of the stick with #1 Cayden Rooks. With Cash capable of pulling things out of a hat, if anyone will derail Rooks chances of making it to The Bank, it’s Cash. #10/#5 Blaine Meyer (Mater Dei) vs. #15/#4 Jayden Reynolds (Avon) #1/#1 Cayden Rooks (Columbus East) vs. #14/#3 Justice Cash (Bloomington North) Dark Horse(s) With the bottom half of this bracket being wide open, and with a win over Justice Cash last week, I feel like we see more from #19 Owen Sego this weekend. If he doesn’t pull an upset over Kreitzer in the semifinals, it should be closer than we expect. #19/#6 Owen Sego (Indian Creek) #BankBound Top 4 #1 Cayden Rooks (Columbus East) #8 Drew Kreitzer (Brownsburg) #10 Blaine Mayer (Mater Dei) #19 Owen Sego (Indian Creek) 145 Undefeated on the year, Matt Lee is on a tear and has beat up competition in both Michigan and Indiana. He will be tested by #7 Jonathan Kervin in the semifinals. Down low is a deep half bracket, with three people able to emerge from the smoke in the first quarter bracket. A tussle between #12 Burdon and #15 Fulks also looks to be in store on Saturday morning. The Front Runners #1/#1 Matt Lee (Mater Dei) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch The quarter bracket with Law, Hartz, and Koontz is a meat-grinder, but after Koontz fell 5-4 to #7 Kervin last weekend, I am impressed with the Edgewood freshman and look for him to make it through. #12 Burdon vs. #15 Fulks will also be a treat for the fans, but unfortunately not the wrestlers, as both deserve to punch their ticket. -/#7 Kade Law (Columbus East) vs. -/#6 Brooks Hartz (Castle) OR #18/#8 Matthew Koontz (Edgewood) #12/#4 LJ Burdon (Plainfield) vs. #15/#2 Jordan Fulks (Boonville) Dark Horse(s) On paper Matthew Koontz isn’t a favorite, but as a very talented freshman, I think Koontz will make the finals on Saturday and turn some heads. The freshman had a great Fargo this summer, and after some fall-out at Roncalli is up two weight classes and wrestling at a comfortable weight where I think he will surprise both wrestlers and fans. #18/#8 Matthew Koontz (Edgewood) #BankBound Top 4 #1/#1 Matt Lee (Mater Dei) #18/#8 Matthew Koontz (Edgewood) #7/#3 Jonathan Kervin (Floyd Central) #12/#4 LJ Burdon (Plainfield) 152 Eli Dickens is up a few weights from last year, and after having a successful preseason he has continued to climb the ladder. As impressive as he has been, Jake Schoenegge and Nathan Conley look to challenge him in the finals, but he must not overlook South senior Elliston Ross. Ross is incredibly funky, can score a lot of points, and is difficult to score on. This bracket should be interesting, and with a couple tough ticket round matches, definitely a bracket to look forward to. The Front Runners #1/#1 Eli Dickens (Mater Dei) #5/#3 Jake Schoenegge (Columbus East) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch Nathan Conley has had a solid year, but #18 Brad Springer of Southridge has as well and looks to upset the UIndy commit. Springer upset #12 Heckman last weekend in the Bloomington South regional semifinal. #5 Schoenegge and #12 Heckman is also a tough ticket round match. Conley and Schoenegge are both favorites, but with so much talent in the Evansville semi-state anything can happen. #7/#2 Nathan Conley (Avon) vs. #18/#6 Brad Springer (Southridge) #5/#3 Jake Schoenegge (Columbus East) vs. #12/#4 Austin Heckman (Edgewood) Dark Horse(s) After #18 Springer’s win over #12 Heckman, it would be interesting to see him keep it going. Similarly, the quarter bracket with #15 Ross, Scott, and Hall is as wide open of a quarter bracket as we have seen, and one of those two could potentially derail Ross’s plans of punching his ticket as a senior. #18/#6 Brad Springer (Southridge) -/- Devin Scott (Mooresville) -/- Isaac Hall (Jeffersonville) #BankBound Top 4 #1 Eli Dickens (Mater Dei) #5 Jake Schoenegge (Columbus East) #7 Nathan Conley (Avon) #15 Elliston Ross (Bloomington South) 160 Seven ranked wrestlers in the Top 20 highlight this bracket. Peyton Pruett is the favorite this weekend, but a rematch from the first weekend between him and Tristan Ruhlman is blooming in the semifinals. Pruett won 4-3 last time, and both have been on a roll since then. All four quarter brackets feature either difficult first round matches or terrible ticket round draws. A very fun bracket to watch, and even more interesting to see how it plays out. The Front Runners #4/#1 Peyton Pruett (Center Grove) #5/#2 Tristan Ruhlman (Bloomington South) #7/#5 Clay Singleton (Gibson Southern) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch Every single match at this weight is a match to watch, and as previously stated, all four quarter brackets have great first round and ticket round matches to watch. Don’t mind me as I write down four matches here. Sollars had a close match with Ruhlman earlier in the year, #4 vs. #7 in the ticket round, #8 vs. #15 in the ticket round, and a first round match between #20 and #17. This bracket is bonkers! #5/#2 Tristan Ruhlman (Bloomington South) vs. -/#8 Gabe Sollars (Mater Dei) #4/#1 Peyton Pruett (Center Grove) vs. #7/#5 Clay Singleton (Gibson Southern) #8/#3 Robert Deters (Castle) vs. #15/#6 Tucker Schank (Southridge) #20/- Gavyn Doane (North Knox) vs. #17/#4 Peyton Asbury (Brownsburg) Dark Horse(s) The upstart freshman, Gabe Sollars, has had close matches all year, including Ruhlman whom he has in the ticket round. Sollars is capable of pulling a string of upsets this weekend, but would anyone be surprised? -/#8 Gabe Sollars (Mater Dei) #BankBound Top 4 #5 Tristan Ruhlman (Bloomington South) #8 Robert Deters (Castle) #4 Peyton Pruett (Center Grove) #17 Peyton Asbury (Brownsburg) 170 This bracket isn’t as exciting as 160, but once the semifinals roll around things will start getting interesting. Blubaugh, South, Jean-Baptist, and Parkinson are all expected to make the finals with relative ease. In a battle of college commits, UIndy commit Blubaugh and IU commit South are expected to throw down in what is probably the fifth time in the last calendar year. Parkinson is the favorite to make the finals out of the bottom half of the bracket. The Front Runners #1/#1 Nick South (Columbus East) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch Nothing too intriguing, but a battle of ranked wrestlers goes down in the ticket round with Parkinson and McPike. #6/#2 Macartney Parkinson (Mater Dei) vs. #19/#6 Brendan McPike (Terre Haute South Vigo) Dark Horse(s) No one here too capable of pulling upsets in my opinion, but as always, anything can happen. #BankBound Top 4 #1 Nick South (Columbus East) #6 Macartney Parkinson (Mater Dei) #7 Derek Blubaugh (Bloomington South) #14 Thierry Jean-Baptist (Brownsburg) 182 This bracket has five state ranked individuals, and a predicted matchup between #1 Carson Brewer and upstart Mustang Levon Bellemy awaits in the finals. Bellemy and Brewer both come in undefeated on the year, and both are contenders to win a state title. A tough ticket round match between #10 Kemper and #9 Carson awaits on the bottom half of the bracket. The Front Runners #1/#2 Carson Brewer (Avon) #3/#1 Levon Bellemy (Edgewood) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch With a combined three losses between the two, #10 Kemper and #9 Carson is an unfortunate matchup in the ticket round. Carson is a senior and this is his last go at making it on the floor of Banker’s Life, and Kemper looks to derail those plans. #11 Rodgers will be tested in the first round against 2018 state qualifier Presson. The winner of that match will challenge Brewer to punch their ticket. #10/#4 McKinley Kemper (Evansville Central) vs. #9/#3 Trizton Carson (Danville) #1/#2 Carson Brewer (Avon) vs. #11/#5 Phoenix Rodgers (Heritage Hills) OR -/- Wade Presson (Bloomington South) Dark Horse(s) With not one state ranked individual in the top quarter bracket, senior Will Nix looks to slide his way on the Bankers Life floor next weekend. -/#6 Will Nix (Martinsville) #BankBound Top 4 #3 Levon Bellemy (Edgewood) #1 Carson Brewer (Avon) #9 Trizon Carson (Danville) Will Nix (Martinsville) 195 There are five ranked wrestlers in this bracket, but no ticket round matches expected to be especially intriguing. #4 Nunn and #5 Willham are expected to meet in the semifinals, with the winner to face either #16 Wampler or #17 Kenny / NR Carrier. This weight should be pretty chalky, but getting into the upperweights, anything can happen. The Front Runners #4/#1 Will Nunn (Castle) #5/#2 Nick Willhalm (Greenwood) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch In a battle of seniors, Carrier and Kenny duke it out in round one with the winner expected to punch their ticket, and challenge Wampler in the semifinals. Similarly, in a battle of state ranked individuals, Nunn and Hardy square off, although Nunn is considered the heavy favorite. -/#4 Dylan Carrier (Evansville Central) vs. #17/- Dakari Kenny (Pike) #4/#1 Will Nunn (Castle) vs. #19/#8 Destin Hardy (North Knox) Dark Horse(s) Stine has wrestled close matches all year, and will most likely wrestle Bloomington South transfer Nolan Wampler. Wampler has been relatively dominant, but as two seniors, I can see Stine potentially pulling an upset. -/#7 Griffin Stine (Martinsville) #BankBound Top 4 #4 Will Nunn (Castle) #16 Nolan Wampler (Bloomington South) #5 Nick Willham (Greenwood) #17 Dakari Kenny (Pike) 220 Six state ranked grapplers headline this weight class with #1 Jacob Bolte the favorite to run through the Ford Center on Saturday. His biggest test will come early in the ticket round against #7 Micah Dodson, who fell to #12 Lawson Aiken last weekend. Three tough ticket round matches highlight this weight, so when the big boys come around make sure you stay in your seat and don’t go running to the bathroom. The Front Runners #1/#1 Jacob Bolte (Columbus East) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch Fireworks are on deck in the ticket round as two people who should be on the podium in Bolte and Dodson wrestle in the ticket round, and then four other state worthy individuals duke it out in order to punch their ticket to #TheBank. #13/#5 Will Stewart (South Spencer) vs. #11/#3 Jayden Williams (Avon) #1/#1 Jacob Bolte (Columbus East) vs. #7/#2 Micah Dodson (Martinsville) #12/#4 Lawson Aiken (Brownsburg) vs. #19/#6 Macray Robinson (Gibson Southern) Dark Horse(s) Josh Howell won regionals last week and does not have another state or semi-state ranked opponent in the ticket round. He’s the favorite to advance, and could potentially keep it close with the Aiken / Robinson winner. -/#7 Josh Howell (Terre Haute South Vigo) #BankBound Top 4 #1 Jacob Bolte (Columbus East) #12 Lawson Aiken (Brownsburg) #11 Jayden Williams (Avon) Josh Howell (Terre Haute South Vigo) 285 Similar to 220, 6 ranked guys highlight this weight class, with a regional rematch between #3 Dorian Keys and #4 Muhammad Sidibe planned to go down in the finals. The bottom quarter bracket features three semi-state ranked grapplers, two of which are ranked in the state. The winner will test Keys in the semifinals. Adversely, Sidibe will be tested in the ticket round by #14 Haire. This is a great way to finish out the day as the big boys have great matches to watch all weekend. The Front Runners #3/#2 Dorian Keys (Brownsburg) #4/#1 Muhammad Sidibe (Ben Davis) Bank or Bust - Ticket Round Matches to Watch Two ticket round tussles feature state ranked wrestlers looking to punch their tickets. Gentry vs. Kramer is a #16 vs. #20, and Haire vs. Sidibe is #14 vs. #4. Another one to not overlook is Biddle vs. Breivogel on the top quarter bracket. Upsets are brewing southwest and all you have to do is make the trip to the Ford Center! #15/#8 Jack Biddle (Plainfield) vs. -/#7 Aaron Breivogel (Gibson Southern) #14/#4 Allen Haire (Terre Haute South Vigo) vs. #4/#1 Muhammad Sidibe (Ben Davis) #16/#3 Robbie Gentry (Mooresville) vs. #20/#6 Wyatt Kramer (Southridge) Dark Horse(s) Brevogel has been quiet this year, but the match between him and Biddle should send him to state. Breivogel lost 1-0 to Biddle previously this year. Should Brevogel derail Biddle’s plans to make it on the floor of Banker’s Life as a senior? -/#7 Aaron Breivogel (Gibson Southern) #BankBound Top 4 #3 Dorian Keys (Brownsburg) #4 Muhammad Sidibe (Ben Davis #20 Wyatt Kramer (Southridge) Aaron Breivogel (Gibson Southern) View full article

Nolf is kinda good. The bow and arrow is just freakin' nasty

Has this been confirmed by TheCountyTMZ? I know their best reporters are on it. Just drove by their offices and saw TeamGarcia with his yeti cup as his dozen or so minions were giving him the 411 on today’s events. Ohhhh ..... this just in. Per TheCountyTMZ, there is a 2 pound allowance at Evansville.

Region sports does an outstanding job streaming various sports in our area. My son lives in Arkansas and watches our various events

Still a Hoosier, getting my degree in Public Finance with a double minor in Business and Financial Literacy. Me not being an IU Wrestler is too much dirty laundry to openly air on a social media site. Don’t want to expose the coaching staff like that. You’re more than welcome to contact me privately though! Twitter: @JGreathouse141 Facebook: Jonathan Greathouse Email: jdgreath@iu.edu

Why are you not a fan of angel? Why are you not a Hoosier anymore? Btw... thanks for the clarification. Dont sleep on Trizton Carson.

He had the cradle locked up before you could even see it was there to get. Can't decide who I like watching more, Nolf or Nickal.... Also, can't wait to see Cassar vs. Steveson at the Big Ten Championships

Nice job, bud.

Coach Ryan said the magic # for them to win was 18 before the match started. Penn State may have that with 4 matches to go.

Just gonna throw this out there. Cooper Noehre is pronounced Nor-ee (like story) not No-air like some people seem to think. Fun write up, thanks for taking the time.

He said it best in his post match interview. Coaches told him he has 7 minutes to score and he used the full 7. Nolf is so fun to watch.

Huge win for lee! Relentless pace!

What a start for Penn State getting wins by RBY and Lee! PSU loses a point after RBY celebrates, but team score is 5-0 PSU after 2 matches. HUGE win for Nick Lee!

I did something very similar while working on my Pick 'Ems and compared notes. You nailed most everything I jotted down and caught some things I didn't. Excellent job. I know it took me a long time to look at every bracket in detail. Thought I would add a few thoughts.... 106 - Knowing very little about Jainier Milanes makes the bottom quarter bracket interesting to me. Can Noah Lykins win two tough matches and help CE in the team race? Can Chris Newman step up to the big leagues and become a State Qualifier (SQ)? His 4 losses are all by major decision or fall to Freeman (2x), and two of the best in Kentucky and Tennessee. Can he slide past the ticket round and give Logan Miller a battle or will it be more of the same when the competition really heats up? He's just a frosh, so definitely one to watch no matter what happens this weekend. And what can Milanes do with the winner of Lykins/Newman. The best of those 3 may not be in the picture for the Title, but still an interesting quarter to watch. 113 - Cole Ross and Hayden Watson got no favors from the bracket gods. They both begin with favored, but tough 1st round matches and then it is a meat grinder for both from there. If either or both make it to the finals, they'll have earned it. - A potential finals match of Ross vs. Ben Dalton would be a rematch of last year's Ticket Round. Ross won by fall in the 3rd period of a tough battle. The score was 0-0 heading into the 3rd and Ross scored a reversal and turned into a match ender. The difference between the two appeared razor thin. - I like your pick of KT Nelson as a darkhorse, though I think he is anything but. After a few losses to top competition in Michigan and Ohio, he fell in the rankings. But 6 of his 8 losses are outside of Indiana and the other two were by one point to Baumann and Watson. Sleeping on Nelson would be risky. Fans may, but my guess is wrestlers are not. - IMO, this is the deepest weight class and could produce the widest range of results. 120 - You already hit on Sam Scott and the crazy quarter bracket with him, Tyler Conley and Noah Gardner. While Conley and Gardner are returning SQ's, Scott lost a tough 9-7 decision to Kysen Montgomery last year in the Ticket Round and battled Boarman tough last week. He won't go away easily and is a perfect pick for a dark horse. - I believe the 1st Round match between Devon Casebolt and Kysen Montgomery is the only first round match in all of the Semi-states featuring two State Placers. - The first round match of Tanner Kane and Adonis Boyd is interesting. Don't know much about either other than they both had a 1 point loss to Aiden Reynolds. Could we see a 4 over 1?? 126 - Don't sleep on Cameron Amento in the first round against Cade Meier. Should be a good first round match. - Evan Overton vs. Seth Rorhbach should be another good first round match, though the winner is awarded with facing Ray Rioux and a likely trip home. - TeamGarcia has my interest piqued in Breken Greene. Looking forward to see him and Kane Egli in the Ticket Round. A win for Greene would be a huge blow to the Mater Dei team outlook. 132 - Clay Egli won in a 3-0 battle over Fuqua at the MD Holiday Classic. Egli pretty much controlled the match, but it was close enough that a break or two could swing it the other way easily. - This one should be mostly chalk. It's Asa Garcia Show with Bow and Campbell the feature match. - Can Egli handle Fuqua again and sneak up on Boe/Campbell and take 3rd Place, which would avoid a tough Friday night match against Viduya/Bailey, Gimson or Brooks? 138 - You hit the nail on the head. The real intrigue is with the Ticket Round match ups. The Reynolds - Mayer match will be a classic Avon - MD battle and could affect the team title. Reynolds won the first first match up 7-5 earlier in the year. Can Mayer return the favor when it counts the most? 145 - Matt Lee beat Kervin 14-4 at the MD Classic and by TF last year. Kervin is lanky and can provide trouble for some guys but Lee got to his legs at will and finished easily. Kervin took out highly ranked Kentucky's Payne Carr 16-4 in the semifinal of the tournament. Kervin's length will cause problems for some. 1st or 2nd Place will be no picnic Friday night at State if the EV SS matches up with New Castle. NC features the #s 2,3,4 & 5 ranked wrestlers at this weight. While Lee has beaten Warren, Graves and Mosconi, they were all very close matches. 152 - Can Jacob Cookerly pull some Brownsburg magic and upset Dickens in the Ticket Round? Dickens has been excellent all year, with his only losses to Michigan's top 2 152 lbers. Dickens won by major decision 15-6, over Ellisston Ross in their dual in December. - Nathan Conley and Jake Schoenegge is the match to see and either can beat Dickens for the Title. 160 - Lots of rematches at this weight. - Pruett has beaten Ruhlman and Deters - Ruhlman has beaten Sollars, Singleton, Schank and Doane - Sollars and Singleton have split two matches where each was dominated by the winner - Deters beat Sollars 1-0 and Singleton 3-2 All of this still leaves Pruett and Ruhlman as the men to beat, but could make for some interesting battles along the way.

I talked to the guy that does all of the equipment today and they just don't have enough cameras to do all 4 semi-states right now. They IHSAA needs to spend the $1500/package and get some more.

You know we have new folks on here all the time. I’d hate for them to search and search to try and find out who this JT kid is. Just doing my part to help.

WOW! What a young man to still have the perseverance to keep living life to the fullest!

Jacob is a great kid and a great teammate. Thanks for sharing this!

Why I like how The Berne Witness shows all 4 mats of wrestling. It would be cool if they could use the 2 channels to broadcast 2 mats on each channel while showing all 4 on each channel. However, that is not feasible at this time. They do an excellent job covering sports for our community.

You talk about being a inspiration, this young man amazing! It broke my heart reading about the abuse he lived through and that hits home BIG TIME! Thanks for posting this Joe.. this young man has a bright bright future and regardless of what happens he's a champion of life! And if he doesn't make it to state he should compete at Frosh/ sophomore state.

Frosh-Soph - 170 1st Place - Silas Allred of Shenandoah 2nd Place - Laik Minnick of Eastside 3rd Place - Trizton Carson of Contenders WA 4th Place - Brandon Lucero of Merrillville 5th Place - Trevon Booker of Lawrence Central 6th Place - Micah Dodson of Martinsville 7th Place - Sam Smith of Southern Wells 8th Place - Garrett Hetzner of Eastern (Greentown)

Quick correction- it’s KT Nelson

This young man will be competing at the East Chicago semistate Saturday. Down deep, how can you not cheer for him? When he wrestles, he will have a lady running circles around the mat and using sign language to get the coaches' instructions to him. It is an amazing sight.

Wow. Amazing.

Thanks Mr Garcia. Definitely had you and #TheCounty in mind haha.

As a broadcaster people have no idea how much time and money it takes to broadcast an event. It’s also a thankless job. It could be a perfect broadcast with one wrong name and people start getting mad. With four mats going you miss the one kid from a small school the whole town is in uproar because they didn’t travel the 2.5 hours to see it in person.

Great Job JD, my hashtag loving self couldn’t do it any better .

Great Job....Thank You

Absolutely nothing wrong with Pickleball. If I could start a Pickleball team the Region would rock the Indiana Pickleball world. I love my pickleball! I spend more time going to pickleball tournaments in the off-season then I do going to little kids tournaments anymore.

You seriously doubted my Excel skills? This ain't my first bracket rodeo.

106-Cernus, Hall, Roberson, Bailey 113-Moran, Cruz, Diaz, Tattini 120-Bettich, Finnearty, Haskins, Alexander 126-Mendez, Mark, Peele, Schammert 132-Moreno, Brooks, Hegedus, Hickman 138-Alexander, Ponce, Nisley, Johnson 145-Maldonado, Douglas, Burford, Park 152-Ellis, Turley, Cervantes, Beehn 160-Washington, Welch, Verbeek, Johnson 170-Calhoun, Walker, Pack, Warmick 182-LaPlace, Donahue, Walton, Castro 195-Donavan, Potosky, Hurley, Rodriguez 220-Fowler,Bailey, Kidwell, Stoner 285-Cartwright, Garcia, Atria, Crider

Love this two sentence sequence. Which is it? Don't have top brag or brag?

Still waiting for anyone to provide one instance where I was "hating" on Chad Red. Again, your inability to understand the difference between asking questions and providing potential answers vs. making accusations or "hating" is comical. As for the rest, I believe it speaks for itself.....

It's comical that you are telling me to take it easy it's only a board, when it was your panties that got in a bunch in the first place. You told me to study and learn, when nothing I stated had anything to do with a lack of knowledge. You didn't give your opinion, you questioned others knowledge and whether they were an elite wrestler and you didn't like someone's use of the word flaw because you don't "prescribe" to it in reference to wrestling. You got in my craw because you made invalid criticisms and came off like you knew more than everyone else, not only to me. I can live with what I post here. I know the limits of my knowledge and know when it is appropriate to ask questions. And I do recognize awesomeness. I just haven't seen any of it in your posts. Have a great day. It's just a message board, right Luke?

I don't. I'm asking. You seem to present yourself as knowing more than everyone else. I am not looking through any "lenses" but am simply asking questions that are fair and reasonable to anyone that knows anything about the sport, whether they wrestled at the collegiate level or not. I've you've read this thread and the other college thread and paid attention, you would have read that I thought Chad would win the match. You would have also read discussions on what could have been holding Chad back this year and at NO point did I ever act as if I knew the answer. I simply asked questions and posed possibilities (injury, health, weight management, etc. for example). At some point, people must understand the difference between asking a question or posing a possibility to making an accusation. Perhaps you can do that while teaching me the definition of the word flaw? I'd welcome that discussion. Lastly, if you have seen me make any remarks about Chad that were disrespectful, please point them out to me. Chad was one helluva a HS wrestler. He was an NCAA All-American as a redshirt freshman. His sophomore year, to this point has not held up to that level. Yet there is time. It can still happen. But the fact is he is 6-7 against D1 competition. It doesn't take an NCAA All-American to know that is not what most would expect from an All-American. Again, to clarify, the criticism is about his performance, not him. There IS a difference. Enjoy your day on your high horse.

Nope don’t need to know