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Two of Indiana’s best officials officiated for the last time yesterday. I always enjoyed the conversations I had with these two and as good of officials as they were, they were better human beings. When I went back to school to get my teaching license, Mr. Mughmaw was very supportive and gave me great advice. Thank you for your service to this great sport, your presence will be missed. David Jenkins Seabreeze High School Daytona Beach, FL

The irony of the whole situation is the kid being kept from wrestling is the one that helped bring all these out-of-state kids to Penn!

A great day of wrestling on First Avenue! Let us look at how it shook out. 106- In one of the day’s key matchups, North Posey’s Blake Zirkelbach and Mater Dei’s Evan Seng served up a good one, with Seng collecting a 5-1 win. It is entirely possible that you will see this championship match the next two weeks. 113 & 120- Mater Dei’s Reed Egli and Cole Ross coasted, pinning the field. 126- Do not get into a chess match with MD’s Jacob Pierre. Pierre got the big end of 3-1 stick against a game Zach Traylor of Reitz. 132 & 138- Mater Dei practice partners, Alec Freeman and Blake Boarman took different paths to dominance, with Freeman pinning the field and Boarman teching the field. 145- In the other highly anticipated final, Mater Dei’s Ashton Hayhurst was impressive against Mt. Vernon’s Chris Newman. From the opening whistle, Hayhurst wrestled as if anything less than a pin would be underachievement. Hayhurst delivered, scoring the fall against a quality opponent. 152 & 160- Mater Dei’s Scott Fitts mounted the top of the podium, followed by a championship run offered by Brody Baumann. 170- Mt. Vernon’s Brady Hook broke the string of MD champs with a 5-2 win over MD’s Blake Weidner. Hook was composed and wrestled with a purpose. We may see these two go at again in a week. 182- MD’s Gabe Sollars continued his reign of terror, collecting three pins and extending his perfect season. 195- NP’s Wyatt Willman followed with a compelling case, eventually pinning Mt. Vernon’s Blake Ritzert and rolling his record up to 25-0. 220- MD’s Nick Boots pushed the pace against Reitz’s Logan Huggins and closed the gap. At the end of the day, Huggins claimed an 8-4 victory. Huggins is slick and heady. He is a solid 27-0. 285- Did you see MD’s James Ralph lift North’s Gage Sales head-high with an inside single leg? Wow! That was a lot of force hitting the mat. Do not get into a strength contest with Ralph. North Posey had a good day and will advance nine to the regional, most of whom have a good chance of wrestling in Jasper the following weekend. NP is a solid team. Could North Posey have nudged Boonville for the Castle Sectional title? Mt. Vernon’s day was mixed; they advance six to the North Regional. In a sport filled with thrilling wins and bitter disappointments, Saturday could not have been much better for Mater Dei as the ‘Cats put up a gaudy 331.5 points. The Wildcats wrestled to their top seeds, while winning at 106 and 145, where they were two-seeds. Unseeded sophomore Clay Martin put an exclamation mark on the day, finishing third at 195. Spoiler alert: push on him and you will receive a nasty surprise.

Someone went to a lot of trouble preventing arguably the states best wrestler the opportunity to compete. Sounded like the kid was just looking for a better situation, with a coach that had more interest in helping him than following around a girl that graduated years ago and living off her success.

I cannot adequately express how much I have enjoyed knowing and watching Jim and Keith work the mats. I first met Keith when he was coaching and then encountered him as a ref and likewise, Jim as a ref. Both these men have always been interested in what’s best for the wrestlers and they conducted themselves in that manner. I have the greatest respect for them.

I’m here for all of it..or until it gets nuked, whichever comes first! Bring it, can’t wait!

I am tired of the hypocrisy. Recently a very talented wrestler was declared ineligible to participate in the state wrestling tournament. This did not only deny a precious year to a high school kid, but also all of Indiana eager to see one of the nations finest improving his craft for all of Indiana’s enjoyment. The reason for this travesty was due to Penn finding a loophole in the Indiana by-laws and exploiting it. Why? No one knows for sure, but what is for sure is a great ambassador for the sport we love will not be showcased on Indiana’s grandest stage. So why is this hypocrisy? Penn has 4 wrestlers from out of state competing for them. A wrestler from Texas, Michigan, Illinois, and South Carolina all of a sudden transferred to Penn this year. Yet there has been no investigation, despite overwhelming evidence of recruiting. The reason for this is simple, most adults realize these kids only have a limited time in school and if they want to leave to a different school, they let them because it is in the best interest for the kid. This happens often in northern Indiana, I am sure also throughout the state and all over the country. In fact, many, many, wrestlers from various programs in northern Indiana have transferred to join Penn. Penn accepts them wholeheartedly. No one fought the transfer because why punish the kid. However, when Penn loses a kid the first thing they do is block the kid. Blatant Hypocrisy.

For those of you that can't compete today and those that lose the chance in the coming weeks. You are all champions in my book. If it is from Covid or injury, keep your heads up. These are crazy times and I know your dreams have been crushed. Again keep your heads up and you are all champions. Good Luck and God Bless.

So they have guy from out of the state who live in their district...... people that want to move into our state for our competition and better exposure BRING IT ON!!! Come and make our state better at wrestling and give us more depth.

170 Matthew Morris over #16 and SS #3 Jacob Kreager 8-7 new haven sectional finals

Penn hosted Regionals last year and the head coach was MIA pursuing the interest stated above

106 will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with #6 Charlie Larocca 113 will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with #7 Reese Courtney #20 Joey Buttler 120 will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with #15 Braden Haines #23 Maleec Stanberry 220 will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with #22 jakkarey Oliver And honestly could be a lot deeper Brownsburg down 3 studs. Center Grove without a hammer and whiteland missing brooks! Hands down the hardest regional in the state

I can list hella schools that actively “recruit”. The IHSAA is a joke when it comes to enforcing what rules and expectations they set. Unfortunately it all falls on the AD. The biggest lesson wrestling has taught me is integrity, my wish is for everyone who loves and enjoys this sport can also learn the same thing.

ALL BANANAS ARE SPONSORED BY #TheCounty #BananaCartel #wannamakeadeal 106 will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with #6 Charlie Larocca 113 will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with #7 Reese Courtney #20 Joey Buttler 120 will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with #15 Braden Haines #23 Maleec Stanberry 126- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State and could be Head Liner weight class You got State Ranked *one not going Semi State* #2 Brady Ison #3 Cheaney Schoeff #13 Jacob Bechert #17 Micheal Tharpe #19 Isaiah Pugh 132- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State You got State Ranked #4 Kysen Montgomery #8 Ben “The Bandit” Dalton #19 Jacob Fox #25 Noah Clouser 138- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State You got State Ranked #6 Diesel Duncan #11 Connor Alcala #16 Colton Roberts #18 Gavin Garcia 145- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State you got State Ranked #1 Jaden Reynolds #3 Hayden Watson #9 Blaze Garcia #18 A. Oliver 152- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State you got State Ranked #4 Riley Rust #7 Tyler Conley #14 Connor Holt #19 Logan Carrington 160- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State you got State Ranked #11 Landon Boe #13 Mark Everman #15 Kailen Kieth #17 Nick Cicciarelli 182- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with 3 wrestlers in the Top 10 #1 Drake Buchanan #6 Jalan Ward #9 Dominic Pugliese 195- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with 3 wrestlers in the Top 10 #6 Harris Eason #7 Brach Carrington #9 Ke’Shawn Dickens 220 will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State with #22 jakkarey Oliver 285- will be Indianamat Bananas to go to Semi State You got State Ranked #3 Leighton Jones #5 Jacob Johnson #16 Owen Green #17 Amara Kaba added what info @formercollegekid to the Bananas

Monrovia is taking 8. Most under current head coach Kevin Blundell.

So it sounds like the kid moved to the new district. If a family moves it seems hard to justify the kid not being able to compete.

#5 Diesel Duncan over #18 Gavin Garcia 12-10 #18 Gavin Garcia over #16 Colton Roberts 8-7

Ike Ruble can definitely push Cottey

Here is the list... I know I have every school that got all 14 through. EMD is taking all 14 Charlestown is taking all 14 Crown Point is taking all 14 Columbus East is taking all 14 Cathedral is taking all 14 Mishawaka is taking all 14 Zionsville is taking all 14 Penn is taking all 14 Westfield is taking all 14 Perry is taking all 14 Warren Central is talking all 14 East Central 13 Chesterton 13 Boonville 13 New Prairie 13 Prairie Heights 13 Centerville 13 Carmel 13 Brownsburg 12 Center Grove 12 Bloomington South 12 Floyd Central 12 Jasper 12 Heritage Hills 12 Northridge 12 Oak Hill 12 FW Caroll 12 Elkhart 11 Garrett 11 Terre Haute South 11 Castle 10 Northwood 10 Franklin 10 Avon 10 New Castle 10 Leo 10 Lake Central 10 E.R. Memorial 10 Homestead 10 North posey 9 Columbia city 9 Tell City 9 Southridge 9 Fort Wayne Snider 9 New Haven 9

Somehow I feel like Perry Meridian fans will still attempt to save all the open seats in BLF. I was really looking forward to the Carolina blue jackets covering dozens of seats and grown men and women staring daggers through you if you dare sit in their proxomity.

LB was on a mission today. Tech'd Uhlman and made it look EASY. He looked top 4 caliber today.

David Pierson 9-3 over #5 Christian white Jeremiah Hernandez fall over Thomas Defreese Jaylin summers by fall over Ernest Mosconi and a decision 7-3 Seth Ortel

Way to make Connersville feel at home

Madison taking 10 out of 12

I just watched this on BTN+ and was blown away by the matches. So many Indiana guys wrestling. DJ Washington is a complete stud!

I don’t know how much the fine was but I do know the school meant to put a forfeit in that weight class.

What happened to 'Willems at 182 for CP? Thought he had a nice season going and would make some noise in the post season

Even if it’s a limited amount of fans I’m really hoping the IHSAA and BLF can come to an agreement.... the kids deserve the eww-ahhs from the fans when a big move is hit.

Western qualified 11

Question about the Mooresville regional. They are listed as a category 7 regional. The chart only goes up to category 6. So what's up with that?

Probably just the natural beauty of the South Bend metro area?

I assume this is Christian Carroll and Penn

Fishers qualified 10/13.

106- #1 Bailey techs #23 Tolbert in 2:36 160 - #25 Cervantes wins by medical forfeit over #7 turley 170- # 5 Simpson over #8 (SS) Herrera (dec 3-2) 285 - #12 (SS) Garett over #25 state Cory hill (dec 5-2)

Hamilton Heights is taking 10.

Rooks best verkleeren too!

It is strange that a school would actively recruit wrestlers from out of state and then deny or protest another wrestler wanting to leave their program. Let the kids wrestle.

Honestly, I’m not going to say that I expected a win over northwestern, but I’m looking at a young squad that st times doubting themselves sometimes. All things equal, The mental to the physical is as 4 is to 1 in this sport. Keep it up Indiana.

MD is freaking Stacked...

I was just trying to be funny so please don't get offended anyone. North Posey and Mt. Vernon coming in 2nd and 3rd both schools coached by MD alum. Hope everyone stays healthy this week.

DJ Washington knocked off #7 Starocci 10-9, was up 10-1 but held off after a big comeback effort.

and good news is they will most likely be right back at it again next weekend

Placement definitely matters. Someone may know that they can’t beat the top 2 from the other sectional so they need to get 2nd in their own sectional to avoid seeing those two guys, so it’s smart to try to get to the bottom side of the bracket to try to get to the finals to make your first round regional match easier.

That Forfeit kid is a Hammer!

Majority of these High School wrestlers know of each other and can “hang out” and not have to be supervised like a 2nd grader I hope.

This is why Edgewood intends on qualifying their entire team for day 2; to ensure we have a giant section of fans for our team.

Two tickets for parents!!!! 2 tickets per wrestler should be up to par for County guidelines. Big thanks to the IHSAA/ Coaches & AD’s who have fought for not taking sports away from our kids. Some kids, sports is all they have!!

Middle School weights are different across the state, the middle school seasons are different across the state too. The IHWCA has actually developed a committee to help pull middle school wrestling together as a state to help improve it as a whole. The IHSWCA Middle School State Tournament could be a good model for this. We felt that the weight classes for Heartland Duals didn't reflect what would be ideal, we felt that there weren't enough weight classes. So we went from 17 to 22 weight classes. Then we wanted to model the age group with the IHSAA age group, so you can't be 16 before the tournament (just like you can't be 20 before the IHSAA tournament), and we added 5th graders (as many middle schools across the state include 5th graders). We may end up taking the Heartland Duals qualifying portion away from the tournament, we may just use it as criteria. This was a miscommunication between the IHSWCA and the ISWA, I'll take the blame for this and I apologize the confusion it may cause. All the decision we make are to create opportunities for our wrestlers and to improve Indiana wrestling. Here's the link to the MS State Tournament, I'd be happy to answer any questions. https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/opentournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=617632132