Leaderboard

Overall We are closing in on another state finals in what has been an extraordinary year all around. However, with all the uncertainly around us, there is one thing that remains the same. That is the IndianaMat rankings are always top notch. This year Mike Reiser has upped the ante by getting 186 out of 224 qualifiers in the last set of rankings. Just a quick reminder that we lock the rankings before the first whistle at sectional and let them ride. We saw top wrestlers missing weight or getting hit with COVID quarantines, yet the rankings still held serve. There is only one match in the whole first round that puts two wrestlers that were not in the rankings against each other. Mike is still working on a perfect bracket of all ranked wrestlers making the state finals. This year 106, 132, and 170 all had 15 of 16 qualifiers in the rankings. As always we have created brackets with our rankings on them for you to download and use for all your pick’em purposes. This year we have two sets, one with just state rankings and one with both semi-state and state rankings. I would hold off printing any of these out as your official copies as there may be a couple more surprises added to the brackets this week. IndianaMat with semi-state and state rankings IndianaMat with state rankings ONLY Season by season ranked wrestlers advancing to state *Note Mike Reiser took over the rankings in 2012 2021- 186 2020- 180 2019- 175 2018- 179 2017- 169 2016- 175 2015- 172 2014- 171 2013- 171 2012- 170 2011- 157 2010- 159 2009- 143 106lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15 Unranked qualifiers: Vicente Eckman- Goshen First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #7 Ashton Jackson(LaPorte) vs. #9 Liam Krueger(Columbus East) #5 Nathan Smith(Southport) vs. #25 Cody Rowles(Jay County) #4 Evan Seng(Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #20 Dylan Bennett(Penn) #2 Evan Dickey(Cathedral) vs. #16 Keegan Malott(East Noble) #1 Jeffrey Bailey(River Forest) vs. #19 Donnie Feeler(Crawford County) #8 Tanner Tishner(Western) vs. #10 Zac Dray(Warren Central) #13 Blake Zirkelbach(North Posey) vs. #22 Evan Cruz(Crown Point) 113lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14 Unranked qualifiers: Drake Fritz- West Central Beau Brabender- Northridge First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #4 Kyrel Leavell(Warren Central) vs. #7 Reese Courtney(Center Grove) #15 Jared Brooks(Wabash) vs. #21 Bryce Denton(Penn) #1 Alex Cottey(Perry Meridian) vs. #16 Reed Egli(Evansville Mater Dei) #5 Hayden Brady(Garrett) vs. #9 Anthony Bahl(Crown Point) #14 Isaac Ward(Carmel) vs. #20 Joey Buttler(Whiteland) #6 Coy Hammack(Tell City) vs. #13 Dylan Driver(Westfield) 120lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13 Unranked qualifiers: Nathaniel Hennessey- Seeger Tristian Vaughn- Harrison (WL) Travis Haug- Forest Park First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #2 Logan Frazier(Crown Point) vs. #8 Carleton Perry(Warren Central) #3 Lane Gilbert(Sullivan) vs. #14 Justin Puckett(Northridge) #9 Tony Wood(Jay County) vs. #15 Braden Haines(Brownsburg) #1 Sergio Lemley(Chesterton) vs. #13 Keaton Morton(Perry Meridian) #4 Cole Ross(Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #21 Austin Lewis(Bluffton) 126lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14 Unranked qualifiers: Brenden Dilley- Wawasee Devin Wible- Hobart First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #2 Brady Ison(Brownsburg) vs. #7 Elijah Anthony(Frankfort) #1 Zeke Seltzer(Cathedral) vs. #17 Michael Tharpe(Center Grove) #8 Matteo Vargo(Penn) vs. #11 Logan Uhlman(Adams Central) #5 Sam Goin(Crown Point) vs. #23 Harper Dedman(Oak Hill) #4 Bryce Lowery(Roncalli) vs. #13 Jacob Bechert(Franklin Community) #3 Cheaney Schoeff(Avon) vs. #14 Blake Wolf(East Central). 132lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15 Unranked qualifiers: Dominic Litchfield- Bellmont First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #3 Aidan Torres(Chesterton) vs. #15 Devin Frazier(Centerville) #9 David Pierson(Warren Central) vs. #24 Lakin Webb(Rensselaer Central) #8 Ben Dalton(Monrovia) vs. #11 Dylan Stroud(Manchester) #2 Ian Heath(Leo) vs. #17 Cade Meier(Bloomington South) #10 Cole Solomey(Kankakee Valley) vs. #16 Anthony Hughes(Lawrence North) #4 Kysen Montgomery(Brownsburg) vs. #22 Cameron Clark(Jay County) #7 Stephen Roberson(Crown Point) vs. #12 Brac Hooper(Carmel) 138lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14 Unranked qualifiers: Jarrett Forrester- Columbia City Kyle Carter- Rensselaer Central First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #2 Delaney Ruhlman(Bloomington South) vs. #9 Bradley Conrad(Portage) #15 Brody Arthur(Oak Hill) vs. #19 Jared Brown(Pendleton Heights) #4 Gavinn Alstott(Floyd Central) vs. #5 Jace Alexander(Wawasee) #1 Jesse Mendez(Crown Point) vs. #18 Gavin Garcia(Brownsburg) #10 Hudson Harreld(Zionsville) vs. #21 Logan Hooley(Northridge) #14 Seth Lawson(Frankton) vs. #25 Julius Gerencser(Daleville) 145lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13 Unranked qualifiers: Cameron Powell- Mishawaka Braden Nuest- West Central James Smith- Penn First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #1 Jaden Reynolds(Avon) vs. #11 Max Naselroad(Alexandria Monroe) #2 Logan Wagner(Zionsville) vs. #24 Connor Gilles(Jeffersonville) #10 Ethan Kaiser(Chesterton) vs. #23 Sam Levitz(Prairie Heights) #6 Hunter May(Floyd Central) vs. #25 Brady McKivitz(Perry Meridian) #3 Hayden Watson(Center Grove) vs. #13 Eli Otto(South Dearborn) 152lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14 Unranked qualifiers: Avery Wills- Eastern Hancock Chase Leech- Garrett First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #11 Aidan Hardcastle(Oak Hill) vs. #21 Aiden Farmer(Evansville Memorial) #2 Matthew Koontz(Perry Meridian) vs. #18 Aidan Pollitt(Valparaiso) #3 Javen Estrada(Crown Point) vs. #20 Ben Wolf(East Central) #7 Tyler Conley(Avon) vs. #8 Alex Currie(Adams Central) #1 Jajuan Anderson(Warren Central) vs. #23 Isaiah Ponce(Lake Central) #9 Evan Ulrick(Carroll (Fort Wayne)) vs. #10 Ben Phillips(Charlestown) 160lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12 Unranked qualifiers: Jakob Sheets- Perry Meridian Logan Farnell- Maconaquah Bradey Pittman- Plymouth Bray Emerine- Floyd Central First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #2 Brody Baumann(Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #16 Eli Hilger(Bishop Dwenger) #3 Andrew Wilson(Cathedral) vs. #8 Aaron Steenbeke(Penn) #1 Robert Major(Carmel) vs. #23 Jamaal Salary(LaPorte) #11 Landon Boe(Plainfield) vs. #14 Eli Johnson(Norwell) 170lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15 Unranked qualifiers: Jacob Graden- East Noble First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #13 Jajuan Dale(Perry Meridian) vs. #16 Jacob Kreager(Snider) #11 Codei Khawaja(Floyd Central) vs. #18 Aiden Sneed(Kankakee Valley) #1 Bryer Hall(East Central) vs. #19 Duke Myers(Bellmont) #5 John Purdy(Castle) vs. #8 Jacob Simpson(Hobart) #6 Sam Morrill(Columbus East) vs. #23 Spencer Phillips(McCutcheon) #4 Brodie Porter(Eastern (Greentown)) vs. #12 Shane Bates(Zionsville) #2 Pate Eastin(Penn) vs. #3 Tyler Fuqua(Franklin Community) 182lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 9 Unranked qualifiers: Jett Thompson- Oak Hill Jake Sues- Lake Central Brandon Estepp- Warsaw Je'kwan Williams- Marion Johnny Weisheit- Franklin Central Hunter Page- Monroe Central Reid Schroeder- Southridge First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #1 Drake Buchanan(Center Grove) vs. #16 Sam Peeples(Roncalli) #9 Dominic Pugliese(Tri-West Hendricks) vs. #10 Riley Woodall(Southmont) First round match-ups of unranked wrestlers: Jake Sues(Lake Central) vs. Jett Thompson(Oak Hill) 195lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13 Unranked qualifiers: Ryan Bovard- East Central Chad Washburn- Kokomo Bazle Owens- Tippecanoe Valley First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #9 Ke'Shawn Dickens(Avon) vs. #12 Blake Heyerly(Adams Central) #8 Matt Lepper(Carroll (Fort Wayne)) vs. #15 Wyatt Willman(North Posey) #6 Harris Eason(Franklin Community) vs. #16 Ibrahim Khaoucha(Northridge) #4 Johnny Parker(Cathedral) vs. #10 Gage DeMarco(Chesterton) #3 Connor Barket(West Lafayette) vs. #11 Max Broom(Hamilton Southeastern) 220lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11 Unranked qualifiers: Peyton Kendall- Penn RJ Dilbone- Fremont Coy Brames- Angola Nolan Skaggs- Franklin Community Ian Clifford- Columbia City First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #7 Jack Taylor(New Castle) vs. #17 Julante Hinton(Northrop) #3 Jason Streck(Merrillville) vs. #14 Kelton Farmer(Evansville Memorial) #5 Josh Howell(Terre Haute South) vs. #12 Jacob Raub(Lafayette Jefferson) 285lbs Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14 Unranked qualifiers: Jacob Sommer- Elkhart Brock Donati- Penn First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers: #8 Mariere Omonode(West Lafayette) vs. #22 Makhi Watts(North Central) #7 Matthew Munoz(Jeffersonville) vs. #9 Brandon Villafuerte(Angola) #1 Braydon Erb(Western) vs. #5 Jacob Johnson(Franklin Community) #4 Antone Alexander(Franklin Central) vs. #6 Hunter Whitenack(New Prairie) #2 Reeve Muncie(Carroll (Fort Wayne)) vs. #17 Amara Kaba(Pike) #13 Edgar Decker(Gavit) vs. #18 Mihail Platonov(Westfield)

Andrew King has seen plenty in his 35 years a wrestling coach at Oak Hill High School. Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Famer King has enjoyed more than 450 dual-meet victories and lots of in-season and postseason championships. But the 1981 Oak Hill and 1985 DePauw University graduate had never seen the Eagles celebrate an IHSAA semistate team title until Saturday, Feb. 13 at Memorial Coliseum. “The pieces all fell together,” said King moments after his team hoisted the trophy. “It’s a great feeling for Oak Hill. “Most people don’t know where Oak Hill is.” The Grant County school of about 520 students is located in Converse, Ind. Oak Hill’s first semistate crown came on the day the Eagles had two individual semistate winners — 152-pound senior Aidan Hardcastle and 138-pound junior Brody Arthur — for the first time.Hardcastle (36-0 on the 2020-21 season) pinned South Adams junior A.J. Dull in 5:26, bested Huntington North senior Julian Fletcher by 13-2 major decision and edged Adams Central junior Alex Currie 2-1 before besting Carroll senior Evan Ulrick 5-2 in the finals. Arthur (38-1) scored four pins for his semistate championship — Carroll junior Jared Landez in 3:13, Lakeland junior Ben Miller in 2:11, Columbia City senior Jarrett Forrester in 2:58 prior to Daleville junior Julius Gerencser in 1:38 in the finals. Seniors Jett Thompson (second at 182) and Harper Dedman (fourth at 126) were also placers for Oak Hill. Thompson goes to Indy at 34-4 while Dedman is 27-4. Senior Julian Perez (120) and Freshman Tyson Kendall (106) also represented the Eagles at semistate. The top four in each weight division advanced to the first round of the State Finals Friday, Feb. 19 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. King talked about all the time put in my his wrestlers and their parents, grandparents and siblings. “That’s why makes a great wrestling program — the families that are involved,” said King. “It’s a family affair. “I”m proud to be a part of it. That’s all I am — a part of it — and everybody plays a part.” With 76.5 points, Oak Hill finished ahead of Western (67.5), Northridge (64.5), Fort Wayne Carroll (63) and the rest of the field. During all his years of coming to the semistate, King has seen the larger schools earn team titles. “I like to say that wrestling is classless,” said King. “Whether you’re a big or a little school, we’re all in the same boat.” In 2020-21, Oak Hill, Western and Kokomo finished 1-2-3 at the Oak Hill Sectional. Western, Wabash and Oak Hill took the top three spots at the Maconaquah Regional. “We love to hate Western and Western loves to hate us,” said King. “We thrive on it. Steels sharpens steel.” Like everyone in the athletic world, Oak Hill has had to deal with COVID-19 issues this season. “I’m a lay coach so when I come to school I have an open mind,” said King. “I’m not going to get mad about it. I deal with it as it is. “I walk into the school and see my athletic director (Ryan Fagan) coming down the hallway and I cringe because he’s going to tell me which two, three or four kids are now out of for the next 10 days because of social distancing. You just do what you can each day. We’ve had our challenges with that. but our kids have been really good.” Oak Hill has been extra-diligent about keeping the wrestling practice room clean. “We’ve gone overboard spraying down the room before practice after practice and in-between practice,” said King. “You can only have one practice partner, you can’t have three, four or five (because of contact-tracing protocols). “We have to keep doing what we’re doing.”