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The people reaching out has been amazing. I am lucky to be apart of some great communities and the well wish are greatly appreciated.

They will be updated soon. Have another tournament tomorrow.

The questions raised in this the Evansville semi-state was about how the Evansville semistate guys stack up against each other. Please type very slowly and explain how the guy from Fort Wayne would figure into that semi-state ranking.

I have no idea who he is... personally, but I've truly enjoyed his work on this sport, in our state, for many years. Big reason I keep checking this site for updates after my kids have flew the coop. Thank You JH!

Congrats to the AC boys on a great football season! Congrats also to Mr. Currie on raising a great son and athlete. With that said I hope the boys take time to rest up and finish their senior year strong! I’m sure hunting down a 1A state title is on the plate in wrestling as well!

Just wanted to pass along that Mike and his girls were in a serious auto accident yesterday. They are all on the mend, but roughed up pretty good. Please keep Mike and the girls in your thoughts today.

Always a scary situation for a parent when kids are involved. Hope the recovery is going well for all.

By JEREMY HINES Thehines7@gmail.com Torrieanna Buchanan’s wrestling coach, Brian Otte, gave her a choice about an upcoming tournament. He told her she could wrestle at 106 pounds and probably win the tournament, or she could wrestle at 113 pounds and face a few ranked wrestlers. The decision was an easy one for the West Vigo senior – she wanted to face the ranked guys. “I want to wrestle all the ranked kids I can in my weight class,” Buchanan said. “Even if I get beat by them, they’re going to make me a better wrestler. You don’t get better wrestling kids you know you can beat. I want to wrestle the ones that are up there, that are going to push me the most.” That mindset is what has fueled Buchanan since she started wrestling at just 4-years-old. She challenges herself to get better every day. That’s led her to three consecutive girls state titles. She also became West Vigo’s first-ever female to reach the IHSAA semistate tournament. “Torrie never backs down from anything,” Otte said. “She is willing to outwork anyone. She’s not been treated as a girl ever in our room. She proves herself every single day.” For Buchanan, the key to her success is in her technique. She believes her strength will help her compete against girls, but it’s her technique that gives her the edge against the guys. “I really have to rely on technique,” Buchanan said. “Technique is the most important thing to me. You can have strength, but the person with the better technique is going to win almost every time. Technique has helped me more than anything else.” Coach Otte also believes Buchanan’s mental toughness is the key to her success. “Her best strength is her mental toughness,” Otte said. “She’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever been around, mentally. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to become better. She trains here in the spring and summer, then she’ll go over to Red Cobra and train with Coach Red on the same day. She’s willing to work harder than anyone else.” That work ethic helped her with her college search as well. She has committed to wrestle for Campbellsville University. There she will wrestle for Coach Lee Miracle, the father of one of the wrestlers Buchanan has been a fan of for a long time – Kayla Miracle. Miracle was on hand when Buchanan signed with Campbellsville. She was also there when Buchanan tried out for the World Team. “She talked to me and told me I need to have fun in wrestling,” Buchanan said. “I need to go out there with the mentality that I want to win. She talked about not cutting wait and being the best version of me that I can be.” Miracle is one of the wrestlers Buchanan has always looked up to. She is the only female in Indiana to qualify for the state tournament, a goal Buchanan says would be her dream. “I really want to win girls state for the fourth time,” Buchanan said. “But I also want to make a run for boys state. I know Kayla was the last girl to make it to Friday night, and I want to make it past Friday night.” Buchanan has changed her perspective on her losses this season. In the past she would get frustrated at losing. Now she uses those losses to learn how to do better the next time. “I used to think that I sucked after a loss,” she said. “Now I take them as a win and I learn from them. They make me get better. The next time I wrestle the same kid, I’m hoping I can learn from that loss and go out and beat them.” Buchanan would like to get into coaching after college, and ultimately would love to represent the United States at the Olympic level. “She’s a great kid,” Otte said. “You really couldn’t ask for anything better. My wife and I call her one of our daughters. She’s polite and willing to help anyone with anything. She’s been raised right. “She’s the only girl in our room but she’s also the one that I use to demonstrate any move I’m teaching. She’s a leader on our team.” View full article

Well.... it is a challenge that is accepted.

By JEREMY HINES Thehines7@gmail.com Southport senior Nathan Smith is the sports editor of his school newspaper. With the success he had on the wrestling mat during the offseason, his own name might be the biggest news on his sports section this year. Smith competed at Virginia Beach, Fargo, Tulsa and various Indiana tournaments. He placed second in the Junior Men’s Freestyle Nationals at Fargo. In Tulsa he went 7-0 in freestyle wrestling and 5-2 in Greco-Roman. He won the USAW Brian Keck Memorial Preseason Nationals in Iowa. He also won the John Hurrle Memorial Invitational in Indianapolis and placed second at the IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open. “Nathan kind of punched some tickets this offseason,” Southport coach Nick Skinner said. “He had not been in a national final yet and he went to Fargo and finished second. That gave him confidence and let him know that he belongs at the top of the podium.” For Smith, it was the Fargo tournament that really boosted his confidence. “The finals made me realize I can get to anywhere I want to if I put in the work,” Smith said. Now Smith is hoping to bring some championships home in the Indiana state tournament. He has never won a title in the state tournament. He is a three-time regional qualifier, a two-time semistate qualifier and last year he placed seventh overall at the state meet. “I want to win state,” Smith said. “That’s the goal. I also think I’m about 36 wins off of the Southport all-time wins record. That’s something I think would be super nice to get, that all-time record. I have yet to win a county tournament, sectional, regional or semistate title. If I could get a win in all of those my senior year that would be really nice.” The Southport sectional has had some hammers in the 106-pound class – the only class Smith has competed in during his career. Perry Meridian’s Alex Cottey won the sectional in Smith’s freshman season. Cotton went on to finish second in the state meet. In Smith’s sophomore year, Roncalli’s Bryce Lowery won the sectional with Cardinal Ritter’s Joshua Johnson placing second and Smith third. Lowery went on to place fourth at state and Johnson placed seventh. Last year Smith lost to Perry Meridian’s Toby Billerman in the sectional final. There were only three wrestlers in the sectional bracket, but Billerman went on to place third at state and Smith finished seventh. Smith isn’t the type of wrestler that is always on the attack. He likes to feel his opponent out and learn from his style, then use the moves he feels will be the most effective. “I’m definitely a counter wrestler,” Smith said. “I don’t take a million shots right off the rip. As far back as I can remember I have never been one to go and shoot a lot. I like to feel my opponents out for a minute or two and then go from there.” According to Smith, he was able to make solid improvements this offseason as well. “I had a habit of sitting the corner, which is a unique defense,” he said. “It won me a lot of matches, but also got me into trouble. I’ve improved with my down blocking and I’ve been working on a more traditional defense.” After high school Smith hopes to wrestle at the University of Indianapolis and study exercise science. He is considering minoring in journalism as well. “I love journalism,” he said. “I’ve been on our journal staff for three years now. I was a sportswriter for two years and now I’m the sports editor.” For fun, Smith mostly enjoys wrestling and hanging out with his dad. “I just wrestle a bunch for fun,” Smith said. “In the summer, it’s kind of nerdy, but I love to go hang out with my dad (Greg Smith). We do all sorts of things. We watch football, go birding, biking or just walking. I don’t even know if I like things like birding, I think I just really like to be out in nature hanging out with my dad.” Coach Skinner says that Smith is a leader on and off the mat and a “really fun kid to coach.” “He’s just a good kid,” Skinner said. “He is intelligent, funny and he takes care of business on the mat and in the classroom. He gets the work done and that rubs off on everyone around him.” Smith is currently ranked third in the state at 106 pounds. View full article