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Braedon Spears had himself a DAY at Mooresville!! #TripleBTrained

Also, as a sort of mini write-up, I want to give some reactions to the brackets, since from looking at last year's Al Smith tournament, there are a ton of interesting bracket and seeding choices that make the tournament really interesting. 106: Joy Cantu vs. Mason Jones is really tough for Cantu. While Julianna O'Campo has a stronger resume than Cantu, I think that Cantu has the tools to join O'Campo as the first female placers at the Al Smith. 113: Seems mostly normal to me, but Aubin over Tolbert as the 3 seed is a little weird to me. Obviously, Portage was not at last year's Al Smith, and as both are qualifiers, I guess it makes sense per the criteria, but it's tough for Tolbert, who could have had a much better chance to make the finals if given the 3 seed. 120: Also tough for Dom Brown to hit Ashton in the quarters. I really wanna root for this kid, but Ashton is obviously my boy, and I can't root against him. I think Brown can still wrestle back for third, however, it will just be a harder time. 126: Watch out for Josh England. Hyatt Yeager is going to be tested by that kid. 132: No Leavell unfortunately, but there are still a number of exciting matchups here, especially DeMarco and Maldonado. Also no Nowaczyk, but Crown Point has deep pockets. Still a possible placer at this weight. 138: Denton over Courtney is a little odd, seeing how Courtney is a returning champ, but I think the bracket will play out mostly how it should anyways. 145: No Anthony Bahl, as reported, but Washington should place and put up major points for Crown Point anyways. 152: Betz over Rinehart, makes sense per the seeding criteria but I think that Rinehart is still the favorite. 160: 4 seed is rough for Merritt, still expecting a close-ish match between him and Goin. 170: Kyle Harden gets a tough 7 seed and runs into Costello early. Very interested in this match. Cashman is unseeded and runs into Valdez early for a top ten matchup in the round of 16. Goodwin is out and Aidan White is in. 182: Nothing particularly interesting about this bracket. Cruz and Veazy are both in and we are not deprived of two #1 vs. #2 matchups. 195: Tough seed for Kaden McConnell, but a certain somebody on this website thinks that I underrated him, so we'll see what happens. Early state ranked matchup on the top of the bracket with Chavez and O'Connor meeting in the round of 16. 220: Normal bracket for the most part. Morrill gets the nod over Kendrex as the 2 seed, setting up Kendrex and Martin in the quarters, who should both be undefeated when they meet. 285: Tyler Schott enters unseeded, making his road to the finals much tougher. He will take on Hosia Smith in the quarters.

Great dual between Rochester and Rensselaer Central. Rochester won 36-33. Good hard fought dual by both teams.

I want to make a joke, but they have already jumped so many light years into the future that it wouldn’t t be fair to do so.

He is certainly coming for it all.

Ayden Bollinger is ridiculous. I was only following on track, but holy cow he teched an undefeated ranked by racking up 11 takedowns.

After that, was actually the biggest match of Thrine’s day was against Mr. Trace Smith of JC! He’s quite the entertainer and really gets the crowd going. I loved that Jay County created an opportunity for Trace to hit the mat and I was super proud of how Thrine responded. Great moments in our sport. Gongrats Brevan & way to go Trace!!

Name a tougher in-season tournament in Indiana than Al Smith. Bet you can’t. The Al Smith Classic is a brutal two-day tournament featuring some of Indiana’s best squads, including Crown Point, Warren Central, Center Grove, Indianapolis Cathedral, and many more, bringing this tournament a depth rivaled only by the IHSAA State Tournament itself. This tournament has been labeled as somewhat of a mini state tournament, with plenty of future state finals showdowns happening at this tournament, hosting a number just shy of 100 ranked wrestlers with 97 top 20 ranked competitors across all 14 weight classes. This means that: 97/280 = 34.6% of ranked wrestlers in the state wrestling at the Al Smith this weekend And also, this year’s Al Smith has 47 wrestlers ranked in the top 8 in the state, and 8 of the state’s top 1 wrestlers will be in action this weekend. Thus: 47/112= 42.0% of top 8 wrestlers in action at the Al Smith this weekend, and, 8/14 = 57.1% of top ranked wrestlers in action at the Al Smith this weekend And if you still don’t believe that this is Indiana’s toughest in-season tournament, let me break down the results from last year’s Al Smith: 106: 2 qualifiers, 2 placers 113: 2 qualifiers, 4 placers, 1 champ 120: 3 qualifiers, 4 placers (and champ didn’t qualify at all, haha, screw single eliminations) 126: 2 qualifiers, 2 placers, 1 champ 132: 2 qualifiers (who wrestled round one at last year’s Al Smith), 3 placers, 1 champ 138: 6 qualifiers, 1 champ 145: 3 qualifiers, 1 placer, 1 champ 152: 3 qualifiers, 2 placers, 1 champ 160: 3 qualifiers, 4 placers 170: 1 qualifier, 2 placers 182: 2 qualifiers, 3 placers, 1 champ 195: 1 qualifiers, 2 placers 220: 2 qualifiers, 3 placers 285: 2 qualifiers, 4 placers So, on average (rounded to the nearest whole number), if you place 6th at the Al Smith tournament, you should be projected to be a state qualifier that year, and if you place 3rd at the Al Smith, you should be projected to place at state that year. Also, 6 of last year’s state champions competed at last year’s Al Smith tournament. And before I move on to the actual predictions section of this write-up, there is one more statistical anomaly that I would like to highlight. It is quite uncommon for an in-season tournament to produce these types of results, but every year, there are several wrestlers that actually place higher at the state tournament than they do at the Al Smith. Last year’s Al Smith had 7 of these wrestlers: 120: Braxton Vest, Westfield (6th at Al Smith, 3rd at state) 120: Hayden Brady, Garrett (8th at Al Smith, 4th at state) 126: David Maldonado, Merriville (8th at Al Smith, 7th at state) 152: Delaney Ruhlman, Bloomington South (3rd at Al Smith, 2nd at state) 160: Jared Landez, Carroll (DNP at Al Smith, 8th at state) -excluding De’Alcapon Veazy because he medically forfeited- 220: Jackson Weingart, Indianapolis Cathedral (8th at Al Smith, 7th at state) 285: Hosia Smith, Indianapolis Cathedral (7th at Al Smith, 5th at state) With all of that out of the way, I am going to get into my predictions for this tournament. With no way for me to know the exact seeds, I am going to disregard what the seeds might be in this tournament and make my predictions strictly based on who I think will do better than who. If I think 2nd place would beat 3rd place, I will predict it as such, even if the bracket puts my 1st and 2nd place picks in the semis. With that being said, I will distinguish a title contender echelon of wrestlers and a top 4 contenders tier, in order to mitigate the potential damage that the eventual brackets might do to my top 4 picks. 106 Ranked Wrestlers: #6 Cameron Meier #7 Kaleb Salazar #8 Mason Jones #9 Julianna O’Campo #19 Justus Thrasher #20 John Bissmeyer Title Contenders: Meier, Salazar, Jones, O’Campo Top 4 Contenders: Thrasher, Bissmeyer The main storyline of this year’s 106 bracket is the emergence of #9 Julianna O’Campo, who makes her first appearance at the Al Smith Classic after transferring to Fort Wayne Snider. O’Campo is no stranger to making history, as Indiana’s 2nd ever (or 3rd, maybe Crull qualified first) female state qualifier. Now, she will look to be the first ever female to win an Al Smith title. In her way are the three opponents ranked right above her, in #6 Cameron Meier, #7 Kaleb Salazar, and #8 Mason Jones. Meier is the only one out of these three with state experience, making it to the Friday night round last year. However, Meier did place lower at last year’s Al Smith than Jones, who earned a 5th place finish with a win over eventual state qualifier Seth Aubin. Meier vs. Jones can go either way in my opinion. Salazar is another opponent that can cause some damage in this weight class, missing out on last year’s Al Smith, but advancing to the ticket round last year (which funnily enough, both Jones and Salazar were both eliminated by the same opponent in E’Shawn Tolbert). I think that Jones is likely the favorite here, but any of the other three contenders could easily be the winner of this weight class. As for the other two ranked wrestlers in this weight class, I’m not too sure that either of them will be able to spoil the top 4 wrestlers here, but both #19 Justus Thrasher and #20 John Bissmeyer have had respectable results so far this season, and will likely compete for the 5th place spot here. Top 4: Jones O’Campo Meier Salazar 113 Ranked Wrestlers: #2 Gavin Jendreas #6 Charlie LaRocca #9 E’Shawn Tolbert #10 Seth Aubin #15 Carter Fielden #17 Ryan Schmidtendorff #19 Connor Bayliss Title Contenders: Jendreas, LaRocca Top 4 Contenders: Tolbert, Aubin, Fielden, Schmidtendorff, Bayliss #2 Gavin Jendreas is back on the mat and should be the clear favorite over #6 Charlie LaRocca, who was Jendreas’s opponent at last year’s Al Smith, in which Jendreas ran away with a 10-6 decision that was more commanding than the score might imply. LaRocca is, of course, no slouch, and is the only wrestler in this field that I think could give Jendreas any trouble. As for the rest of the field, I believe it will be a fight for 3rd, with #9 E’Shawn Tolbert leading the pack. #10 Seth Aubin trails right behind Tolbert, although Aubin will have to reverse an 11-4 result that came during last year’s semistate. #15 Carter Fielden is a tough freshman that carries a familiar name, and will use this tournament to test his capabilities against a large number of proven athletes. #17 Ryan Schmidtendorff and #19 Connor Bayliss round out the list of ranked wrestlers, and both competed at last year’s Al Smith. Schmidtendorff broke through to the placement rounds last year, claiming 8th, while Bayliss fell in the bloodround match. Both of these wrestlers have the potential to improve massively on their already respectable runs last year. Top 4: Jendreas LaRocca Tolbert Aubin 120 Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Ashton Jackson #4 Tanner Tishner #10 Liam Krueger #12 Eddie Goss #14 Tommy Frazier #16 Dylan Bennett #18 Dominic Brown #19 Elijah Broady #20 Sonny Sessa Title Contenders: Jackson, Tishner Top 4 Contenders: Krueger, Goss, Frazier, Bennett, Brown, Broady, Sessa “ACTION JACKSON” is the heavy favorite coming into this bracket, with an Al Smith title and two state titles to his name. #4 Tanner Tishner is looking to spoil Jackson’s second Al Smith title, but will have to reverse an 8-0 major from two years prior. To be quite honest, there are a couple of wrestlers that I think could challenge Tishner here, but it only seemed fair and respectable of Tishner and the several high level wins that he has claimed thus far in his career to establish him in the title contender tier. #12 Eddie Goss is the one that spoiled his state run last year, however, with an overtime win in the Friday night match. I think that Tishner is still the favorite if a rematch happens, but I wouldn’t call him a heavy favorite. #10 Liam Krueger is coming off of a 3rd place finish at last year’s Al Smith, and a heartbreaking upset loss to Goss in last year’s ticket round, and has several wrestlers in the field to get revenge on. Expect there to be a fire in Krueger’s wrestling this weekend. #14 Tommy Frazier and #16 Dylan Bennett are both returning qualifiers and Al Smith placers, taking 8th and 7th respectively at last year’s Al Smith, after Frazier stuck Bennett in the second period. They are sure bets to make it deep in the tournament and possibly snag one of the top 4 spots. Now, the wildcard in this bracket, in my opinion, is #18 Dominic Brown. Although ranked low, Brown already has multiple high level wins in his belt from his middle school years, including state placers Luke Rioux and Jalen May, as well as a freestyle win over Tommy Frazier. The issue is that he is yet to compete this season, and there is a lack of information on my part as to if he will compete this weekend or not, or what weight he will even go, but per the Indianamat rankings, he is the #18 120 pound wrestler, so I will consider him as such. Rounding out the top 4 contenders is #19 Elijah Broady and #20 Sonny Sessa. Both of these wrestlers are unusually talented for #19 and #20 ranked wrestlers, which speaks as to how tough 120 is in Indiana this year, and with 9 ranked wrestlers populating this field, one of these talented freshman will likely earn a tough draw into a higher ranked wrestler. Like last year, expect this 120 bracket to be full of chaos. Top 4: Jackson Tishner Brown? Krueger -Krueger 3rd and Goss 4th if Brown doesn’t compete- 126 Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Logan Frazier #4 Hayden Brady #5 Aden Reyes #9 Hyatt Yeager #11 Guillermo Rivera Title Contenders: Frazier Top 4 Contenders: Brady, Reyes, Yeager, Rivera I can’t realistically place anybody into the title contender tier with #1 Logan Frazier. He has been extremely dominant at this weight class for over a year now, and will likely continue to do so. This weight class will be a battle for 2nd place. Leading that battle is #4 Hayden Brady, who I believe is the favorite to meet Frazier in the finals. #5 Aden Reyes will be chasing Brady, and even placed higher than Brady at last year’s Al Smith, taking out eventual third placer Braxton Vest in the 5th place match. #9 Hyatt Yeager is back in Center Grove’s lineup after being set behind a death row of Center Grove’s lightweights, and certainly has the tools to beat both Brady or Reyes. #11 Guillermo Rivera is the final ranked wrestler in this weight class, and made it to the bloodround at last year’s Al Smith, losing to Brady by fall in the final minute of the bout. Rivera has his work cut out for him if he wants to reverse that match. Top 4: Frazier Brady Reyes Yeager 132 Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Kyrel Leavell #2 Eleazar Walker #6 David Maldonado #9 Hayden DeMarco #11 Josh Johnson #12 Kaptur Nowaczyk #15 Tye Linser Title Contenders: Leavell, Walker Top 4 Contenders: Maldonado, DeMarco, Johnson, Nowaczyk, Linser For the first #1 vs. #2 potential matchup of the tournament, we have #1 Kyrel Leavell and #2 Eleazar Walker. Leavell is the clear favorite based on their results last year, in which Leavell won a state title at 120, while Walker walked away with 6th at 132, but Walker has improved tremendously since last year, stealing the #2 rank away from Whiteland’s Joey Buttler at the Grappler Fall Classic this preseason, and announcing himself as a title contender this year. This match should be exciting and high scoring. Next in line is #6 David Maldonado, who is coming off of an exciting win over returning Al Smith finalist #9 Hayden DeMarco. DeMarco has a couple of losses this season, but has a strong resume that includes two state medals, and can definitely earn back his ranking over Maldonado. #11 Josh Johnson is a returning 3rd placer at Al Smith, and has a state medal of his own to his name, but will be fighting an uphill battle against a field with 5 state medalists. #12 Kaptur Nowaczyk is up all the way from 113, is no stranger to taking big matches, and should not be counted out against anybody in the state. Lastly, #15 Tye Linser is looking to make some noise at his first Al Smith tournament, and while not a state qualifier himself, has multiple state quality wins during the off season that should make him a more threatening opponent to see in the bracket. Top 4: Walker Leavell DeMarco Johnson 138 Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Reese Courtney #5 Bryce Denton #8 Cooper Baldwin #9 Lucas Clement #12 Evan Cruz #16 Brock Hagewood Title Contenders: Courtney, Denton Top 4 Contenders: Baldwin, Clement, Cruz, Hagewood #3 Reese Courtney came out on top last year of an absolutely chaotic 120 lb Al Smith bracket, and although his efforts didn’t result in a spot at the state tournament, Courtney should not just be viewed as a state quality guy, but a possible state title contender. To challenge him on the other side of the bracket is #5 Bryce Denton, who fell victim during last year’s Al Smith to a brutal first round matchup against Jasper Graber, in which both would go on to qualify for the state tournament. As a 113 pounder two years ago, Denton looked to struggle a little bit to adjust to his new weight class, but with experience against heavier opponents now, Denton is looking better than ever. #8 Cooper Baldwin is also looking to make his first Al Smith final, but will be challenged by a number of other competitors also looking for a chance to grab the finals spot. #9 Lucas Clement started last year’s Al Smith tournament with a first round upset over 2 seed Dominic Litchfield, and is a dangerous opponent for anybody in this bracket. #12 Evan Cruz is another Crown Point wrestler making a big jump in weight, but seems to be unfazed by this new weight class, and can take on quality opponents confidently. The last ranked competitor in the field is #16 Brock Hagewood, who fought back from a brutal first round pairing against Wyatt Krejsa to place 5th, losing in the consolations only to Krejsa again. Hagewood has made it deep in this tournament before, and can do it again. Top 4: Courtney Clement Denton Cruz 145 Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Aidan Torres #3 Wyatt Krejsa #6 Dillon Graham #11 Carlos Perez #19 Aiden Kiner Title Contenders: Torres, Krejsa Top 4 Contenders: Graham, Perez, Kiner With Bahl out of the mix (per @igotcaught), it seems that Indiana wrestling fans are going to be deprived of an exciting #1 vs. #2 matchup of #1 Aidan Torres and #2 Anthony Bahl. Luckily for us, #3 Wyatt Krejsa is going to put on a show, and should not be counted out against Torres, despite Torres being the clear favorite. Krejsa has catapulted through the rankings over the years and has quickly established himself as one of the best 145 lb wrestlers in the country, and the only direction I can see him going is up. Expect a close match between these two. #6 Dillon Graham is a returning 3rd placer at this tournament, and is looking to make his first finals appearance. He will likely earn the third seed and will have to battle with Krejsa to earn the spot. #11 Carlos Perez has limited results this season (that I could find anyway), but did go 8-4 with Bahl a couple of weeks ago, so given that he competes this weekend, he will be ready to scrap with anybody. The last ranked wrestler in this weight class is #19 Aiden Kiner, who made the bloodround at last year’s Al Smith, and will look to improve upon that performance this year, but breaking through to the top 4 will be tough for the senior out of Mt. Vernon, with such a nasty lineup of wrestlers populating the likely top 4 seeds. Top 4: Torres Krejsa Graham Perez 152 Ranked Wrestlers: #2 Anthony Rinehart #4 Mitchell Betz #5 Beau Brabender #8 Evan Roudebush #10 Gavin Davis #11 Silas Stits #13 Adrian Pellot #15 Hunter Miller #19 Gabe Bragg Title Contenders: Rinehart, Betz Top 4 Contenders: Brabender, Roudebush, Davis, Stits, Pellot, Miller, Bragg In one of the matchups that I personally am super excited for, newly nationally ranked #2 Anthony Rinehart will scrap against #4 Mitchell Betz, in a series that is currently 1-1, where Betz got the best of him at the state finals last year, only for Rinehart to avenge that loss at IHPO. This match is sure to be a good one. I almost wanted to include #5 Beau Brabender in the title contender tier, but I feel like Rinehart and Betz are a little bit more distinguished in their resumes, despite Brabender coming into this event as the #5 ranked wrestlers. I should establish now that a wrestler being placed into the top 4 contenders tier, as opposed to the title contenders tier, doesn’t mean that I don’t think that they can’t beat people in the title contenders tier. However, I have to establish a cut off somewhere, and if I follow a logic along the lines of, “Well the #2 could beat the #1, but the #3 could beat the #2, but the #4 could beat the #3…” and so on, everybody will be a title contender. Anyways, I think that Brabender is a clear favorite for the 3rd place spot, but there are a number of ranked wrestlers in the field that might have something to say about that. #8 Evan Roudebush is a returning Al Smith placer, taking 4th last year, while #10 Gavin Davis follows behind as a returning 5th placer, and #11 Silas Stits taking 8th last year. I think that the margin between these three wrestlers is razor thin, and even though I think that Brabender will best who ever joins him for the 4th place match, it wouldn’t surprise to see any of them in that match and challenging Brabender. #13 Adrian Pellot is a ticket rounder that came agonizingly close to making his first state finals appearance last year, but is clearly battle tested and ready to challenge the state qualifiers in this field. #15 Hunter Miller and #19 Gabe Bragg round out the loaded field in this weight class, and as semi-state qualifiers, are proven competitors that will bring the battle to anybody. Top 4: Rinehart Betz Brabender Stits 160 Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Sam Goin #4 Chase Leech #7 Andre Merritt #8 AJ Steenbeke #10 Kenneth Bisping #11 Brenton Russell #12 Chase Wagner #13 Conner Watts Title Contenders: Goin Top 4 Contenders: Leech, Merritt, Steenbeke, Bisping, Russell, Wagner, Watts This is another weight class where there is too heavy of a favorite to confidently name any other title contenders. Had the 2020 Al Smith tournament not been canceled, #1 Sam Goin might have been looking for a rare 4th Al Smith title this weekend. The intriguing side of this weight class is not Goin’s however, but who will join him on the other side. #4 Chase Leech has made big strides this past off season, and should be considered the favorite to challenge Goin. #7 Andre Merritt, in my opinion, is a little underrated, and an upset against Leech is something that would not surprise me. Merritt, despite missing out on the state finals last year, has a lot of very good wins under his belt. #8 AJ Steenbeke has been a high level wrestler for a long time, and now as a senior, he is looking to end his high school career on a high note. Leech defeated Steenbeke at this year’s IHPO, but it is certainly a result that Steenbeke can reverse. #10 Kenneth Bisping is a state qualifier from last year, and made it to the placement rounds of last year’s Al Smith with an 8th place finish. Look for Bisping to compete against any of the aforementioned wrestlers (even Goin, who he had wrestled several times last year as a result of being in the same sectional). #11 Brenton Russell is one of the many talented Warren Central wrestlers that Indiana is blessed with watching wrestle in the Al Smith Classic as a result of Warren Central’s addition to the already loaded roster of competitive teams. #12 Chase Wagner and #13 Conner Watts are both wrestlers with family history in the Indiana wrestling landscape, and should not be overlooked to make top 4 appearances. Top 4: Goin Merritt Leech Steenbeke 170 Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Delaney Ruhlman #4 Noah Clouser #5 Kyle Harden #6 Gavin Malone #7 Duke Myers #8 Anthony Cashman #9 Isaac Valdez #11 Aidan Costello #15 Zymarion Hollyfield #19 Manolo Hood Title Contenders: Ruhlman, Clouser Top 4 Contenders: Harden, Malone, Myers, Cashman, Valdez, Costello, Hollyfield, Hood Half of the state’s ranked wrestlers will be in one bracket this weekend at the Al Smith Classic, and leading this incredibly deep field is #1 Delaney Ruhlman, who is the clear favorite to win this bracket. Joining him in the title contender field is #4 Noah Clouser, who wrestled a respectable 4-0 bout against Ruhlman not too long ago, and could pull even closer to a desirable result this weekend. Of course, Clouser will have to navigate a nasty field to do so, starting with #5 Kyle Harden, a stud freshman from Cathedral that has picked off a number of highly ranked wrestlers this season already, and lost a slim 5-4 match to Clouser earlier in the season. How far can the superfreshman get? Next in line is #6 Gavin Malone, who announced himself as one of the best 170 lb wrestlers in the state with a win earlier this season over #7 Duke Myers, who also joins the field. I would love to see a rematch between these two, with Malone looking to cement his status as a top level wrestler in the state, and Myers looking to avenge a tough loss. #8 Anthony Cashman wrestles his first Al Smith tournament as a result of Warren Central’s entry, and has several big wins in his high school career, so a deep run from Cashman, and maybe even a finals appearance would not surprise me. #9 Isaac Valdez rounds out the list of SEVEN top 10 wrestlers here, and has plenty of experience against wrestlers in this field. Notably, he took a loss earlier in the year to Harden, but given that it was a close and competitive match, Valdez has the potential to break through the absolutely brutal roster of competitors here and make a top 4 appearance. #11 Aidan Costello is no stranger to deep runs at the Al Smith, taking 4th last year, but will need to wrestle even tougher in arguably the deepest weight class in this year’s tournament. #15 Zymarion Hollyfield put himself in the rankings earlier this year with a win over Valdez, and with one blemish on his record to Costello, he shouldn’t be overlooked to make a deep run. Hollyfield’s pace is unrivaled, and should he take any of these talented wrestlers to deep waters, there is a big possibility that an upset could occur. The final ranked wrestler in this weight class is #19 Manolo Hood. Hood lost 9-2 earlier this year to Hollyfield, but only 5-4 to Valdez, if this gives you any indication of how unpredictable this weight class will be this weekend. Regardless, I will try to pick a strong top 4. Top 4: Ruhlman Harden Myers Costello 182 Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Orlando Cruz #2 De’Alcapon Veazy #6 Julian Weems #7 Kaden Lone #9 Luke Penola #18 Mike Durham Title Contenders: Cruz, Veazy Top 4 Contenders: Weems, Lone, Penola, Durham This is, in my opinion, and probably most others’ opinions, the premier matchup of the tournament. A clash against two nationally ranked competitors, #1 Orlando Cruz and #2 De’Alcapon Veazy will battle in an exciting preview of the likely state finals match at 182. Cruz and Veazy have met before, where Veazy emerged victorious in a 6-2 freestyle victory. However, Veazy is incredibly talented in freestyle, while Cruz has a stronger folkstyle resume, so we will have to see if Veazy’s folkstyle wrestling is good enough to take him out. I don’t see anybody in this bracket spoiling the finals, but #6 Julian Weems is the favorite to walk away with 3rd this weekend. #7 Kaden Lone is a guy that I think could challenge Weems for 3rd place, and will challenge Weems with his strength and athleticism. Weems is coming up from 160 last year, so we will get a good indication this weekend of how he has adjusted to the weight change. #9 Luke Penola took 6th at the Al Smith last year, and can very easily improve upon that finish, especially with a big win over Bray Emerine earlier this season. The last ranked wrestler in this field is #18 Mike Durham. Although ranked low relative to the rest of the field, Durham has previous wins that indicate that he could do a lot better than the rankings and seeds might suggest, so keep an eye out for Durham to take any of these top 10 ranked wrestlers to deep waters. Top 4: Cruz Veazy Weems Durham 195 Ranked Wrestlers: #3 Christian Chavez #6 Kaden McConnell #7 Anthony White #10 Jackson Fox #11 Henry Kukelhan #17 MJ Norman #19 Jack O’Connor #20 Trent Kersey Title Contenders: Chavez, McConnell, White Top 4 Contenders: Fox, Kukelhan, Norman, O’Connor, Kersey With only two returning Al Smith placers, #3 Christian Chavez opens up as a huge favorite to win the tournament. Challenging him for the title this year will be #6 Kaden McConnell and #7 Anthony White. McConnell did not compete at the Al Smith last year, being behind a death row of Center Grove upperweights (maybe their whole lineup is just a death row, haha). Chavez’s resume indicates that McConnell will be a huge underdog, but he is #6 in the state for a reason, and out of a powerhouse like Center Grove, it would be a mistake to underestimate him. Speaking of powerhouse schools, White comes up from 170 last year and fits in Crown Point’s lineup as the 195 lb wrestler. White’s results are a little more established than McConnell’s as a starter last year, and had many big wins on his resume. I think that White will give Chavez the biggest fit in this bracket. Outside of the title contenders, #10 Jackson Fox is also competing at his first Al Smith, and has experience against both Chavez and White from this year’s IHPO, losing to Chavez by fall and White by a 7-3 decision. I think that a win over Chavez is a little bit too ambitious, but a win over White is definitely within striking distance for Fox. As the only other returning placer in this weight class, #11 Henry Kukelhan will also be looking for a spot in the finals, and with him likely getting a good seed due to his placement, I think a high placement for Kukelhan is reasonable, despite four other competitors in the field outranking him. A lot of newcomers in this weight class with #17 MJ Norman and #20 Trent Kersey also wrestling in their first Al Smith. A lot of first time placements are up for grabs here. #19 Jack O’Connor, on the other hand, was in attendance at last year’s Al Smith, losing in double overtime to miss out on the placement rounds. O’Connor will definitely be wrestling with a fire under him this time around. Top 4: Chavez White Kukelhan Fox 220 Ranked Wrestlers: #1 Will Clark #3 Devin Kendrex #4 Tommy Morrill #13 Keegan Martin Title Contenders: Clark, Kendrex, Morrill Top 4 Contenders: Martin I really hate to single out #13 Keegan Martin as the only ranked wrestler in this weight class not in the title contender tier, especially given his performance last year at the Al Smith that actually saw him beat #3 Devin Kendrex in the first round (terrible first round pairing) and lose only a slim 4-1 decision in the semis to #4 Tommy Morrill. But once again, I must reiterate that Martin is definitely capable of winning against Kendrex or Morrill, and honestly even #1 Will Clark could find himself in trouble against him. However, like I mentioned earlier, if I apply this type of logic to every wrestler in the field, I don’t really have a way to distinguish different tiers of wrestlers, so that’s why Martin is in a lower tier. That being said, Will Clark looks to be the favorite in this weight class, but Kendrex and Morrill are both very dangerous opponents that could steal Clark’s #1 spot. Kendrex does have the last head to head win against Morrill, but both of these wrestlers have similar resumes, with both losing Friday night last year, but Morrill was a runner up at last year’s Al Smith, while Kendrex had an unusual 0-2 performance. Despite the seeding, it will likely be Kendrex and Morrill in the semis, and honestly, I think you could flip a coin here to see who would win. Top 4: Clark Kendrex Morrill Martin 285 Ranked Wrestlers: #2 Paul Clark #3 Hosia Smith #5 Anthony Popi #8 Tyler Schott #13 Peyton Kendall #14 Brayden Jellison #17 Perris Green Title Contenders: Clark, Smith Top 4 Contenders: Popi, Schott, Kendall, Jellison, Green In a showdown between two of Indiana’s best heavyweights, #2 Paul Clark and #3 Hosia Smith looks to be the favorites to meet in the finals, with Clark being the favorite of that matchup, after an impressive Ironman performance that vaulted him into the national rankings. Smith is a proven heavyweight himself, and will give Clark everything that he can handle. Expect a razor thin match here. #5 Anthony Popi fell 5-2 to Smith at last year’s Al Smith to take 8th, but with a #5 ranking this year, he is looking to make a statement and bust some brackets to make the finals. I wasn’t confident enough to establish Popi as a title contender, only because I believe that the top 4 heavyweights in Indiana are in a tier of their own (in my opinion), but Popi is right outside of that bubble, and this tournament could be what he needs to catapult himself into that conversation. #8 Tyler Schott was behind Center Grove’s Nate Johnson last year, but took Hosia Smith to triple overtime as the backup heavyweight, showing that despite being a new face to Center Grove’s varsity lineup, he is no stranger to big matches, and will display his talents at his first Al Smith. #13 Peyton Kendall has had a solid start to this season, owning a win over #14 Brayden Jellison, who is also in this field. They are 1-1 this season, with Jellison also owning a win over Kendall, so this matchup should be intense, should it end up happening. The last ranked competitor in this field is #17 Perris Green. Green pulled a 4 over 1 upset at semi state last year to make the ticket round, and is a proven heavyweight that cannot be overlooked, however, Hosia Smith does own a fall over him this season, so running into Smith early could mean trouble for Green. Top 4: Clark Smith Schott Popi With so many names and results and numbers and all of that, I'm sure that there could be a mistake somewhere in here. If any of you see them, point them out to me and I'll be sure to fix them. I took a different approach to this writeup and tried to have a little more fun at the beginning, with random statistics and results that I found interesting, so I hope you all enjoy that part of the writeup. Thanks everybody.

Wrestling begins at 9 am Friday

Al Smith Day 1 Upsets: 106: NR Logan Haney (CP) over #19 Justus Thrasher (CG) - dec 2-0 NR Xavier Chavez (MW) over #20 John Bissmeyer (IC) - fall 2:42 NR Sully Frazier (ZV) over #20 John Bissmeyer (IC) - md 11-2 113: #14 @ 120 Tommy Frazier (ZV) over #9 E'Shawn Tolbert (PT)- dec 1-0 120: NR Gabe Bragg (IC) over #16 Dylan Bennett (PN) - dec 6-3 126: no upsets 132: NR Wesley Harper (PN) over #11 Josh Johnson (IC) - fall 5:56 NR Griffin Van Tichelt (CP) over #11 Josh Johnson (IC) - dec 8-2 138: NR Max McGinley (IC) over #9 Lucas Clement (MR) - fall 5:21 145: #19 Aiden Kiner (MV) over #6 Dillon Graham (IC) - dec 6-4 152: #10 Gavin Davis (BM) over #5 Beau Brabender (MW) - dec 5-4 #11 Silas Stits (CG) over #8 Evan Roudebush (BS) - dec 8-7 160: NR Ben Shaffer (CH) over #13 Connor Watts (JT) - UTB 5-4 NR Deaglan Peak (WF) over #13 Connor Watts (JT) - dec 7-5 170: NR Ethan Freedline (EH) over #6 Gavin Malone (WW) - dec 8-6 #11 Aidan Costello (HB) over #5 Kyle Harden (IC) - dec 5-3 #8 Anthony Cashman (WC) over #6 Gavin Malone (WW) - UTB 3-2 182: #9 Luke Penola (ZV) over #6 Julian Weems (CG) - fall 2:28 #18 Mike Durham (WC) over #7 Kaden Lone (NW) - dec 3-2 195: NR Brady King (NW) over #17 MJ Norman (WS) - dec 5-4 NR Russel Weaver (MV) over #20 Trent Kersey (LW) - fall 3:00 NR James Veal (MR) over #11 Henry Kukelhan (BM) - dec 6-5 NR Jonathan Tanner (WF) over #11 Henry Kukelhan (BM) - dec 5-1 #20 Trent Kersey (LW) over #19 Jack O'Connor (GR) - fall 2:28 220: #6 Nate Johnson (CG) over #5 Jackson Weingart (IC) - fall 2:00 285: #8 Tyler Schott (CG) over #3 Hosia Smith (IC) - dec 7-5 Personal notes from the day: -biggest upset of the day for me is Schott over Smith. Really felt like Smith was a title contender this year and Schott went and confused the conversation a little bit. Especially interesting that Schott survived a triple overtime upset against UR heavyweight Eli Smith of Zionsville. Eli Smith would go on to lose in the bloodround to Hosia Smith, only 3-1. So, does the heavyweight race for the state title has less competition now? Or more? Leave it up to heavyweight to keep things entertaining and unpredictable. -Gavin Malone, Josh Johnson, Conner Watts, and Henry Kulkelhan don't survive until the second day. These wrestlers will surely be back stronger than before, but it demonstrates the brutal nature of this tournament. -Two of three Crown Point backups make the second day. Griffin Van Tichelt earns a big win over Josh Johnson to do so, and a commanding win at that. Washington picks up no ranked wins but keeps it competitive against 4th seed Wesley Smith of Plymouth. -Also realize that I completely missed Westfield when doing my writeup, so I apologize to any Westfield wrestling fans. So, I'll talk about their lineup and their first day performance to make it up to them. At 113, Porter Temples wins in the bloodround to be Westfield's first placer of the day. 145 pounder Ike O'Neill makes the semis and will take on upset winner Aiden Kiner of Mt. Vernon. #14 @ 160 Jason Rooney death a tough draw in the first round and loses a slim 4-3 match to #13 Adrian Pellot. He then loses another one point match in the bloodround to #5 Beau Brabender. Terrible luck for Rooney, but he will surely improve upon this performance. At 195, Jonathan Tanner also secures an upset win over #11 Henry Kukelhan to make the bloodround. I would pay special attention to this wrestler, who lost only a 4-3 match to #6 Kaden McConnell in the round of 16. I think Tanner could have state placement potential. Westfield ends the day in 17th place, with 3 wrestlers alive in day 2. -I think O'Campo is gonna be the first female Al Smith winner. She has been very dominant thus far. -A couple of unranked wrestlers I want to shoutout: -Ayden Campbell of Chesterton has put up some nice results so far this season, and gave Hyatt Yeager everything he could handle. Look for a deep run from Campbell tomorrow. -Not exactly sure what results have returning Al Smith runner-up Wesley Harper out of the rankings, but he's in the semis with a win over Josh Johnson. I expect Walker and Harper to be close than some people might think. -Cathedral had somewhat of a rough day today, but Max McGinley really shined with a win over Lucas Clement. Now let's see if he can pick off a top 5 opponent in Reese Courtney -Chesteron's Ben Shaffer is looking really tough with a win over Conner Watts and a dominating bloodround performance over fellow DAC competitor Ben Tollard. -Elkhart's Ethan Freedline didn't survive the first day, but did take out Gavin Malone, and had a close 3-1 match with #9 Isaac Valdez in the bloodround. Tough bracket, but still made the most of his draw. -Merriville's James Veal took out the two seed and #11 Henry Kukelhan to place himself in a nice spot tomorrow morning, where he will take on Kaden McConnell.

It says the stream will start at 8am

285 #8 Tyler Schott of CG over #3 Hosia Smith of Cathedral 7-5

It took me longer to read the post.

Mater Dei is also streaming on Flo!

12 were seeded this year, which I believe helped keep coaches from arguing to the death for a 7 or 8 seed. There should be some REALLY good second round matches. The seed meeting was interesting. You have 30 coaches who tell you they want tough competition, but yet don't want to be on the tougher side of the bracket. The coaches that understand this is a part of the process and want to guarantee themselves those tough matches will be better come February. The ones that try the hardest to avoid the top seeds won't.

Gotta be the frogmen from Syracuse, Indiana. The green and white. The ghosts of the Channel Marker. The castaways of Griffith's. It's the lineup sponsored by Beef's Booze Barn. And a little Syracuse Cafe.

I'm not sure how Weingart and Johnson got past me, but if you must know, I think that Nate Johnson will claim the 4th place spot at this weight class. I still think that Keegan Martin is tough enough to beat both Weingart and Johnson, but I think that their resumes are strong enough for me to consider them over Martin. As for a Weingart and Johnson, I think that Weingart opens up as a huge favorite, defeating Johnson by fall earlier in the season, but I think that Johnson is capable of reversing this decision, and think that perhaps their last Al Smith performances play a factor into the match. It's hard to predict, with so many different things to consider, but if nothing else, I am simply making a guess and I think it's gonna be right because my predictions are awesome.

Brackets have dropped

Raney's bump up to 120 and 126. Heaston goes 113 Billerman goes 126 Mater Dei in for a grind to get one champ and win their historic holiday classic.

Spartan classic has done the following. Placed it on track Will be streaming on Flow Will be seeded Will have World Medalist running the tournament Asking if the brackets will be posted tonight is just to much to ask for, might as well ask for Bruce Buffer to announce the finals.... JK, I am really impressed with all they have done to this tournament this year, cant wait to see the outcome of it!

Mater Dei had a kid named Noah Schwitzer (I’m sure I spelled that wrong) was a multiple time ISWA state champ as a cadet and junior and never cracked their line up for a sectional. Depth wise I always think of Mater Dei and the quality of their back ups!

Riley lefever went from a ss qualifier to a state runner up to 2nd at fargo and then 4x d3 champ.

Bring on the holiday tournaments and 2lbs! Excited for the 2 day North Mont tourney. I know I seen Western is going somewhere else and I may have even seen a comment on a post Warren is somewhere else as well. Any confirmation here? Do we know who all will be here this year? Any good match ups? Predictions?

Jordyn and Jayden Raney could be the next ones to match Brock Ervin’s feat. Could’ve beaten it if Covid didn’t shut down their 2020 season on out of state competition which is what I assume was what kept UC from competing that year.

Graham did not beat the same guy he lost to, Caleb beat him, Graham beat Caine.

At Midlands today In qtrs: Lucas Davidson Evan Bates Still in consos Jacob Moran Zeke Seltzer(lost in champ round to 4 seed Jesse Vasquez(ASU) 4 seed Graham rooks lost in chp round to Caleb Tyus Then majored him in consos Robert Major 8 seed Nick Wilham Andrew Davidson defeats Gabe Sollars 5-2. Then loses next match Both Gabe and Andrew still alive in consos Out 7 seed Cayden Rooks

152 #10 Gavin Davis of Bellmont over #5 Beau Brabender of Mishawaka 5-4

145 #19 Aiden Kiner of MV Fortville over #6 Dillon Graham of Cathedral 6-4

195 #1 Purdy Castle over Schroeder #3@182 of Southridge 5-2

138 Good win for Max McGinley over #9 Lucas Clement of Merrillville by fall 5:21

106 Ayden Bollinger (Delta) 20-0, So. over Gavin Ash (Monrovia) 14-1, So. (TF-1.5 5:17 (23-8)) 113 Isaac Ash (Monrovia) 15-0, So. over Aiden Dallinger (McCutcheon) 21-2, Jr. (MD 11-0) 120 Neal Mosier (Delta) 20-0, Jr. over Peter Nguyen (Guerin Catholic) 19-1, Jr. (Dec 8-2) 126 Caleb Mattingly (Carmel) 16-2, So. over Zane Schreck (Corydon Central) 17-1, Sr. (Dec 3-0)

Owen

Ha! I've seen a heck of a lot worse AND IT IS THE ONE THAT IS STREAMING, RIGHT NOW!!

I’m watching from home and it looks really good. Very impressed

New Palestine 106 Pounds: 2015 - Cameron Diep (8th Place) 2014 - Alec White (4th Place) 2013 - Chad Red Jr. (Champion) 2012 - Tommy Cash (5th Place)

Thanks for this. I swear if it wasn’t for the posts in this thread I wouldn’t have a clue what’s going on with the selection process. And I know I seem to be in the minority, but to me it’s great news there’s still a chance for Kamran at 97!

My biggest concern right now is the regional seedings. Why not have seed meetings for regionals to avoid the two best wrestlers competing in first or second round (North Regional last year at 250 had the state finalists meet in first round match)

Seeds held fairly well, brackets are done https://www.trackwrestling.com/tw/predefinedtournaments/VerifyPassword.jsp?tournamentId=687096132

Well who was it?

MD mid season backup entry Rob Mallory placed 6th in '98. Rob replaced a very accomplished wrestler named Tim Scott who I believe blew out his knee. Tim still came to help out at practice as much as he could.

That was their bread and butter see the 2007 team. Lovelace was a backup and pinned our 5th place finisher. Frickin Mater Dei amiright

He was a good kid. I haven't heard about him in a while but I hope he made it out he had a rough time with life sometimes. It’s a shame he was never able to show his stuff in the big stage he was just as good as any of those guys

Crown Point has nine wrestlers ranked either first or second in our state rankings with five ranked nationally. Do you think there is a chance they put nine in the finals at Gainbridge?

Sam Hansen - Roncalli Class of 2018 First two years: 35-24 record, at least half of these 59 matches were jv matches. Frosh Year- 152lbs. Didn’t make the varsity lineup until late in the season. Lost in the first round of sectionals. Did not place in any season tournaments. Soph Year- 152lbs. Lost an early season wrestle off, but gained a starting lineup position mid season. Did not place in any season tournaments. Lost in the first round of the Marion County Tournament by technical fall. Placed third in the sectional, and lost first round of regionals. Final Two years: 79-8 record Junior Year- 182lbs. 38-5. Marion County Champion. Connersville Spartan Classic runner-up. Conference Champion. Sectional champion. Regional runner-up. Lost in the ticket round to eventual state placer Evan Stambaugh, Lebanon by the score of 5-3. Senior Year- 195lbs. 41-3. Marion County Champion. Connersville Spartan Classic champion. Conference champion. Sectional champion. Regional champion. Semi state runner-up. State runner-up. Senior year losses to D1 wrestlers – Thomas Penola 2X , Lucas Davison in finals.

I absolutely think it's a major accomplishment, with Indiana not having multiple classes for wrestling the chances of making it to SS are low. Schools should absolutely celebrate that accomplishment for their wrestlers. Every wrestlers goal should be to make it to Gainbridge, but celebrating moving on to SS doesn't harm/detract from that goal.

Truly state placement is probably most people's realistic goals. As we all know that's not easy, I believe there are a lot of dedicated wrestlers that don't make it out of SS. I believe it is an accomplishment. Opinions may vary.

Very excited to he a part of this event this year!!

Braxton Russell from Delta Freshman year went 17-12 and was a regional qualifier at 160lbs Sophomore year wrestled first tournament of year…. Found out he had two stress fractures in his back and probably wasn’t going to wrestle the rest of the year… had a remarkable recovery was able to come back in January and made a run during tournament series and became a IHSAA State Qualifier at 170lbs (lost Friday night to guy who got 5th) and finished season 21-6. Now as a junior is 14-1 (loss is to the #3 ranked guy) and is currently ranked #13 at 170

Marshall Fishback went 11-17 his first year of wrestling, his sophomore year, and came in 5th at the Peru sectional (2020). Two years later (2022) he would become Rochester's first state champion.