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The first annual IndianaMat MessageBoard Hall of Fame class has been announced. Since this Hall of Fame is run by crooked media members we modified the rules right before the announcement. We are inducting three people posthumously and four via the vote-in process. Don’t be surprised if we change the rules again next year. Before we get into the inductees here are some of the general guidelines we have for this honor. 1. No admins or staff 2. Can only go in under ONE name 3. Been an active member for 5 years 4. Innovative and fun 5. All in fun We start the inductees with three people who left an impact on the board and have unfortunately passed away. The first one is grecoref aka Tom Clark. He came to Indiana from his native Ohio and became a full blown Hoosier. On the mat he was a very accomplished referee making his way to the state finals and also to a little tournament called the Olympics. On the board he was known to provide valuable information, sarcasm, wit, and humor. He was a friend to all and a great personality to have on the board. Our second inductee is The Ancient Elder aka Dick Neal. Mr. Neal was likely the greatest Indiana wrestling historian ever. In the days of paper brackets and snail mail, he acquired everything he could possibly get his hands on to incorporate into his Indiana wrestling book. On the board he always answered the historical questions and reminded us of the best wrestlers and matches of the years gone by. The last one to be inducted posthumously is Perseverance aka Eric Allred. Allred has a great story of overcoming adversity and making his life right. He was a huge fan of his son Silas and very knowledgeable about the sport and the kids Silas wrestled with. His passion for the sport and supporting others is very much missed. The currently active members are characters to say the least and have had a fun and important impact on our lively messageboard. It is only fitting that MattyB and Team Garcia are inducted at the same time. Both came on the board at the same time to wreak havoc and promote #TheCounty and mainly the “young guns” of Avon. They have continued to this day due to having sons still involved in wrestling or in the case of Garcia, just loving to stir the pot. The steel factory in da region kept RegionRat1 off the board for a few years, but he made a comeback this season. While he has stayed relatively anonymous he always loves to promote da region in his very unique regioneese. Most outside of da region likely believe the way he types is how they speak there, and they aren’t wrong. Last, but not least is the lightning rod they call General Heavy Handz. Of the current inductees he leads the league in most “vacations” from IndianaMat. Luckily for him, Mike talks Joe into letting him come back EVERY SINGLE TIME! He is never shy about promoting the SAC and his beloved Snider Panthers. View full article

Sam Riesen vs. Andy Oberlin

Looking forward to having Easton there next year!!

Free ISWA Wrestling RTC/Clinic Olympic Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner When: Tues. Mar. 12, 2024, 6-7:30 pm Where: Franklin Community HS Enter Door 21 REQUIRED: Current USAW Card Required. Boys/Girls/All Ages Accepted Join us for a full wrestling clinic with 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner who overcame a devastating accident to shock the world and defeat the previously unbeaten Russian, Alexander Karelin, in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Franklin will host a special two day RTC next week to kick off Freestyle/Greco season. March 12th, Tuesday night, 6-7:30 pm Franklin will host Perry Meridian’s RTC and have Greco Olympic Gold medalist Rulon Gardner. Free ISWA Wrestling RTC/Clinic Indiana’s 4 Timer CJ Red & IU Asst Coach When: Wed. Mar. 13, 2024, 6-7:30 pm Where: Franklin Community HS Enter Door 21 REQUIRED: Current USAW Card Required. Boys/Girls/All Ages Accepted Indiana’s very own four timer and assistant IU Coach C.J. Red will be running RTC. THIS IS FREE OF CHARGE FOR BOTH DAYS. What a deal! What a Special two day event hosted by Franklin and Perry Meridian together! Let’s pack the room these two days and kick off Freestyle/Greco season. Coach Tonte, Franklin Community HS & Coach Schoettle, Perry Meridian HS C.J. Red, Assistant IU Coach The 2022-23 season marks C.J. Red's first on the Indiana Wrestling coaching staff. In year one, Red helped Indiana's program make big strides. The Hoosiers' 8-5 record in 2022-23 was the team's best since 2016-17, that included three Big Ten wins and three ranked victories, as well. Red provided valuable experience of wrestling at the highest stage and in recent time, after just finishing his collegiate career in March 2022. He worked closely with Indiana's light and middleweights and helped push Graham Rooks (149 lbs.) to have the best season for an Indiana wrestler since 2017. Rooks went 29-11 and reached the Round of 12 at his third career NCAA Championships. This was the furthest an Indiana Wrestler had gone in the tournament since 2017 when Nate Jackson got eighth place at 184 lbs. Rooks also finished in fifth place at the Big Ten Championships. Red, an Indiana native, returns to his home state after completing his highly successful collegiate wrestling career at Nebraska this past spring. At Nebraska, Red was a standout in the lineup at 141 lbs. throughout his entire career from 2016-2022. Red was a three-time NCAA All-American ––– earning sixth place at the 2021 NCAA Championships, as well as eighth place in 2019 and seventh place in 2018. In total, he was a five-time NCAA Championships qualifier from 2018-2022. Additionally, Red earned multiple podium finishes at the Big Ten Championships over the years. He finished in second place in 2019, third in 2020, fourth in 2021 and seventh place in 2018. For his Cornhusker career, Red had a 98-46 overall record and a 39-20 dual record. He won 22 bouts via fall with five tech falls and nine major decisions to his name. The move to the Indiana coaching staff will be Red’s first coaching role in his professional career. Prior to competing at Nebraska, Red had a legendary high school wrestling career. He attended New Palestine High School where he wrestled for coach Chad Red Sr. Red went 183-0 in his prep days, including being a four-time state champion. He was deemed the top 132-pounder in the country according to the Asics FloRankings in the class of 2016. He won the 2015 FloNationals crown, was the 2014 Super 32 champion and 2014 Fargo Junior Cadet Nationals champion, all at 126-lbs.

One of the top 4 semi-state rankers.

You make a great point. I'd love to hear from parents and see what they spent on events, training, gear, etc over the years. I asked one parent of a top wrestler what do you think you've spent on training, events, etc and he laughed, then said "I don't even want to think about THAT!"

Reading through, sounds like top level gains are achieved outside of the high school season. Maybe there should be a separate class for the financially disadvantaged. Clubs and travel tournaments must cost quite a bit.

It is at Mooresville High School this year. Not sure about having it streamed as of yet. $5 spectator fee. Not bad for the quality of wrestling.

Glad to see you guys were able to get a few of our departed brethren added in. We may not get their post anymore, but those guys are definitely not forgotten.

Having spent a bit more time in Iowa over the past few months, I've spoken to quite a few other UI athlete's parents about how Iowa HS sports offered and believe there's some interesting tidbits that Indiana may wish to ponder. 1. Schools let athletes compete in more than one sport in a season. 2. Track and baseball are not in the same season. 3. There are four sport athletes (and a few 5 sport athletes) given #1 & #2 above. 4. Not every team or individual makes the post season, decreasing number of tournament weekends. 5. They play state final games and wrestle state finals series during the week due to multiple class structure. My kid wanted to play MS basketball but was told by school admins he had to choose btwn wrestling or basketball and wouldn't be allowed to do both. Choice made for him. During late elementary years, he really liked baseball. Could bang them over the fence before anyone else in Little League, but daddy ball politics soured that really quickly. Started wrestling GR/FR during "baseball season" and a few years later placed at Fargo... Do think that multiple sport participation can help combat burnout for athletes later in HS - often different friend/teammate circles, pressures/expectations are different, etc. However, if the kid desires to get to an elite level with aspirations of making it to college to compete, then extra time, practices and sacrifices have to be made to reach that dream. In Division 1, football offers 85 full "headcount" scholarships and basketball has 13; then all the rest of the sports have equivalency scholarships: wrestling 9.9, baseball 11.7, etc. So, if the goal is to go on a ride to college, play the numbers math -- baseball is not it if you're not a pitcher or Babe Ruth... My kid was lucky he had a choice whether to play football or wrestle collegiately in the B1G, but the wrestling training in the "off season" is what prepared him to be able to make that choice and specifically with the training that Chad Red (C-Red) provided which is so much more than what is only on the mat... So rather than pressure kids that have dreams to wrestle after HS to play baseball, run CC/track, etc., help them find a way to train and travel to get those opportunities presented to them through their body of work. When speaking to parents with young kids, I often suggest 1 team sport and 1 individual sport to narrow down to as they get closer to middle school which usually works except for baseball where the pressure is for year around training and travel teams. (There's a good reason DSG and other companies are heavy promoters of youth sports... hahaha...) The intense schedules of basketball travel & baseball travel are atrocious... At least w/ wrestling off season tournaments, you get to choose whether or not to go and it doesn't impact the team, etc. So, circling back around to the divisions question... How's this sound? Make 2 divisions, Eliminate sectionals Must qualify for a regional and add wrestlebacks (maybe throw a "true second" round in for seeding purposes and extra drama) & advance 3 to state Run state over multiple days w/ wrestlebacks but no true second round for state finals

I'll start. Carroll Regional a nominate @GenHeavyHandz and @nkraus

This! All of this is true and accurate..and there’s more factors too. Many have been mentioned already. i have been following this thread and enjoying the discussion. Here comes the purely anecdotal part…worth nothing I know, but just wanted to share. Background: I attended Hobart in the late 80’s and had the good fortune to be a part of 2 State championship teams. I know first hand the sacrifices and dedication it takes to be part of something successful at a larger school. (Only 5 classes back then). I have 6 sons, all wrestlers for a 1A school listed in Y2s list, out here in no man’s land. Wrestling was always the top focus for all my boys, despite participating in football, CC, track, and baseball. Their high school does not have a strong wrestling culture or history. We were blessed to have a coach who was working his azz off to build one, and had built up numbers and some pride, but that somewhat evaporated when he left. I sent the boys to some camps at Purdue, or even out in Ohio. My boys were very well respected in our area and experienced success at Sectionals and Regionals; however, upon multiple births to EC SS, they were all soundly sent packing…every time. My boys harbor no sour feelings about any of these things and take great pride in their wrestling accomplishments…so, I have posted all this to relay: I posed this very question to my boys (ages 29-19) and all but one responded with a resounding NO to class wrestling in IN. For them, one of the best parts about wrestling was finding out just who the absolute best is, even when they know it’s not them. One of my sons, who was a 3x ECSS qualifier, said it like this, “Yea, maybe I coulda made a deep run in a 1A state tourney, but I would have much rather went out on my shield at ECSS each time, knowing I was seeing the best in our part of the state.” It’s easier to experience success at a small school wrestling, presuming you work hard and do the grind, than experiencing success as part of a team at a small school. Reasons like commitment from fellow team mates, injuries, harvest, etc etc all factor in for small rural schools that require 5, 9, or 11 athletes. Now the success a kid experiences may not culminate in them landing on the podium at state, but it doesn’t negate the success leading up to the day they exit the tournament. Wrestling, ultimately is about preparing for life. The IN tournament is imperfect and downright mean sometimes. Just like life can be. I put my boys into wrestling shortly after their mom passed from cancer. My oldest was 12 at the time. Wrestling helped them through the grief and prepare them to have the tools to deal with adversity, challenges and also develop character, humility, perseverance, integrity, discipline and determination. 112 athletes hit the podiums each year in IN, which means there are a host of athletes who do not, but are the beneficiaries of tremendous gifts such as motivation, fortitude, humility, perspective, and reality. None of those are bad things. All anecdotal, and worth exactly what you paid for it!

Columbus North RTC will be on Thursdays beginning March 7th from 5-6:30pm for MS and HS wrestlers. Must have USAW card. Enter door 40, go to end of the hallway and up stairs, wrestling room is on the right at the top of the stairs. March 7th will be a live night. Solid warmup/drill with a lot of situational live/live goes to prep for Folkstyle State this weekend. Come in and get better!

Time to pump up #The#1County this offseason & next season as the bar has been set. Throw in the ACAC & NE8 along with the Jay County Sectional & Regional and FW Semi State! Watch out for those WarriorRTC, The Fort Hammers, and Madmen wrestlers. They're going to be coming! The Northeast will rise again!

Who me ? @Mattyb & Me walking into Mooresville Regional with a plan .

by not the same you must mean better lol

We are back at it tonight! Technique coming from: Revin Dickman 2X State Champion 2X Ironman Placer 4X Fargo All-American Ranked 9th in the country

Either way, both should have at least been notified. Not sure the steps that got missed, but we now have a guy that lost first round of semi state and a guy down from 150 at the 144 spot that was a ticket rounder. I'm just saying, something is off here. Not saying Colt is the best senior 144 in the state, but if the guys ahead of him actively said no, then he deserves a chance to get the spot. Same with Liscano, like if they are able to and weren't contacted that sucks.

That’s why he is one of the best rankers in the game

Evansville Castle - @hook and half Bloomington South - @Bigtoe19 or (RIP) @navy80 or @donniebaker or @ducktails Mooresville - @TeamGarcia and @Mattyb Jeffersonville - Well... I know a guy...

I’m ready.

After all that, you named a Regional Rep

Congrats fellas, great bunch right there!!!

Why make our wrestling softer and have wrestle-backs? Should we give kids a second chance after they lose? Life's tough, when I lose $25k on poor investments, I don't get a redo and get that money back.

The coaches association has Regional Reps for each regional. Maybe start with those coaches and then they can direct you guys to the coaches from their perspective regional that have had success and are wired in with pertinent information.

So hardcore you forgot it was the Maconaquah regional for a couple years.

The room was rocking last night, over 40 total kids with 6 different schools represented. Coach Runyan ran a great workout in preparation for ISWA state, thanks a million coach. Next week we will have Joey Butler for the freestyle kickoff night. Indiana state champ and currently wrestling for the Hoosiers. Enter door #9.

Do you realize the number of kids that didn't wrestle in those program's middle schools or only did for one year?

At a small school, this decision doesn't just affect the individual. It affects the entire athletic program. And if we wrestling coaches at small schools promote to our kids that they should focus on wrestling and with the other teams, whatever happens happens...then that's just not being a good teammate from an athletic department perspective. And even if you can convince me that it is OK to just look out for your sport, what happens if all of the wrestling kids agree with me that they should focus on being as good as possible at one sport, and that sport isn't wrestling? Answer: the wrestling team will fold and there won't be wrestling anymore at Culver Community. I don't want that for wrestling and I don't want that for any of our programs.

No

This topic moved me to make a needed website for our team history lol. East Noble Wrestling (google.com) East Noble top 5 has to go Taylor March 163-11 2/2/3/1 Garrett Pepple 136-7 X/2/2/1 Andy Uhl 145-10 Q/4/3/2 Connor Knapp 164-13 Q/4/3/4 Aidan Sprague 138-18 Q/6/6/5 Then it would have to be Nate and Jake Weimer who had remarkably similar careers. Jake 126-36 X/Q/X/7 Nate 124-30 Q/8/x/Q

Tommy Gibbs IS going to be in the mix. Brutal having to run through Kreija and May. Possibly the 3rd best 150 this year as a sophomore, and there’s not a harder worker in the state.