Subscribe on itunes | Subscribe on Google Play Music

Rex Brewer and Dane Fuelling talk all things high school wrestling, including looking ahead to conference tournaments this weekend

View full article

Stone tablets are hard to scan

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/sportshub2-uploads-prod/files/sites/2005/2020/01/21120606/2020-NECC-Wrestling-Tournament-Brackets-as-of-1-21-20-8-am.pdf

6 minutes ago, warsawwrestling said:

On your back?

It's not uncommon for teams to have murals to me in their wrestling room.

Pool A
Cathedral
Perry Meridian
Carroll

Pool B
Evansville Mater Dei
Columbus East
Avon

Pool C
Brownsburg
Franklin
Jeffersonville

Pool D
Warren Central
Bloomington South
Pendleton Heights
 

It was mentioned that Hudkins was out for the season after his injury at the Midlands.

On the broadcast last night they also said that Konrath was out for the season due to concussions.

Subscribe on itunes | Subscribe on Google Play Music

Mike and Joe talk about the All-Decade 152lbs, top seniors, and and talk about the past week's wrestling events.

View full article

By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com

Colin Kwiatkowski has experienced highs and lows on the wrestling mat and the Valparaiso High School junior says he is better for it. As a 160-pound freshman, Kwiatkowski went into the Vikings varsity lineup and faced a schedule that includes the tough Duneland Athletic Conference and more.

“It was an eye opener,” says Kwiatkowski. “My freshmen years wasn’t the greatest year. My sophomore year, I started beating kids and realized I can actually do something with wrestling.”

“It was an aha moment. I can go far in this sport.”

Kwiatkowski placed first at the LaPorte Sectional, second at the Crown Regional and third at the East Chicago Semistate and qualified for the IHSAA State Finals as a 170-pound sophomore, finishing 32-9.

Not making it to the second day fueled Kwiatkowski’s off-season and has fed his desire during the 2019-20 campaign.

“Losing Friday night (at the State Finals), it hurts,” says third-year Valparaiso head coach Jake Plesac. “It leaves a bad taste in your mouth. He has used it as something to learn from.”

“He took the loss hard. He came in this summer willing to work hard.”

Valparaiso has a young squad this season with many underclassmen in varsity roles.

“I’m helping them,” says Kwiatkowski. “I know what they’re going through. My freshmen year was the same thing. You have to get through the ups and downs.”

With a young squad of 25, including freshmen who came up through the rejuvenated Valparaiso Viking Wrestling Club, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson middle schools, Kwiatkowski finds himself throwing kids into the varsity that could use some more experience at the junior varsity level.

“We all want to get better,” says Plesac. “Sometimes you have to take your lumps to do that.”

“Our goal for us is grow them as young adults and better wrestlers along the way.”

Last fall, Kwiatkowski was a starting linebacker and backup quarterback for the 2019 Class 5A state runners-up.

“That experience in football was like no other,” says Kwiatkowski. “It was really fun.

“But there’s big difference between football shape and wrestling shape. (In wrestling), you’re going all-out as hard as you can the whole time.”

He performed on the gridiron around 195 pounds.

“It met with (Plesac) before went to state,” says Kwiatkowski. “We came to the decision that I’d be wrestling at 182. Last year, I did a lot of cutting weight. It took a big toll on my body. This years, I’m more energized with more strength and I’m quicker.”

Kwiatkowski has been eating mostly vegetables with some lean meats like chicken.

“That stuff has helped,” says Kwiatkowski. “I’ve felt better since I’ve been on the diet.”

Where does Kwiatkowski shine brightest on the mat?

“Defense,” says Kwiatkowski. “That’s what I’m best at. I need to work more at my offense.”

“My coaches always emphasize that I need to take more shots. I agree with them.”

While several different VHS grapplers practice with Kwiatkowski to give him different looks, his main workout partner is 195-pound sophomore Pierce Pine.

“We want to hardest training we can give him,” says Plesac. “If all else fails a coach will jump in and try to give him the better workout.”

Plesac describes Kwiatkowski as a pure wrestler with raw athleticism.

“He’s relentless neutral to top to bottom. He’s a big move guy. He’s known for his throws. It makes him really dangerous. He executes (throws) more than anybody I’ve ever seen in my coaching career.”

“He has great hips and is able to use his body in a way that has made throws successful.”

Kwiatkowski, who is 31-1 this season and coming off a runner-up finish at the DAC meet, says he sometimes relies on his physical gifts more than his moves.

“My athleticism gets me out of situations where I could be using technique or other things to get out of,” says Kwiatkowski. shooting is the side of offense I need to get more out of. I need to be quicker on my feet.

“Those throws aren’t always going to be there.”

Then there’s the Colin Kwiatkowski, the person.

“The thing that makes him special is his humble personality off the mat,” says Plesac. “He’s polite to anyone and everyone. He’s a leader  in the school. He’s a quiet kid.”

“When he speaks people listen. That’s what he does for our team. We’re glad he’s taken on more of a leadership role this year.”

There are 25 athletes on a squad coached by Plesac (a former Hobart wrestler and Purdue University graduate), Eric Ledbetter and Irving Hernandez.

One of the younger Vikings is Colin’s brother, Dylan Kwiatkowski. He broke his arm during the football season and just recently was able to compete in wrestling in a dual against Portage.

“He did very well,” says Colin. “He’s my buddy when it comes to everything.”

Michael and Miranda Kwiatkowski have three children — Colin, Dylan and Brooklyn. The little sister is a seventh grader at Ben Franklin Middle School and is a volleyball player.

Colin Kwiatkowski says he would like to wrestle in college or attend Indiana University to study business. His current favorite school subject is science.

“I’ve always found that interesting,” says Kwiatkowski.

As a sophomore, he was a peer tutor. During his study hall, he helped special education students, eating lunch with them and a football teammate and working with them on their assignments.

“Next year I’m going to do that again,” says Kwiatkowski. “I had a lot of fun doing that.”

Valparaiso has one more home dual meet (Jan. 22 against Crown Point) before the state tournament series.

View full article

As we discussed last night on Gorilla Radio

Dual Schedule

Multi-Dual Schedule

Tournament Schedule

View full article

View full signing

Weigh in sheets

I believe Bam Lawrence bumped up to wrestle Joe Lee at team state also. Lee won a wild one late. 

They will join Indiana Tech with a women's program next year.

https://www.trinethunder.com/general/2019-20/releases/20200117g6m7ab

Matt Land their Athletic Director is a former head wrestling coach at Eastside and Northrop in the late 1990's and early 2000's.

23 minutes ago, FANMAN said:

Didn’t or couldn’t .. maybe I’m wrong but wasn’t his age the reason he wasn’t allowed to compete.  Thinking he turned 19 during wrestling season, which would of kept from competing, or at least the post season.  Crazy how parents made choices or for whatever reason kids ages vary.  I turned 18 first week of college, other kids turning 19 during school year lol. 

No he transferred and was ruled ineligible.

Only a couple more iterations remain....

View full team ranking

14 hours ago, 4U2NV said:

Littell is a great talent but he is no Mendez. 126 would just be more lopsided. 

Littell is pretty darn good, without injuries he'd be flirting with being a 4-timer also. He has a hit list of who's who in Indiana wrestling

Alec Viduya
Blake Boarman
Brayden Lowery
Riley Bettich
Hunter Watts
Cayden Rooks
 

He placed at Fargo and Super 32 and lost a 1-0 match with Jesse Mendez. Like @IndianaWrestlingGuy said, if he's there you wouldn't have seen the amount of athletes headed to 126.

By JEREMY HINES

Thehines7@gmail.com

When it’s time to step on the mat “Flip” flips the switch and goes to work. When the match is done, he flips back to being one of the nicest guys around.

Sure, Indianapolis Lutheran junior Hayden Filipovich got his nickname, in part, because of his last name. But those who know the 182-pounder best knows he can turn into a monster when he’s wrestling.

“We call him Flip,” Lutheran coach Greg Hughes said. “He certainly flips the switch on the mat. He is one of those magical kids that can go toe-to-toe with anyone. He’s relentless. He’s fearless. But, as soon as the match is over, he’s a class act. He’s a great kid, a smart, personable kid and a great leader with an infectious personality.”

Filipovich is currently ranked No. 9 in the 182-pound class. Last year he advanced to the ticket round of the New Castle semistate before falling to J.D. Farrell of Fishers 5-2. That match has fueled Filipovich to push harder this year.

“He wishes he had that ticket round match back,” Hughes said. “It came down to who was going to have that edge. I think he approached that match differently than normal. We have really focused on treating every match the same this year – whether it be a big match or an insignificant one. We don’t want him holding it back and playing safe this year. Every match he needs to go in and just let it rip. This year he puts his foot on the line and goes. All year we’ve focused on this.”

Filipovich worked out all summer with that loss in mind.

“I made a lot of mistakes in the ticket round match,” he said. “I had a lot of nerves going. But, it motivated me to get better and push harder.”

Lutheran is one of the smallest schools in the state. There are just at 250 students in the high school, and about half of those are male. Still, the wrestling team has 15 guys this season. They still struggle to fill a roster and, being in Marion County, they wrestle elite programs like Perry Meridian, Cathedral and Warren Central.

The school didn’t even have a wrestling program until Hughes started it five years ago.

“I always loved the sport of wrestling,” Hughes said. “Then God blessed me with three sons. We were looking at options for high school. Lutheran really stood out as our best choice, but they didn’t have a wrestling program. I told the school that I wanted to go there but we needed wrestling. They allowed me to start the program. Now, the kids on this team are like my sons on the mat. We have two state-ranked wrestlers. I keep saying we’re the No. 1 small school program in Marion County.

“After five years we have had some good accomplishments. It’s a true wrestling story. You win some and lose some, but we see how far we’ve come and how far we want to go.”

Leading the charge this season is Filipovich. The junior is used to success. He was the starting center and linebacker for the state runner-up football team and he has carried that winning attitude to the mat.

“One of my favorite stories about Flip happened about a year ago,” Hughes said. “I was pushing the kids pretty hard. We were running sprints at the end of a very tough practice. The kids were dragging. The sprints were slowing down. I told the kids to give me just two more. Then Flip pops up and says ‘That’s it? We need to do more. I have to be six-minute ready. Let’s go.’ He was pushing us to coach harder because he knew what he wanted to accomplish.”

Filipovich has lofty goals this season.

“Just like every other kid growing up wrestling in Indiana, I want to be a state champion,” he said. “It’s always been a dream of mine.”

Filipovich is undecided in what he wants to pursue in college. He’s leaning toward exercise science but admits he hasn’t made his mind up yet. Right now he’s focused on wrestling.

View full article

Subscribe on itunes | Subscribe on Google Play Music

Rex Brewer and Dane Fuelling recap the week in high school wrestling, and were joined this week on the show by special guest Tim Klingensmith

View full article

Mike is pumping the East Chicago out!

7 minutes ago, UncleJimmy said:

MS - 275

Guaranteed Places

• 1st Place - Holden Parsons of Yorktown MS #5-285(7th@285)
• 2nd Place - Tate Johnson of Schmucker MS

Tate Johnson recently signed with Auburn for football after moving out of state. 

I noticed quite a few kids that moved out of state

Trey Bates- Tennessee
Robert Howard- Not the #1 ranked guy, but he's in Michigan I think
Noah Mis, Colton Drousias, Robert Bowman- All at Mount Carmel

View full team ranking

Pre-State rankings

2 hours ago, Wrestling Scholar said:

That's almost as good as the 3/5 compromise made during the constitutional convention.    Brilliant.   Was that guy Jebadiah Caprino that signed the constitution you're great great great grandfather or at least an uncle.

We didn't come to this great country until the 1920's.