Y2CJ41

My brother and I joked after the Red/Lee match that Nick is just going to have to transfer next year so he can wrestle the same weight class as Joe Lee to give us another great match to look forward to seeing.

I do not think Covaciu will wrestle, just a hunch. Van horn isn't a senior either, so he's ineligible.

Alex Dolly would be on the list too

I assume this is the Dapper Dan you are talking about? Illinois went last year and it was 1st class all the way. They run things right in PA. If you are asked to be on this team it would be a big mistake to pass it up. Good Luck.

Yes this was formerly called the Dapper Dan, they changed a couple associations this year. It's a great event and I'm excited to have the guys going. It's going to be a very good team.

Need to expand past  one team in the 1900's and the rest in the 2000's.  Good start though.

Congratulations to Nick Ellis from Roncalli for signing with Marian University. He is projected to wrestle 141.

Click here to view the signing

I have soft commitments from 13 wrestlers, just awaiting firm commitments from coaches and wrestlers after they check schedules and such. I will announce the team as we get those.

So far we have

Main Event

132lbs Chad Red of New Palestine

285lbs Shawn Streck of Merrillville

Team Indiana vs. WPIAL

113lbs Geoffrey Davis of Fort Wayne Wayne

120lbs STATE CHAMPION Drew Hildebrandt of Penn

126lbs Gaige Torres of Portage

132lbs Owen Doster of New Haven 

138lbs Evan Eldred of Westfield

145lbs Jordan Vaughn of Franklin Central

152lbs Steven BAM Lawrence of Portage

160lbs Cael McCormick of Yorktown

170lbs STATE CHAMPION Drew Hughes of Lowell

182lbs STATE CHAMPION Blake Rypel of Cathedral

195lbs STATE CHAMPION Jake Kleimola of Lake Central

220lbs Nick Fox of Carmel

285lbs Sean Galligar of Columbus East

Coaches
Ed "the animal" Pendoski

Leroy "keeper of the flame" Vega

Chris "Double C" Cooper

I have been trying to get in touch with someone in order to get the data TAE has collected to try to publish another book, but to no avail.

Asa Garcia didn't win sectional, regional, nor semi-state...but won the big one.

Steve Stahl did the same as Garcia in 2008.

Talk about an emotional roller coaster! Way to ruin my day.... I was the champion for about 3 hours. At least I have my motivation for next year!

At least you can take your anger out on Travis this afternoon.

We do have a HUGE turn of events in the state pick'ems. Due to a miscalculation, mainly of the 145lbs champion....we have a NEW winner! Brad Clark gets the recount championship, no more hanging chads!

Once Fort Wayne rises again it will then be considered the region too.

State Finals results are posted...

Looks like Spires CHOKED and fell from the top step! 

We have our FIRST two-time state pick'ems champion in Mr. Thomas Pompei! Congrats Thomas, now get back to work for the Warriors

By STEVE KRAH

stvkrh905@gmail.com

It was one of the most highly-anticipated championship matches in the 78 years of the IHSAA State Finals.

There was a buzz around the Indiana wrestling community for months.

On Saturday, Feb. 20, before 12,602 leather-lunged fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, New Palestine’s Chad Red and Evansville Mater Dei’s Nick Lee — ranked No. 1 and 2 in the nation and holding four previous state titles between them — stepped under the lights with the 132-pound title on the line.

Here they were, what long-time State Finals public address announcer Kevin Whitehead called “two of the finest high school wrestlers on the planet.”

The crowd and the television audience was treated to a tussle between the two Big Ten Conference-bound grapplers.

Red had never lost a match as a high schooler and yet he found himself behind 4-0 early in the match. He cradled his way back into the lead and wound up with his hand being raised after a 6-5 victory.

“I just feel like I wrestled through that match calmly and, other than giving up that four. I wrestled pretty good,” Red said. “(Lee’s quick 4-0 lead) definitely caught me off-guard. I noticed I had to move a lot more. Once I started moving a little more, I started changing the momentum of the match. Once I locked up that cradle, I started changing the momentum of the match and the crowd got a little more quiet. It was back to us wrestling. I had to control the lead.”

The New Pal Dragon sprinted off at 183-0 with state titles at 106, 120, 126 and 132.

Red is only the third Indiana high schooler to go unbeaten throughout his career and the ninth four-time IHSAA state champion, joining Crown Point’s Jason Tsirtsis (2009-12), Griffith’s Angel Escobedo (2002-05) and Alex Tsirtsis (2001-04), Mater Dei’s Blake Maurer (2001-04), Indianapolis Cathedral’s Lance Ellis (1986-89), South Bend Central’s Howard Fisher (1949-52), Muncie Central’s Willard Duffy (1930-33) and Bloomington’s Estil Ritter (1924-27).

Lee, who was at the top of the podium at 132 in 2015 and third at 126 in 2014, finished his junior season at 16-1.

He’s been on big stages and won championships all around the country, but Saturday in Indianapolis was special.

“This is crazy,” Red said. “This is one of my favorites, if THE best.”

Ellis, the first Indiana grappler to run the table, was there to present Red with his medal and later reflected on the moment.

“That was good for our sport, good for Indiana wrestling,” Ellis said. “What Chad Red did is amazing. He’s put himself in the record book as probably the greatest high school wrestler in Indiana history.”

What makes Red so good?

“A lot of things,” Ellis said. “It’s the time he puts in on the mat, the dedication, athleticism, just the will to win. He’s just a phenomenal wrestler. The bond he has with his dad (Chad Red Sr.) is special. Once you start winning, it becomes contagious.”

But what it boils down to for Ellis is that Red has what it takes to go into an early deficit, in front of a huge crowd with many rooting against him and still dig deep and come out on top.

“It comes down to mental toughness,” Ellis said. “And you’ve got to give (Nick) Lee all the credit in the world. For him to go after Red and challenge himself says a lot about him. Most people would do that. No one would do that. He’s a competitor.”

Ellis said as impressive as the showdown was now, it will be even more important years from now when Red and Lee can look back on even bigger titles at the national and international levels.

What did Lee think about the experience?

“You don’t get to wrestle the best kid in the country all the time,” Lee said. “You don’t take it for granted. You go out there and give it 100 percent. The hype is the hype. There’s always hype every year in every weight class. The opportunity to wrestler somebody with that many great credentials is just exciting for me.”

The moves that built the 4-0 lead?

“An inside tie to a Fireman’s (Carry) and I got him to his back, so two (points) for a takedown and two for a near fall,” Lee said. “You can’t panic when you get down and he didn’t panic and he took the lead. That’s something you can admire in wrestlers at this level. They’re always in the match no matter what the score is.”

Red will take his talents to the college mat at Nebraska while Lee has committed to Penn State.

Who knows, but these two could meet again many times in the future?

As for the immediate future for Red, he does not plan to be back in the wrestling room on Monday.

“I’m going to take a long time off,” Red said. “I’m about the chill-ax right now, kick my feet up and sit back.”

But Red will be back in the spotlight again soon enough when he takes on the Pennsylvania 132-pound champion March 26 at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic.

Click here to view the article

We are once again voting for Mr. Gorilla. The fan vote is worth two votes.
 
Here is the criteria:
The criteria for selection will be left intentionally vague as we want a variety of opinions as to who the voters think is the best wrestler. Some general criteria that can be considered is listed here:
1. Must be a senior
2. Undefeated/fewest losses. A midseason loss would not disqualify a wrestler.
3. Domination. Number of pins, tech falls
4. Level of competition.
5. Body of work previous to senior year. State and national resume.
6. Character
7. Grades

Question: Asa didn't win Sectional, Regional, or Semi-State. Is he the only State Champ this year to not be Sectional, Regional, or Semi-State champ? How many times has this happened over the years?

Steve Stahl is a recent one. Even more interesting was that his opponent in the finals Marcus Shrewsbury beat Stahl's nemesis Ryan Konrath in the quarters and Stahl beat Shrewsbury's nemesis Jake Salas in the quarters. Also that season Stahl beat Bellmont's Billy Baker in the ticket round...Baker went on to win state the next year.

Here is the criteria and description, we will probably do a show this week with state recap and the awards.

http://indianamat.com/index.php/page/articles.html/_/mr-gorilla-award/mr-gorilla-award-information-r590

Franklin has different singlets they routinely wear

Blake knew a spot on the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic team was on the line also.

They didn't advertise anything.

Umm there was this match that had some hype

Take a minute to actually TRY to find it yourself

The match is set

Lee vs Miracle

Especially since they did spend some time as a couple at one point after the match.

Production by semi-state

Fort Wayne 24
East Chicago 25
Evansville 28
New Castle 35