Y2CJ41

You decide

Or

Last year I believe it was Delta as they didn't release their brackets until Thursday even with pleas from the masses.

The whole Fort Wayne Semi State at 132 is tough. Doster, Rhodes, Gunsett, Raypole, Luevano...There is a good chance a previous state streeter will not be making it to state this year.

There is also another state placer lurking out of the Goshen regional.....

Can't take anyone for granted in this weight.

By STEVE KRAH

stvkrh905@gmail.com

A bond shared between siblings is a big part of why they are among the top wrestlers in their realm — big sister at the national and international level and little brother near the top of the high school pinnacle.

Sarah Hildebrandt, 22, is a member of Team USA and trying to earn a spot for the 2016 Rio Olympics. The 2011 Penn High School graduate, just completed a national team training camp in Iowa City, Iowa, the site of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling on April 9-10. She is among those going for spots at 53 kg (116.8 pounds).

Drew Hildebrandt, 18, is coming off a runner-up IHSAA State Finals finish at 113 pounds and a key role in Penn’s 2014-15 team state championship. Now a senior, the Central Michigan University-bound grappler is currently ranked No. 1 in his weight class in Indiana at 120 and was just named MVP of the Northern Indiana Conference for the NIC team champions.

Sarah will have an overseas tour and a few tournaments leading up to the Olympic Trials. One is scheduled for the weekend of the IHSAA State Finals, Feb. 19-20, in Indianapolis.

“Yo! I’m not going to that,” Sarah stated emphatically while visiting family for the holidays and watching her brother compete during break from training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. “I’ve got to see my little brother.”

Sarah, who got to coach from the corner at Mishawaka High School while her bro won an Al Smith Classic title in late December, is close to all her family members (Chris and Nancy have four children — Cory, Sarah, Amy and Drew).

But the lofty wrestling goals and shared mat experiences have brought Sarah and Drew even closer.

“We keep in touch (texts and phone calls etc.),” Sarah said. “We send each other silly stuff all the time. But before a competition, he will say, ‘I love you. You’re a beast.’ Drew knows I can do this. He’s been in this position. He trains with me. He knows me.

“I love to hear from him . He’ll say, ‘Sarah, you’ve got this. Keep going.’ At the end of the tournament, he’ll say ‘I’m so proud of you.’”

Through training and listening, Drew has benefitted from Sarah’s experience as a top grappler at King University and with the national team.

Drew has adopted Sarah’s front headlock and slide-by to his bag of tricks.

“People say, ‘you have a nasty slide-by’ and I say, ‘I learned it from my sister,’” Drew said.

As a wrestler elementary school, Drew would get almost sick from anxiety before every match. With plenty of time in the spotlight since, that is no longer an issue.

But Drew and Sarah do have anxious moments.

“When she’s wrestling, I’m twice as nervous as when I’m wrestling and when I’m wrestling, she’s twice as nervous,” Drew said.

On breaks from the national team — like the one in December — Sarah came into the practice room and shared her knowledge with all the Kingsmen, including head coach Brad Harper and his staff.

“With the moves she shows us, she really focuses on the little things,” Drew said. “It’s more about the neutral position since she really doesn’t do bottom of top.”

Harper, who started at Penn the same season as Sarah in 2007-08, appreciates the technician that she has become.

“I told her back then that if she was going compete against boys, her technique and positioning had to be perfect,” Harper said. “She has taken that to heart. It has shown. She has even taken it to the next level.”

Harper, a former standout at Mishawaka High School and Purdue University who has continued to coach Sarah past her high school days, said attention to detail is what she will need to have to earn a spot for Rio.

“It’s about a lot of reps and a lot of practice and knowing you’re ready,” Harper said. “It’s hitting things over and over and over. That makes her makes her a great technician. She realizes her weaknesses and strengths.”

Sarah said its her perfectionist tendencies that help her make adjustments and gives her confidence on the mat.

“I love to just drill,” Sarah said. “Everybody knows I have a headlock and everybody knows I have a slide-by. Everyone in the country knows and people on the other side of the world know. But they don’t know the corrections I am making.”

Sarah has also worked on her quickness.

“I am a very heavy-footed wrestler,” Sarah said. “I’ve really focused on moving my feet, elevating the pace and moving in and out. The first time I executed it, people came up to me and said, ‘wow! you look like a different wrestler.’”

Making Sarah and other Penn athletes better wrestlers is what Harper strives to do, not only with the teaching of technique, but with his encouragement.

“That’s my secret sauce, it’s all about motivation,” Harper said. “I try to keep them focused on the ultimate goal.”

With his current Penn grapplers — like Drew — that goal is individual and team championships.

For Sarah, it’s an Olympic dream.

Harper, who was in Las Vegas on a Friday night when Sarah qualified for the Olympic Trials and with his Penn team the next morning for a tournament in early December, likes to send motivational quotes.

A recent one to the Hildebrandts came from legendary Alabama football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.

The quote read: “It’s not the will to win that matters — everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”

The Harpers know Sarah as an athlete, but are very close with the whole Hildebrandt family. Sarah, best friend and national team training partner Jenna (Burkert) Lowry and others could be seen with Brad and wife Christina’s daughter and son — Mackenzie, 2, and Deuel, 5 months — at the Al Smith Classic.

As a motivator and accountability partner, Harper watches film of Sarah and gives pointers. He talks to her about her diet (she has gone down a weight class), her training and her mental game.

“We talk everyday,” Sarah said. “He’ll ask me, ‘have you visualized today?’”

Dropping down to 53 kg (about four pounds lighter than her previous class and her lowest weight since high school), Sarah made a total change to her routine.

“I took the cut very, very seriously,” Sarah said. “I probably started three months out. I complete changed my diet, my cardio and my lifting.”

She continued with wrestling workouts five days a week (twice a day three times) and went from 20 to 40 minutes of running on the treadmill and a sauna session each day.

Then a funny thing happened.

“The day of weigh-in, I was being nice to people. It was a whole new experience,” Sarah said. “(When cutting weight,) I can get a little cranky. I love being down at the other weight. I feel like I can move better.”

While running back in northern Indiana, she noticed how training at 6,000 feet above sea level in Colorado helps.

“I was running 2 to 3 mph faster here,” Sarah said.

It has been quite a run for the Hildebrandts and that run still has miles to go.

Here is a link to a previous story on Sarah Hildebrandt

http://www.elkharttr...ing-ground.html

Click here to view the article

Top guys at each weight in basically winning percentage order

106- Woodlan

113- Davis vs. Martin could be interesting

120- Richard, Rushing, and Nance will be a battle

126- Franklin vs. Davis should be good

132- Great match

138- Kern vs. Woenker

145- Eicher won't break a sweat

152- Chaos

160- Lots of solid kids

170- Parrett

182- Clem, Updike, and the mystery man from Wayne

195- Woodlan and Leo

220- Isaacson

285- Heritage and Huntington North

If Rhodes wins regional, which he is the slight favorite you could see Gunsett and Luevano face off with Raypole and Doster in the ticket round.

106- Streeter and Shearer will be a good weight

113- Is a total mess

120- Langeloh will win

126- Garrett from Dwenger is heating up

132- Leazier from Busco

138- SAC rises again

145- Capps will cap it off with a win

152- Kriss Cross

160- Snyder from North Side

170- NECC battle

182- SAC battle

195- Mighty Railroader

220- See 195

285- SAC will rise to the top

I can say the mystery/conspiracy has been solved long ago. The General will be present and coaching at all the state tournament venues and I for one could not be happier . He brings excitement and the kids love him isn't that what really matters??????

Oh and he was at the New Haven Sectional last year check your facts/ sources

He'll be in the chair for all his SAC wrestlers? Can't wait to hobnob it will him at lunch next week.

Round 2 of Doster vs. Rhodes will be good

The real burning question this year will be "will the Major be allowed at the state tournament venues?" Last year he was mysteriously absent from sectional and regional.

Amazing you say it's about the kids yet you always insert "my" and try to make it about you.

Earth to the major, it's not about YOU.

Let's get The Ugly out of the way.  The referees were nothing short of atrocious.  Because of his substantial belly, bad knees or both, one of the referees did not have the ability to get to the mat.  A number of times, I saw him call falls while hovering over the grapplers; nor did he slide his hand under the shoulder blades.  

This isn't the WWE refs should NOT put their hand under the shoulder blades.

So you will get more than 2 of the Bottom 3 in the SAC?(6th Northrop, 7th Luers). Regardless you are talking about one team with 8 wrestlers and the other with only a few above .500 wrestlers. With that room? You better get more than 5. Well I hate to be "cheeky" but c'mon now? Will Carroll get a placer out of your "Super Charged" roster? Tell me whom? I might be Admiral Archer next year I just like the names.

We have high expectations for each and every one of our wrestlers. Our expectations aren't advertised on messageboards, they are kept within the confines of our wrestling room. Our expectations go beyond conference titles and being the best in Fort Wayne or Allen County. We have 14 wrestlers that have proven this year they can battle with the best in the state. Each and every wrestler knows their ability and they are chomping at the bit to start the fun part of the season. 

All of Goshen's individual results are on TrackWrestling

More than Northrop and Luers combined

I really don't want to list all 1800 regional qualifiers

So you have never seen a state level wrestler not go to state because of a tough draw or pairing...?

Not at sectional

Y2 the sectional brackets would just give me a better vision to see a route in predicting how many guys from the SAC go to state

Not all state level wrestlers go to state.

You should have a pretty good vision of the regional via conference results and brackets.

True so very true like Dunten...state level...he beat a state placer more than once did not exit.

But his sectional bracket had nothing to do with his advancement.

Lets be honest.. Some state level wrestlers dont go and some guys get a nice draw and get down there so pairings matter

Sectional pairings shouldn't matter if you are a state level wrestler. 

We'll find out over the next two weeks. 

I will have a better guess once I see the sectional brackets.... But right now I would say hopefully 5

Sectional brackets shouldn't matter if they are state level wrestlers.

I'll take the under

How many SAC wrestlers go to state?

Both Aults lose? Tell me it ain't so!

Go to thewrestlingtourney.com and click Indiana