Y2CJ41

By Anna Kayser
 
When Brownsburg opens its doors to kick off the 2023-24 wrestling season on Nov. 29 vs. Westfield, it will be the first time in 291 days that Parker Reynolds steps onto the mat in competition. Nine months and 18 days full of doctor’s visits, blood tests, surgeries, physical therapy and pushing himself to the limit, all for a young athlete to return to wrestling stronger than he left it.
 
Parker, the 138-pound freshman starter in last year’s Bulldog lineup, had his first high school campaign riddled with a then-mysterious condition causing numbness in his hands. A season which had incredible high points – on Dec. 10 at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, he defeated the eventual 138-pound state champion from Ohio – was challenged by a mix of physical and mental hurdles.
 
“When I wrestled, I would lose all feeling. It was almost like there were knives in my forearms, it hurt really, really bad,” Parker said. “It started to almost become a mental thing because before a lot of matches, I wouldn’t know if it was going to come up or not and it almost freaked me out before every match. I was worried that my hands were going to go numb, and it really started messing with me when I wrestled.”
 
Following a semi-state loss to end his freshman season, Parker immediately began seeing a series of doctors to diagnose his condition. They tested his heart, musculoskeletal system and blood for autoimmune diseases before being referred to a group of specialists on thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) – one being Dr. George G. Sheng, a vascular surgeon with Ascension Medical Group.
 
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TOS – a condition often found in pitchers due to their repetitive throwing motion – refers to a series of syndromes where compression of nerves, arteries and veins in the lower neck and upper chest causes pain or numbness in the surrounding areas.
 
Parker, after undergoing another series of tests with Dr. Sheng, was diagnosed with both neurogenic and venous TOS, two of the three syndromes related to TOS causing his hands to turn purple, numbness and the sensation of feeling knives in his forearms.
 
The constant movement of the shoulder forward – similar to a pitcher’s throwing motion – at a young age can affect the placement of ribs before they’re entirely developed, leading to a partial blockage of different nerves and veins making up the spinal system. Parker became the first wrestler Dr. Sheng had seen with TOS, and in turn became the first to undergo a procedure to remove the first rib on his right side in an effort to alleviate his symptoms. The recovery timeline for this surgery to treat TOS is one year.
 
“Nobody thought he was going to be able to wrestle this year – not even the surgeon, not even us,” Josh Reynolds, Parker’s dad, said. “He was going to have to put the work in, he was going to have to go to physical therapy and see how his body [healed].”
 
Parker has TOS on both sides of his body, but an early expectation of having two rib-removal surgeries faded as the April 3 surgery on his right side relieved most symptoms on both. However, the doubt of a possible second surgery and how his body would rebound expanded the unknown from one year to potentially never wrestling again.
 
“This is the longest I’ve ever gone without having a match, I felt like so much was getting taken away from me. There was a lot of doubt [if I would ever wrestle again],” Parker said.
 
The beginning stages of Parker’s recovery can be summed up in two words: Boring and grueling. Unable to do anything where he might feel pressure in his left side, the rising sophomore found himself unable to do all of his favorite things – wrestling, as well as enjoy fishing and a number of water activities at his family’s vacation home in Florida.
 
After months of being in a dark place mentally, from not knowing what was going on with his body to possibly being unable to wrestle for at least a year, Parker began seeing a mental coach.
“[Parker’s mental coach] has probably been one of the biggest influences in all of this,” Josh said. “He was a calming voice to Parker and saying ‘Listen, you’ve got to listen to your body. If you’re not right, you can’t come back prematurely.’”
 
Taking the next step in his rehab process by beginning light, lower body-focused workouts helped, too, and Parker’s parents saw a noticeable change mentally.
 
And then, a lump on his neck appeared and severe nosebleeds began, sparking a series of blood tests with the possibility of lymphoma or leukemia. The average size of a lymph node is under 1.5 centimeters in diameter, and Parker’s grew to near 3 centimeters.
 
“He’d make comments like, “I don’t know what I can do if I can’t wrestle. That’s all I’ve ever done, I’ve been wrestling since I was four.’” Josh said. “As a family, it was tough especially for my wife and I because we’re just saying we want [Parker] healthy and in his eyes, ‘Well if I’m healthy I can wrestle.’”
 
Parker had another surgery in July to remove the entire growth from his neck. The tests for leukemia came back negative, and instead he was diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus – another form of mononucleosis – likely caused by the hit his immune system took with the removal of his rib.
 
He was cleared to return to practice in August, with stipulations from his surgeon: He couldn’t be taken down and was only allowed to be in situations which he could control. But he could build his entire daily routine around wrestling and gaining strength for the season.
 
“Coach [Chad] Red said, “You tell me when and where and I’m with you every step of the way,’” Josh recalled. “That’s when we saw this mental transition. [Parker] was working with the mental coach, doing one-on-ones with Coach Red, practicing twice a day [plus lifting weights] and he was changing his mindset.”
 
Over the summer, Parker lost close to 10 pounds. After being cleared by his physicians, he began working out and practicing three times a day, before school and after school, to get himself back in wrestling shape for Brownsburg’s impending Oct. 30 practice.
 
“After a couple months, you can see he’s getting smoother and feeling better,” Brownsburg head wrestling coach Darrick Snyder said. “Now, we’re working through with him that he’s not going to be the same dude at our opening meet that he will be at the end of the year. He’s going to take some leaps this season.”
 
Now, Parker’s coming back with a vengeance – finally stepping onto the mat with more answers than questions. Along with a renewed sense of confidence in his health and wrestling ability, he’s entering this season with three things he didn’t have last year:
 
A tattoo on his lower ribs of a quote by Moliére, a French playwright, reading, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
 
A list of all the wrestlers he beat last season who placed at the state championships in Indiana or surrounding states.
 
And a necklace with his first rib, removed when this all started, to wear around his neck before each of his matches during his improbable comeback campaign.  

By Anna Kayser
 
When Brownsburg opens its doors to kick off the 2023-24 wrestling season on Nov. 29 vs. Westfield, it will be the first time in 291 days that Parker Reynolds steps onto the mat in competition. Nine months and 18 days full of doctor’s visits, blood tests, surgeries, physical therapy and pushing himself to the limit, all for a young athlete to return to wrestling stronger than he left it.
 
Parker, the 138-pound freshman starter in last year’s Bulldog lineup, had his first high school campaign riddled with a then-mysterious condition causing numbness in his hands. A season which had incredible high points – on Dec. 10 at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, he defeated the eventual 138-pound state champion from Ohio – was challenged by a mix of physical and mental hurdles.
 
“When I wrestled, I would lose all feeling. It was almost like there were knives in my forearms, it hurt really, really bad,” Parker said. “It started to almost become a mental thing because before a lot of matches, I wouldn’t know if it was going to come up or not and it almost freaked me out before every match. I was worried that my hands were going to go numb, and it really started messing with me when I wrestled.”
 
Following a semi-state loss to end his freshman season, Parker immediately began seeing a series of doctors to diagnose his condition. They tested his heart, musculoskeletal system and blood for autoimmune diseases before being referred to a group of specialists on thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) – one being Dr. George G. Sheng, a vascular surgeon with Ascension Medical Group.
 
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TOS – a condition often found in pitchers due to their repetitive throwing motion – refers to a series of syndromes where compression of nerves, arteries and veins in the lower neck and upper chest causes pain or numbness in the surrounding areas.
 
Parker, after undergoing another series of tests with Dr. Sheng, was diagnosed with both neurogenic and venous TOS, two of the three syndromes related to TOS causing his hands to turn purple, numbness and the sensation of feeling knives in his forearms.
 
The constant movement of the shoulder forward – similar to a pitcher’s throwing motion – at a young age can affect the placement of ribs before they’re entirely developed, leading to a partial blockage of different nerves and veins making up the spinal system. Parker became the first wrestler Dr. Sheng had seen with TOS, and in turn became the first to undergo a procedure to remove the first rib on his right side in an effort to alleviate his symptoms. The recovery timeline for this surgery to treat TOS is one year.
 
“Nobody thought he was going to be able to wrestle this year – not even the surgeon, not even us,” Josh Reynolds, Parker’s dad, said. “He was going to have to put the work in, he was going to have to go to physical therapy and see how his body [healed].”
 
Parker has TOS on both sides of his body, but an early expectation of having two rib-removal surgeries faded as the April 3 surgery on his right side relieved most symptoms on both. However, the doubt of a possible second surgery and how his body would rebound expanded the unknown from one year to potentially never wrestling again.
 
“This is the longest I’ve ever gone without having a match, I felt like so much was getting taken away from me. There was a lot of doubt [if I would ever wrestle again],” Parker said.
 
The beginning stages of Parker’s recovery can be summed up in two words: Boring and grueling. Unable to do anything where he might feel pressure in his left side, the rising sophomore found himself unable to do all of his favorite things – wrestling, as well as enjoy fishing and a number of water activities at his family’s vacation home in Florida.
 
After months of being in a dark place mentally, from not knowing what was going on with his body to possibly being unable to wrestle for at least a year, Parker began seeing a mental coach.
“[Parker’s mental coach] has probably been one of the biggest influences in all of this,” Josh said. “He was a calming voice to Parker and saying ‘Listen, you’ve got to listen to your body. If you’re not right, you can’t come back prematurely.’”
 
Taking the next step in his rehab process by beginning light, lower body-focused workouts helped, too, and Parker’s parents saw a noticeable change mentally.
 
And then, a lump on his neck appeared and severe nosebleeds began, sparking a series of blood tests with the possibility of lymphoma or leukemia. The average size of a lymph node is under 1.5 centimeters in diameter, and Parker’s grew to near 3 centimeters.
 
“He’d make comments like, “I don’t know what I can do if I can’t wrestle. That’s all I’ve ever done, I’ve been wrestling since I was four.’” Josh said. “As a family, it was tough especially for my wife and I because we’re just saying we want [Parker] healthy and in his eyes, ‘Well if I’m healthy I can wrestle.’”
 
Parker had another surgery in July to remove the entire growth from his neck. The tests for leukemia came back negative, and instead he was diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus – another form of mononucleosis – likely caused by the hit his immune system took with the removal of his rib.
 
He was cleared to return to practice in August, with stipulations from his surgeon: He couldn’t be taken down and was only allowed to be in situations which he could control. But he could build his entire daily routine around wrestling and gaining strength for the season.
 
“Coach [Chad] Red said, “You tell me when and where and I’m with you every step of the way,’” Josh recalled. “That’s when we saw this mental transition. [Parker] was working with the mental coach, doing one-on-ones with Coach Red, practicing twice a day [plus lifting weights] and he was changing his mindset.”
 
Over the summer, Parker lost close to 10 pounds. After being cleared by his physicians, he began working out and practicing three times a day, before school and after school, to get himself back in wrestling shape for Brownsburg’s impending Oct. 30 practice.
 
“After a couple months, you can see he’s getting smoother and feeling better,” Brownsburg head wrestling coach Darrick Snyder said. “Now, we’re working through with him that he’s not going to be the same dude at our opening meet that he will be at the end of the year. He’s going to take some leaps this season.”
 
Now, Parker’s coming back with a vengeance – finally stepping onto the mat with more answers than questions. Along with a renewed sense of confidence in his health and wrestling ability, he’s entering this season with three things he didn’t have last year:
 
A tattoo on his lower ribs of a quote by Moliére, a French playwright, reading, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
 
A list of all the wrestlers he beat last season who placed at the state championships in Indiana or surrounding states.
 
And a necklace with his first rib, removed when this all started, to wear around his neck before each of his matches during his improbable comeback campaign.  

By Anna Kayser
 
When Brownsburg opens its doors to kick off the 2023-24 wrestling season on Nov. 29 vs. Westfield, it will be the first time in 291 days that Parker Reynolds steps onto the mat in competition. Nine months and 18 days full of doctor’s visits, blood tests, surgeries, physical therapy and pushing himself to the limit, all for a young athlete to return to wrestling stronger than he left it.
 
Parker, the 138-pound freshman starter in last year’s Bulldog lineup, had his first high school campaign riddled with a then-mysterious condition causing numbness in his hands. A season which had incredible high points – on Dec. 10 at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, he defeated the eventual 138-pound state champion from Ohio – was challenged by a mix of physical and mental hurdles.
 
“When I wrestled, I would lose all feeling. It was almost like there were knives in my forearms, it hurt really, really bad,” Parker said. “It started to almost become a mental thing because before a lot of matches, I wouldn’t know if it was going to come up or not and it almost freaked me out before every match. I was worried that my hands were going to go numb, and it really started messing with me when I wrestled.”
 
Following a semi-state loss to end his freshman season, Parker immediately began seeing a series of doctors to diagnose his condition. They tested his heart, musculoskeletal system and blood for autoimmune diseases before being referred to a group of specialists on thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) – one being Dr. George G. Sheng, a vascular surgeon with Ascension Medical Group.
 
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TOS – a condition often found in pitchers due to their repetitive throwing motion – refers to a series of syndromes where compression of nerves, arteries and veins in the lower neck and upper chest causes pain or numbness in the surrounding areas.
 
Parker, after undergoing another series of tests with Dr. Sheng, was diagnosed with both neurogenic and venous TOS, two of the three syndromes related to TOS causing his hands to turn purple, numbness and the sensation of feeling knives in his forearms.
 
The constant movement of the shoulder forward – similar to a pitcher’s throwing motion – at a young age can affect the placement of ribs before they’re entirely developed, leading to a partial blockage of different nerves and veins making up the spinal system. Parker became the first wrestler Dr. Sheng had seen with TOS, and in turn became the first to undergo a procedure to remove the first rib on his right side in an effort to alleviate his symptoms. The recovery timeline for this surgery to treat TOS is one year.
 
“Nobody thought he was going to be able to wrestle this year – not even the surgeon, not even us,” Josh Reynolds, Parker’s dad, said. “He was going to have to put the work in, he was going to have to go to physical therapy and see how his body [healed].”
 
Parker has TOS on both sides of his body, but an early expectation of having two rib-removal surgeries faded as the April 3 surgery on his right side relieved most symptoms on both. However, the doubt of a possible second surgery and how his body would rebound expanded the unknown from one year to potentially never wrestling again.
 
“This is the longest I’ve ever gone without having a match, I felt like so much was getting taken away from me. There was a lot of doubt [if I would ever wrestle again],” Parker said.
 
The beginning stages of Parker’s recovery can be summed up in two words: Boring and grueling. Unable to do anything where he might feel pressure in his left side, the rising sophomore found himself unable to do all of his favorite things – wrestling, as well as enjoy fishing and a number of water activities at his family’s vacation home in Florida.
 
After months of being in a dark place mentally, from not knowing what was going on with his body to possibly being unable to wrestle for at least a year, Parker began seeing a mental coach.
“[Parker’s mental coach] has probably been one of the biggest influences in all of this,” Josh said. “He was a calming voice to Parker and saying ‘Listen, you’ve got to listen to your body. If you’re not right, you can’t come back prematurely.’”
 
Taking the next step in his rehab process by beginning light, lower body-focused workouts helped, too, and Parker’s parents saw a noticeable change mentally.
 
And then, a lump on his neck appeared and severe nosebleeds began, sparking a series of blood tests with the possibility of lymphoma or leukemia. The average size of a lymph node is under 1.5 centimeters in diameter, and Parker’s grew to near 3 centimeters.
 
“He’d make comments like, “I don’t know what I can do if I can’t wrestle. That’s all I’ve ever done, I’ve been wrestling since I was four.’” Josh said. “As a family, it was tough especially for my wife and I because we’re just saying we want [Parker] healthy and in his eyes, ‘Well if I’m healthy I can wrestle.’”
 
Parker had another surgery in July to remove the entire growth from his neck. The tests for leukemia came back negative, and instead he was diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus – another form of mononucleosis – likely caused by the hit his immune system took with the removal of his rib.
 
He was cleared to return to practice in August, with stipulations from his surgeon: He couldn’t be taken down and was only allowed to be in situations which he could control. But he could build his entire daily routine around wrestling and gaining strength for the season.
 
“Coach [Chad] Red said, “You tell me when and where and I’m with you every step of the way,’” Josh recalled. “That’s when we saw this mental transition. [Parker] was working with the mental coach, doing one-on-ones with Coach Red, practicing twice a day [plus lifting weights] and he was changing his mindset.”
 
Over the summer, Parker lost close to 10 pounds. After being cleared by his physicians, he began working out and practicing three times a day, before school and after school, to get himself back in wrestling shape for Brownsburg’s impending Oct. 30 practice.
 
“After a couple months, you can see he’s getting smoother and feeling better,” Brownsburg head wrestling coach Darrick Snyder said. “Now, we’re working through with him that he’s not going to be the same dude at our opening meet that he will be at the end of the year. He’s going to take some leaps this season.”
 
Now, Parker’s coming back with a vengeance – finally stepping onto the mat with more answers than questions. Along with a renewed sense of confidence in his health and wrestling ability, he’s entering this season with three things he didn’t have last year:
 
A tattoo on his lower ribs of a quote by Moliére, a French playwright, reading, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
 
A list of all the wrestlers he beat last season who placed at the state championships in Indiana or surrounding states.
 
And a necklace with his first rib, removed when this all started, to wear around his neck before each of his matches during his improbable comeback campaign.  

By Anna Kayser
 
When Brownsburg opens its doors to kick off the 2023-24 wrestling season on Nov. 29 vs. Westfield, it will be the first time in 291 days that Parker Reynolds steps onto the mat in competition. Nine months and 18 days full of doctor’s visits, blood tests, surgeries, physical therapy and pushing himself to the limit, all for a young athlete to return to wrestling stronger than he left it.
 
Parker, the 138-pound freshman starter in last year’s Bulldog lineup, had his first high school campaign riddled with a then-mysterious condition causing numbness in his hands. A season which had incredible high points – on Dec. 10 at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, he defeated the eventual 138-pound state champion from Ohio – was challenged by a mix of physical and mental hurdles.
 
“When I wrestled, I would lose all feeling. It was almost like there were knives in my forearms, it hurt really, really bad,” Parker said. “It started to almost become a mental thing because before a lot of matches, I wouldn’t know if it was going to come up or not and it almost freaked me out before every match. I was worried that my hands were going to go numb, and it really started messing with me when I wrestled.”
 
Following a semi-state loss to end his freshman season, Parker immediately began seeing a series of doctors to diagnose his condition. They tested his heart, musculoskeletal system and blood for autoimmune diseases before being referred to a group of specialists on thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) – one being Dr. George G. Sheng, a vascular surgeon with Ascension Medical Group.
 
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TOS – a condition often found in pitchers due to their repetitive throwing motion – refers to a series of syndromes where compression of nerves, arteries and veins in the lower neck and upper chest causes pain or numbness in the surrounding areas.
 
Parker, after undergoing another series of tests with Dr. Sheng, was diagnosed with both neurogenic and venous TOS, two of the three syndromes related to TOS causing his hands to turn purple, numbness and the sensation of feeling knives in his forearms.
 
The constant movement of the shoulder forward – similar to a pitcher’s throwing motion – at a young age can affect the placement of ribs before they’re entirely developed, leading to a partial blockage of different nerves and veins making up the spinal system. Parker became the first wrestler Dr. Sheng had seen with TOS, and in turn became the first to undergo a procedure to remove the first rib on his right side in an effort to alleviate his symptoms. The recovery timeline for this surgery to treat TOS is one year.
 
“Nobody thought he was going to be able to wrestle this year – not even the surgeon, not even us,” Josh Reynolds, Parker’s dad, said. “He was going to have to put the work in, he was going to have to go to physical therapy and see how his body [healed].”
 
Parker has TOS on both sides of his body, but an early expectation of having two rib-removal surgeries faded as the April 3 surgery on his right side relieved most symptoms on both. However, the doubt of a possible second surgery and how his body would rebound expanded the unknown from one year to potentially never wrestling again.
 
“This is the longest I’ve ever gone without having a match, I felt like so much was getting taken away from me. There was a lot of doubt [if I would ever wrestle again],” Parker said.
 
The beginning stages of Parker’s recovery can be summed up in two words: Boring and grueling. Unable to do anything where he might feel pressure in his left side, the rising sophomore found himself unable to do all of his favorite things – wrestling, as well as enjoy fishing and a number of water activities at his family’s vacation home in Florida.
 
After months of being in a dark place mentally, from not knowing what was going on with his body to possibly being unable to wrestle for at least a year, Parker began seeing a mental coach.
“[Parker’s mental coach] has probably been one of the biggest influences in all of this,” Josh said. “He was a calming voice to Parker and saying ‘Listen, you’ve got to listen to your body. If you’re not right, you can’t come back prematurely.’”
 
Taking the next step in his rehab process by beginning light, lower body-focused workouts helped, too, and Parker’s parents saw a noticeable change mentally.
 
And then, a lump on his neck appeared and severe nosebleeds began, sparking a series of blood tests with the possibility of lymphoma or leukemia. The average size of a lymph node is under 1.5 centimeters in diameter, and Parker’s grew to near 3 centimeters.
 
“He’d make comments like, “I don’t know what I can do if I can’t wrestle. That’s all I’ve ever done, I’ve been wrestling since I was four.’” Josh said. “As a family, it was tough especially for my wife and I because we’re just saying we want [Parker] healthy and in his eyes, ‘Well if I’m healthy I can wrestle.’”
 
Parker had another surgery in July to remove the entire growth from his neck. The tests for leukemia came back negative, and instead he was diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus – another form of mononucleosis – likely caused by the hit his immune system took with the removal of his rib.
 
He was cleared to return to practice in August, with stipulations from his surgeon: He couldn’t be taken down and was only allowed to be in situations which he could control. But he could build his entire daily routine around wrestling and gaining strength for the season.
 
“Coach [Chad] Red said, “You tell me when and where and I’m with you every step of the way,’” Josh recalled. “That’s when we saw this mental transition. [Parker] was working with the mental coach, doing one-on-ones with Coach Red, practicing twice a day [plus lifting weights] and he was changing his mindset.”
 
Over the summer, Parker lost close to 10 pounds. After being cleared by his physicians, he began working out and practicing three times a day, before school and after school, to get himself back in wrestling shape for Brownsburg’s impending Oct. 30 practice.
 
“After a couple months, you can see he’s getting smoother and feeling better,” Brownsburg head wrestling coach Darrick Snyder said. “Now, we’re working through with him that he’s not going to be the same dude at our opening meet that he will be at the end of the year. He’s going to take some leaps this season.”
 
Now, Parker’s coming back with a vengeance – finally stepping onto the mat with more answers than questions. Along with a renewed sense of confidence in his health and wrestling ability, he’s entering this season with three things he didn’t have last year:
 
A tattoo on his lower ribs of a quote by Moliére, a French playwright, reading, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
 
A list of all the wrestlers he beat last season who placed at the state championships in Indiana or surrounding states.
 
And a necklace with his first rib, removed when this all started, to wear around his neck before each of his matches during his improbable comeback campaign.  

By Anna Kayser
 
When Brownsburg opens its doors to kick off the 2023-24 wrestling season on Nov. 29 vs. Westfield, it will be the first time in 291 days that Parker Reynolds steps onto the mat in competition. Nine months and 18 days full of doctor’s visits, blood tests, surgeries, physical therapy and pushing himself to the limit, all for a young athlete to return to wrestling stronger than he left it.
 
Parker, the 138-pound freshman starter in last year’s Bulldog lineup, had his first high school campaign riddled with a then-mysterious condition causing numbness in his hands. A season which had incredible high points – on Dec. 10 at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, he defeated the eventual 138-pound state champion from Ohio – was challenged by a mix of physical and mental hurdles.
 
“When I wrestled, I would lose all feeling. It was almost like there were knives in my forearms, it hurt really, really bad,” Parker said. “It started to almost become a mental thing because before a lot of matches, I wouldn’t know if it was going to come up or not and it almost freaked me out before every match. I was worried that my hands were going to go numb, and it really started messing with me when I wrestled.”
 
Following a semi-state loss to end his freshman season, Parker immediately began seeing a series of doctors to diagnose his condition. They tested his heart, musculoskeletal system and blood for autoimmune diseases before being referred to a group of specialists on thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) – one being Dr. George G. Sheng, a vascular surgeon with Ascension Medical Group.
 
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TOS – a condition often found in pitchers due to their repetitive throwing motion – refers to a series of syndromes where compression of nerves, arteries and veins in the lower neck and upper chest causes pain or numbness in the surrounding areas.
 
Parker, after undergoing another series of tests with Dr. Sheng, was diagnosed with both neurogenic and venous TOS, two of the three syndromes related to TOS causing his hands to turn purple, numbness and the sensation of feeling knives in his forearms.
 
The constant movement of the shoulder forward – similar to a pitcher’s throwing motion – at a young age can affect the placement of ribs before they’re entirely developed, leading to a partial blockage of different nerves and veins making up the spinal system. Parker became the first wrestler Dr. Sheng had seen with TOS, and in turn became the first to undergo a procedure to remove the first rib on his right side in an effort to alleviate his symptoms. The recovery timeline for this surgery to treat TOS is one year.
 
“Nobody thought he was going to be able to wrestle this year – not even the surgeon, not even us,” Josh Reynolds, Parker’s dad, said. “He was going to have to put the work in, he was going to have to go to physical therapy and see how his body [healed].”
 
Parker has TOS on both sides of his body, but an early expectation of having two rib-removal surgeries faded as the April 3 surgery on his right side relieved most symptoms on both. However, the doubt of a possible second surgery and how his body would rebound expanded the unknown from one year to potentially never wrestling again.
 
“This is the longest I’ve ever gone without having a match, I felt like so much was getting taken away from me. There was a lot of doubt [if I would ever wrestle again],” Parker said.
 
The beginning stages of Parker’s recovery can be summed up in two words: Boring and grueling. Unable to do anything where he might feel pressure in his left side, the rising sophomore found himself unable to do all of his favorite things – wrestling, as well as enjoy fishing and a number of water activities at his family’s vacation home in Florida.
 
After months of being in a dark place mentally, from not knowing what was going on with his body to possibly being unable to wrestle for at least a year, Parker began seeing a mental coach.
“[Parker’s mental coach] has probably been one of the biggest influences in all of this,” Josh said. “He was a calming voice to Parker and saying ‘Listen, you’ve got to listen to your body. If you’re not right, you can’t come back prematurely.’”
 
Taking the next step in his rehab process by beginning light, lower body-focused workouts helped, too, and Parker’s parents saw a noticeable change mentally.
 
And then, a lump on his neck appeared and severe nosebleeds began, sparking a series of blood tests with the possibility of lymphoma or leukemia. The average size of a lymph node is under 1.5 centimeters in diameter, and Parker’s grew to near 3 centimeters.
 
“He’d make comments like, “I don’t know what I can do if I can’t wrestle. That’s all I’ve ever done, I’ve been wrestling since I was four.’” Josh said. “As a family, it was tough especially for my wife and I because we’re just saying we want [Parker] healthy and in his eyes, ‘Well if I’m healthy I can wrestle.’”
 
Parker had another surgery in July to remove the entire growth from his neck. The tests for leukemia came back negative, and instead he was diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus – another form of mononucleosis – likely caused by the hit his immune system took with the removal of his rib.
 
He was cleared to return to practice in August, with stipulations from his surgeon: He couldn’t be taken down and was only allowed to be in situations which he could control. But he could build his entire daily routine around wrestling and gaining strength for the season.
 
“Coach [Chad] Red said, “You tell me when and where and I’m with you every step of the way,’” Josh recalled. “That’s when we saw this mental transition. [Parker] was working with the mental coach, doing one-on-ones with Coach Red, practicing twice a day [plus lifting weights] and he was changing his mindset.”
 
Over the summer, Parker lost close to 10 pounds. After being cleared by his physicians, he began working out and practicing three times a day, before school and after school, to get himself back in wrestling shape for Brownsburg’s impending Oct. 30 practice.
 
“After a couple months, you can see he’s getting smoother and feeling better,” Brownsburg head wrestling coach Darrick Snyder said. “Now, we’re working through with him that he’s not going to be the same dude at our opening meet that he will be at the end of the year. He’s going to take some leaps this season.”
 
Now, Parker’s coming back with a vengeance – finally stepping onto the mat with more answers than questions. Along with a renewed sense of confidence in his health and wrestling ability, he’s entering this season with three things he didn’t have last year:
 
A tattoo on his lower ribs of a quote by Moliére, a French playwright, reading, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
 
A list of all the wrestlers he beat last season who placed at the state championships in Indiana or surrounding states.
 
And a necklace with his first rib, removed when this all started, to wear around his neck before each of his matches during his improbable comeback campaign.  

By Anna Kayser
 
When Brownsburg opens its doors to kick off the 2023-24 wrestling season on Nov. 29 vs. Westfield, it will be the first time in 291 days that Parker Reynolds steps onto the mat in competition. Nine months and 18 days full of doctor’s visits, blood tests, surgeries, physical therapy and pushing himself to the limit, all for a young athlete to return to wrestling stronger than he left it.
 
Parker, the 138-pound freshman starter in last year’s Bulldog lineup, had his first high school campaign riddled with a then-mysterious condition causing numbness in his hands. A season which had incredible high points – on Dec. 10 at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, he defeated the eventual 138-pound state champion from Ohio – was challenged by a mix of physical and mental hurdles.
 
“When I wrestled, I would lose all feeling. It was almost like there were knives in my forearms, it hurt really, really bad,” Parker said. “It started to almost become a mental thing because before a lot of matches, I wouldn’t know if it was going to come up or not and it almost freaked me out before every match. I was worried that my hands were going to go numb, and it really started messing with me when I wrestled.”
 
Following a semi-state loss to end his freshman season, Parker immediately began seeing a series of doctors to diagnose his condition. They tested his heart, musculoskeletal system and blood for autoimmune diseases before being referred to a group of specialists on thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) – one being Dr. George G. Sheng, a vascular surgeon with Ascension Medical Group.
 
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TOS – a condition often found in pitchers due to their repetitive throwing motion – refers to a series of syndromes where compression of nerves, arteries and veins in the lower neck and upper chest causes pain or numbness in the surrounding areas.
 
Parker, after undergoing another series of tests with Dr. Sheng, was diagnosed with both neurogenic and venous TOS, two of the three syndromes related to TOS causing his hands to turn purple, numbness and the sensation of feeling knives in his forearms.
 
The constant movement of the shoulder forward – similar to a pitcher’s throwing motion – at a young age can affect the placement of ribs before they’re entirely developed, leading to a partial blockage of different nerves and veins making up the spinal system. Parker became the first wrestler Dr. Sheng had seen with TOS, and in turn became the first to undergo a procedure to remove the first rib on his right side in an effort to alleviate his symptoms. The recovery timeline for this surgery to treat TOS is one year.
 
“Nobody thought he was going to be able to wrestle this year – not even the surgeon, not even us,” Josh Reynolds, Parker’s dad, said. “He was going to have to put the work in, he was going to have to go to physical therapy and see how his body [healed].”
 
Parker has TOS on both sides of his body, but an early expectation of having two rib-removal surgeries faded as the April 3 surgery on his right side relieved most symptoms on both. However, the doubt of a possible second surgery and how his body would rebound expanded the unknown from one year to potentially never wrestling again.
 
“This is the longest I’ve ever gone without having a match, I felt like so much was getting taken away from me. There was a lot of doubt [if I would ever wrestle again],” Parker said.
 
The beginning stages of Parker’s recovery can be summed up in two words: Boring and grueling. Unable to do anything where he might feel pressure in his left side, the rising sophomore found himself unable to do all of his favorite things – wrestling, as well as enjoy fishing and a number of water activities at his family’s vacation home in Florida.
 
After months of being in a dark place mentally, from not knowing what was going on with his body to possibly being unable to wrestle for at least a year, Parker began seeing a mental coach.
“[Parker’s mental coach] has probably been one of the biggest influences in all of this,” Josh said. “He was a calming voice to Parker and saying ‘Listen, you’ve got to listen to your body. If you’re not right, you can’t come back prematurely.’”
 
Taking the next step in his rehab process by beginning light, lower body-focused workouts helped, too, and Parker’s parents saw a noticeable change mentally.
 
And then, a lump on his neck appeared and severe nosebleeds began, sparking a series of blood tests with the possibility of lymphoma or leukemia. The average size of a lymph node is under 1.5 centimeters in diameter, and Parker’s grew to near 3 centimeters.
 
“He’d make comments like, “I don’t know what I can do if I can’t wrestle. That’s all I’ve ever done, I’ve been wrestling since I was four.’” Josh said. “As a family, it was tough especially for my wife and I because we’re just saying we want [Parker] healthy and in his eyes, ‘Well if I’m healthy I can wrestle.’”
 
Parker had another surgery in July to remove the entire growth from his neck. The tests for leukemia came back negative, and instead he was diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus – another form of mononucleosis – likely caused by the hit his immune system took with the removal of his rib.
 
He was cleared to return to practice in August, with stipulations from his surgeon: He couldn’t be taken down and was only allowed to be in situations which he could control. But he could build his entire daily routine around wrestling and gaining strength for the season.
 
“Coach [Chad] Red said, “You tell me when and where and I’m with you every step of the way,’” Josh recalled. “That’s when we saw this mental transition. [Parker] was working with the mental coach, doing one-on-ones with Coach Red, practicing twice a day [plus lifting weights] and he was changing his mindset.”
 
Over the summer, Parker lost close to 10 pounds. After being cleared by his physicians, he began working out and practicing three times a day, before school and after school, to get himself back in wrestling shape for Brownsburg’s impending Oct. 30 practice.
 
“After a couple months, you can see he’s getting smoother and feeling better,” Brownsburg head wrestling coach Darrick Snyder said. “Now, we’re working through with him that he’s not going to be the same dude at our opening meet that he will be at the end of the year. He’s going to take some leaps this season.”
 
Now, Parker’s coming back with a vengeance – finally stepping onto the mat with more answers than questions. Along with a renewed sense of confidence in his health and wrestling ability, he’s entering this season with three things he didn’t have last year:
 
A tattoo on his lower ribs of a quote by Moliére, a French playwright, reading, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
 
A list of all the wrestlers he beat last season who placed at the state championships in Indiana or surrounding states.
 
And a necklace with his first rib, removed when this all started, to wear around his neck before each of his matches during his improbable comeback campaign.  

By Anna Kayser
 
When Brownsburg opens its doors to kick off the 2023-24 wrestling season on Nov. 29 vs. Westfield, it will be the first time in 291 days that Parker Reynolds steps onto the mat in competition. Nine months and 18 days full of doctor’s visits, blood tests, surgeries, physical therapy and pushing himself to the limit, all for a young athlete to return to wrestling stronger than he left it.
 
Parker, the 138-pound freshman starter in last year’s Bulldog lineup, had his first high school campaign riddled with a then-mysterious condition causing numbness in his hands. A season which had incredible high points – on Dec. 10 at the Walsh Jesuit Ironman, he defeated the eventual 138-pound state champion from Ohio – was challenged by a mix of physical and mental hurdles.
 
“When I wrestled, I would lose all feeling. It was almost like there were knives in my forearms, it hurt really, really bad,” Parker said. “It started to almost become a mental thing because before a lot of matches, I wouldn’t know if it was going to come up or not and it almost freaked me out before every match. I was worried that my hands were going to go numb, and it really started messing with me when I wrestled.”
 
Following a semi-state loss to end his freshman season, Parker immediately began seeing a series of doctors to diagnose his condition. They tested his heart, musculoskeletal system and blood for autoimmune diseases before being referred to a group of specialists on thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) – one being Dr. George G. Sheng, a vascular surgeon with Ascension Medical Group.
 
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, TOS – a condition often found in pitchers due to their repetitive throwing motion – refers to a series of syndromes where compression of nerves, arteries and veins in the lower neck and upper chest causes pain or numbness in the surrounding areas.
 
Parker, after undergoing another series of tests with Dr. Sheng, was diagnosed with both neurogenic and venous TOS, two of the three syndromes related to TOS causing his hands to turn purple, numbness and the sensation of feeling knives in his forearms.
 
The constant movement of the shoulder forward – similar to a pitcher’s throwing motion – at a young age can affect the placement of ribs before they’re entirely developed, leading to a partial blockage of different nerves and veins making up the spinal system. Parker became the first wrestler Dr. Sheng had seen with TOS, and in turn became the first to undergo a procedure to remove the first rib on his right side in an effort to alleviate his symptoms. The recovery timeline for this surgery to treat TOS is one year.
 
“Nobody thought he was going to be able to wrestle this year – not even the surgeon, not even us,” Josh Reynolds, Parker’s dad, said. “He was going to have to put the work in, he was going to have to go to physical therapy and see how his body [healed].”
 
Parker has TOS on both sides of his body, but an early expectation of having two rib-removal surgeries faded as the April 3 surgery on his right side relieved most symptoms on both. However, the doubt of a possible second surgery and how his body would rebound expanded the unknown from one year to potentially never wrestling again.
 
“This is the longest I’ve ever gone without having a match, I felt like so much was getting taken away from me. There was a lot of doubt [if I would ever wrestle again],” Parker said.
 
The beginning stages of Parker’s recovery can be summed up in two words: Boring and grueling. Unable to do anything where he might feel pressure in his left side, the rising sophomore found himself unable to do all of his favorite things – wrestling, as well as enjoy fishing and a number of water activities at his family’s vacation home in Florida.
 
After months of being in a dark place mentally, from not knowing what was going on with his body to possibly being unable to wrestle for at least a year, Parker began seeing a mental coach.
“[Parker’s mental coach] has probably been one of the biggest influences in all of this,” Josh said. “He was a calming voice to Parker and saying ‘Listen, you’ve got to listen to your body. If you’re not right, you can’t come back prematurely.’”
 
Taking the next step in his rehab process by beginning light, lower body-focused workouts helped, too, and Parker’s parents saw a noticeable change mentally.
 
And then, a lump on his neck appeared and severe nosebleeds began, sparking a series of blood tests with the possibility of lymphoma or leukemia. The average size of a lymph node is under 1.5 centimeters in diameter, and Parker’s grew to near 3 centimeters.
 
“He’d make comments like, “I don’t know what I can do if I can’t wrestle. That’s all I’ve ever done, I’ve been wrestling since I was four.’” Josh said. “As a family, it was tough especially for my wife and I because we’re just saying we want [Parker] healthy and in his eyes, ‘Well if I’m healthy I can wrestle.’”
 
Parker had another surgery in July to remove the entire growth from his neck. The tests for leukemia came back negative, and instead he was diagnosed with Epstein Barr virus – another form of mononucleosis – likely caused by the hit his immune system took with the removal of his rib.
 
He was cleared to return to practice in August, with stipulations from his surgeon: He couldn’t be taken down and was only allowed to be in situations which he could control. But he could build his entire daily routine around wrestling and gaining strength for the season.
 
“Coach [Chad] Red said, “You tell me when and where and I’m with you every step of the way,’” Josh recalled. “That’s when we saw this mental transition. [Parker] was working with the mental coach, doing one-on-ones with Coach Red, practicing twice a day [plus lifting weights] and he was changing his mindset.”
 
Over the summer, Parker lost close to 10 pounds. After being cleared by his physicians, he began working out and practicing three times a day, before school and after school, to get himself back in wrestling shape for Brownsburg’s impending Oct. 30 practice.
 
“After a couple months, you can see he’s getting smoother and feeling better,” Brownsburg head wrestling coach Darrick Snyder said. “Now, we’re working through with him that he’s not going to be the same dude at our opening meet that he will be at the end of the year. He’s going to take some leaps this season.”
 
Now, Parker’s coming back with a vengeance – finally stepping onto the mat with more answers than questions. Along with a renewed sense of confidence in his health and wrestling ability, he’s entering this season with three things he didn’t have last year:
 
A tattoo on his lower ribs of a quote by Moliére, a French playwright, reading, “The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.”
 
A list of all the wrestlers he beat last season who placed at the state championships in Indiana or surrounding states.
 
And a necklace with his first rib, removed when this all started, to wear around his neck before each of his matches during his improbable comeback campaign.  

Changes:
Semi-State
From Fort Wayne to East Chicago: Caston and Rochester
From East Chicago to Fort Wayne: Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley
 
Sectional and Regional Changes
New Castle Semi-State
From Arsenal Tech/Pendleton Heights to Southport/Perry Meridian
Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central, and Mount Vernon(Fortville)
 
From Southport/Perry Meridian to Arsenal Tech/Pendleton Heights
Cardinal Ritter, Crispus Attucks, Providence Cristo Rey, and George Washington
 
East Chicago Semi-State
From Laporte/Crown Point to Plymouth/Penn
North Judson
 
From Winamac(Twin Lakes now)/Logansport to Plymouth/Penn
Winamac
 
From Crown Point/Crown Point to East Chicago Central/Hobart
Lake Central
 
From Winamac/Logansport to Crown Point/Crown Point
North Newton and South Newton
 
Evansville Semi-State
From Mooresville/Mooresville to Jennings County/Jeffersonville
Franklin Community
 
From Bloomington North/Bloomington South to Jennings County/Jeffersonville
Indian Creek
 
From Jennings County/Jeffersonville to Bloomington North/Bloomington South
Brown County
 
Fort Wayne Semi-State
From Carroll/Carroll to Peru/Peru
Huntington North
 
Sectional Changes
From Southridge to Bloomington North
Bedford North Lawrence
 
From Jeffersonville to Jennings County
Eastern (Pekin) and Salem
 
From Plymouth to Mishawaka
LaVille
 
From Bloomington North to Southridge
Paoli
 
Sectionals
1. East Chicago Central (9):  East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Lake Central, Merrillville, Munster, Whiting
2. Portage (8): Andrean, Calumet, Griffith, Highland, Hobart, Lake Station Edison, Portage, River Forest
3. Crown Point (10): Boone Grove, Crown Point, Hanover Central, Hebron, Illiana Christian, Kankakee Valley, Lowell, North Newton, South Newton, Wheeler
4. LaPorte (7): Chesterton, Glenn, Knox, LaPorte, Marquette Catholic, Michigan City, New Prairie, Valparaiso
5. Mishawaka (9): LaVille, Mishawaka, Mishawaka Marian, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Clay, South Bend Riley, South Bend Saint Joseph, South Bend Washington
6. Plymouth (10): Bremen, Caston, Culver Academies, Culver Community, North Judson-San Pierre, Plymouth, Rochester Community, Triton, Warsaw Community, Winamac Community
7. Twin Lakes (12): Benton Central, Frontier, Logansport,  North White, Pioneer, Rensselaer Central, Tri-County, Twin Lakes, West Central
8. Lafayette Jefferson (10): Attica, Carroll (Flora), Delphi Community, Faith Christian, Harrison (West Lafayette), Lafayette Central Catholic, Lafayette Jefferson, McCutcheon, Seeger, West Lafayette
9. Elkhart (8): Concord, Elkhart, Fairfield, Goshen, Jimtown, Northridge, NorthWood, Wawasee
10. West Noble (9): Angola, Central Noble, DeKalb, East Noble, Fremont, Lakeland, Prairie Heights, West Noble, Westview
11. Carroll (Fort Wayne) (9): Carroll (Fort Wayne), Churubusco, Columbia City, Eastside, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne Northrop, Garrett, Whitko
12. TBD (10): Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Snider, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Heritage, Homestead, New Haven, Leo, Woodlan
13. Peru (10): Lewis Cass, Huntington North, Maconaquah, Manchester, North Miami, Northfield, Peru, Southwood, Tippecanoe Valley, Wabash
14. Oak Hill (11): Eastbrook, Eastern (Greentown), Kokomo, Madison-Grant, Marion, Mississinewa, Northwestern, Oak Hill, Taylor, Tri-Central, Western
15. Jay County (9): Adams Central, Bellmont, Blackford, Bluffton, Jay County, Norwell, South Adams, Southern Wells, Union City
16. Delta (10): Cowan, Daleville, Delta, Monroe Central, Muncie Central, Randolph Southern, Wapahani, Wes-Del, Winchester Community, Yorktown
17. Crawfordsville (10): Covington, Crawfordsville, Fountain Central, North Montgomery, North Vermillion, Parke Heritage, South Vermillion, Southmont, Western Boone, Zionsville
18. Frankfort (10): Carmel, Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Fishers, Frankfort, Hamilton Southeastern, Lebanon, Rossville, Sheridan, Westfield
19. Elwood (10): Alexandria Monroe, Anderson, Elwood Community, Frankton, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Lapel, Noblesville, Pendleton Heights, Tipton
20. Indianapolis Arsenal Technical (10): Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical, Indiana School for the Deaf, Indiana School for the Blind, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Indianapolis George Washington Community, Providence Cristo Rey,
21. Southport (10): Beech Grove,  Christel House, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, Mt Vernon (Fortville), North Central(Indianapolis), Perry Meridian, Roncalli, Southport, Victory College Prep
22. Shelbyville (9): Franklin Central, Greenfield-Central, Indianapolis Lutheran, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, New Palestine, Purdue Polytechnic, Shelbyville, Triton Central, Warren Central
23. Centerville(11): Blue River Valley, Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville, Eastern Hancock,  Hagerstown, Knightstown, New Castle, Northeastern, Richmond, Shenandoah, Tri
24. South Dearborn (11): Batesville, Connersville, East Central, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, Milan, Oldenburg Academy, Rushville Consolidated, South Dearborn, Union County
25. Avon (12): Avon, Ben Davis, Brownsburg, Covenant Christian (Indianapolis), Danville Community, Greencastle, North Putnam, Pike, Plainfield, South Putnam, Speedway, Tri-West Hendricks
26. Mooresville (11): Cascade, Center Grove, Cloverdale, Decatur Central, Eminence, Greenwood Community, Martinsville, Monrovia, Mooresville, Whiteland Community
27. Bloomington North (12): Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Brown County, Edgewood, Northview, Owen Valley, Sullivan, Terre Haute North Vigo, Terre Haute South Vigo, West Vigo
28. Southridge (10): Floyd Central, Forest Park, Jasper, Mitchell, New Albany, North Knox, Paoli, Pike Central, Southridge, Tell City
29. Jennings County (13): Columbus East, Columbus North, Eastern (Pekin), Franklin Community, Indian Creek, Jennings County, Madison Consolidated, Salem, Scottsburg, Seymour, Southwestern (Hanover), Switzerland County, West Washington
30. Jeffersonville (13): Borden, Charlestown, Clarksville, Corydon Central, Crawford County, Henryville, Jeffersonville, New Washington, North Harrison, Providence, Rock Creek Academy, Silver Creek
31. Castle (10): Boonville, Castle, Evansville Bosse, Evansville Harrison, Evansville Reitz Memorial, Heritage Hills, South Spencer, Tecumseh, Washington, Wood Memorial
32. Evansville Central (9): Evansville Central, Evansville F.J Reitz, Evansville Mater Dei, Evansville North, Gibson Southern, Mt Vernon, North Posey, Princeton Community, Vincennes Lincoln
 
Regionals
1. Hobart: Feeder Sectionals: East Chicago Central, Portage.
2. Crown Point: Feeder Sectionals: Crown Point, LaPorte.
3. Penn: Feeder Sectionals: Mishawaka, Plymouth.
4. Logansport: Feeder Sectionals: Lafayette Jefferson, Twin Lakes.
5. Goshen: Feeder Sectionals: Elkhart, West Noble.
6. Carroll (Fort Wayne): Feeder Sectionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), TBD(Former New Haven).
7. Peru: Feeder Sectionals: Peru, Oak Hill.
8. Jay County: Feeder Sectionals: Delta, Jay County.
9. North Montgomery: Feeder Sectionals: Crawfordsville, Frankfort.
10. Pendleton Heights: Feeder Sectionals: Elwood, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical.
11. Perry Meridian: Feeder Sectionals: Shelbyville, Southport.
12. Richmond: Feeder Sectionals: South Dearborn, Shenandoah.
13. Mooresville: Feeder Sectionals: Avon, Mooresville.
14. Bloomington South: Feeder Sectionals: Bloomington North, Southridge.
15. Jeffersonville: Feeder Sectionals: Jeffersonville, Jennings County.
16. Castle: Feeder Sectionals: Castle, Evansville Central
 
Semi-States
1. East Chicago Central: Feeder Regionals: Crown Point, Hobart, Logansport, Penn.
2. New Haven (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum): Feeder Regionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), Goshen, Jay County, Peru.
3. New Castle: Feeder Regionals: Frankfort, Pendleton Heights, Perry Meridian, Richmond.
4. Evansville F. J. Reitz (Ford Center): Feeder Regionals: Bloomington South, Castle, Jeffersonville, Mooresville.

Our annual preview magazine is now live. 
 
**Note Girls Rankings will be out later tonight**
 
The magazine features the following.
Individual Rankings Team Rankings Girls Rankings Regional Previews Grade Rankings  
Digital format is available immediately and the physical version will be mailed in the coming weeks.
 
You can purchase it in our store at the following link.
https://indianamat.com/index.php?/store/category/17-preview-magazine/

Changes:
Semi-State
From Fort Wayne to East Chicago: Caston and Rochester
From East Chicago to Fort Wayne: Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley
 
Sectional and Regional Changes
New Castle Semi-State
From Arsenal Tech/Pendleton Heights to Southport/Perry Meridian
Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central, and Mount Vernon(Fortville)
 
From Southport/Perry Meridian to Arsenal Tech/Pendleton Heights
Cardinal Ritter, Crispus Attucks, Providence Cristo Rey, and George Washington
 
East Chicago Semi-State
From Laporte/Crown Point to Plymouth/Penn
North Judson
 
From Winamac(Twin Lakes now)/Logansport to Plymouth/Penn
Winamac
 
From Crown Point/Crown Point to East Chicago Central/Hobart
Lake Central
 
From Winamac/Logansport to Crown Point/Crown Point
North Newton and South Newton
 
Evansville Semi-State
From Mooresville/Mooresville to Jennings County/Jeffersonville
Franklin Community
 
From Bloomington North/Bloomington South to Jennings County/Jeffersonville
Indian Creek
 
From Jennings County/Jeffersonville to Bloomington North/Bloomington South
Brown County
 
Fort Wayne Semi-State
From Carroll/Carroll to Peru/Peru
Huntington North
 
Sectional Changes
From Southridge to Bloomington North
Bedford North Lawrence
 
From Jeffersonville to Jennings County
Eastern (Pekin) and Salem
 
From Plymouth to Mishawaka
LaVille
 
From Bloomington North to Southridge
Paoli
 
Sectionals
1. East Chicago Central (9):  East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Lake Central, Merrillville, Munster, Whiting
2. Portage (8): Andrean, Calumet, Griffith, Highland, Hobart, Lake Station Edison, Portage, River Forest
3. Crown Point (10): Boone Grove, Crown Point, Hanover Central, Hebron, Illiana Christian, Kankakee Valley, Lowell, North Newton, South Newton, Wheeler
4. LaPorte (7): Chesterton, Glenn, Knox, LaPorte, Marquette Catholic, Michigan City, New Prairie, Valparaiso
5. Mishawaka (9): LaVille, Mishawaka, Mishawaka Marian, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Clay, South Bend Riley, South Bend Saint Joseph, South Bend Washington
6. Plymouth (10): Bremen, Caston, Culver Academies, Culver Community, North Judson-San Pierre, Plymouth, Rochester Community, Triton, Warsaw Community, Winamac Community
7. Twin Lakes (12): Benton Central, Frontier, Logansport,  North White, Pioneer, Rensselaer Central, Tri-County, Twin Lakes, West Central
8. Lafayette Jefferson (10): Attica, Carroll (Flora), Delphi Community, Faith Christian, Harrison (West Lafayette), Lafayette Central Catholic, Lafayette Jefferson, McCutcheon, Seeger, West Lafayette
9. Elkhart (8): Concord, Elkhart, Fairfield, Goshen, Jimtown, Northridge, NorthWood, Wawasee
10. West Noble (9): Angola, Central Noble, DeKalb, East Noble, Fremont, Lakeland, Prairie Heights, West Noble, Westview
11. Carroll (Fort Wayne) (9): Carroll (Fort Wayne), Churubusco, Columbia City, Eastside, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne Northrop, Garrett, Whitko
12. TBD (10): Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Snider, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Heritage, Homestead, New Haven, Leo, Woodlan
13. Peru (10): Lewis Cass, Huntington North, Maconaquah, Manchester, North Miami, Northfield, Peru, Southwood, Tippecanoe Valley, Wabash
14. Oak Hill (11): Eastbrook, Eastern (Greentown), Kokomo, Madison-Grant, Marion, Mississinewa, Northwestern, Oak Hill, Taylor, Tri-Central, Western
15. Jay County (9): Adams Central, Bellmont, Blackford, Bluffton, Jay County, Norwell, South Adams, Southern Wells, Union City
16. Delta (10): Cowan, Daleville, Delta, Monroe Central, Muncie Central, Randolph Southern, Wapahani, Wes-Del, Winchester Community, Yorktown
17. Crawfordsville (10): Covington, Crawfordsville, Fountain Central, North Montgomery, North Vermillion, Parke Heritage, South Vermillion, Southmont, Western Boone, Zionsville
18. Frankfort (10): Carmel, Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Fishers, Frankfort, Hamilton Southeastern, Lebanon, Rossville, Sheridan, Westfield
19. Elwood (10): Alexandria Monroe, Anderson, Elwood Community, Frankton, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Lapel, Noblesville, Pendleton Heights, Tipton
20. Indianapolis Arsenal Technical (10): Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical, Indiana School for the Deaf, Indiana School for the Blind, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Indianapolis George Washington Community, Providence Cristo Rey,
21. Southport (10): Beech Grove,  Christel House, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, Mt Vernon (Fortville), North Central(Indianapolis), Perry Meridian, Roncalli, Southport, Victory College Prep
22. Shelbyville (9): Franklin Central, Greenfield-Central, Indianapolis Lutheran, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, New Palestine, Purdue Polytechnic, Shelbyville, Triton Central, Warren Central
23. Centerville(11): Blue River Valley, Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville, Eastern Hancock,  Hagerstown, Knightstown, New Castle, Northeastern, Richmond, Shenandoah, Tri
24. South Dearborn (11): Batesville, Connersville, East Central, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, Milan, Oldenburg Academy, Rushville Consolidated, South Dearborn, Union County
25. Avon (12): Avon, Ben Davis, Brownsburg, Covenant Christian (Indianapolis), Danville Community, Greencastle, North Putnam, Pike, Plainfield, South Putnam, Speedway, Tri-West Hendricks
26. Mooresville (11): Cascade, Center Grove, Cloverdale, Decatur Central, Eminence, Greenwood Community, Martinsville, Monrovia, Mooresville, Whiteland Community
27. Bloomington North (12): Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Brown County, Edgewood, Northview, Owen Valley, Sullivan, Terre Haute North Vigo, Terre Haute South Vigo, West Vigo
28. Southridge (10): Floyd Central, Forest Park, Jasper, Mitchell, New Albany, North Knox, Paoli, Pike Central, Southridge, Tell City
29. Jennings County (13): Columbus East, Columbus North, Eastern (Pekin), Franklin Community, Indian Creek, Jennings County, Madison Consolidated, Salem, Scottsburg, Seymour, Southwestern (Hanover), Switzerland County, West Washington
30. Jeffersonville (13): Borden, Charlestown, Clarksville, Corydon Central, Crawford County, Henryville, Jeffersonville, New Washington, North Harrison, Providence, Rock Creek Academy, Silver Creek
31. Castle (10): Boonville, Castle, Evansville Bosse, Evansville Harrison, Evansville Reitz Memorial, Heritage Hills, South Spencer, Tecumseh, Washington, Wood Memorial
32. Evansville Central (9): Evansville Central, Evansville F.J Reitz, Evansville Mater Dei, Evansville North, Gibson Southern, Mt Vernon, North Posey, Princeton Community, Vincennes Lincoln
 
Regionals
1. Hobart: Feeder Sectionals: East Chicago Central, Portage.
2. Crown Point: Feeder Sectionals: Crown Point, LaPorte.
3. Penn: Feeder Sectionals: Mishawaka, Plymouth.
4. Logansport: Feeder Sectionals: Lafayette Jefferson, Twin Lakes.
5. Goshen: Feeder Sectionals: Elkhart, West Noble.
6. Carroll (Fort Wayne): Feeder Sectionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), TBD(Former New Haven).
7. Peru: Feeder Sectionals: Peru, Oak Hill.
8. Jay County: Feeder Sectionals: Delta, Jay County.
9. North Montgomery: Feeder Sectionals: Crawfordsville, Frankfort.
10. Pendleton Heights: Feeder Sectionals: Elwood, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical.
11. Perry Meridian: Feeder Sectionals: Shelbyville, Southport.
12. Richmond: Feeder Sectionals: South Dearborn, Shenandoah.
13. Mooresville: Feeder Sectionals: Avon, Mooresville.
14. Bloomington South: Feeder Sectionals: Bloomington North, Southridge.
15. Jeffersonville: Feeder Sectionals: Jeffersonville, Jennings County.
16. Castle: Feeder Sectionals: Castle, Evansville Central
 
Semi-States
1. East Chicago Central: Feeder Regionals: Crown Point, Hobart, Logansport, Penn.
2. New Haven (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum): Feeder Regionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), Goshen, Jay County, Peru.
3. New Castle: Feeder Regionals: Frankfort, Pendleton Heights, Perry Meridian, Richmond.
4. Evansville F. J. Reitz (Ford Center): Feeder Regionals: Bloomington South, Castle, Jeffersonville, Mooresville.

By Dave Melton
Photo: Sam Janicki
 
Michigan senior Mason Parris kept coming back to phrases like “job’s not done” or “the season’s not over yet.”
 
But the Wolverines heavyweight also couldn’t downplay what he’d accomplished on Sunday night.
 
“That’s definitely one of the top memories so far,” he said. “I’ve been wanting that Big Ten title for a really long time and it’s great to finally have one.”
 
With a 5-3 overtime win against Penn State’s Greg Kerkvliet — a championship match between the top two heavyweights in the country, let alone the conference — Parris captured the first Big Ten championship of his career while wrestling in front of the home crowd at the University of Michigan.
 
But as soon as he finished that brief reflection on that win, Parris’ mind moved forward.
 
“Obviously, the job’s not done,” he said. “Two more weeks it’s the NCAA tournament and that’s still the main goal — this is just a stepping stone.”
 
Parris’ record now sits at 28-0, living up to his No. 1 ranking at heavyweight by both FloWrestling and Intermat with his first-place finish at the Big Ten tournament.
 
His career accolades were already a mile long, including three high school state titles before graduating from Lawrenceburg in 2018, a freestyle world championship in 2019, and a runner-up finish at the NCAA tournament in 2021. But the Big Ten title had remained elusive, with Parris finishing as runner-up twice and fourth place last season.
 
Reaching this title included a brief step back, too, as head coach Sean Bormet explained.
 
“As soon as our season ended, we had to make sure that we shut him down on the mat,” Bormet said. “We had to take some time off and start to rebuild his body so he could bounce back. And he attacked it like he attacks everything.”
 
Parris struggled with a herniated disc through much of last season and the effects from that injury and its subsequent recovery required some patience.
 
“When I was lifting in the summer I could barely do any pull-ups,” Parris said. “I struggled a lot. But now I can do 25 pull-ups by myself. I finally got that confidence back in my strength. It’s amazing to be able to feel this good again.”
 
He needed every ounce of strength to outlast Kerkvliet in the championship match, with a late stalling call against Parris sending the match into overtime — unbeknownst to Parris.
 
“I had no idea about that stall call until I looked up at the clock and saw it was 3-3,” he said. “Then I just had to take a deep breath. I knew what I had to do.”
 
About one minute into overtime, Parris stifled a shot attempt from Kerkvliet and then barreled through his opponent for the title-winning two points.
 
“I felt him shoot in deep on me,” Parris said. “I got my legs back and felt a little bit of pressure let up, so that’s why I drove in on him and took him over at the end.”
 
As he rose to his feet in victory, Parris pointed directly at his father, Mark, in the crowd.
 
“He’s the one who got me into wrestling,” Parris said of his father. “It’s been a great journey for both of us. It’s great being able to do that for my hometown and for my family.”
 
Mark Parris, who was a two-time all-conference linebacker at Ball State, got Mason Parris into wrestling by starting a youth program in Lawrenceburg, thinking it would help his son’s athletic future — just not on the mats.
 
“I started the youth program because I thought he was going to play college football,” Mark Parris said. “Wrestling helped me out when I was in high school, so I thought we’d start that program because they make the best tacklers.”
 
During Mason Parris’ multi-sport high school career, though, his plans became solely focused on wrestling. And judging by the wide smile on Mark Parris’ face as he spoke, there was never a doubt that this path was the correct one.
 
“We’re just so proud of him and who he is,” he said.
 
But, as Mason Parris was quick to point out: that road still has more miles to be explored.
 
“I can be happy with tonight and celebrate it,” Mason Parris said. “But then I’ll get back to work tomorrow.”

Changes:
Semi-State
From Fort Wayne to East Chicago: Caston and Rochester
From East Chicago to Fort Wayne: Wawasee and Tippecanoe Valley
 
Sectional and Regional Changes
New Castle Semi-State
From Arsenal Tech/Pendleton Heights to Southport/Perry Meridian
Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, North Central, and Mount Vernon(Fortville)
 
From Southport/Perry Meridian to Arsenal Tech/Pendleton Heights
Cardinal Ritter, Crispus Attucks, Providence Cristo Rey, and George Washington
 
East Chicago Semi-State
From Laporte/Crown Point to Plymouth/Penn
North Judson
 
From Winamac(Twin Lakes now)/Logansport to Plymouth/Penn
Winamac
 
From Crown Point/Crown Point to East Chicago Central/Hobart
Lake Central
 
From Winamac/Logansport to Crown Point/Crown Point
North Newton and South Newton
 
Evansville Semi-State
From Mooresville/Mooresville to Jennings County/Jeffersonville
Franklin Community
 
From Bloomington North/Bloomington South to Jennings County/Jeffersonville
Indian Creek
 
From Jennings County/Jeffersonville to Bloomington North/Bloomington South
Brown County
 
Fort Wayne Semi-State
From Carroll/Carroll to Peru/Peru
Huntington North
 
Sectional Changes
From Southridge to Bloomington North
Bedford North Lawrence
 
From Jeffersonville to Jennings County
Eastern (Pekin) and Salem
 
From Plymouth to Mishawaka
LaVille
 
From Bloomington North to Southridge
Paoli
 
Sectionals
1. East Chicago Central (9):  East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, Hammond Bishop Noll, Hammond Central, Hammond Morton, Lake Central, Merrillville, Munster, Whiting
2. Portage (8): Andrean, Calumet, Griffith, Highland, Hobart, Lake Station Edison, Portage, River Forest
3. Crown Point (10): Boone Grove, Crown Point, Hanover Central, Hebron, Illiana Christian, Kankakee Valley, Lowell, North Newton, South Newton, Wheeler
4. LaPorte (7): Chesterton, Glenn, Knox, LaPorte, Marquette Catholic, Michigan City, New Prairie, Valparaiso
5. Mishawaka (9): LaVille, Mishawaka, Mishawaka Marian, Penn, South Bend Adams, South Bend Clay, South Bend Riley, South Bend Saint Joseph, South Bend Washington
6. Plymouth (10): Bremen, Caston, Culver Academies, Culver Community, North Judson-San Pierre, Plymouth, Rochester Community, Triton, Warsaw Community, Winamac Community
7. Twin Lakes (12): Benton Central, Frontier, Logansport,  North White, Pioneer, Rensselaer Central, Tri-County, Twin Lakes, West Central
8. Lafayette Jefferson (10): Attica, Carroll (Flora), Delphi Community, Faith Christian, Harrison (West Lafayette), Lafayette Central Catholic, Lafayette Jefferson, McCutcheon, Seeger, West Lafayette
9. Elkhart (8): Concord, Elkhart, Fairfield, Goshen, Jimtown, Northridge, NorthWood, Wawasee
10. West Noble (9): Angola, Central Noble, DeKalb, East Noble, Fremont, Lakeland, Prairie Heights, West Noble, Westview
11. Carroll (Fort Wayne) (9): Carroll (Fort Wayne), Churubusco, Columbia City, Eastside, Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger, Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran, Fort Wayne Northrop, Garrett, Whitko
12. TBD (10): Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Snider, Fort Wayne South Side, Fort Wayne Wayne, Heritage, Homestead, New Haven, Leo, Woodlan
13. Peru (10): Lewis Cass, Huntington North, Maconaquah, Manchester, North Miami, Northfield, Peru, Southwood, Tippecanoe Valley, Wabash
14. Oak Hill (11): Eastbrook, Eastern (Greentown), Kokomo, Madison-Grant, Marion, Mississinewa, Northwestern, Oak Hill, Taylor, Tri-Central, Western
15. Jay County (9): Adams Central, Bellmont, Blackford, Bluffton, Jay County, Norwell, South Adams, Southern Wells, Union City
16. Delta (10): Cowan, Daleville, Delta, Monroe Central, Muncie Central, Randolph Southern, Wapahani, Wes-Del, Winchester Community, Yorktown
17. Crawfordsville (10): Covington, Crawfordsville, Fountain Central, North Montgomery, North Vermillion, Parke Heritage, South Vermillion, Southmont, Western Boone, Zionsville
18. Frankfort (10): Carmel, Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie, Fishers, Frankfort, Hamilton Southeastern, Lebanon, Rossville, Sheridan, Westfield
19. Elwood (10): Alexandria Monroe, Anderson, Elwood Community, Frankton, Guerin Catholic, Hamilton Heights, Lapel, Noblesville, Pendleton Heights, Tipton
20. Indianapolis Arsenal Technical (10): Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical, Indiana School for the Deaf, Indiana School for the Blind, Indianapolis Bishop Chatard, Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter, Indianapolis Cathedral, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, Indianapolis George Washington Community, Providence Cristo Rey,
21. Southport (10): Beech Grove,  Christel House, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North, Mt Vernon (Fortville), North Central(Indianapolis), Perry Meridian, Roncalli, Southport, Victory College Prep
22. Shelbyville (9): Franklin Central, Greenfield-Central, Indianapolis Lutheran, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, New Palestine, Purdue Polytechnic, Shelbyville, Triton Central, Warren Central
23. Centerville(11): Blue River Valley, Cambridge City Lincoln, Centerville, Eastern Hancock,  Hagerstown, Knightstown, New Castle, Northeastern, Richmond, Shenandoah, Tri
24. South Dearborn (11): Batesville, Connersville, East Central, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, Milan, Oldenburg Academy, Rushville Consolidated, South Dearborn, Union County
25. Avon (12): Avon, Ben Davis, Brownsburg, Covenant Christian (Indianapolis), Danville Community, Greencastle, North Putnam, Pike, Plainfield, South Putnam, Speedway, Tri-West Hendricks
26. Mooresville (11): Cascade, Center Grove, Cloverdale, Decatur Central, Eminence, Greenwood Community, Martinsville, Monrovia, Mooresville, Whiteland Community
27. Bloomington North (12): Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Brown County, Edgewood, Northview, Owen Valley, Sullivan, Terre Haute North Vigo, Terre Haute South Vigo, West Vigo
28. Southridge (10): Floyd Central, Forest Park, Jasper, Mitchell, New Albany, North Knox, Paoli, Pike Central, Southridge, Tell City
29. Jennings County (13): Columbus East, Columbus North, Eastern (Pekin), Franklin Community, Indian Creek, Jennings County, Madison Consolidated, Salem, Scottsburg, Seymour, Southwestern (Hanover), Switzerland County, West Washington
30. Jeffersonville (13): Borden, Charlestown, Clarksville, Corydon Central, Crawford County, Henryville, Jeffersonville, New Washington, North Harrison, Providence, Rock Creek Academy, Silver Creek
31. Castle (10): Boonville, Castle, Evansville Bosse, Evansville Harrison, Evansville Reitz Memorial, Heritage Hills, South Spencer, Tecumseh, Washington, Wood Memorial
32. Evansville Central (9): Evansville Central, Evansville F.J Reitz, Evansville Mater Dei, Evansville North, Gibson Southern, Mt Vernon, North Posey, Princeton Community, Vincennes Lincoln
 
Regionals
1. Hobart: Feeder Sectionals: East Chicago Central, Portage.
2. Crown Point: Feeder Sectionals: Crown Point, LaPorte.
3. Penn: Feeder Sectionals: Mishawaka, Plymouth.
4. Logansport: Feeder Sectionals: Lafayette Jefferson, Twin Lakes.
5. Goshen: Feeder Sectionals: Elkhart, West Noble.
6. Carroll (Fort Wayne): Feeder Sectionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), TBD(Former New Haven).
7. Peru: Feeder Sectionals: Peru, Oak Hill.
8. Jay County: Feeder Sectionals: Delta, Jay County.
9. North Montgomery: Feeder Sectionals: Crawfordsville, Frankfort.
10. Pendleton Heights: Feeder Sectionals: Elwood, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical.
11. Perry Meridian: Feeder Sectionals: Shelbyville, Southport.
12. Richmond: Feeder Sectionals: South Dearborn, Shenandoah.
13. Mooresville: Feeder Sectionals: Avon, Mooresville.
14. Bloomington South: Feeder Sectionals: Bloomington North, Southridge.
15. Jeffersonville: Feeder Sectionals: Jeffersonville, Jennings County.
16. Castle: Feeder Sectionals: Castle, Evansville Central
 
Semi-States
1. East Chicago Central: Feeder Regionals: Crown Point, Hobart, Logansport, Penn.
2. New Haven (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum): Feeder Regionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), Goshen, Jay County, Peru.
3. New Castle: Feeder Regionals: Frankfort, Pendleton Heights, Perry Meridian, Richmond.
4. Evansville F. J. Reitz (Ford Center): Feeder Regionals: Bloomington South, Castle, Jeffersonville, Mooresville.

By Anna Kayser
 
I guess the best way to start this off is with a story – my favorite wrestling story to tell, actually, and one that tells you all you need to know about where I came from and why I’m here.
 
There’s no pretty table-setting for this story, except that I’m an Iowa Hawkeye through-and-through. I’ve been attending Iowa football games at Kinnick Stadium since I was a kid, attracted to the sports world from a young age. Wrestling, however, wasn’t on my radar. Not even as I moved up to one of the biggest wrestling high schools in the state of Iowa.
 
Fast forward to college, my junior year in Iowa City. I don’t remember what the weather was that day in October or how I felt as I walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for my second ever experience with Iowa wrestling. I was blissfully unaware of what the next year or two of my life would hold for me.
 
My introduction to the Hawkeye program had come just a few weeks earlier – yes, two and a half years into my college career, roughly 20 years into growing up in the middle of wrestling country – but that one’s not important. I was informally introduced to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands, it was chill.
 
It was less chill on media day as I sat facing the press conference podium at CHA, watching in fear as Brands tore apart – for lack of a better term – a reporter sitting on the other side of the room. I don’t remember what question was asked, I don’t remember the exact response. All I remember was feeling VERY in over my head.
 
I wasn’t a fan of the sport. The opposite, in fact, bored and completely unaware of the rules in high school. So, when my editor approached me about covering Iowa wrestling a year prior, I wanted none of it.
 
Thankfully, I changed my mind. But as I sat in that room, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision.
 
Following the press conference in which I doubt I dared to even think about speaking, the cohort of Iowa media made its way downstairs to the “Room that Gable Built” for interviews with athletes.
 
As I attempted to get my bearings on the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Tom Brands: The guy that just barked at a reporter not more than 10 minutes ago.
 
He asked me how I was doing and if everyone was treating me okay – a complete 180 in demeanor from what I had witnessed upstairs. I felt… at home.
 
The first Iowa dual I went to was the nail in the coffin. I have no idea who they wrestled (UT-Chattanooga, maybe?) or what the score was (I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut their opponent out completely). All I remember was feeling in complete awe of the spectacle, the lone mat in the middle of thunderous applause and the deep rumble of 15 thousand fans yelling “TWOOOO” in unison.
 
I covered Spencer Lee’s second NCAA championship, traveling out to Pittsburgh by myself with one photographer to survive only on midnight IHOP and press meals. I felt CHA rumble as Michael Kemerer defeated No. 1 Mark Hall to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over Penn State in early 2020.
 
So, why am I here now? Because there’s nothing I love more than being able to tell the stories of tremendous athletes and what it takes to stand atop a field of excellence – and I believe Indiana is full of these stories.
 
Wrestling is growing here, exponentially. The first dual meet I attended in Indiana blew me away, from the invested crowd to the spotlight highlighting all of the action. The State Finals, my first experience of finals action in Indiana, brought a number of separate communities together in a way that celebrated each athlete’s achievements.
 
I saw Jake Hockaday look unbeatable as an on-paper underdog in the 120-pound state finals. I witnessed future Hawkeye Leighton Jones finally tackle (nice use of a football pun here, don’t ya think?) the walls in his mind and stand atop the heavyweight podium in February. Spending my first year covering wrestling in Indiana immersed in the Brownsburg program opened my eyes to the tight-knit community this state never fails to disappoint.
 
The IHSAA State Finals showcase the best the state has to offer in the best way – center stage, on a single mat with a lone light on the middle circle. It’s a best-of-the-best battle. The fans are enthralled.
 
But there’s room for growth, as there always is from youth to professional sports, and Indiana’s wrestling community has the chance foster it. The more wrestlers that have their chance at a state title – hell, even just a chance to wrestle in that arena – the more will crave that experience. The more families that come out, the more siblings, cousins or friends will want to try their hand at wrestling.
 
As the sport grows, so do the number of powerhouses. No longer is there one powerhouse for the state of Indiana, but multiple at different levels of competition and school size, growing the sport exponentially and the exposure to smaller schools often overshadowed.
 
And as the years progress, as the word spreads about how Indiana puts on a show for its wrestlers, the more will pack that house year after year in anticipation for the greatest spectacle in amateur sports.
 
Those stories are here. Those kids are here. The opportunity is here. Trust me – I’ve grown in my wrestling career surrounded by the best fans, the best environment wrestling has to offer. It’s time to emulate that in the state of Indiana.

By Anna Kayser
 
I guess the best way to start this off is with a story – my favorite wrestling story to tell, actually, and one that tells you all you need to know about where I came from and why I’m here.
 
There’s no pretty table-setting for this story, except that I’m an Iowa Hawkeye through-and-through. I’ve been attending Iowa football games at Kinnick Stadium since I was a kid, attracted to the sports world from a young age. Wrestling, however, wasn’t on my radar. Not even as I moved up to one of the biggest wrestling high schools in the state of Iowa.
 
Fast forward to college, my junior year in Iowa City. I don’t remember what the weather was that day in October or how I felt as I walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for my second ever experience with Iowa wrestling. I was blissfully unaware of what the next year or two of my life would hold for me.
 
My introduction to the Hawkeye program had come just a few weeks earlier – yes, two and a half years into my college career, roughly 20 years into growing up in the middle of wrestling country – but that one’s not important. I was informally introduced to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands, it was chill.
 
It was less chill on media day as I sat facing the press conference podium at CHA, watching in fear as Brands tore apart – for lack of a better term – a reporter sitting on the other side of the room. I don’t remember what question was asked, I don’t remember the exact response. All I remember was feeling VERY in over my head.
 
I wasn’t a fan of the sport. The opposite, in fact, bored and completely unaware of the rules in high school. So, when my editor approached me about covering Iowa wrestling a year prior, I wanted none of it.
 
Thankfully, I changed my mind. But as I sat in that room, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision.
 
Following the press conference in which I doubt I dared to even think about speaking, the cohort of Iowa media made its way downstairs to the “Room that Gable Built” for interviews with athletes.
 
As I attempted to get my bearings on the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Tom Brands: The guy that just barked at a reporter not more than 10 minutes ago.
 
He asked me how I was doing and if everyone was treating me okay – a complete 180 in demeanor from what I had witnessed upstairs. I felt… at home.
 
The first Iowa dual I went to was the nail in the coffin. I have no idea who they wrestled (UT-Chattanooga, maybe?) or what the score was (I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut their opponent out completely). All I remember was feeling in complete awe of the spectacle, the lone mat in the middle of thunderous applause and the deep rumble of 15 thousand fans yelling “TWOOOO” in unison.
 
I covered Spencer Lee’s second NCAA championship, traveling out to Pittsburgh by myself with one photographer to survive only on midnight IHOP and press meals. I felt CHA rumble as Michael Kemerer defeated No. 1 Mark Hall to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over Penn State in early 2020.
 
So, why am I here now? Because there’s nothing I love more than being able to tell the stories of tremendous athletes and what it takes to stand atop a field of excellence – and I believe Indiana is full of these stories.
 
Wrestling is growing here, exponentially. The first dual meet I attended in Indiana blew me away, from the invested crowd to the spotlight highlighting all of the action. The State Finals, my first experience of finals action in Indiana, brought a number of separate communities together in a way that celebrated each athlete’s achievements.
 
I saw Jake Hockaday look unbeatable as an on-paper underdog in the 120-pound state finals. I witnessed future Hawkeye Leighton Jones finally tackle (nice use of a football pun here, don’t ya think?) the walls in his mind and stand atop the heavyweight podium in February. Spending my first year covering wrestling in Indiana immersed in the Brownsburg program opened my eyes to the tight-knit community this state never fails to disappoint.
 
The IHSAA State Finals showcase the best the state has to offer in the best way – center stage, on a single mat with a lone light on the middle circle. It’s a best-of-the-best battle. The fans are enthralled.
 
But there’s room for growth, as there always is from youth to professional sports, and Indiana’s wrestling community has the chance foster it. The more wrestlers that have their chance at a state title – hell, even just a chance to wrestle in that arena – the more will crave that experience. The more families that come out, the more siblings, cousins or friends will want to try their hand at wrestling.
 
As the sport grows, so do the number of powerhouses. No longer is there one powerhouse for the state of Indiana, but multiple at different levels of competition and school size, growing the sport exponentially and the exposure to smaller schools often overshadowed.
 
And as the years progress, as the word spreads about how Indiana puts on a show for its wrestlers, the more will pack that house year after year in anticipation for the greatest spectacle in amateur sports.
 
Those stories are here. Those kids are here. The opportunity is here. Trust me – I’ve grown in my wrestling career surrounded by the best fans, the best environment wrestling has to offer. It’s time to emulate that in the state of Indiana.

Manchester University to add women’s wrestling as varsity sport
https://www.manchester.edu/about-manchester/Manchester-University-News/MU-news-page/news/2023/03/27/manchester-university-to-add-women-s-wrestling-as-varsity-sport
NORTH MANCHESTER, Indiana — Manchester University will offer women's wrestling as a varsity intercollegiate sport starting in the 2024-25 academic year, making it the 50th NCAA Division III women’s team in the nation.

“The time is right to launch a women’s wrestling program at Manchester University. Interest in girls wrestling in high school is exploding and we are seeing that in Indiana,” said Director of Athletics Rick Espeset.

“We want to be at the forefront of helping grow the sport, providing the student-athlete experience to even more of our students and offering women the chance to compete at the college level,” he said. “We could not be more excited to add women’s wrestling.”

In addition to noting the DIII milestone, National Wrestling Coaches Association Executive Director Mike Moyer said this announcement represents the 154th new women’s intercollegiate wrestling program to be added across all divisions and governing bodies since 2000.

“I extend a heartfelt thanks to the Manchester University administration for recognizing the educational value and diversity that a new intercollegiate women’s wrestling program will bring to their campus. High school girls wrestling participation numbers are exploding across the nation and these new programs are critically important in providing post-secondary educational opportunities for wrestlers in the region.” Moyer said.

“Needless to say, this is a big win for our sport and Manchester University,” he added.

Josh Hardman, head coach for Manchester’s men’s program, will become director of wrestling. Manchester will hire an associate head coach for the women’s program and another for the men’s program.

“With the growth of women’s wrestling in Indiana and across the country, it is exciting to add women’s wrestling to the Manchester University Athletic Department,” Hardman said.

“To be on the cutting edge and part of the growth of this emerging sport is something to celebrate. Manchester has always been a place that fosters individual growth, and this is just another example of the innovative, bold commitment that MU continues to make toward providing opportunities that transforms the lives of their students,” he said.

A member of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Manchester offers 10 women’s NCAA-sponsored sports teams and 10 for men. Women’s wrestling will be the 11th women’s varsity sport, with a full year to recruit.

Those who are interested in women’s wrestling may apply at https://applyto.manchester.edu/register/MUWWR.

For the media

Rick Espeset, RBEspeset@manchester.edu
Josh Hardman, JAHardman@manchester.edu.
Mike Moyer, National Wrestling Coaches Association, mmoyer@nwca.cc
MU Director of Sports Information Erin Hickle, EEHickle@manchester.edu

Learn more about Spartan athletics, https://muspartans.com/index.aspx

By Anna Kayser
 
I guess the best way to start this off is with a story – my favorite wrestling story to tell, actually, and one that tells you all you need to know about where I came from and why I’m here.
 
There’s no pretty table-setting for this story, except that I’m an Iowa Hawkeye through-and-through. I’ve been attending Iowa football games at Kinnick Stadium since I was a kid, attracted to the sports world from a young age. Wrestling, however, wasn’t on my radar. Not even as I moved up to one of the biggest wrestling high schools in the state of Iowa.
 
Fast forward to college, my junior year in Iowa City. I don’t remember what the weather was that day in October or how I felt as I walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for my second ever experience with Iowa wrestling. I was blissfully unaware of what the next year or two of my life would hold for me.
 
My introduction to the Hawkeye program had come just a few weeks earlier – yes, two and a half years into my college career, roughly 20 years into growing up in the middle of wrestling country – but that one’s not important. I was informally introduced to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands, it was chill.
 
It was less chill on media day as I sat facing the press conference podium at CHA, watching in fear as Brands tore apart – for lack of a better term – a reporter sitting on the other side of the room. I don’t remember what question was asked, I don’t remember the exact response. All I remember was feeling VERY in over my head.
 
I wasn’t a fan of the sport. The opposite, in fact, bored and completely unaware of the rules in high school. So, when my editor approached me about covering Iowa wrestling a year prior, I wanted none of it.
 
Thankfully, I changed my mind. But as I sat in that room, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision.
 
Following the press conference in which I doubt I dared to even think about speaking, the cohort of Iowa media made its way downstairs to the “Room that Gable Built” for interviews with athletes.
 
As I attempted to get my bearings on the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Tom Brands: The guy that just barked at a reporter not more than 10 minutes ago.
 
He asked me how I was doing and if everyone was treating me okay – a complete 180 in demeanor from what I had witnessed upstairs. I felt… at home.
 
The first Iowa dual I went to was the nail in the coffin. I have no idea who they wrestled (UT-Chattanooga, maybe?) or what the score was (I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut their opponent out completely). All I remember was feeling in complete awe of the spectacle, the lone mat in the middle of thunderous applause and the deep rumble of 15 thousand fans yelling “TWOOOO” in unison.
 
I covered Spencer Lee’s second NCAA championship, traveling out to Pittsburgh by myself with one photographer to survive only on midnight IHOP and press meals. I felt CHA rumble as Michael Kemerer defeated No. 1 Mark Hall to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over Penn State in early 2020.
 
So, why am I here now? Because there’s nothing I love more than being able to tell the stories of tremendous athletes and what it takes to stand atop a field of excellence – and I believe Indiana is full of these stories.
 
Wrestling is growing here, exponentially. The first dual meet I attended in Indiana blew me away, from the invested crowd to the spotlight highlighting all of the action. The State Finals, my first experience of finals action in Indiana, brought a number of separate communities together in a way that celebrated each athlete’s achievements.
 
I saw Jake Hockaday look unbeatable as an on-paper underdog in the 120-pound state finals. I witnessed future Hawkeye Leighton Jones finally tackle (nice use of a football pun here, don’t ya think?) the walls in his mind and stand atop the heavyweight podium in February. Spending my first year covering wrestling in Indiana immersed in the Brownsburg program opened my eyes to the tight-knit community this state never fails to disappoint.
 
The IHSAA State Finals showcase the best the state has to offer in the best way – center stage, on a single mat with a lone light on the middle circle. It’s a best-of-the-best battle. The fans are enthralled.
 
But there’s room for growth, as there always is from youth to professional sports, and Indiana’s wrestling community has the chance foster it. The more wrestlers that have their chance at a state title – hell, even just a chance to wrestle in that arena – the more will crave that experience. The more families that come out, the more siblings, cousins or friends will want to try their hand at wrestling.
 
As the sport grows, so do the number of powerhouses. No longer is there one powerhouse for the state of Indiana, but multiple at different levels of competition and school size, growing the sport exponentially and the exposure to smaller schools often overshadowed.
 
And as the years progress, as the word spreads about how Indiana puts on a show for its wrestlers, the more will pack that house year after year in anticipation for the greatest spectacle in amateur sports.
 
Those stories are here. Those kids are here. The opportunity is here. Trust me – I’ve grown in my wrestling career surrounded by the best fans, the best environment wrestling has to offer. It’s time to emulate that in the state of Indiana.

By Anna Kayser
 
I guess the best way to start this off is with a story – my favorite wrestling story to tell, actually, and one that tells you all you need to know about where I came from and why I’m here.
 
There’s no pretty table-setting for this story, except that I’m an Iowa Hawkeye through-and-through. I’ve been attending Iowa football games at Kinnick Stadium since I was a kid, attracted to the sports world from a young age. Wrestling, however, wasn’t on my radar. Not even as I moved up to one of the biggest wrestling high schools in the state of Iowa.
 
Fast forward to college, my junior year in Iowa City. I don’t remember what the weather was that day in October or how I felt as I walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for my second ever experience with Iowa wrestling. I was blissfully unaware of what the next year or two of my life would hold for me.
 
My introduction to the Hawkeye program had come just a few weeks earlier – yes, two and a half years into my college career, roughly 20 years into growing up in the middle of wrestling country – but that one’s not important. I was informally introduced to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands, it was chill.
 
It was less chill on media day as I sat facing the press conference podium at CHA, watching in fear as Brands tore apart – for lack of a better term – a reporter sitting on the other side of the room. I don’t remember what question was asked, I don’t remember the exact response. All I remember was feeling VERY in over my head.
 
I wasn’t a fan of the sport. The opposite, in fact, bored and completely unaware of the rules in high school. So, when my editor approached me about covering Iowa wrestling a year prior, I wanted none of it.
 
Thankfully, I changed my mind. But as I sat in that room, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision.
 
Following the press conference in which I doubt I dared to even think about speaking, the cohort of Iowa media made its way downstairs to the “Room that Gable Built” for interviews with athletes.
 
As I attempted to get my bearings on the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Tom Brands: The guy that just barked at a reporter not more than 10 minutes ago.
 
He asked me how I was doing and if everyone was treating me okay – a complete 180 in demeanor from what I had witnessed upstairs. I felt… at home.
 
The first Iowa dual I went to was the nail in the coffin. I have no idea who they wrestled (UT-Chattanooga, maybe?) or what the score was (I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut their opponent out completely). All I remember was feeling in complete awe of the spectacle, the lone mat in the middle of thunderous applause and the deep rumble of 15 thousand fans yelling “TWOOOO” in unison.
 
I covered Spencer Lee’s second NCAA championship, traveling out to Pittsburgh by myself with one photographer to survive only on midnight IHOP and press meals. I felt CHA rumble as Michael Kemerer defeated No. 1 Mark Hall to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over Penn State in early 2020.
 
So, why am I here now? Because there’s nothing I love more than being able to tell the stories of tremendous athletes and what it takes to stand atop a field of excellence – and I believe Indiana is full of these stories.
 
Wrestling is growing here, exponentially. The first dual meet I attended in Indiana blew me away, from the invested crowd to the spotlight highlighting all of the action. The State Finals, my first experience of finals action in Indiana, brought a number of separate communities together in a way that celebrated each athlete’s achievements.
 
I saw Jake Hockaday look unbeatable as an on-paper underdog in the 120-pound state finals. I witnessed future Hawkeye Leighton Jones finally tackle (nice use of a football pun here, don’t ya think?) the walls in his mind and stand atop the heavyweight podium in February. Spending my first year covering wrestling in Indiana immersed in the Brownsburg program opened my eyes to the tight-knit community this state never fails to disappoint.
 
The IHSAA State Finals showcase the best the state has to offer in the best way – center stage, on a single mat with a lone light on the middle circle. It’s a best-of-the-best battle. The fans are enthralled.
 
But there’s room for growth, as there always is from youth to professional sports, and Indiana’s wrestling community has the chance foster it. The more wrestlers that have their chance at a state title – hell, even just a chance to wrestle in that arena – the more will crave that experience. The more families that come out, the more siblings, cousins or friends will want to try their hand at wrestling.
 
As the sport grows, so do the number of powerhouses. No longer is there one powerhouse for the state of Indiana, but multiple at different levels of competition and school size, growing the sport exponentially and the exposure to smaller schools often overshadowed.
 
And as the years progress, as the word spreads about how Indiana puts on a show for its wrestlers, the more will pack that house year after year in anticipation for the greatest spectacle in amateur sports.
 
Those stories are here. Those kids are here. The opportunity is here. Trust me – I’ve grown in my wrestling career surrounded by the best fans, the best environment wrestling has to offer. It’s time to emulate that in the state of Indiana.

By Anna Kayser
 
I guess the best way to start this off is with a story – my favorite wrestling story to tell, actually, and one that tells you all you need to know about where I came from and why I’m here.
 
There’s no pretty table-setting for this story, except that I’m an Iowa Hawkeye through-and-through. I’ve been attending Iowa football games at Kinnick Stadium since I was a kid, attracted to the sports world from a young age. Wrestling, however, wasn’t on my radar. Not even as I moved up to one of the biggest wrestling high schools in the state of Iowa.
 
Fast forward to college, my junior year in Iowa City. I don’t remember what the weather was that day in October or how I felt as I walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for my second ever experience with Iowa wrestling. I was blissfully unaware of what the next year or two of my life would hold for me.
 
My introduction to the Hawkeye program had come just a few weeks earlier – yes, two and a half years into my college career, roughly 20 years into growing up in the middle of wrestling country – but that one’s not important. I was informally introduced to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands, it was chill.
 
It was less chill on media day as I sat facing the press conference podium at CHA, watching in fear as Brands tore apart – for lack of a better term – a reporter sitting on the other side of the room. I don’t remember what question was asked, I don’t remember the exact response. All I remember was feeling VERY in over my head.
 
I wasn’t a fan of the sport. The opposite, in fact, bored and completely unaware of the rules in high school. So, when my editor approached me about covering Iowa wrestling a year prior, I wanted none of it.
 
Thankfully, I changed my mind. But as I sat in that room, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision.
 
Following the press conference in which I doubt I dared to even think about speaking, the cohort of Iowa media made its way downstairs to the “Room that Gable Built” for interviews with athletes.
 
As I attempted to get my bearings on the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Tom Brands: The guy that just barked at a reporter not more than 10 minutes ago.
 
He asked me how I was doing and if everyone was treating me okay – a complete 180 in demeanor from what I had witnessed upstairs. I felt… at home.
 
The first Iowa dual I went to was the nail in the coffin. I have no idea who they wrestled (UT-Chattanooga, maybe?) or what the score was (I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut their opponent out completely). All I remember was feeling in complete awe of the spectacle, the lone mat in the middle of thunderous applause and the deep rumble of 15 thousand fans yelling “TWOOOO” in unison.
 
I covered Spencer Lee’s second NCAA championship, traveling out to Pittsburgh by myself with one photographer to survive only on midnight IHOP and press meals. I felt CHA rumble as Michael Kemerer defeated No. 1 Mark Hall to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over Penn State in early 2020.
 
So, why am I here now? Because there’s nothing I love more than being able to tell the stories of tremendous athletes and what it takes to stand atop a field of excellence – and I believe Indiana is full of these stories.
 
Wrestling is growing here, exponentially. The first dual meet I attended in Indiana blew me away, from the invested crowd to the spotlight highlighting all of the action. The State Finals, my first experience of finals action in Indiana, brought a number of separate communities together in a way that celebrated each athlete’s achievements.
 
I saw Jake Hockaday look unbeatable as an on-paper underdog in the 120-pound state finals. I witnessed future Hawkeye Leighton Jones finally tackle (nice use of a football pun here, don’t ya think?) the walls in his mind and stand atop the heavyweight podium in February. Spending my first year covering wrestling in Indiana immersed in the Brownsburg program opened my eyes to the tight-knit community this state never fails to disappoint.
 
The IHSAA State Finals showcase the best the state has to offer in the best way – center stage, on a single mat with a lone light on the middle circle. It’s a best-of-the-best battle. The fans are enthralled.
 
But there’s room for growth, as there always is from youth to professional sports, and Indiana’s wrestling community has the chance foster it. The more wrestlers that have their chance at a state title – hell, even just a chance to wrestle in that arena – the more will crave that experience. The more families that come out, the more siblings, cousins or friends will want to try their hand at wrestling.
 
As the sport grows, so do the number of powerhouses. No longer is there one powerhouse for the state of Indiana, but multiple at different levels of competition and school size, growing the sport exponentially and the exposure to smaller schools often overshadowed.
 
And as the years progress, as the word spreads about how Indiana puts on a show for its wrestlers, the more will pack that house year after year in anticipation for the greatest spectacle in amateur sports.
 
Those stories are here. Those kids are here. The opportunity is here. Trust me – I’ve grown in my wrestling career surrounded by the best fans, the best environment wrestling has to offer. It’s time to emulate that in the state of Indiana.

By Anna Kayser
 
I guess the best way to start this off is with a story – my favorite wrestling story to tell, actually, and one that tells you all you need to know about where I came from and why I’m here.
 
There’s no pretty table-setting for this story, except that I’m an Iowa Hawkeye through-and-through. I’ve been attending Iowa football games at Kinnick Stadium since I was a kid, attracted to the sports world from a young age. Wrestling, however, wasn’t on my radar. Not even as I moved up to one of the biggest wrestling high schools in the state of Iowa.
 
Fast forward to college, my junior year in Iowa City. I don’t remember what the weather was that day in October or how I felt as I walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for my second ever experience with Iowa wrestling. I was blissfully unaware of what the next year or two of my life would hold for me.
 
My introduction to the Hawkeye program had come just a few weeks earlier – yes, two and a half years into my college career, roughly 20 years into growing up in the middle of wrestling country – but that one’s not important. I was informally introduced to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands, it was chill.
 
It was less chill on media day as I sat facing the press conference podium at CHA, watching in fear as Brands tore apart – for lack of a better term – a reporter sitting on the other side of the room. I don’t remember what question was asked, I don’t remember the exact response. All I remember was feeling VERY in over my head.
 
I wasn’t a fan of the sport. The opposite, in fact, bored and completely unaware of the rules in high school. So, when my editor approached me about covering Iowa wrestling a year prior, I wanted none of it.
 
Thankfully, I changed my mind. But as I sat in that room, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision.
 
Following the press conference in which I doubt I dared to even think about speaking, the cohort of Iowa media made its way downstairs to the “Room that Gable Built” for interviews with athletes.
 
As I attempted to get my bearings on the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Tom Brands: The guy that just barked at a reporter not more than 10 minutes ago.
 
He asked me how I was doing and if everyone was treating me okay – a complete 180 in demeanor from what I had witnessed upstairs. I felt… at home.
 
The first Iowa dual I went to was the nail in the coffin. I have no idea who they wrestled (UT-Chattanooga, maybe?) or what the score was (I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut their opponent out completely). All I remember was feeling in complete awe of the spectacle, the lone mat in the middle of thunderous applause and the deep rumble of 15 thousand fans yelling “TWOOOO” in unison.
 
I covered Spencer Lee’s second NCAA championship, traveling out to Pittsburgh by myself with one photographer to survive only on midnight IHOP and press meals. I felt CHA rumble as Michael Kemerer defeated No. 1 Mark Hall to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over Penn State in early 2020.
 
So, why am I here now? Because there’s nothing I love more than being able to tell the stories of tremendous athletes and what it takes to stand atop a field of excellence – and I believe Indiana is full of these stories.
 
Wrestling is growing here, exponentially. The first dual meet I attended in Indiana blew me away, from the invested crowd to the spotlight highlighting all of the action. The State Finals, my first experience of finals action in Indiana, brought a number of separate communities together in a way that celebrated each athlete’s achievements.
 
I saw Jake Hockaday look unbeatable as an on-paper underdog in the 120-pound state finals. I witnessed future Hawkeye Leighton Jones finally tackle (nice use of a football pun here, don’t ya think?) the walls in his mind and stand atop the heavyweight podium in February. Spending my first year covering wrestling in Indiana immersed in the Brownsburg program opened my eyes to the tight-knit community this state never fails to disappoint.
 
The IHSAA State Finals showcase the best the state has to offer in the best way – center stage, on a single mat with a lone light on the middle circle. It’s a best-of-the-best battle. The fans are enthralled.
 
But there’s room for growth, as there always is from youth to professional sports, and Indiana’s wrestling community has the chance foster it. The more wrestlers that have their chance at a state title – hell, even just a chance to wrestle in that arena – the more will crave that experience. The more families that come out, the more siblings, cousins or friends will want to try their hand at wrestling.
 
As the sport grows, so do the number of powerhouses. No longer is there one powerhouse for the state of Indiana, but multiple at different levels of competition and school size, growing the sport exponentially and the exposure to smaller schools often overshadowed.
 
And as the years progress, as the word spreads about how Indiana puts on a show for its wrestlers, the more will pack that house year after year in anticipation for the greatest spectacle in amateur sports.
 
Those stories are here. Those kids are here. The opportunity is here. Trust me – I’ve grown in my wrestling career surrounded by the best fans, the best environment wrestling has to offer. It’s time to emulate that in the state of Indiana.

By Anna Kayser
 
I guess the best way to start this off is with a story – my favorite wrestling story to tell, actually, and one that tells you all you need to know about where I came from and why I’m here.
 
There’s no pretty table-setting for this story, except that I’m an Iowa Hawkeye through-and-through. I’ve been attending Iowa football games at Kinnick Stadium since I was a kid, attracted to the sports world from a young age. Wrestling, however, wasn’t on my radar. Not even as I moved up to one of the biggest wrestling high schools in the state of Iowa.
 
Fast forward to college, my junior year in Iowa City. I don’t remember what the weather was that day in October or how I felt as I walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for my second ever experience with Iowa wrestling. I was blissfully unaware of what the next year or two of my life would hold for me.
 
My introduction to the Hawkeye program had come just a few weeks earlier – yes, two and a half years into my college career, roughly 20 years into growing up in the middle of wrestling country – but that one’s not important. I was informally introduced to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands, it was chill.
 
It was less chill on media day as I sat facing the press conference podium at CHA, watching in fear as Brands tore apart – for lack of a better term – a reporter sitting on the other side of the room. I don’t remember what question was asked, I don’t remember the exact response. All I remember was feeling VERY in over my head.
 
I wasn’t a fan of the sport. The opposite, in fact, bored and completely unaware of the rules in high school. So, when my editor approached me about covering Iowa wrestling a year prior, I wanted none of it.
 
Thankfully, I changed my mind. But as I sat in that room, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision.
 
Following the press conference in which I doubt I dared to even think about speaking, the cohort of Iowa media made its way downstairs to the “Room that Gable Built” for interviews with athletes.
 
As I attempted to get my bearings on the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Tom Brands: The guy that just barked at a reporter not more than 10 minutes ago.
 
He asked me how I was doing and if everyone was treating me okay – a complete 180 in demeanor from what I had witnessed upstairs. I felt… at home.
 
The first Iowa dual I went to was the nail in the coffin. I have no idea who they wrestled (UT-Chattanooga, maybe?) or what the score was (I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut their opponent out completely). All I remember was feeling in complete awe of the spectacle, the lone mat in the middle of thunderous applause and the deep rumble of 15 thousand fans yelling “TWOOOO” in unison.
 
I covered Spencer Lee’s second NCAA championship, traveling out to Pittsburgh by myself with one photographer to survive only on midnight IHOP and press meals. I felt CHA rumble as Michael Kemerer defeated No. 1 Mark Hall to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over Penn State in early 2020.
 
So, why am I here now? Because there’s nothing I love more than being able to tell the stories of tremendous athletes and what it takes to stand atop a field of excellence – and I believe Indiana is full of these stories.
 
Wrestling is growing here, exponentially. The first dual meet I attended in Indiana blew me away, from the invested crowd to the spotlight highlighting all of the action. The State Finals, my first experience of finals action in Indiana, brought a number of separate communities together in a way that celebrated each athlete’s achievements.
 
I saw Jake Hockaday look unbeatable as an on-paper underdog in the 120-pound state finals. I witnessed future Hawkeye Leighton Jones finally tackle (nice use of a football pun here, don’t ya think?) the walls in his mind and stand atop the heavyweight podium in February. Spending my first year covering wrestling in Indiana immersed in the Brownsburg program opened my eyes to the tight-knit community this state never fails to disappoint.
 
The IHSAA State Finals showcase the best the state has to offer in the best way – center stage, on a single mat with a lone light on the middle circle. It’s a best-of-the-best battle. The fans are enthralled.
 
But there’s room for growth, as there always is from youth to professional sports, and Indiana’s wrestling community has the chance foster it. The more wrestlers that have their chance at a state title – hell, even just a chance to wrestle in that arena – the more will crave that experience. The more families that come out, the more siblings, cousins or friends will want to try their hand at wrestling.
 
As the sport grows, so do the number of powerhouses. No longer is there one powerhouse for the state of Indiana, but multiple at different levels of competition and school size, growing the sport exponentially and the exposure to smaller schools often overshadowed.
 
And as the years progress, as the word spreads about how Indiana puts on a show for its wrestlers, the more will pack that house year after year in anticipation for the greatest spectacle in amateur sports.
 
Those stories are here. Those kids are here. The opportunity is here. Trust me – I’ve grown in my wrestling career surrounded by the best fans, the best environment wrestling has to offer. It’s time to emulate that in the state of Indiana.

By Anna Kayser
 
I guess the best way to start this off is with a story – my favorite wrestling story to tell, actually, and one that tells you all you need to know about where I came from and why I’m here.
 
There’s no pretty table-setting for this story, except that I’m an Iowa Hawkeye through-and-through. I’ve been attending Iowa football games at Kinnick Stadium since I was a kid, attracted to the sports world from a young age. Wrestling, however, wasn’t on my radar. Not even as I moved up to one of the biggest wrestling high schools in the state of Iowa.
 
Fast forward to college, my junior year in Iowa City. I don’t remember what the weather was that day in October or how I felt as I walked into Carver-Hawkeye Arena for my second ever experience with Iowa wrestling. I was blissfully unaware of what the next year or two of my life would hold for me.
 
My introduction to the Hawkeye program had come just a few weeks earlier – yes, two and a half years into my college career, roughly 20 years into growing up in the middle of wrestling country – but that one’s not important. I was informally introduced to Hawkeye head coach Tom Brands, it was chill.
 
It was less chill on media day as I sat facing the press conference podium at CHA, watching in fear as Brands tore apart – for lack of a better term – a reporter sitting on the other side of the room. I don’t remember what question was asked, I don’t remember the exact response. All I remember was feeling VERY in over my head.
 
I wasn’t a fan of the sport. The opposite, in fact, bored and completely unaware of the rules in high school. So, when my editor approached me about covering Iowa wrestling a year prior, I wanted none of it.
 
Thankfully, I changed my mind. But as I sat in that room, I couldn’t help but wonder if I made the wrong decision.
 
Following the press conference in which I doubt I dared to even think about speaking, the cohort of Iowa media made its way downstairs to the “Room that Gable Built” for interviews with athletes.
 
As I attempted to get my bearings on the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Tom Brands: The guy that just barked at a reporter not more than 10 minutes ago.
 
He asked me how I was doing and if everyone was treating me okay – a complete 180 in demeanor from what I had witnessed upstairs. I felt… at home.
 
The first Iowa dual I went to was the nail in the coffin. I have no idea who they wrestled (UT-Chattanooga, maybe?) or what the score was (I wouldn’t be surprised if they shut their opponent out completely). All I remember was feeling in complete awe of the spectacle, the lone mat in the middle of thunderous applause and the deep rumble of 15 thousand fans yelling “TWOOOO” in unison.
 
I covered Spencer Lee’s second NCAA championship, traveling out to Pittsburgh by myself with one photographer to survive only on midnight IHOP and press meals. I felt CHA rumble as Michael Kemerer defeated No. 1 Mark Hall to lead the Hawkeyes to a win over Penn State in early 2020.
 
So, why am I here now? Because there’s nothing I love more than being able to tell the stories of tremendous athletes and what it takes to stand atop a field of excellence – and I believe Indiana is full of these stories.
 
Wrestling is growing here, exponentially. The first dual meet I attended in Indiana blew me away, from the invested crowd to the spotlight highlighting all of the action. The State Finals, my first experience of finals action in Indiana, brought a number of separate communities together in a way that celebrated each athlete’s achievements.
 
I saw Jake Hockaday look unbeatable as an on-paper underdog in the 120-pound state finals. I witnessed future Hawkeye Leighton Jones finally tackle (nice use of a football pun here, don’t ya think?) the walls in his mind and stand atop the heavyweight podium in February. Spending my first year covering wrestling in Indiana immersed in the Brownsburg program opened my eyes to the tight-knit community this state never fails to disappoint.
 
The IHSAA State Finals showcase the best the state has to offer in the best way – center stage, on a single mat with a lone light on the middle circle. It’s a best-of-the-best battle. The fans are enthralled.
 
But there’s room for growth, as there always is from youth to professional sports, and Indiana’s wrestling community has the chance foster it. The more wrestlers that have their chance at a state title – hell, even just a chance to wrestle in that arena – the more will crave that experience. The more families that come out, the more siblings, cousins or friends will want to try their hand at wrestling.
 
As the sport grows, so do the number of powerhouses. No longer is there one powerhouse for the state of Indiana, but multiple at different levels of competition and school size, growing the sport exponentially and the exposure to smaller schools often overshadowed.
 
And as the years progress, as the word spreads about how Indiana puts on a show for its wrestlers, the more will pack that house year after year in anticipation for the greatest spectacle in amateur sports.
 
Those stories are here. Those kids are here. The opportunity is here. Trust me – I’ve grown in my wrestling career surrounded by the best fans, the best environment wrestling has to offer. It’s time to emulate that in the state of Indiana.

The phrase you hear 100's of times during a seeding meeting is always "who are your losses to?" This year 17 wrestlers will enter the state finals without a blemish on their record. On top of that there are about five wrestlers entering the tournament without a loss to an Indiana opponent. This year we have three weights without an undefeated wrestler, 160, 182, and 220lbs. In total the state qualifiers have 1047 losses of which 657 are to Indiana state qualifiers. Many of the wrestlers with out of state losses will be to eventual state qualifier also.
 
As always if you can help with the missing data it is greatly appreciated.
 
Random Stats
Most losses to state qualifiers
Gavin Bragg- 10
Jason Rooney and Logan Haney- 9
Max McGinley, mason Day, Isaiah Wilson, and Sonny Sessa- 8
 
Most wins over state qualifiers
Ashton Jackson- 11
Eddie Goss, Aidan Torres, and Revin Dickman- 9
Beau Brabender, Devin Kendrex, Charlie LaRocca, Luke Penola, Christian Chavez, Sam Goin, Jake Hockaday, and Leighton Jones- 8
 
Non-State Qualifiers with the most wins over state qualifiers
Trevor Gallagher- 7
Evan Roudebush- 6
Hosia Smith, Anthony Rinehart, and Luke Rioux- 5
 
Undefeated Wrestlers106 Ayden Bollinger- Delta
113 Jalen May- Kokomo
120 Ashton Jackson- LaPorte
126 Tylin Thrine- New Castle
132 Joey Buttler- Whiteland
132 Easton Doster- New Haven
138 Tony Wood- Jay County
138 Michael Major- Carmel
138 Cheaney Schoeff- Avon
145 Aidan Torres- Chesterton
145 Wyatt Krejsa- Center Grove
152 Bryce Lowery- Roncalli
170 Delaney Ruhlman- Bloomington South
195 Christian Chavez- Mishawaka
195 Alex Deming- Rochester
195 Luke Hansen- Roncalli
285 Titus Waters- Muncie Central
 
#WAYL2
Who are your losses to?
 
Key
*- State Qualifier
(Losses/ State Qualifier Losses/ State Qualifier Wins)
106lbs
Ayden Bollinger- Delta(0/0/2): 
Mason Jones- Lake Central(1/1/7): Julianna O'Campo*
Layne Horn- Rochester(1/1/4): Ayden Bollinger*
Matthew Baylor- Milan(1/1/1): Hruai Lian*
Julianna O'campo- Fort Wayne Snider(2/1/5): Ayden Bollinger*, Baker(MI)
Hruai Lian- Perry Meridian(4/2/5): Jeff McGuise, John Bissmeyer, Nathan Rioux*, Revin Dickman*
Cameron Meier- Bloomington South(4/4/4): Isaac Campbell*, Mason Jones*, Nathan Rioux(2)*
Isaac Campbell- Floyd Central(4/4/1): Cameron Meier(2)*, Nathan Rioux*, Revin Dickman*
Revin Dickman- Brownsburg(5/0/9): Harrison(OH), Seacrist(OH), Smith(PA), Timar(OH), Yarbrough(OH)
Nathan Rioux- Avon(5/5/4): Revin Dickman(5)*
Kaleb Salazar- Wawasee(5/3/3): Cameron Meier*, Hunter Douglas, Julianna O'Campo*, Kealen Fuller, Mason Jones*
Rex Moore- Manchester(6/6/0): Julianna O'Campo*, Layne Horn(4)*, Levi Johns*
Xavier Chavez- Mishawaka(8/4/1):  ???(2), Benton Kanable, John Bissmeyer, Julianna O'Campo(2)*, Kaleb Salazar*, Mason Jones*
Gunner Butt- New Palestine(8/3/1): Gavin Ash, Heather Crull, Hruai Lian(3)*, Jett McGuire(2), Joey Cline
Connor Bayliss- Mount Vernon (Fortville)(8/5/0): Cameron Meier*, Cole Vandygriff, E'Shawn Tolbert, Gunner Butt*, Jackson Elliott*, Jett McGuire, Joey Cline, Kaleb Salazar*, Matthew Baylor*
Logan Haney- Crown Point(14/9/0): Benton Kanable, Cameron Woods, Garcia(OH), Hruai Lian*, Kaleb Salazar*, Marinopoulos(IL), Mason Jones(4)*, Revin Dickman(2)*, Talon Jessup, Xavier Chavez*
113lbs
Jalen May- Kokomo(0/0/5): 
Charlie LaRocca- Center Grove(2/1/8): Cichocki(MI), Gavin Jendreas*
Gavin Jendreas- Crown Point(2/1/5): Mendoza(IL), Preston Haines*
Drew Waldon- DeKalb(2/1/1): Blake Byerley, Jalen May*
Ryan Taylor- Perry Meridian(3/2/4): Gavin Jendreas*, Preston Haines*, Quinten Schoeff
Levi Johns- Bluffton(3/1/2): Daniel Moore, Isaiah Fye, Jalen May*
Aiden Dallinger- McCutcheon(4/3/3): ???, Gavin Jendreas*, Isaac Ash*, Jalen May*
Jackson Heaston- Indian Creek(4/2/1): Charlie Larocca*, Eddie Goss*, Luke Rioux, Toby Billerman
Isaac Ash- Monrovia(6/4/2): Charlie Larocca(2)*, Luke Rioux(2), Preston Haines(2)*
Seth Aubin- Hobart(6/3/1): Aiden Dallinger*, Charlie Larocca*, E'Shawn Tolbert(2), Gavin Jendreas*, Ryann Schmidtendorff
Jackson Elliott- Carmel(6/6/5): Aiden Dallinger*, Charlie Larocca*, Isaac Ash*, Ryan Taylor(2)*, Tommy Frazier*
Preston Haines- Brownsburg(9/3/4): Brown(OH), Charlie Larocca(2)*, Cichocki(MI), Dyler(OK), Jackson Heaston*, Johnson(IL), Lambers(OH), Rossell(OH)
Tommy Frazier- Zionsville(9/5/3): Eddie Goss*, Gavin Bragg*, Gavin Jendreas*, Isaiah Schaefer*, Luke Rioux, Quinten Schoeff, Raney(KY), Ryan Taylor*, Terry Easley
Brayden Raber- Maconaquah(9/3/0):  ???(2), Braylon McIntire(3), Drew Waldon*, Isaiah Fye, Jalen May*, Levi Johns*
Cameron Sentner- Wawasee(10/2/0): ???, Aiden Dallinger*, Blake Byerley, Braylon McIntire, E'Shawn Tolbert, Josh Kite(2), Kamaron Straw, Matthew Senn, Seth Aubin*
Porter Temples- Westfield(14/7/0): ???, Charlie Larocca*, Demario Ezelle, Jackson Elliott(4)*, Luke Rioux, Revin Dickman, Ryan Taylor, Ryann Schmidtendorff(2), Tommy Frazier(2)*
120lbs
Ashton Jackson- LaPorte(0/0/11): 
Neal Mosier- Delta(1/1/5): Tanner Tishner*
Tanner Tishner- Western(1/1/4): Ashton Jackson*
Bryce Doss- New Palestine(2/2/3): Elijah Broady*, Neal Mosier*
Isaiah Schaefer- Evansville Mater Dei(3/1/4): Jake Hockaday*, Raney(KY)(2)
Jake Hockaday- Brownsburg(4/0/8): Butler(OH), DeLuca(NJ), Raney(KY), Stewart(IL)
Dominic Brown- Lowell(4/4/5): Ashton Jackson(2)*, Eddie Goss*, Sonny Sessa*
Peter Nguyen- Guerin Catholic(4/4/1): Elijah Broady*, Gavin Bragg(2)*, Neal Mosier*
Eddie Goss- Center Grove(5/5/9): Isaiah Schaefer(2)*, Jake Hockaday(2)*, Tanner Tishner*
Elijah Broady- Mount Vernon (Fortville)(6/4/3): ???, Bryce Doss(2)*, Dominic Brown*, Dylan Bennett, Neal Mosier*
Carter Fielden- Garrett(8/7/2): Eddie Goss*, Isaiah McCue, Linkin Carter(3)*, Neal Mosier(2)*, Sonny Sessa*
Linkin Carter- Eastside(9/4/4): ???, Ashton Jackson*, Bohls(OH), Carter Fielden(2)*, Estep(OH), Isaiah McCue, Nemitz(OH), Tanner Tishner*
Logan Bickel- Cascade(9/6/0): Eddie Goss(2)*, Ethan Holloway, Jake Hockaday(2)*, Jalen May*, Jayden Owsley, Peter Nguyen*, Quinten Schoeff
Gavin Bragg- Indianapolis Cathedral(13/10/3): Ashton Jackson*, Bryce Doss*, Dominic Brown*, Eddie Goss(2)*, Elijah Broady*, Isaiah Schaefer*, Jake Hockaday*, Moreland(OH), Quinten Schoeff, Rahul(OH), Ryan Taylor*, Sonny Sessa*
Isaiah Wilson- Chesterton(14/8/1): Ashton Jackson(3)*, Dominic Brown(2)*, Hank Phenicie, Isaiah McCue, Linkin Carter*, Matthew Maldonado(2), Owen Bunton(2), Sonny Sessa(2)*
Sonny Sessa- Crown Point(16/8/5): Ashton Jackson(3)*, Butler(OH), Dominic Brown*, Dylan Bennett, Eddie Goss*, Gibson(OH), Isaiah Wilson*, Jake Hockaday*, Matthew Maldonado(2), Nasdeo(PA), Rsendez(IL), Ryan(WI), Tanner Tishner*
126lbs
Tylin Thrine- New Castle(0/0/5): 
Keegan Schlabach- Lakeland(1/0/4): Braylon Meyer
Logan Frazier- Crown Point(2/0/6): Campbell(OH), Davino(IL)
Aden Reyes- Indianapolis Cathedral(2/1/5): Sears(OH), Tylin Thrine*
Jackson Bradley- Cowan(2/1/2): Cole Stuffel, Keegan Schlabach*
Evan Seng- Evansville Mater Dei(3/1/3): Aden Reyes*, Raney(KY)(2)
Cody Rowles- Jay County(3/3/1): Hayden Brady*, Jackson Bradley(2)*
Griffin Ingalls- Fishers(4/4/2): Aden Reyes*, Jake Hockaday*, Tylin Thrine(2)*
Hayden Brady- Garrett(4/4/1): Cody Rowles*, Keegan Schlabach(3)*
Alejandro Ramirez- River Forest(5/6/2): Griffin Ingalls*, Guillermo Rivera(3)*, Jesus Aquino-Morales(2)*
Chase Stephens- Tell City(5/2/1): Evan Seng(2)*, Liam Krueger, Toby Billerman, Zane Schreck
Guillermo Rivera- Lake Central(7/5/6): ???, Ayden Campbell, Hyatt Yeager*, Logan Frazier(4)*
Jesus Aquino-Morales- Union County(7/4/2): ???, Aden Reyes*, Blake Wolf, Griffin Ingalls*, Jack Davis, Tylin Thrine(2)*
Hyatt Yeager- Center Grove(8/4/2): ???, Aden Reyes*, Blum(MI), Caleb Mattingly, Evan Seng*, Landen Haines(2)*, Liam Krueger
Landen Haines- Brownsburg(10/3/2): Aden Reyes*, Chase Stephens*, Davis(MI), Garcia(IL), Hyatt Yeager*, Jett(OH), Keith Parker, Liam Krueger, McBurney(OH), Sanderfer(OH)
Nasir Christion- Merrillville(13/7/0): Alejandro Ramirez(2)*, Ayden Campbell(2), Dalton Robson, Guillermo Rivera(3)*, Liam Bumgardner(2), Logan Frazier(2)*, Quinton Buckmaster
132lbs
Joey Buttler- Whiteland(0/0/4): 
Easton Doster- New Haven(0/0/2): 
Kyrel Leavell- Warren Central(1/0/5): ???
Zar Walker- Mishawaka(1/0/3): Hayden Demarco
David Maldonado- Merrillville(2/1/5): Hayden Demarco, Zar Walker*
Odin Fortune- Evansville Reitz(2/1/1): Joey Buttler*, Landen Horning
Mikey Kallimani- Jimtown(3/2/5): David Maldonado*, Easton Doster*, Hayden Demarco
Justice Thornton- Columbus North(3/2/0): Brady Ison*, Odin Fortune*, Seth Syra
Hayden Fritz- West Central(4/2/0): ???, Caleb Oliver, David Maldonado*, Griffin Van Tichelt*
Jacob Weaver- Rossville(4/2/0): ???, Josh Johnson*, Kyrel Leavell*, Quenton Riley
Brady Ison- Brownsburg(5/2/4): Brown(OH), Joey Buttler(2)*, King(OH), Robinson(IL)
Keaton Morton- Perry Meridian(6/6/3): Brady Ison*, Griffin Van Tichelt*, Joey Buttler*, Kyrel Leavell(3)*
Brody Hagewood- Prairie Heights(6/5/3): Dallas Davidson, David Maldonado*, Easton Doster*, Essiah Kamer*, Mikey Kallimani(2)*
Griffin Van Tichelt- Crown Point(7/5/3): Brady Ison*, Brody Hagewood*, David Maldonado(2)*, Tye Linser(2), Zar Walker*
Essiah Kamer- Fremont(8/5/1):  ???(2), Brody Hagewood(2)*, Gabe Miller, Mikey Kallimani(3)*
Josh Johnson- Indianapolis Cathedral(9/6/1): Griffin Van Tichelt*, Keaton Morton(3)*, Kyrel Leavell*, Markour(OH), Tommy Gibbs, Trumble(KY), Wesley Harper*
138lbs
Tony Wood- Jay County(0/0/7): 
Michael Major- Carmel(0/0/5): 
Cheaney Schoeff- Avon(0/0/5): 
Jeffrey Huyvaert- New Prairie(1/1/5): Cole Solomey*
Cole Solomey- Kankakee Valley(1/1/4): Jeffrey Huyvaert*
Kelby Glenn- Tell City(3/3/3): Branson Weaver*, Cheaney Schoeff*, Reese Courtney*
Gavyn Whitehead- New Castle(3/2/1): Michael Major*, Silas Foster, Tony Wood*
Cooper Baldwin- Peru(4/3/2): Jordan Lear, Lucas Clement*, Reese Courtney*, Tony Wood*
Christian Arberry- Warren Central(4/2/2): Cooper Baldwin*, Gavyn Whitehead*, Michael Ortega, Romeo White
Wesley Harper- Penn(5/5/2): Cole Solomey*, Jeffrey Huyvaert*, Lucas Clement*, Michael Major*, Zar Walker*
Brock Hagewood- Prairie Heights(5/4/0): Cooper Baldwin*, Evan Cruz, Logan Uhlman*, Lucas Clement*, Max McGinley*
Lucas Clement- Merrillville(6/5/3): Aidan Torres*, Cole Solomey(2)*, Evan Cruz, Jeffrey Huyvaert*, Max McGinley*
Branson Weaver- Owen Valley(6/5/1): ???, Cheaney Schoeff*, Jeffrey Huyvaert*, Kelby Glenn(2)*, Michael Major*
Reese Courtney- Center Grove(8/4/6): Cheaney Schoeff(2)*, Chinavare(MI), Gates(MI), Michael Major*, Parker Reynolds, Tyler Vanover, Wesley Harper*
Max McGinley- Indianapolis Cathedral(9/8/2): Ayoub(OH), Brady Ison*, Cheaney Schoeff*, Christian Arberry(2)*, Michael Major*, Reese Courtney(3)*
Logan Uhlman- Adams Central(9/7/1): Aidan Carter, Jeffrey Huyvaert*, Kelby Glenn*, Tony Wood(5)*, Wyatt Price
145lbs
Aidan Torres- Chesterton(0/0/9): 
Wyatt Krejsa- Center Grove(0/0/4): 
Wesley Smith- Plymouth(2/2/3): Aidan Torres*, Anthony Bahl*
Cameron Clark- Jay County(2/2/3): Braxton Miller*, Brevan Thrine*
Braxton Miller- DeKalb(2/1/2): ???, Luke Teusch*
Luke Teusch- Huntington North(2/2/1): Cameron Clark*, Kolten Rhonemus*
Brevan Thrine- New Castle(3/1/3):  ???(2), Dillon Graham*
Luke Robards- Evansville Central(3/1/2): Cash Turner, Nayl Sbay, Wyatt Krejsa*
Jack Todd- Pendleton Heights(3/3/0): Brevan Thrine*, Dillon Graham*, Ike O'Neill*
Dillon Graham- Indianapolis Cathedral(4/2/4): Aiden Kiner, Wesley Smith*, Woodcock(OH), Wyatt Krejsa*
Ike O'Neill- Westfield(4/3/2): Aidan Torres*, Dillon Graham*, Jessie Franklin, Mason Day*
Anthony Bahl- Crown Point(6/2/4): Aidan Torres(2)*, Dominique(OH), Herriman(MI), Robinson(IL), Schneider(OK)
Kolten Rhonemus- Delta(6/5/1): Braxton Miller*, Brevan Thrine*, Cameron Clark(2)*, Cash Turner, Luke Robards*
Jayden Lewis- New Prairie(7/5/0): Aidan Torres(3)*, Alex Smith, Anthony Bahl*, Caleb Solomey, Wesley Smith*
Bradley Owen- Jeffersonville(9/1/1): Alex Smith, Asher Ratliff, Braedon Spears, Brown(KY), Jase Robinson, Keegan Williams, Lee Spencer, Montoya(KY), Wyatt Krejsa*
Mason Day- Brownsburg(11/8/1): Anthony Bahl(2)*, Bradley Owen*, Chase(OH), DiFazio(OH), Dillon Graham*, Guerra(OH), Ike O'Neill*, Luke Robards*, Silas Stits*, Wyatt Krejsa*
152lbs
Bryce Lowery- Roncalli(0/0/5): 
Hunter May- Evansville Mater Dei(1/1/5): Bryce Lowery*
Mitchell Betz- Western(1/0/5): Anthony Rinehart
Beau Brabender- Mishawaka(4/3/8): ???, Bryce Denton*, Gavin Davis*, Silas Stits*
Bryce Denton- Penn(4/4/2): Adrian Pellot*, Beau Brabender*, Hunter Miller*, Reese Courtney*
Tyce DuPont- Tell City(4/3/1): Evan Roudebush, Hunter May(3)*
Adrian Pellot- Merrillville(5/2/2):  Anthony Rinehart(2), Beau Brabender*, Evan Roudebush, Hunter Miller*
Gavin Davis- Bellmont(6/5/7): Aidan Torres*, Beau Brabender*, Evan Roudebush, Mitchell Betz(3)*
Hunter Miller- Wawasee(6/5/3): Anthony Rinehart, Beau Brabender(3)*, Bryce Denton*, Evan Roudebush, Gavin Davis*
Jackson Todd- Carroll (Fort Wayne)(6/6/2): Beau Brabender*, Gavin Davis(3)*, Hunter Miller*, Wesley Smith*
Zach Lang- Hamilton Southeastern(7/2/6): Bryce Lowery*, Mitchell Betz*, Trevor Gallagher(5)
Christian Wittkamp- Jay County(8/5/0):  Caden Funk(2), Deaglan Pleak, Gavin Davis(2)*, Jackson Todd(2)*, Mitchell Betz*
Silas Stits- Center Grove(9/3/3): Anthony Rinehart, Evan Roudebush(2), Gage Eckels*, Hunter May(2)*, Katschor(MI), Long(MI), Simcoe(MI)
Gage Eckels- Ben Davis(9/6/1): Bryce Lowery*, Chase Carrington(3), Jason Rooney*, Silas Stits*, Tyce DuPont*, Zach Lang(2)*
Jason Rooney- Westfield(11/9/2): Adrian Pellot*, AJ Steenbeke*, Beau Brabender*, Brenton Russell*, Carter Richardson*, Ethan Smith, Nathan Powell*, Trevor Gallagher, Zach Lang(3)*
Carter Richardson- Noblesville(14/3/1): Xavier Smith, Blake Wahl(3), Bryce Lowery(2)*, Chase Carrington, Gabe Bragg, Greyson Gard, Jaylen Covington, Jesse Derringer, Larz Hughes, Trevor Gallagher, Zach Lang*
160lbs
Logan Farnell- Maconaquah(1/1/4): Brant Beck*
Sam Goin- Crown Point(2/0/8): Garcia(PA), Lamer(OR)
Nathan Powell- Carmel(2/2/4): AJ Steenbeke*, Brenton Russell*
Luke Kemper- Evansville Central(2/0/3):  Jeb Prechtel(2)
AJ Steenbeke- Penn(3/3/7): Conner Watts*, Sam Goin(2)*
Brenton Russell- Warren Central(3/3/5): Andre Merritt*, Chase Wagner*, Sam Goin*
Levi Abbott- Cowan(4/2/1): Brant Beck*, Jordan Ayres, Logan Farnell*, Silas Loshe
Andre Merritt- Center Grove(5/3/7): AJ Steenbeke*, Davis(MI), Luke Kemper*, Marines(MI), Sam Goin*
Brant Beck- Rochester(5/5/4): AJ Steenbeke*, Conner Watts*, Levi Abbott*, Logan Farnell(2)*
Chase Wagner- Zionsville(5/5/4): Andre Merritt(2)*, Brenton Russell(2)*, Nathan Powell*
Conner Watts- Jimtown(5/4/2): AJ Steenbeke*, Ben Shaffer*, Brant Beck*, Deaglan Pleak, Logan Farnell*
Michael Hutchison- Cascade(5/5/1): Andre Merritt(2)*, Brant Beck*, Luke Kemper(2)*
Cameron Crisp- Merrillville(8/7/0): Aidan Costello*, Ben Shaffer(2)*, Carlos Perez-Xochipa*, Chase Wagner*, Manolo Hood, Sam Goin(2)*
Zach Huckaby- Perry Meridian(9/6/0): ???, AJ Steenbeke*, Brenton Russell*, Chase Wagner*, David Oyebode, Jason Rooney*, Nathan Powell(2)*, Sam Goin
Braden Moore- Charlestown(9/2/0):  ???(2), Andre Merritt*, Corbin Scott, Hayden Newell, Jack Rose, John Rushenberg, Michael Hutchison*, Wojcicki(KY)
Ben Shaffer- Chesterton(11/6/3): AJ Steenbeke*, Andre Merritt*, Chase Wagner*, Duke Myers*, Isaiah Rivas, Kenneth Bisping(3), Manolo Hood, Sam Goin(2)*
170lbs
Delaney Ruhlman- Bloomington South(0/0/6): 
Noah Weaver- Rossville(2/2/3): Anthony Cashman*, Jaquan East*
Jaquan East- Kokomo(2/2/2): Braxton Russell*, Evan Tilton*
Duke Myers- Bellmont(3/2/7): Gavin Malone, Kyle Harden*, Noah Clouser*
Aidan Costello- Hobart(3/3/5): Cody Goodwin*, Kyle Harden*, Noah Clouser*
Kyle Harden- Indianapolis Cathedral(4/3/6): Aidan Costello*, Clay Guenin, Noah Clouser(2)*
Noah Terry- Tell City(4/3/3): ???, Delaney Ruhlman(2)*, Jett Goldsberry*
Cody Goodwin- Crown Point(4/0/2): Cramblett(OH), Flip(PA), Kelly(IL), Snyder(NJ)
Tanner Reed- Columbia City(4/4/1): Duke Myers(3)*, Jaquan East*
Noah Clouser- Center Grove(5/3/6): Boone(MI), Delaney Ruhlman(3)*, Vincent Tinoco
Anthony Cashman- Warren Central(5/4/3): Aidan Costello*, Clay Guenin, Delaney Ruhlman*, Kyle Harden(2)*
Carlos Perez-Xochipa- Harrison (WL)(5/4/2): Aidan Costello*, Cody Goodwin*, Daeveon Cheeks, Noah Clouser*, Tanner Reed*
Jett Goldsberry- Heritage Hills(5/4/1): Gavin Malone, Noah Clouser*, Noah Terry(3)*
Braxton Russell- Delta(5/3/1):  Clay Guenin(2), Duke Myers(2)*, Zach Wagner*
Zach Wagner- Hamilton Southeastern(6/6/1): Ethan Popp*, Kyle Harden*, Luke Penola*, Noah Weaver(3)*
Isaac Valdez- Mishawaka(10/7/0): ???, Aidan Costello*, Anthony Cashman(2)*, Carlos Perez-Xochipa*, Duke Myers*, Kaden Lone*, Kyle Harden*, Zymarion Hollyfield(2)
182lbs
De'Alcapon Veazy- Fort Wayne Snider(1/1/5): Orlando Cruz*
Hunter Page- Monroe Central(1/1/3): Kaden Lone*
Evan Tilton- Hamilton Heights(1/1/3): Mike Durham*
Connor Cervantes- Griffith(1/1/2): Orlando Cruz*
Luke Penola- Zionsville(2/1/8): Ricketts(KY), Orlando Cruz*
Orlando Cruz- Crown Point(2/0/6): Heeg(OK), McDaniel(OH)
Bray Emerine- Floyd Central(3/2/1): Caden Brewer*, Luke Penola*, Ricketts(KY)
Mike Durham- Warren Central(4/3/3): ???, De'Alcapon Veazy*, Luke Penola(2)*
Laish Detwiler- Goshen(4/4/1): De'Alcapon Veazy*, Hunter Page*, Kaden Lone(2)*
Ethan Popp- Harrison (WL)(4/2/1): ???, Andy Warren, Connor Cervantes*, Vinny Freeman*
Kaden Lone- NorthWood(5/5/4): De'Alcapon Veazy(2)*, Laish Detwiler*, Luke Penola*, Mike Durham*
Brayden Tincher- Eastern Hancock(6/6/0): Evan Tilton(2)*, Hunter Page(2)*, Luke Penola*, Mike Durham*
Jackson Fox- Columbus East(7/3/2): Bray Emerine*, Christian Chavez*, Jonathan Tanner, Julian Weems*, Shaun Glass, Spencer Fain, Trent Kersey
Julian Weems- Center Grove(8/5/2): Adams(MI), Caden Brewer(4)*, Ethan Risner, Jaxson Walters, Luke Penola*
Vinny Freeman- Penn(8/5/1):  ???(2), Connor Cervantes*, De'Alcapon Veazy*, Jaylen Young, Julian Weems*, Orlando Cruz(2)*
Caden Brewer- Brownsburg(9/3/5): Barr(MI), Havill(OH), Jackson Fox*, Luke Penola*, Miller(OH), Neitenbach(OH), Orlando Cruz*, Shulaw(OH), Westpfahl(OH)
195lbs
Christian Chavez- Mishawaka(0/0/8): 
Alex Deming- Rochester(0/0/4): 
Luke Hansen- Roncalli(0/0/2): 
Wyatt Woodall- Southmont(1/1/3): Luke Hansen*
John Purdy- Castle(1/1/2): Reid Schroeder*
Reid Schroeder- Southridge(1/1/2): John Purdy*
Neil Johnson- New Prairie(3/2/4): Anthony White, Christian Chavez*, Nash Shupert*
Kaden McConnell- Center Grove(3/3/1): Christian Chavez*, Gunner Henry*, John Purdy*
Orlan Foster- Connersville(3/1/1): ???, Jaxon Copas, Luke Hansen*
Chad Washburn- Kokomo(5/4/1): Alex Deming*, Armen Koltookian*, Nash Shupert*, Neil Johnson*, Peyton Cross
Nash Shupert- Elkhart(6/5/3): ???, Alex Deming*, Armen Koltookian*, Donovan Blair*, Jackson Fox*, Neil Johnson*
Armen Koltookian- Concord(7/5/5): ???, Alex Deming(2)*, Chance Harris, Christian Chavez*, Nash Shupert*, Wyatt Woodall*
Gunner Henry- Brownsburg(8/3/1): Bennie(UT), Kaden McConnell*, Menifee(VA), quillin(OH), Ray(OH), Reid Schroeder*, Sell(OH), Will Clark*
Bazle Owens- Tippecanoe Valley(10/5/0):  ???(2), Armen Koltookian*, Austin Farris, Christian Chavez*, Donovan Blair(2)*, Mickey Daring, Neil Johnson*, Preston Duffy
Cael Albaugh- Clinton Central(10/5/0): Chad Washburn*, Elijah Cox, Jacob Jones, Neil Johnson*, Orlan Foster*, Ray Townsend, Seth Richardson, Trevor Currie, Wyatt Woodall(2)*
Donovan Blair- Wawasee(13/5/3): Anthony White, Armen Koltookian(2)*, Austin Smith, Christian Chavez(3)*, Henry Kukelhan, Josiah Williams, Nathaniel Rosas, Parker Hart(2), Paul Dewitt
220lbs
Tommy Morrill- Columbus East(1/1/4): Will Clark(2)*
Brady Beck- Rochester(1/1/3): Julante Hinton*
Julante Hinton- Fort Wayne Northrop(1/0/2): Chance Harris
Keagan Martin- Bellmont(2/2/3): Brady Beck*, Devin Kendrex*
Will Clark- Crown Point(3/0/7): Gallo(PA, Shulaw(OH), Snider(OH)
Cole Chicoine- McCutcheon(3/3/2): Alex Rose*, Jackson New*, Will Clark*
Nate Johnson- Center Grove(3/4/1): Devin Kendrex*, Jackson Weingart, Keagan Martin*, Tommy Morrill*
Devin Kendrex- Mount Vernon (Fortville)(4/2/8): Brandon Johnson*, Jackson Weingart(2), Tommy Morrill*
Austin Hastings- Noblesville(4/4/4): Brady Beck(2)*, Brandon Johnson*, Devin Kendrex*
Brandon Johnson- Lawrence North(4/4/3): Austin Hastings(2)*, Devin Kendrex(2)*
Alex Rose- Terre Haute South(4/2/2):  Eli Hinshaw(2), Tommy Morrill(2)*
Hadyn Ball- Triton Central(6/2/0):  , ???(3), Jackson Goodyear, Austin Hastings*
Jayden Bartoszek- Hanover Central(7/6/1): ???, Austin Hastings*, Clayton Deutscher*, Cole Chicoine(2)*, Will Clark(2)*
Spencer Watson- Tri-West(7/2/0):  , ???(3), Alex Rose*, Jakarrey Oliver, Josh Brown, Nate Johnson*
Clayton Deutscher- New Prairie(8/2/1): Eli Hinshaw, Jack Aranowski(2), Jayden Bartoszek*, Jonathan Neese, Kaleb Abad, Travis Henke, Will Clark*
Jackson New- Yorktown(10/7/1): Brandon Johnson*, Devin Kendrex(2)*, Eli Hinshaw, Hudson Kahn, Jonathan Tanner, Julante Hinton*, Keagan Martin(2)*, Titus Waters*
285lbs
Titus Waters- Muncie Central(0/0/5): 
Kelton Farmer- Evansville Memorial(1/1/3): Leighton Jones*
Dom Burgett- Hamilton Southeastern(2/1/4): Jack Milligan, Leighton Jones*
Aramis McNutt- Highland(2/2/1): Anthony Popi*, Paul Clark*
Jordan Cree- Rensselaer Central(2/2/1): Aramis McNutt*, Titus Waters*
Andrew Just- Franklin Central(3/3/4): Dom Burgett(2)*, John Broadwell*
Paul Clark- Crown Point(3/2/3): Leighton Jones(2)*, Moore(CO)
Anthony Popi- Plymouth(4/3/3): ???, Jordan Cree*, Paul Clark(2)*
Tyler Wright- Eastern (Greentown)(4/2/0): Brandt Thornburg, Brayden Jellison*, Mason Moran, Zac Wurm*
Leighton Jones- Brownsburg(5/0/8): Fockler(OH), Hosia Smith, Neves(NJ), Thomas(OK)(2)
Brayden Jellison- Elkhart(5/2/2): ???, Anthony Popi*, Christian Carroll, Peyton Kendall, Titus Waters*
John Broadwell- Beech Grove(5/3/1):  ???(2), Andrew Just(2)*, Eli Smith*
Zac Wurm- Adams Central(7/2/1): Joseph Orisadare, Juan Cruz(4), Titus Waters(2)*
Eli Smith- Zionsville(8/7/1): Andrew Just*, Brayden Jellison*, Dom Burgett(2)*, Hosia Smith, Leighton Jones*, Tyler Schott(2)*
Austin Vanover- Evansville Mater Dei(9/4/1):  , ???(3), Guillaume(KY), Jack Milligan, Kelton Farmer(2)*, Leighton Jones*, Tyler Schott*
Tyler Schott- Center Grove(11/6/3): ???, Acosta(MI), Andrew Just*, Anthony Popi*, Austin Vanover*, Hosia Smith(3), Kelton Farmer*, Leighton Jones(2)*
 
 

https://www.win-magazine.com/2023/03/27/michigans-mason-parris-wins-2023-win-magazine-culture-house-dan-hodge-trophy-presented-by-asics/
 
NEWTON, Iowa — After injuring his neck in the 2021 World Team Trials, Michigan’s Mason Parris wrestled the entire 2021-22 college season battling through pain and loss of feeling in his left side.

Entering the 2022-23 season, the Wolverine senior — who finished second nationally in 2021 and fifth in 2022 — was finally healthy and recuperated from a long road of recovery. But Michigan head coach Sean Bormet still considered redshirting his star heavyweight.

Parris, meanwhile, felt confidently that this would be the year all his hard work would culminate in a national title.

Parris made Bormet make one promise, though: he would wrestle every single match without sitting out, even the season-opening Michigan State Open that some of the other Wolverine starters often would not attend.

Now, six months later after capturing an NCAA title in dominant fashion and compiling an unblemished 33-0 season record, Parris has officially been named the recipient of the 2023 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy awarded to the nation’s top college wrestler.

Parris will be presented with the Hodge Trophy at the University of Michigan wrestling banquet on Sunday, April 2 in Ann Arbor. For more information on the Dan Hodge Trophy, including a list of all past winners along with the release story and stats from the year they won the Hodge, visit www.WIN-magazine.com.

The third straight heavyweight to win the Hodge — after Minnesota’s Gable Steveson won in 2021 and 2022 — Parris comfortably won the vote as he acquired 38 out of 64 first-place votes. The Hodge Trophy Voting Committee is a retired college coach from each region of the country, a representative from each of the national wrestling organizations, select national media members and past Hodge winners. Second-place Carter Starocci (Penn State, 174 pounds) received 14 first-place votes while four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell, 149) received six first-place votes.

Parris accumulated the highest portion of the fan votes as well, which accounted for the final five first-place votes. The four-time All-American and two-time NCAA finalist received 11,036 votes out of the total 36,225 fan votes that were cast online March 21-24. Starocci finished second in the fan vote with 6,172 while Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado, 141) finished third with 5,617.

“This is an unreal feeling,” Parris said. “To even be nominated is such an honor. To win it is such a great way to represent my family and my school.”

Created in 1995 by Mike Chapman, the creator of WIN Magazine, and sponsored by ASICS, the Dan Hodge Trophy is awarded to the most dominant wrestler each year by WIN and Chapman’s company Culture House. It is named after Dan Hodge, the undefeated, three-time NCAA champion at 177 pounds for the University of Oklahoma, and the only wrestler to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April 1, 1957).

“As the creator of the Dan Hodge Trophy, I am always delighted to see someone like Mason win,” Chapman said. “He is an excellent representative of the sport and the award and becomes the fifth heavyweight to win; moving alongside such greats as Kerry McCoy (Penn State, 1997), Stephen Neal (Cal State Bakersfield, 1999), Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State, 2005) and Gable Steveson (co-winner with Spencer Lee in 2021). In addition, Mason has made Michigan the 16th different school to have a Dan Hodge Trophy winner.”

Parris believes the future is bright for the heavyweight class.

“Heavyweights are a lot faster and more athletic than they used to be,” Parris said. “It is great to be on the forefront of that. It is awesome for the heavyweight division.”

Bormet was ecstatic to learn Parris had been named the first Hodge recipient in Michigan’s rich wrestling history.

“It is special,” said Bormet, who took the Michigan reins in 2018. “Mason was part of my first recruiting class at Michigan. That makes it a little more special. He has embodied the team mentality. It was great to see him be so dominant. I’ve watched Michigan as a university see a few football players win the Heisman and this is the equivalent. This is the most prestigious award in wrestling. What an accomplishment for Mason and our program.”

Criteria for the Hodge includes a wrestler’s record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship.

Parris was one of six NCAA champions who finished the season undefeated but had the most wins of all of them. He finished with the third-highest bonus-point percentage (63.6 percent) behind only Alirez (71.4 percent) and North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor (69.6 percent). Parris finished off the season with 11 pins, three technical falls and seven major-decision victories.

Other finalists for the Hodge were Princeton’s Pat Glory (125 pounds), Cornell’s Vito Arujau (133), Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (165), Penn State’s Aaron Brooks (184), and Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi (197).

Impressively, Parris wrestled a total of 10 matches this season against the other seven All-Americans in the heavyweight bracket and scored two bonus-point victories in those bouts, both of which came at the NCAA Championships.

In an all-Big Ten quarterfinal, the Wolverine controlled eventual fifth-place finisher Lucas Davison (Northwestern), 10-1, before massively extending his margin of victory over Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi in the semis by scoring a 16-1 technical fall in 5:12, just one month after he beat the Hawkeye 9-7 in dual-meet competition.

Parris was also one point shy of majoring Air Force third-place finisher Wyatt Hendrickson, defeating the Falcon 12-5 during the regular season.

Parris and Bormet both wholeheartedly believe in the Wolverine program’s ability to peak in March when it matters most, and Parris’ dominance in Tulsa attests to that.

“Our coaches at Michigan do a great job of peaking us at the right time,” Parris stated. “My confidence was at its peak and my body felt great out there.”

“From a program standpoint, we want to do our best wrestling at the NCAAs in March,” Bormet added.

“If you look at the course of our season, he got tested a few times and went through some adversity, but he kept his composure. He did a great job staying focused on scoring the next point. All those little tests helped him keep building and feeding into his confidence.”

For Parris, the mentality to not just win but to dominate began with his father and continued by assimilating into the Michigan wrestling program’s philosophies.

“Dominance was engrained in me at a young age,” said Parris, the 23-year-old native of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and the son of Mark and Shay Parris. “My entire career, the goal has always been to score as many points as I can and to dominate my opponent. My dad always told me to dominate, take risks, and never stop scoring.”

Bormet echoed Parris’ unrelenting approach to the sport.

“It is a mindset we look for in recruiting but also that we coach here at Michigan. He was clearly a relentless competitor, and when he got into our program, he would overwhelm guys with his offense. We didn’t want to slow down his offense but just to make it more efficient. He also has a huge team mindset, so he always wants to score bonus for the team. He is an incredible leader.

“This is a really special honor, and it puts an exclamation point on his career as a student-athlete. He is also graduating from one of the top engineering programs in the country, so he is a special human all around.”

https://www.win-magazine.com/2023/03/27/michigans-mason-parris-wins-2023-win-magazine-culture-house-dan-hodge-trophy-presented-by-asics/
 
NEWTON, Iowa — After injuring his neck in the 2021 World Team Trials, Michigan’s Mason Parris wrestled the entire 2021-22 college season battling through pain and loss of feeling in his left side.

Entering the 2022-23 season, the Wolverine senior — who finished second nationally in 2021 and fifth in 2022 — was finally healthy and recuperated from a long road of recovery. But Michigan head coach Sean Bormet still considered redshirting his star heavyweight.

Parris, meanwhile, felt confidently that this would be the year all his hard work would culminate in a national title.

Parris made Bormet make one promise, though: he would wrestle every single match without sitting out, even the season-opening Michigan State Open that some of the other Wolverine starters often would not attend.

Now, six months later after capturing an NCAA title in dominant fashion and compiling an unblemished 33-0 season record, Parris has officially been named the recipient of the 2023 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy awarded to the nation’s top college wrestler.

Parris will be presented with the Hodge Trophy at the University of Michigan wrestling banquet on Sunday, April 2 in Ann Arbor. For more information on the Dan Hodge Trophy, including a list of all past winners along with the release story and stats from the year they won the Hodge, visit www.WIN-magazine.com.

The third straight heavyweight to win the Hodge — after Minnesota’s Gable Steveson won in 2021 and 2022 — Parris comfortably won the vote as he acquired 38 out of 64 first-place votes. The Hodge Trophy Voting Committee is a retired college coach from each region of the country, a representative from each of the national wrestling organizations, select national media members and past Hodge winners. Second-place Carter Starocci (Penn State, 174 pounds) received 14 first-place votes while four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell, 149) received six first-place votes.

Parris accumulated the highest portion of the fan votes as well, which accounted for the final five first-place votes. The four-time All-American and two-time NCAA finalist received 11,036 votes out of the total 36,225 fan votes that were cast online March 21-24. Starocci finished second in the fan vote with 6,172 while Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado, 141) finished third with 5,617.

“This is an unreal feeling,” Parris said. “To even be nominated is such an honor. To win it is such a great way to represent my family and my school.”

Created in 1995 by Mike Chapman, the creator of WIN Magazine, and sponsored by ASICS, the Dan Hodge Trophy is awarded to the most dominant wrestler each year by WIN and Chapman’s company Culture House. It is named after Dan Hodge, the undefeated, three-time NCAA champion at 177 pounds for the University of Oklahoma, and the only wrestler to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April 1, 1957).

“As the creator of the Dan Hodge Trophy, I am always delighted to see someone like Mason win,” Chapman said. “He is an excellent representative of the sport and the award and becomes the fifth heavyweight to win; moving alongside such greats as Kerry McCoy (Penn State, 1997), Stephen Neal (Cal State Bakersfield, 1999), Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State, 2005) and Gable Steveson (co-winner with Spencer Lee in 2021). In addition, Mason has made Michigan the 16th different school to have a Dan Hodge Trophy winner.”

Parris believes the future is bright for the heavyweight class.

“Heavyweights are a lot faster and more athletic than they used to be,” Parris said. “It is great to be on the forefront of that. It is awesome for the heavyweight division.”

Bormet was ecstatic to learn Parris had been named the first Hodge recipient in Michigan’s rich wrestling history.

“It is special,” said Bormet, who took the Michigan reins in 2018. “Mason was part of my first recruiting class at Michigan. That makes it a little more special. He has embodied the team mentality. It was great to see him be so dominant. I’ve watched Michigan as a university see a few football players win the Heisman and this is the equivalent. This is the most prestigious award in wrestling. What an accomplishment for Mason and our program.”

Criteria for the Hodge includes a wrestler’s record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship.

Parris was one of six NCAA champions who finished the season undefeated but had the most wins of all of them. He finished with the third-highest bonus-point percentage (63.6 percent) behind only Alirez (71.4 percent) and North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor (69.6 percent). Parris finished off the season with 11 pins, three technical falls and seven major-decision victories.

Other finalists for the Hodge were Princeton’s Pat Glory (125 pounds), Cornell’s Vito Arujau (133), Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (165), Penn State’s Aaron Brooks (184), and Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi (197).

Impressively, Parris wrestled a total of 10 matches this season against the other seven All-Americans in the heavyweight bracket and scored two bonus-point victories in those bouts, both of which came at the NCAA Championships.

In an all-Big Ten quarterfinal, the Wolverine controlled eventual fifth-place finisher Lucas Davison (Northwestern), 10-1, before massively extending his margin of victory over Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi in the semis by scoring a 16-1 technical fall in 5:12, just one month after he beat the Hawkeye 9-7 in dual-meet competition.

Parris was also one point shy of majoring Air Force third-place finisher Wyatt Hendrickson, defeating the Falcon 12-5 during the regular season.

Parris and Bormet both wholeheartedly believe in the Wolverine program’s ability to peak in March when it matters most, and Parris’ dominance in Tulsa attests to that.

“Our coaches at Michigan do a great job of peaking us at the right time,” Parris stated. “My confidence was at its peak and my body felt great out there.”

“From a program standpoint, we want to do our best wrestling at the NCAAs in March,” Bormet added.

“If you look at the course of our season, he got tested a few times and went through some adversity, but he kept his composure. He did a great job staying focused on scoring the next point. All those little tests helped him keep building and feeding into his confidence.”

For Parris, the mentality to not just win but to dominate began with his father and continued by assimilating into the Michigan wrestling program’s philosophies.

“Dominance was engrained in me at a young age,” said Parris, the 23-year-old native of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and the son of Mark and Shay Parris. “My entire career, the goal has always been to score as many points as I can and to dominate my opponent. My dad always told me to dominate, take risks, and never stop scoring.”

Bormet echoed Parris’ unrelenting approach to the sport.

“It is a mindset we look for in recruiting but also that we coach here at Michigan. He was clearly a relentless competitor, and when he got into our program, he would overwhelm guys with his offense. We didn’t want to slow down his offense but just to make it more efficient. He also has a huge team mindset, so he always wants to score bonus for the team. He is an incredible leader.

“This is a really special honor, and it puts an exclamation point on his career as a student-athlete. He is also graduating from one of the top engineering programs in the country, so he is a special human all around.”

https://www.win-magazine.com/2023/03/27/michigans-mason-parris-wins-2023-win-magazine-culture-house-dan-hodge-trophy-presented-by-asics/
 
NEWTON, Iowa — After injuring his neck in the 2021 World Team Trials, Michigan’s Mason Parris wrestled the entire 2021-22 college season battling through pain and loss of feeling in his left side.

Entering the 2022-23 season, the Wolverine senior — who finished second nationally in 2021 and fifth in 2022 — was finally healthy and recuperated from a long road of recovery. But Michigan head coach Sean Bormet still considered redshirting his star heavyweight.

Parris, meanwhile, felt confidently that this would be the year all his hard work would culminate in a national title.

Parris made Bormet make one promise, though: he would wrestle every single match without sitting out, even the season-opening Michigan State Open that some of the other Wolverine starters often would not attend.

Now, six months later after capturing an NCAA title in dominant fashion and compiling an unblemished 33-0 season record, Parris has officially been named the recipient of the 2023 WIN Magazine/Culture House Dan Hodge Trophy awarded to the nation’s top college wrestler.

Parris will be presented with the Hodge Trophy at the University of Michigan wrestling banquet on Sunday, April 2 in Ann Arbor. For more information on the Dan Hodge Trophy, including a list of all past winners along with the release story and stats from the year they won the Hodge, visit www.WIN-magazine.com.

The third straight heavyweight to win the Hodge — after Minnesota’s Gable Steveson won in 2021 and 2022 — Parris comfortably won the vote as he acquired 38 out of 64 first-place votes. The Hodge Trophy Voting Committee is a retired college coach from each region of the country, a representative from each of the national wrestling organizations, select national media members and past Hodge winners. Second-place Carter Starocci (Penn State, 174 pounds) received 14 first-place votes while four-time NCAA champion Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell, 149) received six first-place votes.

Parris accumulated the highest portion of the fan votes as well, which accounted for the final five first-place votes. The four-time All-American and two-time NCAA finalist received 11,036 votes out of the total 36,225 fan votes that were cast online March 21-24. Starocci finished second in the fan vote with 6,172 while Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado, 141) finished third with 5,617.

“This is an unreal feeling,” Parris said. “To even be nominated is such an honor. To win it is such a great way to represent my family and my school.”

Created in 1995 by Mike Chapman, the creator of WIN Magazine, and sponsored by ASICS, the Dan Hodge Trophy is awarded to the most dominant wrestler each year by WIN and Chapman’s company Culture House. It is named after Dan Hodge, the undefeated, three-time NCAA champion at 177 pounds for the University of Oklahoma, and the only wrestler to ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated (April 1, 1957).

“As the creator of the Dan Hodge Trophy, I am always delighted to see someone like Mason win,” Chapman said. “He is an excellent representative of the sport and the award and becomes the fifth heavyweight to win; moving alongside such greats as Kerry McCoy (Penn State, 1997), Stephen Neal (Cal State Bakersfield, 1999), Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State, 2005) and Gable Steveson (co-winner with Spencer Lee in 2021). In addition, Mason has made Michigan the 16th different school to have a Dan Hodge Trophy winner.”

Parris believes the future is bright for the heavyweight class.

“Heavyweights are a lot faster and more athletic than they used to be,” Parris said. “It is great to be on the forefront of that. It is awesome for the heavyweight division.”

Bormet was ecstatic to learn Parris had been named the first Hodge recipient in Michigan’s rich wrestling history.

“It is special,” said Bormet, who took the Michigan reins in 2018. “Mason was part of my first recruiting class at Michigan. That makes it a little more special. He has embodied the team mentality. It was great to see him be so dominant. I’ve watched Michigan as a university see a few football players win the Heisman and this is the equivalent. This is the most prestigious award in wrestling. What an accomplishment for Mason and our program.”

Criteria for the Hodge includes a wrestler’s record, dominance/bonus-point percentage, quality of competition and sportsmanship.

Parris was one of six NCAA champions who finished the season undefeated but had the most wins of all of them. He finished with the third-highest bonus-point percentage (63.6 percent) behind only Alirez (71.4 percent) and North Carolina’s Austin O’Connor (69.6 percent). Parris finished off the season with 11 pins, three technical falls and seven major-decision victories.

Other finalists for the Hodge were Princeton’s Pat Glory (125 pounds), Cornell’s Vito Arujau (133), Missouri’s Keegan O’Toole (165), Penn State’s Aaron Brooks (184), and Pitt’s Nino Bonaccorsi (197).

Impressively, Parris wrestled a total of 10 matches this season against the other seven All-Americans in the heavyweight bracket and scored two bonus-point victories in those bouts, both of which came at the NCAA Championships.

In an all-Big Ten quarterfinal, the Wolverine controlled eventual fifth-place finisher Lucas Davison (Northwestern), 10-1, before massively extending his margin of victory over Iowa’s Tony Cassioppi in the semis by scoring a 16-1 technical fall in 5:12, just one month after he beat the Hawkeye 9-7 in dual-meet competition.

Parris was also one point shy of majoring Air Force third-place finisher Wyatt Hendrickson, defeating the Falcon 12-5 during the regular season.

Parris and Bormet both wholeheartedly believe in the Wolverine program’s ability to peak in March when it matters most, and Parris’ dominance in Tulsa attests to that.

“Our coaches at Michigan do a great job of peaking us at the right time,” Parris stated. “My confidence was at its peak and my body felt great out there.”

“From a program standpoint, we want to do our best wrestling at the NCAAs in March,” Bormet added.

“If you look at the course of our season, he got tested a few times and went through some adversity, but he kept his composure. He did a great job staying focused on scoring the next point. All those little tests helped him keep building and feeding into his confidence.”

For Parris, the mentality to not just win but to dominate began with his father and continued by assimilating into the Michigan wrestling program’s philosophies.

“Dominance was engrained in me at a young age,” said Parris, the 23-year-old native of Lawrenceburg, Ind., and the son of Mark and Shay Parris. “My entire career, the goal has always been to score as many points as I can and to dominate my opponent. My dad always told me to dominate, take risks, and never stop scoring.”

Bormet echoed Parris’ unrelenting approach to the sport.

“It is a mindset we look for in recruiting but also that we coach here at Michigan. He was clearly a relentless competitor, and when he got into our program, he would overwhelm guys with his offense. We didn’t want to slow down his offense but just to make it more efficient. He also has a huge team mindset, so he always wants to score bonus for the team. He is an incredible leader.

“This is a really special honor, and it puts an exclamation point on his career as a student-athlete. He is also graduating from one of the top engineering programs in the country, so he is a special human all around.”