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Jayruss

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    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2023 Evansville Semi-State Preview   
    By Dustin Bentz
     
    It’s that time of year!!! Triple B feels like WWE Hall of Famer Booker T, he’s walking down the streets of North Vernon and Madison Yelling, “CAN YOU DIG IT, SUCCCKKKAAAHHHHH”
     
    It’s me, it’s me, it’s TripleB and I’m here to deliver the World Famous TRIPLEB EVANSVILLE SEMI-STATE SPECTACULAR PREVIEW!!!!!!
     
    With good old 3B’s birthday being the Friday before, is there a better gift than the GREATEST SEMI-STATE IN THE STATE OF INDIANA??
     
    Evansville will be popping off Saturday, I’m actually negotiating with the IHSAA to go ahead and send us the state medals b/c we all know that THE DIRTY SOUTH SEMI-STATE is the GOLD STANDARD!!!
     
    House keeping items - 
     
    Here is the link for the Indianamat Semi-State Hub - 
     
    https://indianamat.com/index.php?/forums/topic/62910-article-2023-semi-state-information-center/
     
    From our former inside man Markio - Ford Arena info:
     
    Parking and general information about the arena can be found at www.thefordcenter.com Wrestlers can enter the arena at 7:30am for weigh-ins. Wrestlers and coaches will enter at the interior ticket office lobby (to the far right of the main lobby doors) to check in and head back. You will pick up your credentials here. The only coolers allowed are for wrestlers and must enter at the check in table through the interior ticket lobby. NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINK for anyone else is allowed inside unfortunately. Not my rules, just standard building policy.  Public doors open at 8:00am CST. Enter on Main Street through the main lobby. We will look to create a separate door/entrance for those that already have tickets. $12 dollars for all session ticket, $10 for finals only.  There is NO onsite parking. Please do not have any team vehicles attempt to park in the loading dock or attached outer lot. These are reserved spots. There is no public Wi-Fi.  Please do not jump over the dasher walls to access the floor. They try to control access to the floor, so you need to enter from the lower level hallway under section 103. You wouldn't jump the wall at Gainbridge would you? lol The hospitality room for officials, etc. will be in the Corner Club. Enter from the main lobby and hang a right at the lower level hallway. If you are going to set up a camera please do not have the cord running across the aisle. You will be made to unplug any cords running across an aisle. We will have full concessions available throughout the day. Coffee and hot chocolate are also available all day as well. (get the bbq pork nachos, huge and awesome) There is no smoking on or in the Ford Center property, this includes e-cigarettes. Brackets will be updated throughout the day and posted on several of the 170 or so TVs located all over the arena. The brackets end up kind of small, but hey, they are everywhere and pretty cool. Lastly,if you are a wrestler that loses please don't kick,throw,or punch Ford Center property. We had a kid break off a door handle last year.Sent the bill to the school.   
    Nestled between two days of absolute Love (3B’s birthday on Thursday and Valentine’s Day on Tuesday) 224 grapplers will be battling to GAIN 56 tickets to the Bridge in Indianapolis next weekend!!
     
    Let’s not pull any punches, Evansville is the toughest Semi-State in the state. There were kids getting sent home at regionals that could have placed at state and the same will happen this weekend. It will be absolute Carnage, Chaos, and Heartbreak. 176 Semi-State ranked wrestlers, 107 of whom are also state ranked will take to the Ford Center Saturday  with more excitement than the pre-teens at the Jo-Jo concert the night before. We have the potential to feature, 4, yes 4 #1 vs. #2 state ranked wrestlers. We also have 7 of the 14 #1 ranked wrestlers in the state in our semi-state. 
     
    How does this work - The exclusive Evansville Championship Selection Committee (ECSC) spent 2 days in hard deliberations over their Ford Fab 4 picks. Each member selected their ballot, points were accumulated, and from there the picks started falling into place.
     
    Article features: 
     
    The Charles Barkley “Turrible”  Draws - ticket round matches that shouldn’t be happening in the ticket round!
     
    The Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Best first round matches!
     
    The Built Ford Tough Locks - Any weight class where the pick for champion was unanimous, makes it a Ford Tough Lock. This year we have, what may be a record, 10 yes 10 FORD TOUGH LOCKS!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - After the picks were gathered, points distributed, and the dust settled, we’ll have the Ford Fab 4.
     
    A big shout out to Navy80, BigToe19, a mystery guest picker, and The DONNIE BAKER for their contributions. I will add some commentary throughout from our great pickers.
     
    What if I didn’t agree with the ECSC or I thought they made a terrible error? Then have no fear - The TripleB Guarantee will help you sort out the madness. 
     
    Before we get started….. Is this the year for siblings??? Or are some cousins??? Or maybe Uncle/Nephews??
     
    BigToe did some digging and came up with the following families, good luck this weekend!
     
    Ash Brothers - Monrovia
    Bell Brothers - Ev North
    Haines Brothers - BBurg
    Heaston Brothers - Indian Creek
    Henderson Brothers - Vincennes Lincoln
    Rioux Brothers - Avon
    Rose Brothers - Switz County  
    Schoeff Brothers - Avon
    Smith Siblings - Heritage Hills  ( Brother/Sister ???)
    VanOver Brothers - EMD
    *Clement Brothers- Merrillville/Edgewood
     
    BigToe Regional Breakdown based off his predictions (will slightly differ from the selections ahead):
     
    Bigtoe19 Regional Breakdown:
     
    Mooresville - 25 to State, & 7 EVSS Champs
     
    Bloomington- 11 to State, 3 EVSS Champs
     
    Jeffersonville- 6 to State, 1 EVSS Champ
     
    Evansville- 14 to State, 3 EVSS Champs
     
    Without further ado—--------LET’S FREAKIN’ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
     
    106: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/9
    All 10 SS ranked wrestlers have navigated the waters! Every year we talk about future hammers and blue bloods filling out 106. This year is no different as names like Bloomington High School South, Avon, Brownsburg, Columbus East, and Floyd Central all litter the bracket. But there are some schools hoping to be bracket busters!
     
    106 also welcomes our first of record 10 Ford Tough LOCKS!!! 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Freshman from Columbus East Talon Jessup has had a great year, Brennan Leonard has been lurking in the shadows w/ an injury and brings 6-3 record to SS. This match will kick things off Saturday!! Another rising program, Indian Creek, will bring Jude Heaston to the Ford and a first round match w/ Brady Byrd from Washington should be the caffeine everyone needs Saturday morning!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws -  LET THE MOORESVILLE CHAOS BEGIN!!!  The Mooresville Regional, or the fifth semi-state as those #County folks have started referring to it, which always causes death draws. #4 SS ranked and returning State Participant Cameron Meier from Bloomington South will take on Monrovia’s Super Sophomore Gavin Ash. Could they both punch tickets if in a different bracket? Don’t know but this match will be great!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Gavin Ash, as mentioned above. Nate Rioux, he’s wrestled Dickman approximately 1000 times and both are Contender trained. But keep an eye on  The Castle Regional duo of Ty Henderson from Vincennes Lincoln and Brady Byrd from Washington. Both are battle tested and compete on the national level. Byrd and Dickman aren’t strangers and that match could be entertaining!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Our first Ford Tough Lock - Revin Dickman of Brownsburg hopes to get Bulldogs from Brownsburg going early!
    1st - LOCK Revin Dickman  Brownsburg, 2nd - Nate Rioux  Avon, 3rd - Isaac Campbell Floyd Central 4th - Cameron Meier Bloomington High School South
     
    113: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/8
    A returning LOCK that is ranked #1 in the state and #1 in the semi-state…. And he’s not a lock, nor is he favored! 5 top ten state ranked wrestlers will look for top honors at 113 and up until a week ago returning SS champ Preston Haines of Brownsburg appeared to have it locked up again. Then the Trojans of Center Grove came a’callin, and Charlie LaRocca helped pull the weight class and regional upset! This weight class is loaded and 3 different wrestlers all got votes to win it; Haines, LaRocca and Avon’s Luke Rioux. 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - #9SS ranked and regional champ Gavin Wheeler from North Posey got a Curtain Jerker and turrible draw as he gets #8 state ranked Isaac Ash from Monrovia. Wheeler is tough and North Posey wrestles a great schedule, don’t expect him to lay down for Ash!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Sound the FLIPPIN Sirens…. Call the EVPD, actually don’t, I follow a page called Evansville Watch and they need their own TV show, anway…. We got 2 returning state medalists going at it in the ticket round!!! #6 ranked Jackson Heaston has gone out and got challenges all season at whatever weight he wanted. #4 Luke Rioux comes from the battle hardened Contender Academy and Rioux family….. Someone really has to go home?!?!?!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Hold on, I’m still gathering myself…. Don’t sleep on the dream dashers known as the IHSAA!!!
     
    Ford Fab 4 -  It’s the first Mooresville Sweep!!! LaRocca gets the nod and the rest play out like last weekend
     
    1st - Charlie LaRocca  Center Grove, 2nd -  Preston Haines Brownsburg, 3rd - Luke Rioux Avon, Isaac Ash Monorovia
     
    TRIPLEB_GUARANTEE - Preston Haines gets the W back and gets another SS crown. 
     
    120: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/9
    120 features a returning semi-state champ, state champ, who hasn’t lost in the state of Indiana in over a year, has to be a lock right? NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND!! Jake Hockaday is the presumptive favorite but some pickers think a Wildcat can take out a Bulldog. This weight class features 4 top ten ranked wrestlers not all are favorites to get out!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker: Lane Gilbert has lots of state, national and even world medals. He definitely has his eyes set on finally climbing that podium next weekend, but will that cause him to overlook Cascade Cadet #23 ranked Logan Bickel? Another great first round match will feature SS #8 ranked Quinten Q Schoeff vs #10 ranked Cameron Fogle from Southridge. Fogle is a sectional champ who dropped a decision loss to Gilbert last weekend. 
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - See below….. 
    Don’t sleep on…. Switzerland County wrestling has been quietly putting together the pieces for a run for a few years now. Freshman Peyton Richards comes into Semi-State undefeated and has collected a sectional and regional championship. Trips has been trying to tell people but no one will listen!!
     
    Ford Fab 4: Hockaday gets enough to cover followed by Mater Dei’s Isaiah Schaefer (we didn’t even mention him, he did get a vote to knock off Hock), Gilbert, and Richards
     
    1st - Jake Hockaday Brownsburg, 2nd - Isaiah Schaefer, Evansville Mater Dei, 3rd - Lane Gilbert Sullivan, 4th Eddie Goss Center Grove
     
    DONNIE BAKER AND TRIPLEB’S BET THE BOAT - Peyton Richards becomes Switzerland County’s first ever state qualifier… and won’t be the only Pacer going. 
     
    126: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/10
     
    Our 2nd LOCK at 126 and is 2x state medalist, 2x semi state finalist and a champ 2 years ago, Evansville Mater Dei’s Evan Seng. Seng has been rolling through the state tourney w 4 falls, 1 tech and 1 major. He is the heavy favorite Saturday. Yearly 126 is one of the deepest weight classes and 2023 is no different as there are some absolute hammer matches in the both first rounds and the ticket round. 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Both #8 Josiah Dedeaux of Terre Haute South and #7 Keith Parker of Ben Davis didn’t like how their seasons ended a year ago and went to work. They’ve wrestled all over the country. They have grown leaps and bounds. Dedeaux was knocked out of regionals last year by Floyd’s Vince Kessinger and this year he knocked off Kessinger for third place. Parker has flip flopped matches w/ Landen Haines the last two weekends. This match has all the makings of a barn burner, unfortunately the winner gets the LOCK Seng. 
     
    Another lights out curtain jerker features returning state qualifier Dominic McFeely from Cascade taking on super soph from 3 time 1A state champs Tell City Chase Stephens. Can the Marksmen keep rolling or will the Cadet triumph?
     
    ANNNNDDD Hold on one more match!  Brownsburg’s Landen Haines will go at it w/ Vince Kessinger from Floyd. Throw the rankings away, these dudes wrestle w/ multiple siblings. I can’t even imagine what Thanksgiving looks like at either of their houses. The Kessinger Kids, the Haines Bros…. Battles and that will come into play Saturday. Kessinger has home run capabilities and Landen can’t wait to get his Haines on…wait, bad joke, nevermind…. Don’t miss this match!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - The winner of McFeely/Stephens won’t have long to rest b/c CE’s returning state qualifier Liam Krueger waiting for them. Krueger has wins over both, though just a 2 pt decision over Stephens.
     
    Corydon’s Zane Schreck has been on a mission all year, last weekend he beat Krueger convincingly, Krueger has Dub over Yeager. One of these two are going home!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Hell is there anybody I haven’t mentioned?? Yeah there is, Remember the headlocks heard around the world last year? I guarantee Seth Cowden does, he was winning 11-0 heading into the 3rd period when Jarred Dunn dropped the boom. Last weekend Cowden lost in OT to Chase Stephens. You think that dude is happy right now? He could send Yeager and Schreck packing Saturday!
     
    Ford Fab 4: A grinder of a bracket after Seng, Krueger, Haines and Schreck all still standing at the end
    1st - Evan Seng Evansville Mater Dei,  2nd Liam Krueger Columbus East, 3rd Landen Haines Brownsburg,  4th Zane Schreck, Corydon Central
     
    132: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/8
     
    Here’s what we know about 132 - It’s Joey’s world and we are just trying to keep up, and after that all bets are off. Joey Buttler from Whiteland is our next LOCK as the 2x state medalist and returning Semi-State champ looks to rule the bracket. The bottom half bracket is insane. Past turrible draw recipients from last year Coy Hammack from Tell City and Justice Thornton from Columbus North both hope to avoid being on the bad side of the draws. 
     
    Hammack is a 2x qualifier, 1x medalist and was upended last year. 
    Thornton is now a 2x regional champ for Columbus North. 
    Both have Mooresville Regional draws in the form of Seth Syra and Brady Ison. 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers -  Floyd Central Freshman Hunter Banet and Jennings County’s Lane Kirchner is a homer pick for old 3B, two HHC foes going at it! Kirchner won the HHC in January, Banet took third but they didn’t cross paths. 
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Coy Hammack has a celebrated career, but the grinder of Evansville doesn’t care about celebrations. In what might be one of the worst (or best??) ticket round match ups ever he gets Brownsburg 2x State Qualifier Brady Ison. It’s a shame someone’s season and possibly career ends here Saturday. This is also what makes Evansville the absolute best SS in the state. 
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Seth Syra, Avon. He was a ticket rounder last year and has a 1-0 win over Thornton this year. The pickers went w/ Thornton but can Seth Syra put a stamp on his earlier season win?  Also Odin Fortune from Reitz has never been able to punch his ticket, the pickers say he will do just that this year, but will his fortune reveal more than just a state finals birth?
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Buttler, Hammack gets the nod, Thornton gets the nod and Fortune 
     
    1st - Joey Buttler Whiteland, 2nd - Coy Hammack Tell City, 3rd - Odin Fortune Evansville Reitz, 4th - Justice Thornton Columbus North. 
     
    138: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/10
     
    Cheaney Schoeff is the star of this weight class. He’s a 3x state semi-finalist, defending semi-state champ is looking to finish off his career with a state ‘ship next weekend. He’s also LOCK #4! 
     
    With all 10 ranked SS wrestlers in the bracket there are a number of bangers to open this weight class and some possibly good Ticket round matches. Another Pacer punching his ticket and WildCat helping out a Bulldog?!?! 138 is LOADED!!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Interesting 1 vs 4 to get things going Trevor Hott is ranked 18th in the state but not ranked in the semi-state. Gabe Rose is ranked 10th in the state, has beaten everyone he’s wrestled as he’s walked through the state tourney but isn’t ranked in the state! 
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Not really turrible draws, but some great blood round matches here - Rose/Hott winner vs #8/#4 Branson Weaver. Weaver has had tough L’s in the state tourney, but not an impossible draw here. 
     
    Skip down to #12/#5 Kelby Glenn, a tough 2 loss senior from Tell City and Freshman Phenom from Brownsburg #3/#2 Parker Reynolds. This match will be good, and a turrible draw!!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Evansville Mater Dei’s Tyler Vanover has a “Dub” over Reece Courtney in a barn burner at Team State. This is another ticket round match. 
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Schoeff is a LOCK, two upsets on paper as Rose edges out Weaver and Vanover gets one on Courtney, Parker Reynolds punches his first ticket
     
    1st - Cheaney Schoeff Avon, 2nd - Parker Reynolds Brownsburg, 3rd - Tyler Vanover Evansville Mater Dei, 4th - Gabe Rose Switzerland County
     
    145: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/9
     
    Center Grove’s Wyatt Krejsa was one of the highlights last year when he won his ticket round match by fall in 30 seconds. There’s no surprises this year as Krejsa is our 5th LOCK. 
     
    After that there are some great first round and ticket round matches as this weight features all 10 SS ranked wrestlers, w 9 being ranked in the state. Can my boy, TripleB Trained Braedon Spears come out of one of the toughest quarter brackets and finally punch his ticket?!?! 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - State ranked wrestlers right out of the gates!!! #18 Alex Smith was winning his first round match a year ago when he got cradled with under a minute to go. Braedon Spears was up 3-2 w/ 14 seconds to go in his ticket round match when a shredded knee and reversal ended his season. With heartbreaks on their minds, these grapplers have each other in this highlight Curtain Jerker! The winner gets tough Jeffersonville Senior Bradley Owen. They both own wins over Owen but Owen is on fire right now. This will be a great ticket round match!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Cash Turner just became Edgewood’s first ever 4 time regional champion, a 2x state finalist and would be a three timer if not for Brownsburg…. Who he happens to have this year in Bulldog Sophomore Mason Day. They are both ranked top 4 in Semi State and top 12 in the state. 
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Bradley Owen as mentioned above and Tell City Senior Brayden Lain. The pickers like Luke Robards from Evansville Central but Tell City’s season has been magic, don’t count Lain out!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Another weight, another LOCK - Kresja, Spears, Turner ekes out Day, and Robards
     
    1st - Wyatt Kresja Center Grove, 2nd Braedon Spears Madi…err.. Plainfield, 3rd - Cash Turner Edgewood, 4th - Luke Robards Evansville Central
    TRIPLEB_GUARANTEE - My man crush on Mater Dei is well documented, but what has stayed hidden is my affinity for my boy JMILL and Brownsburg - Give me Day over Turner. 
     
    152: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/9
     
    3 returning state qualifiers, another LOCK, and what could be a wide open quarter bracket highlight 152. 
     
    2x state medalist and a semi-finalist last year, Mater Dei’s Hunter May is the next WildCat LOCK joining teammate Wyatt Seng. The WildCats aren’t being heavily talked about which is weird, but these two LOCKS hope to pull off some hometown magic!
     
    The rest of the bracket will feature 3 great ticket round matches and another school hoping for their first ever state qualifier. 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Terre Haute South Senior and 24th state ranked Luke May is making his first trip to Semi-State, Jeff’s Senior Hayden Bartle is making this third trip to Ford, well Jasper/Ford, whatever. These seniors would both like to keep their seasons rolling into the quarters!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - 2 turrible draws - Greencastle Senior Chase Carrington is probably underranked (17/7) as he won the always tough Mooresville Regional. Tyce DuPont is a returning state qualifier that ran into Evan Roudebush last weekend. That leaves these two dudes duking it out here w/ a trip to Gainbridge on the line. 
     
    Speaking of Roudebush and that tough Mooresville Regional, Silas Stits of Center Grove hit a road bump last weekend named Gage Eckels from Ben Davis. Now we get the turrible draw of two top ten ranked wrestlers in the state as Stits will take on Roudebush for a chance to advance!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. And speaking of Gage Eckels, the Giant might be already making plans for state but West Washington Senior Wyatt Johnston along w/ teammate Mason Jones gave the Senators their first wrestling regional championships last weekend. Don’t sleep on Johnston punching that ticket!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - LOCK Down May, Dupont in a nailbiter, Eckels, and Roudebush gets the nod
     
    1st - Hunter May Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Evan Roudebush Bloomington South, 3rd - Tyce DuPont Tell City, 4th - Gage Eckels Ben Davis 
     
    TripleB GUARANTEE: Center Grove shocked the state last weekend when they upended Brownsburg for a regional title. If the Trojans wanna add a SS title, they need Stits. Give me Stits!
     
    160:  State ranked/Semi State ranked = 5/8
     
    Jeb Prethcel has put himself together a season - 33-0, Bo Henry Champ, SIAC champ, Spartan Champ and has made it unscathed to Evansville. Will Evansville be his undoing? NOPE, ANOTHER LOCK FOR THE JASPER WILDCAT!! 
     
    Outside of that there is what might be the most fun quarter bracket in the tourney and some great blood matches
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Just highlight this quarter bracket as anything can happen - Charlestown’s Braden Moore, Mooresville’s Corbin Scott, Cale Hickok from Bloomington North, and Peyton Bell from Evansville North. The votes for the winner of the quarter bracket were split between Hickock and Bell, which means this first match could feature a state qualifier!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - 2 years in a row Cascade’s Michael Hutchinson has shown he has all the tools to be a medalist and now 2 years in a row the bracket gods have not been kind. This year he gets Jeb Pretchel, the weight class LOCK. Great kid, Great family (his dad introduced me to Hey Dudes like 6 years ago!) Come On HUTCH!!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Decatur Central  Junior David Oybode spent some of the year at 170 before coming down, Luke Kemper is a stud. But don’t count out Oybode!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - LOCK Precthel, Center Grove’s Andre Merritt (The reason Hutch has the death draw), Kemper, and Hickok gets the nod
     
    1st - Jeb Prechel Jasper, 2nd - Andre Merritt Center Grove, 3rd - Luke Kemper Evansville Central, 4th - Cael Hickok Bloomington North
     
    TripleB GUARANTEE: Give me Peyton Bell, he has SS experience, tough Evansville area. 
     
    170: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 5/8
     
    Hey we finally don’t have a LOCK….. Just kidding, Delaney Ruhlman is as close to LOCK as one gets. He’s a 3 time state qualifier and returning two time runner up. He’s on a mission… Gold medal in his sight. 
     
    There’s an interesting quarter bracket brewing as rumors swirl about Noah Clouser and his knee. How bad is it? Will he give it a go? Will he pull out? How does this affect the weight and quarter bracket?
     
    A freshman looking to make a splash, Heritage Hills Jett Goldsberry has had some good wins and puzzling losses. Can the frosh put it together and become a State Qualifier? 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - SS #6 ranked Noah Sumner from Martinsville and #7 Spencer Turner from Mater Dei will be competitive, unfortunately the winner gets Ruhlman. 
     
    And watch the quarter bracket featuring Regional Champ Teagan Trotter from Jennings Co, Maddox Vernon from Southridge, Austin Bell from Evansville North, and Noah Clouser from Center Grove. If Clouser pulls out, all bets are off and it’s a free for all. Man, maybe even if his knee is banged up bad enough it might be  free for all. 
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - SS ranked #3 Vincent Tinoco from Whiteland and SS ranked #4 Noah Terry from Tell City will hook up in the Quarters. Winner goes to state, the loser goes home. Turrible, Turrible, Turrible draw!!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Noah Clouser, yeah he’s picked to get through but w all eyes on him and his coaches planning all week, the Trojan might just figure out how to get through and survive!
    Also don’t count out Teagen Trotter from Jennings County. Trotter is a Regional Champ and w/ Clouser banged up, can an unranked Trotter be the beneficiary of the bad luck?
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Lock Lock Lock Denlany Ruhlman from Bloomington South, Clouser figures it out, Tell City gets another and Goldsberry JETTS through!
     
    1st - Delaney Ruhlman Bloomington South, 2nd - Jett Goldsberry Heritage Hills, 3rd - Noah Clouser Center Grove, 4th - Noah Terry Tell City
     
    Donnie Bakers Bet the Boat Shocker of Saturday - Jasper’s Victor Peter gets to workout w/ Jeb  Precthel every day….. Victor will be the VICTOR over Goldsberry and advance. Take that Randy!
     
    182: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/12
    After a run of 7 straight LOCKS, Navy80 said naaahhhhh enough of that. The LOCK wasn’t top SS ranked Caden Brewer but rather Highlander Bray Emerine, Navy likes Brewer. 
     
    This weight class does appear to be a 2 horse race w/ Emerine and Brewer, but there could be several spoilers littered throughout the bracket. Jackson Fox made his 182 debut at sectionals and promptly knocked off always game Van Skinner two weeks in a row. Speaking of Skinner, a two time ticket rounder who took John Purdy to the limit last year in the first round of SS. This is Skinner’s last chance, can he knock off Emerine in the ticket round?
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - This is the first weight class were nothing really jumps off the page. The only opening match between two ranked wrestlers is Emerine vs. #9 Alex Ramsey of Ben Davis. 
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Call me a homer…. Van Skinner is a stud that has shown multiple times he could be on the podium. His SS draw has gone - Gabe Sollars, Gabe Sollars, John Purdy. This year he gets Bray Emerine. It’s a turrrrrrrrrilble draw….. for Emerine as the Madison Cub finally punches that ticket (*Warning those thoughts are those strictly of TripleB)
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Richard Alexander, on paper, would be the favorite over Jackson Fox. It’s more of an issue that the Olympian dropped late and I just wasn’t sure where to place him. Fox is the favorite, Alexander has big moves and has had a great year. Don’t sleep on Alexander getting one over Fox here. 
     
    Donnie Baker was either in a meat coma by this point of just sleeping but he stirred and started yelling “Johnson, JOHNSON I SAY!!” I asked him what he meant and like a bear he arose and bellowed “I SAID CALE JOHNSON OVER WEEMS!!”
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Despite Navy 80’s Pleas, Donnie’s Demands, and TripleB Guarantees - Emerine is the favorite, followed by Weems, Brewer and Fox
     
    1st - Bray Emerine Floyd Central, 2nd - Julian Weems Center Grove, 3rd - Caden Brewer Brownsburg, 4th - Jackson Fox Columbus East

     
    195:  State ranked/Semi State ranked = 5/10
     
    After taking a small detour of a weight class without a lock, we have resumed our normal activities with our 9th LOCK, Castle’s John Purdy. Purdy is pretty good and a 2x time state medalist. He’s currently ranked #1 in the state and SS. 
     
    Purdy might be a lock, but weight class features the #1, #2, #3 and #7 state ranked wrestlers. 
     
    Brownsburg’s Gunnar Henry is a returning state semi-finalist, Purdy is a 2x medalist,Southridge’s Reid Schroeder is a 2x qualifier and a medalist last year. Kaden McConnel from Center Grove knocked off Henry last weekend! The semis here should be lights out!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - SS#5 Blake Driver from Whiteland vs SS#8 Parker Hart from Heritage Hills will be entertaining. The only other first round match of SS ranked wrestlers is #7 Stevie Drake vs #1 Purdy. 
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Another homer selection - Scottsburg Sophomore Bryson TANK Mata is an alum of the Bentz DoJo. He’s 42-1 and won both Sectionals and Regionals in dominating fashion, pinning everyone. Imagine if Gunnar Henry had stayed at Pekin Eastern? These two would have battled multiple times!  Now these sophomores will go at it for a chance to go to state. Turrible draw for……. Henry!!!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. It only took 12 weights to get here, but this our first “chalk” weight where the pickers all picked the same 4 kids to advance. There were some disagreements on the order that’s about it
     
    Ford Fab 4 - LOCK and Chalk - Purdy, Henry, McConnel, Schroeder
     
    1st - John Purdy Castle, 2nd - Reid Schroeder Southridge, 3rd Gunnar Henry Brownsburg, 4th - Kaden McConnell Center Grove 
     
    220:   State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/10
     
    STOP THE PRESSES… STOP THE PRESSES…. After having everything ready and my TRIPLEB_Guarantee of Clay Martin ready, he’s disappeared!!! Abracadabra!! Gone!! Good thing I was the odd man out and I blame it on my wildcat obsession. We also do not have a lock here, with 3 returning State Qualifiers and no medalists, it’s a 3 man between Tommy 220, Alex Kissed By A Rose, and Nate “Dog” Johnson! Also a dark horse looms at 220 as Tecumseh Senior Mason Hines brings in a 34-2 record along w/ a Old Capitol Classic, PAC, Sectional and Regional. Despite all that, he’s not ranked in the Semi-State…. Yeah I messed up…
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Give me #9 Spencer Watson from Tri-West and #10 Malachi Rios from Charlestown. Both have 30 plus wins, the winner gets Mason HInes and they both have to feel like that was the best draw possible. 
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws -Eli Henshaw is a2 time Semi-State Quarter finalists. He’s battled all year w/ Alex Rose - They both have 2 wins over each other. But Rose’s wins have came at Sectionals and Regionals. This leaves Hinshaw, ranked #8 in state and #3 in Semi State, taking on #8/#2 Nate Johnson from Center Grove in the ticket round. Two big boys going at it, this is Hinshaw's last shot… Trips says FIREWORKS BABY!!!!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Jakarrey Oliver of Whiteland has been in the talks of being a state qualifier for a few years. This year he just hasn’t been able to solve Nate Johnson. Good news is, he doesn’t have Nate Johnson, he has Alex Rose. I wouldn’t look past Oliver, he’s tough and capable of grabbing the Dub.
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Tommy 220 was almost a lock, but Alex Rose got some gold love. They are followed by Johnson and Hines
     
    1st - Tommy 220 Morrill Columbus East, 2nd - Alex Rose Terre Haute South, 3rd - Nate Johnson Center Grove, 4th - Mason Hines Tecumseh
     
    Joe, Joe, Joe don’t ya know - Secret guest picker says Hinshaw over Johnson!
     
    285: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/10
    Let’s just get this out of the way, Leighton Jones should be going for his third state championship. I refuse to acknowledge 2 years ago and I wasn’t around last year. So in Trips eyes, he IS a 2x state champ. He’s a 4x sectional, 3x regional, 2x SS and now a 3x LOCK! 
     
    This is also a weird bracket where one wrestler got more people votes, but another got more points. That’s the only time this happened in 2023. HWT also had 7 unique individuals get votes, also the most of any weight class in 2023. 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Don’t run to the bathroom yet… there’s some matches here worth sticking around for. #6 Hunter Kolley from Heritage Hills and #10 Ben Land from Jeffersonville will feature two big dudes looking for big moves. Land was an ISWA Cadet Triple Crowner a year ago. 
     
    Here’s another interesting one - SS #7 Ben Craig has two losses, both to Patrick McMahon from Columbus East. He’ll take on State ranked #15 (but not ranked in SS) Austin Vanover from Mater Dei. Some like Vanover to move on!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Columbus East Heavyweight Senior Patrick McMahon is in his first year of being a varsity wrestler and he’s done okay, just kidding he’s done phenomenal. He’s won the Columbus East Invite, Hoosier Hills Conference, Sectionals, and Regionals. He’s currently ranked #19 in the state and #3 in the semi-state. He will go to battle w/ State ranked #16 and #4 semi-state ranked Tyler Schott from Center Grove. Both have good wins this year, this match should be fun. 
     
    Don’t sleep on…. The already mentioned Austin Vanover and Kelton Farmer as a champ. Kelton is a 2x State Qualifier, Jones has shown he’s not invincible. I could totally see a Kelton Farmer win here and a Leighton Jones 3rd state championship next weekend. 
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Our last LOCK, Leighton Jones of Brownsburg leading an absolute crew of studs behind him. Austin Vanover had 3 voters rank him 4th, but Bryce Mills had 2 rankers place him 3rd. So Mills gets the nod!
     
    1st - Leighton Jones Brownsburg, 2nd - Kelton Farmer Evansville Memorial, 3rd - Tyler Schott Center Grove, 4th - Bryce Mills Owen Valley 
     
    TripleB_Guarantee - Erick Ousley finally gets out of my shadow and gets him a state qualifier that he can claim all on his own, Patrick McMahon will punch his ticket!
     
    Man we made it…….let’s end w my favorite - food recommendations
     
    Hilltop Inn - Fried Brain sandwiches. Brains aren’t your thing? Turonis is a local pizza place that’s dynamite. Like German? Gerst Haus is phenomenal. Want to head out for some adult beverages? Go to Franklin St, Gerst Haus is there and a number of other watering holes and great restaurants. I’m never up early enough for Breakfast so I have no clue. I hear the nachos at the Ford are great and worth the $. And a tradition on the way home used to be Stoll’s Country Diner (RIP). 
     
    It’s been a pretty dramatic year for TripleB. I’m just happy to be here, typing this letter. My life took a huge turn the Monday after semi-state last year. My health bottomed out and for about a week we weren’t sure I was going to see another Semi-State. That being said, I can’t freaking wait to be there Saturday. Have a great time Saturday, I love the Evansville Semi-State experience. I’ll be there slumming around, feel free to say hey, you can’t miss me! Good luck to all my coaching buddies and all 224 grapplers. Use this to pump you up and get mad bc you were slighted and parents have fun with this as we at Indianamat are just trying to bring attention to our favorite sport, wrestling!
     
    See everybody at the FORD and onto The Bridge!
     
  2. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, #WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Luke x2 lead the Bears into the post season   
    By JEREMY HINES
    Thehines7@gmail.com
     
    It would be hard to find anyone as similar as a pair of Evansville Central seniors. They have so much in common that they even share a first name.
     
    The duo are both excellent students. They are wrestling practice partners. They are both looking to punch their ticket to state for the first time. Both of their dads are wrestling coaches. And, coincidentally, they are both named Luke.
     
    Luke Robards and Luke Kemper have been captains of the Bear wrestling team for three seasons. Robards is 29-2 this season and is currently ranked No. 12 at 145 pounds. Kemper is 28-2 and is ranked No. 5 at 160 pounds.
     
    “The team refers to Luke Kemper as Luke and Luke Robards as Robards,” Evansville Central head coach Brandon Robards (Luke’s dad) said. “It’s Luke, and it’s Robards. But it got a little more confusing this year because my younger sound Beau is on the team too. We told him, dude, you’re Beau, not Robards.”
     
    The two have been practice partners since elementary school. It’s a relationship that has helped the grapplers tremendously.
     
    “They have been practice partners since fourth grade,” Robards said. “They battle every day in practice. They push each other to be their best and they are also each other’s biggest fans. It’s been fun to see them really beat up on each other in the room and then be each other’s biggest cheerleader in the matches.”
     
    The Lukes are similar in many things, but their wrestling styles are quite different.
     
    “Robards wrestles like a little fly,” Kemper said. “I don’t mean that in a mean way. He just buzzes around from side to side and then as quick as he can he gets a leg and he’s driving you to the mat.”
     
    Kemper has a more direct style of attack.
     
    “He’s the polar opposite of me,” the younger Robards said. “He moves forward all the time with his hands up. It’s like wrestling a complete opposite of my style.”
     
    According to coach Robards, the two have different mentalities as well.
     
    “Luke Robards is really focused,” the coach said. “He can be intense in the wrestling room. Luke Kemper is pretty layed back. He’s very coachable and he’s a lot of fun to have in the room.”
     
    Kemper’s dad, Jason, is one of the assistant coaches on the squad. Jason went to state as a wrestler and his other sons, Matt and Isaiah were also state qualifiers.
     
    “Winning a state title has always been my goal,” Kemper said. “Both of my brothers and my dad went to state. I would sit in my room and imagine myself winning a title.”
     
    Kemper had a setback his sophomore year. After just a few matches that season, he tore his ACL. He tried to wrestle through the pain for the next few meets, but soon realized he needed to take time to recover. He didn’t wrestle again that season.
     
    “The recovery was long and rough,” Kemper said. “There was a lot of food involved. I got up to about 185 pounds and that doesn’t bode well on a 5-7 guy.”
    Now the two wrestlers have their sites set on making the state tournament. When asked how it would feel if one punched their ticket to state but the other didn’t.
     
    “It would be heartbreaking if one of us made it and the other didn’t,” Luke Robards said. “We have been in this together since elementary. We want to finish this together.”
     
    As far as coaching their sons, or being coached by their dads go – the system they have in place has worked out well for all of them.
     
    “It’s been fun coaching my sons,” coach Robards said. “It’s had its challenges. It’s not easy coaching your kids. Jason and I balance it well. We do a good job of knowing when to step in and coach the other guy’s kid. It’s a good balance.”
     
    Luke Robards agrees.
     
    “It’s an interesting dynamic, that’s for sure,” Luke Robards said. “They have been around us our whole lives. They know how we operate, and they get us. They know where we need to improve. And, when we go home, they know when to still talk with us about things or when to back off.”
     
    Both grapplers are looking to wrestle in college. They aren’t sure where they want to go yet. Robards wants to study pre-law and Kemper wants to go into exercise science. They know there may come a time in the future where they won’t be wrestling with each other.
     
    “It’s a unique situation because we’ve pushed each other pretty hard since we were babies,” Luke Robards said. “It will be weird, for sure, not having each other as partners in college. I’ll miss him. But, I’m sure we will still wrestle each other in the offseason and still push each other to get better.”
     
  3. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, #WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Critchfield ready for one last go in Indiana   
    By JEREMY HINES
    Thehines7@gmail.com
     
    Nathan Critchfield was down – but he sure as heck won’t allow himself to be counted out.
     
    Critchfield wrestles through pain each and every day. He doesn’t complain. It has become a way of life for the Evansville Mater Dei senior.
     
    Critchfield wrestled his first three years of high school in Illinois. His best finish was third in the state meet in 2020. Then he got the news that would ultimately change his life – he had a tumor on his spine.
     
    “My back was hurting all year and moving into freestyle season I got it checked out that May,” Critchfield said.  “They just did a physical exam and I kept at it and kept wrestling. Then, in August of 2020 I was still in pain and I got checked out again. They told me I had a tumor on the inside of my spinal cord.”
     
    The news rocked Critchfield. He knew he was going to have to endure a grueling surgery and a long road to recovery. They wouldn’t know if the tumor was cancerous until after the surgery. The diagnosis was devastating – both physically and mentally for Critchfield.
     
    “Hearing about the tumor was shocking, to say the least,” Critchfield said. “It came at a time that was so crucial in my life. I was going into my senior year. That’s an important time in your social life and in your academics. Then hearing that you’re probably not ever going to wrestle again, that was a big hit.”
     
    Critchfield ended up sitting out his entire senior year to deal with his medical issues. He would have graduated in 2021 but will now graduate in 2022.
     
    His first back surgery was a 12-hour ordeal. The next week he ended up getting a MRSA infection in the incision that required another surgery.  He wasn’t out of the woods yet. The first surgery had caused his legs to not work properly. That required yet another surgery.
     
    “Between my legs and my back, I couldn’t walk for a few months,” Critchfield said.
     
    Critchfield tried to do a little drilling in wrestling in February, even though he says he wasn’t supposed to. His legs still weren’t working the way they were supposed to work In April he had another surgery to relieve the pressure in both of his legs.
     
    In the end, the tumor was not cancerous. And, although he’s still in pain, it’s something he has learned to live with.
     
    “This whole ordeal has made me a different kind of person,” Critchfield said. “I have really grown in my faith. I get reminded of it all every day when I go to practice. Both of my legs hurt and my back hurts. Wrestling really sucks with the pain – but I love doing it. I put myself through it because I don’t know what else I would do.”
     
    Critchfield doesn’t care if his opponents on the mat know about his bad back, or his issues with his legs.
     
    “People tell me not to let others know I’m hurting,” Critchfield said. “They say to not let your opponents know you’re not feeling your best. I don’t think that would give them an edge on me though. I think it gives me a little edge, actually. They are going to wrestle a guy knowing he’s going to feel like crap and he’s still not scared. They are about to wrestle a guy that has went through hell but is still out there ready to go. That’s got to mess with them more than it does with me.”
     
    Critchfield is currently ranked No. 2 in the state at 220 pounds. He joins a Mater Dei team that is loaded with ranked wrestlers this season.
     
    Mater Dei has two wrestlers currently ranked No. 1 in their weight classes, both are returning state champs in Brody Baumann and Gabe Sollars. Crtichfield is No. 2 at 220. Hunter May is No. 3 at 152 pounds. Isaiah Schaefer is No. 4 at 106. Evan Seng is No. 5 at 113 pounds, Ashton Hayhurst is NO. 8 at 145 and Reed Egli is No. 13 at 120 pounds.
     
    “This is my first year at Mater Dei and it’s been pretty fun,” Critchfield said. “It’s an interesting atmosphere and it’s a lot different than other schools. They put a lot of emphasis on wrestling for your school instead of for yourself. They have built a program and the whole community gets behind it. When you hear about the culture at Mater Dei, you never imagine how it really is until you’re a part of it.”
     
    Mater Dei coach Greg Schaefer is glad to have Critchfield on the squad.
     
    “Nathan is just a genuine, hard-working, hard-nosed kid,” Schaefer said. “He’s one of those guys that will be hard to outwork. He has a great attitude and seems to be extremely grateful doing what he’s doing.”
     
    Schaefer said a lot of the kids in the Mater Dei program don’t even know what all Critchfield has been through.
     
    “You wouldn’t even know that there was anything going on with him,” Schaefer said. “He doesn’t talk about it, and he doesn’t act like there’s any issues. It’s pretty incredible to think about what he’s been through and that he still maintains the attitude and desire to chase after his dream.”
     
    As far as Critchfield’s wrestling abilities, Schaefer describes him as a big guy with the skill set of a little man.
     
    “He’s very skillful,” Schaefer said. “He’s not like some of the guys that are just big bruisers. He’s more technical than most big guys. He wrestles more like a little guy.”
     
    Critchfield has wrestled for Mauer Coughlin since he was very young. He parents used to drive him to the practices over an hour away, three times a week. There he made friends with a lot of the guys on the team and a lot of Indiana wrestlers throughout the state.
     
    This year his goal is to go out on top. He’s seen the Indiana state finals and wants nothing more than to wrestle under the spotlight.
     
    “My No. 1 goal is to win a state title,” Critchfield said. “I like to go as hard as I can and put it on people. I keep the pace up and make people want to quit. I make them tired, and I ride hard. I’m real tough on top – but nobody holds me down either. And I don’t quit. That’s my biggest strength. I will not ever quit.”
  4. Thanks
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2021 NCAA D1 Nationals Preview   
    By Drew Hughes
    This year there will be 13 Indiana guys competing in St. Louis across 8 different weight classes. This puts only 7 other states ahead of us for the number of qualifiers. Out of these 13 qualifiers only 1 of them is not from the Big Ten.
     
    Drew Hildebrandt will be competing in the 125-pound bracket for the Central Michigan Chippewas. This will be Drew’s 3rd NCAA tournament appearance and has earned the 4th seed. The Penn High School graduate also won his 2nd MAC title to qualify for the tournament and is undefeated on the season.
     
    Nick Lee will be competing in the 141-pound bracket for Penn State and will be in the hunt to win a national title. Lee comes into the tournament as the 2nd seed just like he was last year for the cancelled championships. The Evansville Mater Dei graduate is 8-1 on the season with his 1 loss coming in the Big Ten finals to the 1st seed Eierman.
     
    Chad Red will be competing in the 141-pound bracket for Nebraska where he will be looking to All-American like he has at every NCAA tournament he’s wrestled in. Red comes into the tournament as the 8th seed with his only losses this year coming from the 1st and 3rd seeds of the tournament. As most people have seen, the New Palestine grad has always showed up for the big show.
     
    Cayden Rooks will be competing in the 141-pound bracket for Indiana where he will be wrestling in his first NCAA tournament. Rooks earned an at-large bid to qualify for the tournament and will be the 32nd seed. Cayden is a Columbus East High School graduate where he won 2 state titles.
    Graham Rooks will be competing in the 149-pound bracket for Indiana, and this was his 2nd time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. After a 6th place finish at the Big Ten tournament, Rooks earned himself the 21st seed. Graham is also a Columbus East grad and is the older brother of previously mentions Cayden Rooks. 
     
    Brayton Lee will be competing in the 157-pound bracket for Minnesota, and this was his 2nd time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. After being seeded 7th for last year cancelled tournament Lee will be 1 spot higher at the 6th seed this year. The Brownsburg native is coming off of an impressive 3rd place Big Ten finish.
     
    Jake Tucker will be competing in the 165-pound bracket for Michigan State, and it is a little controversial to claim him for Indiana. Tucker went to Mount Carmel High School in Illinois BUT has lived in Lowell Indiana his entire life. Since he has an Indiana driver’s license, I think it’s only fair we get to claim the now 2-time NCAA qualifier. Tucker earned the 25th seed after finish 6th place at the Big Ten tournament.
     
    Joe Lee will be competing in the 165-pound bracket for Penn State where he will be wrestling in his first NCAA tournament. The Evansville Mater Dei grad will be the 23rd seed of the tournament after placing 8th at Big Tens. While Joe didn’t get a top 8 seed like his brother Nick, he does still have 1 more state title then his older brother.
     
    Donnell Washington will be competing in the 174-pound bracket for Indiana where he will be wrestling in his first NCAA tournament. The Portage grad has really proved himself this year and will be the 9th seed. Washington is coming off a 6th place Big Ten finish and holds a win over the 3rd seed.
     
    Drew Hughes (also the person writing this article) will be competing in the 174-pound bracket and is the 32 seed. This will be his 4th NCAA tournament and holds one of the worst records in the entire tournament at 3-7 on the year. All that we can know for sure is that the Lowell High School grad is going to choose top and probably get hit for a few stalling calls.
     
    Lucas Davison will be competing in the 197-pound bracket for Northwestern, and this will be his 2nd time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Davison is coming into the tournament as the 12th seed after placing 5th at Big Tens. The Chesterton native will be looking to become an All-American just like his dad was back in the day.
     
    Thomas Penola will be competing in the 197-pound bracket for Purdue, and this will be his 2nd time qualifying for the NCAA tournament. Penola qualified for last years cancelled tournament at 285-pounds. This year he’s down a weight and earned himself the 19th seed of the tournament. The Zionsville High School graduate finished 7th at the Big Ten tournament.
     
    Mason Parris will be competing in the 285-pound bracket for the Michigan wolverines, and this will be his 3rd NCAA tournament. Parris will be the 2nd seed of the tournament for the 2nd year in a row. The Lawrenceburg native has placed 2nd at the big ten tournament the last 2 season and will be looking for a rematch of the Big Ten finals in the NCAA finals. 
  5. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2021 NCAA D2 Preview   
    By Drew Hughes
     
    The NCAA D2 national tournament has always been a tough tournament to qualify for but this year it was even harder. Due to Covid, the NCAA decided to reduce the number of participants by 27% meaning that while in a normal year there would be 180 qualifiers, this year there are only 132. To put that into perspective, the D1 tournament will still have 330 competitors this year giving them almost 200 more spots then the D2 tournament. Even with this reduced field there will be 4 Indiana natives competing in St. Louis this weekend.
     
    Christian Mejia of McKendree University will be competing in the 125-pound bracket. Mejia comes into the tournament with an 8-1 record and will face 8 seed Cole Jones of MSU Moorhead in the first round. In High School Christian wrestled for Elkhart Memorial where he was a 3-time state placer and a 1-time state runner-up.
     
    Logan Bailey of the University of Indianapolis will be competing in the 149-pound bracket. The true freshman holds a record of 11-2 and will face 8 seed Jacob Ealy of Pitt-Johnstown in the first round. Bailey wrestled for Indianapolis Cathedral in High School where he was a 2-time state placer and a 1-time state runner-up. In addition, Bailey was also an IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open champion in 2019.
     
    Dawson Combest of the University of Indianapolis will be competing in the 157-pound bracket. Combest comes into the tournament with a 10-2 record as well as being the 2 seed of the tournament. Combest has a bye first round but will face Caden Moore of Northern St. in the quarterfinals. Combest qualified for the cancelled 2020 tournament last year and was named an NWCA All-American as the 7th seed that year. In High School, Dawson wrestled for Columbus East where he was a 3-time state placer. Like Bailey, Combest was also an IndianaMat Hoosier Preseason Open champion in 2016.
     
    Gleason Mappes of the University of Indianapolis will be competing in the 184-pound bracket. Mappes comes to the tournament with a 6-6 record and will face the 4 seed Dan Fillipek of McKendree first round. Mappes also qualified for the cancelled 2020 national tournament. In High School Mappes wrestled for Center Grove and was a 3-time state placer and a 1-time state runner-up.
     
    The tournament will be on March 12-13 and the brackets can be found on track wrestling. Also, for those that are interested, all of the matched will be streamed live on the NCAA website.
    Click here for brackets
  6. Thanks
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2021 State Finals by the Numbers   
    Overall
    We are closing in on another state finals in what has been an extraordinary year all around. However, with all the uncertainly around us, there is one thing that remains the same. That is the IndianaMat rankings are always top notch. This year Mike Reiser has upped the ante by getting 186 out of 224 qualifiers in the last set of rankings. Just a quick reminder that we lock the rankings before the first whistle at sectional and let them ride. We saw top wrestlers missing weight or getting hit with COVID quarantines, yet the rankings still held serve. There is only one match in the whole first round that puts two wrestlers that were not in the rankings against each other. Mike is still working on a perfect bracket of all ranked wrestlers making the state finals. This year 106, 132, and 170 all had 15 of 16 qualifiers in the rankings.
     
    As always we have created brackets with our rankings on them for you to download and use for all your pick’em purposes. This year we have two sets, one with just state rankings and one with both semi-state and state rankings. I would hold off printing any of these out as your official copies as there may be a couple more surprises added to the brackets this week.
     
    IndianaMat with semi-state and state rankings
    IndianaMat with state rankings ONLY
     
     
    Season by season ranked wrestlers advancing to state
    *Note Mike Reiser took over the rankings in 2012
    2021- 186
    2020- 180
    2019- 175
    2018- 179
    2017- 169
    2016- 175
    2015- 172
    2014- 171
    2013- 171
    2012- 170
    2011- 157
    2010- 159
    2009- 143
     
    106lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Vicente Eckman- Goshen
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #7 Ashton Jackson(LaPorte) vs. #9 Liam Krueger(Columbus East)
    #5 Nathan Smith(Southport) vs. #25 Cody Rowles(Jay County)
    #4 Evan Seng(Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #20 Dylan Bennett(Penn)
    #2 Evan Dickey(Cathedral) vs. #16 Keegan Malott(East Noble)
    #1 Jeffrey Bailey(River Forest) vs. #19 Donnie Feeler(Crawford County)
    #8 Tanner Tishner(Western) vs. #10 Zac Dray(Warren Central)
    #13 Blake Zirkelbach(North Posey) vs. #22 Evan Cruz(Crown Point)
     
    113lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Drake Fritz- West Central
    Beau Brabender- Northridge
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #4 Kyrel Leavell(Warren Central) vs. #7 Reese Courtney(Center Grove)
    #15 Jared Brooks(Wabash) vs. #21 Bryce Denton(Penn)
    #1 Alex Cottey(Perry Meridian) vs. #16 Reed Egli(Evansville Mater Dei)
    #5 Hayden Brady(Garrett) vs. #9 Anthony Bahl(Crown Point)
    #14 Isaac Ward(Carmel) vs. #20 Joey Buttler(Whiteland)
    #6 Coy Hammack(Tell City) vs. #13 Dylan Driver(Westfield)

    120lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Nathaniel Hennessey- Seeger
    Tristian Vaughn- Harrison (WL)
    Travis Haug- Forest Park
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Logan Frazier(Crown Point) vs. #8 Carleton Perry(Warren Central)
    #3 Lane Gilbert(Sullivan) vs. #14 Justin Puckett(Northridge)
    #9 Tony Wood(Jay County) vs. #15 Braden Haines(Brownsburg)
    #1 Sergio Lemley(Chesterton) vs. #13 Keaton Morton(Perry Meridian)
    #4 Cole Ross(Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #21 Austin Lewis(Bluffton)
     
    126lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Brenden Dilley- Wawasee
    Devin Wible- Hobart
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Brady Ison(Brownsburg) vs. #7 Elijah Anthony(Frankfort)
    #1 Zeke Seltzer(Cathedral) vs. #17 Michael Tharpe(Center Grove)
    #8 Matteo Vargo(Penn) vs. #11 Logan Uhlman(Adams Central)
    #5 Sam Goin(Crown Point) vs. #23 Harper Dedman(Oak Hill)
    #4 Bryce Lowery(Roncalli) vs. #13 Jacob Bechert(Franklin Community)
    #3 Cheaney Schoeff(Avon) vs. #14 Blake Wolf(East Central).
     
    132lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Dominic Litchfield- Bellmont
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #3 Aidan Torres(Chesterton) vs. #15 Devin Frazier(Centerville)
    #9 David Pierson(Warren Central) vs. #24 Lakin Webb(Rensselaer Central)
    #8 Ben Dalton(Monrovia) vs. #11 Dylan Stroud(Manchester)
    #2 Ian Heath(Leo) vs. #17 Cade Meier(Bloomington South)
    #10 Cole Solomey(Kankakee Valley) vs. #16 Anthony Hughes(Lawrence North)
    #4 Kysen Montgomery(Brownsburg) vs. #22 Cameron Clark(Jay County)
    #7 Stephen Roberson(Crown Point) vs. #12 Brac Hooper(Carmel)
     
    138lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Jarrett Forrester- Columbia City
    Kyle Carter- Rensselaer Central
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Delaney Ruhlman(Bloomington South) vs. #9 Bradley Conrad(Portage)
    #15 Brody Arthur(Oak Hill) vs. #19 Jared Brown(Pendleton Heights)
    #4 Gavinn Alstott(Floyd Central) vs. #5 Jace Alexander(Wawasee)
    #1 Jesse Mendez(Crown Point) vs. #18 Gavin Garcia(Brownsburg)
    #10 Hudson Harreld(Zionsville) vs. #21 Logan Hooley(Northridge)
    #14 Seth Lawson(Frankton) vs. #25 Julius Gerencser(Daleville) 
     
    145lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Cameron Powell- Mishawaka
    Braden Nuest- West Central
    James Smith- Penn
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Jaden Reynolds(Avon) vs. #11 Max Naselroad(Alexandria Monroe)
    #2 Logan Wagner(Zionsville) vs. #24 Connor Gilles(Jeffersonville)
    #10 Ethan Kaiser(Chesterton) vs. #23 Sam Levitz(Prairie Heights)
    #6 Hunter May(Floyd Central) vs. #25 Brady McKivitz(Perry Meridian)
    #3 Hayden Watson(Center Grove) vs. #13 Eli Otto(South Dearborn)
     
    152lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Avery Wills- Eastern Hancock
    Chase Leech- Garrett
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #11 Aidan Hardcastle(Oak Hill) vs. #21 Aiden Farmer(Evansville Memorial)
    #2 Matthew Koontz(Perry Meridian) vs. #18 Aidan Pollitt(Valparaiso)
    #3 Javen Estrada(Crown Point) vs. #20 Ben Wolf(East Central)
    #7 Tyler Conley(Avon) vs. #8 Alex Currie(Adams Central)
    #1 Jajuan Anderson(Warren Central) vs. #23 Isaiah Ponce(Lake Central)
    #9 Evan Ulrick(Carroll (Fort Wayne)) vs. #10 Ben Phillips(Charlestown)
     
    160lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Jakob Sheets- Perry Meridian
    Logan Farnell- Maconaquah
    Bradey Pittman- Plymouth
    Bray Emerine- Floyd Central
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Brody Baumann(Evansville Mater Dei) vs. #16 Eli Hilger(Bishop Dwenger)
    #3 Andrew Wilson(Cathedral) vs. #8 Aaron Steenbeke(Penn)
    #1 Robert Major(Carmel) vs. #23 Jamaal Salary(LaPorte)
    #11 Landon Boe(Plainfield) vs. #14 Eli Johnson(Norwell) 
     
    170lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Jacob Graden- East Noble
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #13 Jajuan Dale(Perry Meridian) vs. #16 Jacob Kreager(Snider)
    #11 Codei Khawaja(Floyd Central) vs. #18 Aiden Sneed(Kankakee Valley)
    #1 Bryer Hall(East Central) vs. #19 Duke Myers(Bellmont)
    #5 John Purdy(Castle) vs. #8 Jacob Simpson(Hobart)
    #6 Sam Morrill(Columbus East) vs. #23 Spencer Phillips(McCutcheon)
    #4 Brodie Porter(Eastern (Greentown)) vs. #12 Shane Bates(Zionsville)
    #2 Pate Eastin(Penn) vs. #3 Tyler Fuqua(Franklin Community)
     
    182lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 9
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Jett Thompson- Oak Hill
    Jake Sues- Lake Central
    Brandon Estepp- Warsaw
    Je'kwan Williams- Marion
    Johnny Weisheit- Franklin Central
    Hunter Page- Monroe Central
    Reid Schroeder- Southridge
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Drake Buchanan(Center Grove) vs. #16 Sam Peeples(Roncalli)
    #9 Dominic Pugliese(Tri-West Hendricks) vs. #10 Riley Woodall(Southmont)
     
    First round match-ups of unranked wrestlers:
    Jake Sues(Lake Central) vs. Jett Thompson(Oak Hill)
     
    195lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Ryan Bovard- East Central
    Chad Washburn- Kokomo
    Bazle Owens- Tippecanoe Valley
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #9 Ke'Shawn Dickens(Avon) vs. #12 Blake Heyerly(Adams Central)
    #8 Matt Lepper(Carroll (Fort Wayne)) vs. #15 Wyatt Willman(North Posey)
    #6 Harris Eason(Franklin Community) vs. #16 Ibrahim Khaoucha(Northridge)
    #4 Johnny Parker(Cathedral) vs. #10 Gage DeMarco(Chesterton)
    #3 Connor Barket(West Lafayette) vs. #11 Max Broom(Hamilton Southeastern)
     
    220lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Peyton Kendall- Penn
    RJ Dilbone- Fremont
    Coy Brames- Angola
    Nolan Skaggs- Franklin Community
    Ian Clifford- Columbia City
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #7 Jack Taylor(New Castle) vs. #17 Julante Hinton(Northrop)
    #3 Jason Streck(Merrillville) vs. #14 Kelton Farmer(Evansville Memorial)
    #5 Josh Howell(Terre Haute South) vs. #12 Jacob Raub(Lafayette Jefferson) 
     
    285lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Jacob Sommer- Elkhart
    Brock Donati- Penn
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #8 Mariere Omonode(West Lafayette) vs. #22 Makhi Watts(North Central)
    #7 Matthew Munoz(Jeffersonville) vs. #9 Brandon Villafuerte(Angola)
    #1 Braydon Erb(Western) vs. #5 Jacob Johnson(Franklin Community)
    #4 Antone Alexander(Franklin Central) vs. #6 Hunter Whitenack(New Prairie)
    #2 Reeve Muncie(Carroll (Fort Wayne)) vs. #17 Amara Kaba(Pike)
    #13 Edgar Decker(Gavit) vs. #18 Mihail Platonov(Westfield)
     
  7. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, #WrestlingWednesday: Eldred ready for last run at state   
    By JEREMY HINES
    Thehines7@gmail.com
     
    A little brotherly love has fueled Westfield’s Carson Eldred to wrestling greatness.
     
    Eldred set a goal his freshman year to beat his older brother Evan’s school record for pins and career wins.
     
    “I asked Carson his freshman year what his career goals were going to be,” Westfield coach Phil Smith said. “We knew he was going to be pretty special. He said he wanted to beat his brother, Evan’s career pin record and wins record.”
     
    Carson broke the pins record at his school during the Mooresville tournament this season. He’s five wins away from the career wins record.
     
    “I told him after the tournament that he broke the record,” Smith said. He was like ‘uh, that’s cool.’ “
     
    His reaction points to the type of person, and wrestler Eldred is. He doesn’t get emotional during the highs, or the lows.
     
    “He can keep a stone face no matter what,” Smith said. “You don’t know what he’s going to do out on the mat. Every time he wrestles, he wants to prove something. He always wants bonus points and falls. He doesn’t get too up or too down.”
     
    Eldred seeks perfection in everything he does. His grade point average is 4.15. He hasn’t missed a day of school in four years. He has never missed a wrestling practice.
     
    “He’s honestly the best wrestler I’ve coached,” Smith said. “He’s the most gifted wrestler I’ve had, without a doubt. He absolutely hates to lose. In everything we do he hates losing. It doesn’t matter if it’s sprints, drills, wrestling the coaches or anything else. He will do whatever it takes to win at any cost.”
     
    Currently Eldred is ranked No. 4 at 120 pounds. He is a sectional and regional champion and will take on Southport’s Khua Thang in the first round of the New Castle semistate on Saturday. He is 36-1 on the season with his lone loss coming at the hands of Cathedral’s No. 1-ranked Zeke Seltzer.
     
    Part of the reason behind Eldred’s success is his early training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His father owns a Jiu Jitsu training facility and he learned from a young age some of the keys of the sport.
     
    “Jiu-Jitsu helps with my movement in wrestling,” Carson said. “I haven’t done it much in a while, but when I was younger, I trained a lot with my family. It really helps you when you’re in uncomfortable positions. You don’t panic and you can find a way out of them.”
     
    Carson is most comfortable in scrambles. His unorthodox style makes him dangerous in any position.
     
    “He can ride anyone on top,” Smith said. “He scores a lot of his points from the top position. He’s a talented mat wrestler. He finds points from the bottom position as well and has some crazy reversals. He’s really refined his craft to be a great wrestler from any position.”
     
    After the high school season is over Eldred will likely not wrestle competitively again. He will attend Purdue University where he is a direct admit to the engineering program.
    “It’s going to be a little tough,” he said. “I’ve been wrestling since I was in kindergarten. It’s been a big part of my life. It will be a hard adjustment not interacting with teammates or getting a chance to wrestle in front of fans again and have people cheering for you. It will be different. But I’m excited to focus on my schooling as well.”
     
    For now though, the focus is on getting to that state championship match.
     
    “I’m just following in my brothers’ footsteps,” Eldred said. “They both (Dillon and Evan) made it to state. I want to outdo them.”
  8. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Indiana Wrestling Season Preview: 165-285   
    BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– The Indiana wrestling team begins the season this week with the Michigan State Open on Nov. 2. The Hoosiers will host their first dual on Nov. 22 against North Dakota State.
     
    IU head coach Angel Escobedo said he has been pleased with the dynamic between the freshmen and upperclassmen.  
     
    "The one thing we have been trying to gain in the program is for it to be a lot more competitive to make the team," Escobedo said. "Our freshmen are pushing our upperclassmen and knocking on the door of beating them, which is good. It is going to elevate everyone and that is what we are looking for this season."
     
    165 POUNDS
    165 will likely be Davey Tunon or Dillon Hoey. Both have experience in the lineup. The Hoosiers will look for one of these guys to step up and be the guy at this spot. Tunon tallied a record of 10-5 last season and Hoey went 4-11 on the season. The Hoosiers will be looking to fill the void left by national qualifier Bryce Martin, who graduated.
     
    174 POUNDS
    Jacob Covaciu is the expected starter at 174. He is the leader of the team and the only returning NCAA qualifier from last season. Coach Escobedo said he is hungry and working the hardest he has ever seen him work. He wants to be an All-American and a National Champion and he is training for that. Covaciu posted a record of 17-14 last season and won five bouts in dual matches. Covaciu helped the Hoosiers beat No. 12 North Carolina at the South Beach Duals last season with an 18-5 major decision. Covaciu won the Edinboro Open last season and finished second at the Cleveland State Open. Covaciu has been ranked 30 by TrackWrestling in their preseason rankings. 
     
    184 POUNDS
    Jake Hinz will be moving up from 174. He was in the lineup a couple matches last year. He has made a big jump over the summer and it will be exciting to see what he can do. He has the potential to be an NCAA qualifier. Hinz finished in second at the Greyhound Open last season.
     
    197 POUNDS
    Jake Kleimola or Spencer Irick will be the expected starters at 197. Kleimola finished in eighth-place at the 2019 Big Ten Championships. Kleimola and Irick are going into their last year of competing and both will be looking to make nationals for the first time in their careers.
     
    285 POUNDS
    Rudy Streck will start the season at heavyweight. Streck was the starters for the first half of last season. He is experienced and has one year under his belt. The Hoosiers will look for him to build on that experience from last year.
  9. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Indiana Wrestling Season Preview: 125-157   
    BLOOMINGTON, Ind.– The Indiana wrestling team begins the season this week with the Michigan State Open on Nov. 2. The Hoosiers will host their first dual on Nov. 22 against North Dakota State.
     
    IU head coach Angel Escobedo said he has been pleased with the energy at the start of the season.
     
    "We have a new focus," he said. "When you get a lot of new guys they are hungry. They want to change the program and elevate it and elevate themselves. That has been the theme of the room, how great can I be and that has been great to see. They are putting in extra work because they want to be great. We have fresh bodies and fresh mind and they are motivated."
     
    125 POUNDS
    125 will be very competitive between returner Liam Cronin and transfer Brock Hudkins. Cronin finished with a 17-13 overall record and was in and out of the lineup with Elijah Oliver. Cronin finished fourth at the Hokie Open and second at the Cleveland State Open. This past summer he was one spot away from making the U23 World Team in Greco Roman. Hudkins is a transfer from Northern Illinois and a two-time national qualifier. Hudkins was ranked No. 26 by TrackWrestling. Both guys are motivated and hungry, are putting in extra work and they understand someone is right behind them. They are trying to outwork each other and it is creating a good dynamic with good competition.
     
    133 POUNDS
    133 is a little up in the air. Kyle Luigs will be coming down from 141. Luigs went 19-16 last season with a highlight win by fall at Iowa against No. 12 Max Murin. Luigs wrestled for the Hoosiers at the Big Ten Championships. Cayden Rooks will be redshirting at 133. Jonathan Moran will also be in the mix. Moran redshirted last season.
     
    141 POUNDS
    Paul Konrath will be moving up from 133. He cut a lot of weight last year and this is more of his natural weight. Konrath posted a record of 20-11 last season with a 5-5 dual match record. At the South Beach duals Konrath beat No. 4 Tariq Wilson of NC State. The Hoosiers are looking for Konrath to have a great season. Konrath was ranked No. 27 by TrackWrestling.
     
    149 POUNDS
    Graham Rooks will be the starter at 149. Rooks was the best freshman last year, as he posted a record of 15-7. Rooks won the Cleveland State Open at 149 last season. He beat multiple guys that qualified for NCAAs on the season last year.
     
    157 POUNDS
    Fernie Silva will be going up from 149. Joey Sanchez will also be in the mix after coming off a redshirt. The plan is to use the first few tournaments to determine a starter. Also Diego Lemley will compete for a spot at 157.  Sanchez finished in third place at the Greyhound Open. Silva lost a tight 8-7 decision against No. 1 Anthony Ashnault.
     
    Tomorrow look for 165-Heavyweight in our season preview part two.
  10. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2019 Super 32 Preview   
    Over 40 of the best wrestlers from Indiana are heading to North Carolina to take on the Super 32 Challenge this weekend. If you have been living under a rock, this is the toughest high school tournament in the country and some brackets that feature over 150 wrestlers. You will see future NCAA All-Americans not place here and even potentially see some future NCAA Finals matches. Indiana’s representatives feature 35 guys that have qualified for state including five state champions.
    History Lesson
    Indiana has only had four grapplers take home a belt: Ethan Raley in 2010, Jared Brooks in 2011, Chad Red in 2014, and Blake Rypel in 2015. The first placer was in 2008 when Camden Eppert took 3rd. No Indiana native has placed three times in the high school division, but six wrestlers have placed twice(Blake Rypel, Chad Red, Jason Tsirtsis, Brayton Lee, Joe Lee, and Drew Hughes). Since 2015 Indiana has placed five wrestlers each year at the Super 32 with many others being a round or two from placing.
    Click here for a listing of all the past Super 32 placers.
    https://indianamat.com/index.php?/history/super32placers.html/
    The Contenders
    This tournament is deep, REALLY deep and placing here is a huge accomplishment. Some of the weights feature as many as 15 of the top 20 ranked kids so placing top 8 is an extreme accomplishment.
    The top contender to bring back a belt is #2 ranked Jesse Mendez. He is fresh off an impressive performance at Who’s #1 and the favorite for a title. Potential match with his first opponent from Who’s #1, Ryan Jack, is off as he has pulled out. Jesse will still be challenged by the 13 others that are nationally ranked in this weight class.
    State champ and the only returning Super 32 placer, Brayden Littell is going to look to finish higher than 8th this year. He has shown he can bang with the best and is not flying under the radar this year like he was last year. He’ll likely be seeded which should make his path a little easier to finish higher on the podium
    Zeke Seltzer is rolling along this spring, summer, and fall with impressive performances throughout the off-season. He was runner-up at Fargo and then won a loaded weight class at this year’s IHPO. He is in the mix to make a deep run this year. The 120lbs weight class is one of the deepest there is, but he is battle tested and ready to do some damage in Greensboro.
    Matt Lee is another one to watch from Indiana. While he will be forgoing the high school season he will be taking one more shot at placing at the Super 32. He has the tools to bring back a belt and could make his last high school event memorable with a title.
    Under the Radar
    Folks in Indiana know these names, but the following guys are ones I have a sneaky feeling will make deep runs and potentially place in this event. Every year Indiana has a few guys surprise everyone with great performances. Look no further than Nick South’s run to the finals last year or Brayden LIttell finishing 8th in a loaded weight.
    Elliott Rodgers is someone we all know and know he’s as tough as they come, but nationally he isn’t as well known. Rodgers’ ability to ride is huge in an event with shortened periods on the first day and in the consolations. He also has a knack to find a way to win. Don’t be surprised to see him finishing high here.
    Colton Drousias is an Indiana guy that wrestles in Illinois during the high school season. He has had national success placing at Fargo in 2018. He was a state champion in Illinois last year, so he has the tools to make the podium in Greensboro.
    Evan Bates has a very good shot at bringing back some hardware. He burst onto the scene at Fargo placing in both styles after a 3rd place finish at state last year. He’s known now and should make a deep run at 195lbs. The upper weights are as loaded as ever, but usually do not field as deep of a field as the lower and middle weights.
    Graham Calhoun has wrestled every where and always shown he is a contender at any tournament he enters. He has been in and out of the national rankings and beaten a lot of the best guys in the country. This could be his year to bring back a medal.
    Five state runner-ups from this year all should have deep runs here. Alex Cottey, Alec Viduya, Blake Boarman, Ray Rioux, and Cooper Noehre are all solid grapplers that could make a surprise appearance on the podium. Cottey and Boarman have both had some national success and could surprise some people here. Rioux is an extremely dangerous wrestler that cannot be overlooked by the top guys. Viduya has been in the mix nationally and always wins matches at the big events. Noehre had a breakout season last year and is one that has the tools to place here.
    Others to watch
    There are many others than I’m gonna keep my eye on that may just find their way to day two and the podium after the dust has settled.
    Alec Freeman and Eli Dickens from Mater Dei are both solid wrestlers that have shown they can compete with the best. Logan Bailey has had a fantastic off-season and his ability to ride and turn could pose a hazard for his opponents. Mason Winner had a good GFC this past weekend and like others he is good on the mat which can make a huge difference here. Brock Ellis has had national success and going to be down at 145lbs.
    Some incoming freshmen to watch are Sam Goin of Crown Point, Christian Carroll of Penn, and Sergio Lemley who will go to Mount Carmel. They will have tough roads to hoe, but should be on the podium in Greensboro during their careers.
    Where to Watch
    You can watch the action starting on Saturday on FloWrestling.org. Brackets will be on Arena.FloWrestling.org. You can also check out @IndianaMat on Twitter for updates throughout the weekend.
    Indiana also has many wrestlers in the elementary and middle school divisions that hit the mat on Sunday. You can find all the entries and other tournament information at Super32.com.
    Indiana Entries
    Weight Name School 106 Sam Goin Crown Point, IN 113 Alexzander Cottey Perry Meridian H.S. 113 Cole Ross Evansville Mater Dei 113 Sergio Lemley Mount Carmel 120 Braden Haines Brownsburg high school 120 Christian White New Palestine High School 120 Colton Drousias Chicago - Mount Carmel 120 David Pierson Warren Central High School 120 Giovanni Diaz Wheeler high school 120 Landon Bertsch Bluffton 120 Riley Bettich Crown Point High School 120 Zeke Seltzer Indianapolis Cathedral 126 Alecsander Freeman Mater Dei High School 126 Brayden Littell Center grove 126 Hayden Watson Center Grove High School 126 Kysen Montgomery Brownsburg 126 Stephen Roberson Jr Crown Point 132 Blake Boarman Evansville Mater Dei 132 Jesse Mendez Crown Point 132 Raymond Rioux Avon High School 138 Anthony Poindexter Jr. Harrison High School 138 Aundre' Beatty Warren Central High School 138 Drake Campbell Brownsburg 138 Logan Bailey Cathedral High School 145 Alec Viduya Roncalli 145 Brady Mckivitz Perry Meridian High School 145 Brock Ellis Chesterton High School 145 Jaden Reynolds Avon High School 145 Kailan Keith Ben Davis 152 Brice Coleman Warren Central High School 152 Matthew Lee Lee Homeschool 152 Nick Buchanan Coldwater 152 Tristen Hood Harrison (WL) 160 Christian Carroll Penn High School 160 Cooper Noehre Greenfield Central  160 Eli Dickens Mater Dei 160 Elliott Rodgers Indianapolis Cathedral 160 Isiah Levitz Prairie Heights 170 Graham Calhoun Plymouth 182 Joseph Walker Mishawaka High School 182 Mason Winner Jay County High School 195 Evan Bates Chesterton High School 195 Robert Bowman Mount carmel high schol  
  11. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Hoosiers Add Two-Time NCAA Qualifier Brock Hudkins   
    BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana wrestling program and IU head coach Angel Escobedo have announced the addition of Brock Hudkins.  
     
    Hudkins, a native of Danville, Ind., started his collegiate career at Northern Illinois where he twice qualified for the NCAA Championships at 125 lb.
     
    At Danville Community High School, Hudkins posted a perfect 83-0 record as a junior and a senior. Hudkins was a four-time state qualifier and two-time State Champion.
     
    "We are excited to bring Brock Hudkins back to Indiana," IU head coach Angel Escobedo said. "A two-time NCAA qualifier, Brock will add national level experience to our team."
     
    Brock Hudkins
    Danville, Ind. | Danville Community High School
    Weight Class: 125
    Intended major at IU: Pre-Physical Therpay
    2X NCAA Qualifier
    4X State Qualifier in High School
    3X State Placer
    2X State Champion
    Won Sagamore Conference, Hendricks County, Sectional, Regional and Semi-States titles all four years.
    Team captain from 2013-16, MVP three years in a row
     
    "I think what Angel is doing at Indiana is special," Hudkins said. "I believe in what he is trying to accomplish and I think he's the guy to do it. He can get me to the next level I'm looking for. Angel has been to the highest level and knows what it takes. A big thing that stands out is the culture change he is trying to make. Not many people realize what he had to do as far as isolating himself from the culture he was surrounded by, to accomplish his dreams and how much time and effort he had to put in by himself. I can relate to that on many levels and believe he's making this place better for all the guys who are tired of dreaming and ready to be something greater than their thoughts.
     
     "I really connected with the coaching staff and believe it's the best fit for me," Hudkins added. "When I think about IU I see myself not only accomplishing my degree and graduating, I see myself not pursuing my dream of a national champion, but accomplishing it. I believe with this team, these coaches, the academic staff I will have, I will be put in a situation where I'll have no other choice but to win and be successful in all aspects of life."
  12. Like
    Jayruss reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, #WrestlingWednesday: Bellemy looking to make an impact in the Hoosier State   
    By JEREMY HINES
    Thehines7@gmail.com
    LeVon Bellemy isn’t running – he’s surviving.
    He’s surviving a life growing up in one of the most dangerous parts of the country, Davenport, Iowa – part of the notorious Quad City area. He’s surviving a life where his family either ends up in prison or shot – and sometimes both. He’s surviving, because that’s what he does.
    He’s not running, he’s fighting. He’s fighting to show a person can overcome circumstance. He’s fighting to show there is hope. Sometimes the greatest warriors are the ones that can travel the more difficult road and escape their demons. That’s what Bellemy is doing – and that’s how he ended up in Ellettsville, population 6,677.
    When asked what he is trying to overcome, Bellemy says simply “everything.”
    Bellemy’s story is a unique one. His athletic ability has saved him time and time again back in Davenport, as has the guidance of family, particularly his uncle Clyde Mayfield. Uncle Clyde gave LeVona job in his health food store – and he made sure LeVon knew the value of hard work and discipline. Under Clyde’s direction, Bellemy excelled in school and athletics.
    In Davenport, with a crime rate 116 percent higher than the national average, hard work and discipline wasn’t quite enough. When LeVon's brother was shot in May, something had to change. That’s when his cousin, Pauli Escebedo stepped in and offered Bellemy an escape. LeVon moved to Ellettsville to live with Pauli and her husband, Indiana wrestling coach Angel Escebedo.
    “They have been great to me,” Bellemy said. “Angel is a good guy who is trying to better me. He lets me know what I’m doing wrong and right.”
    When Bellemy moved to Indiana, sports were an afterthought.
    “I was focused on getting out of there and finding something better,” he said. “Things got hectic at home, and very bad for me there. I wasn’t worried about football or wrestling. I was worried about getting out.”
    Bellemy has made an immediate impact on Edgewood High School. As a star running back he rushed for over 1,700 yards and scored 27 touchdowns this season. Edgewood improved from 3-7 last year and 1-9 the year before that to finish with a record of 8-4 in 2018.    
    “I can’t think of a more opposite place for LeVon to land,” Edgewood wrestling coach Greg Ratliff said. “He’s going from Davenport to Ellettsville. It is a small town. Everyone knows everyone else. The second LeVon got here the rumors started swirling about who he was. Everyone wanted to meet the new guy.
    “Both the wrestling and the football team got to know him quickly and made him feel at home. We let him know that here, he is family. He has fit in extremely quickly.”
    Football is Bellemy’s first love. He’s getting Division I college looks and plans to play at the next level. But, Bellemy is also a gifted wrestler.
    Bellemy wrestled as a freshman in Iowa, but then decided to try his hand at basketball as a sophomore.
    “I hated basketball,” he said. “I knew I had to go back to wrestling. Wrestling is football without the ball. It helps you so much with football, as far as mentally and physically. Mentally you are the toughest kid on the block if you wrestle. Wrestling gets your mind right. It teaches you not to give up. Physically, with the double leg and the driving through people, it helps you tackle and run over people.”
    Bellemy returned to the mat for his junior season. He ended up placing seventh in Iowa’s biggest class in the state tournament.
    “My goal in Indiana is to win state,” Bellemy said. “That’s my only goal in wrestling. I’ve been doing my research. I’ve been studying the competition.”
    Ratliff can see that happening.
    “He is a pure dynamite athlete, honestly,” Ratliff said. “I got to see a little bit of him wrestling this summer. Sometimes I was thinking, man, this kid is wrestling against LeVon well, but then I would look at the scoreboard and see LeVon would be up 10 points or more. He’s explosive. I’m yelling for him to just get an escape before a period ends, and before you know it he’s getting a reversal and nearfall points.”
    Daily life in Ellettsville is a lot different than what Bellemy was used to in Davenport.
    “The thing to do here is to sit in the IGA grocery store parking lot and talk,” he said. “That’s really the main thing we do. We sit in that parking lot for hours and talk. In the summer we will go swimming, but other than that – that’s all we do.
    “Ellettsville is a small town. There is a big difference with the people and how they act. It’s a whole new atmosphere. There are no negatives around here.”
    But, for as much as LeVon needed Edgewood, Edgewood has needed LeVon.
    “He gets along with everyone here,” Ratliff said. “He can talk to anyone. He talks to the athletes, the band students and those not involved with anything. He is a positive influence on everyone he comes in contact with. He’s a hard worker and others see that. They see how he can overcome anything and be a success. That motivates everyone.”
    LeVon didn’t run away from Davenport because he feared the fight. In fact, his family talked him into leaving because they knew that’s exactly what he would want to do – fight for his family. His family told him that to win the fight, he had to get away.
    “I feel like I have to succeed,” Bellemy said. “I know the situation my family at home is still in. My only way out is through school and sports. It drives me every single day. I have nothing to do but find the best way to provide for my family and fight for them.”
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