Cody Matherly, a two-time Sectional and Regional Champion for Jeffersonville High School, will be taking his talents to Kentucky Wesleyan, a Division II college located in Owensboro, Kentucky. Cody had a combined record of 66-15 the last two seasons. As a junior, Cody made it to the round to go to State and as a senior he was ranked #8 in the Semi-State at 195lbs.
Since 2004, Cody Matherly makes the 41st Jeff wrestler making his college commitment; in the last decade, 2010-2020 – Jeff wrestling signed 24 commits.
If any one knew Ryan he was a former wrestler for Hammond Gavit a 6th Placer finisher in 1998 at 171lbs he lost a battle with Multiple Myeloma on March 19th 2020 here is the story below
Congrats to the Boilermakers 5th place finish. 2 Finalists and 8 national qualifiers is outstanding. This was a hell of a tournament for Purdue.
Im predicting, Purdue will end the All-American drought in two weeks. I think 3 or 4 All-Americans at NCAAs.
I guess it takes some break through the ceiling, but Ersland did that this weekend. His first 5 years looked like the same old Purdue, near the bottom of the Big 12. I kind of expected the same status quo. But this year they look formidable. They were just behind a down Penn State, but the Boilers were competing with the Nitany Lions, and that's saying something.
I hope Ersland leverages this success in the recruiting process.
4 over 1 Friday night
2 wrestlers from semi state finals meet in the state finals
all finals matches won by 2 or more points
Over/under on on each semi states’ # of placers (ex. EC 26, Ev 24, NC 28, FW 18)
Welcome to TripleB’s annual Evansville Semi-State Preview!
House keeping items -
From our 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 Banker's Life 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 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.
Friday will be a day of passion and love, but 224 grapplers hope their hearts aren’t broken like scorned lovers on Saturday as only 56 can get hit by Cupid’s arrow and sent to Indianapolis and Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
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.
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 - The Pickers of the Round Table has been assembled. There were very few, but any weight class where the pick for champion was unanimous, makes it a Ford Tough Lock. Ford Tough Locks were hard to come by this year as only 4 were given out.
Ford Fab 4 - After picks were gathered, points distributed, and the dust settled, we’ll have the Ford Fab 4.
Also special guest committee member The Donnie Baker (not that Donnie Baker) has offered some of his highlights throughout.
What if I didn’t agree with the ECSC or I thought they made a terrible error (I mean really how many times will Oklahoma get free frickin pass already)? Then have no fear - The TripleB Guarantee will help you sort out the madness.
Without further ado...UNLEASH THE PREVIEW!!
106: 106 brings us our first of five LOCKS. Logan Miller of Brownsburg has been knocking off ranked wrestlers all year. The ECSC was unanimous - this is Miller’s weight class to lose. With team race looking tight, this weight class can get the Bulldogs off and running orrrrr ticket round magic by the latest Egli, Reed can get the Wildcats of Mater Dei rolling.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - The Mater Dei classic in December gave us a preview of 106. Lou Knable and Reed Egli wrestled twice with Knable winning the first match 6-5 and Egli taking the second one 1-0. What happens in the third match?1?!? Don’t be late!!
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - The #12 Coy Hammack vs #13 Blake Zirkelbach guarantees that a SS top 4 kid is going home, and they are also 1-1 with Hammack getting the latest win in their conference finals a few weeks back. Another rubber match in the 106 bracket!!
Don’t sleep on…. Jasper Junior Jainier Milanes looks to maybe break up the Hammack/Zirkelbach trilogy by sliding through the quarter bracket and onto Indy!
Ford Fab 4 - The ECSC was unanimous on 1-2, but a tie for 3/4th. Ties were handled by whoever had the total higher placement points (more 3rd place votes in this case).
1st - Logan Miller Brownsburg, 2nd - Kyler West Evansville Memorial, 3rd - Coy Hammack Tell City, 4th - Ca$h Turner Edgewood
113: All 10 semi-state ranked grapplers have navigated their way through sectionals and regionals and have set themselves for shots at BLF. Mater Dei’s Cole Ross is the early favorite, owning 2 razor thin wins over both Lane Gilbert and Cheaney Schoeff. But this weight class is star power heavy as Ross, Gilbert, and Schoeff lead a class that could all be podium placers in the next few years.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - SS #4 Braiden Hanes vs SS #7 Ethan Roudebush are featured in a quarter bracket with no state ranked wrestlers and also features SS #6 Noah Lykins. Sophomore, Sophomore, Sophomore = Future Hammers, Hammers, Hammers but for one their time is now. Donnie Baker says you better watch this quarter bracket!
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Maybe not a tuuuurbbbillee draw but certainly a blood round match to watch - Freshman #5 ranked Gilbert vs Senior #19 ranked Logan Sutton of Castle. Winners goes to Indy, loser heads home too early.
Don’t sleep on…. The aforementioned quarterbracket of Super Sophomores and Noah Lykins. The Olympian is battle tested as East wrestles one of the toughest schedules in the state. Can he pull off wins over two legit competitors?
Ford Fab 4 - The ECSC was split but Ross gets the nod.
1st - Cole Ross Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Lane Gilbert, 3rd Cheaney Schoeff, 4th Braden Haines
TRIPLEB GUARANTEE - Cheaney Schoeff of Avon will cause some noise, he makes the finals, he pushes Ross, he beats Ross.
120: 120 features our second LOCK of the preview - Evansville Mater Dei Junior and returning state qualifier Alec Freeman. Heritage Hills’ Sam Scott has had a great year and is the only other clear cut state bound wrestler here as after that things get murky.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker: 2 opening round matches could bring early fireworks - Greencastle Frosh phenom Chase Carrington and Evansville Centrals super Soph Ayden Amento will both battle for a chance to advance. Both received votes, this first round match could determine who advances to Indy. The other is Chris Newman and Jacob Bechert, Newman is a returning state qualifier but he gets two points of recognition here as he’s also featured in….
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Chris Newman and Delaney Ruhlman maybe isn’t a Turrible do to both being underclassmen and not a lot of state level credentials. But both have had great years, 6 combined losses, and this could possibly be the first of many matches.
Don’t sleep on…. Newman, Amento, and 2 homers I have - Charlestown junior Colin Knox is 35-1 but has gotten zero love from the ECSC, also Madison Sophmore Noah Burkhardt has only been wrestling for 2 years and won sectionals and was a regional runner up. Can either of these 2 TripleB Sleepers pull off the upsets?!?!?!
Ford Fab 4: After Freeman and Scott the rest of the field appears to be up for grabs - Ruhlman, Newman, Carrington, and Amento all got some love but after the dust settled -
1st - Alec Freeman Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Sam Scott Heritage Hills, 3rd - Delaney Ruhlman Bloomington South, 4th Chase Carrington Greencastle
126: 5 top 10 state ranked wrestlers, 8 top 10 semi-state ranked wrestlers. Maybe the mostest biggest, yuuugest CB Turrible Draw ever….. Alstott/Dalton 3. This was a bronze medal match last year at state and now it’s a ticket round match. Somebody better call my momma….this is a injustice!!! Oh and our 3rd Ford Tough LOCK!
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Let’s skip the formalities and pleasantries, all 8 SS guys fall into different first round matches. First round should be chalk. Let’s get to it
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Are you kidding me?? Under absolutely no circumstances should this be a ticket round match. This should be a prime reason for wrestlebacks, but not so fast my friend!! This is the beauty of Indiana wrestling. We are getting a winner take all match in the blood round between two state medalists. This should be a fantastic, low scoring match up. Good luck to both guys!
Don’t sleep on…. After the Alstott/Dalton match this weight we almost Chalk picks. Maybe I should plug Raymond Rioux here. All the talk has been about Alstott and Dalton and we have a Ford Tough LOCK here. Raymond has put together a stellar career for Avon, he’s a 3 time state medalists. He’s been a leader for the #WestSideWingmen for 4 years and should put a bow on his career with a Semi-state Championship this weekend and a state championship next weekend. He’s also the first of the Rioux Dozen, that name isn’t going away anytime soon in the Indiana Wrestling scene. #ParrishTrained
Ford Fab 4: Gavin Alstott is 0-3 against Ben Dalton, the ECSC believes 4th time's the charm as The Highlander got the nod
1st - Raymond Rioux Avon, 2nd Gavin Alstott Floyd Central, 3rd Kysen Montgomery Brownsburg, 4th Ashton Hayhurst Mater Dei.
TripleBGuarantee - B-E-N-D-A-L-T-O-N, not only for ticket round but maybe as a LOCK buster!
132: 5 state ranked and 8 semi-state ranked wrestlers lead this weight class. 2 words can describe this HOT MESS. 9 potential qualifiers all received votes, yes I said 9! That means this weight class should be a doozy Saturday!
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - SS #4 Beau Heeke from Heritage Hills and SS #7 ranked Seth Rohrbach both got votes to advance, but only one can advance out of the first round. Also a potential 1 over 4 upset as Conner Alcala from Decatur Central looks to take out regional champ Chase Aldridge from Providence.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Sound the sirens, we have our first “Swear to God” pick by Donnie Baker - Gibson Southern Sophomore Christian Polen and Center Grove’s Hayden Watson. DB says to bet the boat on Polen! The other Turrible draw is a battle of two time state qualifiers and features a match that could definitely shift the team race. #4 state ranked Kane Egli takes on #8 ranked Tyler Conley from Avon. These two wrestled at state duals with Egli getting a 3-2 win. Can Conley switch that result and help his Hendricks Co rivals Brownsburg out here or even help put Avon in position to win?
Don’t sleep on…. Ha, evidently we shouldn’t sleep on the whole bracket. But in no order - Seth Rohrbach, Beau Heeke, Christian Polen, Lane Deckard, and Tyler Conley all got votes but not enough to break into the -
Ford Fab 4 -
1st - Hayden Watson Center Grove, 2nd - Kane Egli Evansville Mater Dei, 3rd - Connor Holt Plainfield, 4th - Conner Alcala Decatur Central
138: A weight going chalk means the ECSC has 4 unanimous selections in the same order. It has rarely if ever happened. This weight class was as close as it came this year as only one vote kept the weight class from being chalk and having Blake Boarman as a LOCK (*cough Donnie Baker cough*). Oh did I mention Drake Campbell beat Blake Boarman this year already? Maybe good old DB isn’t off his rocker! 5 state ranked wrestlers and 9 semi state ranked wrestlers are featured at 138, Let’s Go!!!
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 2 matches stand out as curtain jerkers and I noticed some irregularities. First another Donnie Baker “Bet the Boat” upset alert - Terre Haute South junior Nathan Recknor over #13 Keandre Watson. The other match is SS #6 Colton Roberts and SS #9 Pat Mayes. Mayes is 40-2, Roberts has 13 losses. Does Avon’s strength of schedule carry Roberts over Mayes? Some voters say yes, some say no!
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - None, there’s a reason this weight class was almost chalk. Semi finals and finals should be great though.
Don’t sleep on…. Campbell beat Boarman in a close match, Boarman beat J Conway in a close match. J Conway has been a takedown machine all season……. can the Highlander steal the booty and walk away like a Pirate with some gold Saturday?
145: 5 state ranked wrestlers and 7 ranked semi-state wrestlers are featured at 145. Also 145 features our only 1st place tie, it’s officially up for grabs. It’s another weight where the committee doesn’t feel that there will be any party crashers as all 5 had the same 4 qualifiers albeit in different order. Justice Cash, Brody Baumann, and Jaden Renyolds all got first place votes and Cash/Reynolds finished in a tie. We will take it The Speaker of the Committee TripleB to break the tie.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Both unranked, both having great years Central freshman Luke Kemper and Floyd Central sophomore Codei Khawaja both come from bloodlines of wrestlers (Look them both up, I’m not geneology.com over here). This will be a great curtain jerker. Franklin Community senior Ethan Nash draws regional champ and state final hopeful #19 David Tucker. Here’s 2 things I know from my years of being around - Franklin never has a dull semi state, they keep matches close and Tonte brings the magic. While Tucker is the favorite, don’t be surprised to see Nash pull out a grinder match and sneak through
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - There’s nothing to see here, move along.
Don’t sleep on…. Voters were chalk with the qualifiers
Ford Fab 4 - Our first and only tie for first place, Justice Cash and Jaden Reynolds both racking up 16 out of a possible 20 votes. We went to the ballots and Cash received 3 first place votes while Reynolds received 1. Cash gets the nod.
1st - Justice Cash Bloomington North (Donnie Baker Lock, Stock, and Pork pick), 2nd - Jaden Reynolds, 3rd - Brody Baumann, 4th - David Tucker Brown Co
152: 5 top ten state ranked and all 10 semi-state wrestlers makes 152 no joke. There will be some Fitts thrown, some Hamms, will the Law be laid down, or can the Incredible Fulks smash the field? I could go all day with puns here but let’s put a BOE on it and move along. A top ten match up in the blood round gives us a Turrible draw and a Donnie Baker “Bet the Boat” guarantee are featured.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Moses Hamm and Jacob Cookerly are two SS ranked dudes looking to get after it, can the Hamm be COOKerlied? Oh man but seriously, the winner gets Fulks and this should be a great match!
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - #7 Fitts vs #2 Kervin. Both are returning State Qualifiers. Fitts is a fireball, if he can channel his emotions in the right way, will it be enough to knock off Kervin?
Don’t sleep on…. Logan Boe, yes he’s predicted to finish in top 4 but this Warrior is a 3x state medalists and has always brought the heat when it counts. Kervin got the nod from the voters, but Don’t Sleep On Boe
Ford Fab 4 - Your top 4 seeds are a combined 142 and 2. Schwew-wee, this should be some fun semi-finals and finals. Boe and Kervin are the Donnie Baker “Shut Up Randy, I’m watching come rasslin” Highlight match.
1st Jonathan Kervin Floyd Central, 2nd - Kade Law Columbus East, 3rd Logan Boe Danville, 4th - Jordan Fulks Boonville
Donnie Baker Bet the Boat Guarantee - All 4 will be on the podium next week at BLF, STATE LAW!!!
160: 5 State ranked and 8 semi-state ranked wrestlers lead the field at 160 including the next LOCK, Evansville Mater Dei’s returning 3rd placer Eli Dickens. Some ticket round matches are featured here, not necessarily Turrible draws but matches that should be worth the watch.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - The Donnie Baker “Too Close to call” first round curtain jerker goes to #11 Sam Morrill and Evansville Reitz’s Aiden Farmer. Can Farmer sneak the upset?
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Whenever 2 top 10 ranked guys are going at it for the golden ticket it’s just turrible. #1 Eli Dickens and #9 Tyler Fuqua have both made the trip to Indy and both certainly are worthy medalists, but this year only one will get to take that opportunity. Turrible, turrible, turrible.
Don’t sleep on….Wade Presson of Bloomington South has had some good wins this year and a win in the ticket round isn’t unthinkable. Keep an eye on Morrill/Farmer winner vs Presson.
Ford Fab 4 - The 2nd Wildcat making the LOCK list, Eli Dickens leads this talented field
1st - Eli Dickens Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Peyton Asbury Brownsburg, 3rd - John Purdy Castle, 4th Sam Morrill Columbus East
170: 5 State ranked and 8 semi-state ranked wrestlers are on tap to duke it out at 170. The ECSC had a unanimous Fab 4, though some disagreed with placements. This because we have the dreaded my guy beat your guy but lost to your guy. The sectional seeding nightmare. 2x state qualifier Robert Deters leads this field. Let’s see who gets left out of the musical chairs.
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Columbus North’s Nick Holt was a sectional champ that hit a roadblock last weekend by some freshman from Madison (btw how many freshman lead the varsity football team in tackles and win regionals?) Indian Creek’s Owen Sego’s season has been well documented, this is his 4th trip to Evansville, will he get through? This match should be special, don’t miss it!
Don’t sleep on…. Sego and Carrington
Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Two turrible draws, the aforementioned Sego has a decorated career, here’s to hoping he can continue his season with a W, but Deters is no small obstacle. #3 2 loss Ruhlman and #11 2 loss Carrinton will be going at it to determine who goes to BLF. Ruhlman appears to be the favorite, but another Turrible Draw
Ford Fab 4 - Whenever you got #2,#3, and #6 in the same bracket, there will be no LOCK. The ECSC did really like Deters though to avenge his loss to Ruhlman and lock up a SS championship.
1st - Robert Deters Castle, 2nd - Tristan Ruhlman Bloomington South, 3rd - Gabe Sollars Evansville Mater Dei, 4th - Jalen Ward Franklin
182: 2 state qualifiers, one not favored to advance, a for LOCK that wasn’t. It’s 1-8-2! 6 state ranked (including #s 3,7, and 9) and 9 ranked SS wrestlers are on tabs at 182. Macartney Parkinson is a returning state medalist, who is undefeated in Indiana this year. This was a hands down LOCK….but then Donnie Baker crashed the party. Also Brenden Moore is a returning state qualifier who hasn’t had the easiest path to the Ford Center. How do Parkinson and Moores fate intertwine? Welll…..
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Brendan McPike of Terre Haute South has had a fantastic season (trust me I got the emails and texts to prove it). Can this Outlaw survive returning State Qualifier Moore in the first round to lay way for rematch with Parkinson?
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Macartney Parkinson and Greg Glover will meet to determine a spot in Evansville. Another ticket round match that could affect the team race.
Don’t sleep on…. Brenden Moore, Greg Glover, how about a sleeper pic of Drake Buchanan? Do you know his dad was a school teacher at Madison Junior High School when TripleB was only DoubleB and ran the hallways?!?! Never doubt a 3B connection!!
Ford Fab 4 -
1st - Macartney Parkinson Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Noah White Columbus East, 3rd - Drake Buchanan Center Grove, 4th - Brendan Mcpike Terre Haute South
Donnie Baker Bet the Boat Guarantee - Brendan McPike will be on the revenge tour Saturday knocking of Parkinson and Noah White.
195: Only 4 state ranked and 8 SS ranked wrestlers leaves this bracket kind of feeling ehhh…. but no worries, the Donnie Baker “Fight of the Night” will deliver and according to DB break up another LOCK. McKinley Kemper was well on his way to locking up a LOCK, like the other Kempers before him. Donnie pulled a Corso and said “Not so fast my friend”
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - No first rd matches of SS ranked grapplers left me searching….just like I”ll be searching the concessions Saturday at about this time.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Again natta, all 4 ranked guys are spread out in quarterbrackets, all seems well.
Don’t sleep on…. Cody Matherly of Jeffersonville, he will have to win one on the STREETs to get to Bankers but the streets of Jeff are no joke.
Donnie Baker’s FIGHT OF THE NIGHT - Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages, Donnie Baker enterprises in accordance with STATE LAW proudly brings to you the Fight of the Night… it’s a semi final match up between a Junior, from Franklin Community, with a 35-2 record Harrrriiisss Eaassssooonnnn!!! And his opponent from Evansville Central, this senior comes to us with a record of 36 wins and only 1 defeat, ittttttttt’s McKinnnnnnnnnley Kemmmmmper!!!
Ford Fab 4 - Kemper, Eason, Street and Rogers all advance. Kemper so close to a lock, but Eason got a vote.
1st - McKinley Kemper Evansville Central, 2nd - Isaiah Street (I watched this kid almost bleed to death in Iowa as a 6th grader and still finished the match and the tournament helping Team Indiana finish 3rd in the nation, do not sleep on the STREET), 3rd - Harris Eason, 4th - Phoenix Rodgers Heritage Hills
220: 7 state ranked (wow) and all 10 SS ranked wrestlers bring the BOOM to 220. 8 wrestlers all recieved votes. Amongst the chaos the ECSC picks a non state ranked hammer to get through, Yowie Wowie what a weight class!!
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - This quarter bracket features 4 SS ranked dudes - #9 Ethan Rogers, #8 Cordell Huering, #10 Reese Condon, and #7 Kenton Williams all will have to sort it out it to make it out and the votes were not unanimous on who makes it out.
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - When you have so many ranked guys does it negate Turrible draws? The Donnie Baker Barn Burner of the night and Turrible Draw - #13 Josh Howell of Terre Haute South vs #7 Will Stewart of South Spencer. Spencer is a returning state placer, Howell has one loss and Donnie says this match is going to extra periods - This should be a great match! Also #6 Nathan Willman vs #11 Leighton Jones both are top 4 in SS but one is going home! The last one is #8 (#1 in ss) Micah Dodson vs #15 (#6 in ss) Macray Robinson.
Don’t sleep on…. Stop what you are doing, look up the bracket (The Indianamat one with rankings), take a picture and seriously don’t sleep on any of them
Ford Fab 4 - This was chaos, the ECSC was up until the wee hours debating 220. Here’s what we got:
TripleBGuarantee - If Ethan Rogers can get on his offense early, he’s going to state. Leighton Jones will go big boy and the frosh will knock out a senior in the ticket round, Will Stewart will go to state… Heck just write this down - 1. Micah Dodson, 2. Leighton Jones, 3. Will Stewart, 4. Ethan Rogers. Take that to the Bank!
285: The last weight and the last LOCK. Last year Dorian Keys took the state by surprise on his run to a state title. There will be no surprises this year as Keys has been labeled a LOCK by the ECSC. 6 state ranked and 9 ss ranked wrestlers round out the semi-state qualifiers for 2020 (round, see what I did there, jeeze I’m losing my mind). 6 garnered votes and the most interesting matchup is a Turrrible draw
Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - I’ve been hearing about this one guy all year, “TripleB ya gotta give love to Ke’Tre Dickens, watch out for Dickens, Dickens, Dickens” Well here is his chance to shine and out of the gates he has undefeated Bloomington North wrestler Race Stewart. I’ve been told this could be shocker!
Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - #14 Robbie Gentry vs. #15 Matthew Munoz, both are worthy of state and Munoz has a win over Gentry this year albeit on home turf. There will be no home turf this weekend.
Don’t sleep on…. Hunter Wimpelberg is a senior for Coach Ferguson at Reitz, Regional champ, good program, great coach, do not sleep on Wimpelberg punching a ticket. Robbie Gentry could reverse his fortunes against Munoz and also punch his ticket
Ford Fab 4 - Our last LOCK and Munoz doing what Munoz does best, escaping with a win
1st - Dorian Keys Brownsburg, 2nd - Matthew Munoz Jeffersonville, 3rd - Race Stewart Bloomington North, 4th - Jacob Johnson Franklin
Man we made it…….let’s end w my favorite - food recomendations
Friday night I’m heading to Hilltop Inn for my first ever Brain sandwich. I'm pumped. 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 Ave, 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 is Stoll’s Country Diner - lights out fried chicken and down home buffet.
Have a great time Saturday, I thoroughly enjoy 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!
Couple year's ago I brought up the idea of combining the Sectional and Regional Tourney into one tournament.
I don't have the numbers in front of me, so don't nail me to exact details.....
We have one of the largest regionals (most number of teams) and I'm thinking it's like 24ish teams.
You'd have to have a round of 32 in theory....most weights have more than 8 ffts if you combine sectionals. That would be a quick round.
Seed top 12
Friday night: Rat tail matches (I believe the number was around 10 matches total). Then have the round of 16 right after. If you lose any of those, you're done.
Saturday morning run an 8 man tourney with wrestlebacks.
When I looked at it I thought it would help with the ref shortage and make the state more money with less work. It would also shorten the season a week, which might get us in the conversation of semi state wrestle backs down the road.
For as long as Sullivan freshman Lane Gilbert can remember he has dreamed about having his hand raised at the Indiana High School wrestling state championships.
He’s done more than dream about it. As a young kid he would go into the wrestling room at Sullivan High School and act out having his hand raised. It didn’t matter that nobody else was around him. In his imaginary scenario he always emerged victorious. No obstacle stood in his way. No opponent could beat him. He was the champ. That dream would never be taken away.
The dream was much different than real life for Gilbert. In real life, he has had far more hardships than one kid should experience. He’s overcome situations that would break others. Through it all, he’s come out stronger.
To get a clear picture of just how tough Lane Gilbert is, it is important to dive into his uncomfortable past.
Gilbert’s mother, Rachel, became Indiana’s first female sectional champion in wrestling. She won the 103-pound class in the North Knox sectional in 2002. Rachel was going places in life. News agencies had reported on her wrestling journey, because at the time, female wrestlers were still very new in the state. She had some colleges showing interest in her.
But Rachel began facing a more formidable opponent than anyone she went up against on the mat. She started battling an addiction with drugs. Lane’s father had his own battles with drug addiction.
For Lane’s father, that addiction would eventually lead to a prison sentence.
Young Lane didn’t want to miss an opportunity to visit his dad, even if that meant going to the prison any time he could.
“Lane worshipped his dad,” Lane’s wrestling coach and grandfather Roy Monroe said. “Lane never failed to go see him. He always wanted to see him.”
Tragically, Lane’s father developed cancer while in prison and ultimately died due to the disease.
“That was really rough on Lane for a while,” Rachel said. “His dad was a drug addict for a long time and Lane always held out hope that one day he would get better. Once he got sick, that was probably the hardest thing. Lane stayed strong through the whole thing.”
At nine-years-old Lane did something no kid his age should ever have to do. He stood up in front during his dad’s funeral and sang a special song.
“I don’t know how he did it,” Monroe said. “That’s almost an impossible thing to get through, and he did it. He toughed it out.”
That’s what Lane always does. He toughs things out. He toughed it out when his mom was having her struggles. He toughed it out seeing his dad in prison, and then watching as cancer slowly took its toll. He toughed it out when his uncle Jordan, who had taught Lane quite a bit about wrestling, died in a fiery car crash. No matter what life threw at Lane, he toughs it out.
Perhaps he gets his fighting spirit from his grandfather. Roy has been a major part of Sullivan wrestling for over 30 years. He’s watched his daughter struggle with drug addiction. He lost his son in that tragic car accident. He’s experienced heartache and he remained the rock Lane needed in his life. Lane could always stay the night at Roy’s house. He could always get the right words from his grandpa. And, on the wrestling mat, he could look to Grandpa Roy for direction as well.
“He’s my role model,” Lane said. “He’s nice to everyone. He’s a good coach. He’s all the things you can think of if you were to make the perfect person – that would be how I describe him.”
But Lane’s toughness also comes from his mom.
In a time when people frowned on girls wrestling against boys, she held her ground. In fact, she and Roy had to go to the Sullivan school board to even get approved to wrestle back in her high school days.
Later, as has already been alluded to, Rachel battled a fierce drug addiction. But, for Lane’s sake – and for her sake, she fought through and emerged victorious. She is currently a Dean’s List student working to become a nurse.
“I am so proud of her,” Roy said. “I’ve been a counselor. I’ve went into the jails and counselled drug addicts. I’ve seen them come in and out of addiction. The real truth is, only about one percent of drug addicts make it to where she is now. It’s so hard to overcome, but she’s done it. And she’s a great mom.”
She is also very, very protective of Lane and worries almost to a fault about the decisions he makes in his own life.
“After having made the decisions at a young age that I made, I saw first-hand what can happen and how quickly everything can just spiral out of control,” Rachel said. “One mistake and everything can be gone. I have that fear in the back of my mind that he’s of the age and he could make the wrong choices. I’m almost too hard on him, but I am terrified because I know what can happen and I keep my eye on him. I do trust him. He’s seen what can happen and how bad things can get.”
Lane knows when his mom tells him to keep on the straight and narrow, it’s because she cares.
“I have so much respect for my mom,” he said. “I’ve learned a lot from her.”
One thing Lane has learned is to never doubt himself. This summer when he was a third alternate for the Pan-American games, he let doubt creep into his psyche. After the first two qualifiers couldn’t attend the games, Lane got the call to participate. But, going into the event, he felt like he really didn’t belong.
Boy was he wrong. Lane went undefeated in both freestyle and Greco-Roman. News of his success quickly spread throughout the town of 6,500 people. When he arrived home, he was given a police escort through the streets.
“Oh my gosh,” Rachel said. “The town put on this whole show when he returned. The police and emergency vehicles all met up on the north end of town. He had no idea it was going to happen. There were fans from all over our town and they all followed him to the high school. It was so cool. He was so surprised.”
Currently Gilbert is 28-1 on the season and ranked No. 5 at 113 pounds. He has carried the confidence he developed during the Pan-American games over to the season. Now he knows he belongs. Now he knows that dream he played through his head so many times growing up isn’t just a dream – it’s an attainable goal.
“I’ve been coaching at Sullivan for 13 years as head coach and I’ve been there 30 years as an assistant,” Monroe said. “I’ve never seen anything like him. I look at Lane, with his skills and what he’s been through, and I just know that adversity isn’t a problem anymore. He can do whatever he sets his mind to do.”
As for Rachel, well, she says nowadays she’s just like any other wrestler’s mom.
“I’m still up in the stands screaming my head off,” she said. “But when I’m shouting, at least I know which moves to shout. The other moms look at me and ask what they should be yelling.”
I have a dog in this one (a bulldog actually!)
I miss going to Jeff two weekends in a row, coming from Louisville it was nice to be able to sleep in a little.
Maybe the EPA can look into the realignment. Seems like an excessive waste of diesel for the Floyd County teams to pass the Tell City bus on the way to sectionals
I have a dog in this one (a bulldog actually!)
I miss going to Jeff two weekends in a row, coming from Louisville it was nice to be able to sleep in a little.
Maybe the EPA can look into the realignment. Seems like an excessive waste of diesel for the Floyd County teams to pass the Tell City bus on the way to sectionals
Just a side note. At the Portage wrestling golf outing they have a scale and all alum have to weigh in and they give out a pig trophy for the person who gained the most weight.
In a town that literally gets its name for being tough and rugged, the Three Amigos personify what Floyds Knobs is all about.
Floyd Central High School, located in Floyds Knobs, is the home of wrestlers Gavinn Alstott, J. Conway and Jonathan Kervin. The trio is known around town as the Three Amigos, primarily for their success on the wrestling mat. They are tough wrestlers that like to grind out wins and be physical. One wouldn’t expect anything less from a Floyds Knobs resident.
Floyds Knobs is named after the Knobstone Escarpment located there (and Colonel Davis Floyd). The Knobstone is the most rugged terrain in Indiana. It has steep hills which are commonly referred to as knobs.
As for the Three Amigos – all three qualified for state last season. Alstott finished fourth and Kervin sixth. This year, all three are ranked in the top 10 in their weight classes.
“The Three Amigos is a term we coined last year and started calling them that,” Floyd Central coach Brandon Sisson said. “I don’t think they mind it. They all three work together and have pushed each other to get better.”
Kervin is the only senior in the trio. He is currently ranked No. 2 at 152 pounds. Last season Kervin finished with a 39-4 record. He won sectional and regional and eventually finished sixth at state in the 145-pound class.
“Jonathan is a really tough wrestler,” Sisson said. “He wrestles hard for all six minutes. He works really closely with is uncle, former two-time state champion Cooper Samuels. Those two have worked together for the past five years and it has really benefited Jonathan.”
Kervin’s goal this season is to win a state title.
“My style is sort of dynamic,” Kervin said. “I like to be a little deranged. I use my length. Last year I felt like I wrestled poorly at state. I didn’t do my normal workout to get ready. I want to get back and show what I can really do.”
Alstott, a junior, finished 42-4 last season. He was a sectional and regional champ and ended up third in the Evansville semistate and would later place fourth at state.
“Gavinn is a grinder,” Sisson said. “He gets out there, gets in your face and pushes the pace non-stop. He’s very business-like on the mat and in the practice room. I’m not ever going to have to see if he’s just messing around. When it’s time to work, it’s time to work. No matter what he does, he puts his head down and goes to work.”
Alstott’s uncle, Craig Alstott, was Floyd Central’s first ever four-time state qualifier. Craig never placed at the state meet, however.
“I think Gavinn got the monkey off his back a little by placing last year,” Sisson said. “But he has his sights set significantly higher this year.”
Off the mat, Gavinn is an excellent student and has been a team leader since his freshman season.
“He’s a really good kid,” Sisson said. “He gets good grades and is good to the other kids. Even as a freshman I thought of him as a team leader. He’s just a phenomenal kid.”
Conway is the quietest in the group. He had a not-so-quiet season last year, however. Conway went 23-4 on the year and claimed a sectional and a regional title. He finished runner-up in semistate but lost on Friday night at the state tournament.
“He’s a really, really quiet kid,” Sisson said. “I don’t think I heard him say anything at all his freshman year. Now as a sophomore he’s coming out of his shell a little bit. On the mat he’s more open. He is already at 130 takedowns in just 18 matches this season. He’s full throttle. You let him go, and he goes.”
Sisson is pleased with his team this season and hopes the Three Amigos will help lead them to great things.
“There are years where you have a lot of talent, but also a lot of drama,” Sisson said. “Then there are years where you don’t have any drama, but you don’t really have any talent either. This year, I really feel like we have a lot of talent and no drama. I’m lucky this year.”
Thanks for all the kind words. My renewed interest in wrestling started 7-8 years ago as my nephew got pretty heavy into it as a youngster. It was also around that time that Nick Lee started making some noise before entering HS. Unfortunately, due to concussions, my nephew no long wrestles (he did get in some varsity matches as a freshman) but my interest thanks to the Lee's, and Indiana Mat has continued to grow. I used to got to Mater Dei matches as a kid with my dad so even though I didn't go there (he did) I always followed them and knew some of the guys when I was in HS.
I moved to Alabama 20+ years ago and it got away from me other than hearing from dad how MD and other Evansville schools were doing and always reading how they fared at the State Championships. But with the lovely thing we call the internet, it has made it easy to follow schools and individual kids, so I don't just see myself as an Evansville/SW Indiana guy and have become fans of kids from all over the state. The advent of streaming the past few years allowed someone like me (who gets back home once, maybe twice a year) to see the kids wrestle who I have read about and followed via Indiana Mat, Track Wrestling, etc.
So this year, with some extra time on my hands, I thought i would dig into how the kids I had followed were doing in college. In the past, the college board got little attention outside of the few IN kids making noise on the national scene and a post or three about IU and Purdue. Maligned always did a nice job with the guys qualifying for the NCAA's etc., but my curiosity went beyond all of that and to kids wrestling and (hopefully) succeeding at all levels. So with Track Wrestling, Intermat, the college signings page here, etc. I was able to find a ton of guys I might never had heard anything about. It was a lot of work and took a lot of time, but it was fun! Hopefully, with the database I put together, it will be much easier to update each year and at the point I can't keep up anymore, someone else can easily take over.
I love how passionate fans are here on the HS board (though I could deal with a little less of the craziness) and hope that people will eventually make it a habit to check the college board regularly as well and give some attention to those guys that continue on their wrestling careers and continue to work their asses off, even if they aren't doing so at the Division I All-America honors level.
Thanks again for those that have helped and those that appreciate the effort to give some kids some due that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.
With my seat this weekend I noticed quite a few coaches from Indiana, let's get a list of them.
Bryce Hasseman at North Carolina
Camden Eppert at George Mason
Andrew Howe at Northwestern
Angel Escobedo and Mike Dixon at Indiana
Josh Blanton at Northern Illinois
Brandon Nelsen at Duke
Braden Atwood at Sacred Heart
Any others?
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.
JoeCoffey got a reaction from formercollegekid in REGIONAL Upsets, Key Matches, Etc..
JoeCoffey got a reaction from TeamGarcia in Healthy Walker vs Silas same weight
JoeCoffey got a reaction from Y2CJ41 in Bet your bananas here!
JoeCoffey got a reaction from TripleB in Article: TripleB's Famous Evansville Semi-State Preview
JoeCoffey got a reaction from Jayruss in Ticket Round ?
JoeCoffey got a reaction from R. Kendrick in Annual breakdown of Sectional, Regional, Semi-State per the Rankings
JoeCoffey got a reaction from takemtothemat in Annual breakdown of Sectional, Regional, Semi-State per the Rankings
JoeCoffey got a reaction from Wrestling Scholar in Your HS weight class vs Old guy weight class
JoeCoffey got a reaction from backtothemat in THE Mater Dei Classic Preview (76 ranked wrestlers) UPDATED