backtothemat

That kid was faking.  His brother should have went back and stomped him once or twice and give him something to cry about.

Have you ever thought of having a Hall of Fame thread section of the site? This one has been absolutely fantastic and I'd nominate it. I couldn't name more than 2 teams that were at the Wild Bill or are members of the SAC before this thread...now I know the teams, the coaches, the wrestlers and posters thereof!! All by name instead of handles! Classic. Best part, most don't get butthurt or take offense..just come back with their take/angles and move along.
 
Kudos to all for the passion. Good luck to everybody.

Go to information-direct link when getting a link on TrackWrestling.
 
Or we have the link in our bracket section

Here's an objective approach to solve this question, and for bragging rights.   I took Maligned's Genius numbers and did some statistical manipulation to come up with the answer to the  best conference. My two metrics are "average genius score" and the "sum of the top 7 teams" in the conference.  I only took the top 7 because the HCC only has 7 teams so would be fair to compare.   Here's the results and rankings by conference.
 
Conference     Avg         Top 7
HCC               71.08       497.59
DAC               62.57       484.87
MIC                63.15       477.52
Hoo Heritage 54.07       430.73
Hoo Hills        51.48       403.5
SIAC              46.68       374.49
NCC               43.64       363.51
NE8               43.57        339.26

Yeah, when I think unlucky Mater Dei always comes to mind.

So any more match updates from The Wild Bill?

The post-season is here!  For SIAC fans, this means a trip to fabulous Newburgh, Indiana.  Mrs. Hook, Hookticia, Hookert and Hookun have the trusty 1985 Chevrolet Caprice station wagon, cleaned, gassed-up and backed into the driveway.  They even scraped the gum off the seats so that their grandparents, “Big Hook Mama” and “Cool Daddy Hook Bucks” will have a safe place on which to sit.  Our Kool-Aid is stirred; the Lays Stackers (much cheaper than Pringles) are packed.
 
106- Mater Dei’s one-seed Clay “Scrambled” Egli is the favorite.  The Castle Knights counter with freshman Devon “Lightning” Casebolt, who brings a strong, 29-3 record to the party. 
 
113- Baxter “Vader” Annakin is back!  While this is good news for Bob Harmon’s Knights, it bad news for the field.  Recovered from his injury, Annakin could make a deep run in the State Tournament Series.  Seth “Hears a Who” Horty has steadily improved and rolled up an impressive, 31-3 record.  Horty will likely meet Mater Dei’s Blaine “Bring the Pain” Mayer in the semifinal.
 
120- Fifth-ranked Mater Dei junior Kyle “Sweet” Luigs nabs the top seed.  Castle’s Neal “The Real Deal” Bealmer will duke it out with Central’s Cody “Samsonite” Baggett in the semifinal.  Harrison’s Beau “Geste” Barrett, Drew “Little Big” Horn and Reitz’s Chris “Not the Actor” Tucker also expect to compete for podium spots.
 
126- The Knights’ Carson “What You Talkin Bout” Willis has put together an awesome 29-1 record, his only loss to Cathedral’s top-ranked Breyden Bailey.  Reitz’s Caleb “007” Craig and Harrison’s Jay “Spice Boy” Hollowell will likely battle for a spot in the final.  Mater Dei’s Joe “Don’t Worry, Be” Happe will also be in the medal hunt in this deep weight class.
 
132- The North Huskies’ Josh “Hamburger” Elpers has screamed to a 30-1 record and the top seed.  Castle’s Braedon “Slowhand” Clopton is an SSQ, boasting a 20-2 record.  Throw in Memorial’s Jacob “The Rock” Brockman, Reitz’s Kye “Cabinet” Fehrenbacher and Mater Dei’s Kyle “Minogue” Embry and you have yourself the makings of a real donnybrook.  I know Castle’s concession stand is calling…better make a run well before this bracket is wrestled.
 
138- Actually, you had better stock up on concessions; you will not want to miss any 138 action, either.  Castle’s Austin “Pharaoh” Ramsey gets the nod for the top seed.  A senior, the ranked Ramsey will be dissatisfied with anything short of a State berth.  In his way is Mater Dei’s fifth-ranked Blake “Air” Jourdan.  Down from 160, earlier in the season, and from 145 last year, Jourdan looks poised for another spot on the podium at Banker’s Life.  BUT….before he gets there, Jourdan will have to get past North’s Nick “House Of” Burke.  Burke is under the radar but brings a 29-1 record to the meet.  Overlook him at your peril.
 
145- Mater Dei’s Joe “Younger, But Bigger” Lee grabs the spotlight.  Last year’s State Runner-up is the heavy favorite.  Harrison’s Bryce “De Moray” Ransom, North’s Dalton “Battleship” Gray and Castle’s Clay “Almond Joy” McNutt will battle for medals.
 
152- The Wildcats’ journeyman “Abercrombie &” Mitch Lehman gets the nod for the top slot.  Memorial’s talented “Take A” Chance Williams gets the two seed.  Williams has battled non-stop injuries for two seasons.  Here’s hoping Larry Mattingly’s senior stays healthy for a post-season run.  Castle’s freshman, William “Milling” Nunn and Reitz’s Blayd “Runner” Blair will also be in the mix.
 
160- Castle’s Jacob “Old McDonald” Farmer is the favorite here.  Danger lurks, as Farmer will likely meet the Memorial Tigers’ Jack “In the Box” Folz.  On the other side of the bracket, Shawn “P. Diddy” Coane of North meets Mater Dei’s Hunter “Baby, You Can Drive My” Carr in the first round.  The winner of that one meets the winner of Reitz’s Noah “Ark” Reich and Harrison’s Dymond “Legs” Harris.  No bathroom breaks during 160!  I’ll be taking notes.
 
170- Castle’s Evan “Sville” Dowell is a big favorite.  Dowell has a ton of varsity and big match experience.  Look for him to cash some chips.  Bosse’s Raymond “Bradbury” Garnett is the two seed.  Garnett has rolled up 17 wins and looks to bring his gridiron success to the mats.  Memorial’s Mitchell “Encyclopedia” Brown, Mater Dei’s Blake “Bing” Chandler, North’s Marcus “Axle” Eatan, Central’s Kiave “Guerrier & Ives” Guerrier and Reitz’s Jeremy “Ring My” Belli will also look for a medal.  Wrestlebacks will be a blast!  Are you going to make me say it?  Very well.  NO BATHROOM BREAKS.
 
182- Bob Harmon gets another top seed with his junior, Carson “Cougar Mohlercamp” Mohler.  The first-year starter has rolled up an outstanding 29-3 record and looks to top the awards stand in his home gym.  The Tigers’ Conner “Buster” Brown is the two-seed.  Reitz’s Andrew “Dean” Koonce, North’s Justin “Gun” Naylor, Central’s Austin “Monte” Hall and the Wildcats’ Seth “Of Courth” Orth will also battle for medals.  I’m not going to say it three times in a row.  If you have any questions, refer to 160 and 170 for personal instructions.
 
195- Mater Dei’s Coach, Greg Schaefer, is grinning over his top-seed, junior Kurtis “Call of the Wild” Wilderman.  Reitz’s Andrew Shaw “Shank” and Castle’s Will “Rock And” Rolley will battle for a right to meet Wilderman at the center mat.  Do not discount North’s “Captain” Nate Smith or Memorial’s Marcus “Niemen” Gahagen—they will both be in medal contention.
 
220- Schaefer is still grinning!  Why?  Because his sophomore, Michael “Made For Walkin” Boots is the one seed.  Boots will likely meet the Tigers’ Jacob “Cole” Sulawske in the semifinal round.  On the other side of the bracket, Castle’s Brennan “Stormin” Norman should meet Reitz’s Blake “I Need A” Huggins for a right to pursue all of the marbles.
 
285- By now, Schaefer’s smile is ear-to-ear.  Austin “Powers” Fleck is at the top of his bracket.  Reitz’s Brett “Ed” McManus and Castle’s Brock “Lesner” Lofton will meet, with the winner getting Fleck.  Central’s Jordan “On the label, label, label” Libby is the two-seed.  He will likely face the winner of Memorial’s Ryan “Flyin” Ohlen and Harrison’s Davionte “Howard” Hughes.
 
Hookemendations:
 
Don’t miss these first round matches:  113- Harrison’s 21-13 “Mister” Christian Nix and North’s four-seed, Brenton “Fort” Myers.  120- Barrett vs. Tucker.  126- Jacob Brockman is a senior that has seen a lot of battles.  He faces Reitz freshman, Kye Fehrenbacher.  Athletic and tough, Coach Scott Ferguson has a good one in Fehrenbacher.  160- Coane vs. Carr.  Coane is a very solid 23-7, while Carr is 0-3.  Carr is coming off injury and should be ready to present him a stiff challenge.  170- Belli vs. Guerrier; Chandler vs. Garnett.  182- Koonce vs. Naylor.  285- Lofton vs. McManus; Ohlsen vs. Hughes.
 
Best first round match:  182, Austin Hall vs. Seth Orth.  Only at 182 could SSQ Seth Orth not receive a seed!  The senior will face junior Austin Hall for the first time this year.
 
Don’t miss these semifinals:  113- Mayer vs. Horty.  126- Craig vs. Hollowell.  138- Burke vs. Jourdan.  152- Nunn vs. Williams.  160- Farmer vs. Folz.  Carr/Coane vs. Harris.  170- Brown vs. Garnett.  182- Hall/Orth vs. Brown.  195- Shaw vs. Rolley.  220- Norman vs. Huggins.  285- Ohlsen/Hughes vs. Libby; Fleck vs. Lofton/McManus.
 
Best semifinal match:  132, Braeden Clopton vs. Kyle Embry.  Clopton is very strong and solid; he fell in last year’s SS ticket round.  Embry is very strong and solid.  The senior has had four years of battling for a spot in a crowded line-up.  This should be a good one!
 
Best title matches:  113- Annakin vs. Mayer/Horty.  Mayer and Horty are healthy and in supreme condition.  Annakin has five matches—what kind of shape is he in?  We will soon learn.  132- Elpers vs. Embry/Clopton.  Josh Elpers is as muscled-up as any 132-pounder you will find.  However, Embry and Clopton have wrestled super-tough schedules and experience brutal practice partners, on a daily basis.  Who holds the cards?  138- Ramsey vs. Jourdan.  Both are high energy, super-hardnosed grapplers—they are also great kids.  I can’t wait for this one.  285- Fleck vs. Libby.  Fleck owns a win over Libby.  However, the win was narrow and Libby is a wily veteran.  Expect Libby to be coached up for his center mat appearance. 
 
Bold Observations, Questions and Predictions:
 
·         Give Harrison’s coach, Matt Mastison, a week and some plastic sweats.  I’ll wager he can get to 113…again.
·         Central’s coach, Mike Lapadat, will burn more calories coaching than at least half of the 285-pounders do wrestling.
·         Castle’s concessions will wow you with pizza slices that cover an entire paper plate and baked potatoes that resemble, in size and appearance, Wrestleman’s head.
·         IU89 has the scoop.  Trust me on this one.
·         Ask Mater Dei’s coaching staff if they go with light, medium or heavy starch on their shirts for the SIAC meet.  Then, find me and give me the answer.  I want to know.
·         In spite of their heavy Castle bias, 1gold, backtothemat, todddfoxxx (Triple D, Triple X) and bluebolt1 are actually pretty congenial guys that would love to talk wrestling with you.  
·         Bob Harmon will have his beard freshly-trimmed and a stern countenance.
·         My daughter, Hookticia, will be matside complaining about how the yellow mats screw up her photography.
·         Ask Larry Mattingly “What is going on?”  I’ll bet he will have an easy smile and a great story to tell you.
·         Mater Dei’s fans will take issue with at least one of the referee’s calls.  The balance of the fans will take issue with the fact that MD fans have an issue.
·         JonH will be imbibing a libation from a can marked “Ski”, but he will not share.
·         Some folks will be offended by my nicknames.  I have no choice in the matter, as my fan(s) (sometimes one, sometimes two) demand jocular comments and pithy analysis.  Everything I do, I do for my fans.  Or fan.

Invite The Real Deal Holyfield Triple B to cover the South. Tired of hearing about the North. <~ being sarcastic . Lol

Well thats it then. No more rankings on this site. Thanks for setting us straight.

By 1956, New Albany, Bloomington, Evansville Central, Reitz and Mater Dei fielded wrestling teams.  The powers of the 17-member Southern Indiana Athletic Conference decided that a field of five was enough to hold a post-season tournament.
 
Bloomington High, a perennial powerhouse and annual State Champion title threat, was coached by Indiana legend, Clifford “Two-Bit” Myers.  The beastly Bloomington team captured the first two team titles.
 
Phil Thrasher’s New Albany spoiled the party for Myers in 1958 and 1959, snatching the title from the Panthers.
 
Thrasher, an Indiana Hall of Fame coach and still second on the State’s all-time wins list, traded wins with Myers until 1965 when Evansville Reitz managed a tie with New Albany.  An expanded field of ten teams did nothing to dent the Bulldogs’ fortunes as Thrasher claimed titles through 1968. 
 
Don Henry’s Reitz Panthers broke through, claiming the SIAC title in 1969 and 1970, becoming the first Evansville school to claim an outright SIAC title.
 
In his 16th year at the helm of Mater Dei, Joe Gossman boldly proclaimed his Wildcats would win the 1971 SIAC title.  Gossman had strength in numbers, as Gossman had 60 boys on his team—in a school with a total male population of 175.  Dave Macke, Tom Jankowski, Gene Scott and Jim Schroeder delivered titles as Mater Dei placed ten wrestlers and nudged second-place Evansville Harrison by 19 points.  Evansville Rex Mundi was third, followed by Bosse, Memorial, Reitz, New Albany, Mt. Vernon, Central, Jasper, Tell City, Castle, Washington, North Knox, Boonville and North.
 
Mater Dei dominated until 1975, when the Jasper Wildcats claimed their first title. 
 
The 1976 SIAC was in the third year of a new conference tourney format.  The old format—a one day tournament with 19 teams—was deemed to be unwieldy.  Four qualifying satellite meets were held, with the winners advancing to a championship event at Central.  The satellite matchups were by blind draw; the two best wrestlers sometimes met in the first round with the loser eliminated.  Gossman and Central’s Tommy Turner did not like it one bit.
 
“All the tough teams are in one bracket,” groused Gossman.  “Mater Dei, North and Central will knock each other off.  Reitz (In the Castle satellite) has a shoo-in.”
“Our thirds and fourths are better than Jasper’s firsts and seconds,” agreed Turner.
 
Under the format, Reitz asserted itself, putting the Panthers back in the winner’s circle. 
 
The 1978 SIAC satellite qualifier at Mt. Vernon began on an ominous note.  En route to Mt. Vernon, the Mater Dei bus, piloted by Joe Gossman, hit an icy patch and spun off the road.
 
“No big deal,” claimed Tim Boots.  “We got out and pushed.”
 
During the meet, the weather continued to deteriorate, rendering roads impassable.  As a result, the teams from Mater Dei, Castle, Harrison and Central—along with 75 fans—spent the evening at Mt. Vernon High School. 
 
“We thought it was going to be a great night,” claimed John Schroeder.  “There were a number of cheerleaders and mat maids for the other schools that had to stay.  Suter enough, they put all of the girls on lock down.  There was no way to get to them.”
 
“The only action we had was Goebel’s (Mike Goebel, the head wrestling coach at Castle) boys throwing buckets of snowball at us,” said Tim Boots.
 
Record snowfall made the Saturday final impossible.  The will to complete the meet was irresistible, therefore, the SIAC coaches decided to hold the final on a Wednesday following the regional.  To add additional spice, the finals were wrestled before the third place matches.  As Mater Dei held a 3.5 point lead over Reitz, after the final, the consolation matches held special importance.  The Wildcats held serve and claimed a 7.5 point win over their arch-rivals.
 
Another blizzard hit Evansville in 1980.  The 1979 meet left a bad taste in the mouths of many, so the coaches decided to scrub the 1980 affair.
 
In 1981, following a mass exodus of SIAC schools, the event returned to a single-day event held at Castle.  Riding titles by Chris Wildeman, Jeff Parkinson, Joe Bassemier and Matt Crowe, Mike Goebel’s Wildcats claimed a 37.5 win over the second-place Reitz Panthers.
 
Winning the SIAC tournament from 1980-1993, the incumbent Wildcats faced a serious challenge it 1994.  The SIAC meet was regarded as the toughest ever, featuring second-ranked Mater Dei, fourth-ranked Central and the sixth-ranked Castle Knights.  “Close, but no cigar” came to an end as Grodie Crick’s Central Bears ended Mater Dei’s hammerlock on the SIAC, edging the ‘Cats 205.5 to 204.5.
 
“This is a tremendous boost for our program,” said Crick, in his first-ever win over Mater Dei.
 
The Bears accomplished the victory in the most dramatic fashion.  Trailing Mater Dei in the team score, Central’s Josh Crick took the mat against Castle’s undefeated Patrick Mayes.  Shaking off two previous losses to Mayes, Crick dominated, winning 8-3 and locking up the team title for Central.
 
Mater Dei won the title back in 1995 and set a new mark for SIAC tournament performance in 2003, winning 13 weight classes.  Claiming 13 champs and a third, the Wildcats lost one match on the day.
 
An extremely tough field entered the 2010 SIAC meet, with Reitz finding itself with a fifth-state ranking while Mater Dei was regarded as sixth and Castle was seventh.  Reitz coach Scott Ferguson was riding high going into the meet.  Ferguson, a former Castle wrestler, had claimed a January dual meet victory over Mater Dei—his first as a wrestler or coach.  Reitz’s depth won the day, as all fourteen wrestlers placed while Bryan Kuhn, Trevor Moody, Derek Dowdy and Blake Rueger claimed titles.
 
On the eve of its 60th annual meet, the SIAC championships are alive and well.  Expect upsets, fiery coaches, long-standing rivalries, surprise domination—and highly partisan fan bases.
 
SIAC Titles:  Mater Dei- 39, New Albany- 8, Reitz- 5, Bloomington High- 5, Central- 1, Jasper- 1.

Annakin (Castle 113) will be making his season debut this Saturday after being released this week from an elbow stress fracture.

Annakin (Castle 113) will be making his season debut this Saturday after being released this week from an elbow stress fracture.

Mater Dei won 65-3.  Luigs bumped up to 126 and beat Craig 8-0.  Mater Dei's backup 120 lost 6-4.

Annakin (Castle 113) will be making his season debut this Saturday after being released this week from an elbow stress fracture.

Dowell Castle is the favorite @170

Red is one of the best pound for pound guys in the nation.  I know it doesn't seem like it in the confines of our state, but it would be a significant upset if the match takes place and Lee wins.  I don't think Red would run away from Lee by any means, but I would expect a controlled 4-0 or 5-2 type of victory.  Let's hope Lee heals up fast so we can find out!

If Lee is healthy....6-4 Lee

Little Giants Claim Runner-Up Honors at NWCA Duals
Story Links ROUND-BY-ROUND RESULTS The Wabash wrestling team captured its best finish in school history at the National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals, placing second overall. 
The Little Giants earned a spots in the championship match after scoring a 25-12 win over Concordia-Moorhead before facing five-time Duals champion Wartburg in the finals. The top-ranked Warhawks claimed their sixth straight title with a 28-12 result.
 
"I can't say enough about how the guys competed today," Wabash head coach Brian Anderson said. "They believed in themselves this weekend and fought hard. This was a great performance for them as a team. A National Duals runner-up finish is something the program can feel good about and build from the rest of the season. I'm very proud of everyone."
 
Wabash faced a Concordia-Moorhead team that had posted wins in head-to-head meetings at the Duals over the Little Giants each of the past two seasons. Wabash trailed 6-0 after two matches before winning the next seven bouts to end the Cobbers' winning streak. Michael Venezia triggered the consecutive wins by scoring a 6-3 decision at 141 pounds. Tim Locksmith, absent from the Wabash lineup the past two years due to injuries, continued his impressive return to action by taking a 3-2 victory at 149 pounds.
 
"I felt great being able to help the team out on the mat rather than driving the van," Locksmith said. "As important as the 'behind-the-scenes' stuff is to the team, it's so much more satisfying being able to directly contribute to the wrestling team's success."
 
Nick Bova scored a 3-1 overtime win at 157 pounds to put Wabash in front 9-6, providing the first lead in the match. Connor Brummett made certain the Little Giants did not relinquish the advantage, winning 4-1 in his 165-pound bout. Ethan Farmerpicked up four points with a major decision at 174 pounds before Riley Lefever added another pin to his season totals, flattening his opponent at the 3:45 mark of their 184-pound contest to lock up the win for the Little Giants. Brett Thummpicked up the final victory with a 4-2 decision at 197 pounds.
 
"(Scoring the match-clinching pin) wasn't nearly as exciting as the energy I felt from our team, which kept building after each match and gave me the confidence to do what I did this weekend," Lefever said. It was such a great opportunity and capitalizing on it was something I could not have done without my teammates, our coaches, and our fans."
 
Wabash scored three wins in the final match versus Wartburg, none bigger than the victory by sophomore and  133-pound 2015 national qualifier Devin Broukal. The second-year competitor faced last year's national champion at 149 pounds, Kenneth Martin. Broukal, filling in for Locksmith in the heavier weight class in the finals, scored a hard-fought 5-4 win to score the first team points for the Little Giants.
 
"I didn't want my first chance to wrestle in the National Duals to end in a loss," Broukal said. "I had nothing to lose having bumped up a weight. I wanted to leave it all out there. After the match it was pretty exciting to see the team and fans cheering. Knocking off the returning national champ was definitely a confidence boost for me. I know there's no one I can't beat this year if I stay focused."
 
Lefever picked up a forfeit at 184 pounds prior to a 6-3 win by Thumm at 197 pounds for the Little Giants at 197 pounds.
 
The runner-up finish by Wabash followed a fourth-place finish last year at Duals.

219-DaRegion would be a good ph# to have then.
 
Thanks!

Willis (Castle) and Craig (Reitz) face each other @126 this Sat.

Topic of a lot of contention in Northwest Indiana! Lake and porter counties are adamant that they are the only "region" schools, even Lake county schools often don't like to include Porter county schools in "da region". The sense is that the urban areas take it as a badge of honor that doesn't extend to the rural areas of southern Lake county and they would never include Jasper and Newton counties in the Region, but Wikipedia would disagree https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Indiana
If you include the entire 219 area code you greatly extend the size of the region. If you look at the region as the metropolitan areas surrounding The southside of Chicago you limit it to Northern Lake county. This could probably be a sociology thesis if someone really wanted to get into it

Like any other individual tournament

And there it is!!! Worms everywhere

Just another example why there should be wrestle backs at Semi-State!!

A lot of respect for Hildebrandt. It's tough that his likely state-championship senior season will have one loss that wasn't even to somebody in the same weight or state as his... But willing to put your undefeated season on the line by bumping up to wrestle the #11(Flo) guy in the country and keeping it tight, when the meet was all but decided and probably would have had a win at 120, shows a lot of guts. Congrats Drew, really pulling for you at 120 this year.
 
Even though the outcome was brutal, congrats to Harper and the rest of the Penn organization for making it happen. Scheduling some of the best competition in the country can get ugly, but hopefully it will help an already great Indiana program transform into a great national program assuming they keep going after schools like this in the future.