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RAJR

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    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Who Gets In? A Full Weekend Rundown of NCAA Qualification Chances for 18 ex-Indiana High-Schoolers   
    By Adrian Troyer
     
    March 8 to 10 is conference tournament weekend in NCAA Division 1 college wrestling. This is intense in terms of medals and bragging rights--but it is arguably an even bigger deal in the national context. Every one of the 750+ college kids that takes the mat gets a shot to qualify for the biggest wrestling show in America—the NCAA Division 1 National Championships.
     
    Here is a full rundown by conference of each seed, weight class context, and advancement possibility for the 18 participants who were Indiana high school wrestlers:
     
    Atlantic Coast Conference
    Sunday, March 10, on ACCN and ACCN Extra (access through ESPN+)
    Brackets: here
     
    Connor Barket, 285, Duke (West Lafayette), redshirt freshman
    Seed: 5 of 6, NCAA Allocations: 2, Rank: 42 (WrestleStat, starters only)
    Connor has made huge strides this year as the full-time Duke starter, but he will struggle in a weight class that boasts 4 guys ranked in the Top 33 by InterMat with only 2 NCAA allocation spots available. He’ll need to first upset #13 Dayton Pitzer of Pitt (whose injury the past 2 months explains one of the missing allocation spots) in the quarterfinals before he’d also need to upset the 1-seed, #14 Owen Trephan of NC State, to reach the final and an NCAA bid.
    NCAA Prospectus: Not likely.
     
    Southern Conference
    Saturday, March 9, on ESPN+
    Brackets: here
     
    Blake Boarman, 133, Tennessee-Chattanooga (Ev. Mater Dei), redshirt sophomore
    Seed: 3 of 8, NCAA Allocations: 3, Rank: 31 (InterMat)
    Blake has burst onto the scene this year in his move down from 141 to 133. He’s ranked in all the national services and earned one of his conference’s allocation spots. He’ll start his tournament against the 6-seed, George Rosas of The Citadel, who he beat, 9-1, in the dual. He’d then likely see the 2-seed, Ethan Oakley of App State, who he upset by fall in the dual in his biggest win of the year. A win there would earn an automatic NCAA bid. A loss would put him into the wrestle-backs needing to get 3rd for an automatic bid. Awaiting him there could be a potential matchup with the 5-seed Dyson Dunham of VMI, who handed Blake his only unranked loss of the season, 7-4. Even if Blake were to place 4th or 5th at this tournament, his regular season and current ranking would give him a good chance of an at-large NCAA berth.
    NCAA Prospectus: Very likely
     
    Brodie Porter, 174, The Citadel (Eastern-Greentown), sophomore
    Seed: 5 of 8, NCAA Allocations: 1, Rank: 61 (WrestleStat, starters only)
    Brodie has become a very solid Division 1 competitor in his second year as the starter. Sadly, he’s had two bad losses in-conference—one by Technical Fall to the 4-seed, Uliano of App State, and the other 17-4 to the 1-seed, #19 Murphy of Campbell—and those are the exact two guys he needs to beat to make the final and a shot at the 1st Place that an NCAA bid demands here. He’s got a winning record and only tight losses in his other conference matches, so he could legitimately fight for a top 3 spot in the league.
    NCAA Prospectus: Not likely
     
    Hayden Watson, 157, The Citadel (Center Grove), redshirt freshman
    Seed: 4 of 8, NCAA Allocations: 1, Rank: 48 (WrestleStat, starters only)
    Hayden is a sleeper to get to the NCAA tournament. Like his teammate Porter, he has won about half of his D1 matches this year. However, Hayden’s beaten or been very close with every guy in the bracket—including losing only 12-9 in sudden victory to the 1-seed, #22 Askey of App State. To get to that semifinal, he first needs to knock off the 5-seed, Heck of Chattanooga, who he beat 7-4 during the regular season.
    NCAA Prospectus: Dark horse longshot
     
    Andrew Wilson, 165, Gardner-Webb (Cathedral), redshirt sophomore
    Seed: 6 of 8, NCAA Allocations: 2, Rank: 72 (WrestleStat, starters only)
    Andrew has struggled to string together very many wins in his second year as the G-W starter. He’ll open with the 3-seed, Haubert of The Citadel, who majored him 13-1 during the year. Sadly, Wilson isn’t quite on the level of the top several guys here, so he’ll be looking to make some noise in terms of placement and improvement.
    NCAA Prospectus: Very unlikely
     
    Big Ten Conference
    Saturday/Sunday, March 9-10, on the Big Ten Network and BTN+
    Brackets: here
     
    Silas Allred, 197, Nebraska (Shenandoah), redshirt sophomore
    Seed: 4 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 13 (InterMat)
    With a good seed, a high ranking ensuring an at-large fallback berth, and plenty of slots available; Silas obviously has his sights set higher than an NCAA berth this weekend. He’ll be looking to generate some of that Big 10 magic he produced during a title run last year, while building confidence for an All-American run at nationals. He’ll start this tournament against Striggow of Michigan, who he dominated this season, before a potential matchup with #20 Garrett Joles of Minnesota in the quarterfinals. Silas beat Joles, 4-1 in sudden victory, during the season.
    NCAA Prospectus: Certain, barring injury
     
    Evan Bates, 197, Northwestern (Chesterton), redshirt sophomore
    Seed: 8 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 34 (WrestleStat, starters only)
    In terms of seed, Evan is right outside the cut line for getting an automatic bid at this weight. He would be clearly in the conversation for an at-large bid with his Coaches’ Rank and RPI numbers being in the Top 33, but it sure would be nice to place in the Top 7 here and seal it. He’ll start with 9-seed Vanadia of Purdue, who he beat, 11-4, in the dual. Even though he’d almost certainly fall then to #1 Brooks of Penn St. in the quarterfinals, that first round win would go a long way in keeping him in a good bracketed spot to eventually face 6-seed Geog of Ohio St. and 7-seed Poznanski of Rutgers in potential NCAA bid-winning matches.
    NCAA Prospectus: Fifty-fifty
     
    Brody Baumann, 174, Purdue (Ev. Mater Dei), redshirt freshman
    Seed: 10 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 8, Rank: 32 (InterMat)
    Brody has become a solid starter in his first year in the spot, but he’s got work to do to claim an NCAA bid. He’ll need to win one or two above his 10 seed depending on how the bracket and true finisher matchups come out. He lost during the year to seeds 7, 8, and 9 above him, but he gets a gigantic rematch right out of the gate with 7-seed, #15 Max Maylor of Wisconsin, who beat Brody, 19-16, in a crazy one in the dual.
    NCAA Prospectus: Possible, but work to do
     
    Lucas Davison, 285, Michigan (Chesterton), senior
    Seed: 3 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 6 (InterMat)
    Lucas is one of a few basically automatic qualifiers from Indiana. He would need a season-ending injury not to get a berth, one way or another. He starts with Hayden Filipovich of Purdue in Round 1 and is probably hoping for a shot to avenge his loss to 2-seed Feldman of Ohio State eventually, and to meet #1 Kerkvliet in the final.
    NCAA Prospectus: Certain
     
    Hayden Filipovich, 285, Purdue (Indy Lutheran), redshirt sophomore
    Seed: 14 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 37 (WrestleStat, starters only)
    Hayden actually made great strides at 184 this year and picked up a couple of very nice wins as the backup. However, stepping into Big 10s as the backup way up at 285, having only had one previous match at the weight, will be a crazy endeavor. He’ll start with fellow Indiana native, 3-seed Davison of Michigan. I’m sure Hayden’s main goal for this tournament will be continuing to build for the future.
    NCAA Prospectus: Far longshot
     
    Brayton Lee, 157, Indiana (Brownsburg), senior
    Seed: 3 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 9, Rank: 15 (InterMat)
    Brayton has had a fantastic comeback run here. Certainly all of Indiana will be pulling for the former Mr. Gorilla to make one final attempt at All-American glory. He starts this tournament against 14-seed Swaw of Illinois before he’d probably see the 6-seed, #20 Saldate of Michigan St. If he gets past those two, he’s most likely back at nationals. The only iffy thing here is always Lee’s health. If he has any issues and stumbles to a 12th place or something in a very deep weight class, he could get left out of the NCAA field with his very limited late-season résumé.
    NCAA Prospectus: Probable
     
    Diego Lemley, 141, Michigan (Chesterton), freshman
    Seed: 5 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 11, Rank: 10 (InterMat)
    We’ll give Diego honorary Indiana status here for the great one-season run he had in our tournament during the covid year (and for being from here!!). Diego is one of the breakout stars of NCAA wrestling. He’ll have many eyes on him for his style and his ability to beat anybody in the country at nationals. He starts out here versus 12-seed Clark of Purdue before a potential rematch of a high-flying, super-tight loss to 4-seed Brock Hardy of Nebraska.
    NCAA Prospectus: Almost certain
     
    Jesse Mendez, 141, Ohio St. (Crown Point), sophomore
    Seed: 2 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 11, Rank: 2 (InterMat)
    Jesse has evolved into a true title contender this year. He’ll be happy with nothing less than a championship in a couple of weeks. He gets a shot here at his first Big 10 title, and to resume the wars at this brutal Big 10 weight class. He’ll probably get 7-seed Moore of Rutgers in the quarterfinals after his first-round bye.
    NCAA Prospectus: Certain
     
    Cayden Rooks, 133, Indiana (Columbus East), senior
    Seed: 10 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 57 (WrestleStat, starters only)
    Cayden has held down the fort admirably for a long time now, so he’ll be hoping to go out with a bang. He’ll most likely need two clear upsets to get an automatic spot. An at-large spot won’t be possible. He starts with the 7-seed, #17 Braxton Brown, who beat him handily during the year. An upset would be put him clearly in the conversation. If he loses that one, it will be a serious uphill climb.
    NCAA Prospectus: Unlikely
     
    Graham Rooks, 149, Indiana (Columbus East), senior
    Seed: 8 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 9, Rank: 13 (InterMat)
    Graham’s back, hoping to make another run and to get over the hump to All-American status at nationals. For this tournament, he’ll be aiming to at least hold serve and get one of the 9 automatic berths. He starts with the 9-seed, Roberts of Minnesota, before a potential matchup with the very tough 1-seed, Ridge Lovett of Nebraska.
    NCAA Prospectus: Almost certain
     
    Gabe Sollars, 197, Indiana, (Ev. Mater Dei), sophomore
    Seed: 10 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 33 (InterMat)
    Gabe put himself on the map this year, basically pinning everyone in sight for the first half of the season. He still sits near the top of the national pin leaderboard. In terms of wins and losses, he’s been impressive, but this weight is another stacked one. He’s right on that cut line with Evan Bates and a couple other guys. His first match against 7-seed Poznanski of Rutgers feels like a must-win toward getting one of those 7 automatic berths, or to at least come very close so he can be in the at-large conversation. If he won he’d face the 2-seed, #4 Jaxon Smith of Maryland, in the quarterfinals.
    NCAA Prospectus: Fifty-fifty
     
    DJ Washington, 174, Indiana (Portage), redshirt junior
    Seed: 8 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 8, Rank: 25 (InterMat)
    DJ started the season as strong as ever and looking like an All-American candidate. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been himself lately, so he’ll be looking to right the ship off of the long pre-tournament layoff. He’s right on the cut line for the automatic bid, but he probably has a small bit of cord to play with because of his ranking numbers if he falls outside the Top 8 here. He’ll look to wrap up the bid here, though, starting with the 9-seed, #30 Sparks of Minnesota. He'd then have #1-ranked Starocci in an exciting potential quarterfinal matchup.
    NCAA Prospectus: Probable
     
    Nick Willham, 285, Indiana (Greenwood), senior
    Seed: 6 of 14, NCAA Allocations: 7, Rank: 36 (WrestleStat, starters only)
    Nick has stepped up admirably into the 285 slot at IU. He’s flirted with the edge of the rankings, but he’s just outside at the moment. It will be a war for those number 5 to 12 placements at this weight, where anyone involved could go to nationals or be biting their fingernails hoping for an at-large bid. Nick starts off with 11-seed Jessen of Northwester, who he just edged in a very tight one, 2-1, a couple of weeks ago. If he wins, he’ll be breathing slightly more easily and head to a likely matchup with Lucas Davison.
    NCAA Prospectus: Fifty-fifty
  2. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2024 Evansville Semi-State Preview   
    TRIPLE_B EVANSVILLE SEMI-STATE SPECTACULAR PREVIEW!!!!!!
     
    This year Trips will hit turn the big 4-4 on Saturday, Mrs 3B will be in attendance for her first SS ever, will this be the greatest Evansville SS of all time?? Dirty brackets, blood round matches that feel like your cutting fresh onions, and all around excitement will fill The FORD Saturday February 10th. 
     
    Evansville is THE BEST Semi-State in the land!! 224 wrestlers will be battling for 56 Golden tickets to Indy…..errrr…. Back to Evansville!!! Out of those 224, 138 are Semi-State ranked and 98, I Said 98 (!!!!!!) are ranked in the IndianaMat State Rankings!! Lawwwwwdy have Mercy!!!! This might be the big one Elizabeth!!!! 
     
    Here’s some quotes from my rankers…. Just in case you needed more convincing of the bloodbath that is Evansville:
     
    “The land encompassing Evansville was formally relinquished by the Delaware Indians in 1805 to General William Henry Harrison, then the governor of the Indiana Territory, and the namesake of Evansville’s Harrison High School.  On Saturday should anyone surrender a late takedown, escape or back points, they will find themselves relinquishing a spot on the podium.  Faltering in the first couple of rounds will likely mean a one-way ticket to palookaville.”
     
    “There is going to be some blood shed this weekend. Dirty South has some match-ups that just plain SAY'S Wrestle back are NEEDED!!!! Damn Travesty! EVSS has 8 Brackets with 3 Top 25 Ranked wrestlers & the other Semi-States combined only have 9..
    So yes, if you make it out of the South 
    "You are a BAD Dude" pain and simple!!  Go Dirty South”
     
    “Some of these were tough. I HATE these freakin' draws man! Evansville gets screwed. Crown Point looks amazing with their 'easy' draws. BB and CG get picked apart down in the toughest semi state.”
     
    In other words…… WE BUILT DIFFERENT!!!!!!



     
    House keeping items - 
     
    Here is the link for the Indianamat Semi-State Hub - 
     
    https://indianamat.com/index.php?/articles.html/high-school-news/2024-semi-state-information-center-r1358/
     
    From our former inside man Markio - Ford Arena info:
     
    NEW DOOR ENTRY PROCESS FOR WRESTLERS SEE UNDERLINED INFO BELOW

     
    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 rear double doors on 6th Street near the corner of 6th Street and Bob Jones Way.  You will pick up your credentials here. The only coolers allowed are for wrestlers and must enter at the check in table through the rear wrestlers entrance door. 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.   
    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.
     
    Rankings will be featured like such (State Rank/SS Rank)
     
    A big shout out to Navy80, BigToe19, DuckTails (Wooohoo!), Hook&Half 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. 

     
    106: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/10
     
    (19/7) David Alstadt crumbled this bracket up last week at Regionals and tossed it in the can. We have several great opening matches and the ticket round matches should all be competitive and great for the fans. 8 State ranked wrestlers will be competing for the 4 spots. This weight class has it all! The winner of Malone/Byrd will be the favorite, no offense Wildcat nation, and really after what we saw last weekend this weight could be wide open. Alstadt/Goelz/Jessup/Ogle/Malone/Byrd could all win or can lose in the ticket round. I’m not sure we’ve seen 106 so up for grabs in a long time!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - There’s not alot on paper here. Let’s go with 2 great programs and 2 SS ranked wrestlers - Bloomington South’s (SS10) Jaxsen Jean and Brownsburg’s (12/5) Eli Ogle. Jean ranked 10th in the SS and Ogle is ranked 5th, both coaches know how to get their kids ready.
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - We aren’t gonna wait long for blood rounds… soooo HERE….WE….GO…. Monrovia has been known for putting out quality kids and Freshman Royce Malone will look to continue the hammers the Bulldogs. Washington Senior Brady Byrd ran off 42 straight wins…. Until getting upset last week at Regionals by Mater Dei’s David Alstadt. This now sets up a turrrrible draw… as (6/3) Malone will take on (4/2) Byrd. A Frosh vs a Senior… LETSSS GOOOOOO
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Switzerland County has been building a reputation in the southeast part of the state for a few years. Sophomore Ethan Rose is making his second trip to the FORD, can he become the first Pacer to punch their ticket to state? He does have a favorable draw by avoiding all the top ranked guys!
     
    The Hook&Half DL:  “Brownsburg’s Eli Ogle will pull off two—count ‘em—two upsets en route to the semis, where he will meet the winner of EMD’s David Atlstadt and Avon’s Mason Goelz.  It’s a crying shame; in opposite brackets you could be looking at a finals match between the Oriole and the Wildcat.”
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Royce Malone Monrovia, Mason Goelz Avon, Talon Jessup Columbus East, Joey Hamilton Center Grove
     
    113: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/9
     
    The 4 quarter brackets at 113 couldn’t look anymore different. 2 brackets feature locks in returning state champ (1/1) Revin Dickman from Brownsburg and his counterpart Avon’s (2/2) Nate Rioux. The other 2 feature first round matches that could determine the 3rd place match. Which we’ll cover below. The big story: can the Castle Regional crash the Mooresville Party?
     
    Also: Despite having a returning state champ, we do not have our first LOCK (Momma2Dickmans don’t try to fight me in the hotel lobby again). Can Rioux get one on Dickman? They’ve wrestled 1,000,453 times… and both are in the same room in the offseason at Contenders, if anyone knows Revin, it’s Nate. Could Saturday be the day?
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Now business is about to pick up!! 2 Fab Frosh from down South looks to end the season of 2 Juniors from the Mooresville Regional. In our first match up (10/3) Jr. Brennan Leonard from Martinsville gets Mater Dei’s (8/4) Freshman Caleb Schaefer. Schaefer is ranked higher in the state, Leonard is ranked higher in the semi-state. What a match!!
     
    Our other first round match of state ranked wrestlers features Freshman (24/7) Wyatt Ulrey of Boonville taking on Junior (19/5) Gavin Ash of Monrovia. Will this be our first Mooresville 4 over a 1? It probably won’t be our last. 
     
    Can the Castle Regional Freshman send home the Mooresville Juniors?  
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - See Leonard/Schaefer above. Two top 10 state ranked wrestlers going at it in the first round is absurd. These two should be wrestling next Friday at the Ford!!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. The “Other Guys”. After winning those first round matches will the victors look past Eli Collier from Owen Valley and Tom Nguyen from New Albany? Let me tell you, if they do, their day will end pretty quick!
     
    Also a shoutout to my man Ethan “Eazy E” Pittman, Madison Freshman and Regional Champ. I don’t know who that kid’s youth coach was,but if I was a young wrestler in Southern Indiana, I’d find that guy….. Oh yeah, I’m THAT GUY!
     
    Ford Fab 4 -  Revin Dickman Brownsburg, Nate Rioux Avon, Caleb Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei, Gavin Ash Monrovia
     
    120: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/11
     
    Let’s pour more gas on this fire!! All 4 quarter final matchups will feature 8 state ranked wrestlers with 2 of those matches pitting top 10 ranked wrestlers against each other!!!  120 also features one of the worst Turrible Draws of all time. This weight class is so loaded, we have 2 top ten ticket round matches!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - A pair of super sophomores will be battling it out early. Heritage Hills Berke Eisenhauer brings a stunning 41-4 record into this match and will be battling it out with Edgewood’s John Orman. Both of these lads are battle tested and the winner gets…. Returning state champ Charlie LaRocca. But I digress, enjoy this match as it’s a warm up for the quarters!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Ohhhhh boy…. When Brownsburg’s Preston Haines lost in Regionals last week, every single regional started buzzing, we all knew what was gonna happen. A Haines/Hendeson ticket round match. We will get a state ranked top 4 match, in the ticket round. This just isn’t fair. Henderson got the big pinfall dub at State duals over Haines. Can Hendo do it again-o?  This match is so big it overshadows the other top 10 matchup of Walter Hagerdorn from Tell City and Isaac Ash of Monrovia. 
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Floyd Central Freshman Tony Kessinger. Dude is mean and built different. He will draw a familiar foe in Corydon’s Jayden Owsley in the quarter finals. Two of Isaac Knable’s Invicta grapplers going at it with a trip to state on the line.
     
    Ford Fab 4: Charlie LaRocca Center Grove, Ty Henderson Evansville Mater Dei, Isaac Ash Monrovia, Tony Kessinger Floyd Central
     
    126: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/10
     
    126 has it all, but the word is disparity as we got our first unranked quarter bracket, 2 big state ranked ticket round matches and our first of 8 First Ford Tough Locks!! I love the unranked quarterbrackets, sheer chaos and every kid wrestling like crazy. What makes this semi-state great is brackets like 126. 
     
    Isaiah Schaefer also looks to join his pops as an IHSAA state champion with being our first FORD Tough Lock!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 2 state ranked wrestlers will be going at it with in the opening round. Returning state qualifier and #6 ranked Dominic Brown will meet up with Terre Haute South’s 19th ranked Nathan Bryan. Terre Haute has been on a tear the last few years and Brown is in that tough Center Grove room. This match should deliver!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Speaking of Dom Brown, if he’s successful against Bryan, it will set up another top state ranked match up in the quarters as #1 ranked Isiah Schaefer will be waiting. Here’s what I know - Schaefer is a two time state medalists and has that Schaefer dog in him. Brown is in a room full of medalists and hammers. Schaefer had a quick fall at team state and that can’t sit well w/ Brown. 
     
    Switzerland County’s Peyton Richards brings in a stunning 84-1 career record into Sem–State, as a sophomore! His one loss was last year to Eddie Goss in the ticket round. This year the Pacer has Avon’s Luke Rioux. Rioux, a former state medalists, lost a tough 5-4 to eventual state runner up Jackson Heaston. It’s #11 vs #3 and maybe not a turrrrible draw, but a match for sure to watch!
     
     
    Don’t sleep on…. The bottom quarter bracket, someone is gonna “sneak” thru, the early favorite is Floyd Central’s Fynn Douglas. But Heritage Hills has a one loss Freshman in Eli Hedges that could also get through. The only SS ranked wrestler in this bracket is a “Mooresville 4” in Greenwood’s Keegan Murray. And Jeff is like Charlie Puth… .they are… headlock….away!
     
    Ford Tough Lock: Isaiah Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei
     
    Ford Fab 4: Isaiah Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei, Braylon Reynolds Brownsburg, Luke Rioux Avon, Fynn Douglas Floyd Central
     
    132: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/10
     
    Mooresville is known for bringing absolute studs to Evansville. 2 terms have been coined because of the strength of the Mooresville Regional - The Mooresville Sweep and The Mooresville 4. We might see both here as Mooresville looks to sweep the top 4 spots and possibly our first Mooresville 4th place finisher sends a regional champ packing!
     
    132 also features our next LOCK but we will keep that a secret for now! SUSPENSEFUL!!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers -  An interesting quarter-bracket where a “Mooresville 4” is favored to win, but when you really look at it anybody can! Mt Vernon Sophomore Jayden Stillwagoner brings a regional championship and 32-4 record from the always tough Castle Regional while Keith Parker brings a state ranking of 13th and is a top 4 SS ranked wrestler. In the other match up. SS #12 Keegan Jochim of Franklin will take on (23/8) Hunter Banet of Floyd Central. Who’s one of those 4 losses STillwagoner has to? Hunter Banet!!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - There are no real “Turrible Draws” if we go by criteria. We do have 2 seniors w/ phenomenal records that look to be victims of the dreaded Mooresville Regional. Terre Haute South’s Josiah Dedeaux (16/5) will go at it with Avon’s (10/3) Quentin Schoeff. Josiah has put together a great body of work. Schoeff is an Oriole from Avon and the young Oriole has had a great season. What happens when these two meet up is anyone’s guess!  The other Senior is Scottsburg’s Kellan Carter. A truly great story of toughness and grit, after missing his Junior season the Warrior from Scottsburg has put in work. He wrestled over 70 matches in the off season and has grinded non-stop. Last weekend at regionals he was upended by Columbus North Freshman (coughTripleBtrainedcough) Cohen Long. The bracket god weren’t kind w/ Carter drawing 2x state champ and Oklahoma Sooner commit Jake Hockaday in the ticket round!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. It’s a turrible draw, but gotta give love to Former RoughNeck and one of TripleB OG’s - Cohen Long. The Columbus North Freshman grabbed him a regional title last weekend and will get (2/4) Eddie Goss in the ticket round!
     
    Ford Tough Lock: Jake Hockaday Brownsburg
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Jake Hockaday Brownsburg, Eddie Goss Center Grove, Quinten Schoeff Avon, Keith Parker Ben Davis
     
    138: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 9/11
     
    We have another LOCK at 138 but after Brady Ison, this weight class will be fun. After proving the doubters (myself included) wrong, no one is questioning Brady this year! A Syra/Thornton ticket round match had the rankers at odds. Tons of possible sleepers litter this bracket. Some state ranked first round matches. Don’t miss 138 on Saturday!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker -  Let’s look at state ranked match ups in the first round. The first one is Columbus East’s (22/7) Kaleb Kirkpatrick taking on (16/12) Camden Baumann from Evansville Mater Dei. It’s OTR’s rankings vs TripleB’s rankings as Kirkpatrick is ranked higher in the semi-state but Baumann is higher in the state rankings. Grrrrrrr!!! 
     
    The other state ranked draw is Floyd Central Junior (23/8) Vince Kessinger taking on (15/4) Seth Syra of Avon. Syra has all eyes on a rematch with Justice Thornton but if he’s caught dreaming of Justice…. Vinny take out his knees!!! Heeeeyyyy!!!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Speaking of the Syra/Thornton rematch. This was a ticket rounder a year ago and it was a banger!! Thornton won a late reversal and fought off a last second takedown attempt by Syra. Syra got redemption at IHPO with a pinfall victory. Syra is 2-1 in head to heads, can Justice prevail this time?!?!!?
     
    Don’t sleep on….Landon Horning - Evansville Memorial, with all eyes on the team race and William Vander Luitgaren getting all the love from the rankers, can Horning spoil the Sophomores run in the ticket round? This is a battle built for Ancient Greece, the Tiger vs the Trojan!!! 
     
    Ford Tough Lock: Brady Ison Brownsburg
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Brady Ison Brownsburg, Justice Thornton Columbus North, Chase Stephens Tell City, William Vander Luitgaren Center Grove 
     
    144: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/11
     
    We are on LOCKdown as we have another LOCK, Reese Courtney will look to hold COURT on 144! The rankers actually all liked the same 4 but just in some different orders. Almost a chalk weight for the crew. Parker Reynolds will look to overcome his ticket round upset last year and he continues to show his resolve after off season health issues (look up the article on IndianaMat!). Can Branson Weaver crash this party?? Find out Saturday!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - A rematch from the Hoosier Hills Conference finals highlights the opening matches at 144. Columbus East Caleb Cooper (19/7) has won just about everything this year - Columbus Invite, HHC, Sectionals, and Regionals. The Olympian grappler will have to get by a game Webster (SS10) to keep his run going. This match was 4-2 back in January. The Bulldog Senior will not want his season to end with another loss to Cooper!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Bloomington South’s Wyatt Cooksey (13/4) has been chasing Branson Weaver of Owen Valley all post season. He’s yet to cook up the recipe to knock him off and that has left him w/ turrible draw of returning state runner-up and #1 ranked Reese Courtney of Center Grove! Yet another ticket round match of top 4 ranked SS guys.
     
    Don’t sleep on…. This weight class was hard, lots of good kids. Last year I cursed Gabe Rose w/ the TripleB Guarantee so I’ll stay away from that. I’ve gotten several texts about this freshman from Gibson Southern. However, I’m going to go w/ one of the favorites; Owen Valleys Branson Weaver. With the #1 and #2 wrestlers in the state, Weaver will get overlooked. He is a returning SQ and has the tools to WEAVE together an impressive day Saturday. Everyone says 144 is the most wide open weight at state and I think we might also see that trickle down to Semi-State also!
     
    FORD Tough Lock: Reese Courtney Center Grove
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Reese Courtney Center Grove, Parker Reynolds Brownsburg, Branson Weaver Owen Valley, Deacon Dressler Gibson Southern
     
    150: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/10
     
    Nothing much going on at 150, just the top 3 ranked wrestlers in the state and one of them will not be advancing to the IHSAA state finals next weekend! I said 126 featured one of the worst Turrible draws ever, but now it’s #2… How in the world.. Nevermind we will get into it later. We have a lock… that’s not a returning state runner up… 150 is bananas… b-a-n-a-n-a-s…BANANAS!!! 
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - I’ll take Nate “Dogg” Anderson (25/8) vs Griffin “The Col” Sanders (22/6). This match features 2 seniors, with 9 total losses and this bracket really is wide open. The winner puts themselves into the blood round and one more step closer to that golden ticket!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Floyd’s Hunter May is one of the most decorated wrestlers in the state; 3 time state medalist, returning SS champ, Returning state runner up, returning FORD Tough LOCK. You’d think he’d be another Lock, but no fast my friend, the voters are split!! Some like (3/3) Brownsburg’s Tommy Gibbs! That’s not a typo, we have the #2 and #3 ranked wrestlers in the state going at it for a chance to just get into the top 4 at Semi-State. But NOOOOOOOO we don’t need no wrestlebacks! SMDH!!!
     
    Don’t sleep on….The winner of Anderson/Griffin will get Heritage Hills Junior Alex Smith. Smith was in an open bracket last year and took a trip to Greco City, the trip became a nightmare for this Patriot. Look for Smith to get the winner of Anderson/Griffin and not take any exits on his way to the semis!
     
    The Hook&Half DL: “I like North’s Cale Bonenberger.  I hate his draw against CG’s Wyatt Krejsa.  Krejsa wrestles like you kicked his dog.  Equally, Floyd Central fans hate Hunter May’s ticket round draw against Brownsburg Sophomore Tommy Gibbs.  Gibbs is going to let it fly and claim the “V”.”
     
    FORD Tough Lock: Wyatt Kresja Center Grove
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Wyatt Kresja Center Grove, Tommy Gibbs Brownsburg, Tyler Vanover Evansville Mater Dei, Alex Smith Heritage Hills
     
    TRIBLEB GUARANTEE - Not sure why there’s a lack of respect for Hunter May, but he won’t go down without a fight! Donnie Baker and ducktails told me to bet the boat and call Randy because we ain’t coming in Monday! Da Knobs will be rocking and rolling lead by Hunter May and the rest of his state qualifiers teammates!!
     
    157:  State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/10
     
    157 features our first Turrible draw in the first round! Also not a Lock after a few weights of nailing them down. Also the Jeff Regional (for once) and the Mooresville Regional will look to shut out the other 2 regionals here. Silas Stits was as close as one can be to being a LOCK but one ranker was feeling upsets in his bones at 157!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker/Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Let’s just kill 2 birds w/ one stone. We got a first round match featuring our #3 and #4 ranked SS wrestlers. How does this happened\?!?!?! Well it’s old news now, The Mooresville Regional, that’s how this happened. Columbus North’s (9/3)  Asher Ratliff took home a regional championship last weekend and his reward is Martinsville’s (16/4) Evan Hamblin. This match was an 8-6 victory for Ratliff in the regular season. It looks like Hamblin is/was dealing w/ some type of injury. Let’s hope he’s ready to go Saturday!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Indian Creek Freshman Elijah Guyer is the popular pick in his quarter bracket but don’t sleep on Bloomington North’s Cael Hickok. He brings a sectional and regional championship and also is flying under the radar being unranked. The FORD Center might be full of Cougars Saturday, but will Hickok be the luckiest one there?
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Silas Stits Center Grove, Mason Day Brownsburg, Asher Ratliff Columbus North, Elijah Guyer Indian Creek
     
    165: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/10
     
    After a slight opening, we are back on LOCKDOWN! Hey doesn’t it seem like Bloomington South always has “that guy”? This year that guy is Evan Roudebush and he’s the prohibitive favorite at 165. Be on the lookout for a great semi-final match where Indian Creek’s Oliver Hallett will go toe to toe with Roudebush. That match should be great! Hallet just has to survive a TURRIBLE draw in the quarters to get there!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - 2 matches in the 165lb bracket will get the party started for his weight class. Just wait a second on the pulled pork nachos… you got matches to watch!. 
     
    I’ve heard this alot this year “I really like _____” and these names all fit in that sentence: (21/6) Matthew Pegram from Evansville North, (19/8) David Oyebode from Decatur Central, (12/3) Gage Eckels from Ben Davis, and (23/7) Spencer Turner of Evansville Mater Dei. So imagine my happiness when I saw them all pitted together Saturday in the opening round!!! Letssss GOOOOOOO!!!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - We got another top 4 ticket round match… Jeeze Louise!!! Indian Creek Sophmore (8/2) Oliver Hallet will wrestle the winner of Eckels/Turner. While TripleB never counts one of his WildCats out, lets just assume Eckels wins. This match will be great. Eckels is a senior and a returning qualifier, does this Giant have one more Giant match in him? Or can Hallet bring the Giant down to size?
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Can Spencer Turner pull some Mater Magic at the Ford and beat two top ranked SS kids?
     
    FORD Tough Lock: Evan Roudebush Bloomington South
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Evan Roudebush Bloomington South, Jesser Derringer Brownsburg, Coy Bender Terre Haute South, Oliver Hallett Indian Creek

     
    175: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/8
     
    Hey…. did you know that once upon a time Noah Clouser and Bray Emerine were teammates and workout partners? It’s true!!! Is that not a way to set up a potential finals match?? Two old workout partners going at it for a semi-state title on the line?!?!? Probably due to their familiarity and closeness, we don’t have a lock at 175! Will there be a “Mooresville 4” strike also at 175??
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - This first round match up features contest between two wrestlers that’s flown under the radar. Columbus North’s Keller Despain has been in and out of the line up all season with injuries and Brownsburg’s Griffin Cambpell has also had some injuries keep him sidelined. These two seniors will be going at it to try to keep their careers alive!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - The Mooresville Regional Strikes Again!!! This time we will get (9/3) Freshman Phenom Sam Howard of Boonville (51 matches?!?!?) and (14/4) Noah Sumner of Martinsville. Their combined record is 84-5!! TUUUURRRRRIIIBBBLLLEEE
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Columbus East loves pulling seniors out of nowhere and sending them to the big show. This year that could be Tyler Lake. Lake won Regionals last week, giving him the best path to a semi-final appearance. McCloy is the heavy favorite and already owns a pinfall win over Lake. Will McCloy be focused on a potential semi-final match up with Noah Clouser? If so he might drown in the Lake!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Bray Emerine Floyd Central, Noah Clouser Center Grove, Sam Howard Boonville, Cooper McCloy Terre Haute South
     
    190:  State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/10
     
    If there’s one thing this Semi-State delivers, it’s exciting ticket round matches and Turrrible draws. 190 will keep that coming with Goldsberry/McConnell. I won’t spoil anymore, but this match will highlight 190. Also a potential Terry/Henry rematch. Those guys tore down Jeffersonville earlier in the year!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 2 more seniors going at it in the first round and the winner will be the favorite in the quarters. Pike Senior (SS7) Kameron Biven will take on Terre Haute South’s (11/5) Collin Casad. On paper The Brave looks like the favorite but Biven is battle tested and has had some close matches with some high ranked wrestlers. The other first match between state ranked wrestlers is (6/3) Noah Terry vs. (18/6) Braxton Lewis of Cascade. Terry and Gunner Henry are a potential semi-final match and had absolute barn burner (won 8-7 by Henry) back in December. IF Terry is looking past Lewis, we all know Cascade has that magic at Evansville and can certainly drop some upset L’s on people.
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - McConnell/Goldsberry…. Mannnnnnnnn……are you serious right now? Kaden McConnel is the returning state runner up and is currently ranked 2nd to his nemesis from The Burg, Gunner Henry. Jett Goldsberry is a returning SQ and is currently ranked (8/4). These two hammers will meet in the ticket round to determine who advances to the IHSAA State Championships. 
     
    Don’t sleep on…. The aforementioned Kameron Biven
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Gunner Henry Brownsburg, Kaden McConnell Brownsburg, Noah Terry Tell City, Collin Casad Terre Haute South
     
    215:   State ranked/Semi State ranked = 5/9
     
    Another bracket of unranked wrestlers, a Turrible draw and a LOCK all highlight 215! Caden Brewer’s High School story has been one of upsets and redemption, His freshman year he won a sectional and regional and got put out at Semi-State, last year he won sectionals, regionals, semi-state and got knocked out the opening round of state. This year the Bulldog from Brownsburg looks to take that next step as he hopes to climb on the podium in his Junior year, he is the LOCK at 215! From a lock…. To a wide open bracket, which we will discuss below. 215 will be a great weight class come Saturday!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - We have a quarter bracket w/ zero ranked state wrestlers and only one ranked SS wrestler. Keep your eyes on Kellen Fellure (a 3B guarantee), Noah Owens, Aiden Beadles, and Brant Oakley. This bracket is up for grabs. There were disagreements everywhere as TripleB descented from the pickers! 
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - We also have a bracket where 2 top 4 SS guys will go at it for a spot in the state finals. Junior from Tell City (17/4) Landon Terry will hope to follow in his brother’s footsteps, but first must get through (14/3) Spencer Watson from Tri-West. Despite being the favorite in both rankings, Watson finds himself as the underdog in this match up!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Heritage Hills Parker Hart, he has a win over Terry early in the season and has been in several close matches. He does have a loss to his potential ticket round opponent, Tyson Ruhe, but still the Patriot knows what it takes to win!
     
    FORD Tough Lock: Caden Brewer Brownsburg
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Caden Brewer Brownsburg, Landon Terry Tell City, Tyson Ruhe Jasper, Austin Beadles South Putnam
     
    TRIPLE B GUARANTEE: The Blue Cactus in Franklin Indiana will be throwing a wild party of all you can eat Chili Cheese Burritos when Franklin Community Freshman Kellen Fellure punches that ticket!!! We can’t have state in Evansville w/o a Tonte Suit on Friday!!!
     
    285: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/9
     
    One of the rare, maybe only weights where there were no official curtain jerkers as it’s all ranked vs unranked individuals. Also no Turrible Draws, none of that means this weight class won’t be fun. While it does have our last lock, Center Grove’s Nate Johnson, and all 4 picks were unanimous, not chalk, I’d be shocked if they all held up. The big quarterfinal match will feature returning state qualifier Ben Land taking on Avon Senior Oluwagbenga Orisadare. Another match up where the favored wrestler wasn’t picked to advance as the pickers like (16/5) Orisadare to beat (13/4) Land. 
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Big Ben Land, dude is a throwing machine and never stops wrestling. In his earlier season 16-5 loss to (11/3) Justin Brown from Floyd, Land just kept coming and coming and giving up points to try to score points. He’s not a boring wrestler at all!
     
    FORD Tough Lock: Nate Johnson Center Grove
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Nate Johnson Center Grove, Justin Brown Floyd Central, Oluwagbenga Orisadare Avon, Hayden Smith Heritage Hills
     
    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). 
     
    We’ll end w/ this unreleased track…. I love the Ford!
     
    An homage to the best Wrestling Semi-State in the Indiana! 
     
    We got winners
    We got losers
    Dippers and boozers
    We got WildCats
    We got Bulldogs
    We got angry fathers
    And the moms all dressed up in their glitter
    Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I love the FORD
    We got Trojans
    We got Olympians
    Broken-hearted wrestlers and seniors
    And we got state placers
    We got fighters
    Early-pinners and over-timers
    And the old timers in letter jackets talk about their battle scars
    Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I love the FORD
    I love THE FORD
    It's my kind of place
    Just walkin' through the front door
    Puts a big smile on my face
    It’s actually pretty far
    Come as you are
    Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, I love the FORD
     
    See everybody Saturday!!! 
  3. Thanks
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2024 IHSAA Regional Brackets   
    **Match orders have been updated as of 1pm Sunday**
     
    You can find TrackWrestling links here
    https://indianamat.com/index.php?/bracketstournament.html/
     
     
    1. Hobart | 9 am CT  
    Feeder Sectionals: East Chicago Central, Portage
    Hobart.pdf
     
    2. Crown Point | 9 am CT  
    Feeder Sectionals: Crown Point, LaPorte
    Crown Point.pdf
     
    3. Penn | 9 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Mishawaka, Plymouth
    Penn.pdf
     
    4. Logansport | 10 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Lafayette Jefferson, Twin Lakes
    Logansport.pdf
     
    5. Goshen | 9:30 am ET
    Feeder Sectionals: Elkhart, West Noble
    Goshen.pdf
     
    6. Carroll (Fort Wayne) | 9 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), New Haven
    Carroll.pdf
     
    7. Peru | 9 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Peru, Oak Hill
    Peru.pdf
     
    8. Jay County | 8:30 am ET
    Feeder Sectionals: Delta, Jay County
    Jay County.pdf
     
    9. North Montgomery | 9 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Crawfordsville, Frankfort
    North Mont.pdf
     
    10. Pendleton Heights | 9 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Elwood, Indianapolis Arsenal Technical
     
    Pendleton Heights.pdf
     
    11. Perry Meridian | 9 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Shelbyville, Southport
    Perry Meridian.pdf
     
    12. Richmond | 9 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: South Dearborn, Shenandoah
    Richmond.pdf
     
    13. Mooresville | 9 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Avon, Mooresville
    Mooresville.pdf
     
    14. Bloomington South | 10 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Bloomington North, Southridge
    Bloomington South.pdf
     
    15. Jeffersonville | 8 am ET  
    Feeder Sectionals: Jeffersonville, Jennings County
    Jeffersonville.pdf
     
    16. Castle | 9 am CT  
    Feeder Sectionals: Castle, Evansville Central
    Castle.pdf
     
  4. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, #WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Patience and Perseverance have paid off for Byrd   
    By JEREMY HINES
    Thehines7@gmail.com
     
    When Brady Byrd was young, he would wake up early, pack his wrestling gear in his parent’s vehicle and make the long journey to whatever tournament they could find. Often, hours later, he would return with a couple of losses to show for his effort.
     
    “Brady started wrestling in fifth grade,” his father, Sean said. “Every tournament around us was at least an hour drive. Normally he would go 0-2. But he kept doing it and kept doing it. Sometimes he would even move up weight classes just to get matches.”
     
    While the losses piled up, so did Byrd’s determination. If wrestling was easy, he might not have ever fallen in love with the sport. The losses helped build him into one of the best wrestlers in Washington High School history.
     
    “That prepared me,” Brady said. “Not a lot of kids at this level have been on the losing side like I have. It took me a long time before I started to see success. For the longest time my worst sport was wrestling. Being on that losing side taught me to never shy away from anything. I was not going to quit just because I wasn’t good at it. That’s never a valid reason to quit. You have to get better. That’s the only option.”
     
    Now, Byrd is the first Fargo double All-American to ever come out of the prestigious Maurer Caughlin Wrestling Club. Byrd finished third in freestyle this year and seventh in Greco-Roman. He is currently ranked No. 5 in the state at 106 pounds and has his sights set on taking the top of the platform at the state finals. He’s come a long way – but it was never easy.
     
    “The biggest thing with Brady, is that a lot of guys see him now, succeeding and being a good wrestler,” Washington coach Aaron Cissell said. “But nobody looks deep enough to see all the struggles and tournaments where he would lose. He stuck with it. It’s all paying off now. He has overcome all of that and fought to be successful.”
     
    Brady started wrestling 106 pounds as a freshman. At the time he weighed just 91 pounds. He’s always been a smaller guy. This, his senior season, is the first time he’s had to cut any weight at all. And even now, the cut is minimal.
     
    Sean, his dad, was a state placer in high school.
     
    “I placed seventh my senior year at 112 pounds,” Sean said. “Our styles are similar except that I was all heart and toughness and didn’t have technique. Brady is heart, toughness and has excellent technique.
     
    “I was a Region guy who was coached by Hall of famer Walt Prochno Kankakee Valley. Brady wrestles the region style in southern Indiana - tough and gritty.”
     
    Brady agrees that toughness and grit are keys to his success.
     
    “The grit is what makes me successful,” Brady said. I’ve always had it. A lot of kids don’t like to wrestle me. I stay in their face and stay physical.”
     
    Injuries have plagued Brady in his young career. He has suffered an ankle and a knee injury but has bounced back from both.
     
    “Brady is the most determined and hardest working guy I’ve ever seen,” Cissell said. “He is tough in all areas.”
     
    Brady owns Washington’s winning percentage record, but he wants to set the school’s win record and pin record this season. Both are well within his grasp. He also wants to become the third wrestler from his school to qualify for the state finals (Mark Kelsey did it in 1984 and Aaron Brower in 2003). He also wants to become the first Washington wrestler to place at state.
     
    Brady also does whatever is necessary to help his team. Coaches have learned to rely on him with helping teach moves in a way the other wrestlers can understand.
     
    “People really respect Brady,” Sean said. “So, when we are teaching moves, it’s better to have a Brady show them because he can speak their language and they really feed off of him.”
     
    Brady would like to wrestle in college and even the Olympics one day. He has excellent grades and was named to the Academic All-State Team. Outside of wrestling Brady enjoys competitive bass fishing, hunting and playing pickle ball.
     
    “Brady is the most determined kid you’ll ever meet,” Sean said. “He works hard at everything, and the work is finally starting to pay dividends.”
     
    Brady has started this young season off with 15 consecutive wins. He hopes for much more as the year goes on. He loves the sport and enjoys working at it.
     
    “Wrestling is one-on-one,” Brady said. “People call me crazy because I train so much. I don’t like relying on other people to win. I like relying on myself. What I put in is what I get out.”
  5. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Mason Parris wins the Dan Hodge Trophy   
    https://www.win-magazine.com/2023/03/27/michigans-mason-parris-wins-2023-win-magazine-culture-house-dan-hodge-trophy-presented-by-asics/
     
    NEWTON, Iowa — After injuring his neck in the 2021 World Team Trials, Michigan’s Mason Parris wrestled the entire 2021-22 college season battling through pain and loss of feeling in his left side.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Parris believes the future is bright for the heavyweight class.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Bormet echoed Parris’ unrelenting approach to the sport.

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

    “This is a really special honor, and it puts an exclamation point on his career as a student-athlete. He is also graduating from one of the top engineering programs in the country, so he is a special human all around.”
  6. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Allred's Big Ten Title is just the beginning   
    By Dave Melton
    Photo: Nebraska Athletics
     
    Nebraska redshirt sophomore Silas Allred was certainly never lacking for confidence after a high school career that included a pair of state titles at Shenandoah before graduating in 2020.
     
    But when the coaches at Nebraska told the 197-pounder what he was capable of as a college wrestler, it sent his belief in his own abilities to new heights.
     
    “When you have people who you really respect telling you that the sky’s the limit, you have no choice but to believe it,” he said. “I’d be foolish not to believe it. When your coaching staff tells you that you can be great and you buy into it, good things happen.”
     
    One of those “good things” happened Sunday night at the University of Michigan, when Allred beat Penn State’s Max Dean 6-3 in the championship round, crowning Allred as a Big Ten champion.
     
    Allred’s record now stands at 26-5 this season, heading into the NCAA Wrestling Championships set for St. Patrick Day’s weekend in Tulsa.
     
    Allred’s road from Shenandoah to this Big Ten title for Allred included a slew of twists and turns caused by the pandemic, which limited the number of matches he wrestled during the 2020-21 season. Still, Allred immediately raised eyebrows when he arrived in Nebraska’s wrestling room that fall — especially the ones belonging to Eric Schultz, who was a Big Ten runner-up last year.
     
    “The first time we wrestled at a practice, he threw me to my back and pinned me,” Schultz said of Allred. “I was like, ‘Who is this kid?’”
     
    The only other person who may not have been surprised by Allred’s early displays for Nebraska was head coach Mark Manning.
     
    “When we got him, I knew he was special,” Manning said. “He didn’t get many matches in but some of that adversity drove him to be better and better.”
     
    Allred took a redshirt last season before hitting the mats heavy this season. While he maintained that the mental side of the sport — such as the confidence he gained from conversations with his coaches — has been paramount to success, there are plenty of wrestling lessons he’s conquered along the way to his conference title.
     
    “It’s hard to put into words because so much of wrestling is mental preparation,” he said. “Hand fighting has been a huge factor for me, just shooting only when I win my ties and not taking poor shots. If you take poor shots against big 197-pounders, they’re going to punish you for it. Cleaning things up and only taking good, solid attacks has made a world of difference.”
     
    Schultz couldn’t stop raving about how much Allred had improved at wrestling on top.
     
    “It’s gotten a lot better from that first year on campus,” he said. “He’s probably one of the best riders in his weight class in the whole country.”
     
    Combining those physical traits with a strong mindset is what led Allred to the Big Ten title and has him lined up for more success down the road, as Manning explained.
     
    “He knew he could be where he finished (on Sunday),” Manning said. “We have to reinvent that again in two weeks, but he really enjoyed this moment because he did a super job. Seeing his development this year, starting back in November all the way until now: he’s made a jump of two or three levels. Now it’s going to take a different mindset and maturity, but he’s very mature for his age and that helps a lot.”
     
    Allred was also looking in the direction of that upcoming NCAA tournament, hoping to have similar success on that even bigger stage. But he still took time to savor the victory he won last weekend, posing for countless photos with friends and family between an even longer string of congratulatory hugs and handshakes.
     
    “It’s not just a memory for me but for all of them,” Allred said, pointing in the direction of the red-clad section of fans in his corner. “They’re all a part of this. They’ve all — in some way, shape or form — played a part in my development as a wrestler and to share this moment with them is just awesome.”
     
    Then, a few breaths later, Allred looked ahead.
     
    “Being a Big Ten champ is awesome but it’s not the goal,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want to be the best wrestler I can possibly be. Whether it’s a national champion or Olympic champion or world champion, whatever it may be, I want to be the best that I can be.”
     
  7. Like
    RAJR reacted to aoberlin for a article, February Madness   
    By Andrew Oberlin
     
    It’s that time of year again here in Indiana, February Madness, and I’m not talking about basketball. There is a very strong community of diehard wrestlers, fans, and coaches in Indiana for whom late January and early February is a time of excitement, anxiety, and sleepless nights. Those involved know what is at stake this time of year and for many it has been a 13 year journey . I’m going to attempt to give you some insight. In my humble opinion, Indiana’s state wrestling tournament is the toughest in the nation for a wrestler to punch a ticket through to the Indiana high school state because of the number of wrestlers in the state, the single class system for wrestling, and the lack of wrestlebacks. Indiana competes well at the national level and is one of only 5 states that has a single class for their state tournament. Furthermore, Indiana is the only state that doesn’t have wrestlebacks in their State High School Tournament.
     
    There are a lot of wrestlers in Indiana. This year, Indiana has nearly 10,000 USA Wrestling (USAW) cardholders, which earns us the rank of 5th in the nation for the number of USAW participants. USAW is the largest national organization that governs folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States; it is a separate entity from the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). This figure doesn’t  include the middle school and high school wrestlers who do not compete in USAW events. In addition, the number of wrestlers in Indiana continues to grow as girls wrestling gains popularity. 
     
    Seedings and Wrestlebacks
    At most top-level tournaments, wrestlers are seeded so that the best wrestlers don’t face each other early in the tournament. Seeding is not an exact science, and many times decisions are based on opinions. Whoever is seeding the tournament can use things such as results of past head-to-head matches, common opponents, or individual win-loss records to determine placement. 
     
    Head-to-head is the best way to seed a tournament but many times head-to-head matches haven’t taken place, so organizers look for a common opponent and how each wrestler did against that opponent. This can be a valid way to seed, but does not always take body type and wrestling styles into account.  Individual win-loss records are generally given the least consideration when seeding wrestlers because schedules and levels of competition vary greatly. There is no perfect way to seed wrestlers.
     
    Wrestlebacks allow a wrestler to prove a seeding wrong or provide a second chance to overcome a mistake.   Wrestlebacks are done at almost every tournament wrestlers will participate in from the time they are 5 all the way through college; however, because of Gene Hackman and the movie Hoosiers, Indiana is only concerned with crowning the state champion and our state wrestling tournament does accomplish that. I kid about the movie Hoosiers... kind of. 
     
    To be clear, my point is not to go on a rant about why Indiana needs to have wrestlebacks (which I strongly believe we do). That is a battle the coaches association and wrestling community has fought ad nauseam for decades and at this point it just doesn’t look like it is going to happen. I am explaining the factors that go into the emotions our wrestlers, coaches, and fans experience every year at this time.
     
    Indiana High School State Wrestling Tournament Format
    To understand the passion that goes on at the state tournament, one must  understand what it took to get there. Many wrestlers in Indiana start their wrestling journeys between the ages of 5 and 8. They likely had thousands of hours of year-round training and more than 500 youth matches. High school wrestlers survived the gauntlet of youth wrestling and continued intense training into high school... This requires a lot of blood (literally), sweat, and tears on the part of the wrestlers, their families, and their coaches. By the time a wrestler is in high school, there is an entire support system that is emotionally invested in that wrestler’s career. There are  only 14 state champions out of thousands of high school wrestlers, so the majority of wrestlers will not end their careers reaching their ultimate goal.
     
    If you understand how our Indiana state wrestling tournament is run, you can skip this part. There are 315 schools in the state that participate in wrestling. The state tournament is 4 weeks long. Competitions take place each Saturday during the first 3 weeks and on Friday and Saturday during the 4th week. Week 1 is sectionals which consists of 8 to 10 teams with 14 weight classes. Week 2 is regionals which combine the top wrestlers from 2 sectionals. Week 3 is a semi-state which combines the top wrestlers from 4 regionals. Week 4  is a state which combines the top wrestlers from 4 semi-states. Sectionals is the only part of the tournament that uses the seeding process. After sectionals everything else is based on how the wrestler placed the week before. For regionals the first place sectional winners wrestle the 4th place winners from the opposite sectional. Second place sectional winners wrestle 3rd place sectional winners. Since there are no wrestle backs if a wrestler loses the first round of regionals they are done for the season. If a wrestler wins at regionals they advance to semi-state. Things start to get tricky at semi-state.. With 4 regionals feeding into semi-state there are a total of 16 wrestlers in each weight class and 4 different regional champs for each weight class. It’s the same formula as regionals with 1st place wrestling 4th and 2nd place wrestling third but since the pool of wrestlers has expanded match-ups are drawn at random every year. To advance from semi-state to state a wrestler must win their first two matches. For every semi-state mini bracket of 1st through 4th place regional placers only one wrestler will continue to state by winning their first two matches. The state finals are Friday and Saturday of week 4. The same type of formula used for semi-state is applied to state. At state Friday night the walk of champions takes place where they announce all the schools that have a wrestler represented at the meet. Wrestlers all wrestle once on Friday; if they don’t win that match they are done and do not advance to wrestle on Saturday.
     
    Here is an example random Semi-State bracket that could be used:

     
    February
    I hear the term March Madness all the time when they talk about the NCAA basketball tournament. For me it pales in comparison to the February Madness that happens right here in Indiana during our high school wrestling state tournament. If you have the opportunity to watch any part of the 4 week state tournament know that with every win and loss, especially when the wrestler is a senior,  you are seeing the hopes and dreams of a small community either being fulfilled or coming to end after thousands of hours of hard work. In the end winning doesn’t care about you and neither does wrestling, but those that have been part of a wrestler’s journey do and that is what matters. If you truly know what wrestling is about you know the wrestler has become a better person because of it and that is something to be proud of.  
     
    I wish you all the best during this post season and know that wrestling is training for the life that follows.
     
     
    Indiana wrestling has been a part of my life for over 35 years. I had my high school dreams come to end without reaching my ultimate goal. I have now coached for 27 years and I have been a part of this walk and moment more times than I can remember. The photo below captures it all, a wrestler and part of his support system walking off the mat for the last time while coming to terms with the finality of it. 
     

     
    Austin Farris, the wrestler in this photo, first stepped on a wrestling mat at 4 years old with his father by his side. This is a picture of Austin walking back to the bleachers for the last time in his high school career after losing a close match. Dee Farris, his father and coach, has his hand on Austin’s back; following behind the father and son are coaches that have been with Austin on his journey since he was young.
     
     
  8. Like
    RAJR 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!
     
  9. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, College Rundown – NWCA National Duals Edition   
    By Blaze Lowery
     
     NWCA National Duals Recap --

    The NAIA #7 Marian Knights achieved a historic victory by defeating #5 Indiana Tech for the first time in program history during the NWCA National Duals, with a final score of 21-18. Despite forfeiting at the 149lbs weight class, the Knights were able to secure a win due to Aundre Beatty’s sudden victory at 141lbs over Kyle Kantola. Additionally, the absence of Gimson resulted in Mulkey securing a win over Elijah Anthony which is usually a match the Warriors can count on.
     
    Marian Box Scores:
    #7 Marian defeated #9 Campbellsville 30-9 
    #3 Southeastern defeated #7 Marian (IN) 21-13 
    #7 Marian defeated #16 Baker (Kan.) 46-5
    #7 Marian defeated #14 Morningside 34-4
    #7 Marian defeated #5 Indiana Tech 21-18
     
    Indiana Tech Box Scores:
    #5 Indiana Tech defeated #16 Baker (Kan.) 43-5
    #4 Doane defeated #5 Indiana Tech 19-13 
    #5 Indiana Tech defeated #12 Reinhardt (GA) 30-12
    #7 Marian defeated #5 Indiana Tech 21-18 
     
    The DII #12 ranked Indianapolis Greyhounds secured a commendable 7th place finish at the NWCA National Duals, with a noteworthy victory over the highly ranked #2 Nebraska-Kearney. The match was decided through criteria, with Logan Bailey delivering a decisive pin to secure the win for the Greyhounds. Additionally, during their dual against Central Oklahoma, #11 Derek Blubaugh was able to exact revenge from his loss at last year's National Finals against #1 Dalton Abney in sudden victory. Even with Breyden Bailey and Jack Eiteljorge getting upsets over the Lucas brothers, it was not enough to make an impact over the Bronchos. Cale Gray also seals a dual with a 24 second pin during the Indianapolis – Gannon dual with a final score of 21 – 19.
      
    Indianapolis Box Score:
    #12 Indianapolis defeated #14 Gannon 21-19
    #1 Central Oklahoma defeated #12 Indianapolis 25-9
    #12 Indianapolis defeated Newberry 23-15
    #5 Lander defeated #12 Indianapolis 21-18
    #12 Indianapolis defeated #2 Nebraska-Kearney 20-19
     
     
     
    Upsets on Upsets
     
    IU pushes themselves to #17 in the country with win over #16 Maryland earlier this week by tie-breaking criteria (17-16) with #33 Graham Rooks securing a nice win over #22 Ethen Miller.
     
    The Hoosiers also get it done with a win over the new #16 Rutgers at home with a final score of 24 – 16. Indiana matched up well against the Scarlet Knights and make it hard for their front three to pick up any bonus. Surprisingly, Nick South was down at 165lbs after wresting 184 earlier this week and ended up finding 6 points with a pin early in the third period. With South, Washington, and Bullock picking up bonus, Rutgers stood no chance in the end.
     
    With their only dual loss being Ohio State, the Hoosiers continue to knock teams out of the rankings.
     
  10. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2022 Ironman Interviews   
    Talking with Brownsburg and Crown Point coaches and wrestlers
     
     
  11. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Indiana Little State Recap + More   
    By Blaze Lowery
     
    Indianapolis continues to dominate the Little State tournament with five champions and eight finalists. Wabash, Marian, and Indiana Tech each having two champions, respectively. Trine continues to show glimmers of success and Manchester remains in rebuild mode. Year after year, this tournament gets stronger, and it is always good to see where Indiana’s universities in the state lineup against each other.
     
    125 –
     
    Wabash freshman #7 James Day defeats Aidan Sprague in a close 6-5 decision by a riding point. James Day comes to the Hoosier state from New Jersey and is fitting in well with the Little Giants. Having only a single loss this season, he could be a key component to this Wabash lineup, especially come tournament time.
     
    133 –
    Indiana Tech’s, #4 Matt Gimson, earned a takedown in sudden victory to defeat #6 Blake Mulkey of Marian. It felt like everyone at the tournament had their eyes on this match with Mulkey’s early takedown earned in the first period. Gimson will see Mulkey again in their dual in January but could see him again even sooner at NWCA National Duals.
    141 –
     
    UIndy’s Ray Rioux and Brayden Lowery share the Little State title for the greyhounds after both win their sides of the bracket. Being college roommates and wrestling each other in the state finals a few years prior, they decided it would be best to conserve their energy for the infamous Midwest Classic. The two will wrestle-off for the spot in the coming week.
     
    Lowery knocks off the one-seed, #5 Logan Wagner, who has recently been making noise in the NAIA scene, in a 6-4 decision. Rioux defeats Aundre Beatty with an uncontested 12-0 major decision. Both these hounds cannot run away from each other for too much longer with the 141-pound spot up for grabs.
     
    149 –
     
    #8 Nick Gates defeats Nathan Conley by 3-1 decision in the Little State finals for the second year in a row. Gates also defeats Asa Garcia in a 7-1 decision in the semis. Gates is a proven guy and is on his way to placement at the NAIA National Championships, after not placing in last year’s tournament.
     
    157 –
     
    UIndy’s #3 Logan Bailey obliterates the competition with three falls and takes the title by injury default in the finals over Tyson Nisley. After moving up from 149, Bailey has filled into the weight class nicely and rolls into the Midwest Classic with six falls on the season.
     
    165 –
     
    Owen Zablocki secures another title for the Greyhounds with a fall by spladle over Sam York of Indiana Tech. #6 Jack Eiteljorge injury defaults out of the tournament and allows Zablocki to win his last wrestling tournament ever, as he graduates at semester.
     
    174 –
    #4 Elliott Rodgers pins his way to a Little State title after he misses weight for 165lbs. Rodgers pins #11 Raymond Arebalo, who was seeded first this tournament. It is safe to say Rodgers is dangerous no matter what weight he ends up at.
    184 –
     
    #3 Sam Osho wins Marian’s first Little State title of the day with a 13-6 decision over Aidan Petersen of UIndy. Osho did not give up a single takedown this whole tournament and continues to be a great leader for the Knights.
     
    197 –
    #2 Derek Blubaugh gets his revenge with a 3-0 decision over Marian’s #7 Jack Servies. After falling to Servies at last season’s Little State tournament, Blubaugh was excited to make up for it. Blubaugh will roll into the Midwest Classic where he will more than likely see Dalton Abney of Central Oklahoma who beat him at the 2022 NCAA DII National Champions.
    285 –
     
    Wabash’s #3 Jack Heldt makes himself the third wrestler this tournament to pin his way through the tournament with a fall over Mayes-Butler of Indiana Tech, who had all falls as well going into the finals. Heldt stays undefeated on the season for the Little Giants.
     
     
    D1 Significant Results:
     
    #2 Mason Parris (Michigan) defeats #5 Lucas Davison (Northwestern) at CKLV by 6-4 decision
    #18 Silas Allred (Nebraska) wins by 5-2 decision over #15 Gavin Hoffman (Ohio State) at CKLV
    Graham Calhoun (Wisconsin) wins Jim Kock Open
     
    Upcoming Events this Weekend:
    Dec 10th – Wabash @ Luther College (Triple Dual)
    Dec 11th – IU @ Cleveland State Open
    Dec 11th – Marian & Indiana Tech @ NAIA Challenge Duals
  12. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2022 State Finals by the Numbers   
    Overall
    The rankings have been a staple of IndianaMat since day one. We have always prided ourselves in having accurate rankings throughout the season. This year Mike upped his game and went to 20 ranked wrestlers in November and December. Then in January upped it to the top 25. With 25 ranked wrestlers he was able to include a lot of what was previously on our watch list. This gave recognition to many more hard-working athletes. As with last year, there was quite a bit of uncertainty surrounding the season and we have made it this far with the rankings continuing to hold strong.
     
    As always, we locked the rankings before sectional and let them ride. We do not update them based on draws or state series victories. This year Mike has outdone himself with 190 of the 224 wrestlers being ranked. For the first time ever, we had a perfect weight class! At 152lbs every state qualifier was ranked in the state. Another first this year is there are no Friday matches that do not include at least one ranked wrestler. In total, 78 of the 112 matches on Friday are between two ranked wrestlers.
     
    We have our every popular brackets that are new and improved that include state and semi-state rankings in them. This year we have two sets, one with just state rankings and one with both semi-state and state rankings. 
     
    Click here for the Info Center with links to download the brackets
     
    Season by season ranked wrestlers advancing to state
    *Note Mike Reiser took over the rankings in 2012
    2022- 190
    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
    *As of Wednesday Donnie Feeler has been replaced by Cameron Meier in this weight class
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Seth Aubin (Hobart) 
    Cameron Meier (Bloomington South)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Jake Hockaday (Brownsburg) vs. #21 Tamir Halevi (Carmel)
    #2 Jeffrey Bailey (River Forest) vs. #15 Ayden Bollinger (Delta)
    #11 Julianna O'campo (New Haven) vs. #4 Gavin Jendreas (Crown Point)
    #16 Heather Crull (Northeastern) vs. #5 Luke Rioux (Avon)
    #6 Isaiah Schaefer (EV.  Mater Dei) vs. #13 Oliver Wilson (North Central)
    #7 E'Shawn Tolbert (Portage) vs. #9 Levi Johns (Bluffton) 
     
    113lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Bowen Keith (Cowan)
    Peter Nguyen (Guerin Catholic)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Evan Dickey (Cathedral) vs. #17 Dylan Bennett (Penn)
    #7 Easton Doster (New Haven) vs. #4 Evan Seng (EV.  Mater Dei)
    #14 Eddie Goss (Center Grove) vs. #5 Tanner Tishner (Western)
    #6 Jackson Heaston (Indian Creek) vs. #13 Wyatt Davis (Rochester)
    #10 Trevor Schammert (Hobart) vs. #18 Braden Getz (Roncalli)
    #12 Johnny Cortez (Lake Central) vs. #16 Gavin Thompson (Carmel)

    120lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Dominic McFeeley (Cascade)
    Guillermo Rivera (Lake Central)
    Jared Dunn (Princeton)
    Jayden Lewis (New Prairie)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Lane Gilbert (Sullivan) vs. #24 Elliott Cornewell (FW Bishop Dwenger)
    #7 Noah Lykins (Columbus East) vs. #19 Neal Mosier (Delta)
    #9 Christopher Bohn (Munster) vs. #13 Braxton Vest (Westfield) 
    #10 Aden Reyes (Cathedral) vs. #5 Hayden DeMarco (Chesterton)
     
    126lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Gavin Cook (Adams Central)
    Keegan Schlabach (Lakeland)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Logan Frazier (Crown Point) vs. #11 Keaton Morton (Perry Meridian)
    #3 Aidan Sprague (East Noble) vs. #16 Michael Tharpe (Center Grove)
    #5 Kamariyon Nelson (Castle) vs. #7 Tony Wood (Jay County)
    #6 Blake Wolf (East Central) vs. #17 Beau Brabender (Mishawaka)
    #12 Isaac Ward (Carmel) vs. #25 David Maldonado (Merrillville)
    #14 Griffin Ingalls (Fishers) vs. #2 Matteo Vargo (Penn)
     
    132lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13 
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Bryce Denton (Penn)
    Eli Brooks (Whiteland)
    Mason Stanley (Rensselaer Central)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Brady Ison (Brownsburg) vs. #6 Elijah Anthony (Frankfort)
    #3 Cheaney Schoeff (Avon) vs. #11 Michael Major (Carmel)
    #4 Anthony Bahl (Crown Point) vs. #24 Jasper Graber (Northridge)
    #8 Brevan Thrine (New Castle) vs. #9 Wyatt Krejsa (Center Grove)
    #10 Landon Bertsch (Bluffton) vs. #12 Zar Walker (Mishawaka)
     
    138lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Allan Maggard (Columbia City)
    Evan Roudebush (Bloomington South)
    Ike O'Neill (Westfield)
    Lucas Clement (Merrillville) 
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Cole Solomey (Kankakee Valley) vs. #5 Cash Turner (Edgewood)
    #8 Carson Johnson (Mt.  Vernon (Fortville)) vs. #16 Cameron Clark (Jay County)
    #11 Dillon Tuttle (Delta) vs. #12 Luke Gonzalez (Cathedral)
    #18 Wesley Harper (Penn) vs. #4 Gavin Garcia (Brownsburg)
     
    145lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Brayden Baker (Garrett)
    Denny Wendling (Frontier)
    Gunnar Krause (Knox)
    Nate Lommock (Terre Haute South)
    Nayl Sbay (Carmel)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #4 Brody Arthur (Oak Hill) vs. #6 Nick Tattini (Crown Point)
    #7 Blaze Garcia (Brownsburg) vs. #11 Brac Hooper (Zionsville)
    #9 Rider Searcy (East Central) vs. #13 Anfernee Oliver (Ben Davis)
     
    152lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 16
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    None
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Sam Goin (Crown Point) vs. #12 Corbin Walston (Lawrenceburg)
    #2 Anthony Rinehart (Zionsville) vs. #20 Kenneth Bisping (Lowell)
    #3 Delaney Ruhlman (Bloomington South) vs. #23 Austin Brickey (Carroll (FW))
    #5 Hunter May (EV.  Mater Dei) vs. #4 Alex Currie (Adams Central)
    #6 Tyler Jones (Warren Central) vs. #15 Tristen Hood (Harrison (WL))
    #7 Kody Glithero (Roncalli) vs. #22 Aidan Costello (Hobart)
    #10 Nick Cicciarelli (Brownsburg) vs. #17 Chase Leech (Garrett)
    #13 Mitchell Betz (Western) vs. #14 Tyce DuPont (Tell City)
     
    160lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Zachary Huckaby (Perry Meridian)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 J Conway (Floyd Central) vs. #22 Bradey Pittman (Plymouth)
    #2 Kade Law (Columbus East) vs. #7 AJ Steenbeke (Penn)
    #3 Cody Goodwin (Crown Point) vs. #9 Chris Newman (Mt. Vernon (Posey))
    #4 Landon Boe (Avon) vs. #19 Caleb Carter (Merrillville)
    #8 Duke Myers (Bellmont) vs. #17 Chase Wagner (Zionsville)
    #11 Leo Calderon (Centerville) vs. #23 Jared Landez (Carroll (FW))
    #13 Kaden Lone (NorthWood) vs. #16 Charlie Euson (East Central)
     
    170lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Braxton Russell (Delta)
    Ethan Popp (Harrison (WL))
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Brody Baumann (EV.  Mater Dei) vs. #16 Anthony Cashman (Warren Central)
    #2 Codei Khawaja (Floyd Central) vs. #12 JJ Braun (Cathedral)
    #5 Landon Buchanan (Jimtown) vs. #17 Jesse Herrera (Highland)
    #6 Benjamin Phillips (Charlestown) vs. #7 Ryan Cast (Hamilton Southeastern)
    #8 Eli Johnson (Norwell) vs. #22 Isaac Valdez (Mishawaka)
    #9 Aiden Farmer (EV.  Memorial) vs. #25 Clifton Johnson (North Central)
     
    182lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Alex Rose (Terre Haute South)
    David Nash (East Central)
    Jaquan East (Kokomo)
    Kooper Kinsler (Delphi)
    Trey Tobias (NorthWood)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Orlando Cruz (Crown Point) vs. #20 Tommy Hannon (Bishop Chatard)
    #5 Hunter Page (Monroe Central) vs. #9 Gunner Henry (Brownsburg)
    #6 Jake Sues (Lake Central) vs. #10 Luke Hansen (Roncalli)
     
    195lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 15
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Armen Koltookian (Concord)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Gabe Sollars (EV.  Mater Dei) vs. #19 Jackson Ingenito (Daleville)
    #2 John Purdy (Castle) vs. #8 Jacob Behm (Fremont)
    #3 Connor Barket (West Lafayette) vs. #24 Ryan Bovard (East Central)
    #4 Wyatt Willman (North Posey) vs. #14 Alex Deming (Rochester)
    #5 Aataevon Jordan (Franklin Central) vs. #9 Christian Chavez (Mishawaka)
    #6 Will Clark (Crown Point) vs. #18 Ronin Hammond (Perry Meridian)
    #7 Gage DeMarco (Chesterton) vs. #17 Max Broom (Hamilton Southeastern)
     
    220lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Jackson Weingart (Cathedral)
    Justin Lewis (Roncalli)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Christian Carroll (New Prairie) vs. #24 Royce Deckard III (Center Grove)
    #2 Nathan Critchfield (EV.  Mater Dei) vs. #15 Jordan Cree (Rensselaer Central)
    #3 Juan Grange (Penn) vs. #7 Kelton Farmer (EV.  Memorial)
    #4 Blake Heyerly (Adams Central) vs. #16 Jacob Long (Noblesville)
    #5 Tommy Morrill (Columbus East) vs. #10 Paul Clark (Crown Point)
    #17 Chance Harris (FW Concordia) vs. #22 Devin Kendrex (Mt.  Vernon (Fortville))
     
    285lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
     
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Josh Clark (New Haven)
    Liam Begley (Crown Point)
     
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #2 Hunter Whitenack (New Prairie) vs. #8 Nate Johnson (Center Grove)
    #5 Jacob Johnson (Franklin Community) vs. #14 Theodore Sparks (Merrillville)
    #6 Mihail Platonov (Westfield) vs. #20 Ian Clifford (Columbia City)
    #7 Ashton Hartwell (Columbus East) vs. #15 Trey White (Portage)
    #9 Makhi Watts (North Central) vs. #13 Brayden Jellison (Elkhart)
    #10 Marshall Fishback (Rochester) vs. #17 Hunter Brahnam (Frankton)
     
  13. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2022 Evansville Semi-State Preview   
    After a year away, WE ARE BACK AT THE FORD CENTER!!! Like true lovers - Triple B and The Crescent City couldn’t be kept apart!!!
     
    Without further ado - WELCOME TO TRIPLEB’s EVANSVILLE SEMI-STATE SPECTACULAR PREVIEW House keeping items -
     
    Here is the link for the Indianamat Semi-State Hub -
     
    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 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.
     
    Nestled between two days of absolute Love (3B’s birthday on Thursday and Valentine’s Day on Monday) 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, 6 yes 6 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, Grenadier12, 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.
     
    Without further ado—--------LET’S FREAKIN’ GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
     
    106: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 9/12
    106 is usually dubbed the future stars weight and this year is no different as 3 wrestlers from 3 blue blood programs look to get the action going early . Jake Hockaday has been #1 ranked all year but fell to Avon’s Luke Rioux at Sectionals. Rioux also won a wild match at team state over Mater Dei freshman Isaiah Schaefer, who’s dad won a state title as a freshman at 100lbs. Remember the NWO Wolfpack and their song that went - Don’t turn your back on the Wolfpac, you might end up in a body bag. A little extreme but don’t turn your back on Donnie Feeler of the Crawford County Wolfpack, or you’ll end up on your back! The senior will look to spoil the 3 way feature.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Feeler might get tested right out of the gates against #20 Brennan Leonard of Martinsville. In the lower bracket Floyd Central’s Rollin Douglas will clash against Reitz’s Caleb Reed. 2 great opening round matches at 106!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - There will be a lot of Mooresville Regionals messing up brackets and our first turrible draw is #6 Schaefer vs #10 Charlie LaRocca of Center Grove. Being stuck behind Hockaday and Rioux has done this Trojan no favors. Both of these guys are podium placers, and one will be buying a ticket next weekend. That’s turrible!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Big Toe says don’t sleep on Larocca and Vincenne’s Ty Henderson, Henderson is a gamer and wrestles all year long. Henderson will have the winner of Feeler/Leonard
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Hock gets the nod, with Rioux/Schaefer tied for second. Feeler slides in at 4th
    1st - Jake Hockaday Brownsburg, 2nd - Luke Rioux Avon(gets the nod for holding a W already), 3rd - Isaiah Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei 4th - Donnie Feeler Crawford County
     
    113: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 5/14
    113 has 14 ranked Semi-State grapplers locking up, and our first FORD TOUGH LOCK in Brownsburg Sophomore Preston Haines. Currently ranked 3rd in the state, the Bulldog hopes to keep Brownsburg’s Semi-State and State championship aspirations rolling with a semi-state championship. 4 top ten wrestlers, outside of Haines, will be hot on his heels as this weight
    class is absolutely loaded. Mater Dei’s Evan Seng is a returning state placer, Liam Krueger from Columbus East is a returning state qualifier.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Two state ranked wrestlers will go at it in round one with the winner being the favorite to advance out of the quarter bracket. Both #6 Jackson Heaston of Indiana Creek and #23 Logan Bickel of Cascade has had great years but one of them will come to halt early, another bracket of Mooresville playing games.
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Whenever two top ten kids are going at it for a spot at state on the line, I’m sorry, but it’s a turrible draw. Corydon Central Senior Bryson Rowley was undefeated heading into last weekend. A match up with Krueger from East ended in a nightmare for Rowley as he now has Haines in the ticket round!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Close to a Turrible draw but not making the cut was Center Grove’s Eddie Goss and Liam Krueger. The #14 ranked Goss would be a favorite to make state at some other semi-states and even in another quarter bracket, but the tough draw of Krueger might be too much here.
     
    Ford Fab 4 - LOCK Haines, followed by Seng, with Krueger and Heaston splitting votes.
    1st - Preston Haines Brownsburg, 2nd - Evan Seng Evansville Mater Dei, 3rd Liam Krueger Columbus East, 4th - Jackson Heaston Indian Creek
     
    120: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 10/14
    You thought 113 looked good? 120 is dirty….. A state champ and #1 ranked wrestler not favored to win. 14 semi state ranked wrestlers. 10 state ranked wrestlers. Multi state medalists and qualifiers. A quarter bracket to die for. Logan Miller looks to put a stamp on his high school career, Lane Gilbert looks to make that next step. This could be a preview of next weekend, under the lights!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker: Let’s just go to the bottom half of the bracket; Gilbert, Ellis, Courtney, Lykins, Kessinger, Syra, Egli. All 7 ARE RANKED IN THE STATE!! 3 ARE IN THE TOP 10 Here comes the BOOM!! Castle’s Logan Ellis and Center Grove’s Reese Courtney will get things going, congrats winner you just have a world medalist waiting for you in the quarters. Then in a rematch of the Hoosier Hills Conference Championship, Noah Lykins and Vince Kessinger. Lykins owns a convincing W, but Hitman Kessinger can deliver a death blow in a second! The last opening match is Avon Freshman Seth Syra and Mater Dei Senior Reed Egli. Both have been
    wrestling since they came out of diapers, both come from blue blood programs, this match should be good’un.
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Just stay put, you are looking at potentially SSR #3 Courtney vs SSR#2 Gilbert in the blood round and SSR#4 Lykins vs #5 Egli also in the blood round. Turrible, Turrible, Turrible…. But guess what? Would either be favored against Miller or Blake Zirkelbach? I don’t know, this weight class is just too much!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Hey…. don’t go anywhere yet…. If I haven’t hyped it enough, Big Toe says “The whole group. **Loaded**
     
    Ford Fab 4: Gilbert got the nod, barely, followed by Miller with Lykins and Zirkelbach splitting
    1st - Lane Gilbert Sullivan, 2nd - Logan Miller Brownsburg, 3rd Noah Lykins (higher state ranking) Columbus East, 4th Blake Zirkelbach North Posey
     
    TripleB GUARANTEE - Logan Miller…. Champ…. Bank on it
     
    126: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 9/12
    2 significant things about 126. The first was that many years ago I was in a bar in Crawfordsville Indiana with my running mate Tyson Skinner when I was called over to a table. The group asked me if my name was TripleB and then told us to have a seat. I drank free, listened to Castle and Mater Dei parents rib each other and learned about the next great Castle run, they had these kids that would fuel the re-emergence of Castle on the state scene. They told me to remember the names KT Nelson, Ashton Hayhurst, and John Purdy (A very true story). And while it’s taken some time for it to sort out, here we are and Coach Bob Harmon has his 3 hammers altogether.
     
    The other significance of 126 is that after acting like he was asleep, strumming through used boat books, Donnie Baker came alive, and I mean A-L-I-V-E! “Justice Thornton, TripleB, Justice Thornton! The greatest thing to come out of Columbus Indiana since Thadeus Douglas Baby!”
    Yeah weird, anyway, the match everyone will be watching will be the semi-final of returning state placer and SSR #1 Joey Buttler (oh and Donnie just chanted “ Joey! Joey! Joey” over and over as we discussed this match) and Castle’s KT Nelson who medaled as a freshman.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - 3 matches featuring state ranked dudes will be in the first round of 126. #16 Michael Tharpe vs #23 Landon Horning with winner the favorite to punch their ticket (but the TripleB Guarantee will be an unraked upset - just wait). #13 Donnie Baker’s upset special Justice Thornton of Columbus North vs. #20 Branson Weaver of Owen Valley will
    duke it out to see who gets Braden Haines in the ticket round. Lastly #5 KT Nelson vs. #18 Caleb Wyss. Wyss has already shown he’s game with a win at sectionals over Buttler. A scrappy Nelson vs a scrappy Wyss could prove to be the opening match of the day.
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - SSR #4 Justice Thornton vs SSR #2 Braden Haines is unfortunate, both of these dudes could be on the podium next week and both would be favored if they fell in some other quarter brackets. Sir Charles is not pleased!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Thornton has been mentioned several times but the fact that he’s got a grinder to even get to the semis means you should sleep on him. Also Tell City’s Kelby Glenn has been a mainstay in Southern Indiana for 3 years now, he would need a big win over Joey Buttler, can the Tell City grappler do it?!?!?!
     
    Ford Fab 4: A grinder of a bracket, both Nelson and Buttler recieved 2 first place votes with Haines getting the 5th. Nelson just barely nudged Buttler out in the voting.
    1st - KT Nelson, Castle 2nd Braden Haines, Brownsburg 3rd Joey Buttler, Whiteland, 4th Michael Tharpe Center Grove
     
    TripleBGuarantee - I have a trusted confidant named “The Professor” and when The Professor goes out of his way to text me about a kid, I listen. Harrison May will upset the upper bracket and punch his ticket to GainBridge!
     
    132: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/12
    Let’s just cut to it…. This weight is all about NC State signee and 2x state runner up Avon’s Cheaney Schoeff and his big rival Brady Ison of Brownsburg. It’s the battle of #TheCounty rivals. Ever since Darrick Snyder took the reins of Brownsburg wrestling, Brownsburg and Avon matches have been lit. Ison/Schoeff embodies all that is Brownsburg/Avon. And who knows it the outcome even matters. Last year Ison wins at Semi-State and Schoeff again achieves state runner up?!?!?!? Why is that? Because Zeke Setlzer was waiting at state and guess who’s waiting this year? Zeke Fricking Seltzer! All of that being said, Coy Hammack is a returning state semi-finalist and 2x state qualifier. I wouldn’t overlook him.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Upset Alert - unranked regional champ Nathan Anderson has under the radar Eli Brooks of Whiteland. Brooks is ranked #6 in the semi-state but injuries have cost him most of his junior season. Can Brooks pull the Saturday Upset Special?
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Ayden Amento, now a 2x Turrible draw victim, and Odin Fortune are the Castle Regional Champ and runner up and both are state caliber wrestlers. But in a land of “bad draws” they got the worst draws ever, Schoeff and Ison. What a gut punch! Also Center Grove Sophomore Wayne Kresja has had a great year, any time you got 33-4 for a team like Center Grove, that’s nails. Will that schedule and room have him ready for Coy Hammack in the ticket round? We will find out!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Kresja, as mentioned above, Center Grove wrestles a murders row of a schedule. Hammack will earn every point in that match. Also Bloomington South Senior Ethan Roudebush is ranked in the state and should be the “favorite” vs Brooks, but the voters like Brooks.
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Ison just outscored Schoeff and Brooks just outscored Roudebush
    1st - Brady Ison Brownsburg, 2nd - Cheaney Schoeff Avon, 3rd - Coy Hammack Tell City, 4th Eli Brooks Whiteland
     
    138: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/12
    For a number of reasons, we could label 138 as REDEMPTION! The first reason being 3 of the favorites were all victims of turrible draws a year ago - Reese Fisher was a regional champ and hit state champ Kysen Montgomery in the ticket round. Cash Turner was also a regional champ a year ago and drew state semi-finalist Brady Ison and Ashton Hayhurst, another regional champ a year ago, ran into eventual state runner up, Hayden Watson. See why Evansville is the toughest semi-state?
     
    The rest of the weight class features it all - a wide open quarterbracket, turrible draws, curtain jerkers, and hammers. This weight might be the most competitive, open weight in the field.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - The top/middle quarterbracket is the bracket up for grabs and we get started early as SSR #8 Silas Stits and SSR #9 Evan Roudebush (A Donnie Baker Super Frosh) kicks things off. Stits owns a 8-2 win over Roudebush already, but Roudebush owns a win over Fisher, and Fisher has beaten Stits, now you see why this quarterbracket is no joke!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Floyd Central Junior Lou Knable has had a great season, going 30-4 and only losing the best of the best. Ranked #4 in the semi-state, he should be prohibitive favorite for state but runs into Ashton Hayhurst in the quarters. Turrible, turrible, turrible
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Along with Knable, #10 ranked Keegan Williams is battle tested, ford tough some might even say, but has #4 ranked Gavin Garcia in the quarters. The hometown kid pull an upset Saturday??
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Another close vote, a testament to the toughness of Eville, Garcia nips Hayhurst, followed by Turner, Fisher/Stits/Roudebush all tie!
    1st - Gavin Garcia Brownsburg, 2nd Ashton Hayhurst Castle, 3rd Cash Turner Edgewood, 4th Reece Fisher Columbus East
     
    145: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/12
    Our next lock, Center Grove’s Hayden Watson takes center state at 145. 145 also features another prediction of an unranked wrestler getting out over ranked wrestlers. The top of this bracket is loaded with 5 of the 8 wrestlers state ranked. That should make for some good matches!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - State ranked wrestlers right off the bat! #13 Afernee Oliver and #11 Alex Smith will have to put it all on the line to get a W Saturday. On paper the winner will be the favorite out the quarterbracket, but the ECSC went a different route. In another battle of state ranked wrestlers, #7 Blaze Garcia will wrestle #20 Nick Akers of North Posey. Garcia was the recipient of a Turrible draw last year and hopes to be the turrible draw this year! Another #4 over #1 has been predicted also, SSR #14 and Regional Champ Lee Spencer (nice name) takes on SSR #3 Braedon Spears.
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Bloomington South Senior Nicholas Castellucio is 19-2 and a regional champ but a draw with Blaze Garcia couldn’t be what the BHSS team was hoping for. This match isn’t a lock, either wrestler can win!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Anfernee Oliver, Ben Davis both Oliver and his opponent Alex Smith are state ranked but the ECSC like Lody Cheatham or Borden. Also the bottom bracket is really wide open and don’t be too surprised to see Nate Lommock punching his ticket also.
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Our second LOCK Hayden Watson gets all the love, even though I barely talked about him in the preview. Sorry Hayden! Blaze Garcia was a clear 2nd and after that 4 different wrestlers got votes with Spears and Cheatham leading the way.
    1st - Hayden Watson Center Grove, 2nd - Blaze Garcia Brownsburg, 3rd - Braedon Spears (My Boy! #TripleBTrained!) Plainfield, 4th - Lody Cheatham Borden
     
    152: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/11
    A returning State runner up and state semifinalist highlights the field at 152. This was also almost the first chalk weight (where all the voters pick the same 4) but Donnie Baker always has to be the outlier. Also look out for late starter Andre Merritt, the Whiteland transfer to Center Grove in mid season has jumped out onto the scene. 4 very serious medal contenders next weekend kind of take the flames out of hype discussion. May and Ruhlman should be a banger!
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Before May gets there, the Wildcat will have to go through the always game Jude Barger of Franklin. Coach Tonte will have his Grizzly Cubs ready to go, can Barger pull off the upset of the tourney? Another 4 over 1 alert and Coach Coop is on the clock
    again, #14 ranked Tyce DuPont of Tell City will take on unranked, regional champ Eli Pollitt of Columbus East. East has had tons of changes to their lineup all season long. Pollitt wasn’t even in the original sectional bracket and his teammate, Tony Ruiz-Tapya, was ranked in the SS. Dupont is the favorite, can Pollitt pull it off?
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - 1 Turrible Draw as SSR #4 Luke Robards loses to Hunter May last week and draws Delaney Ruhlman in the ticket round. I mean really, when will the IHSAA just let me seed the brackets? This is robbery!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Both have been mentioned but BT19 has pointed out that Robards and Barger are both upperclassmen who won’t go down without a fight.
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Ruhlman out points May followed by Cicciarelli and Merritt
    1st - Delaney Ruhlman Bloomington South, 2nd - Hunter May Evansville Mater Dei, 3rd Nick Cicciarelli Brownsburg, 4th Andre Merritt Center Grove
     
    TripleB GUARANTEE: Wouldn’t it be sweet if Hunter May came out in a Mater Dei/Floyd Central inspired Plaid singlet w/ Maroon and yellow color Scheme? Don’t bank on that though, but do bank on Hunter May Semi-State Champ baby!!!!
     
    160: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 9/15
    There’s loaded weight classes and then there’s 160lbs. Not only does 160 feature a tournament high 15 SS ranked kids (good job TripleB, you animal) but also features the #1, #2, and #4 ranked wrestlers in the STATE!! Sound the Sirens!! #1 and defending state champion J Conway has already battled #2 Kade Law this season and Law’s Panther-like speed wasn’t fast enough as Conway escaped like a Pirate with his gold in OT. Now throw in Landon Boe and this weight is off the chain. Can Boe cause a QUAKE? Would it be an upset? All 3 are multi-time state qualifiers and have 4 medals between them.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - No bathroom breaks at the halfway point, b/c this weight features 3 curtain jerkers and a first round Turrible draw as we have #1 vs #5 in the STATE going at it in the first round….. Did I mention this weight is crazy good? We’ll slow ourselves into things with #20 Aiden Reynolds vs. #25 Michael Hutchinson, Hutch upset #5 Weems at sectionals. Does he have more of that magic? I think I remember a kid that wasn’t favored to go to state back in the day, Quinn Harris maybe?? If anybody knows how to pull the upsets, it’s coach Harris! Next we have SSR #12 Griffin Ison of Brownsburg and state ranked #12 Jeb Pretchel of Jasper this is only brought up b/c of team points. Snyder will have the Bulldogs ready to go don’t be surprised to see an upset here. The last match is the one on paper that looks most shocking, #1 Conway vs #5 Weems. Weems seems to be battling an injury, and that’s unfortunate b/c that landed him in the this killer draw
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Two top ten state ranked wrestlers will go at it in the ticket round. Luke Kemper put together an undefeated regular season but the last two weeks he hasn’t been able to solve Chris Newman from Mt. Vernon, that leaves the Evansville Central Junior with Landon Boe in the quarters.
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Hutchinson has a tall task in Newman, but never count him out. Pretchel is ranked in the state also and does anybody remember Jordy Faulks?
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Conway was almost a lock but one voter likes Law in the rematch. Boe is a clearcut third favorite, followed by Newman.
    1st - J Conway Floyd Central, 2nd - Kade Law Columbus East, 3rd - Landon Boe Avon, 4th - Chris Newman Mt. Vernon
     
    170: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/12
    Was last year’s 160lb state championship not one of the best finishes ever? Champ Brody Baumann is up a weight and back to defend his crown. He’s also our third FORD TOUGH LOCK! We also have another chance at the top two wrestlers in the state going at it as Floyd Central’s Codei Khawja will look to get some revenge on Baumann after Baumann won 8-3 at the Mater Dei classic. This will be a semi final match…. Yes we are so good at Evansville we get #1 vs #2 in the semis. Ben Phillips is another returning medalist and should meet the winner in the finals. Can the Pirate pull off the W? This also just the third weight where #1, #2, #3, and #4 ranked SS guys are predicted to get out.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - Two seniors that probably feel like they got the best draw they could are Ian Madden of Evansville Central and Chase Hostetler of Bloomington North. Both have put together solid senior campaigns and both want one more chance to be on the
    floor in Indy! Two state ranked wrestlers will also be going at it in the first round; Whiteland’s #19 Vincent Tinoco will take on #21 Tristan Statler with the winner getting Khawja.
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draw - Not sure it’s a Turrible Draw, when seeding an 8 man tournament this would be the correct quarterfinal match up, so along with the SSR #1,#2,#3, and #4 wrestlers predicted to get out we also have SSR #4 vs SSR #5 in a match up for birth to state! Evansville Memorial Senior Aiden Farmer is a returning state qualifier and ranked 9th in the state vs. Freshman hammer Caden Brewer who’s ranked 10th in the state. This match will be great and Trips might have taken the Freshman, but I was the only one. Mattyb remember that!!!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Madden, Brewer, Tinoco - anything can happen at Evansville. I haven’t said that yet but we’ve witnessed crazy upsets over the years! Also don’t sleep on Ben Phillips. I think him and Joey Buttler have been slept on over and over and all they have done is get on the podium at state and then follow that up with solid senior years. Call them the Dangerfield Twins, No Respect!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Our third of a possible record 6 LOCKS Wildcat Brody Baumann leads the field, followed by Phillips, Khawja, and Farmer
    1st -Brody Baumann Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Ben Phillips Charlestown, 3rd - Codei Khawja Floyd Central, 4th - Aiden Farmer Evansville Memorial
     
    182: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/12
    182 brings us a big rematch, now Brownsburg fans keep your pants on, as the prohibitive favorite actually lost last weekend. Center Grove’s Drake Buchanan is a returning state runner-up and was humming along until running into Brownsburg’s Gunnar Henry last weekend at Regionals. Henry, another Donnie Baker Super Frosh, knocked off Buchanan. Despite that, ECSC still went with Buchanan in the rematch. Buchanan was almost a lock but Donnie Baker looked up from his boats-4-sale catalog and quietly and confidently said “Henry”. 3 former state qualifiers highlight this field, that after hammers Henry and Buchanan, could be wide open.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - A quarterbracket of fun! Semi State Champ Clay Martin from Mater Dei, #24 Luke Bullock of Mooresville, #17 Jerry McBee of Owen Valley, and unranked but dangerous Jared Slocum of Columbus North will all be going after that golden ticket!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Floyd’s Bray Emerine was a SQ has a frosh last year. He’s been hampered by injuries and in battles of returning State Qualifiers the last two weeks, Bray has
    came up short to Reid Schroeder. That has set up, what could be, an exciting blood round match between Bray and Gunnar Henry. Both are ranked top 10 in the state and up until last weekend Emerine would have been the favorite. Throw in the fact that they are former training partners at Invicta and long time friends and this match will have it all. Don’t think for a minute either will have a hard time going after it b/c they are friends.
     
    Columbus East’s Jaden Durnil has had some big wins this year and all of his losses are close. Last year he lost to SQ Dominic Pugliese 9-8. After wrestling 195 most of the year, he dropped to 182 for the state tournament and has won sectionals and regionals and appeared to be cruising to state. Then Henry/Buchanan happened and then the draws of stupidity happened and now Durnil has returning state runner up Drake Buchanan. Turrible, turrible, turrible
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Along with Emerine, BigToe says don’t look past Cascade Junior Liam Farmer, Farmer has cut his teeth in the tough Hendricks County area and definitely be game. He’ll have to get through Reid Schroeder and Mitchel Happe if he wants to get to the Big Show!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Another close “chalk” weight, aside from one vote for Mater Dei’s Clay Martin. The ECSC likes Buchanan, Henry, Schroeder, and McBee
    1st - Drake Buchanan Center Grove, 2nd - Gunnar Henry Brownsburg, 3rd - Reid Schroeder Southridge, 4th - Jerry McBee Owen Valley
     
    Donnie Baker Bet the Boat Guarantee - Gunnar Henry wins the rematch
     
    195: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 7/13
    Our next LOCK comes at 195 in returning state champ, Evansville Mater Dei’s Gabe Sollars. We will also see the next chapter in #1 vs #2 as Sollars and Castle’s John Purdy has been tearing up the Southwest part of the state this year. Purdy won the first match 4-3 with Sollars winning the last 2 by scores of 9-4 and 5-0. Butttttt don’t count out returning medalist Wyatt Willman, who dropped a tight 2-1 match to Purdy last weekend.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - Gotta plug my boy….who’s had a run of absolutely awful draws - Sollars, Sollars, and now Purdy, but Madison Junior Van Skinner is very capable of winning any match. A frosh/soph state champ, Skinner will have to be very game to knock off Purdy!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Did I mention Skinner? Okay moving on, SSR #4 and SR #10 Sammy Saunders hit a roadblock last weekend in unranked Colten Hubbell of Edgewood. This
    has now set up a ticket round match with Saunders and Jeffersonville Senior Evan Clayton whos SR #12 and SSR #5. Two seniors, one goes to state and one goes home!
     
    Don’t sleep on…. Whiteland Junior Sam Allen. He’s just gained eligibility and is definitely state worthy, can he knock off Willman in the ticket round? Also Jakobe Leavell of Pike is 22-4 and has a win over #22 Bryce Crump. Admittedly, most Northern schools don’t get the love they deserve as I never get info about them. Is Leavell a sleeping monster???
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Another flirtation with a “chalk” weight but a solo vote for Clayton stopped it from happening. Sollars (LOCK), Purdy, Willman, Saunders
    1st - Gabe Sollars Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - John Purdy Castle, 3rd - Wyatt Willman North Posey, 4th - Sammy Saunders Terre Haute North
     
    220: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 8/12
    ATTENTION ALL READERS, ATTENTION ALL READERS after 12 weights we finally have a “chalk” weight! *EDIT* Donnie Baker woke up from his nap, snorted, yelled “Garron By God Jenkins” and fell back asleep…. No chalk…. 4 state top ten ranked wrestlers highlight this field and 2 of them will be going at it in the ticket round! Indiana newcomer Nathan Critchfield has been causing damage all over The Crescent city and surrounding areas. The Mater Dei senior looks to keep it going this weekend, can anybody stop him?
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerker - #11 Zac Inzerello, a senior from Castle steps on the line against #25 Nolan Skaggs, a senior from Franklin and returning state qualifier. Skaggs has went back and forth with Royce Deckard 3 from Center Grove. After dropping last weekend, Skaggs finds himself behind the 8 ball this weekend. Whoever wins this match has the Mammoth from Columbus, Tommy Morrill.
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Jasper’s Ashton Schuetter is ranked 8th in the state and only had two losses heading into the state tournament to Inzerello and Critchfield. A loss to Floyd Central’s Garron Jenkins last weekend set up the ticket round match of Schuetter and Critchfield. A turrible draw for the Jasper Senior.
     
    Don’t sleep on…. The aforementioned Jenkins, the Floyd Senior, hasn't been around a lot in High School but has been a wrestler for years. After stepping back on the mat this year, he’s had some big wins and a great senior campaign. He has Memorial Junior Kelton Farmer. They were supposed to wrestle at The Mater Dei Classic, but an injury to Jenkins prevented that. Keep an eye on this match.
     
    After reading through this bracket I can see any of 9 guys qualifying for state, after Critchfield it’s really wide open. These ticket round matches could be good ones.
     
    Ford Fab 4 - The LOCK Critchfield, Morrill and Deckard were all unanimous and Farmer was close
    1st - Nathan Crichfield Evansville Mater Dei, 2nd - Tommy Morrill Columbus East, 3rd - Kelton Farmer Evansville Memorial , 4th - Royce Deckard 3 Center Grove
     
    Donnie Baker Bet the Boat Guarantee Garron Jenkins senior run lasts more weekend as he joins his Floyd teammates in Indianapolis
     
    285: State ranked/Semi State ranked = 6/11
    Our last weight and we get our last lock and our first chalk! Leighton Jones dropped a tough state semi-finals match last year and seems dialed in to win a state title this year, the ECSC agree! This is a competitive field, but all seems to be spread out. Can Evansville’s James Ralph spoil the Mooresville love fest? The Wildcat has some big wins, but appears to be the sleeper in this field as others love the Johnson and Johnson crew from the Mooresvile Regional.
     
    Barry Horowitz Best Curtain Jerkers - No Curtain jerkers! Wow! Go grab some pork nachos and get ready for the quarters!
     
    Charles Barkley Turrible Draws - Another Nah…….
     
    Don’t sleep on…. James Ralph/Nate Johnson - a great SSR#4 vs SSR#5 match Ralph is the favorite but Nate Johnson could easily win this match as well.
    Undefeated Beau Noland has slid under the radar, can this North Knox senior crash the party Saturday? This will be his third trip to Evansville, so he has experience!
     
    Ford Fab 4 - Our last LOCK, Leighton Jones of Brownsburg leads an incredibly tough field. You might find all 4 of these guys on the podium next week.
    1st - Leighton Jones Brownsburg, 2nd - Jacob Johnson Franklin, 3rd - James Ralph Evansville Mater Dei, 4th - Ashton Hartwell Columbus East (TripleBTrained!)
     
    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 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!
    See everybody at the FORD and onto The Bridge!
  14. Thanks
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2022 IHSWCA Team State Information   
    Date: January 8th, 2022
     
    Qualification Procedures
    Click here to see the qualification procedures for teams participating
     
    Qualification Leaderboard
    Click here to see the leaderboard throughout the state series
     
    Locations 
    1A and 2A- Martinsville High School
    3A- Franklin Community High School
    4A- Brownsburg High School
     
    Schedule
    Weigh-ins 7:30am
    Doors open 8:00am
    Wrestling beings at 9:00am
     
    Admission
    $15- Adults and Students
    Preschool and IHSWCA members FREE
     
    Teams
    1A Event Link
    1A: Adams Central, Cascade, Centerville, Cowan, Daleville, North Posey, Prairie Heights, Rensselaer Central, Rochester, Southmont, Southridge, Tell City
    Vote In: Cascade
     
    2A Event Link
    2A: Bellmont, Charlestown, Delta, Garrett, Hamilton Heights, Jay County, Monrovia, New Prairie, Oak Hill, Peru, Wawasee, Western
    Vote In: Delta and Monrovia(Tippecanoe Valley withdrew from the event)
     
    3A Event Link
    3A:  Columbus East, East Central, Floyd Central, Franklin Community, Hobart, Mishawaka, Roncalli, Terre Haute South
    Vote In: Hobart and Roncalli(Columbia City withdrew from the event)
     
    4A Event Link
    4A: Brownsburg, Carmel, Cathedral, Center Grove, Evansville Mater Dei, Perry Meridian, Penn, and Crown Point
    Vote In: Carmel
     
    TrackWrestling Link
    ****Including Streaming Info****
    Streaming is through TrackWrestling/FloWrestling and cost is a yearly subscription of $150.
    Click here to access the event
     
    *Note: If you want a monthly subscription option you can subscribe to FloBowling and utilize that membership to watch wrestling or any other sports they offer. The cost is $30 per month for a monthly option.
     
    Brackets




  15. Like
    RAJR 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. 
  16. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Tallinn is beautiful in August   
    More people from Indiana have Googled Estonia over the past few days than ever before and with good reason. After this weekend Indiana will have four representatives at the Junior World Championships in Tallinn, Estonia. For those of you that want a little geography lesson, Tallinn is the largest city and capital of Estonia. Estonia is a country that has about 1.3 million people and is about half the size of Indiana. It is a very historical city and sits on the Baltic Sea.  Wikipedia has a lot of great information Tallinn and Estonia, just click here for that info.
    Now onto the wrestling part, which is why you’re here. Last week Alara Boyd was dominant in her quest to make her first Junior World Team at Women’s Nationals in Texas. After medaling twice as a cadet she is looking for her third world medal in as many tries this year.
    The men duked it out this weekend in Raleigh this past weekend looking to join Boyd in Tallinn. Lucas Davison had an immense advantage sitting out until the second day already in the best of three finals. Brayton Lee was the top seed in the challenge tournament in an extremely deep weight class. Lastly, Mason Parris decided a couple weeks ago to start training for the event and with his Fargo placement last year was given the three seed. The tournament brackets were small due to a limited number of qualifiers. Most brackets were 8 man or less with a couple that had around 10 competitors.
    Parris’ path to Estonia was quite unique to say the least. Not only was entering the trials a late decision, the top two wrestlers from the Junior Open did not come to the trials. That left the weight wide open as Anthony Cassioppi was considered a big favorite to win the weight.
    Parris had one match on Saturday where he defeated Virginia Tech’s John Borst 7-4. That put him in the best of three finals against Wiconsin’s Trent Hillger with whom he defeated during the NCAA season. In the first match of the best of three series Hillger topped Parris 7-6 after a late flurry of action that almost gave Parris the win. The second an third matches were quite different as Mason go after it early with a tech fall in the second match and a pin in about a minute in the last match.
    Lucas Davison saw North Carolina’s Brandon Whitman in the finals. Whitman was an NCAA qualifier last year for the Tar Heels as a true freshman. Davison dominated the first match 9-0 with a big 8 point first period. In the second match he wrestled a little more conservatively and won 5-0. Not only will Davison have Indiana friends on the Junior World Team, his Wildcat teammate Yahya Thomas is also on the team.
    Brayton Lee had quite the weekend to say the least. Brayton employed quite a unique strategy all weekend long and while it took a few more hairs off his dad Brett’s head it worked out well in the end. He started Friday out with a late tech fall of Justin McCoy who wrestles for Virginia. After that match the drama began. In the challenge bracket semi-finals he faced off with rival Jacori Teemer. They have wrestled three times before and every match was pure pandemonium. This match would be no different. Teemer raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first period on a couple snatch singles and pushout. At the start of the second period something changed…that being Lee broke the ice. He scored 12 straight points to take the lead and ended up winning 12-9.
    In the bracket finals Lee had Peyton Robb who was a redshirt for Nebraska last year. This time Robb raced out to an 8-2 lead late in the first period before rattling of four late points to close the gap to 8-6 at the break. The second period once again was all Lee as he racked up 11 more points to win 17-6.
    Next up for Lee would be Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso who made quick work of him in Vegas. Lee was prepared to not give up a leg lace, but early on may have forgotten about leg defense. Sasso came out hungry and was up 6-0 after the first period. Another early score in the second period it looked like the match would be cut early due to a tech fall. However, Mr. Lee had other plans. He kept the pressure on and started to crack the ice with constant pressure and heavy hands. Lee started with one takedown, then another with a turn, then a pushout and for good measure two more takedowns to eventually break Sasso. The final score was 11-8 after 11 straight points by Lee.
    The final match had a little less drama as you could tell Sasso was still tired both mentally and physically from the first one. Sasso got an early push-out, but Lee rattled off another 8 points to win convincingly 8-1 and earn his trip to Tallinn. On the weekend Lee scored 47 points in the second period while only allowing 7(3 to McCoy and 2 each to Teemer and Sasso).
    This year is the third time we have had multiple representatives in the same age group and style at a World Championships. The two other times were when Angel Escobedo and Reece Humphrey both represented the USA at the University Championships in 2010 and the Senior Championships in 2013. Before this weekend Indiana has had six others qualify for the Junior World Championships: Leroy Vega(1999), Matt Coughlin(2006), Angel Escobedo(2007), Andrew Howe(2009), Jason Tsirtsis(2013), and Stevan Micic(2015). Micic and Howe both brought home bronze medals.
    On the senior side of things three Indiana natives had solid days on the mat. Kayla Miracle fresh off claiming her third straight spot on a U23 team made quick work of Desiree Zavala spending less than two minutes on the mat total in two matches. She pinned Zavala in 1:10 in the first match and almost broke a sweat in a 34 second tech in the second. She clinched a spot in Final X where she will face Mallory Velte in the best of three series for a spot on the senior world team. Last year Velte won the series in three matches and went on to win a bronze medal at the World Championships.
    On the men’s side of things Riley Lefever and Ben Harvey came into the challenge bracket as a 5 and 7 seed respectively. Both exceeded seed expectations and placed 3rd and 4th. For Lefever he lost to Ohio State’s Kollin Moore in his first bout. He beat three-time All-American Tim Dudley in his first consolation match then avenged his loss to Moore for 3rd place.
    Harvey faced Mark Hall first round and dropped that match. He defeated Stacey Davis and Geno Morelli in the consolations before falling to Nick Becker in the 3rd place bout.
    Overall Indiana had a great few days on the mat and will be well represented at the world level. Currently we have five representatives on teams with the cadet teams determined in a couple weeks and both Hildebrandt and Miracle two wins from earning their spots at Final X. Both girls will be at Final X in Lincoln on June 15th.
  17. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, Indiana natives in the hunt for World Team spots   
    The spring is always “rather throw you than know you’ season and while our state freestyle and Greco championships are complete the regional and national events are just getting started. Last week saw two Indiana natives make the World Team for women. Kayla Miracle, now wrestling out of Iowa City, won the U23 Trials along with Yorktown’s Alara Boyd making her first Junior World Team.
    This weekend we will have the Junior World Team Trials and the final spots for the seniors for Final X determined in Raleigh, North Carolina. There will be a handful of Indiana natives looking to make the World Team and we’ll highlight them for you here.
    Junior Men’s Freestyle
    Bracket Link
    Three Indiana natives from the class of 2018 will be looking to join Alara Boyd in Tallinn, Estonia in mid-August. Leading the way will be Lucas Davison who will not wrestle until the best of three series on Saturday. He won the Junior Open, thus giving him an automatic berth in the finals. His biggest competition will be Arizona State’s Kordell Norfleet and North Carolina’s Brandon Whitman. Note that Indiana fans saw Whitman at the Dream Team Classic last year against Mason Parris.
    Speaking of Parris, it seems as if he will be entered at heavyweight. He did not wrestle at the open and thus could see his seed affected by that. He also has very limited freestyle credentials, but he is training with Adam Coon, so that should help him. His biggest competition will be Iowa’s Anthony Cassioppi who is sitting until the best of three on Saturday. Cassioppi is also a two-time IHPO champion if you’re keeping track at home.
    Brayton Lee is another contender for a trip to Tallinn at 70kg(154lbs). He was second at the open to Ohio State’s Sammy Sasso and should come in as the challenge tournament top seed. Lee’s budding rival, Jacori Teemer, looks to be dropping to 65kg which will make this weight a little “easier.” However, he will have to fend off Missouri true freshman All-American Brock Mauller along with Peyton Robb, and former Dream Teamer Jared Franek. Even without Teemer this is still a really tough weight class.
    Thomas Penola had a great redshirt season for Purdue and continued doing well with a 6th place finish in Vegas. At 86kg, he will have to navigate a deep field of top level talent. Currently he is not registered, so we won't know for sure until Friday morning if he is attending the event.
    The schedule for Juniors starts on Friday at 10am with the challenge tournament. The winner of the challenge tournament will wrestle Saturday in the best of three series against the Junior Open champion.
    Senior Greco-Roman
    One former and one current Indiana Hoosier will be wrestling on the Greco side of things. Current Hoosier sophomore Liam Cronin will be at 60kg, while former Former Hoosier upperweight Lucas Sheridan will be at 97kg where he has been one of the top guys in the country recently. 
    Senior Women’s Freestyle
    With Sarah Hildebrandt automatically advancing to Final X due to her silver medal at last year’s World Championships there is only one Indiana native to watch here. Kayla Miracle made the move from Kentucky to Iowa last year and it seems to have paid dividends. She won the US Open and thus will be in the best of three finals on Sunday. Just last week she earned what seems to be her 100th spot on a World Team by winning the U23 trials. She will be looking to make her first senior world team after advancing to Final X last year and losing to eventual world bronze medalist Mallory Velte.
    The schedule for the women’s freestyle portion begins on Saturday with the challenge tournament. The best of three finals will be on Sunday starting at noon.
    Senior Men’s Freestyle
    Men’s freestyle is always exciting and provides a great crop of dream match-ups throughout the weekend. This weekend we will have four guys with Indiana ties looking to earn a spot in Final X in either Lincoln, Nebraska or Piscataway, New Jersey.
    Current college star Ben Harvey is entered at 79kg after finishing 7th at the US Open. Harvey was a state runner-up at Cathedral and made the round of 12 for Army West Point this past season. He is currently a Junior and has one more year of NCAA eligibility left. The 79kg weight class is highlighted by the likes of three-time NCAA champion Alex Dieringer, three-time NCAA finalist Mark Hall, and freestyle extraordinaire Chance Marsteller. Harvey will likely be one of the lower seeds due to his US Open placement.
    Another state runner-up still making an impact is Riley Lefever. Before he won four DIII NCAA titles for Wabash he was a runner-up for Carroll High School…the one in Fort Wayne. He has been training in State College, Pennsylvania with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club for the past two years. He placed 6th at the US Open and is likely going to slot in at the 5th seed in the challenge tournament at 92kg. He will likely see Ohio State’s Kollin Moore in the round of 8 and then Hayden Zillmer in the semi-finals.
    Two others with ties to Indiana to keep your eye on is Indiana University All-American Nate Jackson. He is being coached by former three-time Indiana state champion Reece Humphrey at the New Jersey RTC. He will be entered at 86kg. Last, but not least we always like to keep tabs on Gable Steveson. Even though he is eligible for the Junior age group he has once again entered the Senior division. He didn’t wrestle at the US Open so he will get knocked down a little with his seed. The winner of the challenge tournament here will see Adam Coon in the best of three finals on Sunday.
    The schedule for the men’s freestyle will start with the challenge tournament bracket on Saturday and finish with the best of three finals on Sunday. The challenge tournament should be about a 7-10 man bracket for most weight classes. You can follow along on FloWrestling.com and as always check out our social media, especially Twitter(@IndianaMat) for updates throughout the weekend.
    Full Schedule
    Friday May 17
    Session I
    UWW Junior Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2
    10:00 am – 2:00 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS)
    Senior Greco-Roman: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2
    10:00 am – 3:00 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS)
    Session II
    UWW Junior Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals, Consolation Rd. 3-Semis
    4:00 pm – 8:30 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS)
    Senior Greco-Roman: Semi-Finals, Finals, Consolation Rd. 3-Semis
    4:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS)
    Saturday May 18
    Session III
    Senior Women’s Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1
    10:00 am – 12:00 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
    Senior Men’s Freestyle: 1st Round, Quarterfinals and Consolation Rd. 1-2
    10:00 am – 1:00 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
    Session IV
    UWW Junior Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary)
    1:30 pm – 5:15 pm – UWW Junior Freestyle (2 MATS)
    Senior Greco-Roman: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary)
    1:30 pm – 5:15 pm – Senior Greco-Roman (2 MATS)
    Session V
    Senior Men’s Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals and Consolation Rd. 3, Cons-Semis.
    5:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
    Senior Women’s Freestyle: Semi-Finals, Finals and Consolation Rd. 3, Cons-Semis.
    5:30 pm – 9:00 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
    Sunday May 19
    Session VI
    Senior Men’s Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary)
    12:00 pm – 3:45 pm – Senior Men’s Freestyle (2 MATS)
    Senior Women’s Freestyle: Best 2 out of 3 Championship, 3rd Place, True 3rd (If Necessary)
    12:00 pm – 3:45 pm – Senior Women’s Freestyle (2 MATS) 
     
  18. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, 2019 State Finals by the Numbers   
    Overall
    Rankings are always a heated debate amongst wrestling fans. Over the years we have always locked our rankings before sectional and let them ride throughout the state series. Every year we lose kids due to unforeseen circumstances and even the death draws at semi-state. However, they always prove to be quite accurate. This year we had the most ranked wrestlers in 175 or just under 78% in our final rankings. On top of that 206 of the wrestlers were in our state or semi-state rankings. Here is a breakdown by weight and highlight matches to watch on Friday night.
    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: 14
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Chris Newman- Mt. Vernon
    Dominic Skees- Lafayette Central Catholic
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #5 Stephen Roberson- Crown Point vs. #11 Isaac Ruble- Bellmont
    #3 Alec Freeman- Evansville Mater Dei vs. #9 Elijah Anthony- Frankfort
    #16 Alex Ocampo- Central Noble vs. #6 Malik Hall- Merrillville
    #2 Brennen Cernus- Culver Academies vs. #20 Aidan Sprague- East Noble
    #7 Carlton Perry- Warren Central vs. #8 Logan Miller- Brownsburg
    #12 Blaze Garcia- Avon vs. #4 Suhas Chundi- Carmel
    113lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Harper Dedman- Oak Hill
    Jake Armstrong- Winamac Community.
    Landon Bertch- Bluffton
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #12 Preston Teusch- Huntington North vs. #14 Jacob Simone- Hamilton Southeastern
    #9 Gavinn Alstott- Floyd Central vs. #7 Martin Cruz- Merrillville
    #2 Zeke Seltzer- Indianapolis Cathedral vs. #16 Jett Boots- Angola
    #4 Giovanni Diaz- Wheeler vs. #17 Kamariyon Nelson- Brownsburg
    #1 Jacob Moran- Portage vs. #5 Cole Ross- Evansville Mater Dei

    120lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
    Unranked qualifiers:
    John Robinson- Delta
    Logan Galbraith- North Central
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #19 Beau Humphrey- FW Snider vs. #8 Trey Finnearty- Culver Academies
    #4 Brayden Lowery- Roncalli vs. #11 Tyler Conley- Avon
    #16 Jace Alexander- Wawasee vs. #17 Kade Zadylak- Norwell
    #2 Blake Boarman- Evansville Mater Dei vs. #10 Chris Stewart- Warren Central
    #12 Evan Beasley- Northridge vs. #14 Ty Haskins- Portage
    #5 Carson Eldred- Westfield vs. #6 Kysen Montgomery- Brownsburg
    126lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Brendon Mark- Mishawaka
    Hayden Shepherd- Western
    Jared Brown- Pendleton Heights
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #9 Chase Wilkerson- Mt. Vernon (Fortville) vs. #16 JJ Conway- Floyd Central
    #3 Hunter Watts- Jimtown vs. #15 Evan Burge- McCutcheon
    #12 Kane Egli- Evansville Mater Dei vs. #7 Logan Wagner- Zionsville
    #6 Lukasz Walendzak- Indianapolis Cathedral vs. #14 Cade Meier- Bloomington South
    #5 Brock Peele- Portage vs. #2 Brayden Curtis- Yorktown
    132lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Aundre Beatty- Warren Central
    Eli Hickman- Rensselaer Central
    Hunter Brown- Cambridge City Lincoln
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #4 Geremia Brooks- Wawasee vs. #11 Clay Egli- Evansville Mater Dei
    #13 Seth Johnson- North Montgomery vs. #17 Logan Mosser- Adams Central
    #7 Logan Boe- Plainfield vs. #16 Reese Rodriguez- Hammond Morton
    #2 Alec Viduya- Roncalli vs. #15 Owen Krider- Carroll (FW)
    #10 Ricky Hegedus- Portage vs. #9 Drake Campbell- Brownsburg
    138lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
    Unranked qualifiers:
    AJ Poindexter- Harrison (WL)
    Cameron Worley- Lafayette Jefferson
    Gabe Weeks- Mishawaka
    Treyton Mucker- Tell City
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Cayden Rooks- Columbus East vs. #20 William Fiechter- Southern Wells
    #3 Conner Gimson- Jimtown vs. #8 Drew Kreitzer- Brownsburg
    #4 Braxton Alexander- Wawasee vs. #5 Gabe Phillips- Centerville
    #15 Jaden Reynolds- Avon vs. #11 Dylan Goudy- Western
    145lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Kade Law- Columbus East
    Scottie Saylor- Carroll (FW)
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #8 Jacob Burford- Crown Point vs. #5 Antwaun Graves- Warren Central
    #20 Terrell Leavell- Lawrence Central vs. #10 Jacob Maldonado- Merrillville
    #3 Alex Mosconi- Indianapolis Cathedral vs. #13 Jeffrey Harper- Penn
    #7 Jonathan Kervin- Floyd Central vs. #11 Jake Jenkins- Homestead
    #6 Jorden Douglass- Attica vs. #4 Aiden Warren- Perry Meridian
    #14 Ryan Rasler- Prairie Heights vs. #12 LJ Burdon- Plainfield
    152lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 12
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Cody McCune- Huntington North
    Isaiah Mohmed- Wheeler
    Mathew Mangus- Zionsville
    Noah Hollendonner- Crown Point
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #3 Cooper Noehre- Greenfield-Central vs. #15 Ellisston Ross- Bloomington South
    #10 Cole Cervantes- Griffith vs. #11 Eric Hiestand- Yorktown
    #7 Nathan Conley- Avon vs. #2 Elliott Rodgers- Indianapolis Cathedral
    #9 Sam Fair- Perry Meridian vs. #5 Jake Schoenegge- Columbus East
    160lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Abel Verbeek- Lowell
    Braden Welch- Culver Academies
    Drew Sailors- Rochester Community
    Gabe Sollars- Evansville Mater Dei
    Jaymiere Johnson- Hammond Gavit
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #6 Jackson Pettigrew- Columbia City vs. #18 Hayden Lohrey- Shenandoah
    #2 Jordan Slivka- Indianapolis Cathedral vs. #19 Joe Parrish- Homestead
    #11 Jon Ruble- Bellmont vs. #12 Jake Lowe- North Montgomery
    170lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 14
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Bryce Buckley- Eastern (Greentown)
    Delton Moore- Manchester
    Jason Streck- Merrillville
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #11 Kyle Saez- Westfield vs. #6 Macartney Parkinson- Evansville Mater Dei
    #7 Derek Blubaugh- Bloomington South vs. #10 Logan Hart- Carmel
    #5 Elijah Mahan- Roncalli vs. #14 Thierry Jean-Baptiste- Brownsburg
    #16 Colin Kwiatkowski- Valparaiso vs. #18 Zane Gilbreath- Rochester Community
    #1 Nick South- Columbus East vs. #13 Josh Lowe- North Montgomery
    182lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Austin Leech- Garrett
    Jacob Combs- Hagerstown
    Zachary Flynn- Jasper
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #7 Mason Winner- Jay County vs. #19 Devontay Moore- North Central (Indpls.)
    #17 Noah Perez- LaPorte vs. #3 Levon Bellemy- Edgewood
    #1 Carson Brewer- Avon vs. #15 Noah Brown- Penn
    #14 JD Farrell- Fishers vs. #6 Jake Lone- NorthWood
    #5 Evan Bates- Chesterton vs. #9 Trizton Carson- Danville Community
    195lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 13
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Chandler Chapman- Jay County
    Griffin Stine- Martinsville
    Kyle Krummen- East Central
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #9 KJ Roudebush- Tipton vs. #17 Dakari Kenny- Pike
    #5 Nick Willham- Greenwood Community vs. #12 Austin Lane- Perry Meridian
    #2 Ewan Donovan- Hebron vs. #8 Stewart Mossholder- Oak Hill
    #7 Cale Gray- Norwell vs. #18 Ethan Potosky- Crown Point
    220lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 10
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Christian Graft- Huntington North
    Cullen Browning- Northeastern
    Damari Dancy- Portage
    Grant Johnson- New Prairie
    Josh Howell- Terre Haute South Vigo
    Reese Wicker- Churubusco
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #6 Joey Kidwell- West Lafayette vs. #4 Kyle Cornwell- Elwood Community
    #3 Andrew Irick- Hamilton Southeastern vs. #10 Drew Bailey- Merrillville
    #13 Will Stewart- South Spencer vs. #9 Jayden Elwood- Leo
    285lbs
    Number of Ranked Wrestlers Qualifying: 11
    Unranked qualifiers:
    Aidian Rea- Heritage Hills
    AJ Jones- Madison-Grant
    Logan Swallow- Monroe Central
    Matthew Munoz- Jeffersonville
    Sam Jones- Perry Meridian
    Vince Yoder- Fairfield
    First round match-ups of ranked wrestlers:
    #1 Jamichael Watts- North Central vs. #19 Anthony Atria- Merrillville
    #17 Crae Kunkleman- Hamilton Southeastern vs. #2 Yehezquel DeVault- Penn
    #18 Will Crider- Harrison (WL) vs. #10 John Harris- Roncalli
    First round match-ups of unranked wrestlers:
    Matthew Munoz- Jeffersonville vs. Vince Yoder- Fairfield
  19. Like
    RAJR reacted to Y2CJ41 for a article, #WrestlingWednesday: Frankton = Family   
    By JEREMY HINES
    Thehines7@gmail.com
    Frankton wrestling coach Courtney Duncan walked in on the first day of practice carrying something a little bit unusual. The Frankton wrestling coach wasn’t holding a whistle, or uniforms. He was holding index cards. He passed one out to each kid in the room and told them to write down why they came out for wrestling.
    When Duncan read the answers, he knew he had a pretty special team.
    “Almost every kid put that they wrestle because it builds family and relationships,” Duncan said. “I didn’t have the kids put their names on the card, but that told me right then and there that they get it. It’s not about wins and losses. It’s about trusting each other and being loyal to each other.”
    Frankton, a small school of 480 students just north of Anderson, had one of the best Class A teams in the state last year. Coach Duncan really thought that they could have fared well at the team state tournament, but they did not get an invite. This year, that has changed. Frankton will be one of the teams competing for the Class A title.
    “We are really excited about team state,” Duncan said. “This is where we wanted to get as a team. We thought we had a chance last year, but this year we’re going in hoping to prove we belong. We have more kids out than we’ve probably ever had. The kids are excited and they all really look forward to the tournament.”
    One of Frankton’s hammers is junior 170 pounder Cody Klettheimer. Last season Klettheimer was one of two Frankton grapplers to advance to the individual state tournament.
    “We are looking forward to team state,” Klettheimer said. “Our goal is to win it. But we also think we can win our sectional, regional and maybe even our semistate.”
    That isn’t out of the realm of possibilities for Frankton. The team has four returning wrestlers who advanced to at least the ticket round of semistate last year. Klettheimer and senior David Delph advanced to state. Senior Dru Berkebile lost in the ticket round at semistate as did junior Cole Baker.
    The Eagles have other wrestlers, like senior Grant Geisinger, that are hoping to do well in the tourney this year. Geisinger lost to Cathedral’s Elliott Rodgers on a last second takedown in the opening round of regional. Rodgers went on to place fourth in state.
    “Grant has really developed,” Duncan said. “He has had a taste of success now, and he’s ready to make a run.”
    Frankton has the luxury of depth this year, something the school hasn’t really ever had before. There were over 30 kids go out for the team.
    “I have options this year,” Duncan said. “We are able to move kids around. We are able to make strategic lineup decisions. We have backups at just about every spot in our lineup.”
    Another major team strength is the bond the wrestlers have.
    “We all love being around each other,” Klettheimer said. “We know what we want to get to, and we push each other to the limit in the room. Even drilling we are starting to go 100 percent on everything. And, when we’re not wrestling, we are all hanging out together. We’ve became very close.”
    Frankton has improved its strength of schedule over the last several years, hoping it will create better wresters.
    “Our kids believe,” Duncan said. “They believe in each other, and they believe in themselves. We have a tough schedule, but it doesn’t matter what size school you come from, you still put your wrestling shoes on the same way. We are realizing by facing these larger, stronger schools, we can compete with anyone.”
    Klettheimer said the team’s motto is “Take No Prisoners.” The Eagles are good, and they want to prove it. Team state can’t come fast enough for this tight knit group.
    “We’re ready to see what we can accomplish,” Duncan said. “I think we can do something pretty special.”
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