DrSugarBritches

Give me Crown Point in a clean sweep. Bet the Mater Dei guys couldn't even make weight anymore.

I told you. Where is all of the hate at now. Record setting.

Wow, can’t believe he took the cowards way out. Real men go through the rigors of qualifying out of Fort Wayne. 

Wrestlebacks are for losers!

My next rank........Just thought everyone should  know

I wish they would just leave the low weights alone. I don't care about forfeits that much. I care more about who this sport reaches. A kid that weighs around 100 pounds doesn't have much of a chance at many other sports without getting just run over. I am still not happy they moved it away from 103. The higher they raise it the more that 98 pound kid that can't gain weight gets hurt and the more that 120 something pound kid thinks he can wrestle the lightest weight. 

It's really pretty interesting that you guys can understand that because the larger schools have more students that they are going to have better teams, but then you can't understand that because they have more students means they are going to have more elite individuals thus more state qualifiers.

It would be a disaster because coaches wouldn't report their results.

Steve,. I moved her about 12 years ago.  I lived 4 years in Ohio and my older son wrestled in Ohio out of the Sandusky area.  I attended a few State tournaments at OSU.  Really fun time and great environment.. Also wrestled in Kansas and Missouri.  I've seen a lot of state tournaments.  
When I moved to Indiana, I also said WTF, the state qualification process is bizarre.   Being hear 12 years, I still ponder a lot on why they do it and realize they will never change.   Here's my conclusions on why Indiana does it.  
1.  The Indiana State qualifying  system  has the "Hoosier Syndrome" DNA built into it.   See the movie Hoosiers.  The whole point is  belief is one class  and one champion.  If you have one champion, and  If you lose early in a qualifying round then were not the best and continuing to contend for placement is irrelevant and waste of time.
2. At some point in time, the Indiana legislature dictated to the IHSAA  that it is not ok to miss school for sports participation.  As you notice the whole very long state series takes place on weekends.  With a one class state system, and to have full wrestle backs, you would to extend the tournament to weekdays requiring  the missing of missinv of school which is strongly against IHSAA philosophy.
3.  Basketball dominates Indiana and to some degree football.   The IHSAA executive board who could make changes to the qualification format is made up of athletic directors from Indiana High Scools.  Most of these board members have Basketball backgrounds and some football.  I'm not aware of any former wrestling coaches.   These sports do not have the equivalent of wrestle backs and have also have the one loss you're done philosophy ingrained into their beliefs.   They  do not believe in double elimination (strong bias at the IHSAA)  and are offended that wrestling requests it.  Our wrestling committee who presents rule changes was directed to not use the term wrestle backs when requesting policy change. Wrestle backs even though an integral part of wrestling is a dirty word at the IHSAA.
4.  The  Legacy of sudden death and no wrestle backs is ingrained into the wrestling community in Indiana.  A majority of people would love to see wrestle backs, but a large minority of people love the Indiana tradition. When they participated, they had to deal with the  unfairness of the luck of the draw.  Why should younger kids get the benefit of dealing with wrestle backs.
5. The randomness of sudden death is entertaining.  People love the ticket round and seeing two highly ranked kids meet knowing somebody is going home unfairly.  It creates drama.  I've made the same argument you did that the consolation semi final ticket round is just as exciting to no avail.  If you thought the semi state quarter finals were unfair. Wait till the state tournament.  You have kids to through the gauntlet of qualifying for the state tournament.   Then half of the kids lose and are done.  Although entertaining, I get a dirty feeling of unfairness.   Why does Indiana want to bring the best talent in the state for a showcase, but try to shorten it for the least of among of wrestling they can get.  It never made sense to me.  
 
Anyway I'm personally biased as my son's lost in one of those close ticket round matches at semi state and wish he  had the benefit of a wrestleback.  It just isn't right if you're a traditional wrestling can.

I know I'll get pelted with empties from any poster that starts with "SW" and I respect Mr. Goebel (sic) immensely, but maybe it's time to put a third guy on the show? And might I recommend @ontherise219 for that position? Now hear me out....
 
How many times last night did he mention "I'm not familiar with that wrestler..." or "IndianaMat ranks him...". Well, the actual ranker does some media stuff for the actual sight that does the rankings oft quoted, and since he does the rankings pretty well it appears, he does seem to know a bit about most/all the wrestlers and not just the ones at the E'ville SS. Again, nothing personal, and as far as the actual call of the finals matches goes I think Mr. Goebel is great and knows his stuff and adds insight, but for a parings show I'd just like to hear a bit more insight/matchups etc and think OTR could provide that. Of course the hour and fifteen minute time frame might be tough but he wouldn't have @Y2CJ41 to throw him off topic. 
 
Like I said, unpopular opinion.. but outside of the ESS dudes there just didn't seem to be much insight or info put out there except "that should be a good quarter bracket". 
 
There...I said it.
 
I'll delete my acct now.

Fort Wayne 14
 

Absolutely it would.  Taking 6-8 kids from our Sectional maybe with a Champ or 2 every year would absolutely help a program grow.  

Indiana cornbrawlers have definitely took their lumps as a team, but we have learned so much and have a had great time together. Been a great experience in our first time down. Multiple guys still have a chance for all- American honors including: Elijah Anthony, Harper Dedman, Aidan Hardcastle, Jett Thompson, Fred Durben and Logan Swallow.

If you hit a stand up and put your hands behind your butt (to block a return), it should be stalling on defense and stopped for a new start in ref’s position. 

No time limit.  First Headlock wins.

kids who work so hard become great when they have training partners - who can push them  , when they have coaches who can push them  or even a training partner their size.
We had 11 kids this year  -my son who was a SQ at 152 had training partners who he can literally just push over.  
Our room is literally the size of a closet
No excuses - he got better   - just some of the limitations and challenges you’re glossing over  
Resources make a HUGE difference   
His training partners were great his first 3 years  never his size though  way smaller the first 2  and way bigger his 3rd  
106 partner - he was 120
113 partner he was 132
170 partner he was 138
 
in summer he has a very good partner - had he been in a bigger room with more kids and coaches  I believe he gets better and better  - maybe I’m wrong  - but when I see a kid train everyday and not be challenged by anyone , not because he’s unreal , just because they aren’t on his level.  That’s a challenge I would venture to say most big schools don’t have. 
 
 
 
 
 

****This article is the hard work of a central Indiana coach who would prefer not to reveal his or her identity 
It might be one of the toughest overall Semi State’s I have ever seen with an average of nearly 6 ranked wrestlers in every weight class.  In almost every quarter-bracket a State ranked or Semi State ranked opponent will be having their seasons ended prematurely. Further, the IHSAA Team Title very well may come down to the first two rounds of the New Castle Semi State with 7 potential matchups between Cathedral and Warren Central. The semistate also features the highest nationally ranked wrestler in Indiana in Silas Allred of Shenandoah. 
 
106
State Ranked Wrestlers
#1 Alex Cottey PM
#4 Suhas Chundi Carmel
#7 Carleton Perry WC
#9 Elijah Anthony Frankfort
#10 Logan Carrender LN
#15 Kody Glithero Roncalli
#18 Sam Crousore HSE
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#7 Evan Dickey Cathedral
#8 Isaiah Otto South Dearborn  
 
Potential Matchups 
#9 Elijah Anthony vs #8ss Isaiah Otto First Round with #10 Logan Carrender looming in the ticket round.  Anthony entered his freshman campaign undefeated going into sectionals losing to #4 Chundi twice headed into Semi state.  Carrender is red hot after winning the Pendleton Regional. 
#7 Carleton Perry vs #7ss Evan Dickey Cathedral first round with #18 Sam Crousore looking to be the first 4 over 1 of the tournament.  Perry pinned Dickey earlier in the year, but Cathedral is known for stepping up their game come tournament time.  Will Dickey be 2019 Andrew Wilson/Elliot Rodgers?He is one of the smaller 106s I've seen in a long time, but his technique is picture perfect.  
#4 Suhas Chundi versus #15 Kody Glithero in the ticket round.  Chundi has a 5-2 win earlier in the season but Roncalli is riding high after 6 champs at the brutal Perry Meridian Regional.  At least 3 ranked guys going home early here.  
#1 Cottey vs winner of #9 Anthony/#10 Carrender Semis
#4 Chundi vs #7 Perry semis
 
1st Round Picks
Cottey over Flowers
Condo over Pritchett
Carrender over Bullock
Anthony over Otto
Crousore over Necessary
Perry over Dickey
Chundi over Busch
Glithero over Williams
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Cottey, Chundi, Perry, Carrender 
 
Alpha Dog
Alex Cottey 
 
113 
State Ranked Wrestlers
#2 Zeke Seltzer Cathedral 
#3 David Pierson WC 
#14 Jake Simone HSE 
#15 Christian White New Pal 
#18 Antonio Jefferson LC
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#5 Andrew Haggerty PM
#6 Anthony Hughes LN
#8 Brac Hooper Carmel
 
Potential Matchups 
#15 Christian White vs #8ss Brac Hooper followed by potentially our second 4 over 1 with #6ss Hughes.  White has the experience and the name to get through this quarter bracket, but don’t expect Hooper or Hughes to lay down for him. 
#3 David Pierson vs #18 Antonio Jefferson.  A rematch from the Marion County finals in the ticket round.  It was a very tight match until the third period when Pierson got on top and secured the win.   
#3 Pierson vs #14 Simone semi-finals in a rematch of the 2018 ticket round.
 
1st Round Picks
Seltzer over Ramsey
Haggerty over Driver
Hughes over Gordon
White over Hooper
Simone over Wilson
Johnson over Galusha
Pierson over Bautista
Jefferson over Seal
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Seltzer, Pierson, Simone, White 
 
Alpha Dogs
Zeke Seltzer and David Pierson 
 
120
State Ranked Wrestlers
#4 Breyden Lowery Roncalli
#5 Carson Eldred Westfield
#10 Chris Stewart WC 
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#4 Harrison Hadley Lapel
#5 Carson Johnson Mount Vernon
#6 Traye Owens New Castle
#7 Parker Mosley NM
#8 Logan Galbraith NC
 
Potential Matchups 
#4ss Hadley vs #6ss Owens first round.  A battle of seniors including Hadley trying to return to state for the second year.  The winner of this matchup gets to do battle with #10 Chris Stewart in the ticket round. Hadley did what he needed to advance at the Pendleton regional, but he'll need to bring his A game to get to the Ticket round this year.
#8ss Galbraith, #7ss Moseley and Nick Morton will all bang it out to try and earn a spot at Bankers Life.  These kids could wrestle 10 different times with a different winner each time.
#4 Lowery vs #5 Eldred Semis.  This one should be a battle between two highly decorated grapplers.  
 
1st Round Picks
Eldred over Donlan
Dennison over Otto
Lowery over Parodi
Johnson over Condo
Owens over Hadley
Stewart over Gunn
Galbraith over Euson
Moseley over Morton
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Lowery, Stewart, Eldred, Galbraith
 
Alpha Dog
Brayden Lowery 
 
126
State Ranked Wrestlers
#6 Lukasz Walendzak Cathedral 
#7 Logan Wagner Zionsville 
#8 Cameron Toole Lebanon 
#9 Chase Wilkerson Mount Vernon 
#11 Jevian Ross Warren Central
#18 Grant Stapleton Lawrenceburg 
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#6 Dalton Huffman
#7 Sam Slivka
 
Potential Matchups 
#6 Walendzak vs #8 Toole first round.  A top eight ranked kid will be knocked out in the first round of semi state.  Winner has undefeated #18 Stapleton in the ticket round.  I would normally go with the experience of Walendzak here but he has taken losses two weeks in a row to kids ranked worse than him. 
#7ss Slivka vs Jared Brown should be good.  Brown had Mattingly dead in the water last year in the ticket round and got pinned while winning by double digits.  Don’t expect him to go down easily after beating Walendzak last week. 
#9 Wilkerson vs #11 Ross in a rematch from North Montgomery Holiday Classic.  Ross got the fall in their dual in December.  Should be a good one. 
#2 Wagner vs #9Wilkerson/#11 Ross Semi Finals.  Wagner has put together a great sophomore campaign, but I suspect this semi finals will be a great matchup. 
 
1st Round Picks
Stapleton over Franco
Toole over Walendzak
Slivka over Fuller
Brown over Lloyd
Wilkerson over Langeman
Ross over Frazier
Wagner over Huffman
McKee over Lonneman
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Toole, Brown, Ross, Wagner
 
Alpha Dog
Logan Wagner
  
132
State Ranked Wrestlers
#2 Alex Viduya Roncalli
#5 Logan Bailey Cathedral
#13 Seth Johnson NM
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#5 Aundre Beatty WC
#8 Sebastian Bryant North Central
 
Potential Matchups 
#5 Bailey vs #5ss Beatty.  A rematch from early December.  Bailey’s experience and win definitely weigh heavily here, however, Beatty is a dangerous wrestler that shouldn’t be overlooked.
#13 Johnson vs #2 Viduya Semis with #5 Bailey in finals.  If it is Viduya in the finals against Bailey it will be a rematch from a January dual where Viduya won 9-2.  Don’t expect the margin to be that high again as Bailey will be prepared for the rematch.
 
1st Round Picks
Brown over Naselroad
Merkel over Defreese
Bailey over Vredeveld
Beatty over Lauy
Viduya over Ramsey
Wilkerson over Boggs
Johnson over Collier
Bryant over Walston
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Merkel, Bailey, Viduya, Johnson
 
Alpha Dog
Alec Viduya
  
138—Nasty weight class where two returning state qualifiers have each other first round.
State Ranked Wrestlers
#2 Tyce Freije Roncalli
#5 Gabe Phillips Centerville
#9 Gabe Smith PM
#12 Jarred Rowlett WC
#13 Kyle Holman Carmel
#16 Andrew Wilson Cathedral
#17 Chris Wilkerson Mount Vernon
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#6 Adam Negangard East Central
#8 Reece Luhmann HSE
 
Potential Matchups 
#9 Gabe Smith vs #13 Kyle Holman in the ticket round.  These two did not see each other at team state but one top ranked kid will be ending their careers a week earlier than expected. 
#12 Jarred Rowlett vs #16 Andrew Wilson.  Two returning IHSAA State Qualifiers a year ago battle it out in the first round.  Rowlett came out on top in a decision back in December and looks to end his career on the floor of Bankers life.  Wilson is looking for that magic he found a year ago to help his team win another team title. 
#5 Phillips vs #12 Rowlett/#16 Wilson Ticket Round.  No rest for either returning qualifier with undefeated Phillips waiting in the wings.  A SSQ a year ago before injury ended his season is looking to punch his first ticket over someone looking for their second ticket.   
 
1st Round Picks
Wilkerson over Goodwin
Lauy over Walsh
Freije over Johnson-Sparks
Luhmann over Negangard
Holman over Crouch
Smith over Pettiford
Phillips over Poynter
Rowlett over Wilson
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Wilkerson, Freije, Smith, Rowlett
 
Alpha Dog
Tyce Freije
 
145
State Ranked Wrestlers
#2 Bryer Hall South Dearborn 
#4 Aiden Warren PM 
#5 Antwaun Graves WC 
#9 Jeff Dunasky Guerin Catholic 
#20 Terrell Leavell LC
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#8 Joe Theriot Carmel
 
Potential Matchups 
#5 Graves vs #9 Dunasky.  This one should be good as Dunasky knocked of Frejie a few weeks ago at the conference tournament that was still held during the “snow storm” week where everyone else canceled.  Graves is a returning medalist looking to get back on the podium.  Graves is a four time SSQ at 145. 
#2 Hall vs #20 Leavell.  Leavell is battle tested and has been here before and is looking for his first trip to the Bank.   
#3 Mosconi vs #4 Warren Semis in an overtime rematch
#2 Hall vs #5 Graves Semis in a rematch from a 4-3 decision in January.
 
1st Round Picks
Theriot over Alford
Warren over Wilburn
Mosconi over Newlin
Wright over Wolf
Graves over Miles
Dunasky over Lindemood
Hall over Smith
Leavell over Bates
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Warren, Mosconi, Graves, Hall
 
Alpha Dog
Maybe Hall but really whoever has the best day.  Graves beat Mosconi, Mosconi beat Warren, Warren beat Graves at Marion County and Graves pinned Warren at Regionals. 
 
152—Potential state finals match in the ticket round 
State Ranked Wrestlers
#2 Elliot Rodgers Cathedral
#3 Cooper Noehre Greenfield
#4 Brice Coleman WC
#9 Sammy Fair PM
#13 Tytus Ragle New Castle
#14 Easton Williamson Lebanon
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#7 Andrew Roberts Lawrenceburg
#8 Maxwell Hayes Mount Vernon
Potential Matchups 
#2 Rodgers vs #4 Coleman.  About as big of an argument for wrestlebacks as I’ve seen.  This match could easily be under the lights at Bankers Life next week but is instead going to be wrestled in the ticket round.  Someone who should be on the podium next week will be watching from the stands.
#3 Noehre vs #13 Ragle vs #14 Williamson/#8ss Hayes.  A very tough quarter bracket where two top 16 kids will be staying home after strong seasons.
 
1st Round Picks
Rodgers over Williams
Coleman over Sunding
Davin over Goodner
Fair over Roberts
Otto over Atkins
Dunn over Mangus
Noehre over Ragle
Hayes over Williamson
 
Tickets Punched in Order
 (Coleman/Rodgers), Fair, Dunn, Noehre
 
Alpha Dog
Coleman/Rodgers
 
160
State Ranked Wrestlers
#2 Jordan Slivka Cathedral
#3 Brooks Davis PM
#9 Ronan Hiner HSE
#10 Aaron Taylor WC
#12 Jake Lowe NM
#14 Bradley Harrington North Central
#18 Hayden Lohrey Shenandoah
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#7 Andrew Roth Lawrenceburg
#8 Garrett Sharp Carmel
 
Potential Matchups 
Rebein vs #14 Harrington vs Lowe.  An interesting group where 4 of the total 12 losses come from #10 Aaron Taylor.  Rebein is a hammer on top with his wing and could surprise both of the ranked wrestlers here. 
#2 Slivka vs #10 Taylor.  Another Cathedral and Warren matchup.  Taylor has had an up and down year winning the Marion County tournament but definitely has the attributes to pull the upset.  Slivka is, of course, a monster...
Winner gets #9 Hiner who has a win over Taylor at the John Hurrle.  Two top 10 wrestlers seasons will end in this quarter bracket alone. 
#2 vs #3 in the semis with Slivka and Davis 
 
1st Round Picks
Lowe over Bushey
Rebein over Harrington
Lohrey over Morgan
Miller over Moore
Slivka over Taylor
Hiner over Roth
Davis over Williams
Rohrig over Sharp
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Rebein, Miller, Slivka, Davis 
Alpha Dog
Jordan Slivka 
 
170 
State Ranked Wrestlers
#3 Cody Klettheimer Frankton
#5 Elijah Mahan Roncalli
#8 Tucker Coffman Union County
#10 Logan Hart Carmel 
#11 Kyle Saez Westfield
#13 Josh Lowe NM
#17 Drake Kendrex Mount Vernon 
#20 Tyler Wagner Cathedral
 
 
Potential Matchups 
#11 Saez vs #20 Wagner.  Wagner has had a very strong season even if it was done quietly with his #20 ranking.  He has several very good wins and will be looking to help his team win a IHSAA state title. 
#3 Mahan vs # 17 Kendrex.  A lot of tough draws for Mount Vernon with Kendrex doing battle with returning medalist Mahan for a ticket to state.
 #8 Coffman vs #13 Lowe.  The second of the medalists battling another ranked opponent for a spot at the bank with Coffman being the returning 4th place finisher.
#3 Klettheimer vs #10 Hart.  Hart dropping down from 182 a year ago versus the returning 7th place finisher in Kleittheimer.
 
1st Round Picks
Saez over McClain
Wagner over Noble
Mahan over Reynolds
Kendrex over Calderon
Coffman over Rice
Lowe over Battista
Klettheimer over Massey
Hart over Baker
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Saez, Mahan, Coffman, Klettheimer 
Alpha Dog
Cody Klettheimer 
 
182
State Ranked Wrestlers
#8 Cameron Bacon Carmel
#12 Jalen Morgan Elwood
#14 JD Farrell Fishers
#19 Devontay Moore North Central
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#4 Clayton Todd Pendleton Heights
#5 PJ Sterrett Mount Vernon
#8 Jake Combs Hagerstown
 
Potential Matchups 
#4ss Todd vs #14 Farrell first round 
#8ss Combs vs #5ss Sterrett ticket round 
#8 Bacon vs #19 Moore in a rematch of the MIC finals first round 
#8 Bacon vs #12 Morgan Semis with Bacon down a weight class from a year ago and Morgan trying to make it a round further and be on the podium at the Bank. This should be a good one. 
 
1st Round Picks
Filipovich over Black
Farrell over Todd
Combs over Stanley
Sterrett over VanDeventer
Bacon over Moore
Dycus Over Vaughn
Morgan over Woodall
Viel over Goodall
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Farrell, Sterrett, Bacon, Morgan
 
Alpha Dog
Jalen Morgan
  
195 
State Ranked Wrestlers
#1 Silas Allred Shenandoah
#9 KJ Roudebush Tipton
#12 Austin Lane PM
#13 Tremor Bynum PH
#15 Jack Heldt Carmel
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#7 Gavin Keesee Franklin Central
#8 Nathan Bishop WC
 
Potential Matchups 
#15 Heldt vs #9 Roudebush ticket round.  One of these seniors will be staying home next weekend when the other could very easily be on the podium. Roudebush is some kind of athlete. Winner will see #12 Austin Lane in the semis. 
All eyes will be on the Cornhusker commit #1 Silas Allred, a prohibitive favorite.
 
1st Round Picks
Heldt over Beard
Roudebush over Shafer
Lane over Maish
Mills over Pierce
Bynum over Krummen
Keesee over Medlen
Allred over Garcia
Bishop over Shew
Tickets Punched in Order
Roudebush, Lane, Bynum, Allred
 
Alpha Dog
Silas Allred
 
220
State Ranked Wrestlers
#3 Andrew Irick HSE
#4 Kyle Cornwell Elwood
#8 Drew Webster NM
#15 Deshawn Young Franklin Central
#16 Haakon Van Beynen Carmel
#20 David Guhl Cathedral
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#6 Cade Campbell PH
#7 Carlos Mitchell WC
 
Potential Matchups 
#4 Cornwell vs #16 Van Beynen ticket round.  The Carmel phenom will have his hands full with Cornwell looking to finish #1 after losing his ranking at the North Mont Holiday Classic. Cornwell is ranked nationally in some publications.
#7ss Mitchell vs #20 Guhl.  In Mitchell's first tournament after winning a 6A IHSAA Football Title, he took losses to both Guhl and Williams of Avon.  He avenged the Williams loss and is looking to help knock another Cathedral contender out of the series.  
Winner has the privilege of wrestling #3 Irick who took a rubber match loss to #8 Webster.  Irick comes from a long line of bad men from HSE, and is ranked nationally. 
#8 Webster vs #15 Young/Brown.  Young is very athletic and has gone back and forth with Mitchell from Warren.  He is also the Marion County Champion and is looking to punch a ticket to state.  Brown is no slouch and just beat #20 Guhl last week and Mitchell at the MIC. 
Browning/Burton/#6ss Campbell is an interesting quarter bracket where anyone can come out with the golden ticket.
 
1st Round Picks
Cornwell over Mcclure
Van Beynen over Dick
Mitchell over Guhl
Irick over Pandoli
Webster over Badger
Young over Brown
Browning over Arvin
Campbell over Burton
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Cornwell, Irick, Webster, Campbell
 
Alpha Dog
Drew Webster 
 
285 
State Ranked Wrestlers
#1 Jamichael Watts North Central
#9 Dennis Hubbard WC
#10 John Harris Roncalli
#12 Antone Alexander Franklin Central
#17 Crae Kunkelman HSE
 
Semi-State Ranked Wrestlers
#6 Jonathan Williams Carmel
#7 Zack McQueen Connersville
#8 Josh Berger Northeastern 
 
Potential matchups: 
#10 Harris vs #7ss McQueen
#17 Kunkelman vs #12 Alexander.  A tough draw with Kunkelman getting third each week at sectionals and regionals against a tough FC Alexander who finds a way to win.
#9 Hubbard vs #6ss Williams.  A MIC rematch of an earlier contest where Hubbard got an early fall.  Look for the Greyhound to try and take this match back.
Winner gets #1 Watts in the ticket round.  Hubbard lost a 1-0 match to Watts at the Marion County.  A top 10 kid will be watching state rather than wrestling.
 
1st Round Picks: 
Harris over McDaniel
McQueen over Evans
Keller over Jones
Berger over Wertz
Aherns over Stephens
Kunkelman over Alexander
Watts over Adams
Hubbard over Williams 
 
Tickets Punched in Order
Harris, Keller, Kunkelman, Watts
 
Alpha Dog
Jamichael Watts

By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com
Jorden Douglass wears the singlet of the Red Ramblers of Attica Junior/Senior High School. So its fitting that this standout wrestler has done plenty of traveling to improve his skills.
After becoming his school’s first IHSAA State Finals qualifier in 2018, Douglass hit the road again to find wrestlers and coaches that could make him better. Last summer, he made the trek to Avon to work out at Chad Red’s Red Cobra Wrestling Academy. He also competed with the Indiana Flash, led by Wheeler High School coaches Jose Diaz and Yusef Mohmed. He’s gone with the Outlaws in Virginia Beach, Va.
Douglass has trained with Warren Central’s Brice Coleman and Antwaun Graves. He has worked out at clubs and in wrestling rooms all around Indiana and competed all over the Midwest. Since he was about 8, parents Dan and Tamara Douglass has supported his dedication to the mat sport.
“My parents pay a lot of money for me to do that sorts of stuff,” says Douglass, now a 145-pound junior who takes a 36-0 record into the East Chicago Semistate on Saturday, Feb. 9. “I always want to improve.”
“I don’t want to feel like I plateau.”
Dan Douglass wrestled at Clinton Central High School, graduating in 1987. Greg Moe was head coach of the Bulldogs when he was in elementary and junior high. Dan Callahan was his high school coach. He has watched his youngest son put in the mat time.
“Jorden has worked hard,” says Dan Douglass. “He’s never satisfied where he was at. He’s tried to make himself better each year.”
While his older brothers wrestled some before concentrating on baseball (Jacob, a member of Western Hugh School’s state runner-up in 2016, plays at Trine University and Joe, an all-stater at Clinton Central, played one season at Trine), Jorden made the mat his sport.
“He loves the discipline,” says Dan Douglass. “And that does not have to rely on anybody else for his success.”
Ryleigh Douglass, an eighth grader, looks forward to being a wrestling manager at Attica with his brother on the team.
Dan Douglass was an assistant to Dean Branstetter at Clinton Central and is now on Branstetter’s Attica coaching staff along with Josh Barnett, Blair Brindle and Jay Hodge.
Branstetter, a 1983 graduate of South Adams High School, where his wrestling coach was Steve Tatman, was head coach at Clinton Central 1988-2001. He spent one season at Mona Shores High School near Muskegon, Mich., then started the wrestling program at Marmion Academy in Aurora, Ill., and guided the Cadets for a decade before returning to Indiana at Attica in 2012.
“He’s gotten a lot better on his feet,” says seventh-year Ramblers coach Branstetter of Jorden Douglass. “He was always good on-top. He can control and shorten a match on top.”
Jorden Douglass looks to strengthen his weak areas.
He was not very good from the bottom and his coaches avoided choosing that position for him. He has worked to make himself better there. It also helps when you don’t get put in that position too often.
Douglass has not yielded a takedown so far during the 2018-19 season.
“I like to push the pace,” says Douglass. “I try not to leave the opportunity (for my opponent) to get (a takedown) before I do.”
Branstetter echoes that point.
“If you get taken down and the kid is a hammer on top, it’s going to be hard to win,” says Branstetter.
Douglass took the 2019 Lafayette Jeff Sectional and Logansport Regional titles with six first-period pins.
“During tournament time, if the opportunity is there for the pin, I go for the pin,” says Douglass. “There’s no reason to make a mistake and go on my back.”
The program and, consequently, Douglass have benefitted from a team schedule that has included the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals (the team placed 10th in Class 1A in January. It was the third appearance for the Ramblers in four years).
Attica has 199 students and 15 of those are on the wrestling team.
“It’s a hard sport,” says Branstetter. “Practices are tough and they have to be watching their weight.
“The State Duals have been really neat for us.”
There was also a two-day New Year’s Challenge in Danville, Ill. There, Douglass faced off with ranked grapplers from Illinois and Wisconsin. This season was the second that the Ramblers have taken the same postseason path. When Douglass was a freshman, Attica went through the Crawfordsville Sectional, North Montgomery Regional and New Castle Semistate.
As a 132-pound freshman in 2017, Douglass won sectional and regional crowns and lost to eventual semistate champion Breyden Bailey of Indianapolis Cathedral in the “ticket round” at New Castle. As a 145-pound sophomore, he earned sectional and regional titles, placed second at semistate then lost by technical fall in the first round at the State Finals to eventual third-place finishers Jake Schoenegge of Columbus East.
The level has been raised in the Rambler practice room this season with nine wrestlers qualifying for regional and seven others making it to semistate along with Douglass — junior Jack Hargan (first at 195), junior Avery Miller (second at 106), senior Koaldon Kerr (second at 160), junior Jordan Hodge (third at 120), senior Jacob Demumbrun (third at 195), junior Johnny Synesael (fourth at 160) and senior Hunter Purple (fourth at 152).
Douglass says he would like to wrestle in college and study to become a conservation officer with a degree in criminal justice. While the Douglass family has about three acres at home, they like to hunt on property owned by good friends in Parke County.
But his current focus is on what’s in front of him and that’s the East Chicago Semistate and a chance to be Attica’s first two-time state qualifier.

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This is one ticket round match that I think will be really interesting. Carrender when good is great. Anthony is more consistent and way more battle tested at this point in the tournament (wrestled Chundi twice and Crousore). Will be a fun match if they can both get past their first round opponents. Good luck to both!

Here's a story I wrote on the Purdue vs. Penn State meet for Purdue's student newspaper, I was able to talk to Thornton and coach Ersland after the match.
https://www.purdueexponent.org/sports/mens/wrestling/article_5250a134-1f7a-5801-b665-1542a23c5f05.html

FYI, I'm updating the brackets with records, grade,....oh and RANKINGS! Fort Wayne is done working on the others.

Unfortunately this is how he and his ilk conduct themselves when discussing a controversial issue. Beacon of tolerance and diversity...unless it's diversity of opinion. In that case, they have no tolerance. His rebuttal will be he doesn't tolerate, "racist behavior," never mind there is not one piece of evidence that would suggest this incident has anything to do with racism other than the wrestler involved is black. Any fair-minded person would see that the coach, wrestler, and official all play a part in this unfortunate incident but somehow the coach and kid get a pass and the official is the racist boogey-man. At the end of the day, the kid did not report legally equipped to wrestle and the official enforced the rule. The kid could have forfeited the match and then made sure he had a legal head cover for the next meet. He chose to cut his hair mat-side which is on him and his coach. Yes, this should have been resolved at weigh-ins and the official is at fault for that mistake. Again, all three parties are at fault for this debacle. 

Brayton Lee wins Wrestler of the year award.
Other finalists were Brayden Curtis and Mason Parris
Other Nomanees were
Asa Garcia 
Graham Rooks
Lucas Davison
Noah Warren
Hunter Watts. 
 
Some good public exsposure for some of the best in the state. 
 
 
 

The NAIA just granted invitational status for Women's Wrestling.  This means that after 2 years and 40 schools having wrestling, currently there are 25, it would be recognize as a championship sport by the NAIA.  NAIA is the first division to recognize women's wrestling.