graham

That would be impressive.  Not placing at Sectional this year but makes the jump two months later to win a DII national championship.  

Congratulations to Dillon Graham Congratulations to from Indianapolis Cathedral for signing with Bellarmine. Projected to wrestle 157.
View full signing

Rest in peace Coach Tim Brown. He was ALL IN ALL a good man and gave a ton to YOUNG wrestlers and the sport of wrestling in general. Tim gave all he could (willingly). 
 
Lots of good memories for a ton of people. A reminder to be present in the everlasting now.
 
SS

For all the negative, there is always positive. From this past weekend..eight kids from five different teams. 

https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/12300025-2024-ncaa-wrestling-championship-qualifiers-by-state

I can see an argument where the absence of wrestle-backs add a brutal dose of reality in that sometimes life seems like the a spin of the roulette wheel.  Coming up short in that type of scenario—like a ticket rounder who’s actually a “top four in the state” wrestler—that type of experience could likely teach good lessons.  (Not sure if you’re being sarcastic, I haven’t read through a lot of these class wrestling threads and don’t know what your position on it is). 

But honestly, would I really want that experience for my kid?  A lot of stuff will teach good lessons that I’d rather them not go through. 
 
The main reason for my position on wrestle-backs is I think it would add integrity to the tournament to truly find out who the best is. 
 
My opinion is my own and based on what I think is best for my kids.  I respect everyone else’s opinion as well, and can see the small school perspective.  This is just my .02

This past weekend I attended the ISWA event at Warren Central.  I wasn't gonna do a review, but I had more than a few denizens of the Indiana wrestling scene ask me to do one.  So, here I am.  First, I'm not sure if these are the hot dogs that Warren usually sells, or if these are from an ISWA contracted vendor.  Anyways, at first glance, the hot dog did not look appealing.  It looked plucked right out of the movie "Nothing but Trouble" that starred Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, and the late, great John Candy(who pulled double duty).  I was ready to put buying this hot dog into my worst decisions of my life category, which includes getting married, accepting the Clockwork Orange therapy to avoid a curfew ticket, and eating a hot dog from Hanover Central.  Fortunately, it wasn't that bad.  It wasn't good, but, it was at least two steps above Alpo.  3 slices of pizza outta 8
Next weekend I'm going to Iowa, and on St Patrick's day, I'll be at Mooresville highschool.  Hopefully the luck o' Irish will strike and the hot dog gods will gift me another outstanding experience at the home of the Pioneers.  Thank you for reading.

Sam Riesen vs. Andy Oberlin

I can see an argument where the absence of wrestle-backs add a brutal dose of reality in that sometimes life seems like the a spin of the roulette wheel.  Coming up short in that type of scenario—like a ticket rounder who’s actually a “top four in the state” wrestler—that type of experience could likely teach good lessons.  (Not sure if you’re being sarcastic, I haven’t read through a lot of these class wrestling threads and don’t know what your position on it is). 

But honestly, would I really want that experience for my kid?  A lot of stuff will teach good lessons that I’d rather them not go through. 
 
The main reason for my position on wrestle-backs is I think it would add integrity to the tournament to truly find out who the best is. 
 
My opinion is my own and based on what I think is best for my kids.  I respect everyone else’s opinion as well, and can see the small school perspective.  This is just my .02

I second this.  And kudos to you for hanging in there for your kids the way you did.
 
I didn’t wrestle as much as my sons have, but I had a brutal upbringing. The little wrestling I did helped teach me I could persevere and rise above in the face of hardship and adversity.  
 
My sons have a much more stable and comfortable upbringing, but I introduced them all to wrestling because I wanted them to learn what it has to teach.  
 
In that theme, I think the IN state tournament in its current form is perfect.  Especially in an ever-softening world. 

Way to early numbers 1’s ? 
 
106: Peyton schoettle Roncalli 
113: Case Bell Brownsburg 
120: Nate Rouix Avon
126: Revin Dickman Brownsburg 
132: Isaiah Schaefer Evansville Mater Dei 
138: Jake Hockaday Brownsburg 
144: Clinton Shepherd Crown Point 
150: Easton Doster New Haven 
157: Jeffery Huyvaert New Prairie 
165: Adrian Pellot Merrillville 
175: Waylon Cressel Warren Central 
190: Noah Weaver Roseville 
215: Caden Brewer Brownsburg 
285: James Hartleroad Dekalb 
 
it’s the day after state and this can change quick. 

I see the sarcasm, but to that point: you would get a $25K tax write-off as a consolation and get some of it back.  😉

I second this.  And kudos to you for hanging in there for your kids the way you did.
 
I didn’t wrestle as much as my sons have, but I had a brutal upbringing. The little wrestling I did helped teach me I could persevere and rise above in the face of hardship and adversity.  
 
My sons have a much more stable and comfortable upbringing, but I introduced them all to wrestling because I wanted them to learn what it has to teach.  
 
In that theme, I think the IN state tournament in its current form is perfect.  Especially in an ever-softening world. 

I second this.  And kudos to you for hanging in there for your kids the way you did.
 
I didn’t wrestle as much as my sons have, but I had a brutal upbringing. The little wrestling I did helped teach me I could persevere and rise above in the face of hardship and adversity.  
 
My sons have a much more stable and comfortable upbringing, but I introduced them all to wrestling because I wanted them to learn what it has to teach.  
 
In that theme, I think the IN state tournament in its current form is perfect.  Especially in an ever-softening world. 

With all I said, I would prefer single-class AND wrestle-backs if it could be made to work.  So maybe “perfect” wasn’t the right word to use.  😉

With all I said, I would prefer single-class AND wrestle-backs if it could be made to work.  So maybe “perfect” wasn’t the right word to use.  😉

This! All of this is true and accurate..and there’s more factors too. Many have been mentioned already.
 
i have been following this thread and enjoying the discussion.
Here comes the purely anecdotal part…worth nothing I know, but just wanted to share.
 
Background: I attended Hobart in the late 80’s and had the good fortune to be a part of 2 State championship teams. I know first hand the sacrifices and dedication it takes to be part of something successful at a larger school. (Only 5 classes back then).
 
I have 6 sons, all wrestlers for a 1A school listed in Y2s list, out here in no man’s land. Wrestling was always the top focus for all my boys, despite participating in football, CC, track, and baseball. Their high school does not have a strong wrestling culture or history. We were blessed to have a coach who was working his azz off to build one, and had built up numbers and some pride, but that somewhat evaporated when he left.
I sent the boys to some camps at Purdue, or even out in Ohio. My boys were very well respected in our area and experienced success at Sectionals and Regionals; however, upon multiple births to EC SS, they were all soundly sent packing…every time.
My boys harbor no sour feelings about any of these things and take great pride in their wrestling accomplishments…so, I have posted all this to relay:
 
I posed this very question to my boys (ages 29-19) and all but one  responded with a resounding NO to class wrestling in IN.  For them, one of the best parts about wrestling was finding out just who the absolute best is, even when they know it’s not them. One of my sons, who was a 3x ECSS qualifier, said it like this, “Yea, maybe I coulda made a deep run in a 1A state tourney, but I would have much rather went out on my shield at ECSS each time, knowing I was seeing the best in our part of the state.”
 
It’s  easier to experience success at a small school wrestling, presuming you work hard and do the grind, than experiencing success as part of a team at a small school.  Reasons like commitment from fellow team mates, injuries, harvest, etc etc all factor in for small rural schools that require 5, 9, or 11 athletes.  Now the success a kid experiences may not culminate in them landing on the podium at state, but it doesn’t negate the success leading up to the day they exit the tournament. Wrestling, ultimately is about preparing for life. The IN tournament is imperfect and downright mean sometimes. Just like life can be. I put my boys into wrestling shortly after their mom passed from cancer. My oldest was 12 at the time. Wrestling helped  them through the grief and prepare them to have the tools to deal with adversity, challenges and also develop character, humility, perseverance, integrity, discipline and determination.   112 athletes hit the podiums each year in IN, which means there are a host of athletes who do not, but are the beneficiaries of tremendous gifts such as motivation, fortitude, humility, perspective, and reality. None of those are bad things.
 
All anecdotal, and worth exactly what you paid for it!

Tell me you are married to a high school coach without telling me you are married to a high school coach 

Wrong

I can make sure none of your posts are ever seen if you would like. One person has already been given a little vacation and I am not afraid to give him friends.
 
We need to remember these are teenage kids and they will unfortunately do dumb things and things they will eventually regret. They don't need anonymous people on the internet trashing them, at least it won't happen on this website. If there are disciplinary actions that need to be taken that will be handled by coaches, schools, and the IHSAA, not here on IndianaMat.

Are you kidding me!?
This is the most badass, and miserable, 4 weeks of the year.
I feel blessed my boys have this opportunity to try and advance week after week.
Make it through and get rewarded with the next tournament where it becomes tougher and tougher to advance. 
No safety-net wrestlebacks, win or your crushed. Misery or relief.
It is not for the soft.
This is what makes placing in Indiana really mean something.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out regarding Preston.  Results of a CT scan and other tests have come back.  Nothing is broken and he will make a full recovery.  
 
As far as what happened, the Mater Dei wrestler had been winning the entire match.  An illegal slam was called.  It was not intentional.  Whether it was an illegal slam or not, I don’t really care.  We were never taking a dive.  Brownsburg doesn’t roll like that.  It goes against everything we believe in.  If I thought it was intentional, It would be a different story.  There is no doubt in our mind that it was just a result of two dudes trying to punch their ticket to state. 
 
It was pretty chaotic as all of this was happening as I’m sure you can all imagine.  Given that it was a neck/head injury, I wanted to give medical people access to Preston.  Once they had time to check Preston out, I took that opportunity to talk to Preston.  There was never any talk or consideration of taking a dive. Preston would never do that.  He was in a lot of pain and upset.  He has had a lot of adversity this season. He tore his ACL at IHPO and has been working through that pain and frustration all season.  I just explained to Preston what had happened and that I was going to forfeit the match.  I told him we were losing…and it would not be fair to take the trip to state away from the Mater Dei kid.  Preston agreed and said he would never do that.  There was no reversal of the call or anything.  I just went up to officials and said we are forfeiting the match.  
 
Whoever said Preston was walking around saw someone else.  He was taken out on a stretcher and to the emergency room. 
 
Snyder 

Congratulations to this years batch of Boys and Girls IHSWCA Academic All-State!
 
Names/spellings are as input by the school representative.  Submissions must have been submitted by a member of the IHSWCA from the host school. 
 
 
Congratulations to all! Thank you Nick Stewart for all your hard work! 
 
https://ihswca.org/academic-all-state/?fbclid=IwAR1bq7yrthI96jbX6-22SSBfB41tusLfkl1YPInWb0JeAExxTFOfJif3j6Q_aem_ASUYVC9YOU1THfWQUvKmnx9U-3SQC0ca7O-5B0_xs-SCggC_4piL0BbSM-2SRE7MhwQ