Adam S

By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com

It may not be for everyone, but the way Aidan Sprague approaches wrestling has been good for him.
“I’m pretty funky and I move on my feet,” says Sprague, an East Noble High School senior. “I’m not the strongest one out there, but I can use my technique and that works in my favor.”
During Sprague’s prep career, the Knights’ postseason path has gone through the Westview Sectional (2019, 2020 and 2021) and West Noble Sectional (2022), Goshen Regional and Fort Wayne Semistate.
As a 106-pound freshmen in 2019, Sprague placed second at sectional and regional, fourth at semistate and was a State Finals qualifier.
As a 113-pound sophomore in 2020, Sprague was a sectional regional champion, semistate runner-up and placed sixth at State.
As a 120-pound junior in 2021, Sprague took sectional, regional and semistate titles and placed sixth at State.
As a 126-pound senior, Sprague heads into the 2022 Fort Wayne Semistate at 35-0 with sectional and regional titles to his credit.
Sam Riesen is in his fourth season as head coach at East Noble after 10 years in charge at Churubusuco High School.
Sprague, a University of Indianapolis commit, tries to follow the coaching staff’s directive during his matches.
“I really cut a lot of people and they just want me to look as sharp as I possibly can on my feet,” says Sprague. “I get most of my tech falls like 20-5.
“They want me to get as many takedowns as I can. I love it because I have a good mindset about it. It gets me in better shape. I’m drilling different types of takedowns almost like it’s like a practice.”
How many takedowns are in Sprague’s bag of tricks?
“I do five or six consistently,” says Sprague. “Then I’ll throw some tricky ones out there every once in a while.
“It’s important to have a lot of stuff. When you only have one or two good things you become one-dimensional. That’s really when people can game plan against you. If everybody knows I have a good dump, they’re not going to let me tie up.
“It’s so much harder to wrestle someone if they have multiple good moves.”
Sprague grew up in Kendallville and began wrestling in the sixth grade. When he did not place in the middle school conference meet as a sixth or seventh grader, he spoke with his father Adam about becoming more serious about the sport and put basketball aside.
As an eighth grader, he was a conference champion and a state qualifier.
“Aidan is just an extremely focused, driven kid,” says Riesen. “He sets his mind to a goal and really gives everything he can to accomplish it.”
Sprague plans to study Social Studies at UIndy with plans on being a teacher and coach.
“It’s awesome to see a young guy going into education at a time where you don’t see colleges filled with people graduating with degrees in teaching,” says Riesen. “It’s exciting to see that.
“He and his brother have super-supportive parents (in Adam and Susan Sprague, who both teach in the West Noble system).”
Aidan Sprague is a three-sport athlete — outside linebacker and team captain in football, wrestling and pole vaulter with a personal best of 12-foot-6 on the track and field team.
Alex Sprague is a 170-pound freshman wrestler and is also in band.
“His parents are running them all over,” says Riesen. “They find the time to get them to wrestling practices all over the area during the off-season.
“They go that extra mile to make sure he gets everything he needs.”
Aidan has traveled to Indianapolis Cathedral to train with the Outlaws.
While Riesen doesn’t name captains, Sprague has essentially filled that role.
“He’s a natural leader,” says Riesen. “The team has followed him in a lot of ways — like in terms of attitude. He’s a light-hearted kid but he gets focused when he needs to. That really rubs off on the team.”
“He’s pretty special in the fact that he doesn’t just have one go-to move. He’s constantly scoring and looking at different techniques and takedowns.
“In practice, he’s just always innovating and trying new things.”
East Noble assistant coach Austin Moore, a State Finals qualifier at Central Noble in 2017 and 2018, is a frequent workout partner for Sprague.
“They do a lot of play wrestling, water wrestling — whatever you want to call it,” said Riesen. “They wrestle through and find different positions.
“There’s really a lot of spots where he’s pretty comfortable.”
Aidan Sprague is a three-sport athlete (outside linebacker and team captain in football, wrestling and pole vaulter with a personal best of 12-foot-6 on the track and field team.
Alex Sprague is a wrestler and is also in the school band.
“His parents are running them all over,” says Riesen. “They find the time to get them to wrestling practices all over the area during the off-season.
“They go that extra mile to make sure he gets everything he needs.”
Aidan has traveled to Indianapolis Cathedral to train with the Outlaws.
While Riesen doesn’t name captains, Sprague has essentially filled that role.
“He’s a natural leader,” says Riesen. “The team has followed him in a lot of ways — like in terms of attitude. He’s a light-hearted kid but he gets focused when he needs to. That really rubs off on the team.”
“He’s pretty special in the fact that he doesn’t just have one go-to move. He’s constantly scoring and looking at different techniques and takedowns.
“In practice, he’s just always innovating and trying new things.”
East Noble assistant Austin Moore, a State Finals qualifier at Central Noble in 2017 and 2018, is a frequent workout partner for Sprague.
“They do a lot of play wrestling, water wrestling — whatever you want to call it,” said Riesen. “They wrestle through and find different positions. There’s really a lot of spots where he’s pretty comfortable.”
“His freshmen year we butted heads a little and had some debates on which way he should go in terms of being more funky or more traditional.”
As Sprague has progressed and enjoyed success, the coaching staff has resisted pigeon-holing the wrestler and let do what feels and works best for him.
Riesen says the first eight minutes of practice are devoted to “roll around” — which allows the athletes to try different positions and finishes and figuring out how to get out of certain spots.
“I think it really has helped a lot of our kids,” says Riesen. “One thing we do really well as a staff is allow kids to explore different wrestling positions and options and figure out what works for them.”
Popular among other wrestlers, Sprague has been called “The People’s Champion.”
“He’s a great kid beyond being an obviously very talented wrestler,” says Riesen. “He’s been an awesome kid to have these last four years.”
 

Date: Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022.
Admission: $10 (Final session only); $12 (Season ticket).
Advancement: The top four place winners in each weight class advance to the state finals.
Videostream: A bundled package that includes access to all four semi-state sites as well as next weekend's state finals is available via IHSAAtv.org for $25. Access to all four semi-states only is available for $15. If you have a FloPro+ plan, you may also view the livestream at FloWrestling.com.
 
State Finals Pairings Show
The brackets in each weight class will be announced exclusively via IHSAAtv.org on Sunday, February 13, 2022 at 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT (one hour). Hosted by Greg Rakestraw and Mike Goebel.
 
1. East Chicago Central (John C. Baratto Athletic Center) | 9 am CT
Feeder Regionals: Crown Point, Hobart, Logansport, Penn.
TrackWrestling Brackets
IndianaMat Brackets
EastChicago.pdf
Pick'ems Link
 
2. New Haven (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum) | 8:30 am ET
Feeder Regionals: Carroll (Fort Wayne), Goshen, Jay County, Maconaquah.
TrackWrestling Brackets
IndianaMat Brackets
FortWayne.pdf
Pick'ems Link
 
3. New Castle (New Castle Fieldhouse) | 9 am ET
Feeder Regionals: Frankfort, Pendleton Heights, Perry Meridian, Richmond.
TrackWrestling Brackets
IndianaMat Brackets
NewCastle.pdf
Pick'ems Link
 
4. Evansville F.J. Reitz  (Ford Center) | 8 am CT
Feeder Regionals: Bloomington South, Castle, Jeffersonville, Mooresville.
TrackWrestling Brackets
IndianaMat Brackets
Evansville.pdf
Pick'ems Link
 
All-Time Pick'em History
Click here to see where you stand in the all-time history of IndianaMat(and even BEFORE) pick'ems
 
Podcasts
Gorilla Radio Episode 126 talking about East Chicago
Gorilla Radio Episode 127 talking about Evansville and 106-145 at New Castle
Gorilla Radio Episode 128 talking about 152-285 at New Castle and Fort Wayne
 
Articles
Evansville Preview by Dustin Bentz

By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com

Landon Bertsch did not start wrestling in elementary as some top performers do. He was a swimmer in elementary school.
 
Then as a sixth grader, he met up with Ben Sprunger.
 
The winningest grappler in Bluffton High School history, Sprunger came back to his hometown to teach middle school Physical Education after college and began introducing youngsters to wrestling.
 
“For me it’s about numbers,” says Sprunger. “It’s about getting as many kids out, motivating them, getting them in love with the sport and continuing to develop them.”
 
That strategy worked with Bertsch.
 
“I fell in love with it,” says Bertsch. “It took me awhile to get good at it.”
 
By the time he reached high school, Bertsch was getting pretty good on the mat. A 132-pound Bluffton Tigers senior in 2021-22, he is a three-time IHSAA State Finals performer (qualifier in 2019 at 113 with a 39-3 record, qualifer in 2020 at 126 with 42-2 mark and sixth-place finisher in 2021 at 126 with a 24-2 ledger). His career mark 10 bouts into his final prep season was 115-7.
 
“He lives for wrestling,” says Sprunger of Bertsch. “That’s his thing. He puts a lot of effort into it.
 
“He has the grit and the toughness you can’t always coach, It’s that X Factor. Either you have it or you don’t.”
 
Sprunger, who is in his sixth season as Bluffton head coach, finished his high school career at 139-10 and placed three times at the State Finals — seventh at 125 as a sophomore in 1998, second at 125 as a junior in 1999 and first at 130 as a senior in 2000.
 
Bertsch, who also trains with the club at Bellmont and at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, has the chance to catch and pass Sprunger on the victory list and become Bluffton’s first four-time state qualifier.
 
For Bluffton, the IHSAA tournament series goes through the Jay County Sectional and Jay County Regional and Fort Wayne Semistate.
 
“I don’t plan on losing this year,” says Bartsch, who went 6-0 in the Allen County Athletic Conference Duals Saturday, Dec. 11 at Jay County and is 10-0 on the season. “I just want to be the best.
 
“My coach helps me and encourages me.”
 
It’s confidence that Bertsch has taken with him in each of his previous State Finals appearances.
 
“What goes through my mind is that these guys are not better than me,” says Bertsch. “They are the same level. I can beat every single guy here.”
 
As a freshmen, he was pinned by eventual fifth-placer David Pierson of Warren Central in the first round.
 
As a sophomore, Monrovia’s Ben Dalton edged him 6-4 in the Friday match on the way to seventh place.
 
“That still haunts us a little bit,” says Sprunger of the late takedown that eliminated Bertsch in 2020.
 
In 2021, he beat Wawasee’s Branden Dilley by technical fall in the first round and lost 5-3 to eventual runner-up Cheaney Schoeff of Avon in the second round on the way to sixth.
 
What about the down time between matches at a big meet?
 
“I mess around with my friends and let my body relax,” says Bartsch. “It helps me stay calm and not get too anxious or too excited.
 
“When it’s time to wrestle. it’s ‘go time’ again and I’m get ready to go.”
 
As his high school days have progressed, Bertsch has gotten bigger and become a tough defender and attacker.
 
“He’s growing up a little bit and filling out,” says Sprunger. “He’s stubborn on his feet. He won’t give up takedowns. If he’s on top, he’s a beast. He’s tough on his feet, too.
 
“He’s not scared of any opponent or any situation.”
 
Bertsch counts junior Austin Lewis — a returning state qualifer at 120 now at 145 — as a regular workout partner.
 
“They make each other better,” says Sprunger. “They both have a hunger to wrestle.”
 
The coach also rolls with the Tigers in practice, including Bertsch.
 
“He’s crazy,” says Bertsch of Sprunger. “He beats up on all of us.”
 
Bertsch notes that Sprunger keeps him honest and he makes it a point to stay in position.
 
“It allows you to set up and make shots and it allows you to have a good defense,” says Bertsch. “You’ve got to have good balance to be in good position. You’ve got to keep moving.”
 
When Bertsch moves on from Bluffton, he plans to go to college as an engineering major and wrestler. He has not yet decided on which school. His favorite high school subject is math and he’s looking forward to Calculus next semester.
 
Landon’s father — former middle school wrestler Matt Bertsch — is a civil engineer and owner at Bertsch-Frank & Associates LLC, a land surveying and construction engineering company located in Fort Wayne where his oldest son did an internship last summer.
 
Adams Central High School graduates Matt and Elizabeth Bertsch have three children — Landon, sophomore Alydia, eighth grader Eli and fifth grader Addie.