Great question. A couple of things make it so hard to answer. Recency bias will always favor Mendez. We saw it with our own eyes just a few days ago. He was no fluke. Clearly the best wrestler at 126 in the state of Indiana. He did not look like a freshman physically or in his technique. The real deal.
On the other hand, lets discuss quality of competition. Mendez beat a defending state champion who is not ranked nationally (at least I couldn't find a rank, correct me if I am wrong) and came in with 2 losses. And that defending state champ was only ranked third in his own state (and finished third, nice job rankers). Lee lost, there is no denying that, but it was to a senior who was ranked #1 in the nation (and still #1 five years later). It is impossible to determine the magnitude difference between the levels of competition, but it must be acknowledged that it is vast.
So summing it all up....I have no freakin' idea, but I love the concept. Oh yeah, and I'll take Lee.
A great time at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony today (kudos to HoF direct Scott Schwarz and the IHSWCA executive staff).) Great to hear the stories about the inductees and what they have done to build our great sport. I will be forever indebted to all those who helped me along the way. Special thanks to Coach Rex Peckinpaugh for his touching induction speech for me. Rex shared a poem he wrote about the rivalry and enduring friendships between coaches and I wanted to share it with all of you.Thanks, Rex, I love you, brother.
I look across the mat
And I see a friend
I see a man who has toiled like I
And never gives up until the end
I see a man who is a leader
One that I certainly have admired
I see a guy who I know keeps going
Even at times when he is oh so tired
I see a man who I want to beat
But one I love just the same
A man I have struggled against
In this crazy coaching game
I see a friend I have cried with
One I have laughed with as well
A man who I know if I needed him
Would always answer the bell
I see a friend over there
In that corner across the way
I see a brother I have fought with
But one I will love till my dying day.
--Rex Peckinpaugh 2/2019
Mendez is just on another level here, majors a returning state champ in the semis. And made it look so easy, I’m just in wow when I watch him wrestle. If Rioux can keep it under a major I’ll be surprised. Good luck to both under the lights!!
Coach Dave Cloud from Pendleton, you are exactly what I have always thought you were, a class act, and a true gentleman. You are one of the really good guys in this sport.
Some Ticket Round Results from New Castle....
106 - Anthony dec Carrender 10-5 and Chundi dec Glithero 8-4. Cottey and Perry advanced easily
113 - Pierson over Jefferson by fall, Seltzer and Simone win by Major and Christian White with a tough 7-5 dec over Anthony Hughes
120 - Stewart by fall over Hadley, Lowery by fall, Galbraith 4-3 over Moseley, Eldred wins 4-2
126 - Chase Wilkerson over Jevian Ross 8-7, Wagner and Walendzak by fall, Jared Brown by Major over Sam Slivka
132 - Viduya and Hunter Brown by fall, Seth Johnson by 5-4 dec, Aundre Beatty knocks off Logan Bailey 3-1 in another Warren Central and Cathedral Battle
138 - Gabe Phillips, centerville eliminates Jarred Rowlett of Warren Central, Kyle Holman, Carmel eliminates Gabe Smith of Perry, Chris Wilkerson Mt. Vernon advances, Tyce Frieje advances
****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
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
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
Anyone laughing or making jokes about anyone who is injured, let alone laying motionless, has some serious issues! I hope this young man is okay and is able to continue wrestling. Godspeed young man.
We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.
