Alex Tsirtis vs. Jesse Mendez
Blake Maurer vs. Alex Dolly "The rematch"
Reece Humphry vs. Steven Micic
Darren Elkins vs. Josh Holden
Craig Weinzapfel vs. Brayton Lee
Mason Parris vs Jake O'Brien
Chad Red vs. Angel Escobedo
Nathan Moore vs. Noah Weaver
Columbus North
Orrin Kleinhenz
Sophomore 189# 34-12 state Qualifier
Junior 189# 37-8 state runner up. All his losses this year came from Heath VanDeventer.
Senior 189# 49-0 State Champ.
Thadeus Douglas-The always under weight takedown machine. If they kept the 98# weight class I would be righting different stats down.
Senior 103# 3rd
Fargo Greco 7th
Fargo Greco 6th
Alex Tsirtis vs. Jesse Mendez
Blake Maurer vs. Alex Dolly "The rematch"
Reece Humphry vs. Steven Micic
Darren Elkins vs. Josh Holden
Craig Weinzapfel vs. Brayton Lee
Mason Parris vs Jake O'Brien
Chad Red vs. Angel Escobedo
Nathan Moore vs. Noah Weaver
Alex Tsirtis vs. Jesse Mendez
Blake Maurer vs. Alex Dolly "The rematch"
Reece Humphry vs. Steven Micic
Darren Elkins vs. Josh Holden
Craig Weinzapfel vs. Brayton Lee
Mason Parris vs Jake O'Brien
Chad Red vs. Angel Escobedo
Nathan Moore vs. Noah Weaver
This weekend I watched a kid signal for injury time while close to getting taken down, the ref didn't see it/didn't stop it, the kid ended up defending back to neutral (no takedown), then continued to wrestle the next 1+ minute of the match.
My thoughts on how to curb some of this:
Referee Injury time/stoppage = No penalty
Wrestler/Coach calls for Injury time = Opponent has choice on reset (just as with a second injury time in current rules).
If anything the IHSAA takes from State Finals being held this year in Evansville to bring back to Indy next year .
KEEP THE FLAMES and Smoke for introductions of the Wrestlers. So ….. Bad As* !!! Can’t wait to see some pictures for the wrestlers and 🔥 in the background .
Congratulations to Luke Penola for winning the mental attitude award at the state finals. Luke didn’t reach his goal of winning a state title but he walked out of the arena with his head held high. He is one of the best leaders, wrestlers, and people we’ve ever been around. We are forever grateful to of coached you and to have you in our Zionsville wrestling family.
I know of 4 people from my group that aren't going this year, so we only need to find the 1496 others. From all of the complaining on here and Facebook, it seems there might only be about 500 people showing up.
It was current Beech Grove coach Ryan Williams pinning Tom Hartrick of Avon on the match to go to state. Down 8-0 going into the 3rd Williams chose neutral and hit it!
Team Race- Columbus East puts 6 in the finals and comes out with 4 champs to secure the team title.
State Hopefuls
106 Talon Jessup Columbus East
120 Jayden Owsley Corydon Central
126 Peyton Richards Switzerland County
138 Justice Thornton Columbus North
157 Asher Ratliff Columbus North
165 Oliver Hallet Indian Creek
285 Ben Land Jeffersonville
106- Jennings County clean sweep
Talon Jessup Columbus East
Ethan Rose Switzerland County
Aiden Woods Franklin Community
Nolan Riley Columbus North
Best first round matchup-
Nolan Riley Columbus North v Sebastian Berry Jeffersonville
The newly crowned sectional champion should be on upset alert.
113- Young gun Pittman continues his run by adding a regional title to his resume
Ethan Pittman Madison Consolidated
Carson Collier Charlestown
Ethan Poling Columbus East
Wyatt Schreck Corydon Central
Best first round matchup-
Ethan Poling Columbus East v Christian Bergstrom Silver Creek
Freshman v Senior with a trip to Evansville on the line.
120- Owsley rolls to a regional crown
Jayden Owsley Corydon Central
Luke Kirchner Jennings County
AJ Franklin New Washington
Eli Stewart Madison Consolidated
Best first round matchup-
AJ Franklin New Washington v Dakota Fields Switzerland County
The last time these two met it was a 7-6 match in favor of Fields.
126- Richards rolls to a regional crown
Peyton Richards Switzerland County
Gage Rutan Columbus East
John Stivers Jeffersonville
Christian Grayson Charlestown
Best first round matchup-
Christian Grayson Charlestown v Ryan Million Franklin Community
Another freshman v senior matchup
132- Carter rolls to a regional crown
Kellan Carter Scottsburg
Cohen Long Columbus North
Eli Theobald Providence
Kegan Jochim Franklin Community
Best first round matchup-
Eli Theobald Providence v Harley Schocke Salem
Providence is the favorite but the scrappy Schocke has home run ability
138- Thornton had a tight 2-0 match last week with Kirchner and will look to come out on top again
Justice Thornton Columbus North
Lane Kirchner Jennings County
Caleb Kirkpatrick Columbus East
Ethan Jones Switzerland County
Best first round matchup-
Ethan Jones Switzerland County v Dawson Slaughter Jeffersonville
A deep weight class at Jennings County could spell doom for the champ from Jeffersonville.
144- Cooper and the rest of the Jennings County class make it a clean sweep
Caleb Cooper Columbus East
Gabe Rose Switzerland County
Owen Trimpe Franklin Community
Josiah Green Columbus North
Best first round matchup-
Josiah Green Columbus North v Isa Santos-Moore Jeffersonville
Green will look to pull off the upset at Jeffersonville.
150- Anderson adds a regional title to his resume.
Nate Anderson Columbus East
Cameron Sommers Franklin Community
Trey Ozier Charlestown
Luke Spurgeon Columbus North
Best first round matchup-
Trey Ozier Charlestown v Zane Skinner Madison Consolidated
Ozier holds off the upset minded Skinner in this sophomore scrap.
157- Ratliff got the job done with a tight 6-4 decision last week. Look for more of the same
Asher Ratliff Columbus North
Elijah Guyer Indian Creek
Lincoln Cooper Columbus East
Boomer Hester Charlestown
Best first round matchup-
Corinthian Tonte Franklin Community v Boomer Hester Charlestown
I have had this weight class circled for some time. Two very talented young grapplers will face off for the first time in high school with a semi state trip on the line.
165- Hallet rolls to a regional title
Oliver Hallet Indian Creek
Clay McClelland Charlestown
Evan Saevre Columbus North
Clayton Miller Columbus East
Best first round matchup-
Clay McClelland Charlestown v Cory Fuller Franklin Community
The Pirate signal caller will need his head on a swivel in this first round matchup.
175- DeSpain looks to keep rolling
Keller DeSpain Columbus North
Tyler Lake Columbus East
Sean McAfee Charlestown
Noah Kendall North Harrison
Best first round matchup-
Ayden Waggoner Madison Consolidated v Noah Kendall North Harrison
Two wrestlers with 5 and 6 losses respectively meeting in the opening round of regional does draw the eye.
190- This will be the 3rd meeting between McMahon and Shewmaker this year. Both have been close, expect fireworks.
Colin McMahon Columbus East
Cody Shewmaker Jeffersonville
Jose Ramirez Columbus North
Lance Jones Franklin Community
Best first round matchup-
Lance Jones Franklin Community v Jordan Guerrero Charlestown
The senior Grizzly Cub will look to punch his ticket against the Jeffersonville Sectional Runner Up.
215- The freshman will keep rolling this weekend.
Kellen Fellure Franklin Community
Jesus Aguilar Seymour
Noah Daulton Salem
Xavior Gindhart Jennings County
Best first round matchup-
Preston Schoen Providence v Noah Daulton Salem
After being upset last weekend, Schoen’s season could come to an end a little earlier than expected.
285- Land won’t be challenged
Ben Land Jeffersonville
Brody Stephens Franklin Community
Brayden Jones Eastern Pekin
Andrew Holzknecht North Harrison
Best first round matchup-
Both of the 2v3 matchups in the bracket have the potential to go either way.
02' NCSS Semis,
Terrell Coatie is comes out and b takes Defending state Champ Danny Williams down in the first 20 seconds of the match and then really pissed off Williams when TC cut him loose immediately after.
Danny not being too thrilled with the audacity of Terrell, lead to Danny coming in very heavy-handed as he pummeled into over/unders wanting to launch TC, Terrell used a Metzger to keep Danny's hips from getting his hips engaged properly, Stuffing it, as Terrell hit a half on the way down and stuck Danny in the first minute.
After the initial Roar the crowd there was a slight pause with and desfing silence for a few secs. TC then would say one of the most cold-blooded things I've ever witnessed, as he shouted to the crowd "What? Are you not ENTERTAINED?"
Danny would go on to injury default taking fourth place at semi-state, T Coatie beat the Pike legend Steven James in the SS finals. Danny had been dealing with a ankle injury, and would redeem himself to go on and win his second State title of the following weekend, beating EMD Wildcat legend, Alex Conkling in the finals. That reminds me that same day Jake O'Brien will qualify for state and being really bad sick, forfeited his next two matches taking fourth place as well. Imagine morning you're similar State going home and finding out you drew Danny Williams or Jake O'Brien Friday night.
T. Coatie lost in the quarters to Bellmont great Tim Ortiz in a heartbreaker, placing 7th with that old bs Format, your placement criteria depended on how far the guy you lost to advanced.
There was a little more T.Coatie magic, when he went on to would knock off State runner-up Matt Conkling the following weekend at team-state. When we the New Castle Trojans got dog walked,
by 1 of the all time great EMD teams. TC being our only win getting mauled 66-3 and that's us having 9 SSQ/ 5 State finalists.. that is to this day in ihsaa team state record for worst feeding at teamstate LOL
Chris Wildeman over Richie Diggs (sp?) for the state championship, Craig Weinzapfel had Alex Tsirtsis plastered to the mat but the ref wouldn't call it. Not a pin but when Brandon Cox had Josh Crick on his back in the 1994 Sectional Championship match the roof came off of the gym at MD. That single moment is the loudest I have ever heard that place, Cox won the match due to that move but did not get the pin. Long and interesting story on that one but maybe for another time.
Multiple deep weight classes (22 ranked wrestlers) highlight this sectional and make it well worth the ticket price
126 3 state ranked wrestlers will look to start Ford Center run with a sectional title
138 Another deep weight with 3 ranked contenders.
Both are very deep classes, however, nothing tops 157 with 1 returning ticket rounder, another returning semi state qualifier, and 3 talented freshman who have been racking up medals for years. This crazy weight class is a direct result of the State Tournament shifting that took place in the offseason with 3 being new to the sectional.
#9 Asher Ratliff 27-2 Columbus North returning ticket rounder
#20 Elijah Guyer 14-5 Indian Creek
SS #8 Lincoln Cooper 20-9 Columbus East
SS #9 Cori Tonte 22-8 Franklin Community
Evan Bowling 23-6 Salem returning Semi State Qualifier
State Hopefuls
106 Talon Jessup 10th Columbus East
126 Peyton Richards 10th Switzerland County
132 Kellan Carter 12th Scottsburg
138 Justice Thornton 11th Columbus North
157 Asher Ratliff 10th Columbus North
165 Oliver Hallett 10th Indian Creek
Team Race
Columbus East has separated from the pack in the Jennings County Sectional. Columbus North and Franklin Community have a gap to cover and will need some help to catch the Olympians.
106
#9 Talon Jessup 10th Columbus East
SS #9 Ethan Rose 10th Switzerland County
Aiden Woods 11th Franklin Community
Nolan Riley 10th Columbus North
113
Liam Curfman 11th Columbus North
Ethan Polen 10th Columbus East
Rhiley Brennan 9th West Washington
Brayden Walters 10th Salem
120
SS #9 Luke Kirchner 9th Jennings County
Oscar Garcia 9th Franklin Community
Dakota Fields 11th Switzerland County
Eli Stewart 11th Madison
126
#11 Peyton Richards 10th Switzerland County
#17 Jason Shuey 12th Columbus North
#18 Gage Rutan 11th Columbus East
Drew Zuckschwerdt 9th Madison
132
SS #6 Kellan Carter 12th Scottsburg
SS #9 Cohen Long 9th Columbus North
Kegan Jochim 10th Franklin Community
Keagan Gross 12th Switzerland County
138
#14 Justice Thornton 11th Columbus North
#19 Caleb Kirkpatrick 10th Columbus East
SS #9 Lane Kirchner 11th Jennings County
Luke Bechert 12th Franklin Community
144
#17 Caleb Cooper 10th Columbus East
SS #8 Gabe Rose 11th Switzerland County
Owen Trimpe 11th Franklin Community
Josiah Green 12th Columbus North
150
SS #7 Nate Anderson 12th Columbus East
RJ Barberis 12th Jennings County
Gabe Jackson 12th Switzerland County
Cameron Sommers 9th Franklin Community
157
#9 Asher Ratliff 10th Columbus North
#20 Elijah Guyer 9th Indian Creek
SS #8 Lincoln Cooper 9th Columbus East
SS #9 Cori Tonte 9th Franklin Community
Evan Bowling 12th Salem
165
#8 Oliver Hallett 10th Indian Creek
Cori Fuller 10th Franklin Community
Evan Saevre 11th Columbus North
Clayton Miller 9th Columbus East
175
SS #9 Tyler Lake 12th Columbus East
Keller DeSpain 12th Columbus North
Brayden Isley 12th Franklin Community
Chris Hernandez 12th Jennings County
190
Collin McMahon 9th Columbus East
Lance Jones 12th Franklin Community
Sam Hernandez 10th Jennings County
Kolvin Beck 10th Switzerland County
215
SS #5 Kellen Fellure 9th Franklin Community
SS #8 Jesus Aguilar 12th Seymour
James Moss 11th Columbus East
Xavior Gindhart 11th Jennings County
285
Ben Craig 12th Scottsburg
Dominic Piper 10th Columbus East
Logan Porter 12th Indian Creek
Brayden Jones 11th Pekin Eastern
I had a wrestler get me a shirt for Christmas a few years back that said "if at first you don't succeed try doing what your wrestling coach told you to do the first time."
For fans that just can’t wait for the IHSAA State Tournament, the Al Smith Classic is a great preview of what’s to come, with several ranked wrestlers in every weight class, as well as more than half of the #1 ranked wrestlers in the state, and half of the top 10 ranked teams in Indiana. Let’s break down the numbers real quick:
120: #1 Charlie Larocca vs. #2 Gavin Jendreas
157: #1 Mitchell Betz vs. #2 Beau Brabender
165: #1 Anthony Rinehart vs. #2 Waylon Cressell
175: #1 Noah Clouser vs. #2 Brenton Russell
With all of these numbers out of the way, I want to preface these predictions with the usual stuff. I am making predictions without taking into consideration the seeds that some of these wrestlers may get. Trying to predict each wrestlers seed in addition to making my own predictions is not only an unreasonable amount of work, but I am very likely to get seeds perfectly correct, so I may have a 1st place and 2nd place prediction go down in the semis if the seeds make it happen. Additionally, since a lot of this work was done before the most recent set of rankings was released, I will be using the last set of rankings instead of the newest set of rankings, although relevant results that occurred after the last set of rankings will be considered when making predictions. Lastly, when listing ranked wrestlers for each weight class, I am not going to be including semi-state ranked wrestlers, although if I see a name that isn’t state ranked that I think could still make a major impact, I will include them. Those are really the only major things I have to say, so let’s start with 106:
106 Ranked Wrestlers:
#2 Mason Jones
#7 Teigan Newell
#9 Talon Jessup
#12 Tyler Tun
#13 Justus Thrasher
#14 John Bissmeyer
#15 Alonzo Chantea
#19 Brock McCartney
Predictions:
Mason Jones
Talon Jessup
Teigan Newell
Justus Thrasher
I think that #2 Mason Jones is the clear favorite of this weight class, being the only returning state medalist, as well as making the finals of Al Smith last year. #7 Teigan Newell and #9 Talon Jessup seem to be the favorites to meet him there, although I’m giving the edge here to Jessup, who has a pretty impressive win against Cash Mays of Brownsburg, who is #18 in the state right now, but has the potential to make a deep run this year, evidenced by a solid Ironman run that saw him go further than Newell. Newell seems like a solid 3rd place pick, although you can never count a Crown Point wrestler from making a deep run. Speaking of wrestlers from powerhouse programs, #13 Justus Thrasher seems like a solid 4th place pick, owning a win over #14 John Bissmeyer. Bissmeyer had a 5-2 match with Jones earlier this year, so his level is definitely high, and owning a win in this instance is enough for me to place Thrasher at 4th, even though I only foresee him placing higher. Newell and Thrasher should be a great third place match. Only notable names here includes #12 Tyler Tun, who has had some solid performances this year, but hasn’t yet gotten that big win to catapult him into state medal conversations, making his performance at the Al Smith even more important. #15 Alonzo Chantea has only been rising in the state rankings, most notably getting a tech fall over previously state ranked Joy Cantu. Lastly, #19 Brock McCartney is another wrestler with an impressive record thus far this season, but needs to perform well this weekend and pick up a notable win to increase his image.
Gavin Lewis
Brady Harper
Kaleb Salazar
Owen Bunton
I think that #4 Gavin Lewis is a pretty confident lock for me at this weight class. Lewis was a huge freshman incomer at this weight, and while he hasn’t made his case yet to be ranked higher than #4, he should win this tournament quite convincingly. I think that the wrestler to meet him in the finals could be any of the next three wrestlers, with #6 Owen Bunton being the next highly ranked wrestler, #8 Brady Harper being another talented incoming freshman, and #12 Kaleb Salazar having a good history at this tournament, taking 4th at 106 last year, which included an overtime loss to the eventual champ. I think Harper is my pick for second, despite his loss by fall earlier this season to Bunton. Harper has a lot of great middle school results, and has proven to be a threat at the high school level, and his potential here makes me think that Harper is a good upset to pick. Additionally, I think Salazar is really good as well, and is the only mentioned wrestler thus far with state experience, so I want to pick him over Bunton as well, although both of these matchups will be very close. #13 Connor Bayliss is another state qualifier in the field, although the depth of the top 4 will make it tough for him to push through. The last state ranked wrestler in this field is #19 Nathan Reyes, who is likely a solid 6th place finisher, but doesn’t have the resume quite yet to contend with the rest of the ranked field.
120 Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Charlie Larocca
#2 Gavin Jendreas
#5 Seth Aubin
#8 Porter Temples
#19 Dylan Wills
UR Tommy Frazier
Predictions:
Gavin Jendreas
Charlie Larocca
Seth Aubin
Tommy Frazier
The finals at this weight class is clear, and this might be the premier match of the whole tournament. #1 Charlie Larocca went on a tear last year en route to his first state title, and has posted consistent results since. #2 Gavin Jendreas took a tough 5th place last year after drawing then #1 Preston Haines in the quarterfinals last year, but his off season has some very eye opening results, which included a bloodround performance at Fargo, losing to fellow Indiana stud Jake Hockaday. I think in terms of this matchup, I like Jendreas here to win. The easiest evidence to this pick is his history against Larocca, leading the series 3-0, with two of those wins coming from Al Smith finals matches. Last year was closer than 2021, so you can expect this match to be razor thin. As for third and fourth, I think that #5 Seth Aubin is the clear favorite behind Jendreas and Larocca, being a returning medalist, although #8 Porter Temples also has state experience and can challenge Aubin for that 3rd place spot. #19 Dylan Wills is the last state ranked wrestler in this weight class, but he has not posted a significant win yet that would make me think he could upset someone here. Of course, you never know though. The last wrestler I want to mention is Tommy Frazier, who is unranked but is a state qualifier. He’s taken a couple of losses this season, but he could certainly figure things out and become an immediate threat at this weight class. Last year, he wrestled a 7-3 match with Jendreas en route to a third place finish. With this history in mind, as well as three falls last year over Temples, I think he gets out of his slump and puts together a solid performance.
126 Ranked Wrestlers:
#2 Landon Hawkins
#5 Tanner Tishner
#8 Elijah Broady
#9 Gavin Bragg
#10 Dominic Brown
#11 Matthew Maldonado
#14 Dylan Bennett
#16 Ayden Campbell
#18 Cameron Senter
#19 Daniel Mata
#20 Terry Easley
Predictions:
Landon Hawkins
Tanner Tishner
Elijah Broady
Dominic Brown
11 out of the 20 ranked wrestlers at this weight class will be at this tournament, meaning that 3 wrestlers ranked in the state (and potentially more than 3) will not be wrestling on day two. That being said, I think that this is a pretty straightforward weight class to predict. #2 Landon Hawkins is the favorite at this weight class, but I think #5 Tanner Tishner has very high peaks and is very capable of winning against Hawkins. Expect fireworks for this finals match. As for 3rd and 4th, I like #8 Elijah Broady taking the 3rd place match, and 4th place will either go to #9 Gavin Bragg or #10 Dominic Brown. All three of these wrestlers were state qualifiers at 120 last year, where Brown beat Bragg 5-4 for 5th, even though Bragg has a 5-4 win over Brown this season to make this a razor close match if it happens. Interestingly enough, Broady didn’t place at Al Smith last season, losing to #14 Dylan Bennett, yet another state qualifier in this weight class, but I think his results since then have been impressive enough for me to cement him at third. Other wrestlers to pay attention to here is #11 Matthew Maldonado, who has been solid for Merriville and wears a notable last name that has performed for Merriville for several years; #16 Ayden Campbell, who was a very impressive freshman last year; and #18 Cameron Senter, who you can add to the list of state qualifiers that populate this weight class.
Eddie Goss
Hayden Demarco
Guillermo Rivera
Tye Linser
This is a super interesting weight class with a lot of tough wrestlers that can make some noise. As opposed to some other weight classes in Indiana, I think the gaps at 132 between the highest ranked wrestlers (besides Hockaday and Thrine) and the rest of the ranked field is quite small. I think this will be an upset heavy weight class, but to keep things simple for now, I think that #3 Eddie Goss beats #4 Hayden Demarco in a highly competitive, high scoring match. Demarco is a previous Al Smith champ, beating Zar Walker in the process to shake up the rankings last year, but Goss has been incredibly solid this past year into the current season, and his consistency makes me more confident in picking him, as opposed to Demarco, who has high peaks but has some lows last year that make him a less confident pick. #5 Tye Linser is the next highest ranked wrestler, but #6 Guillermo Rivera and #7 Angelo Vargo are right behind him, and I think that they could potential dethrone Linser from his #5 spot. Rivera in particular has been super impressive, getting a 7-1 victory over stud freshman Angelo Vargo. I think that Vargo’s middle school success puts him into a top 4 conversation, but Linser has already proven himself at the high school level, having wins like Jackson Heaston and Griffin Van Tichelt to name a few over the past year, so I’ll take him getting 4th. #12 Carter Fielden is another potential high placer, as well as a returning state placer, but has a couple of tough losses on the year. #13 Sonny Sessa is a state qualifier and has decent losses to Demarco and Rivera, meaning that he can definitely compete with some of the better guys in this bracket. Lastly, #17 Dalton Robson has been solid, but will need Al Smith to boost his resume and make himself a threat at 132.
138 Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Kyrel Leavell
#4 Clinton Shepherd
#5 Wesley Smith
#17 Cam Dews
UR Josh England
Predictions:
Kyrel Leavell
Clinton Shepherd
Wesley Smith
Cam Dews
Despite a lack of ranked wrestlers in this weight class, there is a super interesting matchup destined to happen in the finals between #1 Kyrel Leavell and #4 Clinton Shepherd (I want to note as well that the new rankings have Shepherd listed at #2 in the state, making this a 5th #1 vs. #2 matchup going down at the Al Smith). Leavell has proven himself as a national threat, having a state championship to his name and beating several nationally ranked wrestlers throughout his career. Shepherd is coming off of a nationally ranked win himself, however, winning the Crown Point vs. Brownsburg matchup between Brady Ison, who was ranked #20 in the nation (per FloWrestling) at the time. Shepherd will need all the momentum he can get to take out Leavell though. I personally think that Shepherd is super impressive, but Leavell is likely the most underrated Indiana wrestler that we have right now, and should absolutely be in the national rankings, so I am taking Leavell to win. As for 3rd and 4th, #5 Wesley Smith is a very confident 3rd, while #17 Cam Dews is the only remaining state ranked wrestler, meaning that he will fit in nicely into the 4th place spot. I do want to shout out unranked Josh England, as a LaPorte wrestler with tons of potential. Dews has established himself a little more than England, but England has the potential to make the upset here and put himself into the conversation of qualifying for state.
144 Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Reese Courtney
#5 Zar Walker
#6 Christian Arberry
#7 Dillon Graham
#9 Brody Hagewood
#12 Marlone Kirksy
#16 Michael Ortega
#18 Sam Wolpert
Predictions:
Reese Courtney
Zar Walker
Christian Arberry
Dillon Graham
I think that despite #5 Zar Walker’s ranking, he will easily be contending for a title this year, and this matchup between him and #1 Reese Courtney should be viewed as such a caliber of match. I don’t see the finals being any other wrestler, so this will most likely be going down. Reese Courtney has really elevated levels this past year, which his Al Smith title from last year and his runner-up performance proves. Walker, on the other hand, while still having great results, has slightly underperformed at his last Al Smith tournament, as well as the state tournament. This match is a question of whether Walker brings his peak performance, because that version of Walker can definitely beat Courtney. I think Courtney is the safer and more probable pick here, but be ready for a great match. 3rd and 4th is #6 Christian Arberry and #7 Dillon Graham, in some order. Arberry beat Graham 3-2 earlier this season, and Graham has quite a few losses this year, although these losses are all to wrestlers ranked higher than him, and some of these losses are actually indicators that Graham can do some real damage in this bracket, for example, his 4-2 loss to Courtney and his 7-4 loss to Walker. That being said, I think that Arberry wins another razor close match, but if Graham can finally breakthrough and pick up a higher ranked win, it will set him up nicely for the post season. I predict the rest of the field to be a tier below the wrestlers ranked above, but #9 Brody Hagewood is a returning state qualifier, giving him some credibility to pull an upset if he has improved since last season.
#1 Wyatt Krejsa is another wrestler at this tournament that I would consider a lock. He had a super impressive Ironman run that saw him upset the #5 ranked wrestler in the country, and has picked up some other impressive wins since his runner-up performance at state last year, including Kyrel Leavell and Brady Ison. The question at this weight class is who will be 2nd, and I was really close to placing #10 Evan Cruz here, taking a very good Tommy Gibbs to a 1-0 loss at the Carnahan this year, and having good history at this tournament in prior years. However, last year, I overlooked #5 Wesley Harper at this tournament, leaving him out of the top 4, and he proved my predictions wrong with an upset over state placer Josh Johnson in the quarterfinals and a competitive match with Zar Walker before injury defaulting out of the tournament. I should also mention that he beat Reese Courtney the weekend after, which is an extremely impressive win, and one that Cruz does not own a similar caliber of, so I think Harper will beat Cruz in a close match. #12 Brock Hagewood is a solid 4th place pick for me. There are a couple of other state ranked wrestlers in the field, including #14 Chase Kasprzak and #16 Cadyn Smith, who have previous history at this tournament, but Hagewood is a state qualifier and placed 6th at last year’s Al Smith, so I am comfortable with placing him at 4th.
157 Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Mitchell Betz
#2 Beau Brabender
#4 Silas Stits
#5 Anthony Cashman
#6 Adrian Pellot
#7 Gavin Davis
#11 Kevon Russell
UR Griffin Van Tichelt
Predictions:
Mitchell Betz
Silas Stits
Beau Brabender
Anthony Cashman
This weight class is pretty insane, with 6 of the top 8 battling it out for an Al Smith title. The favorite here is #1 Mitchell Betz, who placed second last year at Al Smith, and has a win this off-season to #2 Beau Brabender. I actually think that #4 Silas Stits has what it takes to beat Brabender for the finals spot, and actually beat Brabender last year at Al Smith. It is worth noting that Al Smith was an underperformance last year for Brabender, and he went on to take 4th at state, while Stits lost Friday night. There are a lot of variables that could go into this match, but I think that Stits takes it if they meet in the semis. #5 Anthony Cashman has been solid in his descent to 157, aside from a hiccup to Silas Foster, who is a wild dark horse in Indiana right now. I think that this matchup between 4th placers will be extremely close, and I don’t really have a great reason to put Brabender over Cashman. It’s a 50/50 match to me, but I’ll take Brabender as the higher ranked wrestler. #6 Adrian Pellot is a returning state placer as well, but I think that this weight class is a bit too deep for me to confidently predict an upset here. #7 Gavin Davis lost Friday night last year, but I think it should be interesting to note that he beat Brabender at Al Smith last year. As said previously, this performance from Brabender seemed to be a low point last season, and the better version of Brabender will compete better in this match. An unranked wrestler I want to mention is Griffin Van Tichelt, who will obviously be ranked once the rankings are updated. He is up from 132, and has two close losses on the season to Mason Day, but he is a solid wrestler that can do some damage, and will do some damage once he adjusts to this new weight class.
165 Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Anthony Rinehart
#2 Waylon Cressell
#3 Duke Myers
#6 Evan Roudebush
#11 Michael Mavros
#14 Deaglan Pleak
#15 Sean Breedlove
#17 Ethan Smith
#18 Blake Wahl
#20 Marques Young
Predictions:
Anthony Rinehart
Waylon Cressell
Duke Myers
Evan Roudebush
165 is yet another loaded weight class, with the top 3 in attendance, along with 7 other state ranked wrestlers to leave at least two state ranked wrestlers off of the podium. The finals here is a big one, and a really big question mark match. #2 Waylon Cressell is a transfer from North Dakota, and has been relatively untested this season, although he did beat #5 (at 175) Bray Emerine, proving that he is a legitimate title contender. Cressell also placed 3rd at IHPO, losing only to Fargo champ Tristin Greene, although Rinehart has a win over this same wrestler, so it seems at this moment that Rinehart has the advantage. This win isn’t Rinehart’s only claim to be the better wrestler, spending time in the national rankings and placing at Ironman in 2022. That being said, this match should be very intriguing, and a great preview for the state finals. #3 Duke Myers is capable of spoiling this match, especially given that we don’t know exactly how good Cressell is yet. I don’t think the upset happens, but it is definitely possible. #6 Evan Roudebush is in a tier below the top 3, but is still a pretty confident lock for 4th. Two wrestlers that could challenge Roudebush is #11 Michael Mavros, who has improved rapidly this past season, and #14 Deaglan Pleak, who placed 8th at last year’s Al Smith, highlighted by a bloodround win over eventual 8th placer Conner Watts.
Noah Clouser
Brenton Russell
Aidan Costello
Kyle Harden
This weight class is very strong at the top, and it becomes even stronger with the addition of #3 Noah Clouser, who makes his descent from 190 (and enters as the #1 ranked wrestler at 175 in the newest set of rankings). Clouser had a great showing at Al Smith last year, taking 2nd and winning against #2 Aidan Costello and #3 Kyle Harden along the way. I think that Clouser can repeat this performance and win against both of these opponents again, but these matches last year were close, and both of them will be ready to pull of the upset. I think that #1 Brenton Russell is the one that makes it to the finals over both Costello and Harden. Costello beat Harden last year in the 5th place match at state, and Russell, although the highest returning placer in the field, is up from 160, while the rest of the top 4 wrestled this weight class last year, meaning that his experience against the field is limited. What shouldn’t be discounted, however, is the strength of his off season wins last year, picking up very notable wins over Mitchell Betz, Anthony Rinehart, and current #16 in the country Carson Thomas. Neither Costello or Harden have such a strong lost of wins, so I think Russell makes the finals. Somebody that I think could spoil any of these potential match is #8 Chase Leech, who is much better than his ranking might indicate, with not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE wins in the past year against Russell, as well as a win over last year’s 160 state runner-up Luke Kemper. While five wins over one of my predicted finalists might indicate that Leech should be in the top 4, but he has a loss to Costello last off season, and took a weird loss earlier in the year that dropped him in the rankings. I think a game Leech can potentially win this tournament, but for consistency’s sake, I’ll keep him out.
190 Ranked Wrestlers:
#2 Luke Penola
#4 Vinny Freeman
#7 Kenneth Bisping
#13 Donovan Blair
#14 Austin Reading
#16 Aleksandar Tatum
Predictions:
Luke Penola
Vinny Freeman
Kenneth Bisping
Donovan Blair
I think that this weight class could be another lock, with #2 Luke Penola elevating levels this past year, taking 3rd at state, and picking up some impressive off season wins such as Gunner Henry and Reid Schroeder. #4 Vinny Freeman has proven himself as a dark horse though, placing 6th last year after being relatively unknown, but we will have to see if he can take it to Penola as the only returning placer in the field. #7 Kenneth Bisping is also a potential finals candidate, but has not yet made the podium. We will have to see if Bisping has grown levels since last year and can compete with the rapidly improving sophomore from Penn. The 4th place spot here goes to either #13 Donovan Blair, a state qualifier from Wawasee, #14 Austin Reading, a sophomore from Crown Point who has found his way in a very tough Crown Point lineup, and #16 Aleksandr Tatum, a freshman from Hobart who has posted solid results so far this season. I think that Tatum has been good this year, but has taken tough losses to both Freeman and Bisping this season. Reading, while a part of one of the best programs in the state, has yet to cement himself as one of Crown Point’s top threats, and I don’t feel confident yet picking him over Blair, who has already proven himself as a state quality wrestler.
215 Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Will Clark
#3 Kaden McConnell
#4 Keegan Martin
#6 Devin Kendrex
#10 Jackson Weingart
#14 Everett Mcclelland
Predictions:
Will Clark
Kaden McConnell
Jackson Weingart
Keegan Martin
Can anybody stop #1 Will Clark? He has been one of the most dominant wrestlers in Indiana right now, and it doesn’t seem like anybody will stop him this year from claiming a second state title. #3 Kaden McConnell is the biggest threat to Clark here, taking 2nd last year at state, and posting solid results since then, including a 3-2 performance at Ironman. I don’t think he’s quite ready to pull the upset, but he is certainly the favorite to meet him in the finals. The 3rd and 4th place spots go to either #4 Keegan Martin, #6 Devin Kendrex, and #10 Jackson Weingart. Kendrex and Weingart have been on the podium before, but Martin had a 3rd place finish at the Al Smith last year that included wins over both Kendrex and Weingart. Kendrex did beat Martin Friday night, so he has the most recent win. However, Kendrex lost the last two matches to Weingart, so making a solid prediction here will be tough. I’m going to go with Weingart as the third place finisher. His match with Martin for 3rd at last year’s Al Smith was highly competitive, and he has been wrestling great otherwise. Additionally, he has a 5-4 loss with McConnell this season, showing that he has great potential to contend with even McConnell and Clark. Keegan Martin, despite having the loss at state to Kendrex, has picked up wins over much of the field, and has been more consistent than Kendrex, who has taken a couple tougher losses than Martin.
285 Ranked Wrestlers:
#1 Paul Clark
#5 Hosia Smith
#7 Anthony Popi
#15 Luke Juris
#16 Ethan Dodson
#19 Triston Meschede
UR Nate Johnson
Predictions:
Paul Clark
Hosia Smith
Anthony Popi
Nate Johnson
I want to say that #1 Paul Clark is a lock here, and I still definitely think he’s the favorite, but #5 Hosia Smith is a dangerous heavyweight that is most certainly a state title contender. His state run last year ended early with a semi-state upset loss, but he did take a win over eventual state champ Leighton Jones, showing that he can pick up wins of that level, which he will most certainly need to beat Clark. For 3rd, I’m going with #7 Anthony Popi, who I think is a pretty solid lock for 3rd, as a state qualifier that has shown real promise for a podium run this year with a 3-2 loss to #2 Brady Beck. There are several state ranked wrestlers in the field that could contend for 4th, but one wrestler in particular that is interesting here is Nate Johnson, who has been behind #4 Tyler Schott in Center Grove’s lineup, but is a two time state qualifier that will be wrestling with a fire under himself, hoping to eventually win the roster battle and claim a spot on the podium. Challenging Johnson will be #15 Luke Juris, who had a close 3-2 with Popi earlier this year, #16 Ethan Dodson, a senior from Fort Wayne Snider who will have his first big test of the season at Al Smith, and #19 Triston Meschede, who’s had some competitive matches with tough wrestlers at this weight, including a 3-2 loss to Juris and a 5-2 loss to #3 Aramis McNutt. I don’t think any of these wrestlers quite have the pedigree yet to beat Johnson, so I will lock in Johnson for 4th.
Blake Maurer really needs to be part of this conversation. His 03 finals match with Dolly was one of the best. Those guys went and left it all on the mat!
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