Cappy

Purdy and Sollars are not in the same sectional. Sollars (#2) and Willman (#3) will wrestle for the first time in the sectionals. 
Purdy will join them at Regionals

Purdy and Sollars are not in the same sectional. Sollars (#2) and Willman (#3) will wrestle for the first time in the sectionals. 
Purdy will join them at Regionals

Purdy and Sollars are not in the same sectional. Sollars (#2) and Willman (#3) will wrestle for the first time in the sectionals. 
Purdy will join them at Regionals

Purdy and Sollars are not in the same sectional. Sollars (#2) and Willman (#3) will wrestle for the first time in the sectionals. 
Purdy will join them at Regionals

Who are your 3-4? I see possibly two from North Posey (of course that’s me being a homer,) Fulks, 1/2 from memorial, 1/2 from mt Vernon, Purdy, Reff, Huggins, Huering?!

Who are your 3-4? I see possibly two from North Posey (of course that’s me being a homer,) Fulks, 1/2 from memorial, 1/2 from mt Vernon, Purdy, Reff, Huggins, Huering?!

The Evansville Central Sectional—long considered as one of the toughest in the State—seems to be a bit down in 2021.  That being said, do not forget it is populated by the 4A team champions, Mater Dei, and soon-to-be-perennial powerhouse, North Posey.
 
Following one of the weirdest years in Grandmother’s history, wrestling follows suit.  Consider that North Posey declined to complete for a PAC championship, while Mater Dei won the SIAC title—with 13 JV wrestlers.  At any rate, the Central sectional still promises much excitement, fireworks…and some upsets.
 
Mater Dei has not lost a sectional title since Jimmy Carter was in the White House.  Google it for the date.
 
Can Mater Dei shake off three weeks of rust and win the team title?  Does a deep North Posey team have the horsepower to take the title?  Is there an upstart?  Well…let us take a look!
 
106- The little guys promise a high stakes finale in state-ranked Blake Zirkelbach of North Posey and MD’s Evan Seng.  Both are high-flying, wide-open wrestlers.  Adding to the intrigue is that Zirkelbach’s father, Gabe, is a former State Champ from MD.  Who do you like?  It likely depends upon the color of your jersey.  How about the 11-1 Gabrielle Polen from Gibson Southern, not receiving a seed.  Are you kidding?  Look for Reitz’s Caleb Reed to meet Zirkelbach in the semi-final.
 
113- MD Junior Reed Egli sports a state ranking, 14-2 record and plenty of big match experience.  Princeton’s Jared Dunn is a solid 18-2 and will attempt to top Egli on the medals stand.
 
120- Centrals Aydan Amento is solid and has put together an impressive, 23-3 season.  Unfortunately, MD’s Cole Ross is on the other side of the bracket.  Ross is in the hunt for a state title and his fourth sectional title.
 
126- First year starter, senior Jacob Pierre, received the nod for the top seed.  Rival alert!  Look for Pierre to meet Reitz’s Zach Traylor in the final.
 
132-  Mater Dei senior Alec Freeman brings a perfect record and top-state ranking to the party.  Freeman is going for his third sectional title.  North Kris Sutton and North Posey’s Camden Lupfer compete for the second-highest podium spot.
 
138- Blake Boarman is fresh off his fourth SIAC title and looks to notch a fourth sectional title on Saturday.  North’s Peyton Bell completed a brilliant freshman campaign and looks to square off with Boarman in the finals.
 
145- This should be a good one!  Mt. Vernon coach Nick Alcorn successfully lobbied the number one seed for his 21-3 Chris Newman.  At the southern end of the bracket lurks Mater Dei’s wildcard, Ashton Hayhurst.  Wildcat fans (Mt. Vernon, not Mater Dei) do not look past North’s Matt Lehman!  You will see him in the semifinal.
 
152- Mater Dei senior Scott Fitts earned the top seed.  Centrals’ Luke Robards and Gibson Southern’s Christian Polen battle in the southern half of the bracket for the right to wrestle Fitts in the final.
 
160- Mater Dei’s Brody Baumann sports a perfect, 16-0 record and has yet to be tested this season.  He is the prohibitive favorite and will face the winner of Central’s Ian Madden and Gibson Southern’s Owen Bryant.
 
170- North Posey captures its second top seed in the form of senior Clay Will.  Will has been stellar and only has one blemish on his record.  Will has no cakewalk to the final; in the semis, he will face North’s Cale Johnson.  The bottom half of the bracket is equally tough!  Mt. Vernon’s Brady Hook should face Mater Dei’s Blake Weidner for the right to vie for the top spot.  This is a deep and balanced weight class.
 
182- Like his teammate, Mater Dei’s Gabe Sollars has yet to be touched in 20/21.  Central is the first stop on his quest for a state title.  In his way, will be the winner of Mt. Vernon’s Dalton Schmidt and North’s Mitchell Happe.
 
195- North Posey junior Wyatt Willman brings a spotless, 22-0 record to First Avenue.  In one of the few intriguing quarterfinal matches, MD’s 9-0 Clay Martin faces North’s TJ Hankins for the right to face Willman in the semis.  Do either have enough mustard for Willman?  The bottom of the bracket is no less interesting as Reitz’s Reid Brickey will face Mt. Vernon’s Blake Ritzert.  Hook prediction- There will be at least one upset in this bracket.
 
220- Who, in this sectional, has 24 wins?  Answer:  Reitz’s Logan Huggins.  The senior is on a tear and secured the top seed.  Looking to avenge an earlier loss is Mater Dei’s Nick Boots.  Expect for 70 years of Reitz/Mater Dei hostilities to continue in the final.
 
285- Mater Dei’s big boy, James Ralph, gets the top slot.  He will face a worthy challenger in the final in the form of          Gibson Southern’s Alex Breivogel or North’s Gage Sales. 
 
All nine of the schools have competitive grapplers with opportunities to advance.  Regardless of your affiliation, Central sectional wrestling fans have cause for excitement.
 
Vincennes Lincoln, Princeton, North and Central will battle to finish in the top half of the team race.  Expect for North Posey and Mt. Vernon to pile up points and compete for the runner-up slot. 
 
Whether you are a “Lover” or “Hater”, the outcome will be the same:  Late Saturday afternoon, the crew from 1300 Harmony Way will raise the championship trophy for the 45th consecutive time.  The Wildcats’ are too strong and too deep for the string to be broken in 2021.
 
Hook’s Picks:
Do not miss these semifinal matches:  113- Bulkley vs. Dunn, 132- Sutton vs. Lupfer.  152- Robards vs. Polen.  160- Madden vs. Bryant, 170- Weidner vs. Hook.  195- Ritzert vs. Brickey.  285- Breivogel vs. Sales
Best finals matches:  106- Zirkelbach vs. Seng. 145- Hayhurst vs. Newman.  170- Weidner/Hook vs. Will. 
 
Hookemendations:
*Get up early and have breakfast at the Pie Pan. After your omelet, (Hookticia prefers pancakes) have a piece of pumpkin or pecan pie...you don’t have to make weight! 
*If home takes you north or east, ask any Central or Mater Dei fan for directions to the Hornville Tavern.  They have a family room and a smoked pork chop that is to D-I-E for. 
At the corner of 41 and I-64, you will find Stoll’s County Inn.  This is the best buffet you will find and has an Amish influence.  Tell ‘em Yoder sent you!
If you like sushi or hibachi, Fujiyama offers the best value for Japanese cuisine in the city. It is Mrs. Hook's favorite place to eat. Banzai! 
*Founded in 1854, Evansville Central It is the oldest high school in continuous operation west of the Allegheny Mountains. Revel in the history! 

I have no information on why this choice was made. With that said, if your concern is covid and you keep your varsity out of the competition and enter your JV then are you going to quarantine your JV kids from your varsity for two weeks?

I believe North Posey won’t be at the classic this year. 

Happe and McDonald would have been 95 and they wrestled 185

Shout-out to the PAC for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in 1A!!

North Posey had a young man a couple years ago named Cody Martin who was 6’8” and wrestled 220 as a senior and might have been 195 as a junior.