HawkinIndy

Like the picks but see Ruhlman taking 170. Could also see the younger Thrine making the finals at 126. Few kids can match his quickness and funk.

A handful of notable results from the Wayne County Classic this weekend where there was some good old fashioned wrasslin’… six mats rolling with 14 or 15 teams in attendance. 106 - #7/#1 Heather Crull (Northeastern) WBD 1-0 over UR Quinten Keen (Winchester) 126 - UR Jack Davis (Bishop Chatard) WBF over #19/#5 Jesus Aquino-Morales (Union County) 132 - UR Cameron Volz (Eastern Hancock) WBD 7-1 over UR Sam Bustamante (Bishop Chatard) 138 - UR Jackson Marker (Centerville) WBD 8-4 over UR Sam Bustamante (Bishop Chatard) 160 - John Rushenberg (Bishop Chatard) WBF over UR/#7 Jordan Takara (Union County) Bishop Chatard and Beech Grove both went 8-0 in duals with BC winning on greater point differential (466). Would have been nice to have those two schools wrestle a bonus ninth round.

Tylin’s pin over Aquino-Morales and then the clinic he put on against Ingalls should vault him into the top 6. He’s only getting better and has a real shot at going under the lights in February.

I believe Connersville has 31 teams in it at the moment... room for one more!

138 was the weight to watch today at City Championships. Cathedral’s Max McGinley won 10-3 over Providence Cristo Rey’s Delin Jones in the semis, then pinned Purdue Poly Tech’s Silas Foster in overtime after a wild 10-10 score through six minutes in the finals.

You and the other 3000 in attendance. Amazing that in 2022, some schools can’t figure out how to offer accessible WiFi.

PA announcement yesterday at Southport was that they’ll show up on Track sometime Tuesday.

IHSAA didn’t like the unanimous vote by coaches to go back to one session on Friday so this is their way of getting a little revenge. Disgusting.

Hey, it's me, football! I have 30-35 players who see the field any given night, but I need a head coach and 14 assistants to keep the kids in line. Oh hey, it's me, basketball! I have 8-10 kids who see the court any given night, but I need six coaches in the huddle to make sure we're all on the same page. It goes without saying, but the IHSAA needs to take a serious look in the mirror when it comes to how they handle wrestling. Because right now, they're a bunch of steamy, giant turds.

Hansen beat Tilton 12-7 in the first round at New Castle last year. Much can change over the course of a year, but it’s Hansen and then everybody else at 182.

At 138, tough draw for Cathedral's Gonzalez with having Lowery on his side of the bracket. Lost a close match to him earlier this year but beat Johnson each of the last two weeks... now it's Johnson with the easier route to a runner-up finish. 152 is the only weight where every ticket round matchup could feature state ranked vs. state ranked wrestlers. I'd take Naselroad over Jones, otherwise good with the other three. Walston/Naselroad and Glithero/Rinehart would be outstanding semifinal matches. Agree that 160 is wide open. Farrell has a knack for winning the close matches but he didn't show much offensively at regionals. I'd take Calderon over him in the ticket round and the winner of Euson/Wagner to win that bracket. The fact that Weingart isn't even ranked in the SS at 220 is laughable. Maybe Cathedral has liked that he's flown under the radar all year. Either way, he's the best kid in that bracket and will show it again on Saturday.

Not accounting for Graham’s injury at 145, results below: Semi-state qualifiers: 51/55 = 92.7% Exact place finishers: 29/55 = 52.7% What a freakin’ fabulous day of wrestling.

At 145, Dillon Graham is out with an injury for Cathedral. Tough break for a sophomore who finished 4th last year at 120.

Four teams bring 10 or more wrestlers into the Pendleton Heights regional: Cathedral (14), Hamilton Heights (12), Noblesville (12) and North Central (10). Lawrence North (9), Pendleton Heights (8), Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (8), Bishop Chatard (7) and Anderson (7) bring at least half of their lineups, too. Predictions below: 106: Wilson (NC), Bragg (Cathedral), Sayre (Alexandria-Monroe), Tankersley (LN) Best first-round match: Tankersley and Doucette (HH). Best semifinal: Wilson (#13/#2) and Sayre (#24/#7). Give me Wilson by 4-6 points. Finals: Wilson avenges last week's sectional finals loss to Bragg (NR/#4), wins a tightly-contested match. 113: Dickey (Cathedral), Fye (AM), Nguyen (Guerin Catholic), Easler (LN) Best first-round match: Nguyen and McNamee (BC). Best semifinal: Fye (#22/#6) and Easler. Finals: Our first state ranked vs. state ranked finals matchup; Dickey (#2/#1) goes without much of a test all day, wins by major over Fye. 120: Reyes (Cathedral), Kuhn (HH), Bustamante (BC), Creel (PH) Best first-round match: Creel and Wilson (LN). Best semifinal: Kuhn (NR/#9) and Bustamante. Finals: Reyes (#10/#4) takes care of Kuhn with a takedown clinic. 126: Johnson (Cathedral), Flowers (AM), McGuire (Tipton), Nicholson (PH) Best first-round match: McGuire and Robinson (Arsenal Tech). Best semifinal: Flowers (NR/#7) and Nicholson (NR/#8). Finals: Johnson (#10/#5) gets tested from Flowers but wins by decision. 132: Seltzer (Cathedral), Haughton (MTV), Todd (PH), Dietz (Anderson) Best first-round match: Haughton (#23/#7) and Sepiol (Noblesville). Best semifinal: Haughton and Todd. Finals: Our second state ranked vs. state ranked matchup. Seltzer (#1/#1) teched Haughton last week, he'll get the fall this time around. 138: Johnson (MTV), Gonzalez (Cathedral), Fettig (HH), Taylor (AT) Best first-round match: Fettig (NR/#10) and Harris (NC). Best semifinal: Fettig and Johnson (#8/#2). Finals: Our third state ranked vs. state ranked matchup, expect some fireworks similar to last week's sectional final. Gonzalez (#12/#3) and Johnson are a coin flip, going with Johnson by 1-2 points this week. 145: Graham (Cathedral), White (LN), Cain (HH), Kiner (MTV) Best first-round match: Kiner (NR/#10) and Gulley (Noblesville). Best semifinal: White (NR/#7) and Cain (HH). Finals: Graham (#10/#4) pinned White last week, expect White to go the distance this week. 152: Naselroad (AM), Bustamante (BC), Edwards (Cathedral), Richardson (Noblesville) Best first-round match: Edwards and Alexander (Frankton) Best semifinal: Both Edwards/Naselroad (#9/#4) and Bustamante (#18/#6)/Richardson will be fun matches, expect the favorites to move on. Finals: Our fourth state ranked vs. state ranked matchup. Naselroad carried an undefeated record all the way to New Castle last year, can he do the same this year? 160: Farrell (Frankton), Rushenberg (BC), Brown (HH), Bragg (Cathedral); this one looks like a wide open weight class, very deep, too. Seven of the eight wrestlers have single-digit losses and the one who does, Bragg, is no fluke. Best first-round matches: Rushenberg/Childers (PH), Bragg/London (Tipton). Best semifinal: Rushenberg and Brown. Finals: Farrell (#14/#1) and Rushenberg met during the offseason and Farrell won by decision; should be a tight match once again. 170: Braun (Cathedral), Johnson (NC), Buckman (Brebeuf), Puello (LN); clean sweep for the AT sectional. Best first-round match: Puello and Lacey (HH); first 4 over 1 on the day. Best semifinal: Braun (#12/#2) and Buckman; Braun's technique trumps Buckman's throwing ability. Finals: Our fifth state ranked vs. state ranked matchup. Braun and Johnson (#25/#6) had a close one last week; JJ widens the gap this week. 182: Tilton (HH), Hannon (BC), Stone (Noblesville), Hasbrook (Cathedral). Best first-round match: Stone and Austel (MTV), wouldn't be surprised if Austel won here. Best semifinal: Stone and Hannon (#20/NR). Finals: Our sixth state ranked vs. state ranked matchup. Tilton (#12/#3) and Hannon; Tilton will have his hands full but wins by 3-4 points. 195: Hastings (Noblesville), Harvey (Cathedral), Johnson (AT), Waugh (BC). Best first-round matches: Johnson (NR/#9)/Morris (Lapel), Echols (Anderson)/Waugh Best semifinal: Johnson and Hastings (#16/#3). Finals: Our seventh state ranked vs. state ranked matchup. Hastings over Harvey (#25/#6) by 2-3 points. 220: Brown (HH), Weingart (Cathedral), Kendrex (MTV), Long (Noblesville); any of these four could win this bracket. Best first-round matches: Long (#16/#2)/Branigan (NR/#3) (North Central), Kendrex (#22/#1)/Stephens (NR/#6) (Anderson). Long has the edge over Branigan who battled through injury at Arsenal Tech. Best semifinals: Both of these matchups will be gems; Weingart vs. Long and Kendrex vs. Brown. Finals: Brown over Weingart in a close match; lot of rankings next to kids' names in this weight but it's two unranked who meet for the title. 285: Watts (NC), Smith (Cathedral), Brahnam (Frankton), Anderson (MTV); hardest bracket to predict and only one wrestler with double-digit losses. Best first-round matches: Smith (#11/#6) vs. Moran (HH), Anderson (NR/#9) vs. Etchison (#16/#5) (Noblesville). Best semifinals: Smith vs. Brahnam (#17/#10), Watts (#9/#3) vs. Anderson. Hope concessions doesn't run out of popcorn. Finals: Watts edged Smith last week with some fireworks late and after the match. Can't wait for the rematch. Semi-State Qualifiers Cathedral (14): 6 champs, 5 seconds, 1 third, 2 fourths. Hamilton Heights (6): 2 champs, 1 second, 3 thirds. Bishop Chatard (5): 3 seconds, 1 third, 1 fourth. Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (5): 1 champ, 1 second, 1 third, 2 fourths. Alexandria-Monroe (4): 1 champ, 2 seconds, 1 third. Noblesville (4): 1 champ, 1 third, 2 fourths. Lawrence North (4): 1 second, 3 fourths. North Central (3): 2 champs, 1 second. Pendleton Heights (3): 1 third, 2 fourths. Frankton (2): 1 champ, 1 third. Arsenal Tech (2): 1 third, 1 fourth. Brebeuf Jesuit (1): 1 third. Guerin Catholic (1): 1 third. Tipton (1): 1 third. Anderson (1): 1 fourth.

Cathedral wins 10 of 14 in the finals, Bishop Chatard takes 3 champs and North Central caps the day with its only champ. Matches of the day 106 - Gavin Bragg 6-4 over NC’s Oliver Wilson (late throw won it for Bragg) 138 - Luke Gonzalez 6-5 over MTV’s Carson Johnson (really good scrambles, ref let 30 seconds go to waste from neutral that should have been a stalemate with under a minute left in the third period, fun match all around) 145 - Dillon Graham fall over LN’s Romeo White (White won a good semifinal match over MTV’s Aiden Kiner, Graham with a quick first period pin in the finals) 160 - BC’s John Rushenberg 7-3 over Gabe Bragg (both wrestlers had one win against the other) 170 - JJ Braun 6-4 over NC’s Clifton Johnson (Johnson nearly had two at the finish, good chance they see each other again next week) 195 - Grayson Harvey 4-2 over Johnson (Harvey is stout, second win over Johnson this year where he’s controlled the match all six minutes) 220 - Jackson Weingart 2-1 OT over MTV’s Devin Kendrex (most controversial call of the day, and boy, there were some bad ones… Kendrix called for fleeing the mat in OT while trying to secure a front headlock on the edge of the mat) HWT - NC’s Makhi Watts 3-2 over Hosia Smith (these two big boys don’t like each other, all eyes on a LOADED HWT bracket next week at Pendleton Heights) Cathedral cleaned up as expected. North Central prevailed for second slightly ahead of Mt. Vernon and Bishop Chatard.

Cathedral should run away with this sectional title for a fourth straight year. Four teams in North Central, Mt. Vernon, Bishop Chatard and Lawrence North will battle for second. Predictions below: 106 - Wilson (NC), Bragg (C), Tankersley (LN), Bayliss (MV) 113 - Dickey (C), McNamee (BC), Easler (LN), Schenk (NC) 120 - Reyes (C), Bustamante (BC), Wilson (LN), Arnold (NC) 126 - Johnson (C), Simms (LN), Robinson (Arsenal Tech), Smith (NC) 132 - Seltzer (C), Haughton (MV), Jones (LN), Bunting (NC) 138 - Gonzalez (C), Johnson (MV), Taylor (AT), Harkness (BC) 145 - Graham (C), Kiner (MV), White (LN), Franklin (NC) 152 - Bustamante (BC), McGinley (C), Lemaster (NC), Kerr (MV) 160 - Rushenberg (BC), Bragg (C), Wickliffe (AT), Casillas (LN) 170 - Braun (C), Johnson (NC), Buckman (Brebeuf), Rickard (BC) 182 - Hannon (BC), Hasbrook (C), Lee (Brebeuf), Austel (MV) 195 - Harvey (C), Weaver (MV), Johnson (AT), Waugh (BC) 220 - Kendrix (MV), Weingart (C), Branigan (NC), Johnson (LN) HWT - Smith (C), Anderson (MV), Watts (NC), Troy (BC) Cathedral gets all 14 through with 9 champs, 5 seconds. North Central gets 10 through with 1 first, 1 second, 3 thirds and 5 fourths. Mt. Vernon gets 9 through with 1 first, 5 seconds and 3 fourths. Bishop Chatard gets 9 through with 3 firsts, 2 seconds and 4 fourths. Lawrence North gets 8 through with 1 second, 5 thirds and 2 fourths. Weights to watch are 106, 138, 145, 170, 195, 220 and HWT. Should be a fun Saturday.

Romeo White from Lawrence North jumped to 145 in the Arsenal Tech sectional. Likely reason, 138 has Luke Gonzalez from Cathedral and Carson Johnson from Mt. Vernon (Fortville). Tyler Jones from Warren Central dropped to 152, forced Brenton Russell to 160. Sets up a regional showdown between Jones and Roncalli's Kody Glithero.

Finals are just minutes away. After watching every session, here's who I'm rolling with... 106 - Dickey over Jackson 113 - Cottey over Ruble 120 - Lemley over Frazier 126 - Seltzer over Schoeff 132 - Freeman over Montgomery 138 - Mendez over Ruhlman 145 - Wagner over Watson 152 - Conway over Ellis 160 - Major over Baumann 170 - Hall over Morrill 182 - Sollars over Buchanan 195 - Filipovich over Carrington 220 - Ruhlman over Streck HWT - Muncie over Omonode

‘Bout time yer exchange them there history books for a j-o-b as a farmhand there pup. Then e’erything you read above make more cents.

Predictions for the upper seven weights at New Castle semi-state, starting with a top-heavy bracket at 152. 152 (worth price of admission for the finals match) 1st- Matthew Koontz, Perry Meridian (coin flip) 2nd- JaJuan Anderson, Warren Central (lost the coin flip) 3rd- Ben Wolf, East Central (Has to hope the loser of Koontz/Anderson at the Southport regional doesn't fall in his pod of 4) 4th- Nathan Powell, Carmel (Honestly could see about 7 different wrestlers land in this spot) Others to consider - Gabe Phillips, Centerville; Chase Wagner, Zionsville; Zach Hoyt, New Pal; Ethan Childers, Pendleton Heights; Eli Bustamante, Bishop Chatard; Avery Wills, Eastern Hancock 160 1st- Robert Major, Carmel 2nd- Andrew Wilson, Cathedral 3rd- Leo Calderon, Centerville 4th- Tyler Jones, Warren Central Others to consider - Jakob Sheets, Perry Meridian; Luke Penola, Zionsville; Evan Tilton, Hamilton Heights; Luke Hansen, Roncalli 170 1st- Bryer Hall, East Central 2nd- Jake Shafer, Carmel 3rd- Ulrik Urasky, Cathedral 4th- Shane Bates, Zionsville Others to consider - JaJuan Dale, Perry Meridian; Jaylin Summers, Warren Central; Joseph Kitko, Noblesville 182 1st- Aiden Warren, Perry Meridian 2nd- Keon Sullivan, Warren Central 3rd- Sam Ringer, East Central 4th- Riley Woodall, Southmont Others to consider- Cole Hughes, Shenandoah; Vincent McDonald, Zionsville; Sam Peeples, Roncalli 195 1st- Hayden Filipovich, Indianapolis Lutheran 2nd- Johnny Parker, Cathedral 3rd- Max Broom, Hamilton SE 4th- Zach White, Carmel (feels wide open for the fourth spot in this bracket) Others to consider - Ryan Bovard, East Central; Colin Gillespie, Pendleton Heights 220 1st- Aataeveon Jordan, Franklin Central 2nd- David Guhl, Cathedral 3rd- Kole Viel, East Central 4th- Jack Taylor, New Castle Others to consider - Jeff McClure, Perry Meridian 285 1st- Antone Alexander, Franklin Central 2nd- Evan Shafer, Connersville 3rd- Mihail Platonov, Westfield 4th- Makhi Watts, North Central Others to consider - Lane Fowler, Cathedral; Tucker Keevers, New Palestine

The New Castle semi-state traditionally features some of Indiana's top wrestlers and this year is no different. Here are some predictions for 106-145. 106 1st- Evan Dickey, Cathedral (Avenged an 8-4 loss to Billerman on Jan. 2 with a convincing 10-1 win less than two weeks later) 2nd- Toby Billerman, Perry Meridian (Should win a tough Southport regional. Has beaten SP's Nathan Smith 4-3, 8-0 and 7-1 this year, along with 8-5 and 15-6 wins over Warren Central's Zac Dray) 3rd- Nathan Smith, Southport (I like him to beat WC's Zac Dray in the semis at Southport regional and find a better draw at New Castle) 4th- Tommy Frazier, Zionsville Others to consider - Zac Dray, Warren Central; Oliver Wilson, North Central; Mat Benson, Hamilton SE 113 1st- Alex Cottey, Perry Meridian (3x state finalist, nothing much more to say) 2nd- Kyrel Leavell, Warren Central 3rd- Dylan Driver, Westfield (Could get dicey if Leavell lands in same group of 4) 4th- Aden Reyes, Cathedral (see ^^^) Others to consider - Romello Williams, Anderson; Isaac Ward, Carmel 120 1st- Braxton Vest, Westfield 2nd- Carlton Perry, Warren Central 3rd- Dillon Graham, Cathedral 4th- Eitan Halevi, Carmel Others to consider - Keaton Morton, Perry Meridian; Gavyn Whitehead, New Castle 126 (fight for 2nd) 1st- Zeke Seltzer, Cathedral 2nd- Bryce Lowery, Roncalli 3rd- Elijah Anthony, Frankfort 4th- Blake Wolf, East Central Others to consider - Jeremiah Henderson, Lawrence North; Dason Tichenor, Warren Central 132 1st- David Pierson, Warren Central (Beat New Pal's White 9-3 at sectionals) 2nd- Brac Hooper, Carmel 3rd- Anthony Hughes, Lawrence North 4th- Christian White, New Palestine Others to consider - Brevan Thrine, New Castle; Drew Willis, Roncalli 138 (feels like a wide open weight class) 1st- Hudson Harreld, Zionsville 2nd- Luke Goodwin, Southport 3rd- Kody Glithero, Roncalli 4th- Jared Brown, Pendleton Heights Others to consider - Alec McLaren, Westfield; Jeremiah Hernandez, Warren Central; Luke Gonzalez, Cathedral; Corbin Walston, Lawrenceburg 145 (Wagner in his own class at this weight) 1st- Logan Wagner, Zionsville 2nd- Max Naselroad, Alexandria 3rd- Jeivan Ross, Warren Central 4th- Eli Otto, South Dearborn Others to consider - Brady McKivitz, Perry Meridian (runner-up finish at sectionals sets him up for a likely 3rd place finish at regionals, tougher draw at SS); Zach Wilson, Roncalli; Tyler Lindamood, Fishers Will create a separate thread for 152-285. Thoughts on the above?