grappler87

145 177 1987

No way, he has too much heart to do that.

http://www.broadcastsport.net/ has live video right now but only on 1 mat.

http://www.ihsaa.org/b-wrestling/2008-09/0809IndividualStateBrackets.htm or http://www.broadcastsport.net/WrestlingBrackets-State.aspx

Team regional today at Peru by Chuck Landis clandis@chronicle-tribune.com Published: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 1:10 AM EST Marion isn?t expected to get past host Peru in this evening?s wrestling team regional first round match. But coach Heath Duke doesn?t count out the Giants. ?I was looking on the Internet wrestling sites, and everyone gives the favorites to Delphi and Peru,? Duke said. ?But our guys are more focused than they have been all year.? Marion wrestles Peru and Delphi meets West Central in the other semifinal at 6 p.m. in Tig-Arena. The winners meet for the championship 45 minutes after the completion of the first round. Admission is $6. Peru defeated Marion 47-22 on Jan. 10 in the Peru Team Duals tournament, which Duke admitted wasn?t one of the Giants? better meets. The Giants were missing one of their better wrestlers, Kyle Arenas, and Duke figures the rematch potentially will be much closer. ?I worked it out on paper and had (Peru) winning by six points or us winning by six points,? he said. ?They have a few state-ranked wrestlers, and they fall in the same weight classes as our state-ranked wrestlers. We will have to step it up and see how it falls for us.? This is the 14th year for the IHSAA team tournament but the first under a revised format. In past years, the sectional champion and runners-up teams moved on to the regional round. Now, only the sectional winning teams advance, and the semistate round has been eliminated. The winning team moves on to the state finals Feb. 28 at Center Grove High School, Greenwood. Duke said it has motivated his wrestlers to put in extra work knowing they were two wins away from a state finals berth. Marion competes for the second consecutive year in the team regional. Last year, the Giants lost in the first round to Maconaquah. ?Our guys who didn?t advance in the individual tournament are picking it up and still see they can help the team out,? Duke said. ?Physically, we are just as tough as last year, but we are a smarter team this year.? The Giants also have nine wrestlers competing in Saturday?s individual regional, also at Peru. Darryn Scott at 189 pounds was the only individual champion, but the Giants? depth helped pull off a second consecutive sectional title following a 30-year drought. Peru won its sectional, while Delphi emerged out of Lafayette Jeff and West Central won its first ever title at Winamac.

February 04, 2009 By MATT CRESS Matthew.Cress@newsandtribune.com When Jeffersonville wrestling coach Danny Struck took a look at his team before Tuesday?s practice, he saw the most encouraging sign of all ? belief. The Red Devils, newly-crowned sectional champions and also kings of the Hoosier Hills Conference, will be the underdog heading into tonight?s team regional at Jasper, but most teams are against Evansville Mater Dei. But the message that Struck has gotten from his team since it toppled Floyd Central for the sectional title says otherwise. ?The thing that I?m most proud of is that they believe they are going to win,? said Struck. ?At the end of the season, you can always tell when you?re done. But we?ve had the best week of practice we?ve ever had going into the match. I don?t see that look saying, ?the season?s over.? It?s a big step for our program to believe we are going to the state finals.? To advance to the state finals on Feb. 28 at Center Grove, the Devils will have to beat Southridge in the opening round of the regional. Third-ranked Mater Dei will meet No. 5 Castle in the other semifinal, with the winners meeting immediately after for the regional title. Struck isn?t looking past Southridge, but it?s tough not to see the spectre of Mater Dei looming on the other side of the bracket. One of Indiana?s top wrestling schools for years, Mater Dei became a powerhouse under former coach Mike Goebel, who won 12 state championships during his 29 seasons. Goebel stepped down as Wildcat boss two years ago, leaving a face familiar to Struck in Greg Schaefer. ?A lot of what I?ve learned about coaching came from him,? said Struck. ?He always looks for the positive.? Jeff locked up with Mater Dei, Castle and perennial powerhouse Bloomington South in one meet earlier this season. While Jeff fell to both the Wildcats and the Knights, enough has changed to give the Devils some confidence entering the regional. To make up the nine-point shortfall from the first go-around with Mater Dei, Jeff will need different results in several matches that went the other way. Four bouts were lost by two points or less, while three Jeff victories were likewise won by slim margins. The key may be found in the form of Jimmy Pratt, a 215-pounder who lost by a single point in the first matchup with Mater Dei, but has won 20 matches since, or Brett Walker, who lost by a point against the Wildcats but won the 130-pound weight class at the sectional and finished the season 28-4. ?For a couple of kids, that was their first meet of the year,? said Struck. ?We really feel like we can turn some of these results around. If you weren?t there, you don?t realize how close it really was.? If the Devils are fortunate enough to survive, they?ll match up with the winner of the Peru Regional, the only regional in the state that doesn?t contain a ranked team. That will make Jeff a favorite at Center Grove and make the belief stronger than ever. ?Hopefully, we?ll have many more chances as the history of the program goes on to make the state finals,? Struck said. ?But this may be our best chance to win it.? The following local wrestlers will compete at Saturday?s Jeffersonville Regional. They advanced after finishing in the top four at last weekend?s sectional (sectional finishes are in parentheses): 103: Alonzo Shepherd, Jeffersonville (first); Logan Kelly, Floyd Central (third); Steven Guy, New Albany (fourth) 112: Curtis Smith, Jeffersonville (first); Justin Wolf, Charlestown (second); Zach Thomas, Floyd Central (third); Brandon Snyder, New Albany 119: Jeff Stotridge, Charlestown (first); Devon Miller, Jeffersonville (second); Nolan Vanhook, Floyd Central (fourth) 125: Eddie Duran, Charlestown (second); Tim Martin, New Albany (third); Renaldo Weekly, Jeffersonville (fourth) 130: Brett Walker, Jeffersonville (first); Omar Salguero, Providence (second); Aaron Witt, Floyd Central (third); Nestor Rodriguez, New Albany (fourth) 135: Garret Blackman, Floyd Central (second); Aaron May, Charlestown (third); Caleb Visser, Jeffersonville (fourth) 140: Daniel Murphy, Floyd Central (first); Ben Hughes, Providence (second); Tyler Newcomb, Charlestown (third) 145: Taylor Newcomb, Charlestown (first); Ben Moberly, Floyd Central (second); Coty Hendrick, Jeffersonvlle (third); Larry Rickman, New Albany (fourth) 152: Ian Emerson, Floyd Central (first); Josh Sampson, New Washington (second); Alex Bailey, Jeffersonville (third); Steve Meyer, Providence (fourth) 160: Jacob Golembeski, Providence (first); Mark Daugherty, Charlestown (second); Zach Shallers, Floyd Central (third); Darnell Graham, Jeffersonville (fourth) 171: John McAndrew, Floyd Central (first); Caleb Browner, Jeffersonville (second); Stephen Martin, Charlestown (third); Joey Libretto, Providence (fourth) 189: Ethan Cook, Providence (first); Pat McKinney, Floyd Central (second); Nelson Bowen, Jeffersonville (third); Chase Nickles, Charlestown (fourth) 215: Tyler Tatgenhorst, Jeffersonville (first); Cody Davidson, Providence (second); Cameron Metzger, Charlestown (third) 285: Jon Clark, Jeffersonville (first); Ramsey Traughber, Floyd Central (second); Travis Aguirre, Charlestown (third); Taylor Hoke, New Albany (fourth) BY THE NUMBERS Sectional champion Jeffersonville heads the list of local schools with 13 qualifiers for the regional. Here is a look breakdown of other local schools: FLOYD CENTRAL: 12 CHARLESTOWN: 11 PROVIDENCE: 7 NEW ALBANY: 6 NEW WASHINGTON: 1

Mater Dei's Zach Henderson, back, beat Reitz's Blake Rueger, front, in the 125 lb. weight class during the 2009 IHSAA Sectional Wrestling Tournament at Central High School on Saturday. http://media.courierpress.com/media/img/photos/2009/01/31/20090131-223647-pic-23094122.jpg[/img] Memorial's Zach DeHaven, right, defeated Mater Dei's Adam Weinzapfel, left, in the 135-pound weight class during the sectional wrestling tournament at Central High School on Saturday. http://media.courierpress.com/media/img/photos/2009/01/31/20090131-223647-pic-303895869.jpg[/img] Reitz's Trevor Moody, top, beats Central's Michael Leimkuehler, bottom, in the 112 lb. weight class during the 2009 IHSAA Sectional Wrestling Tournament at Central High School on Saturday. By DAVID JACKSON Courier & Press correspondent Saturday, January 31, 2009 It wasn't unusual for Zach Henderson and Blake Rueger to hook up over the summer and go riding around on their BMX bikes. The two friends have been seeing a lot more of each other lately, usually during the championship match of the 125-pound weight class. Henderson, a sophomore at Mater Dei High School, and Rueger, a freshman at Reitz, met for the third week in a row on Saturday at Central, this time with the sectional championship on the line. Henderson avenged a 3-0 loss to Rueger last week at the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference meet by recording a fall with one second remaining in the first overtime period. "When I step on the mat I'm nobody's friend, but off it we are," Henderson said of Rueger. "Over the summer we talked about weight classes and stuff. I knew he was going to go 125 and I wanted to go 119. As the season got closer I just decided I didn't want to cut too much weight. I thought I'd be stronger at 125." He was Saturday, at least, helping the Wildcats extend their state record sectional winning streak to 33. Mater Dei finished with 286 points to runner-up Mount Vernon's 220.5. Reitz finished in third place with 216.5 while Memorial placed fourth with 201. Mater Dei, Reitz and Memorial each claimed four champions while Mount Vernon captured the runner-up spot on the strength of three seconds and eight thirds. The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to next week's Castle Regional, which means the Wildcats will be taking 13 of 14. Mount Vernon advances 12 and Reitz and Memorial will bring in nine each. In one of the best matches of the tourney, once-beaten Dan Borkowski (29-1) of Memorial beat previously undefeated Alex White (43-1) of Mount Vernon by recording an escape six seconds into the fourth overtime period to take the title at 285. Borkowski joined 135 Zach DeHaven, 160 Preston Edge and 171 Tanner Wedding as the Memorial champions. Mater Dei's champs included Henderson, 140 John Sims, 145 Zeke Zenthoefer and 215 John Kercher. Reitz took firsts with 103 Bryan Kuhn, 112 Trevor Moody, 119 Alex Johns and 152 Shane Ritter. North Posey's Travis Girten claimed the title by dominating the 130 class and North's Travis Carlile took the title at 189.

Cloverdale wrestler Lee Secrest attempts to escape from Avon's Dalton Jones' grasp during the championship round of the Avon Sectional Saturday. Secrest is one of 14 county wrestlers moving on to regional. GHS wrestler Tyler Rickenbaugh battles with Garrett Smith of Cascade in the 140 weight class championship Saturday at the Avon Sectional. Rickenbaugh will join 13 other county wrestlers at the Mooresville Regional Saturday. Monday, February 2, 2009 By DAN SHELTON Sports Writer AVON -- It has begun. On Saturday, the quest for a state championship started for the wrestlers of Putnam County and for some, that battle continues next weekend at the Mooresville Regional. Even though there were sectional champions, 14 grapplers continue their quest for a state championship as six from Greencastle, four from Cloverdale, two from South Putnam and two From North Putnam will make the trip to Moressville for the Regional this Saturday. Cloverdale and Greencastle both had three grapplers finish in second-place when they could have won and one thing was agreed on, there is room for improvement. "We sent four guys, three seconds and a fourth place finish, so overall on the day I would say we did have some guys step up for us," CHS Coach Steve Livingston said. "My goal for us today I thought we had seven qualifiers and I would have liked to get five qualifiers and we only got four so we didn't reach our team goal. "And maybe because it was because we didn't have practice, and I think that affected our conditioning some," Livingston said. "In the close matches in the county and conference meets we were winning those matches, but today we just didn't have that edge and we lost some of the close matches when we went up against some of same guys from the conference and county meets." GHS Coach Matt McComish feels the same way. "We are sending six people to regional and I know that my guys that got second place are disappointed," McComish said. "We really have to step it up for next week and we have to make these improvements in another week of practice. "We are sending six wrestlers and I think they all have a shot to get out we just need to keep improving and we have another week to do that," McComish said. "We have nine weight classes and we are sending six to regional and to be honest I thought we had a chance to send all nine, but we went with the cards we were dealt and I know I have some disappointed wrestlers." North Putnam Coach Kenny Kerns wasn't as upbeat as his fellow coaches. "It was ragged for us today since we had no practice since Monday. The kids wrestled hard, but without that practice it was pitiful," Kerns said. "The kids came out with a good attitude and I had a couple young kids step up and do good, but it was just a lack of practice that hurt us today. "I think we were the only school that had one practice all week, and this sectional gets tougher each year, but I'm sending two kids to regional so hopefully we get some practice in before next weekend," Kerns said. South Putnam's Coach Todd Crosby had mix feelings about Saturday's outcome. "I'm kind of disappointed, we had three guys that didn't show up and that kind of hurts because you give up those points right away. But the rest kind went the way I thought it would go," Crosby said. "We had two freshman that finished sixth and that is really good for them coming into a sectional like this with all the teams from Hendricks County that are really tough. "And we had great effort out of our senior Antonio Herendez," Crosby said. "He finished fourth and was seeded fifth so he moved up a spot and Chris Hurst got third and did a good job so I'm looking forward to next week." Cloverdale's regional qualifiers were Eldin Hesselgrave in the 103-pound class, Shawn Shipp in the 112-pound class, Donnie Helterbrand in 130-pound class, and Lee Secrest in the 160-pound class. "We have a young crew going to regional this year and I think that is going to be an advantage for them," Livingston said. "All the guys that are going lost their finals match and that's not necessarily because they got out-wrestled. This is a lot for a young wrestler to take in and they were excited that they were going to regional and lost focus in their finals match. "Our goal as a team is to get a state qualifier and our motto is to survive weekend to weekend and I'm happy the high school wrestling season is extended for at least another week," Livingston said. The six from Greencastle who advanced were Tyler Rickenbaugh in the 140-pound class, Jesse Vermillion in the 152-pound class, Jesse Ford in the 171-pound class, Kyle Buchanan in 189-pound class, Jacob Wright in the 215-pound class and Andy Harrison in the 285-pound class. From North Putnam it was Tyler Ruble in the 103-pound class and Dustin Vires in he 215-pound class that advanced to the Mooresville Regional. And from South Putnam it was Hurst in the 285-pound class and Hernadez in the 145-pound class.

Sectional Champs: Madison 125-pounder Zach Adams (above) works to turn Southwestern?s Kegan Smith in the sectional preliminaries while Southwestern 103-pounder Luke Schroeder (below) works to do the same against Madison?s Stephen Gibson in the quarterfinals. Adams and Schroeder both won sectional championships Saturday at Jennings County. In addition, Gibson is one of eight Cubs and five Rebels advancing to Saturday?s individual regional at Bloomington South High School. (Photos courtesy Ray Black Jr.) Courier Sports Staff 2/2/2009 Madison's Zach Adams and Southwestern's Luke Schroeder each brought home championships from the IHSAA Wrestling Sectional at Jennings County Saturday. Overall, the Cubs had eight wrestlers qualify for this weekend's regional at Bloomington South while Southwestern had five. As a team, Madison finished third and Southwestern was sixth. Adams, a freshman, had the most dramatic match of the day, winning Madison's lone sectional title in double overtime on a locked hands call over Cade McGaha of Columbus North. Schroeder, wrestling at 103 pounds knocked off top-seed Steve Rieker of Columbus East in the finals. "Zach has been wrestling well since he's made 125, we have told him all year that he was the sectional champion at 125 if he makes the weight and he did," Madison coach Dustin Bentz said. "It's still important for Zach to get his weight under control in order to be effective deeper into the state tournament." Along with Adams, Madison had three other wrestlers reach the finals. Robby Taylor (112 pounds), Andy Marthin (135), and Tray Whalen (145) each placed second in their respective weight classes. "Our other three finalists have been our consistent guys all year and in the finals they ran into state ranked competitors and former state placers," Bentz said. "They wrestled their hearts out, but it just wasn't enough. We will review tape this week and hopefully work out the kinks that will help us to be successful next weekend." Those four Cubs will be joined by four more Cubs next weekend at Bloomington South. Stephen Gibson took third at 103, Easton Asher took fourth at 160, Scottland Sons was fourth at 189, and Jordan Blakemore was fourth at 285. There was one Cubs who placed fifth and two sixth on the day: Ryan Fish (152) was fifth and Cody Lewis (130), and Brandon Rice (215) were sixth. Two other Cubs, Evan Bowling and Gage Chatham failed to place. In addition to Schroeder's win, Jared Smith went 3-1 at 215 pounds and finished second for Southwestern to advance to regional. "I think Jared not getting to practice hurt him a little in the finals but he is one that knows what it takes to bounce back," Southwestern coach Keith Lauderbaugh said. Jake Smith (130), Michael Brawner (135) and Eli Lauderbaugh (145) each finished third to earn regional berths for Southwestern. "With everyone having to deal with little or no practice time, made it a difficult week to prepare for the state tournament," coach Lauderbaugh said. "We were a little concerned with having so much time off, but everyone had to deal with the same situation. We are a fairly young team and I was very pleased with the outcome and I believe it gives us something to build on." Nick Carroll finished fifth at 171 pounds and Skyler Parker (119) and Chris Schafer (285) each placed sixth. R.J. Rowlett, Michael Humphrey and Kegan Smith failed to place. "Kegan had an outstanding year for this being his first year of wrestling and just missed placing for us," Lauderbaugh said. The regional will be Saturday at Bloomington South. Bentz, thinks his young team is peaking just right. "As a team they really turned it on after the start of the New Year, and they peaked today. Our concern as a coaching staff was that there was going to be a letdown at some point, but the wrestlers kept rising to the occasion," Bentz said. "I find it even more satisfying that in the midst of conference controversy, we made a statement that we can compete by placing ahead of three Hoosier Hills Conference teams."

Northivew's Luke Pingleton (top) works to tilt Terre Haute North's Nathaniel Page to his back on the way to a championship bout victory via fall. Caleb Nicosin battles with Bloomington South's Jacob Boomsma in the 103-pound title match. Sunday, February 1, 2009 BY CLAY CUNNINGHAM Time Staff Reporter One year after capturing a sectional title in their home gymnasium, the Northview Knights came up short in their repeat bid, finishing sixth in the IHSAA Wrestling Sectional No. 27 on Saturday. Despite the underwhelming team finish, the Knights did have several individual accomplishments of merit. All told, six Northview wrestlers will move on to Saturday's Bloomington South. The top Northview performer of the day was junior Luke Pingleton, who came out the champion of the 125-pound class. This is Pingleton's third consecutive trip to the regional, but the first time he will enter after winning his weight class. He finished second in the 103-pound class as a freshman, and third in the 112 class last year. Pingleton overcame a late surge by Terre Haute North's Nathaniel Page and won by fall at the 4:58 mark. He said he was excited about moving onto the next level and reaching his championship milestone. "I've been working hard for this," Pingleton said. "I'm very happy." Also giving the Knights reason to celebrate was the freshman duo of Caleb Nicosin and Austin Bell, who came in second in the 103 and 112 class respectively. Bell had one of the more surprising moments of the day, upsetting the previously unbeaten Dalton Kemp of Owen Valley. Despite being a heavy underdog, Bell said he wasn't surprised by his success against his undefeated foe. "I knew it would be a tough match," Bell said, "but I thought I could beat him and I did." There were some disappointing moments for the Knights, however. One year after winning the 130-pound class, senior Kyle McCoy, was unable to duplicate his success of a year ago, finishing third in the 140 class. Also finishing a respectable, yet disappointing third was Brandon Mikesell, who was the No. 2 seed in the 135 bracket. Despite not reaching their individual goals, both McCoy and Mikesell also advanced to the regional. Rounding out the Knights' regional squad is Brady Silvers, who finished fourth in the 160 weight class. Also hampering Mikesell on Saturday was a nagging ear injury. With 19 seconds remaining in his third-place victory over Terre Haute South's Tsali Lough, Mikesell hit the ground in agony, as the stitches from a recent cauliflower ear were ripped out. After a pause, he returned to action and was able to hold on for the victory. Head coach Dan Mikesell said he never doubted that Brandon would be able to finish the match, jokingly stating "it's only an ear. He's got another one." Beau Judd, Northview's 275 weight class competitor was not as fortunate as Mikesell. He went down with what his coach called a "high ankle sprain" and was helped off before he was able finish his match. Fortunatly, Coach Mikesell said that X-rays performed on Judd showed no breaks. Coach Mikesell said that he wasn't disappointed with his team's performance, but admitted there was a bit of an empty feeling following last season, when he and his squad brought Northview their first wrestling sectional title in 23 years. But as next season approaches, he will return 12-of-14 competitors. With additional experience, mixed with the promise shown by youngsters like Nicosin and Bell, he fully anticipates being in the upper half of sectional rankings next year. "Today was a good springboard for us," Mikesell said. "We will definitely set our goal higher next season. "Next year, if we finish where we finished today, I will be disappointed for sure."

2/2/2009 Jim Brenneman Times-Union Correspondent PLYMOUTH - At the Plymouth Sectional, 30 area wrestlers placed among the top four to advance to Saturday's Rochester Regional. Warsaw and Tippecanoe Valley each had eight qualifiers, while Wawasee and Triton had seven. In addition, six area grapplers finished in fifth place and stand as alternates. Warsaw had three champions: Jarred Brooks (103 pounds), Justin Brooks (119), and Adam Keener (152). Also qualifying for the regional were a pair of Wawasee champions, Bobby Marcuccilli (130) and Tom Schwartz (215). Triton teammates Blake Hoffer (171) and Dylan Senff (189) were winners, while Tippecanoe Valley had a lone champion in Elijoe Yoder (160). Wawasee "It was good day for us," said Wawasee coach Scott DeHart. "With four in the finals and two champions, and of the 11 we entered, we have seven moving on to the regional. It was a good day." Marcuccilli wrestled a little over two minutes in the sectional, winning both of his matches quite convincingly. In the semifinals he pinned Jake Wyatt of Rochester in 1:44. Then, in the finals, Austin Nelson of Valley fell in just 41 seconds. Schwartz, who has returned to wrestling after a bit of a hiatus, had a semifinal pin en route to the finals. In this class of big, strong competitors, the Warrior senior made bold leg attacks, going in under and lifting his opponent to score four takedowns. Then after demonstrating total control with a 13-4 lead, he nailed Bremen's Abraham Hall at the 3:07 mark to take the championship. Ethan Eastway (145) showed his substance in his two wins to reach the finals, pinning Erik Hoffman of Triton and beating Plymouth's Chris Erickson 13-9. The Warrior senior was no match for unbeaten Daniel Young of Culver Academy, however. Eastway took runner-up honors when Young won by fall in 1:44. Wawasee freshman Dimitri Kaplanis (285) pinned Valley's Sam Kimmel in 36 seconds in the semifinal match, but then Kaplanis had to settle for second place when he was upended by Damon Howe of Plymouth in 1:43. Triton Sam Davis has been coaching the sport for about 40 years by his reckoning. For the most part, he was pleased Saturday. "We had some good results, and some that didn't get up to where we needed to be," said Davis. "But all in all, team-wise it is pretty much where we figured we would be." In two successive weight classes the Triton Trojans struck pay-dirt. First, Blake Hoffer (171) made his way to the finals by pinning Cory Glietz of Culver Academy in 49 seconds. Then the 16-1 senior beat Phillip Miller of Rochester in a 9-0 major decision. Hoffer went on to win the championship with a 9-3 decision over Culver Community's Robert Molebash. Then Dylan Senff, who earlier this season had been competing at 160 pounds, stepped up into the heftier 189-pound class and blew away Will Connelly of Rochester, and then in the semifinal he scored a tech fall against Culver Community's Jacob Sheridan. To close the day, he controlled Plymouth's Brock Vermillion 7-0 to take first place. Tippecanoe Valley Elijoe Yoder was the 160-pound champ for the Valley Vikings. Yoder pinned Plymouth's Sam Tomasik in 2:33 to reach the finals. Yoder won the championship when he edged upstart Warsaw Tiger Zac Erba 4-3. As a team, the Vikings finished third. "It has been our best finish in while," said Valley Scott Smith. "I thought we wrestled well today, although there some times when we were a bit sluggish. Some of the kids hadn't wrestled for a couple of weeks due to injuries, but they came back and wrestled strong." Valley had a couple of runners-up. After winning a 4-3 decision to reach the finals, Austin Nelson (130) was runner-up to Wawasee's Marcuccilli. Later, top-seeded Isaac Yoder (152) had a major decision and a fall in his path to the championship round, but the Viking sophomore lost there to Keener of Warsaw. Warsaw "We had a really successful competition today, especially with this young group," said Warsaw coach Justin Smith. "We have eight moving on and we won quite a few close matches." Jarred Brooks was one of three participants in the 103-pound weight class who started the day with only one loss. Brooks pinned his first opponent in under a minute, before meeting Triton's 26-1 Matt Lindsey in the semifinal. The Tiger freshman scored the fall with a banana split in 59 seconds. In the finals Brooks encountered Rochester's Jacob Schroder (35-1), who also had two falls on the day. The score was tied at four apiece in the final stanza, but Brooks scored an escape with just seven seconds on the clock to win the championship with a 5-4 decision, improving his season record to 32-1. Still unbeaten on the season at 31-0 is Justin Brooks (119) who faced a rather weak field in the Plymouth Sectional. None of the other participants at 119 pounds had a winning record and Brooks, in his usual attack mode, racked up scads of takedowns before dispatching both of his opponents. Brooks earned his fourth sectional championship by scoring a dozen takedowns before locking up Nolan Ludwig of Plymouth at 3:36. Adam Keener (152) nabbed a sectional championship for Warsaw by means of an earlier fall and tech fall. The finals saw the Tiger senior score an opening-period takedown against Isaac Yoder of Valley. Period two was scoreless and then a 5-1 flurry in the closing period gave Keener the win. Two of the Tigers finished in second place. Paul Manbu (135) had a tough loss in a rematch with Plymouth's Chase Lewandowski. Manbu had a couple of falls en route to the finals where he met Lewandowski, whom he had beaten earlier in the season. This time, Manbu was edged 4-2 in overtime to take second place. Zac Erba (160) was also a runner-up, edged out by Valley's Isaac Yoder. In the past, both the first- and second-place teams in the sectional would advance to the next round of the team tournament. However, a new IHSAA policy was established this past November and only the first-place team moves forward in the team competition. The team tournament is scheduled for Wednesday at Jimtown, where the sectional champion Rockies will meet perennial powerhouse Mishawaka. The next competition for area wrestlers will be the individual regional at Rochester Saturday, fed by the top four placers in each weight class from the Mishawaka and Plymouth sectionals. Wrestling begins at 9 a.m.

2/2/2009 Nick Dettmann The News-Dispatch A question of whether or not New Prairie's Kannon Keigley's 35-1 record heading into Saturday's La Porte wrestling sectional was legit or not got answered with authority. Keigley cruised through each of his three matches Saturday hardly breaking a sweat to win the 215-pound weight class at the sectional. He pinned each of his three opponents, two within the first 1:12 of the match. On the season, Keigley, also a defensive tackle and fullback for New Prairie's football team, is 38-1 with 36 falls, which has already broken Nick Kraus' record of 31. Kraus went 46-6 en route to a third-place finish at state at 171 in 2006. Keigley's only loss was to the state's second-ranked wrestler according to IndianaMat.com, Nathan Cleveland of Lowell. But being at 3A, some questioned how good he really was. Those doubts were put to rest when the bulky senior pinned the 16th-ranked Nathaniel Coleman out of Portage - a DAC champion - in 3:21. Portage ran away with Saturday's sectional title, winning seven individual championships. "We wrestle big schools too," Keigley said. "We get good competition." Keigley went 5-1 in spot duty as a freshman. According to coach Wes Hobart, Keigley is 103-13. Keigley has won 30 matches in two of the past three seasons, and won 29 last year. In less than three seasons, Keigley has won 98 matches, almost 33 per season. No matter what level you're at, that's impressive. Many of the wrestlers I interviewed Saturday said anything can happen. You can lose focus for a split second or even an injury can cost the "favorite" the match. Keigley's numbers support his performance Saturday and over the course of his career. "He's a man among boys right now," Hobart said. "Kannon's on a mission. He's wrestling about as well as he has in his career. "There's always doubts. He is good. He's far and away the best kid we have." While Portage will advance as a team, you almost have to be as impressed with the showing put up by Chesterton and New Prairie. Chesterton will send 12 of its 14 wrestlers to next week's regional. An unfortunate rule change prevents the two that didn't qualify a chance to be there with their teammates. When I asked Chesterton athletic director Gary Nallenweg why the change was, he said it was because of a history of weaker matchups in the regional and semi-state rounds. This move, which was voted on in November, is an attempt to create more competitive matches, making the road to state tougher. On the flip side, the rule opened up an additional slot for wrestlers to reach the semi-state round. In years past, only three wrestlers made it out of the regional. This year it's four. Granted it does take away the intensity of the third-place match at the regional, knowing win you advance, lose you go home. But it's a good opportunity to give more wrestlers a shot at realizing their dream - a state finals appearance or championship.

Plymouth?s Sam Tomasik, top, grapples with Rochester?s Kyle Calhoun in a 160-pound Plymouth Sectional wrestleback bout Saturday. Tomasik finished sixth at the meet. Pilot photo/ James Costello Monday, 02 February 2009 By James Costello Sports Writer PLYMOUTH ? Last year, the Rockies were able to slip into the South Bend Clay team regional with a runner-up finish at their own sectional. Due to a realignment in the state series this year, they had to win to advance. No problem. Every Plymouth wrestler placed in the top six in their weight class, and the Rockies earned championship bout berths in six of 14 divisions, claiming four individual titles in the process to top the nine-team field with a score of 227 at the Plymouth Wrestling Sectional Saturday. ?We talked about 13 men stepping on the mats, and every kid scored,? said Plymouth wrestling head coach Bob Read. ?We had some that had no business there. ?The kids really did come together. They came to wrestle today. I was proud of them. We won some matches where we?d gotten beaten before.? On its way to sectional domination, Plymouth held off tourney runner up Warsaw, which had beaten the Rockies at the Northern Lakes Conference meet a week before, as the Tigers racked up 209.5 points. Triton finished fifth with 156, while Culver Academies placed seventh with 110 points ahead of Culver Community with 98 points and Bremen with 82.5. One of the deciding matches in Plymouth?s sectional victory over Warsaw Saturday came in the 135-pound championship bout, where senior Chase Lewandowski won a 4-2 decision over Warsaw?s Paul Manbu for one of the Rockies four individual titles. The victory was a redemption win for Lewandowski as he had fallen 6-5 to Manbu in an NLC championship bout at Northridge the previous weekend. ?The first time when I wrestled him I kind of was timid and spent the first period trying to figure him out,? said Lewandowski of the rematch. ?It ended up going against me. This time I knew what was coming and just prepared with my coaches all week long and just really took it to him.? Besides Lewandowski, 125-pounder Chuck Holmquest, 140-pounder James Letsinger and heavyweight Damon Howe all won sectional championships. ?I definitely wanted to go out on this one,? said Holmquest, a senior. ?This is our last meet at home. I was trying to help my team, too.? Holmquest topped CMA junior Josh Brown 5-1 in Brown?s first trip to the sectional finals, while Howe pinned Wawasee?s Dmitri Kaplanis in just 1:43 of his title bout, and Letsinger eked out a 2-0 win over Rochester?s David Pitts in the 140 championship. The Plymouth senior recorded a takedown to go up 2-0 in the first half-minute of the bout, then struggled to a stalemate on offense in the second period and held off Pitts starting down in the final two minutes of the match. ?My goal was to escape, but obviously that wasn?t happening,? he said. ?I just wanted to keep the movement on bottom so I wasn?t giving up any stalling. It worked out pretty good.? Also for the Rockies, Plymouth?s Nolan Ludwig and Brock Vermillion earned tourney runner-up honors at 119 and 189 respectively, while Trent Keyser and Caleb Kelly finished in third at 145 and 152. In fifth place at sectional, Triton placed in nine weight classes. Among those, the Trojans recorded two championships as Dylan Senff claimed the crown at 189 with a 7-0 win over Vermillion, and Blake Hoffer was preeminent at 171 with a 9-3 decision over Culver Community runner-up Robert Molebash. Hoffer?s sectional championship was remarkable for the fact that the senior had only wrestled three practices leading up to the meet, newly recovered from the latest round of injuries that have plagued him throughout the year. He entered Saturday with just 14 bouts under his belt this season. ?It?s been a rough year,? said Hoffer. ?You see my record?s only 13-1 to come into this. I had a torn meniscus after the first week of the season. I got back two weeks after Christmas, wrestled one tournament and did good, then wrestled another one and separated my shoulder. ?I didn?t hurt it today, so I figure I can get a full week of practice in then come back a little more prepared for regional,? he continued. ?It?s nice getting first place here, it gives you a good spot at regional.? Also struggling with a dislocation, CMA 215-pounder, Jack Crawford, who had just two losses this year, was forced to sit out sectionals with a dislocated shoulder, effectively ending his season. ?He came in with two losses on the season and the last one was when he injury defaulted,? said CMA head coach Matt Behling. ?But we didn?t want to risk it. He?s just a sophomore so he?s got two more years.? Although the Eagles struggled in the sectional team standings, they did have some strong individual performances as Brown finished second at 125, while Daniel Young continued to rack up the wins with the 145-pound championship Saturday. His record now stands at 37-0 on the year. ?We started this today thinking 0-0,? said Behling of Young. ?Our record?s 0-0 in the tournament. He?s on a mission. He knows what he wants and he knows what he has to do, so this just kind of starts him off on the right foot... He?s eying for the state title. He took third last year at state, and he?s been ranked No. 1 all year long, so that?s what we?re going after. He?s got his mind set on it.? CMA?s neighbor down the way, Culver Community reached the championship bout in two weight classes Saturday but had to settle for runner-up status in each. Molebash took second behind Hoffer at 171, while Dalton Overmyer finished second at 112. Also for the Cavs, Tommy James took third in the 215-pound class, while Jacob Sheridan was fifth at 189 and Ian Randolph was fifth at 103. Bremen had top-four performances from Ethan Starke and Brock Molebash at 112 and 160 pounds and a top-three outing from Alan Bollenbacher at 189, but the Lions? most pleasant surprise came from 215-pound freshman Abraham Hall, who earned second behind Wawasee?s Tom Schwartz at the meet. ?I think we did pretty good,? said Bremen head coach Chris Prendergast. ?All of our kids came here and they wrestled as hard as they could. We had a freshman come in and get to the finals. He?d never wrestled before, he was a freshman and he got into the finals.? Top four winners in all weight classes at the Plymouth Sectional all earned the right to advance to the Rochester Individual Wrestling Regional next Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Plymouth meanwhile advances to the Jimtown Team Regional Wednesday at 6 p.m. along with East Noble, Elkhart Memorial and Mishawaka. The Rockies will have their hands full with a quick turnaround as they take on the top-ranked Cavemen ? who won the team state tournament last year ? Wednesday before individual qualifiers head off to the Rochester meet Saturday. ?It does throw you off with what your schedule probably would have been, but on the other hand, it?s mid-week,? Read said. ?We?ll put in two hard days early on. We?ll put in a hard Thursday. We?ll come back and drill like crazy Friday and be ready to go... I don?t know if it screws them up or not, but you go on up there and you wrestle hard and see what happens Saturday.?

By Clint Anderson Berne Tri-Weekly News PORTLAND ? South Adams moved a team record five wrestlers into championship matches at the IHSAA Jay County wrestling sectional Saturday, finishing with two champions and ten wrestlers total that will move on to the regional level of the state individual tournament next Saturday in Portland. The Starfires finished second as a team, scoring 215 points, but will not move on in the team tournament as the IHSAA revised its tournament structure to only advance sectional champions into four-team regionals. That one team regional berth went to Bellmont, which scored 299 points for the team title. Adams Central finished third with 182 points. The three Adams County schools accounted for more than half of the wrestlers advancing individually. Bellmont led the way with 12 regional qualifiers; South Adams had 10, and Adams Central moved seven on. That bettered the other six teams by two. South Adams freshman Todd Batt and senior Chase Sprunger scored solid championship round wins against Bellmont opponents. Batt overcame a tumultuous start to score a 5-2 win over Bellmont?s Blake Adams in the 103 pound final. Adams held a 2-0 lead after one period, but Batt controlled the match the rest of the way for the win. ?He wrestled a bad first period in the finals and then he wrestled great from there on out,? said South Adams coach Eric Myers. ?He went back to some awful middle school stuff at the beginning there then he started wrestling well at the end. But throwing headlocks from the bottom, I couldn?t believe what was happening.? Batt had pins in his first two matches to reach the finals. Sprunger also pinned his way into the championship round and overcame a 2-1 deficit against Bellmont?s Ryley Hankenson to score a 6-2 victory. It was the first sectional title for Sprunger. ?We debated for about a week and a half whether he would wrestle 45 or 52 and he told me at the last second that he was going to go 45. It looks like he made a decent choice,? stated Myers. ?I think that?s the first time he?s been seeded number one and fulfilled his seed too. ?I thought he wrestled really well. Hankenson is a tough kid. We had to work with Chase a little bit because he wants to constantly shoot and be the aggressor. I like him being the aggressor, but he?s got to be selective with his shots. He got better at that.? South Adams? other three championship participants all lost. T.J. Burnfield was pinned by Jay County?s Ben Theurer at 140; Jackson Werst lost 7-1 to Bellmont?s No. 1 ranked Billy Baker; and Jim West lost to Bellmont?s Daniel Meyer 3-1 in overtime. ?I thought we wrestled real well against Bellmont kids,? said Myers. ?We had some of our better kids matched up against some of their weaker kids, we didn?t hit a whole lot of their studs with the exception of 215 and Chase wrestled a good kid too, but we wrestled real well against Bellmont. I was happy with that.? The Starfires won five of nine matches against Bellmont. South Adams had three third place finishers (Gabe Sprunger at 112, John Striker at 125 and Josh Ehr at 130) and two fourth place finishers (Dustin Hunt at 152 and Nick Taylor at 160). The top four finishers Saturday advance. Adams Central had two championship participants, Jared Schwartz and Trey Schultz, and split those matches. Schultz, who defaulted in the finals of the ACAC tournament last week because of a sore shoulder, won the 171 pound title match against Bellmont?s Grant Melcher 4-1. Schultz has missed chunks of time on a couple of occasions this season for different maladies, but looks to be rounding into form. ?(Trey) opened up in the finals against Melcher and wrestled pretty solid. I?m glad he won and I?m glad he gets another week to get stronger and healthier,? said Central coach Doug Schultz. Schwartz pulled an upset in the semi-finals, beating South Adams? Josh Ehr 11-7 ? a state qualifier last season ? before losing by fall in the finals with Southern Wells? Darin Fiechter. ?He has really figured it out and things have started clicking,? said Schultz. ?He beat (Jace) German last week and comes in here and beats Ehr this week. He has really figured it out and he?s hungry too. He deserves everything he?s getting and he?s improving every day.? Central?s two consolation winners were Derek Roe at 103 and Matt Kaehr at 140. Zeke Schultz (119), Blake Thieme (125) and Aden Feasel (215) finished fourth for the Jets. IHSAA Jay County Wrestling Sectional Team scores ? Bellmont 299, South Adams 215, Adams Central 182, Jay County 177, Bluffton 149, Southern Wells 129, Blackford 109, Norwell 106, Union City 46. Championship matches 103 ? Todd Batt (SA) d. Blake Adams (Bel) 5-2; 112- Brandon Tucker (N) d. Philip Gerber (Blu) 6-3; 119 ? Casey Kenney (JC) m.d. Brooks Faurote (Bel) 15-2; 125 ? Troy Fiechter (SW) m.d. Will Sheets (Bel) 11-1; 130 ? Darin Fiechter (SW) p. Jared Schwartz (AC) 1:59; 135 ? Matthew Gerber (Blu) p. Ryan Holsten (Blk) 5:06; 140 ? Ben Theurer (JC) p. TJ Burnfield (SA) 2:36; 145 ? Chase Sprunger (SA) d. Ryley Hankenson (Bel) 6-2; 152 ? Tyler Baker (Bel) m.d. Grayson Smith (N) 15-3; 160 ? Trent Busse (Bel) p. Josh Fiechter (Blu) 3:38; 171 ? Trey Schultz (AC) d. Grant Melcher (Bel) 4-1; 189 ? Travis Thatcher (Bel) inj. def. Sha White (JC); 215 ? Billy Baker (Bel) d. Jackson Werst (SA) 7-1; 285 ? Daniel Meyer (Bel) d. Jim West (SA) 3-1 OT. Consolation matches 103 ? Derek Roe (AC) p. Matt Seagraves (JC) 3:34; 112 ? Gabe Sprunger (SA) d. Dewey Melcher (Bel) 7-5; 119 ? Bobby Perry (Blu) p. Zeke Schultz (AC) 1:58; 125 ? John Striker (SA) d. Blake Thieme (AC) 1-0; 130 ? Josh Ehr (SA) d. Carlin Hormann (Bel) 6-1; 135 ? Josh Morris (SW) d. Cole Sells (UC) 9-8; 140 ? Matt Kaehr (AC) d. Justin Sprow (N) 8-3; 145 ? James Landis (N) p. Levi Jones (SW) 3:34; 152 ? Skyler Finnerty (JC) m.d. Dustin Hunt (SA) 13-0; 160 ? Trent Fuller (Blk) d. Nick Taylor (SA) 3-1; 171 ? Matt Morrissey (Blf) d. Brandon Biberstine (SW) 9-4; 189 ? Levi Mock (Blf) d. Harley Felton (Blk) 9-3; 215 ? Matt James (JC) d. Aden Feasel (AC) 9-7; 285 ? Elijah Justice (Blk) p. Kyler Blowers (JC) 2:55.

Feb. 2, 2009 Matt Milton is a junior on the Center Grove High School wrestling team. A three-year varsity standout, he finished sixth at 103 pounds in last year's IHSAA individual state meet at Conseco Fieldhouse. This season, he is competing at 119 pounds. Sports editor Rick Morwick recently asked Milton the following questions. Who has been the biggest influence on your life? Mom What would you be doing if you weren't wrestling? Going to school and working out on my own What's the best part about wrestling? Having the opportunity to wrestle and represent my school What's the worst part? Maintaining my weight How do you think others describe you? The quiet kid Describe yourself using only five adjectives. Quiet, helpful, determined, calm, nice What's the worst habit you have? Passing by mistakes What's the best habit you have? When there is something important such as a test, I immediately begin to prepare. What to this point has been the happiest day of your life? To see my younger brother, Marcus, who has autism, have the opportunity to wrestle at our beginners tournament. If you have an hour of spare time, what are you most likely to do? Either play Airsoft with my friends if it is warm or play on the Wii with my brothers What's your favorite TV show? "Family Guy" What's your favorite movie? "Shooter" What's your favorite restaurant? Applebee's What's the best advice you ever received? Don't take any wooden nickels What's your dream car? Corvette

Franklin senior Nick Smith, bottom, defeats Stuart Tollison of Mooresville in the 135-pound weight class of the wrestling sectional at Mooresville on Saturday. By KEN SEVERSON Sports correspondent Feb. 2, 2009 MOORESVILLE A mere half-point was all that kept Franklin from winning the team title at Saturday's IHSAA wrestling sectional at Mooresville, where Martinsville stunned the field and claimed the crown. Martinsville, on the strength of five individual championships scored 220, with defending champion Franklin finishing second at 219.5. Center Grove was third with 215 points. "Do you have a half-point?" Franklin coach Bob Hasseman said after the tournament. "We beat these guys (Martinsville) in the (Mid-State Conference meet) by about 50 points, but they had a few guys that didn't make weight then. "They didn't have a heartbeat until (today)." That heartbeat grew stronger throughout the tournament. After the second round, Center Grove held the lead, but Franklin took it over after the third round with Martinsville in third. The Artesians Martinsville's championship results in the finals allowed them to surge to the title. And because of new state guidelines set forth in November, Martins-ville will be the only team from the sectional to advance to the team championships. Had last year's rules applied, Franklin still would be wrestling as a team. It's the first time a team from Johnson County won't be advancing to the team championship since the inception of the IHSAA event. But the good news for the Grizzly Cubs is they advanced 12 wrestlers to next week's regionals, which also will be at Mooresville. Included in that dozen were two champions, sophomore Dusty Kief (103) and senior Nick Smith (135). Overall, it was a solid day for Johnson County wrestlers as nine won championships. The other four Johnson County schools, Center Grove (9), Greenwood (8), Whiteland (5) and Indian Creek (3) will have a total of 37 wrestlers competing in the regional, the same amount as last season. Indian Creek's defending state champion, unbeaten sophomore Ethan Raley (119) won his second straight sectional. He was joined by sophomore champion teammates Trey Reese at 152 and unbeaten Aaron Stevenson (35-0) at 189. The three teammates are a combined 89-2, and both Reese and Stevenson had to knock off defending champions to collect their titles. "We have quite a good nucleus with those three," Indian Creek coach Keith Grant said. "They have been working together, and that makes them stronger." Reese pinned last year's champ, Mooresville's Joey Juliano, with 10 seconds to go, while Stevenson controlled Greenwood's D.J. Waters from the start to win 8-2. A warning against Juliano gave Reese the confidence to try a risky maneuver and avenge an earlier overtime loss to the Pioneers sophomore. "(Juliano) got a stalling call on him, and I wanted to keep the pressure up," Reese said. "I did a hip-toss, and it got him on his back." Center Grove had three champs, with Matt Adams (125) winning his second straight. Shelby Mappes won his fourth sectional title (171), and Drew Dorsey won his first at 215. Center Grove coach Cale Hoover was happy to see three individual champions and nine of his wrestlers advance, but he was disappointed by the third place finish. "We didn't do the little things right, and we didn't step up and finish the job," Hoover said. "Hey, Martinsville's a great team, but we really need to look at ourselves as a team. "Our effort was there." Mappes, ranked No. 5 in the state at 171, overcame a surprising loss at the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference Tournament last week and says he's using this title as a springboard to a first regional title. "I really want that (regional)," Mappes said. "During my match, I was working toward riding time. I need to ride as the tournament gets deeper." Adams, one of the top grapplers at 125 pounds, said while it might not have been the Trojans' best day of wrestling, there still was a lot to be pleased with. "Winning feels better and better," Adams said. "And it helps in giving you a higher seeding." Rounding out the Johnson County champions was Whiteland. Junior Zach Van Deman defeated Franklin rival Dillon Johnson 3-1 at heavyweight. Although Greenwood went home without a title, the Woodmen did advance eight wrestlers to the regional.

By Julia Cline, For The Herald Bulletin ANDERSON ? Highland senior Camden Eppert?s biggest competition just might be himself. In his final regulation season, he only lost two matches and is merely focused on being the best he can be every day he enters the gym. ?I get what I earn,? said Eppert. ?So every day I go in knowing I have to get my workout in so I know I will be ready for the next level.? Eppert, who has made three state appearances and clinched the state title once, does not take a day off from his tightly regimented workouts. ?He has a steady diet of hard work, film, and he constantly is self-analyzing what he needs to do to get himself ready,? said coach Kyle Polyar. Eppert sometimes goes to the gym three times a day to make sure he is at the level he aspires to be. Even though he credits his coaching staff for his success, the coaches know that Eppert is a unique athlete who does not require much direction. ?I just have to turn on the lights and open the door,? said Polyar. ?He makes it easy on me because he knows what he has to do to make himself successful. Every athlete needs a little bit of guidance. But, the really great ones have already made up their minds what they want to do every day.? Eppert?s mind has been made up for a long time and he has not wavered since. ?Camden is always trying to find a way to push himself to the next level,? said Polyar. ?He?s not necessarily focusing on any certain championship or any certain number of wins; it is just to constantly become the best wrestler he can be.? Not only does Eppert?s determination fuel his wrestling career, it helps fire up his teammates to aid them in becoming successful. With his strict, focused workouts and hard work ethic, he sets the tone at practice to lead the other wrestlers by his championship example. Although his teammates benefit from his presence, he also gains from practicing with them every day and having someone familiar in the coaching staff. ?Having people around you is the biggest part of being on a team. You have to make sure you have people in the room who can push you,? said Eppert. ?My brother is a big part of that. He?s like the team. They?re there to push you and I can push them. If you push them they?re going to push back with hard work.? All the hard work has clearly paid off for Eppert. In his four years at Highland, he has certainly made a name for himself in varsity wrestling. ?I think I have been able to leave a pretty big mark. I only need four more wins to break my brother?s record for most wins at Highland,? said Eppert. Along with dominating high school wrestling, he will move on to Division I college wrestling in the fall when he attends Purdue University on an athletic scholarship. But before he will do that, Eppert furthered his high school success at Saturday?s Hamilton Heights Wrestling Sectional. Upon his 146th career victory over Pendleton Heights? Justin Eshelman, Eppert was able to tie his brother Brady for the school record. With sectionals over and a record broken, Eppert is able to focus on the one thing that truly inspires him ? winning. ?The motivation for Camden is to be a champion,? said Polyar. ?Every time he wrestles he wants to have his hand raised.?

Sims succeeding despite tragedy There are trusted voices that lend good counsel to John Sims. And, for his part, he dutifully listens and hopes that something he hears will take the pain away. So far it hasn't. A year ago this past weekend, the Mater Dei High School sophomore's father, David, died on the eve of the sectional wrestling tournament. Deeply hurt, the freshman decided that in his dad's honor he would wrestle less than 15 hours after first hearing the news. Competing under enormous emotional stress, Sims displayed heroic determination and battled all the way through tough regional and semistate fields to qualify for the state tournament. There, at Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse, he placed sixth at 125 pounds. It was a tremendous accomplishment for any wrestler, let alone a freshman, but there was a hollowness to it all for Sims. Despite the love and congratulations poured upon him by his family and the community, the loss of his father cast a pall that would not lift. Soon after competing in the Junior National Greco-Roman Wrestling Championships in Fargo, N.D., last July, Sims believed the burden had become too much. "After that I wasn't sure whether I even wanted to wrestle or not," said Sims. "I wondered why I was putting myself through everything." Fact is, Sims was still wondering why about a lot of things. For a young man who had spent endless hours traveling to tournaments with his father, the questions he figuratively wrestled had everything and nothing at all to do with the sport. In many ways his dad and wrestling were one in the same, yet now they were at least physically divided. Finally, Sims' immediate direction became clear. "I had to take some time off just to think about everything and I finally decided this is what I am," he said. "I'm a wrestler and I figured I'd be better off channeling all the emotions and anger I've got into something positive." While Sims' decision has been an unqualified success for him, such hasn't been the case for his 140-pound opponents. In building his 29-1 record this season, he has done so with devastating effect. Just a season ago he wrestled more of a tactical style, waiting for mistakes to exploit before turning them into points. This time around he waits for nothing, creating advantage by constantly attacking. The style was in full evidence on Saturday at the Central Sectional where Sims took the 140-pound title by recording two falls before racking up a 17-0 technical fall over a very good wrestler in Mount Vernon's Joseph Hoehn (36-7). "My attitude's changed a lot from last year," Sims said. "I've got this anger inside and I just try to take out my frustrations on the people I wrestle. It's not in a bad way or anything. I'm just trying to put everything into a more aggressive style and it's been working pretty good." It may not come as a surprise that the new style was one favored by his dad. "He didn't push it on me or anything, but it was a style he liked. It just seemed that when I tried it a couple of years back I'd lose focus and end up giving up points." It seems now the opposite is true and Sims is intent on taking his new game back to state for another shot at wrestling in the final match for the state title. "I'm just trying to impress him as much as possible and make him as happy as I can," Sims said of his dad. "I know he's watching and I want him to be able to watch one under the lights."

By Steve Brooks / Star correspondent February 1, 2009 An offseason change to the format of the high school state wrestling tournament meant that only the first-place team from each of Saturday's sectionals would advance to the team regional. Cathedral left little mystery as to who would be advancing from Lawrence Central. The fourth-ranked Irish won seven weight classes and advanced all 14 of their wrestlers to Saturday's Pendleton Heights Individual Regional, while the team will compete in Wednesday's North Montgomery Team Regional. Cathedral racked up 324 points to win the team title by 681/2 points. "We thought it was a legitimate goal to get all 14 out," Cathedral coach Sean McGinley said. "Some of our kids had to beat kids they'd lost to earlier in the year. Hopefully we can take this momentum into Wednesday." Two Cathedral wrestlers knocked off undefeated competitors from Tech in the finals. At 103 pounds, Brian Harvey got an escape as time expired to edge Tech's Dominique Price 5-4. Price had won his first 33 matches of the season. At 119, Cathedral's Brandon Wright -- the defending 112-pound state champ -- built up a 21-7 lead before pinning Storm Cosby (36-1) with 13 seconds left in the second period. Irish freshman Tyler Willis, ranked 11th in the state at 160 pounds, handed Bishop Chatard's Anthony Bill (33-1) his first lost of the season, topping the 10th-ranked Bill 5-4. Cathedral also got sectional titles from Dominic Corsaro (135 pounds), Gavin McGinley (145), Calvin Sullivan (152) and Jake Buchanan (215). Sullivan improved to 34-0. Tenth-ranked Lawrence North was second with 2551/2 points and will take 12 wrestlers to the individual regional. North Central advanced 10 individuals. Lawrence North won three individual titles. Top-ranked Cashé Quiroga (36-0) dominated No. 7 John Grey of Cathedral 14-5 in the 125-pound finals. Brandon Nelsen improved to 32-1 with a 10-4 win against Cathedral's Blake Roytek in the 112-pound finals. At 171, Bryce Grimes moved to 36-1 with a 3-0 win against North Central's Mike Smith. "It's real tough (not advancing as a team). It's kind of a letdown," Grimes said. "But we can't focus on that now because a lot of us are still in the (individual) tournament." Lawrence Central also won three titles. Josh Franklin topped Lawrence North's Greg Bell 8-2 in the 130-pound finals. Daniel Sandberg rode out Tech's Arthur Wright the entire third period to pull out a 1-0 win at 189 pounds. Dominique Butts won the 140-pound class when his finals opponent, second-ranked Tony McGinley of Cathedral, had to default because of a shoulder injury. Coach McGinley said holding his wrestler out of the finals was just a "precaution." North Central heavyweight Ethan Cuevas will take a 38-1 record into the regional after pinning Lawrence Central's Eric Thigpen in the finals. At Mooresville Martinsville led the way with five individual titles to edge Franklin 220-219.5 for the team championship. Center Grove and Indian Creek each earned three individual titles. First-place finishers for the Artesians were Derek Fisher (112), Caleb Purtlebaugh (130), James Walker (140), Jordan Krulik (145) and Briar Runyan (160). At Decatur Central All 14 Perry Meridian wrestlers advanced to regionals, including eight champions, as the Falcons easily won their ninth consecutive sectional title. Perry Meridian's 352 points easily outdistanced Ben Davis (237) and Pike (216.5). At Zionsville Carmel scored 249 points to hold off Westfield (2111/2) and win the team championship. Zionsville (185) finished third and Lebanon (179) fourth. Pat Parham (103), Cody Watson (112) and Will Mascaro (135) earned individual titles for Carmel. Parham defeated Clayton Campbell of Lebanon 9-1. Watson beat Lebanon's Josh Julian 12-6. Mascaro defeated Adam Skelton of Lebanon 7-2. Brady White of Westfield topped Ben Sommer of Carmel 9-2 at 119. At Warren Central Roncalli (2491/2) edged Warren Central (232) for the team championship. Individual champions for the Rebels were Aaron Davis (103), Josh Kieffer (112), Justin Kieffer (119), Joe Kieffer (125) and Tony Bell (285). Individual champions for the Warriors were Nick Odom (130), Jonathan Decker (140), Michael Johnson-Jones (189) and Gabriel Berry (215).

Ian Emerson of Floyd Central won the Jeffersonville Sectional 152 pound championship by pinning Josh Sampson of New Washington. Staff photo by C.E. Branham http://www.news-tribune.net/sports/images_sizedimage_032004808/xl[/img] Mark Daugherty of Charlestown, left, finished second in the 160 pound class at the Jeffersonville Sectional after being pinned by Providence wrestler Jacob Golembeski. Staff photo by C.E. Branham http://www.news-tribune.net/sports/images_sizedimage_032004841/xl[/img] Caleb Browner, wrestling at 171 pounds for Jeffersonville, lost 7-5 to John McAndrew of floyd Central in the sectional championship. Staff photo by C.E. Branham By MATT CRESS Matthew.Cress@newsandtribune.com JEFFERSONVILLE ? Tyler Tatgenhorst and Jon Clark have won some big matches before, but their efforts have never paid off quite like this. The senior leaders for the Jeffersonville wrestling team dominated when it counted most and lifted the Red Devils to a place where they have never been ? both Hoosier Hills Conference and sectional champions in the same season. Tatgenhorst won a 12-3 decision over Providence?s Cody Davidson in the 215-pound final, while Clark pinned Floyd Central?s Ramsey Traughber in the heavyweight championship match and their points pushed the Devils to an 18 1/2-point victory over the Highlanders to win the team title at Saturday?s Jeffersonville Sectional at Johnson Arena. The pair of victories gave Jeff five of the 14 individual champions and shut the door on a surprising run by defending sectional champion Floyd Central. The Highlanders ended with 275 points to the Devils? 293 1/2 to end up second in the team standings, taking three individual titles despite having no No. 1 seeds heading into the meet. Floyd also put seven grapplers in the finals ? the same amount as Jeff ? to take four second-place finishes and four thirds, advancing 12 into next weekend?s Jeffersonville Regional. Floyd?s big day also took its toll on Charlestown, which began with four top seeds but claimed two championships and finished third overall while advancing 11 wrestlers onto the next round. The top four finishers in each weight class moved on to the regional. Providence had two champions to end up a distant fourth, 45 1/2 points behind Charlestown. New Albany was fifth, followed by Corydon, New Washington, Christian Academy of Indiana, Salem and Pekin Eastern in the 10-team field. Corydon claimed the two titles that did not go to the top four overall teams. Still, Jeff ruled the day and finally broke its jinx. Saturday marked the first time the program has ever claimed an HHC title and sectional crown in the same year. The Devils also will send 13 grapplers to the regional, which coach Danny Struck said is likely a school record. ?The kids know about it and had been talking about it all year,? said Struck of his team?s difficulty in winning the two titles. ?It was their goal last year and we?ve been pushing the guys toward it since they were freshman. It?s a happy day for the program.? A freshman actually set the tone for Jeff, as No. 2 seed Alonzo Shepherd won a 5-1 decision over Corydon?s Matt LaHue to win the 103-pound bracket. Devil junior Curtis Smith followed by marching through the 112 division, pinning No. 2 seed Justin Wolf of Charlestown in 1:13 to capture the title. Jeff senior Brett Walker overcame his No. 3 seeding at 130, beating Floyd?s No. 2-seeded Aaron Witt in the semifinals and upsetting Providence?s Omar Salguero by an 11-2 decision in the final. Still, Floyd kept pace by getting strong consolation finishes from Logan Kelly (103), Zach Thomas (112) and Witt (130). And when Daniel Murphy beat Charlestown?s Tyler Newcomb, the No. 1 seed at 140, and No. 2 Ben Hughes of Providence for the title, it was obvious the Highlanders were in it to stay. ?I think we wrestled pretty well today,? said Floyd coach Brandon Sisson. ?We had a lot of kids step up. We came up short, but we scored more points than we did last year.? Ian Emerson upset 39-1 Josh Sampson of New Washington in the 152 finals, pinning Sampson in 4:57 to keep Floyd in the hunt and John McAndrew beat Jeff?s Caleb Browner by a narrow 7-5 decision to capture the 171-pound title. McAndrew?s win put him up 2-1 in the season series with Browner, who came in at 33-4. After Floyd?s Pat McKinney lost to Providence?s Ethan Cook in the final bout at 189, that left it up to Tatgenhorst and Clark to close it out. Struck said that?s exactly the outcome he wanted. ?They?re used to that,? he said. ?We?ve put them in pressure situations a lot. We?ve pumped both of them up by having them face tough opponents all season and when today came, they were ready.? Charlestown got its first title from Jeff Stotridge, who beat Jeff?s Devon Miller 9-1 in the 119 final. But from there the Pirates struggled, with 31-0 Eddie Duran losing a 5-3 decision to Corydon?s Ryan Hutchinson in the 125 title bout. Aaron May, the No. 2 seed at 135, ended up falling in the semifinals to Floyd?s Garrett Blackman by pin in 1:22, a blow to the Pirates? hopes despite the fact that he rebounded for third place. ?Overall, it seemed like we just didn?t get many breaks today,? said Charlestown coach Tom Kendrick, who will retire at the end of the season and may have seen his final sectional as Pirate mentor. ?But the goal is to get guys to state and we got ourselves into position to take guys to state. We weren?t off today, it just wasn?t our best.? Overall, the Pirates still crashed five finals and collected five thirds, the most of any school in the tournament. Taylor Newcomb was Charlestown?s other champion, edging Floyd?s Ben Moberly in the 145 final. Providence will take seven grapplers onward to the regional, highlighted by Cook and Jacob Golembeski, who pinned Charlestown?s Mark Daugherty to win the 160-pound title. Also advancing for the Pioneers were Salguero, Hughes, Davidson, Steve Meyer (fourth at 152) and Joey Libretto (fourth at 171). New Albany got its best finish of the day from junior Tim Martin, who beat Jeff?s Renaldo Weekly 5-1 for third place at 125. But the Bulldogs got five fourth-place finishes to send six on to the next round of the postseason. Sampson was the only regional qualifier for New Washington, while Christian Academy got a fifth-place finish from senior Andrew Speth and five sixth-place finishes. The Warriors did not advance any grapplers to the regional, but they still scored 64 points ? nearly doubling the total of ninth-place Salem. SATURDAY?S RESULTS JEFFERSONVILLE SECTIONAL (Top four in each weight class advance to Jeffersonville regional) Team scores ? 1. Jeffersonville, 293 1/2; 2. Floyd Central, 275; 3. Charlestown, 232 1/2; 4. Providence, 187; 5. New Albany, 162; 6. Corydon, 117; 7. New Washington, 67; 8. Christian Academy of Indiana, 64; 9. Salem, 31; 10. Pekin Eastern, 27 1/2. 103 ? 1. Shepherd (JE), 2. LaHue (CO), 3. Kelly (FC), 4. Guy (NA). 112 ? 1. Smith (JE), 2. Wolf (CH), 3. Thomas (FC), 4. Snyder (NA). 119 ? 1. Stotridge (CH), 2. Miller (JE), 3. Freeman (PE), 4. Van Hook (FC). 125 ? 1. Hutchinson (CO), 2. Duran (CH), 3. Martin (NA), 4. Weekly (JE). 130 ? 1. Walker (JE), 2. Salguero (PR), 3. Witt (FC), 4. Rodriguez (NA). 135 ? 1. Falardo (CO), 2. Blackman (FC), 3. May (CH), 4. Visser (JE). 140 ? 1. Murphy (FC), 2. Hughes (PR), 3. Ty. Newcomb (CH), 4. Ratliff (SA). 145 ? 1. Ta. Newcomb (CH), 2. Moberly (FC), 3. Hendrick (JE), 4. Rickman (NA). 152 ? 1. Emerson (FC), 2. Sampson (NW), 3. Bailey (JE), 4. Meyer (PR). 160 ? 1. Golembeski (PR), 2. Daugherty (CH), 3. Shallers (FC), 4. Graham (JE). 171 ? 1. McAndrew (FC), 2. Browner (JE), 3. Martin (CH), 4. Libretto (PR). 189 ? 1. Cook (PR), 2. McKinney (FC), 3. Bowen (JE), 4. Nickles (CH). 215 ? 1. Tatgenhorst (JE), 2. Davidson (PR), 3. Metzger (CH), 4. DeWitt (CO). 285 ? 1. Clark (JE), 2. Traughber (FC), 3. Aguirre (CH), 4. Hoke (NA).

Tribune-Star staff report Crawfordsville ? South Vermillion fell just short of a high school wrestling sectional championship Saturday at Crawfordsville. Fountain Central edged the Wildcats 242-233. Wade Bohannon (130) and Brody Millikan (135) took home championships for South Vermillion. Other wrestlers advancing to the Greencastle Regional as top four finishers are second-place Dalton Millikan (119), second place Michael Bennett (171), third place Trent Wallace (285), third place Ashdon Frazier (160), fourth place Spencer Bishop (103) and fourth place Dusty Pike (152). North Vermillion?s Ryan Mendenhall (125) was fourth, Jessy Hayes third and Ax Tuttle third. Team scores ? Fountain Central 242, South Vermillion 233, Crawfordsville 225, Southmont 205 1/2, North Montgomery 179, North Vermillion 143, Rockville 62, Covington 26, Turkey Run 10. 103 ? Fourth place: Spencer Bishop (SV); Sixth place: Kyle Tolbert (NV). 112 ? Briar Perkins (Crawfordsville), first place. 119 ? Championship: Joey Engle (FC) dec. Dalton Millikan (SV) 4-0; Fifth place: Dustin Tolbert (NV). 125 ? Championship: Eli Moore (FC) pin. Adrian Smith (SV), 3:47; Fourth place: Ryan Mendenhall (NV). 130 ? Championship: Wade Bohannon (SV) dec. Andrew Mitchell (FC) 6-3. 135 ? Championship: Brody Millikan (SV) maj. dec. Dylan Robinson (SM), 13-2; Fifth place: Logan Payton (NV). 140 ? Championship: Nathan Whitlow (SM) pin. Caleb Arehart (SV), 2:24; 5th place: Austin Shell (NV). 145 ? Championship: Nick Baker (Cv) dec. Ross Hoggad (SV), 10-5. 152 ? Championship: Alex Worm (SM) dec. John Rogers (Cv), 10-9; Third place: Jessy Hayes (NV); 4th place: Dusty Pike (SV). 160 ? Championship: Craig Fairley (Cv) dec. Sam Shoat (FC), 4-2. Third place: Ashdon Frazier (SV). 171 ? Championship: Scott Moore (FC) pin. Michael Bennett (SV), 3:38. Fifth place: Joe Abbad (NV). 215 ? Taylor Minick (FC) pin. Colton Snider (NM), 4:56; Third place: Ax Tuttle (NV). 285 ? Dylan McBride (Cv) dec. Caleb Miller (NV), 3-1; Third place: Trent Wallace (SV).

By Dennis Clark The Tribune-Star Brazil ? The two Bloomington schools and Edgewood dominated the team portion of the Northview wrestling sectional, but five area schools competing advanced a combined 28 individuals to the regional round on Saturday. Bloomington South was the only team advancing to Wednesday?s team regional at Greencastle. Bloomington South easily outpointed Edgewood 252-196, with Bloomington North third at 190 points. The top four individuals in each weight class advanced to next Saturday?s regional at Bloomington South. Individual champions locally included Terre Haute South?s Jordan Jensen (27-0, 135 pounds), Northview?s Luke Pingleton (29-4, 125) and Sullivan?s Holden Fudurich (30-0, 152). North placed fourth as a team, advancing eight individuals to the regional, with four being runners-up. South and Northview advanced six, Sullivan five and West Vigo three. ?We didn?t have anybody seeded above third and to have four second-place guys was pretty awesome,? North coach Mark Frisz said. ?We got eight kids to advance to next week ? finished a solid fourth as a team. So we met our goals today.? The Patriots four runners-up were Nathaniel Page (23-12, 125), Jedidiah Page (18-14, 130), Zachary Edington (14-8, 171) and Lance Lloyd (30-5, 275). Lloyd and Nathaniel Page were both pinned in the third two-minute round, Jedidiah Page was pinned in the second round, while Edington was blanked in a 3-0 decision. South placed fifth as a team, with their lone champion being Jordan Jensen (27-0, 119). The sophomore pinned Edgewood?s Matt Mest with 10 seconds remaining in the first round. ?Jordan knew he had a job to do and he went out to get it done,? South coach Gabe Cook stated. ?He?s really turned it on the last couple of weeks. ?We got six out [to the regional] today, which is a little bit shy of what I was hoping. I was hoping we?d get seven or eight. But this is a tough sectional, so I?m not disappointed.? One disappointment for the Braves was senior Paul Bennett (24-5, 140) getting suddenly pinned with 43 seconds left in his championship match by Ben Farmer of Bloomington South. Bennett was also a sectional runner-up last year as a junior. ?Paul just got caught in an awkward situation, but I really see him hopefully matching up with the same boy next week,? Cook mentioned. South?s other runner-up was sophomore Phalen Montgomery (28-5, 145), losing a hard-fought 11-9 decision to Steven Spicer of Edgewood. West Vigo?s big highlight was sophomore Ryan Roach (17-10, 135) reaching the finals, where he was decisioned 12-8 by Jeremy Salyers of Edgewood. ?[Roach] revenged a loss today to Northview?s Brandon Mikesell,? noted West Vigo coach Scott Rohrbach. ?He gave up too many points in the final match. Gave up five [points] ? tried to roll through a headlock and got caught and ended up losing by four [points]. ?But next week, if we get a good draw he can go pretty deep in the state tournament.? While the Vigo County schools only produced one sectional champion, both Northview and Sullivan had one champion apiece. Northview?s Pingleton (29-4, 125), a sophomore, pinned North?s Nathaniel Page with just under one minute left in the third period. ?Luke Pingleton wrestled really well all day,? Northview coach Dan Mikesell observed. ?We were really happy with our two freshmen getting to the finals.? Those two Northview freshmen referred to by Mikesell were Caleb Nicoson (26-12, 103) and Austin Bell (24-13, 112), both losing in championship matches. ?Obviously, we had a couple of disappointments with our No. 2 seeds getting beat, but they battled back and got a third [place] and moved on,? Mikesell added. Sullivan?s Fudurich remained undefeated (30-0, 152) after he overwhelmed Bloomington South?s Jade Prieboy in a 5-0 decision in their championship match. Northview wrestling sectional (Top team advances to Greencastle team regional on Wednesday) Team results ? Bloomington South 252, Edgewood 196, Bloomington North 190, Terre Haute North 169, Terre Haute South 154.50, Northview 138, Sullivan 100.50, Owen Valley 72.50, West Vigo 66.50. Individual results (Top four in each weight class advance to Bloomington South individual regional on Feb. 7) 103 ? Championship: Jacob Boorsma (BS) pin. Caleb Nicosin (Nv), 5:05. 3. Michael Kirby (Sul), 4. Samuel Summitt (BN), 5. Franklin Camp (THN), 6. Joe Chambers (THS). 112 ? Championship: Shawn Miracle (BN) major dec. Austin Bell (Nv), 16-4. 3. Connor Curley (THN), 4. Dalton Kemp (OV), 5. Kayne Pike (BS), 6. Nathaniel Sullivan (Sul). 119 ? Championship: Jordan Jensen (THS) pin. Matt Mest (E), 1:50. 3. Ethan Farmer (BS), 4. Sean Jewart (BN), 5. Mike Bird (OV), 6. Austin Sciotto (Nv). 125 ? Championship: Luke Pingleton (Nv) pin. Nathaniel Page (THN), 4:58. 3. Dakota Case (THS), 4. Anthony Kerr (E), 5. Robert Stewart (OV), 6. Levi Edwards (WV). 130 ? Championship: Brannigan Barlow (BS) pin. Jedidiah Page (THN), 3:12. 3. Anthony Thompson (E), 4. Jack Petry (OV), 5. Jordan Castillo (BN), 6. Patrick Duong (THS). 135 ? Championship: Jeremy Salyers (E) dec. Ryan Roach (WV) 12-8. 3. Brandon Mikesell (Nv), 4. Tsali Lough (THS), 5. Sam Horrocks (BS), 6. Adam Joraanstad (BN). 140 ? Championship: Ben Farmer (BS) pin. Paul Bennett (THS), 5:17. 3. Kyle McCoy (Nv), 4. Dyman Lewellyn (WV), 5. Jedidiah Cox (Sul), 6. Wes Adams (E). 145 ? Championship: Steven Spicer (E) dec. Phalen Montgomery (THS), 11-9. 3. Spencer Boyd (BS), 4. Ethan Oppenland (BN), 5. Dustin Query (THN), 6. Baylor Girton (Nv). 152 ? Championship: Holden Fudurich (Sul) dec. Jade Prieboy (BS), 5-0. 3. Allen Cox (BN), 4. Eric Joyal (THS), 5. Zach Ferguson (E), 6. Evan White (OV). 160 ? Championship: Josh Sparks (E) dec. Terry Terrell (BS), 3-2. 3. Daniel DeLisle (THN), 4. Brady Silvers (Nv), 5. James Bender (THS), 6. Dakota Nicoson (OV). 171 ? Championship: Garrett Goldman (BN) dec. Zachary Edington (THN), 3-0. 3. Dale Vire (Sul), 4. Joey Todd (BS), 5. Austin McClain (THS), 6. Ben Bird (WV). 189 ? Championship: Darren Eads (BS) dec. Will Heston (E), 3-2. 3. Douglas Collett (THN), 4. Robert Nero (Sul), 5. Chase Behrman (OV), 6. Brandon Pleake (Nv). 215 ? Championship: Jacob Vandeventer (BN) dec. Tito Valentin (BS), 12-7. 3. Spencer Brooks (Sul), 4. David Knight (THN), 5. Seth Sturgeon (E), 6. Junior Hubbard (Nv). 275 ? Championship: Joseph Arthur (BN) pin. Lance Lloud (THN), 4:37. 3. Chris Brummett (E), 4. Ian Bolin (WV), 5. Nathan Schuster (THS), 6. Jeremiah Carpenter (BS).

BY JIM PETERS jpeters@nwitimes.com Sunday, February 01, 2009 LAPORTE | Between 1991 and 2006, Portage won every sectional wrestling in which it competed. The last two years, the Indians didn't win any, bottoming out last winter when they didn't even finish second to qualify for the team regional. "I think that burned in most of them, hosting the team regional and not being in it," coach Pat Wilkins said. "We missed out by half a point. The guys remembered that. It motivated them all year." Evidently. It was just like the good old days for the Indians on Saturday as they reclaimed the top spot at the LaPorte Sectional, posting 266 points, 55 more than runner-up Chesterton. Portage will host the team regional Wednesday. "It's been our main goal to get back where we were," senior Chris Santos said. "It means everything to us." Santos, a 7-4 winner of Michigan City's Thomas Lusco at 135 pounds, was one of seven champions for Portage, which had 10 finalists and 13 regional qualifiers. "The last two years, I came close but couldn't pull it off, so it's pretty cool," Santos said. "I felt him slowing down and that was my opportunity to take my shot." Jesse Duque (103), Brandon Coppinger (112), Luis Acuna (125), Tony Nuzzo (145), unbeaten Sean McMurray (152) and Erik Rhein (160) also won titles. Coppinger's match was the closest of the finals. After giving Chesterton's Joe Kelly an escape, he took him down with about 45 seconds left and held on to win 7-6. "I wanted to turn him. The coaches told me to cut him," Coppinger said. "They had faith in me to do it, so I thought I could do it. I like to take people down. I knew I wasn't going to let that lead go." Acuna was an 8-3 winner over Knox's Kyle Hernandez, hitting four takedowns and allowing only three escapes. "Our coaches said he was really strong, an upper-body guy," Acuna said. "I just wanted to stay in good position, stick to my shots, try to work on my turns." Nuzzo won by default when Chesterton's Spencer Stockwell couldn't wrestle due to a rib injury. McMurray beat Chesterton's Anthony Quiroz 7-1.

1. Elkhart Memorial 214.5 2. Elkhart Central 188 3. Jimtown 179.5 4. Goshen 162 5. Northridge 127.5 6. Concord 121.5 7. Fairfield 91 8. Northwood 90.5 103 lbs. 1. Abraham Que 10 33-3 Elkhart Central 2. Mike Moore 12 28-7 Elkhart Memorial 3. Bryce Hershberger 9 18-15 Northwood 4. Austin Maynard 9 25-13 Goshen 5. Dominic Garrett 9 24-17 Jimtown 6. Faith Humes 10 2-14 Northridge 112 lbs. 1. Steven Ross 11 30-3 Concord 2. Dantrell Goodman 10 24-9 Elkhart Memorial 3. Gary Houser 11 25-10 Northridge 4. Zach Slough 9 19-18 Jimtown 5. Josh Yates 11 31-11 Fairfield 6. Tim Bohner 12 20-14 Northwood 119 lbs. 1. Alex Filer 12 33-3 Elkhart Central 2. Fulvio DeSantiago 11 22-12 Concord 3. Zach Worcel 11 29-12 Goshen 4. Hayden Davies 11 25-14 Jimtown 5. Tim Wider 12 18-15 Elkhart Memorial 6. Rickey Masters 10 25-17 Fairfield 125 lbs. 1. Collin Crume 11 34-6 Jimtown 2. Nick Nelson 12 25-7 Elkhart Memorial 3. Zach Rymer 11 21-12 Northwood 4. Josue Hernandez 12 23-12 Goshen 5. Dustin Chowning 12 22-13 Fairfield 6. Aaron Alexander 11 13-12 Concord 130 lbs. 1. John Michael Moore 9 27-10 Jimtown 2. Trey Rogers 9 23-15 Goshen 3. Dillion Hinen 10 26-11 Fairfield 4. Kevin Kelly 11 21-14 Elkhart Memorial 5. Trevor Echartea 9 17-12 Elkhart Central 6. Jason Watts 11 9-23 Northridge 135 lbs. 1. Steven Ferrah 12 31-5 Elkhart Central 2. Jeremy Hill 11 38-4 Jimtown 3. Ryan Ntende 9 19-5 Goshen 4. Alberto Rios 11 20-11 Elkhart Memorial 5. Brandon Lewallen 12 16-17 Northridge 6. Dustin Hinen 9 22-17 Fairfield 140 lbs. 1. Ryan Stahl 11 30-2 Elkhart Memorial 2. Sam Martin 12 20-14 Concord 3. Alex Cash 9 30-7 Elkhart Central 4. Eric Miller 11 22-13 Northridge 5. Jared Stump 10 25-12 Fairfield 6. Matt Hill 11 24-15 Jimtown 145 lbs. 1. Zach Corpe 11 31-1 Elkhart Memorial 2. Jesse Witkowski 12 8-3 Elkhart Central 3. Drew Lopez 10 10-10 Concord 4. Troy Pickard 10 20-16 Goshen 5. Zach Meyers 10 20-13 Jimtown 6. Kyle Mays 12 29-5 Northridge 152 lbs. 1. Josh Gonzalez 11 28-5 Concord 2. Ben Etsinger 12 12-16 Northwood 3. Carmel Salinas 11 9-2 Elkhart Memorial 4. Brandon Weinkoff 9 21-18 Jimtown 5. Kyle Walters 12 18-19 Elkhart Central 6. Andrew Stegelmann 11 25-14 Goshen 160 lbs. 1. Ross Powell 12 33-0 Northridge 2. Drew Walters 12 32-4 Elkhart Central 3. Alex Hostetler 10 30-9 Fairfield 4. Lee Underwood 12 17-17 Elkhart Memorial 5. Nick Lewallen 11 27-9 Goshen 6. Justin Wagers 11 20-19 Jimtown 171 lbs. 1. Zach Spurgeon 12 36-6 Jimtown 2. George Lopez 12 29-3 Northwood 3. Martin Lantz 12 15-4 Fairfield 4. Cody Vance 12 22-11 Elkhart Memorial 5. Reece Farnham 12 27-6 Northridge 6. Francisco Garcia 11 19-12 Goshen 189 lbs. 1. Drew Garber 12 33-0 Northridge 2. J B Singer 11 28-12 Goshen 3. Carson Sappington 11 24-7 Elkhart Memorial 4. Jordan Bontrager 10 25-17 Fairfield 5. Justin Pletcher 12 19-15 Northwood 6. Alex Alber 10 13-23 Elkhart Central 215 lbs. 1. Austin Phillips 12 34-2 Elkhart Central 2. Shane Hendrickson 11 25-9 Elkhart Memorial 3. Brandon Dillenbeck 10 23-8 Goshen 4. Austin Mays 9 9-6 Northridge 5. Robert Deering 9 10-13 Jimtown 6. Andre Smith 12 8-19 Northwood 285 lbs. 1. Tim Marshall 10 21-5 Elkhart Central 2. Jacob Clark 11 30-9 Goshen 3. Zack Stone 12 37-5 Jimtown 4. Stephen Irving 12 26-8 Concord 5. Luke Waterman 11 16-16 Elkhart Memorial 6. Alex Riley 11 20-14 Northridge