Greg Ratliff

And they literally won it in 2021…why drop ?

Rochester is far and away the best team in 1A this year and would make some serious noise in 2A.  As far as seeding went, West Central went into this tournament in a no-win situation.  I was honestly just hoping for a top four seed after edging out a banged up Rochester team at the Joe Burvan Duals.  If we would’ve been seeded below Rochester, I guarantee there wouldn’t be one West Central supporter complaining about that.  
WC belonged in the small gym all day long with the product we put on the mat today.  I do not post on Indianamat, I just look like thousands of others do.  

However, being from one of the smallest schools in the state, competing with the great programs we did today (and in 2014, 2015 and 2023), it’s always been humbling and great for us.  Congratulations to all teams that competed today. 
 
Nathan Williams
West Central Assistant Coach

Avon vs Mater Dei part 6 lol 

Seeds will be released tomorrow at 6 PM on Dane’s radio show.
 
happy New Years!

Seeds will be released tomorrow at 6 PM on Dane’s radio show.
 
happy New Years!

The great thing about seeding is that after the meeting the kids get to actually wrestle it out. It's a weird concept to some who think that the seeding meeting determines placement, but it's actually winning on the mat that does that.

I am bringing a case of mat tape for their mouths. 

Coaches,    This year, the IHSWCA Team State Tournament that will be held on Saturday January 6th will be voting on 2 more teams for each of the 4 classes.    If you would like to be considered for the last 2 spots,  you need to email Dane Fuelling decbell1@gmail.com to say that you would like your team to be considered. You should send him your roster, varsity records/ participants, and your season results.   We are also asking that you post your team scores on Indianamat as well.   We need your information by December 10th and the vote will be December 17th and announced on Dane's weekly radio show.   It is critical that we have all the information to make the most informed decision that we can.   Thanks,   Greg Ratliff

If Frankfort doesn't have the best ones, it's a huge missed opportunity. 

There's no great answer I know. Some of the bigger schools have the option of fulfilling a contract with a JV lineup not at state.
 
I've been on both ends of it. I've had to drop to get in before and had someone drop out of one of my tournaments to get in. 
 
Every time it has happened the AD's and coaches have understood due to the significance of the Team State tournament. 
 
I've heard people say several times there should be a tournament for those teams hoping to get in that don't. And just find a host from the unpicked teams once the vote-ins have been announced. But it's not something the IHSWCA has the resources for, so it would be up to a willing school.

Thank Coach Watkins!
 
Pendoski is misspelled often and still pronounced "Pen DOW ski"
 
Grandpa Pendoski was kind enough to pass on baldness and the last name without the "W" in it.  

His name is spelled:
PENDOSKI

This is great! It would be cool to see some other classes follow in similar fashion. 

This is great! It would be cool to see some other classes follow in similar fashion. 

After final approval from our athletic department to open up gym space. 

Chatard is committed to hosting 2A Wildcard weekend on 12/9. 

We are putting together a 6-way tournament and hoping to pull as many of the teams that are in the hunt for the last 2 spots as possible. 

I have sent invites to:
Garrett
Rensselaer Central ❌
Peru ✅ 
Angola ✅ 
Glenn❌
South Ridge
Owen Valley ✅ 
Monrovia ❌ 
Bishop Dwenger ❌ 
Norwell
Oak Hill ❌ 
 
My hope is to make the voting committee's job a little easier come the 3rd week of December. 
Obviously, this will require shifts in some schedules but we are trying to help schools build the best possible case. (And put together a strong case for our guys)
 
If teams are unable to attend I will open it up to other teams on the list. 

What a fantastic human being!  I wish I had the opportunity to be around him more other than just in passing at meets and events.  One of the most genuine people I’ve had the opportunity to meet through wrestling.  

I would like to congratulate Larry Mattingly on his retirement and on an awesome career.  I never met another coach or athlete who didn't think he was a great person.   If you ever met him him you know he is the best joke teller on the planet.  He is the definition of a great mentor to Memorial HS Wrestlers and fellow coaches for 36 years!  I feel fortunate to say I was his assistant for most of them.  Congrats Larry!  
 
Link to local news story-
https://www.courierpress.com/story/sports/high-school/2023/04/14/memorial-wrestling-coach-larry-mattingly-stepping-away-after-36-years/70112761007/

Board probably didn't know this, but he's TripleB trained...

Congratulations to Braedon Spears from Plainfield for signing with Indianapolis. Projected to wrestle 149.
View full signing

No but I can take his server down. Dude gets one lucky slide by over 20 years ago and it is now on his resume for life. He didn't even get a mat return from it.

I almost left my shoes on the mat.....
 
But I couldn't bend over to do it, so they came home w/ me. 
 
Thanks everyone for the kind words, it was pretty cool and that's a good group of guys in that picture. All very supportive of each other and wrestling movement!
 

Shout out to my friend Dustin Bentz, aka TripleB!!  Dude had a real scare last year, lost about 100 lbs and then decided to step up to the plate and compete at Folk State this year.  Still got it!  Matter of fact, props to all the dudes in this pic and all the masters division wrestlers still willing to go out and throw down! 👏👏👏.  Dustin, Sam’s has the 5 gal pale of flex-all on sale… haha.

$50

Just want to congratulate everyone on their awards, and thank Joe, Mike, and everyone else on team IndianaMat for the amazing coverage you provide for our sport.
 
Thank You
Coach Lorek

Who cares, we a broken record…..
 
Da Dirty!!!