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I think past results would put the odds on one of the smaller guys competing in the 103 weight class as a HS freshman next year

From nwi Times Link: http://www.nwi.com/articles/2009/02/19/sports/indiana_prep_sports/docf40b337b2b0d1e8486257561000911db.txt Ayersman has chance to become an undefeated state champion as a freshman BY NATE ULRICH nate.ulrich@nwitimes.com Thursday, February 19, 2009 | No comments posted. Kyle Ayersman is just 14 years old, but he's on the verge of earning a spot on a legendary list. Ayersman, a freshman at Lake Central, has a chance to do what only three other local ninth-graders have done since the 1979-80 season: capture a state wrestling title with an undefeated record. (follow link for complete article)

From The Paper of Montgomery County online Link: http://www.thepaper24-7.com/main.asp?SectionID=24&SubSectionID=23&ArticleID=19168 IHSAA STATE WRESTLING FINALS PREVIEW: Two county wrestlers vying for State title Hodges has new State attitude By John Groth Sports Editor NEW MARKET - One loss has changed Nick Hodges' whole mindset. He's entering this weekend's Indiana High School Athletic Association State Wrestling Finals with a new attitude. ------------------------------------------ McBride?s postseason wrestling plan working perfectly So far, Dylan McBride's postseason wrestling plan has worked to perfection. Crawfordsville High School's junior heavyweight has gone on quite the run - winning all 10 of his postseason matches and 12 matches straight overall - to advance to his first Indiana High School Athletic Association State Wrestling Meet. So how's he done it?

From nwi Prep Sports Link: http://www.nwi.com/articles/2009/02/19/sports/indiana_prep_sports/doc2a699a773f3af271862575610080ba59.txt Portage wrestler McMurray returns as state favorite this time BY JIM PETERS and NATE ULRICH Times Staff Writers | Thursday, February 19, 2009 | No comments posted. After 45 matches with only a modest challenge here and there, Sean McMurray now stands four wins away from his second state title. But the Portage junior and only returning state champion from Northwest Indiana knows he can't get to Saturday night without getting through Friday night, Saturday morning and Saturday afternoon. "It's a match at a time now," McMurray said. "We can't jump ahead of ourselves. I've got to take it slowly and just wrestle each match." A medalst at 119 as a freshman, McMurray upset Hobart's Eric Galka in the 135 finals last year. This time, he's the consensus favorite. "This is the best part of the season," McMurray said. "I like pressure. It doesn't bother me. Once I'm on the mat, I'm in a zone. Everything's a blur." Lesson learned: After losing to Josh Harper in the 119 state championship match last season, Hobart's Frankie Porras knew what he had to do to get better. "He rode me out and turned me," Porras said of the 4-3 loss. "One of things I worked hard on all summer was mat wrestling, working hard on top and bottom." It showed at the Merrillville Semistate, where Porras defeated Harper in the 130 finals, 4-2, in a match that Porras actually dominated, riding Harper for a good portion of the match, allowing only two escapes. Porras' only loss this season came against Lawrence North's Cashe' Quiroga, but that's of no concern this week. Quiroga wrestles 125. The other Bulldog: Lost amidst Crown Point's five semistate titles was the surprising third-place finish by 215-pounder Jim Bakalik. who was fourth at the regional. He upset Cass' Brady Tolle, a No. 1 seed, in the opener, then edged Wawasee's Tom Schwartz 4-3 to earn his state berth. After getting pinned by Nathan Cleveland of Lowell, Bakalik (24-14) came back in the third-place match to edge Highland's Narte Nunez 1-0. "It's exciting," drill partner Marcus Shrewsbury, a title contender at 189, said. "It's incredible. You see him in the room, working real hard. He does a lot of extra things, and it's finally paid off." Only one other wrestler among the 64 who qualified out of Merrillville had as many losses as Bakalik. Travis the 'tank': Merrillville junior heavyweight James Travis suffered his first loss of the season at the semistate. Glenn senior Craig Fitzgerald (45-0) defeated Travis (41-1) 6-2 en route to a title, but Travis rebounded with a victory over Mishawaka junior Travis Thomas for third place. "He's just a tank," Pirates junior Anthony Napules said of the 225-pounder. "He's always trying to push himself in the weight room and getting stronger so he can go at with the heavyweights. Even though he's smaller, he's not weaker." Jonesing for success: Merrillville senior Keon Jones (36-6) is the Region's lone representative in the 145-pound class. "He can beat anybody," Pirates coach David Maldonado said. "He's in a position where a lot of guys don't really know who he is because he's had a couple losses here or there. But right now it's a mental game." Jones won a Calumet Regional title by knocking off previously-undefeated Highland senior Chris Almaraz 12-6. He defeated Mishawaka junior Alex White (25-14) for third place at semistate. Practicing patience: Shrewsbury, a 2008 state runner-up, hopes the state finals mean a little more action for him. "Guys try to slow it down and keep it close," Shrewsbury said. "I see it a lot. I have to keep my head on not get frustrated, but it's getting frustrating." 171 equals 0: Northwest Indiana will have at least one representative in 13 of the 14 weight classes at the state finals. There will not be a local wrestler competing at 171. Marcus Schontube of Lowell is the most recent Region-based state champ at 171. He won back-to-back state titles in 1999 and 2000.

Does Conseco or the IHSAA have a full schedule somewhere on the web? Such as: Friday - 1st round matches 6:00 - 10:00 Saturday - Quarterfinals, Semifinals 9:00 - 2:00 Saturday - Finals 4:00 ????

I can only make it to the Saturday session with my kids. What time should I plan to showup, and is the seating General Admission?

Wow that is impressive, and I really appreciate the point that you made about him being a true student/athlete. What weight class does Nathan wrestle?

If you are willing to drive just a few minutes to eat, then head south a couple miles on West street (near Lucas Oil stadium) and look for the Ice House. Lit almost completely by neon signs inside, service is jaw-dropping fast, and the breaded tenderloin is about 6 inches across any way you spin it. A monster sandwich, but delicious. If anyone is going to be staying overnight and wants a unique treat, head down to Fountain Square (just southeast of downtown) and try out the Duckpin bowling in their retro-alley. Fun for adults and the kids will love it too.

Has anyone actually made it to State, and then missed their weight!?? Man, that would be quite a letdown

Thank you for doing that! It will make a great printout to take with me as I take my kids to the state finals on Saturday.

Y2 thank you for the brackets. One more request, if it is at all possible. Is there anyway you can make some small note next to each wrestler showing what SS they came from and what place they finished there. For example Tsirtsis (M1) or Quiroga (N1) or Jones (E4). I would really like to be able to see from the brackets what semistate they came from, and what place they finished. Thank you, if you don't have time to do this or any room for it, it's understandable.

What Indiana high school or middle school wrestling coaches have been going at it the longest? Anyone know which coach holds the all-time record (years) of coaching longevity?

To give you an idea of how crowded the Merrilville gym will be Saturday, here's a dramatic re-enactment from last year showing spectators being "ushered" into the arena ;D afYLPJe332Q

When will the brackets be posted?

Who are some of the 102 wrestlers to watch?

I see from the registered wrestlers that the 75 lb weighclass is loaded with some young wrestlers that have had a lot of success in the ISWA meets Bailey Lahue Drew Hughes Jacob Cottey Jake Sinkovics Kayla Miracle should be a real battle at that weight

I'm not too familiar with the team format. When do the teams have to officially declare their lineup? Are they allowed to bump wrestlers up/down weight classes as the match is ongoing, or do they have to declare who is wrestling at what weight before the contest begins?

With school closings cause of the weather we haven't been able to get into the wrestling room and do a weigh-in. Are any of the tournaments this weekend extending their deadlines for the faxed weigh-in sheets?? New Pal? Normonco?

I recommend getting in the habit of establishing just a few goals for each tournament that your child wrestles. And don't just spout off these goals yourself, ask your youth wrestler what their ideas are for some goals. First and foremost should ALWAYS be (in my mind) to try hard/hustle. Right up there with hustle is good sportsmanship. If they do nothing else but try their hardest, I could never be disappointed with whatever the results may be. If they win the entire tournament but wrestle sluggishly or show poor sportsmanship, I will be disappointed. Get this through to them early on. If your wrestler is a beginner, make the goals revolve around improving -- not necessarily winning their match. Maybe the goal should be just to score some points, or get 3 takedowns, or (for the really nonagressive wrestlers) just for them to take the initiative and make the first attempt at a takedown. Whether or not they get the takedown, who cares, it may be a huge jump for some kids just to get the feel of "going for it". Over time, the goals you set along with your wrestler will become more and more ***NO NO NO***ious.

Thanks for the explanation AJ, I didn't realize that middle schools were allowing the 4th/5th graders to wrestle in competition. Yikes, what a mess.

Did they do a true wrestle-back at the elementary state team qualifier tourney in Indy a few weeks ago? I think they were taking the top 2 kids in each weight class and putting them on either Indiana Gold or Indiana Blue, so in that case a true wrestle-back situation would really be important. Otherwise, you may draw the best in class in an early round and never have the chance to beat everyone else out for 2nd place and a spot on one of the teams. I think in the case of most local ISWA tournaments, they do it for the sake of speeding up the tournament. 2nd/3rd is really the only placing that it would make a difference for correct?

Usually tough to find the results of the weekend youth tournaments, but how about you just post how your child did and in what tourney. If you know the winners of any age/weight brackets, post them here. My son -- participated at the Yorktown beginners tourney. Didn't win, but had a fun time. Tourney was run very well and they kept everyone at it all day long, getting a lot of matches in.

I think if it is billed as a Middle School tournament, then only those kids eligible to wrestle with their middle school should be allowed to participate. Otherwise, why not let a really great 7th or 8th grade wrestler into the HS Sectional tournament? Why not let 4th and 5th graders that are great participate in Middle School dual meets against other schools? I'm sure with the opportunities available in the youth wrestling programs, there are some unbelievably talented 4th and 5th graders out there. Their time to shine at the Middle School level will come. Until then, my opinion is that they should continue to make the best of the opportunities and challenges appropriate to their age/grade level.

Someone posted the video earlier of Reese Humphrey doing this exact move in a college meet. Fast Forward to about 8:00 or so. The other guy attempts a bear hug and Reese does the backflip (and gets called for a penalty). Would take unbelievable athleticism to pull this off. You say a HEAVYWEIGHT was doing this?? Woah! http://www.flowrestling.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234547-sunday-brunch-ohio-state-vs-hofstra/129463-133-2-reece-humphrey-os-dec-9-lou-ruggirello-h-7-4

Several Indiana wrestlers made the list, which is updated through 1-19-09: 112 lbs. #27 Anthony Hawkins (Crown Point), #29 Brandon Nelson (Lawrence North) 119 lbs. #6 - Camden Eppert (Anderson), #27 Alex Johns (Reitz), #29 Justin Brooks (Warsaw), #30 Ethan Raley (Indian Creek) 125 lbs. #19 - Cashe Quiroga (Lawrence North), #21 Brandon Wright (Cathedral), #29 Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point) 130 lbs. #15 - Josh Harper (Mishawaka) 140 lbs. #21 - Steve Sandefer (Mishawaka) 171 lbs. #27 - Michael Duckworth (Union County) 189 lbs. #24 - Marcus Schrewsbury (Crown Point) 285 lbs. #12 - Adam Chalfant (Winchester), #22 Joe Arthur (Bloomington North) http://www.wrestlingusa.com/02%20wusa%20web%20root/highschoolbest/2008High%20SchoolAllClassRankings.html