MAJAM152

Congratulations to Adrian Origel Congratulations to from North Newton for signing with Indianapolis. Projected to wrestle 125, 133.
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This was an incredible weekend of wrestling, and the Brownsburg Bulldogs and coaching staff earned it.  Congrats Coach Snyder and team.  Love competing and coaching against you guys, and the purple dogs deserve all the praise and celebration.  
 
Brownsburg and Center Grove showed up and competed hard.  Congrats to both of those great teams and coaching staffs.
 
Coach Lorek
Crown Point High School Wr.
 
 
 

So, one of my favorite parts of wrestling season is sampling the different hot dogs the schools present during the year.  For disclosure, my son Chris Bohn and wrestles for Munster, the hot dog testing tour will follow the Munster schedule. I also taste test the dogs plain. Today I was at Goshen High School.  The hot dog was $3.  It was pretty plump, and was definitely not cheap.  The bun has the perfect amount of "freshness", meaning it wasn't hard, but it wasn't soaked.  I will definitely be picking up a couple of more tomorrow.  The Goshen hot dogs get 6 slices of pizza out of 8.  The next stop on the tour is Valparaiso high school on December 2.  Thank you for reading.

https://wzbd.com/index.php/2023/11/23/5-braves-learn-opponents-for-redhawk-duals/

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The time has finally arrived. It is officially wrasslin’ season, and I know you’re all begging me to just get on with the actual rankings. But first I’d like to cover what goes into the initial set of rankings, given there’s not yet season data to go off of. In no particular order:
 
1 - Last year’s Fort Wayne tournament. Those 14 brackets are virtually engraved in my brain by now, and the final point of last season for most of the wrestlers in these rankings plays arguably the biggest role.
 
2 - IHPO results. It will generally be the preseason tournament with the largest gathering of Indiana guys, especially within the Fort Wayne region.
 
3 - Trackwrestling profiles. Yeah, it’s obvious, but for good reason. It’s incredibly helpful. Did a RQ/SSQ first round exit compete in 20+ offseason tournaments and gradually show improvement through the offseason? Has there been a massive jump in weight or are they still staying around their weight class from last year?
 
4 - Rich parents. Every person has their price. Help me find mine and your child can find their way to #8 of their weight class. (Haha just kidding, unless…)
 
With all that being said, my weights are still going to be ridiculously off. Luckily I’ve been receiving a lot of messages over the last week to help me move some guys around, but there is still much information I’m not privy to. And I’m sure there will be at least one deserving guy that I somehow missed altogether. So if you see a mistake, feel free to correct me. I also want to acknowledge that you will see differences between mine and the state rankings. This is surprisingly normal. Mike and I do not share the same brain(aside from that one weekend I asked to borrow his in 2021), and will see some things differently, especially early on in the season.
 
One more thing to note; there has been a shake-up in the teams in the semi-state, and because the Fort Wayne semi-state apparently isn’t allowed to have nice things, last year’s team champions Rochester have been moved to East Chicago. While a tough loss for us, we get back a solid Wawasee team returning three state & three semi-state qualifiers in exchange. 
 
Okay. Let’s do this.
 
106:
1 - Jensen Boyd - Delta (9th)
-Boyd will start off his high school career absurdly decorated for a freshman. With a 2022 middle school state championship, 2023 ISWA triple crown, IHPO runner-up, and Fargo 3rd place honors in Greco-Roman this summer, amongst many other national accolades, Boyd immediately becomes the front runner at this weight. Throw in excellent practice partners in Delta’s lower weights, and Boyd should continue to improve as his season goes on. He’s a legitimate state champion threat, if not the favorite, at 106.
 
2 - Julianna O’Campo - New Haven (11th) - SQ @ 106 (44-3)
-Here is a list of all female Al Smith placers in Indiana history:
Julianna O’Campo
 
Here is a list of all female Al Smith *winners* in Indiana history:
Julianna O’Campo
 
Here is a list of all female 2x state qualifiers in Indiana history:
Julianna O’Campo
 
If you haven’t caught on yet, she’s pretty dang good. Through two seasons, she has already made a name for herself as another Indiana wrestling lady trailblazer, and in her third campaign I would imagine she’ll make a strong run for more history as a state placer.
 
3 - Javier Henry - Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (10th) - SSQ @ 106 (28-13)
-Assuming Henry is back down at 106 for his sophomore season, he would be one of very few returning semi-state qualifiers in the field. That experience and likely extra weight could help catapult him further after being eliminated in the first round last season.
 
4 - Daigan Barbosa - Cowan (11th) - RQ @ 106 (27-6)
-While his season ended at regionals last season, Barbosa was in a brutal 106 regional bracket featuring a state 3rd placer, two ticket rounders, and a 2x SSQ. Looking like he’ll stay at 106 this season, he could be primed for a great junior season in a Cowan program that has been steadily coming up the last few years.
 
5 - Nathan Spears - Muncie Central (11th) - Sect. Q @ 106 (31-10)
-Also a victim of the grueling Delta 106 lb. bracket for, Spears was sadly the first one out of the top 5. Another year of experience and filling out, and he is likely to take the step to break through from sectional and beyond.
 
6 - Charlie Fleshman - Central Noble (10th) - RQ @ 106 (22-11)
-Fleshman is returning to 106 this season after a season-ending regional loss. He put in some work over the offseason and could take a big step up as a second-year lightweight.


 
113:
1 - Ayden Bollinger - Delta (11th) - 3rd place @ 106 (42-1)
-Bollinger has made it to the final dance in both of his previous seasons, but last year he took a huge step from just qualifier to semi-state champion and state 3rd placer. His only loss of the season came in the state semifinals to the soon-to-be-champ Revin Dickman, and with Dickman likely at 113 as well, Ayden will be looking to avenge the loss come February. With terrific coaching and drill partners, he may be able to take the necessary steps to give Delta a realistic chance at the first two champions on Saturday night. 
 
2 - Levi Johns - Bluffton (11th) - SQ @ 113 (39-4)
-Very hot on Bollinger’s trail is another 2x state qualifier through two seasons. Johns placed 8th at 106 lbs his freshman season but fell short on Friday night last season in an attempt to get another medal. No doubt Johns should bounce back this season and be a favorite to step on the podium once again. He could very well come out of this weight on top at the Wayne. While Bollinger was undersized at the time, Johns defeated him 8-0 at regionals while they were freshman. There’s no reason to believe he couldn’t do it again.
 
3 - Kaleb Salazar - Wawasee (12th) - SQ @ 106 (36-6)
-Welcome to da Fort, Wawasee. First up in the rankings is Kaleb Salazar, who has made a next step progression each year thus far. He’s gone from a first round semi state exit as a freshman, to a ticket round appearance the next year, and finally cracked through last year for his sweet Indy trip. Patterns suggest Salazar will be in hot pursuit of a placement this season, though he’ll now have to run with the big dogs in Fort Wayne in order to get back.
 
4 - Rex Moore - Manchester (10th) - SQ @ 106 (23-6)
-Moore ended off a good year #1 with a state qualification, following a regular season with multiple high quality wins from guys within his bracket. Up one weight, Moore will continue to work toward his first semi-state championship and/or grabbing a state medal.
 
5 - Abrum Swathwood - Garrett (9th)
-A good example of how much IHPO can help your initial ranking, Swathwood had a wonderful tournament. He took down two ticket rounders on the day, including a quick pin over Woods of Portage one round after Woods knocked off Levi Johns. Add in an 8th place medal from middle school state last season, Swathwood looks to be one of the quickest impact freshman in the semi-state for this upcoming season.
 
6 - Karrington Cooper - New Haven (12th) - TR @ 113 (39-7)
-Two seasons ago, Cooper was a regional qualifier at 120. One year and 7 fewer pounds later, Cooper came into the postseason as a long, lanky 113lber and looked very impressive on the way. His season drew to an intense close in the ticket round with a 2 point loss, and Karrington will be tough for any Fort Wayne 113lbers who he comes across.
 
7 - Kealen Fuller - East Noble (11th) - TR @ 106 (25-7)
-Fuller spent a good portion of the season in the the top 4 of the ranking, but suffered a slight upset to Aden Hartman in the regional championship last year. While he still competed in the ticket round for a second consecutive season, Fuller’s chances at pushing through would have been better had he taken care of business at regional, which is something he’ll attempt to right the ship on.
 
8 - Alex Delacruz - Angola (10th) - SSQ @ 106 (33-10)
-A semi-state qualifier at 106 as a freshman, Delacruz heads up one weight class. After getting some offseason work in, Alex should be able to replicate, if not improve, on last year’s escapades. 

 
120:
1 - Jalen May - Kokomo (12th) - 7th @ 113 (45-2)
-May captured both his second semi-state championship and state medal this last season, making it through to Gainsbridge without any marks in the L column. Jalen hasn’t been bested by any of his semi-state opponents in the last two seasons as he looks to be the clear favorite for his third semi-state championship. For the final go-round in high school, he’ll look for that third state medal to be his first gold one.
 
2 - Braylon McIntire - North Miami (10th) - TR @ 113 (39-2)
-McIntire had a fantastic freshman campaign that ended on a rather sour note. After starting the season 38-0, he lost to eventual champ May in the regional finals, and drew into runner-up Johns for the ticket round. McIntire had a conference and sectional victory over Brayden Raber, who managed to punch his ticket. North Miami looks to be on the rise, and McIntire should be improved from his freshman year looking for his first date with Indy’s podium.
 
3 - Kamaron Straw - Angola (11th) - SSQ @ 113 (35-3)
-Straw took a tough loss in the first round of semi state last season following a ticket round appearance the previous season. His bracket was brutal last year, and things are looking the same this season, but he squared off against a plethora of great wrestlers last season and should be prepared for a tough road to his first state appearance.
 
4 - Blake Byerley - East Noble (12th) - Sect. Q @ 113 (20-2)
-Byerley was probably the toughest kid in this whole semi-state to rank. There’s no other way to put it other than Blake had a super tough day at sectionals for his standards, coming into the day undefeated on the season but leaving without a regional qualification. Prior to sectionals, Byerley had victories over a lot of tough wrestlers in this field, including two wins over state qualifiers and at least three more over ticket rounders. After qualifying for semi-state his first two seasons, Blake should likely use last year’s early exit as extra motivation to make it even further for his final run.
 
5 - Cameron Senter - Wawasee (10th) - SQ @ 113 (31-11)
-Senter came on strong as his freshman season went on, qualifying for the state finals out of the East Chicago semi-state. Cameron didn’t have the greatest results last season vs. Fort Wayne guys, but now he’ll need to be getting through them if he wants to make another trip back to Gainsbridge.
 
6 - Hunter Douglas - Norwell (10th) - SSQ @ 106 (30-4)
-Douglas had the curtain close on a great freshman campaign with a first round semi-state loss to Rex Moore. He heads up two weights and will be in the mix to punch his first ticket in an incredibly deep weight class to navigate.
 
7 - Cole Hinkel - Goshen (12th) - SSQ @ 113 (39-6)
-Hinkel made vast improvements last year by qualifying for semi-state for the first time in his high school career. Hinkel had wins over a plethora of others in his bracket and while tough, Cole will look  to make his first stage finals appearance for his last dance.
 
8 - Bowen Keith - Cowan (12th) - SSQ @ 120 (24-9)
-Keith pulled out some magic in 2022, navigating through his semi-state quarter bracket as a regional 4th. While he couldn’t replicate the success last season, his heroics two seasons ago should remind us all that Bowen is dangerous, no matter his regional placement.

 
126:
1 - Tanner Tishner - Western (12th) - 5th @ 120 (33-2)
-Tishner will come into his senior season searching for something nobody else in these rankings has a shot at; his fourth straight semi-state championship. A two-time state  placer with an 8th place medal as well in 2021, Tishner is the clear front-runner at what may be the deepest weight out of Ft. Wayne. While not the highest returning placer at the weight, Tanner handily beat the soon-to-be state 4th placer for his semi-state title and will be in hot pursuit of his first Gainsbridge semi-finals appearance this season.
 
2 - Neal Mosier - Delta (12th) - 4th @120 (40-3)
-Mosier has qualified for the state finals each of his last two seasons, and came away with a 6th and 4th place medal for his efforts. Mosier has made steady improvements each year of his career and would like to cross off both a semi-state & state championship off of his to-do list as a senior. Neal is a key cog in the brutal Delta machine for this season, and it stands to reason that iron is going to keep sharpening iron in that practice room. There is also a possibility Mosier returns to 120 this season, where he would be equally as big a threat.
 
3 - Brayden Raber - Maconaquah (12th) - SQ @ 113 (36-10)
-Raber made his first semi-state showing as a sophomore and was bested in the ticket round. He made it back last season, and this time was not held up by the ticket round. Brayden peaked at the perfect time last year, but will now being more of a target as he comes into his senior year a returning state qualifier.
 
4 - Lane Snyder - Eastside (10th) - TR @ 113 (27-8)
-The ticket round victim of Raber’s solid day last season, Snyder captured his first regional championship last season following a sectional 4th place as a freshman. If Lane makes a similar jump heading into this year, his ceiling is definitely higher than a ticket round exit. 
 
5 - Taye Curtis - Jay County (12th) - SSQ @ 120 (32-5)
-Curtis has qualified for semi-state every season to this point, though last year he had to pull out of competing at the tournament following a 2nd place finish at regionals, so we’ll never know if he could also have a state qualification under his belt. Taye’s name has been floating around the rankings for what seems like an eternity to me. For his final season, Curtis will look to find that extra gear to get him over the semi-state hump.
 
6 - Calix Truex - Northwood (11th) - SSQ @ 120 (23-6)
-Much like Curtis before him, Truex has qualified for semi-state every time possible yet could not compete this last season after an injury default in his 3rd place regional match-up. As a freshman, Truex made it all the way to the ticket round before having his season end and will attempt to break through to the state finals for the first time.
 
7 - Matthew Senn - Fairfield (11th) - TR @ 120 (32-10)
-Senn is another in this bracket who has yet to have his season end at regionals or earlier. He made a step-up in between the seasons though, going from a first round exit to a ticket rounder last year. The only way to improve in his junior season would be his first (paid for) ticket down to Indy. 
 
8 - Raef Keith - Cowan (12th) - SSQ @ 113 (24-6)
-Another tough lighter weight out of Cowan, Raef Keith qualified for not only regionals but also semi-state for the first time in his junior campaign. Up two weight classes, Keith will try to extend his season yet again and go out in the final weekend this time around.

 
132:
1 - Carter Fielden - Garrett (10th) - 6th @ 120 (34-10)
-Fielden continually showed improvement as his freshman postseason went on. After taking some bumps on the regular season, Fielden went on a tear at semi-state. After a dominating ticket round pin over a senior, Fielden would go on to avenge a regional loss in the third place bout, flipping a 13-5 loss the week prior into a 2-0 win for himself. Things didn’t slow down for Carter there, winning two matches in Indy for a 6th place finish in his first season. This year, Fielden will no longer be under anybody’s radar, instead he will be an early favorite to come out with his first semi-state championship.
 
2 - Cody Rowles - Jay County (12th) - SQ @ 126 (37-4)
-Rowles is a 2x state qualifier with a sophomore ticket round season in between. While he has yet to come away from any of his seasons with a state medal, he has consistently been a mainstay toward the top of my rankings over the last three seasons. With the great coaching and practice partners around him at Jay County, Rowles should finish off his senior season as his strongest. No matter which weight he ends up going, Cody will be a strong threat to come away with his first state finals placement.
 
3 - Drew Waldon - DeKalb (11th) - SQ @ 113 (34-3)
-Waldon followed up his freshman ticket round season with a state qualification as a sophomore. He’s put on some weight this season, but should adjust to a higher weight just fine. Waldon kicked it into high gear as soon as the postseason hit, avenging his only regular season loss (8-0) with a 13-5 win at sectionals, and followed things up with a regional championship. If Waldon’s progression continues like this, just qualifying for state again may not be satisfying enough for the Barons.
 
4 - Tye Linser - Western (12th) - SSQ @ 132 (31-5)
-Linser was a regional champion last season and received the pleasure of drawing a regional 4th placer who ended up being a state qualifier. Tye has been at semi-state to end each of his seasons so far, but he’s been highly competitive with the top guys at his weights. Returning to 132, he has a fantastic shot at finally getting the 800 lb. gorilla off his back and punching his ticket to the state finals.
 
5 - Sam Mosier - Delta (9th)
-Fresh off a runner-up finish at middle school state last, Mosier 2.0 comes in as one of the top freshmen across the semi-state. Delta’s lineup, especially in the lighter weights portion, should keep Mosier battle tested and constantly improving. If Neal ends up dropping to 120, Sam would then slot in at 126 and perhaps be an even bigger threat to kick off his high school career.
 
6 - Cole Stuffel - Yorktown (12th) - SSQ @ 126 (30-9)
-Stuffel started the postseason off hot as can be. He started things off by giving Jackson Bradley his first loss(by fall, no less) in pursuit of a sectional championship. He suffered a very minor semi-state upset in round 1 but spent the entire season in the rankings and certainly hadn’t been dropped from the radar. He’s one of a few Yorktown seniors vying for their first trip to the Artist Formerly Known as Banker’s Life.
 
7 - Alex Ousley- Maconaquah (12th) - SSQ @ 126 (27-9)
-Ousley qualified for semi-state for the first time last season. He lost a 9-8 squeaker in the first round, and will be primed to improve upon that for his senior season.
 
8 - Bradin Daniels - Union City (11th) - SSQ @ 126 (28-9)
 -Daniels also qualified for semi-state for the first time one season ago. Placing 4th in a brutal regional bracket, Daniels ended up with semi-state champ Schlaback in round 1. He’ll be back this season hoping for a more favorable draw.

 
138:
1 - Tony Wood - Jay County (12th) - 7th @ 138 (43-2)
-Wood is a 3x state qualifier who captured both his first semi-state championship and placement last season. While 7th in state is nothing at all to scoff at, I can imagine Tony was disappointed not to place higher after coming into the state finals undefeated. Wood is coming off an impressive 9-win, 4th place performance at IHPO in recent months, and he will be highly battle-tested entering the season. While a tough task, and another state placer at the weight to compete with, it’s not unbelievable to say Tony could threaten for the top spot on the podium for his final season.
 
2 - Jackson Bradley - Cowan (10th) - 8th @ 126 (31-5)
-Bradley made it through his initial regular season campaign without any losses entering the postseason. After a sectional hiccup, Bradley righted the ship with a tough regional championship, taking out 2x state qualifier Rowles in the semifinals before avenging his sectional loss to Cole Stuffel. Jackson kept his hand hot by punching his ticket and then winning a super tight Friday night match-up for his first state medal. Bradley is on the right trajectory to be a 4x placer, and will look to keep things rolling in pursuit of his first semi-state championship as well.
 
3 - Linkin Carter - Eastside (10th) - SQ @ 120 (35-10)
-Another sophomore coming off a state qualification in year #1, Carter has packed on some weight. and could even be a big 138 after competing at 147 for IHPO. While he didn’t place last season, Linkin gathered wins over 6th place Carter Fielden for both sectional and regional championships, proving that he is capable of getting on the podium himself if he’s on his top game. Linkin Carter is another young name Ft. Wayne semi state fans will be seeing a lot in the future.
 
4 - Justin Boone - Yorktown (12th) - TR @ 132 (31-6)
-Boone came onto the scene strong last season and didn’t slow down. After a regional exit as a sophomore, Justin came back a much stronger wrestler the following year and made it up to the ticket round. Boone’s trackwrestling profile is filled with tournaments since the postseason. He’s clearly been putting in some extra work and will likely have some of the guys ahead of him sweating at some point this season.
 
5 - Cam Dews - Elkhart (12th) - TR @ 132 (19-6)
-Dews came into the postseason relatively under my radar and made a fool of me. He knocked off a very game Dallas Davidson in the first round of regionals and defeated Fremont senior Kamer for 3rd place, one weekend before Kamer navigated his way to punching his ticket. Cam made it to the ticket round himself, but sadly ran into the semi-state champion while the other three from his regional punched their tickets. Now viewed as more of a frontrunner than a darkhorse, Dews will try to end his senior season at Gainsbridge.
 
6 - Dallas Davidson - Angola (10th) - RQ @ 132 (38-4)
-As stated above, Davidson was knocked out in the first round of regionals, but not before having an impressive freshman season, including a win over Brody Hagewood who made it to state. As the fifth best wrestler in a regional with four ticket rounders, Davidson’s season likely ended earlier than it would have under different circumstances. He’ll look to bounce back as a sophomore and challenge for a trip to state.
 
7 - Dalton Tuttle - Delta (12th) - SSQ @ 132 (28-11)
-Tuttle returns for a senior season after being eliminated in round 1 of semi-state in his last showing. Delta’s coaching, schedule, and partners will keep busy and prepared for the postseason.
 
8 - Graysen Beasley - Northridge (12th) - SSQ @ 126 (32-8)
-Beasley nearly pulled off a huge round 1 upset of Cody Rowles in his first trip to the semi-state. Despite coming up short, the close result shows that Beasley will be a threat at the weight this year.

 
144:
1 - Easton Doster - New Haven (11th) - 5th @ 132 (25-1)
-Doster enters his junior season as the 144 favorite coming off a year including a semi-state championship and state placement. Easton suffered his sole loss of the season in the state quarterfinals before bouncing back for two straight and claiming 5th place. Doster is attempting to go 3/3 on state qualifications this season, as well as climb up some extra spots on the podium this go-round. 
 
2 - Kolten Rhonemus - Delta (12th) - SQ @ 145 (36-7)
-Rhonemus qualified for semi-state as a sophomore and then took it one step further as a junior by making it to the final dance. Not to beat this drum too much, but with the way Delta has been on the rise and with excellent practice partners all around him, Rhonemus could be fixing to make another leap this season and take some hardware home with him. Kolten was a tough out for anybody he wrestled last season, and this year should be no different.
 
3 - Brody Hagewood - Prairie Heights (11th) - SQ @ 132 (35-7)
-Hagewood also clocked in his first state finals appearance last season following a ticket round exit as a freshman. Hagewood wrestled a very tough schedule last year given his regional weight class, but he peaked at the right time and knocked off a former state qualifier in the to punch his ticket. Brother Brock, also a state qualifier last season, and Brody will help push each other to make the necessary adjustments to get on the podium.
 
4 - Ethan Fike - Eastside (10th) - TR @ 126 (33-13)
-Fike was another great example of a freshman gradually improving through the season last year. Despite the 13 losses, he faced off with plenty of decorated wrestlers and kept the scoring margin razor-thin in many losses. After giving 4x state qualifier Hayden Brady everything he could handle at sectionals & regionals, Ethan’s season ended in the ticket round. Fike bumps up a few weights but was incredibly tough to score on last season, and with a year of experience under his belt he’ll be gunning for his first of hopefully multiple Indianapolis trips.
 
5 - Taiden Chambers - West Noble (12th) - TR @ 138 (32-7)
-Chambers went under my radar for most of last season but finished off his year strong with a trip to the ticket round, preventing Briar Munsey from making it back for a second year. Taiden may no longer be under the radar, and will attempt to go out with a bang for his first finals appearance on his last try.
 
6  - Wyatt Hoppes - Yorktown? (10th) - RQ @ 132 (30-6)
-Disclaimer: Apologies to Hoppes and Eastern (Greentown) if he is still attending school there, but his track profile switched to Yorktown in the offseason so I’m just trying to put 2 and 2 together. Regardless of where he is wrestling, Wyatt captured a sectional championship in his freshman season, though he did not wrestle at regionals for one reason or another and may be slightly forgotten about due to it. Hoppes looked great as a freshman and should build on it as a sophomore.
 
7 - Blake Luginbill - Bellmont (12th) - SSQ @ 144 (19-16)
-After a ticket round appearance at 126 lbs. as a sophomore, Luginbill jumped up to 145 last season. While he didn’t make the ticket round again, Blake still navigated his way to semi-state while bumping three weight classes. Another year more acclimated at 144, and Luginbill will look for his best season to date.
 
8 - Tyson Kendall - Oak Hill (12th) - SSQ @ 138 (32-6)
-Kendall has made it to semi-state every season he’s been in high school, but has yet to make it to the big show, or even the ticket round. Tyson has been challenged by great wrestlers for three years now and will enter his senior year prepared.
 
150:
1 - Cameron Clark - Jay County (12th) - SQ @ 145 (36-3)
-Clark comes into his senior campaign with 3 trips to Gainsbridge to his name already, including a semi-state championship and a 7th place medal during his sophomore season. Clark took a slight step back last year, but has been a threat to everybody in his Wayne weights since entering high school. He’ll be the early favorite to grab his second semi-state championship and hopefully go even further the following week.
 
2 - Luke Teusch - Huntington North (12th) - SQ @ 145 (43-3)
-After two unsuccessful semi-state trips, Teusch carried a 41-0 record into Fort Wayne as a junior and broke through to the state finals for the first time. He did not place, but has a great shot to do so as a senior, in addition to capturing his first semi-state championship.
 
3 - Brock Hagewood - Prairie Heights (11th) - SQ @ 138 (33-5)
-Hagewood’s freshman outing ended in the first round of semi-state, but he bounced back strongly last season with an overtime thriller victory in the ticket round. Brock additionally has two Al Smith placements to his name so far, an impressive feat for anybody yet to enter their third season.
 
4 - Aidan Elkins - New Haven (12th) - TR @ 145 (32-8)
-Elkins made a massive leap last season, going from an 11-18 sophomore record to 32-8 and a legitimate ticket rounder. If he can replicate another jump like that, Aidan will be a certified threat to not only his semi-state, but to Indiana 150 lbers as a whole. Smack-dab between Doster and a very game Ian Amstutz in the New Haven lineup, Elkins will get plenty of good looks just in practice to help keep him sharp for the season. 
 
5 - Teegan Clouse - West Noble (11th) - TR @ 145 (38-10)
-Helping Chambers give West Noble ticket rounders back-to-back, Clouse improved from his first round exit the year prior. Teegan will enter his junior season with assumedly high expectations for himself, and could capture his first of two qualifications to state.
 
6 - Jayden Jett - Cowan (12th) - RQ @ 132 (28-4)
-A ticket rounder in 2022, Jett was knocked out of a tough regional bracket by a returning state qualifier. Jayden has packed on some extra points for his last hurrah, and will be a tough out for anybody trying to prevent him from returning to the ticket round.
 
7 - Isaiah Meyer - South Adams (10th) - RQ @ 138 (23-4)
-Meyer qualified for regionals to end an impressive freshman season, as he did not actually compete at the regional tournament. Meyer very well could have been in the ticket round had his season not ended prematurely, and will hopefully end his sophomore year on a higher note.
 
8 - Ethan Rodriguez - Wawasee (11th) - SSQ @ 138 (29-10)
-Part of the Wawasee infiltration upon our pure semi-state, Rodriguez is one three returning semi state qualifiers who didn’t make it further. Ethan had some good wins over kids from our semi-state last year and should make the transition just fine.

 
157:
1 - Michell Betz - Western (12th) - 3rd @ 152 (40-2)
-Betz ended last season as unquestionably one of the top P4P guys in the semi-state, and this year should be no different. After getting bounced at regionals as a freshman, Mitchell went to work in the offseason and never looked back. After two straight seasons of semi-state championships and state medals, those may not cut it anymore. Betz will have his sights set on his last IHSAA match taking place under a spotlight. 
 
2 - Gavin Davis - Bellmont (11th) - SQ @ 152 (41-7)
-Davis was incredibly battle-tested this season with all 7 of his losses being to very quality opponents. Davis qualified for the state finals and was a hair away from placing as well, losing on Friday night by only a point while the wrestler he beat in the semi-finals a week prior won his Friday match. It’s highly likely Davis will make it back as a junior and come away with a new friend in the podium.
 
3 -  Kevon Russell - Fort Wayne Snider (12th) - TR @ 152 (12-4)
-Russell didn’t have a high match count last year, but made the matches he did wrestle count, improving on his previous SSQ season by making the ticket round, arguably as the best non-qualifier in his bracket. With only one more season to go, Russell will be one of the top dogs at this weight seeking his first state trip.
 
4 - Colton Bollenbacher - South Adams (12th) - RQ @ 152 (23-13)
-2022 semi-state qualifier Bollenbacher jumped from 132 to 152 last season, and despite a solid season his year ended at regionals. Now with a year more acclimated to the weight jump, Bollenbacher will try to get back to semi-state or better.
 
5 - Luke Gleave - Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (12th) - RQ @ 160 (26-13)
-A regional qualifier coming down just a few pounds, Gleave could be looking at his best season to date. With all the seniors at 152 last year, it leaves plenty of kids to make a bigger name for themselves this season, and Gleave could be a big beneficiary.
 
6 - Ty Korporal - Eastbrook (12th) - RQ @ 152 (40-6)
-Korporal had a rare regional exit with 40 wins on the season. He will look to bounce back strongly from the early exit, and thankfully has a schedule loaded with matches to help get more experience throughout the year.
 
7 - Cam Freedline - Elkhart (12th) - RQ @ 160 (21-12)
-Freedline also saw his season end at regionals last year, but returns battle-tested and ready to make the next jump.
 
8 - Ian Amstutz - New Haven (12th) - RQ @ 152 (24-19)
-Amstutz lost the first round of regionals by one point. After an offseason of work and with two studs below him in the lineup to train with, Amstutz could be primed for a breakout year.


 
165:
1 - Duke Myers - Bellmont (12th) - 7th @ 170 (43-5)
-Myers feels like one of those names I’ve been tanking for the last seven years, making an immediate impact as a freshman and never falling off. The Grand Duke of Bellmont has ended each season at state with two medals in his trophy case. Myers won his first semi-state championship last season, and will be hungry for more as a senior. The Battling Brave will be one of the stronger 165 lbers and could be threatening for a state championship come February.
 
2 - Chase Leech - Garrett (12th) - TR @ 160 (37-2)
-After qualifying at 152 as a freshman and sophomore, Leech just missed out on a Gainsbridge trip for the first time last season, dropping an overtime heartbreaker in the ticket round. Chase’s only other loss on the season came in the finals of the Al Smith, which is about as understandable of a regular season loss you’ll ever see in Indiana. Leech will have to navigate an incredibly tough 165 weight to add a third state qualification to his resume, but he will be one of the favorites to do so and perhaps bring home his first bit of hardware.
 
3 - Levi Abbott - Cowan (12th) - SQ @ 160 (33-5)
-Another returning state qualifier at this stacked weight, Abbott will come in no longer a dark horse like last year. He’s improved from regionals, to semi-state, and finally state last season. Natural progression says that Abbott should be in contention to finish off his career on the final Saturday of the year rather than on Friday night.
 
4 - Deaglan Pleak - Western (12th) - TR @ 160 (27-7)
-Pleak has made it to the ticket round in each of his last two seasons but fell short. Last season, he had already defeated his blood round victor earlier in the season, showing he is more than capable of hanging around the top guys in his weight. Pleak will be hoping the old saying “third time’s a charm” rings true for him in his final year.
 
5 - Reazon Davenport - Daleville (12th) - SSQ @ 160 (23-7)
-Every season for Davenport to this point has ended with wrestling at semi-state. Unfortunately he has yet to get over the round 1 hump, but this is a new season, and as a senior, it stands to Reazon that just making the ticket round would not be an acceptable ending for Davenport’s career. 
 
6 - Kaeb Stebbins - Delta (11th) - SSQ @ 152 (31-6)
-Stebbins made a big jump in weight last season from his 126 lb freshman days, but it certainly didn’t negatively affect his performance, improving from a regional exit to a semi-state qualifier. If Kaeb takes another leap reminiscent of the previous year, he could have a ticket to Gainsbridge with his name written all over it. 
 
7 - Will Warnock - Oak Hill (12th) - SSQ @ 160 (31-7)
-Warnock managed to make it to semi-state for the first time last season, thanks in large part to an impressive first round regional match-up with Manchester senior Jordan Ayres, who spent a majority of last season in my top 8. He Will get one more shot to extend his season one extra week.
 
8 - Dominic Dunn - DeKalb (11th) - SSQ @ 170 (21-17) 
-Through two high school seasons, Dunn has already captured 2 sectional championships and broke through to semi-state last season. Dominic seemed to kick it into an extra gear starting at sectionals last year and will continue this season as he seeks asylum in the confines of the Fieldhouse.
 
175:
1 - Braxton Russell - Delta (12th) - 8th @ 170 (35-8)
-Russell managed his second consecutive appearance at the state finals last season, though took home a medal unlike the year prior. Russell has noticeably improved each year of his high school career, and he’ll be looking to climb much higher on the podium for his final season, including standing atop his semi state podium for the first time.
 
2 - Ethan Farnell - Maconaquah (11th) - TR @ 170 (36-7)
-Farnell made the jump from freshman regional exit to sophomore ticket rounder, in the process holding the bracket’s champion to a 2-point decision. With another year bulking up, Farnell will be dangerous at 175. He’s long, somewhat funky, and has a lot of strength to match the length. He could he closing in on his first trip to the state finals.
 
3 - Ethan Smith - Fort Wayne Snider (12th) - TR @ 160 (27-6)
-Smith followed the same format I’ve covered on many other descriptions so far; currently coming off his first ticket round appearance following a 2022 regional exit. Nevertheless, Ethan made a big jump last year and was a constant challenge for even the top guys of the weight class. Look for him to finish his career in Indianapolis.
 
4 - Ethan Freedline - Elkhart (12th) - TR @ 170 (29-8)
-Freedline had a bit of a mixed bag of a season last year, taking a few head scratching losses while also capturing wins over very tough guys. He came into his second semi-state showing with a regional championship, but was ultimately defeated in the ticket round by a soon-to-be state placer. Our third consecutive Ethan from a different regional has just as great a shot as the two ahead of him.
 
5 - Will Jeffries - Carroll (11th) - SSQ @ 182 (25-8)
-Jeffries returns for his junior season following two semi-state exits prior to this season. He started out at 170, moved to 182 last year, and Will now finds himself in the happy middle with our new high school weight class changes(that totally don’t look at all redundant when compared to the heavier college weights). Jeffries will hope attempt #3 is the breakthrough.
 
6 - Hartley Hoover - North Miami (10th) - TR @ 145 (34-7)
-Hoover managed to track down some Whey Protein powder in the offseason, moving all the way up from 145 lbs as a freshman, where he ultimately fell short in the ticket round. While a 30 pound weight jump can be difficult to adjust to, I think Hoover’s technique is solid enough to make the transition.
 
7 -  Peyton Wagoner - Yorktown (12th) - SSQ @ 170 (31-9)
-Joining Stuffel & Boone as Yorktown seniors gunning for their first state qualification, Wagoner’s first semi-state run ended in the first round last season. The field won’t be much easier this year with most 170 lb qualifiers returning, but a state finals appearance for Peyton would not at all be surprising.
 
8 - Matt Levitz - Prairie Heights (12th) - SSQ @ 160 (16-10)
-Levitz, the fourth most uncommon last name around the Prairie Heights parts, made it to semi-state for the first time in three years as a starter, despite running into a very tough Ethan Smith in the first round. Levitz will try to shake last season’s ending off though and become the first Levitz in Prairie Heights history(just guessing, haven’t fact-checked) to make the state finals.
 
190:
1 - Laish Detwiler - Goshen (12th) - 8th @ 182 (43-7)
-After sniffing the ticket round in 2022, Detwiler came back even stronger for his junior campaign, ending his season with an 8th place medal. The road was not easy, as he placed 4th at semi-state and had to take down EV champion Brewer on Friday.  All 7 of his losses last season came to other state placers, including a 3-1 series with Kaden Lone. The top 3 from 182 last year are all gone, leaving Laish as the initial top dog of the weight, though he could be getting some company from previously-195-lbers.
 
2 - Trevor Currie - Adams Central (12th) - TR @ 195 (39-5)
-Currie has been bothering heavier weight upperclassmen since he was a freshman, qualifying for semi-state the past three seasons. After two years of falling in the ticket round, Currie has come so close but has yet to capture a spot on the podium, in Indianapolis or Fort Wayne. Trevor has been making life difficult for his opponents all throughout high school, and it’s likely this is the year everything pays off for him.
 
3 - Donovan Blair - Wawasee (12th) - SQ @ 195 (29-14)
-Blair has an excellent run at semi-state, working all the way up to a second place finish. He enters a loaded bracket at 190 and will be put to the semi-state grind quickly. 
 
4 - Mickey Daring - Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (12th) - TR @ 195 (36-4)
-Daring was on a roll last season, capturing a regional championship en route to his second straight semi-state appearance. Unfortunately he fell short in the ticket round in a positively stacked 195 bracket. While still some tough returners, the field has thinned out quite a bit from last year, leaving Daring as one of the favorites to make his Gainsbridge trip on a team bus.
 
5 -  Austin Ringeisen - Maconaquah (11th) - TR @ 182 (40-3)
-Ringeisen won his regional bracket last season, and was awarded with a quarter-bracket including two 2x SSQs and a near-future state medalist. Ouch, talk about a rough run. Austin was competing at semi state for the second time and made it a match further than in 2022. One more go at it, and he’ll try to make the most by ending things at state.
 
6 - Bryce Wenk - Jay County (12th) - SSQ @ 182 (30-7)
-After spending time at 195 earlier in the season, Wenk dropped to 182 prior to the postseason time. He failed to make the ticket round for a second year due a nail-biting OT match with state placer Detwiler in round 1. Punching his ticket will still be difficult for Wenk, however there are many fewer land mines to worry about this season.
 
7 - Elias Cressell - Wabash (12th) - SSQ @ 220 (24-9)
-Cressell competed at 220 last year and made it to semi-state. Now competing thirty pounds lighter than last year, it will be interesting to see how much of a difference it will be for Cressell
 
8 - Eli Coolman - Leo (12th) - SSQ @ 195 (29-10)
-Coolman is a returning semi-state qualifier looking to change that sentence  to “Eli Coolman is a state qualifier.” 

 
215:
1 - Julante Hinton - Fort Wayne Northrop (12th) - 8th @ 220 (39-4)
-Hinton has qualified for state all three of his previous high school seasons, though last year was the big jump in which he grabbed his first semi-state championship and state medal in consecutive weeks. Hinton has a scary balance of strength and athleticism that can give anyone in the state a fright. His biggest competition from last season has moved both up and weight, and to a different semi-state, so Hinton will look to be the frontrunner to start the year off. 

 
2 - Keagan Martin - Bellmont (12th) - SQ @ 220 (46-3)
-Martin made his second trip to the Wayne count last year, qualifying for state for the first time. While Hinton is the favorite to repeat winning the weight, Keagan won’t be making it easy on him. Martin has shown tremendous progression over the last two years and will make every 215-lber in the state work their fullest to try and get a win off of him.
 
3 - Chad Washburn - Kokomo (12th) - SQ @ 195 (46-6)
-Washburn qualified for the state finals as a freshman, failed to return in his sophomore season, but bounced back last year to make it back to the main event for a second time. No doubt Chad will be gunning for that 3rd qualification, and along with rhat he’s still seeking his first semi-state championship and state placement.
 
4 - Travis Henke - Northridge (11th) - TR @ 220 (38-1)
-Henke suffered one of the biggest pains I could imagine for an Indiana wrestler: enters ticket round 38-0, leaves 38-1. Just a brutal ending to an otherwise perfect season to the point. Henke will likely use this as fuel and make his third trip to Ft. Wayne the one where he breaks through.
 
5 -  Jaxon Copas - Central Noble (12th) - SSQ @ 195 (32-4)
-Copas had a wonderful season end in the first round at semi-state, due to the ridiculously loaded 195 bracket. He wrestled 220 as a sophomore and will likely be going back up there to finish his career, preferably leaving with a medal around his neck.
 
6 - Breckan Maran - Fairfield (11th) - TR @ 220 (29-8)
-Maran qualified for semi-state for the first time as a sophomore and picked up a nice win over a tough Homestead’s Caleb Evans before falling in the ticket round. He wrestled Henke very tough at regionals as well, and will be another threat to join the Walk of Champions. 
 
7 - Keegan Bluhm - Adams Central (12th) - TR @ 220 (38-6)
-Another returning ticket rounder, this weight seems full of them, Bluhm will be right back in the fold as somebody with as good a chance as anybody else in the weight.
 
8 - Gabe Harty - Muncie Central (11th) - SSQ @ 195 (39-6)
-Harty finished off his sophomore season at semi-state, taking a round 1 loss in the aforementioned hellish 195 bracket. Now up at 220, an upperclassmen, and a lot of last year’s competition out of the picture, Harty is surely going into his best season yet.
 
285:
1 - James Hartleroad - DeKalb (10th) - TR @ 285 (31-11)
-Hartleroad came into semi-state last year as a freshman and pulled an “upset” in the first round over Juan Cruz before falling in the ticket round. Well, fast forward a few months and it turns out it wasn’t an upset at all, as Hartleroad leaves Fargo with a Greco-Roman championship. He’s seemingly been improving over the last year, and has to be considered the favorite coming in after his Fargo performance.
 
2 - Zac Wurm - Adams Central (12th) - SQ @ 285 (39-7)
-The only returning qualifier at the weight, Wurm looked great at semi state last season, gathering a 2nd placement in (I believe) his first trip to the Coliseum. As a returning senior state qualifier, Wurm will likely still be able to give Hartleroad everything he can ask for. There’s definitely a case that Wurm could be ranked #1 here to start the year.
 
3 - Juan Cruz - Bluffton (12th) - SSQ @ 285 (36-3)
-As previously mentioned, Cruz had a very great season that ended in round 1 by the DeKalb freshman, to the surprise of most. He spent the entire season to that point looking like an easy top 4 in the semi-state, and despite last year’s hiccup it’s very possible to accomplish that this season.
 
4 - Parker Hennessey - Heritage (12th) - TR @ 285 (28-8)
-Hennessey’s season ended one match away from being a state qualifier. Parker had been on the radar all season without ever taking a bad enough loss to take him off. This year, Hennessey will attempt to win that extra match to extend his season a week.
 
5 - Trevi Hillman-Conley - Peru (11th) - TR @ 285 (33-8)
-Another returning ticket rounder of two years running, Conley will look to end his third season one step further. 
 
6 - Ethan Dodson - Fort Wayne Snider (12th) - Injury
-Dodson had been a top guy the whole season, but unfortunately suffered an injury before sectionals. He should not just be forgotten about due to not being in the postseason last year, he will likely be in the ticket round at minimum.
 
7 - Isaac Moss - Delta (12th) - SSQ @ 285 (25-15)
-Moss made his first trip to semi-state last year, though he did not come away with any victories. With an extra year under his belt, expect to see Isaac taking it a step or two further this season.
 
8 - Collin Grayless - Homestead (12th) - SSQ @ 285 (16-16)
-Returning semi-state qualifier from Homestead, who wrestled a tough schedule for the 16-16 is misleading. Grayless will be itching to improve on the season and go further for his final season.


 
There you have it, I would love to give you all a proper outro, but I need to stop typing and and ignore my word documents for at least a few days of recovery. I will probably format things better later. Thank you, everybody, for your patience and information.



 

Lol I guess I should have been more clear that I meant toward the end of the weekend. I have my 1-8s at each weight(pending any additional messages letting me know about weights I’m off on), but I’m working hard on a preview write-up. Every kid is getting an excerpt talking about their last season/career.
 
I know the wait is annoying, but I’m trying to give you guys something great to make up for being the last by a long shot last preseason.

Any updates ? ? ? 

DID Y’ALL MISS ME?!
 
If not, then hopefully you’ll at least like me enough to listen to what I’ve got to say. Because if there’s anyone in the state of Indiana with the best mind for predictions, it’s me (please don’t verify that). IHPO has already been one of my favorite tournaments to cover, especially as a 3x former competitor of the tournament, and there are always some HOT matchups that are really essential to figuring out who put in the work this summer. There’s everything from nationally ranked matchups, clashes of state champions, unlikely rivalries due to weight changes, and breakout performances at this absolutely brutal single day tournament, and I’m here to analyze it all, and try to not only improve my credibility as a writer and predictor through thorough research and unrivaled intuition, but also to give you all the right information going into the tournament, for both those from Indiana, and the hundreds of out-of-state invaders looking to capture the illustrious title of IHPO Champion.
 
For this write-up, I’m going to follow a similar structure to how Flowrestling formats their World Championships previews, where I outline a couple title contenders, those who have a strong chance to win the tournament; placement contenders, those who aren’t quite at that level, but still very tough and capable of placing top 4; and a sleeper pick in each weight, chosen from the list of wrestlers not in the Stud List, that I think could make big things happen, and possibly claim that breakout performance that I mentioned happens so often in this tournament. I won’t ramble on anymore, here’s what’s going down this Sunday:
 
-quick note that I do not have access to the seeds at this tournament, so my predictions will be made regardless of seed-
 
109:
 
Title Contenders:
Caleb Noble
Mason Jones
Brady Byrd
 
A pair of Fargo All-Americans headline this weight, with 16U Fargo Runner-Up Caleb Noble and Junior Fargo 3rd Brady Byrd likely to hit in the finals. While Byrd did place in the junior division, which is typically a lot more difficult than 16U, it is important to note that Byrd competed at 100 pounds, while Noble wrestled at 106, meaning that Byrd is likely undersized going into this match. As much as I’d like to pick Indiana to win this match, Noble looked far too impressive during his Fargo run, and I think he is definitely the favorite to win this match, although a win from Byrd would not surprise me in the slightest. But that’s if he even makes it to the finals. 5th placer Mason Jones also strikes me as a title contender, which some really impressive results this off season validating his status as one of the best 106 pounders in the state, including a razor thin match with Delta’s Ayden Bollinger at Folkstyle State this year, in which he lost 8-7. I hate to define a guy by his losses (which you will see a lot in this write-up), but Bollinger was a bad dude going into last year’s state tournament, and was the man to beat in a lot of peoples’ eyes. Jones has proven that he’s now in that conversation too, so I’m excited to see him make his way through this bracket. 
 
Placement Contenders:
Braeydn Tammarine
Matthew Baylor
Jullianna O’Campo
Heather Crull
Lincoln Rohr
 
The 4th place spot seems up for grabs here, but Ohio 4th placer and Fargo bloodrounder Braedyn Tammarine seems to be the favorite, although there are a number of Indiana wrestlers that could possibly steal that spot from him. Indiana female superstars Julianna O’Campo and Heather Crull are looking to spoil a number of runs in this bracket, and have previously beaten many of the boys in this bracket. O’Campo specifically owns a win against Mason Jones in the finals of last year’s Al Smith, so it would not be surprising to see her best Jones again for a place on the podium. Has a girl ever placed at IHPO? I’m not sure, but if not, O’Campo is the one to do it. Indiana 8th placer Matthew Baylor also has a solid shot of making the podium, making it quite far in last year’s IHPO, even beating Michigan state champ Brady Baker along the way. Also don’t forget about Lincoln Rohr, a Super 32 MS 5th placer, and brother of Mason Rohr, who won at IHPO title just last year. He’ll be a threat to anyone in this bracket, and should be considered a dark horse here. 
 
Sleeper Pick: Jensen Boyd
 
Speaking of dark horses, Jensen Boyd is my sleeper pick for this bracket, solidifying his status as a dangerous man with a fall over Matthew Baylor at Folkstyle State this year, paired with a really solid run at Fargo this year that put him a round away from the bloodround.
 
Top 4:
Caleb Noble
Brady Byrd
Mason Jones
Braedyn Tammarine
 
116:
 
Title Contenders:
Revin Dickman
Nathan Rioux
 
This match intrigues me so much, and if you’ve seen only the previous results between these two, you might not understand why. State champion Revin Dickman had Rioux’s number last year, beating him a staggering SIX times in the past year, but since Rioux’s loss in the state finals last year, he’s been hard at work, building up quite the resume, one that has landed him in the #8 spot in the Flowrestling National Rankings, an honor that Dickman does not currently have. It should be noted that Rioux has remained at 106 for most of the off season, while Dickman has enjoyed most of his off season up at 113. Still, though, it’s hard to deny that Rioux has been impressive these past couple months, earning a 4th place finish at Fargo this year. I think that it’s too hard to blow off Dickman here, given their history, but I think this will be their closest meeting yet.
 
Placement Contenders:
Sammy Stewart
Co’ji Campbell
Brady Baker
Conor Mc Alary
Brice La Fleur
Ayden Bollinger
Jalen May
 
Did you know that there are FIVE state champions in this weight class. A trio of champs from Michigan headline the list of placement contenders here, with Brady Baker, Sammy Stewart, and Conor Mc Alary trying to place at IHPO for the first time. Now, with no disrespect to Michigan, and respect only to the strength of this tournament, I don’t think any of these guys place. Co’ji Campbell is a two-time state champion from Wisconsin, and won his last state title with ease, and that’s saying something, given the strength of Wisconsin’s wrestling as of recently. He doesn’t have any results that I can effectively compare to other wrestlers, but I think he is a very solid third place pick. In addition to all of these state champs, there are a number of placers here that I think could also do well. Brice La Fleur has had success at IHPO before, beating O’Campo 7-3 last year, and losing only 3-0 to Rochester’s Layne Horn, who had the best tournament run of his career up to that point. Ayden Bollinger, as previously mentioned, is a bad dude, and he could very easily beat any of the wrestlers in this weight class. I have him taking 4th, likely beating one of Michigan’s invaders along the way, but ultimately struggling to get past Campbell. Jalen May is a multiple time state placer that has some really great wins in his career, such as a win over Purdue freshman and La Porte superstar Ashton Jackson, along with some other notable wins that could make him a threat, although his 7th place finish at last year’s state tournament means he’ll have to turn some things around in order to be a podium threat.
 
Sleeper Pick: Gavin Ash
 
One of two twins from Monrovia, Gavin Ash is looking to make some moves after a solid postseason run last year that unfortunately ended in the ticket round. His twin brother, Isaac Ash, made it out of semi-state last year en route to a 4th place finish, and although I don’t necessarily believe that being the twin of a state placer makes you a state placer caliber wrestler, Ash’s results make me believe that he can have a breakout performance of his own.
 
Top 4:
Revin Dickman
Nate Rioux
Co’ji Campbell
Ayden Bollinger
 
123:
 
Title Contenders:
Charlie Larocca
Mason Rohr
Gavin Jendreas
Preston Haines
Joseph Curry
 
This weight is arguably the deepest weight in the tournament. A couple state champs, along with a number of wrestlers that are as good, make this weight wildly unpredictable, which is why there are five wrestlers that I believe could win this bracket. Ohio 3rd placer Mason Rohr is the returning champ here, but he’s going to have a HARD time reproducing these results. Charlie Larocca was a quite unexpected state champ last year, making his way through a brutal bracket that included Gavin Jendreas and Preston Haines, both of who are also in this bracket. I’m not so quick to think that Larocca should be considered the favorite against these two however, as Jendreas owns multiple wins over Larocca, including an impressive 11-0 at last year’s IHPO, and a much closer 5-3 win at last year’s Al Smith. Haines has beaten Jendreas in their last two meetings as well, both of which were quite close, but still demonstrating a dominance over Jendreas. And to make things even more complicated, Larocca has beaten Haines in their last two meetings, one in overtime at Team State, and a 3-1 win at the Mooresville Regional, so we have a little circle here that makes it a little difficult for me. I want to say that Jendreas is the strongest out of these three as of now, with a really impressive Fargo run that ended in the bloodround to Hockaday, and might have gone further had the Indiana teamkill not happened. One more name I want to point out in this list is Ohio state champ Joseph Curry. Curry was a runner-up last year, taking out Jendreas in an 8-3 match along the way. I think both wrestlers are much better now, but there will have to be a lot of improvement on Jendreas’s part in order for him to take out Curry
 
Placement Contenders:
Michael Kapenga
George Dennis
Jaxson Rosselli
Jack Guerrero
Luke Rioux
Layne Horn
 
I had to leave out a lot of very talented wrestlers from this list, only because there are so many studs at this weight class. Michigan state champ Michael Kapenga headlines this group, but I’m not very confident that he’s the strongest one out of this group. A particular wrestler I have my eye on is Michigan 3rd placer Jack Guerrero, who defeated Kapenga 5-1 during their state series, and snagged a 7-5 win over Preston Haines at the Rumble HS Duals this year. In possibly my most ambitious pick of this whole write-up, I think Guerrero navigates through this loaded field of state champs and runner-ups to find his way on the podium. Looking to do the same will be George Dennis, a Kentucky state runner-up; Jaxson Rosselli, an Ohio 3rd placer that also owns a win over Preston Haines in the past year; Luke Rioux, who placed 4th at last year’s IHPO and defeated Larocca during his IHPO run; and Layne Horn, who went on an absolute tear at last year’s IHPO with a 1-0 win against Revin Dickman and a 3-0 win against #17 Javaan Harbrough en route to a 3rd place finish. Unfortunately, with the sheer depth of this weight class, I think it will be very hard for any of them to recreate their past success at this tournament.
 
Sleeper Pick: Walter Hagedorn
 
Despite falling in the ticket round last year to eventual 4th placer Isaac Ash 4-2, Hagedorn is a state caliber athlete, and has defeated multiple podium level wrestlers this off season, including Jalen May and 6th placer Aiden Dallinger. I don’t foresee that Hagedorn will place at this weight class, but he will definitely pick off a major name.
 
Top 4:
Joseph Curry
Gavin Jendreas
Charlie Larocca
Jack Guerrero
 
129:
 
Title Contenders:
Landon Evans
TJ Meyers
LT Hawkins
 
There’s a big question mark in this bracket that I’m very excited to see. That question mark is the return of IHPO 2022 3rd placer and Crown Point stud LT Hawkins. Hawkins beat multiple state placers and even a Michigan state champ en route to 3rd last year, losing only a 4-0 match to fellow teammate and Virginia Tech freshman Logan Frazier. Hawkins should be a heavy favorite to make the finals, but a pair of Kentucky hammers stand in the way of his first IHPO title. The first of these wrestlers, Landon Evans, took home a Kentucky state title last year, and is one of two state champions in this bracket. I don’t believe, however, that this will be the big test of the bracket for Hawkins. Instead, I think that Kentucky state runner-up TJ Meyers will be the one to bring Hawkins to deep waters here. Picking the runner-up over the champ here might seem odd, but Meyers had to take on #7 (at 120) Jayden Raney in the finals of the Kentucky state tournament, and he only lost 3-2. That, in my opinion, is much more impressive than a state title against a lesser opponent. This isn’t said to diminish Evans as a wrestler, but Meyers has proven to not only compete well against the highest level wrestlers, but I should add that is also a returning IHPO placer, taking 3rd last year, so I think it is much more likely that Meyers battles Hawkins in the finals. I know that I’m gonna hear it from Coach Hawkins for writing this, but I think that Meyers is probably the favorite here. I’m always gonna root for an Indiana guy over a non-Indiana guy, but Meyers is going to be a seriously tough opponent for Hawkins, but nevertheless, I can’t wait to see this match happen.
 
Placement Contenders:
Colton Bendure
Eddie Goss
Aiden Allen
Tanner Tishner
 
I want to preface this segment by saying that Tanner Tishner can absolutely win a title at this tournament. His peaks are very high, and he has a long list of very good wins. However, he has been a little bit inconsistent as of recently, and it’s hard for me to label him as a title contender based on this information. He’s very good though, so don’t overlook him against anyone in this bracket. Virginia state champ Colton Bendure leads this list of placement contenders, and I could have very reasonably put him in the title contenders section. He doesn’t have a lot of results I can very accurately make predictions off of though, and he’s a state champ from a state that isn’t particularly known for their wrestling, which doesn’t always mean that he’s not an Indiana state champion level wrestler, but I think it’s safer for the sake of predicting that he is not at that level just yet. Aiden Allen is an Ohio 3rd placer with some solid results all around, and I expect him to give a lot of guys in this bracket some fits. Eddie Goss placed 3rd last year at state, which included a 6-4 win over Tanner Tishner. He also claimed a big win last year against Michigan state champ Kade Kluce at the Detroit Central Catholic Super Duals, so he is capable of some big wins. Lastly, Braylon Reynolds is a young stud that already has multiple state placers under his belt of wins, and has a lot of potential to do well here.
 
Sleeper Pick: Quinten Schoeff
 
Quinten Schoeff had a quite successful freshman year, making it to the ticket round and beating multiple state qualifiers, despite missing out on the state tournament himself. Schoeff will very easily be a title contender in the next couple years, and could be a candidate for a breakout performer at this tournament.
 
Top 4:
TJ Meyers
LT Hawkins
Landon Evans
Eddie Goss
 
135:
 
Title Contenders:
Leland Reeves
Damian Resendez
Evan Stanley
 
I’m gonna show you all some prediction magic. This weight won’t be particularly interesting to most of you, as the top wrestlers in this field, aside from Evan Stanley, are from other states. Additionally, most of these guys have little to no experience against other Indiana wrestlers, so I can’t really make the comparisons there. So instead, I’m going to opt for some educational guessing, and I’ll bring you all along for the process. First, we have Kentucky state champ Leland Reeves. What do we know about Kentucky? Well, we know that they are not as strong as Illinois or Indiana. Sorry Kentucky fans, but it’s true. This doesn’t mean that he is not a strong wrestler, right? Imagine if I applied the same logic to the Raney brothers without additional information? I would be wildly incorrect. I also know that somewhere in his state series, he lost a match. This means that he’s not an outlier; he’s a champ, but he’s not a Raney, or a wrestler near that caliber. Next, we have Illinois state runner-up Damian Resendez. I don’t see any matches against Indiana guys, but I do see he has a win against Marmion Academy’s Zach Stewart. Marmion Academy was at Carnahan this year. So we go to see how he did, and incredibly enough, Stewart beat #6 Jake Hockaday at that tournament. So that’s a big win for Resendez. Combine that with the fact that he’s a Mt. Carmel wrestler, and we know that he’s pretty good. Now, the tricky part is that we are going to have to weave Evan Stanley through this fabric of “what ifs” and “maybes.” I know that Stanley is going to be competing at Mt. Carmel, so Resendez and Stanley are likely familiar with each other. Stanley hasn’t competed against a high caliber high school opponent in a while, so there’s not much to work with there, also he does have a win over 126 state champ Tylin Thrine, so that’s impressive enough. So, what’s the verdict here? The answer is that I’m not sure, but given the familiarity that these two likely have, and the difference in competition against high school opponents, I think I’ll take Resendez in a very close match.
 
Placement Contenders:
Sebastian Vega
Connor Younts
Dallas Korponic
Vernon Riggins
Adam Heckman
Maksim Mukhamedaliyev
Michael Esteban
 
So now it gets trickier. Sebastian Vega was a state runner-up in 2022 at 113, and now at 135, he has been unable to recreate that success. Can’t exactly count them out, but with the information I have, he’s not in my top 4. Connor Younts and Dallas Korponic are both 3rd placers from Michigan. However, all of my Michigan wrestling friends tell me that D1 is much harder than D3, so while they are both 3rd placers, Korponic’s D1 3rd place finish is a lot more impressive to me. Combine that with a 6-5 loss in season to state champion Kade Kluce, and I think we have a winner here. Vernon Riggins is D4, which is the least strong division in Michigan (or so I hear), so he’s out as well. Adam Heckman placed 4th in Ohio, but hasn’t wrestled any Indiana guys recently. He did wrestle Collin Twigg though, and lost 11-2 in Ohio state. Who’s Collin Twigg? Well, he went 6-2 last year at IHPO, but did not place. If Twigg didn’t place, it’s likely Heckman is not either. There’s some magic for ya. Lastly, we have a pair of Illinois 6th placers in Maksim Mukhamedaliyev and Michael Esteban. However, Esteban’s placement was in 2022, where in 2023, he DNP’ed, while Mukhamedaliyev played this year. Now we fill in our checkmarks. Did he place in a tough division? D3 is the toughest in Illinois, so yes. Does he have any big wins? Let’s see. Freestyle win against Maximus Riggins of Iowa? Why is that important? Because Riggins was the ONE seed at Fargo this year in the 16U 126 division (he ended up going 0-2 though, but the one seed still says something. So, it seems that the 4th place spot is between Korponic and Mukhamedaliyev. I think Korponic is just a little stronger here, with a close match with not only a tough opponent, but an opponent that has been extremely successful in the past at IHPO. So, Korponic gets that fourth spot.
 
Sleeper Pick: none
 
No sleeper pick for this weight, since there is already so much information missing from this weight to make an accurate sleeper pick.
 
Top 4:
Damian Resendez
Evan Stanley
Leland Reeves
Dallas Korponic
 
141:
 
Title Contenders:
Kyrell Leavell
Brady Ison
 
I think that state champ Kyrel Leavell and Brady Ison are a step above the field, and this Indiana matchup will headline the weight class. I will say, however, that Leavell has lost to quite a bit of the field here, with both Ison and Tony Wood beating him in the past year. Leavell’s resume makes him too strong to not pick here, especially with his quality of wins this off season, which includes a fall at the MCWC Duals over Jake Hockaday, and a 14-12 freestyle win at Central Regionals over #11 and Pittburgh commit Kade Brown. Having notched two nationally ranked wins this off season, I feel comfortable placing him as the top guy in this weight class.
 
Placement Contenders:
Cole Evans
Holden Huhn
Evan Gosz
Tony Wood
 
There are a number of state placers in this weight class, but I’ve narrowed down the field to just these four as potential podium candidates. Cole Evans is an Ohio state champion, which is quite impressive already, and could even qualify him as a title contender, however, his title was won in 2022, and at the 106 pound weight class, and at state this year, he did not place, making me believe that he still has some adjusting to do for this weight class, and won’t bring a huge threat to the top two guys in this weight. Holden Huhn took 2nd place in Ohio in 2022, but also regressed in placement in 2023 with a 7th place finish. This state run did include a fall over Cole Evans though, further validating my previous point about Evans and his influence in this bracket as a former state champion. Evan Gosz is an Illinois 3rd placer, losing only 2-1 to current Harvard freshman Jameson Garcia, so this kid is definitely a guy to watch out for in this bracket.
Lastly, Tony Wood is in here with his win over Leavell, but he will have to pull off another win like that in order to make the podium.
 
Sleeper Pick: Matthew Staples
 
I can’t even call this a sleeper pick. I think Staples has been well awake at his past couple events, beating multiple state placers and wrestling overall quite impressively. Dare I say that this is the first sleeper pick of mine to reach the podium? I’m certainly predicting so.
 
Top 4:
Kyrel Leavell
Brady Ison
Evan Gosz
Matthew Staples
 
147:
 
Title Contenders:
Wyatt Krejsa
Brayden Brown
Jeffrey Huyvaert
 
Wyatt Krejsa turned himself into a title contender last IHPO, somewhat unexpectedly beating Cheaney Schoeff in the quarterfinals of this tournament. Now, he opens this year’s IHPO as the favorite to win, but there are a couple names in this bracket I think could give him fits. Firstly, Ohio 3rd placer Brayden Brown returns to this weight as the highest returning IHPO placer, taking 2nd last year. He will be a strong contender to make the finals. Also a strong contender to make the finals, Jeffrey Huyvaert is coming off of an extremely strong freshman campaign that included a 4th place finish and a win in the regional finals over eventual champ and Purdue freshman Cole Solomey. It is easy to assume that this kid is getting better at a very rapid pace, and we should definitely watch out for him in this tournament.
 
Placement Contenders:
 
Hayden Hughes
Coltyn Reedy
Aidan Rush
Londen Murphy
Dillon Graham
Christian Arberry
 
Ohio sends a strong group of state placers to this weight, and I could see them causing problems for our Indiana studs. State runner-up Hayden Hughes is probably the favorite over the rest of the field, aside from the title contenders, but a random loss by fall against Londen Murphy concerns me a bit. Coltyn Reedy is a 4th placer in Ohio, but likewise, I’m not too confident about his performance compared to the last Ohio placer in this field, who I think will be the most lethal. Ohio 5th placer Aidan Rush has a couple of really solid wins in the past year, including a 12-10 OT win over Dillon Graham at last year’s IHPO, and a win over #20 Grayson Woodcock 4-2 at the Brecksville Holiday Tournament. Speaking of Dillon Graham, I think that he is still a very solid wrestler that could beat any of Ohio’s invaders at this weight. Lastly, Christian Arberry placed 8th this past year, but has claimed some wins this off season that suggest he is at a much higher level than he was at the state tournament, beating both Matthew Staples and Jeffrey Huyvaert.
 
Sleeper Pick: Tommy Gibbs
 
Tommy Gibbs was not able to secure a starting spot this year in Brownsburg’s ridiculously stacked lineup, but with his recent improvement, that’s not likely to be the case anymore. His off season is highlighted by a 7-3 win at Folkstyle State over LT Hawkins, and had a 6-3 match at Freestyle State to Jeffrey Huyvaert, losing the match, but ultimately showing that he can hang with the better guys at this weight.
 
Top 4:
Wyatt Krejsa
Jeffrey Huyvaert
Brayden Brown
Aidan Rush
 
153:
 
Title Contenders:
Jimmy Mastny
Reese Stephen
This is another weight class that includes mostly studs from other states, so I’ll try to breeze through it relatively quickly. Jimmy Mastny and Reese Stephen both stand out from this field, and should be considered the favorites to make the finals. Jimmy Mastny is going into his freshman year, but has already built up a very impressive resume, earning double All-American honors at Fargo this year with a 5th place finish in freestyle and a runner-up finish in Greco. He also has two nationally ranked wins this off season against #20 Grayson Woodock in freestyle and #12 Tyler Knaack in Greco. Reese Stephen is no stranger to battling high level guys either, having a solid Ironman run that included respectable losses to #14 Kael Voinovich (5-3) and #19 Jayden Robinson (7-2). I hate to define a guy by his losses, but these results do show that he can very easily take on Mastny. Oh, and he won a state title in Ohio this past year. That should help too.
 
Placement Contenders:
Jeremy Ginter
Cooper Rathburn
William Denny
Layne Knisely
Michael Major
 
Several state placers look to fill out the 3rd and 4th place spots on the podium, and for Indiana fans, the hope is that 5th placer Michael Major claims that spot. However, it certainly won’t be easy for him. Jeremy Ginter is an Ohio state runner-up, losing only to Ohio State freshman Brock Herman 14-4. Cooper Rathburn took 3rd this past year in Ohio, and is also a threatening opponent here. William Denny is a 4th placer from Illinois, and owns a win over Brownsburg stud Parker Reynolds at the Walsh Ironman this past year. Finally, Layne Knisely is a Michigan 5th placer, and almost has a really cool last name. He rounds out the strong group of state placers in this weight class.
 
Sleeper Pick: Silas Foster
 
For most weight classes here, the sleeper pick is super easy to make, and it’s no exception in this weight class. Foster is very easily a state placer caliber wrestler, although he has not yet gotten the opportunity to prove it. His highlight wins this past year include a very impressive Greco win over Wyatt Krejsa by fall, and another win by fall over Tommy Gibbs at last year’s IHPO.
 
Top 4:
Jimmy Mastny
Reese Stephen
Jeremy Ginter
Cooper Rathburn
 
160:
 
Title Contenders:
Tristin Greene
Eddie Enright
Bryce Griffin
 
Indiana will have a hard time making the podium at this weight class, with three very good wrestlers almost indisputably taking the top three spots. Tristin Greene is an Ohio state champ and 16U Fargo Champ in Greco, making him the most credentialed wrestler by far in this weight class. He also has a Greco win this off season against #8 Latrell Shaffer, demonstrating just how dangerous he can be. Don’t go upper body with this guy. Next, we have Mt. Carmel’s Eddie Enright, who took 2nd this past year. He is one of two Illinois state runner-ups at this weight, although Bryce Griffin might be my pick to take second over Enright. Griffin’s run at state this year was stopped only by Illinois superfreshman Kannon Webster, and he has not bled against an Illinois wrestler yet this off season, taking first in both Freestyle and Greco state in Illinois. I think Enright can keep it close, but if this battle ends up happening, I expect Griffin to win.
 
Placement Contenders:
Lucas Boe
Waylon Cressell
Malachia Harris
Beau Brabender
Silas Stits
 
There is another state champ among this group, being North Dakota state champ Waylon Cressell. Like I have said previously, just because someone wins a title in a “less talented” wrestling state, it does not necessarily mean they are not as good or better than someone that won in Illinois, or Indiana, for example. However, Cressell has not had any big tournament placements outside of the state tournament, and did relatively poorly at the Northern Plains regional, only winning 2 or 3 matches in each style. For this reason, I’m knocking him down a little bit, but the truth is that he is still a state champion, and a competitor to be feared for that reason. Lucas Boe has a big question mark over his head right now, destroying everyone at the middle school level and earning a #47 ranking on MatScouts. However, he has very limited results at the high school level, so we will have to see how that transition goes this weekend. Malachia Harris is a Kentucky state runner-up, but only went 2-2 at IHPO last year, losing to Greyson Gard in OT and to Hunter May by major decision, meaning he will need to have improved a lot in order for him to have a podium worthy tournament run. Lastly, Indiana studs Beau Brabender and Silas Stits are Indiana’s best chance to get somebody on the podium at this weight. Brabender made it all the way to the bloodround last year, demonstrating that he has had success on this very stage before, but Stits has a lot of potential here too, and even has a win over Brabender this past year at Al Smith, with a 5-2 win in the consolation semifinals of the tournament. I personally believe that Stits might be a bit underrated as of now, and he is capable of pulling off big upsets this weekend.
 
Sleeper Pick: Zymarion Hollyfield
 
Hollyfield had an unfortunate end to this state tournament last year, underperforming at regionals to get a brutal draw against Aidan Costello in the ticket round. But it should be noted that he is a state quality wrestler with lots of speed and athleticism, and it would shock me if he didn’t take out at least one person that he’s not supposed to on paper.
 
Top 4:
Tristin Greene
Bryce Griffin
Eddie Enright
Waylon Cressell
 
168:
 
Title Contenders:
Benjamin Smith
Brenton Russell
Anthony Cashman
Chase Leech
 
I debated just putting the entire stud list in title contenders, but I decided not to, although I’m not going to be too confident with any pick in this weight class. Benjamin Smith is a transfer from Maryland, where he won a state title this past year. There’s not much information on him otherwise, which might lead me to underrate him a little bit, but there are a couple people at this weight that I think could potentially upset Smith. The first one of these challengers is Brenton Russell, who took 4th this past year, who has kept the ball rolling since then with a 14-14 criteria win at Freestyle State over Anthony Rinehart, and not one, not two, but THREE wins over Mitchell Betz. Anthony Cashman also took 4th last year, at a weight above Russell, and made it all the way to the bloodround at last year’s IHPO. Despite these two looking like Indiana’s strongest on paper, I think that another guy in this weight, one that has not placed yet in his high school career, is the best pick for tournament champion, and that is Chase Leech. Leech was upset in the ticket round last year in OT to Brant Beck, but has recorded some insanely impressive wins since then, including a 12-2 TF over state runner-up Luke Kemper, and not one, not two, not three, not four, but FIVE wins in the past year against Brenton Russell. That’s a history that’s hard to ignore, and if they meet up at any point in this tournament, it would be unwise to pick against Leech.
 
Placement Contenders:
Zachary Lopez
Jack Hoffman
Levi Abbott
Brant Beck
 
Like I said before, I could have put a number of these guys in the title contenders tier, but I ultimately decided to put them down here, although they should be considered title contenders anyways. Zachary Lopez took 5th last year in Ohio, and is another state placer in a field full of them. Jack Hoffman took 8th in Ohio last year, but I think that he will perform way above that standard, owning two very important Indiana wins over Anthony Cashman and Isaac Valdez in 7-3 and 4-3 victories, respectively. Brant Beck automatically becomes a title contender with a win over the guy that I am predicting to win the bracket, so he can certainly do some damage. If I apply that same logic, then Levi Abbott could also make a very deep win, with a win over the guy that has a win over the guy that I think is going to win, beating Beck 7-3 in the third place match at semi-state last year. Abbott is a bit more of a stretch to reach the finals, but it is certainly not impossible.
 
Sleeper Pick: Jesse Derringer
 
Jesse Derringer went out early in last year’s state series, losing in the regional bloodround, but his quality of wins relative to that, compared with his affiliation with Brownsburg, means that he should be considered a game opponent this weekend, and we should expect a fireworks match with any state caliber wrestler.
 
Top 4:
Chase Leech
Brenton Russell
Benjamin Smith
Jack Hoffman
 
178:
 
Title Contenders:
Carson Thomas
Collin Kelly
Anthony Rinehart
 
This weight class is super deep, with the top 3 in this weight class being absolutely lethal opponents with some very respectable credentials to their names. #20 Carson Thomas leads the field in this event, as a state runner-up from Ohio, losing only to Purdue freshman Joey Blaze 9-3. Here to challenge him is Colin Kelly, a state runner-up from Illinois, and Crown Point’s Anthony Rinehart. Colin Kelly has no results that I can effectively use to make comparisons, but he does own a GFC title in the Elite division, which is already a strong enough result to catapult him into the title contenders category. Anthony Rinehart is perhaps the most credentialed wrestler in this weight, even without a high state placement to his name, with a 6th place finish at the Walsh Ironman that included a win over Blair Academy’s and Penn commit #16 (at 152) Paul Ognissanti. He also placed 3rd at last year’s IHPO, which makes him the highest returning placer here.
 
Placement Contenders:
Eddie Neitenbach
Matthew Kubas
Aidan Costello
 
These three wrestlers, although placed in a lower tier than the title contenders, are not very far off from the level of the three aforementioned wrestlers at this weight. Eddie Neitenbach is an Ohio 3rd placer, and had a very solid IHPO run two years ago in 2021, losing in overtime to The Citadel’s Hayden Watson. Matthew Kubas is an Illinois 4th placer, with two results that stand out to me, although losses, as indicators of his potential success here, losing 13-4 to Purdue freshman Orlando Cruz, and much more impressively, 6-3 to #6 Wyatt Ingham. I’m not sure what to make of these results, but I think that he can make a deep run in this weight and battle against the more prestigious opponents. Lastly, Aidan Costello made it known that he was a lot closer to the top level of the state this past year with a quarterfinal battle against Purdue’s Delaney Ruhlman that ended in a 7-5 loss. He also owns an impressive 8-2 win over Chase Leech at Folkstyle State, a result that gets amplified by Leech’s recent success. I think Costello will be the one to earn that last spot on the podium, but he is dangerous enough to go even further.
 
Sleeper Pick: Ethan Farnell
Ethan Farnell has a lot to prove, with his brother, Logan Farnell, showing incredible success at last year’s state tournament and paving the way for his brother to do the same. Ethan almost joined his brother at state last year, losing in the ticket round only 5-3 to Bellmont stud Duke Myers. I think that, like Logan, Ethan will improve greatly from last year and cause some problems for the state qualifiers in this weight.
 
Top 4:
Anthony Rinehart
Carson Thomas
Colin Kelly
Aidan Costello
 
193:
 
Title Contenders:
Lane Kiser
 
I’ve got to be honest, this might be the only lock in the tournament. Kiser placed 2nd this past year in Kentucky, and has been very impressive for years now. He doesn’t have a lot of results for me to give validation to my claim, but I really feel like he’s a step ahead of the field.
 
Placement Contenders:
Ronnie Thomas
Rylan Breen
Laish Detweiler
Noah Weaver
Noah Clouser
 
Indiana has three wrestlers in this weight class that I think that potentially push Kiser. Laish Detwiler is the only state placer in this group, with an 8th place finish that included a win over Brownsburg’s Caden Brewer. Noah Weaver has also been very solid this past year, ending his state run last year with a Friday night appearance. I also think he was my sleeper pick last year, so it’s good to see my sleeper picks have success when I predict it so. I think the Indiana wrestler here with the most potential, however, is Center Grove’s Noah Clouser, who is all the way up at 193 now, which is pretty funny. Fun little fact: when I wrestled at Disney Duals during the summer before my senior year, Clouser was our 106 pounder. He reminds me of Jack Heldt, our 2023 NCAA Champion, who in his freshman year of high school, was a 113 pounder. You wouldn’t believe it if you saw him now. Anyways, Clouser had an unfortunate postseason run last year that was plagued by injuries, but anyone would agree that Clouser is one of the best in the state now, and I think that he will be the man to challenge Kiser in the finals. There are also a couple of non-Indiana state placers in this weight class, those being Ohio 4th placer Ronnie Thomas and Illinois 5th placer Rylan Breen. I don’t have a lot of information about these guys otherwise, but I think that Breen will likely best Thomas based on my intuition and nothing more than that.
 
Sleeper Pick: Clay Guenin
Clay Guenin is another wrestler in this group that is not technically a state placer, but is absolutely at that level. Guenin was ranked as high as 5th this past year, and was on the unfortunate end of a brutal ticket round matchup that ended in a 4-3 loss to eventual 6th placer Kyle Harden. He is ready to contend with some of these higher level guys, and I would go so far as to say that Guenin can find himself on the podium, although I’m not confident enough to predict him to do so.
 
Top 4:
Lane Kiser
Noah Clouser
Rylan Breen
Ronnie Thomas
 
218:
 
Title Contenders:
Devin Kendrex
Caden Brewer
 
This should be an amazing finals match between 5th placer and Super 32 All-American Devin Kendrex and state qualifier and rapidly improving Caden Brewer. I don’t think that Brewer’s results have been consistent enough to predict an upset here, but I think that this match will be a lot closer than the stats might suggest.
 
Placement Contenders:
Brandon Johnson
Keegan Martin
Danny Zmorowski
 
Brandon Johnson might have won the most improved award last year, going from a negative record in 2022 to a 6th place finish in 2023 that included a win over Kendrex at semi-state, and a fall over Julante Hinton. He should be considered a dark horse in this sense, and could potentially spoil some brackets. Keegan Martin is a state qualifier, but has claimed the names of a few state placers, including Kendrex at this last year’s Al Smith. Lastly, Danny Zmorowski is ranked #98 on MatScouts, but is a younger kid in a group of much older ones. This is an instance, similar to Lucas Boe, where I could put him on the podium, but we just don’t know enough yet to do so. This is easily another dark horse, however.
 
Sleeper Pick: Ceasar Salas
I’m incredibly biased here, because I spent a lot of Friday’s wrestling at Crown Point High School with all of Crown Point’s studs and anyone else from other schools who would come. Caesar Salas was a young kid that I would wrestle quite a bit, and this kid is insanely athletic. As a college senior, I would expect to just blast through a middle school kid, but I found myself often underneath him after taking shots, and I eventually resorted to not shooting on him at all. This kid has a lot of potential, and I wonder if this could be his breakout performance.
 
Top 4:
Devin Kendrex
Caden Brewer
Brandon Johnson
Keegan Martin
 
288:
 
Title Contenders:
James Hartleroad
Marko Ivanisevic
Jeffrey Blair
Brady Beck
 
So, there’s an important question that has to be decided here in order for me to predict this weight class accurately: how important are Greco-Roman results to Folkstyle success? Because, if we want to talk about results in Greco, James Hartleroad most certainly has them, with an extremely impressive 16U Greco Fargo championship this summer. This comes after a state series run that ended in the ticket round, so he has most definitely improved since then, and is very easily a state caliber wrestler. However, there are some very good heavyweights in this field that will test just how good Hartleroad has gotten. Illinois’s Marko Ivanisevic took 5th this past year, going 44-3 for a quite impressive season. He also has Central Regional title this year, indicating that he is talented with the Olympic styles as well, which could spell trouble for Hartleroad. Jeffrey Blair is another out-of-state invader that has found previous success at this tournament, taking 3rd in 2022 with wins over state qualifiers Peyton Kendall and Hunter Brahnam. Lastly, Brady Beck was the #2 ranked wrestler last year on the bad side of one of the most ridiculous IHSAA State brackets that I have ever seen, and he unfortunately ended his tournament run at 7th. I expect that he will have a much stronger showing at IHPO this year than his state placement might indicate.
 
Placement Contenders:
Anthony Popi
Gideon Castro
Richard Thorton
 
Anthony Popi ran into Brownsburg’s nationally ranked Leighton Jones in the Friday night match to dip out of the tournament far earlier than he was ranked to, but he should certainly be considered a threat for any wrestler in this bracket. Gideon Castro, although not a state qualifier, has had past success in this tournament, finishing two matches from the placement rounds in 2022, losing to the last contender in this bracket, Ohio state qualifier Richard Thorton. I don’t think that any of these three will make their way into the top 4 (unless the bracket path wills it so), but they are still dangerous opponents that are capable of such upsets.
 
Sleeper Pick: Triston Meschede
 
Although only a regional qualifier, Triston Meschede owns a very important win in this weight class that nobody else at this weight does: a win over Hartleroad. Immediately, this result catapults Meschede into placement contender status, and although Hartleroad’s off season has been much more successful, I don’t think a second win over Hartleroad is crazy.
 
Top 4:
Brady Beck
Mario Ivanisevic
James Hartleroad
Jeffrey Blair





 

Man… why Rokfin ?? Lol how many subscriptions I need to watch wrestling?
 
wait for it… I guess 1 more. Oy vey 

Tylin’s success did kill a lot of my arguments for class wrestling. New Castle is a 2A school that is at least an hour from any major club and the only coaches he’s had are the current New Castle coaches and other NC alum in their youth program as far as I’m told. I guess it isn’t a matter of resources, but just a matter of heart. I love it. He proved you can do anything if you just have fun and attack.

That is an absolutely absurd to put a price on a competitive advantage. It is disgusting that the people in charge of this tournament let this happen. 

Most other tournaments allow a "free" weigh-in later in the same evening. This is flat out paying for a competitive advantage. This is not right and should be corrected with a free weigh-in on Saturday night.

Kudos to our Mishawaka Trainer Hannah Hess who traveled to EC to support the Cavemen wrestlers and spent all day as a volunteer working the event and helping everyone's wrestlers.  Saw her at the end of the day and she looked more exhausted than our boys that competed.  Great job Hannah...way to represent.

I would have to say the best coach out there right now is David Maldonado at Merrillville.  

Very happy and proud of Sonny, have known the boy since he was in diapers. Hope to wrestle him in the finals!

Respect to CP and BB for taking on the most brutal schedule for an Indiana team, EVER. None of their state champs this year will be undefeated. This is what Indiana needs to take its wrestling to the next level.

These are from MatScouts, Flo's rankings are trash. 

I can not be blamed for Kyle’s eating habits.  He eats like an 8 year old child.  You see proof of him removing freaking bacon.  He also picks pepperoni off his pizza.  We question his behavior all the time.  It’s embarrassing to us all.   Be better Kyle.  
 
As a side note, Kyle did use his 3X powers to hit 18 green lights in a row on the way home.  It was impressive to watch.  The region should be very proud of that accomplishment.  

CP unranked freshman Sessa pinned Portage #18 Bunton on 11/22 at 120 lbs.

That’s the thing… nobody knows. All of these kids are on different journeys. He may be there 4 years or 7 years. We can speculate till the cows come home. It will do us no good. For now Jesse is the guy at 133. As a parent of a kid that graduates college this year… it flies by! Let’s all just sit back and watch this young man make us proud. 

Been watching MSU open today. Looks like we probably will see Byrd Vs Mendez. Have watched and cornered for and against these kids since they were in about second grade. In semis now. I predict Jesse by 3 in the finals. 
 
Btw… the outlaws always seemed to get the best of ol Byrd back in the day. He would always come over and give us the hardest boney fist bump and typically a good cuss word or two. 😂 He’s always been a tough little dude! 

Congratulations to Dylan Barron from North Newton for signing with Wabash. Projected to wrestle 141, 149.
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