RASSLER4LIFE

Cowan
Tony Abbott has retired
 
Casey Bradley is the new Head Coach

Man… They stepped it up and gave them gear!!!! In the past they wrestled in school gear. 
 
Sounds like a great event. Congrats to all that participated. 

It was a great day at Mooresville for Indiana Wrestling.  One high light for me was the amount of team members both boys and girls who came up to me and thanked me for having them on the team and how much they appreciated the opportunity to compete one more time.  We really are producing some great wrestlers in our state and more importantly these kids have a lot of class and respect.  
 
Indiana Gold boys battled hard but came up short 37-22.  Winners for the gold team were;
Mason Jones
Luke Rioux
Tony Wood
Chis Bohn
Duke Myers
 
Indiana Blue sealed a victory for our home state 35-27. Winners were:
Gavyn Whitehead
Griffin Sanders
Carson Fettig
Michael Cain
Keegan Martin
Tyler Schott
Brady Byrd
Josiah Dedeaux 
 
The girls beat Iowa 63-12, but came up short against Illinois 21-44
Double Winners for the girls were: 
Tola Aluka
Sophia Buechner
Rose Kaplan
Leila Thomas 
 
Winner vs Iowa were;
Tola Aluka
Sophia Buechner
Rose Kaplan
Leila Thomas 
Kyra Tomlison
Alexes Spaulding
Kaylea Beauchamp
Jaiah O'Neal
Michela Clifford
Portia Weaver
 
 
 
 
 

Ill point out that the bad news always gets more attention, so this isn't necessarily so.
In my interactions, 99% of the time I see good sportsmanship, good behavior and people enjoying the sport.   Just like our news, the negative makes a good story, but it sure doesnt mean that its the norm.  Ive been around wrestling for years, and crazy ***potty mouth*** has always happened.
 
Not sure what happened in the IHSAA event, but maybe handled wrong, but the IHSAA doesnt look kindly on stuff described.    Im sure this was investigated and acted on.  Guns are so prevalent,  people love them,  but still this is an anomaly.
 
On the ISWa tournament,  there was a lot of brotherly wrestling love this weekend.  99% of people were great,  appreciative and enjoying themselves. Its like a giant wrestling reunion.  Yes, there was some incidents from passionate people whose behavior could have been better.  But  I dont think the original poster knows the full circumstances of the situation described.   I say look at all the good this weekend, kids of all ages learning sportsmanship, making friends enjoying competing.  It overshadows any negative,  and that crazy behavior is not anything new.   Always some bad apples.
 
 

As the Indiana high school wrestling season comes to an end…Just wanted to give a big shout out to all of the Indiana clubs and coaches. First generation wrestling family here. My boys were introduced to the sport by their uncle/cousin. Such a great sport and community! We have met so many great people and competitors. Blessed to have such a great community and support system. The boys have had club coaches from all over the state help in their corner multiple times w/ no ties to the boys whatsoever. Just there to support Indiana wrestling. Another big shout out to contenders and red cobra. Both have been home clubs w/ outstanding coaches and partners!! This forum and the wrestling community is outstanding.
👍

Having grown up in Clinton County, wrestled and coached in the county in a time before Rossville had a team it is awesome to see them crown their first state placer and Champion.  I remember being at New Castle to see their first ever qualifier punch his ticket and to see Coach Lynch punch his as well.  I still root for all of my home county teams(unless we are wrestling them which we haven't had to yet).  Congrats to the Hornets of Rossville High School, the coaching staff and especially Noah Weaver!!!  You wrestled well all weekend and you deserved everything you got!!!
 
 
Coach Lawler
Rushville Wrestling

Jake hockaday is most dominate! He is the standard in indiana. Incredible wrestler and character. True role model for the sport! He litterly handled his way through the whole series. Never down and never in harms way and pure domination! 
 
I for one was shell shocked with the pin but incredibly bias here. Up 3-0 with takedown and escape in seconds with a Rideout to end the 1st. But man kyrel took advantage when shepherd turned in and locked that cradle up tight! Kudos to kyrel and congrats on the state championship! Much deserved! Good luck to kyrel at the citadel! 

Congratulations to Luke Penola for winning the mental attitude award at the state finals. Luke didn’t reach his goal of winning a state title but he walked out of the arena with his head held high. He is one of the best leaders, wrestlers, and people we’ve ever been around. We are forever grateful to of coached you and to have you in our Zionsville wrestling family. 

The issue at hand was the blatant disrespect for the sport and the opponent, plus calling the NC athlete racial names is over the top. Then making gestures with his hands to the crowd(unsure of what they actually were) and don’t want to speculate. It’s bad for our sport and shouldn’t be tolerated at all, from spectators, his coaches and the IHSAA. In my opinion It was beyond unsportsmanlike and could have easily escalated in to a very ugly scene by spectators, teams and coaches. This conduct must not be tolerated and stopped, immediately!

The issue at hand was the blatant disrespect for the sport and the opponent, plus calling the NC athlete racial names is over the top. Then making gestures with his hands to the crowd(unsure of what they actually were) and don’t want to speculate. It’s bad for our sport and shouldn’t be tolerated at all, from spectators, his coaches and the IHSAA. In my opinion It was beyond unsportsmanlike and could have easily escalated in to a very ugly scene by spectators, teams and coaches. This conduct must not be tolerated and stopped, immediately!

Agreed, maybe Mr Faulkens will watch then step in and make the proper ruling. The alternate may want to be ready. 

Thank you to everyone who has reached out regarding Preston.  Results of a CT scan and other tests have come back.  Nothing is broken and he will make a full recovery.  
 
As far as what happened, the Mater Dei wrestler had been winning the entire match.  An illegal slam was called.  It was not intentional.  Whether it was an illegal slam or not, I don’t really care.  We were never taking a dive.  Brownsburg doesn’t roll like that.  It goes against everything we believe in.  If I thought it was intentional, It would be a different story.  There is no doubt in our mind that it was just a result of two dudes trying to punch their ticket to state. 
 
It was pretty chaotic as all of this was happening as I’m sure you can all imagine.  Given that it was a neck/head injury, I wanted to give medical people access to Preston.  Once they had time to check Preston out, I took that opportunity to talk to Preston.  There was never any talk or consideration of taking a dive. Preston would never do that.  He was in a lot of pain and upset.  He has had a lot of adversity this season. He tore his ACL at IHPO and has been working through that pain and frustration all season.  I just explained to Preston what had happened and that I was going to forfeit the match.  I told him we were losing…and it would not be fair to take the trip to state away from the Mater Dei kid.  Preston agreed and said he would never do that.  There was no reversal of the call or anything.  I just went up to officials and said we are forfeiting the match.  
 
Whoever said Preston was walking around saw someone else.  He was taken out on a stretcher and to the emergency room. 
 
Snyder 

Leavell should have definitely been hit at least twice for unsportsmanlike conduct! His coaches should’ve corrected him immediately as well. There’s absolutely no place in this sport for standing over your opponent after pinning him & making gestures & talking trash! None! Then to walk away laughing & making a gesture as to say, “I spanked you” is unacceptable! 

Just talked to Schaefers youngest son. He confirmed that Snyder defaulted. I mean that’s a pretty good source.
 
We all Just need to prayers to Preston. And know the right thing was done.
 
Btw… just ran into @TripleB he somehow smuggled a full thing of mints in today!!! 

I have never seen that done before and I can think of many times it would have been the “right” thing to do. My hat’s off to Coach Snyder. 
 
Hopefully Haines is not badly injured.

I think it’s important now that the season is nearing its zenith to address one of the most important issues that I think goes under talked around this time, which is the hard working kids who lose at semi state. Obviously, we should celebrate those who make it to state. That is the goal of almost every high school wrestler, to be among the best in the state and compete in the best venue in all of Indiana. But inevitably, most wrestlers Sunday will not end up advancing to the state tournament. And I think it’s important that we address how to support the kids that lose, especially the seniors who will possibly wrestle their very last matches on Saturday.
 
Last year as a senior, I went into my season with high expectations. For three years straight, I went to everything. My high school coaches could tell you I was person who missed the least practices. I showed up to everything; morning practice, optional practice, summer open mats, I even went to RWA three days a week and trained at my coaches own gym in order to build up my strength and conditioning.  I felt like I was one of the hardest working, toughest people in the state. In middle school at my first off-season tournament I suffered a concussion. My freshman year I broke my left elbow and had to get screws out in, which I still have to this day. Junior year I dislocated my rib wrestling freestyle, and over the summer I suffered severe second degree burns which caused most of the epidermis on my back to slough off. But still, I worked through it all because I felt like if I didn’t I wasn’t being the best wrestler I could. Going into regionals of senior year I broke the scaphoid bone in my wrist, and couldn’t press down or grip my right hand for the rest of season. I felt like all of this only contributed to me being a tougher wrestler on the mat. And even with all of that, I got completely out wrestled at semi state. My broken wrist meant nothing, I did not live up to my potential and didn’t wrestle my best, and that’s why I lost. For at least a month after semi state I was completely in the dumps. It’s like I had a rain cloud overhead, I felt like my career meant nothing. It was over, and I didn’t accomplish what I wanted to. No matter what people said to me, it really didn’t ease the fact that I felt completely empty. I also felt angry. I felt so angry that I had teammates who put in way less practice time than me, who didn’t show up to half the things I did, and yet still advanced farther than I did. I wasn’t angry at them, though, I was angry at myself. I was angry because I felt like that there was something that I must have missed, some piece of the puzzle that despite all my hours I just couldn’t get. And that made me really hate myself for a few weeks. Our sport is so much more draining mentally than it is physically, and for those seniors who lose at semi state, it can really knock your happiness down a few notches for a quite a while. So coaches and parents, if you have a wrestler whose career comes to an end this Saturday, it’s important to not look at their whole career under a microscope and appreciate the whole journey. You got to participate in the toughest sport in the world, you were able to make it to semi state, which while not a particularly impressive accomplishment, still means that likely hundreds of hours of hard work went into that qualification. It’s okay to feel upset, but don’t let it hang over your life. You worked hard, and you did something that most wrestlers in the state didn’t. And to those who have more years, never stop grinding. Embrace it, and make sure to have fun with it. When the sport is fun, you do better. You can make it to state, but you can’t take your foot off the gas.
 
I love wrestling, so so much. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done, and something I plan on continuing even though I’m not on a college team. I’m so grateful to the sport and my coaches for making me the man I am today, and for teaching me such invaluable life lessons. And I think loving the sport is really what’s so important. If you were able to make an athlete fall in love with the sport, with the process, then you succeeded as a coach. If you support your kids and help them foster that love, then you succeeded as a wrestling parent. The lessons athletes learn from wrestling are some of the best life lessons you can learn, and when you are able to fall in love with the sport, these values are only engrained deeper. So to those seniors out there, wrestle your hearts out. Don’t be afraid to lose, don’t be afraid to score points. Leave it all on the mat and put your name in the history books. And to those seniors who worked so hard and end up coming up short, it will suck. But you’ll live. You’ll be okay. And I think that, even if you lose at semi state, if you managed to fall in love with the sport, then it was all worth it in the end. We are all apart of something amazing, and wrestling is absolutely the greatest sport ever. Fall in love with it, and wrestle your hearts out. 
 

How many ranked individuals currently in regional brackets in the top 20 Indiana mat power polls DO NOT advance to simi state ? Due to upset, illness / injury default, weight miss 
 
I set the over under line at 4.5 across the state -110
 
a true testament to the rankers abilities they don’t get things perfect but they’re dang close

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

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

Should have been Hornsby vs Bustamante in the 2/3 semi, Whitehead vs Leonard or Harlow on top. Some brackets were seeded appropriately while others seemed overlooked altogether.

FYI: Seeding criteria is a joke!! Basing it solely on track rating isn’t the right way! Definitely would think the criteria based on placing at state last year would trump placing at middle school state!! Kids who travel out of state and face top tier competition would obviously have a greater chance of your win loss record being worse than someone wrestles solely in state.

FYI: Seeding criteria is a joke!! Basing it solely on track rating isn’t the right way! Definitely would think the criteria based on placing at state last year would trump placing at middle school state!! Kids who travel out of state and face top tier competition would obviously have a greater chance of your win loss record being worse than someone wrestles solely in state.

FYI: Seeding criteria is a joke!! Basing it solely on track rating isn’t the right way! Definitely would think the criteria based on placing at state last year would trump placing at middle school state!! Kids who travel out of state and face top tier competition would obviously have a greater chance of your win loss record being worse than someone wrestles solely in state.

When your 7yr old son says 
“ how can you go coach everyone else, but can’t come coach me….” That hits hard!!!  100% reason I stepped away from HS sports a couple of years ago. Family first! 

I've coached middle school wrestling for 12 years at 3 different middle schools.  There's always been over 20 weight classes.   I think that's a very good thing.  Allows more kids to wrestle, and Not as big of a weight difference.  
 
Only once did I have a problem with crazy weights. That was at Bedford 205, 210, 215, 220, 230 hwt, super heavy weight haha

Coach Mike Day of Centerville earned his 500th career win today. Heck of an accomplishment! Congratulations Coach Day!