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Every year around this time wrestling fans in Fort Wayne flock to Snider High School to watch a little wrestling. The old greats will gather to talk about the old days. Rico Talamentes shall be at hand and there will be a Tony Elkins Sr. sighting. Mr. Woodson will be present if time permits. Hopefully stalwart Terry Burton and the legendary Russ Isaacs are in attendance. However these festivities will have a somber” tone” without the raspy presents of Hall of Famer: Fred Tone. It’s nostalgic for me every time I’m in those hallowed halls. Troy Bahler, Goshert, Elbert Starks. James Starks, Jermaine Brooks, The Talamentes Bros., Greg Wagner, Jason Woodson, Oliver Richmond, The Lovejoys, Will Ragle Jr., Tony Vaughn, Erique Early sr., Lil E………… For the first time in a long time my Alma Mater, Snider, is not the favorite. The Cadets from Concordia are. Northside is poised to strike in an upset bid. Parity has found its way to Fairlawn Ave. and I think this one will be a barnburner! 106. Its no secret who the favorite is here. Led by Russ Hartman, Northside’s senior Ben ”State” Streeter is the Juggernaut here. Strong, tough, and experienced, you’d be a fool to go against him. Already a state qualifier, Streeter is focused on a medal so he has no time to play with the younglings. If he is to be challenged it will be by feisty Soph. Josh “Go Hard” Goheen -Smith. The rest of the pack will fight for third expect Bishop Luers’s Ben ”The Wrecker” Frecker to make some noise. Sleeper: NONE 113. Again this one is a culmination. He’s come a long way from being that 82lb freshman. Wayne’s Geoffrey “Tiltmaster” Davis, led by Josh “Colossus” Grider, already has seen Banker’s Life once and left with some hardware, a fourth place medal. Speed and tenacity are his assets, along with a been there done that approach. Freshman, Concordia’s Luke “The Force” Aumick will use his Jedi powers to take the rest of the field. Sleeper: NONE 120. Snider’s Jaydon “Raidan”Nance, Led by Dave “Gimme Some” Mohr, has wrestled 120 all four years on varsity. He has been in the conference finals twice losing both times. This is his weight to lose. He shall be challenged by Dwenger’s Jacob “journeyman” Robinson. Southside’s Jamarri”Blitz” Price and Luers’s Gage “The Mallet” Mallot can upset any of the top two if they are not poised and ready. Sleeper: PRICE 126. Your guess as good as mine. Snider’s Zeran”The Sultan” Couter is the favorite but Dwenger’s Michael” I don’t live in” Garrett has the pedigree to upset the field. This is a very wide open weight with no incumbents. Sleeper: THEY ALL ARE 132. Early on this one looked easy. Woenker from Bishop Luers. Woenker had a growth spurt so again it’s on. Northside’s Ketan” I am” Braun was a conference champ last year. So was Snider’s Jordan Pace. Concordia’s Tre King can beat them both under the right circumstances. I’ll take Braun. 138. This may be the SAC’s most intriguing weight. Bishop Luer’s Chandler “Cerebro” Woenker, led by Rodney” one man team” Bolden, is the favorite but there is all type of chaos amongst the head to heads. Northside’s Matt Magana dec. Northrop’s improved Austin "Taz” Ochoa. Ochoa Pinned Ben”The Hulk” Macias from Southside twice. Macias Teched Ochoa. Ochoa dec. and pinned Concordia’s Murfield. Woenker majored and pinned Ochoa. Ochoa pinned Woenker. Woenker hasn’t face Magana, Macias, nor Murfield. So they all have better records than Ochoa, yet Ochoa has beaten them all except Magana in a close dec. earlier in the year. Carry the 1 divided by the 9 plus the 7 negative times pi= Woenker. Sleeper: Macias 145. Northside’s Logan "the leg” Capps has been knocking on that door for a while now. A conference runner-up and Semi-state qualifier last year he was poised to dominate this year. Slowed by an injury, coming back nearly a month late, Capps still has a little rust. Don’t think that’s going to stop him from winning conference. Wayne’s Oberto Solis is dangerous, so is Concordia’s Chad "Vlad” Grover. Sleeper: Dwenger’s David “Neverfail” Obergfell. 152. Snider senior Nick “Miller Time” Miller is a hard worker poised to capture another conference crown and earn that elusive trip to Banker’s Life. He “did the rounds” so all he needs to do is beat whomever comes to that line. His challengers are Concordia’s Jack "Stack” Adair and Wayne’s Javi “Jaguar” Johnson. Miller is solid. Adair is a grizzled veteran with a cheat code it seems. Johnson has the pedigree and is simply cat quick. This will be an entertaining semi-final. Sleepers: Gonzalez Northrop/ Garrett Dwenger 160. Wayne’s Bryson “Tyson” Mckee was a surprise semi state qualifier last season with a .500 record. Normally with those credentials you would be the favorite in our conference. Not this year. There are at least four guys who could take it here. Luke "Hook’em” Fisher from Bishop Luers lost to McKee earlier in the year. Concordia’s Harris has been having a fine year but was pinned by Fisher. Toss Northside’s Logan "I don’t go to” Snyder in there and now we have an issue. McKee hasn’t separated himself from this pack so it’s a tossup. Sleeper: Dalton Harrington Snider 170 Concordia’s Zach "not him” Davis is used to winning. He put in the time and did the rounds. Indiana Tech especially. He had a trip to the Mecca called Banker’s Life Fieldhouse last year. That gave him confidence. They won’t stop him on Saturday. 182. Northrop’s Heath “Beef” Ault, led by Bruce "Lee” Ojeda, won’t quit. He wants to be the best. This is his chance because he has already beaten the field. He just has to do it again. In his way are Dwenger’s Stephen “Fleetwood” Nix and Concordia’s Dominic Perugini who have traded victories. Southside’s Nate Garcia was poised to challenge but my insiders say he’s out. With the top three battling it out, Bishop Luers’ Mitch “Flip the Switch” Gigli is poised to conquer the rest of the field. Sleeper: Mitch Gigli. 195 is a mystery. Concordia’s Joey “Sweet as a” Rucsinski is the favorite here. He shall be challenged by the field. Not a lot is known about 195; it is wide open. Sleepers: Ricardo Talamantes Snider. 220 Concordia’s Noah “Turn You To” Asher is the class of this field. Trevor Thomas Snider was a Conference Champ last year. Northside’s Tyson Whitner, Wayne’s Dom Snyder, and Northrop’s Ta’Vonne Johnson are poised to challenge. Snyder is strong as an ox. Whitner is a veteran. Johnson has big moves and powerful throws. Asher possesses all of those qualities. This is Asher’s. Sleeper: Dom Snyder. 285 again this was supposed to be a culmination. Unless Bishop Luers’ Daemon Williams pulls a Willis Reed, this race is now Dakota “Rushmore” Ault’s to lose. Ault has had big victories. winning the Connersville Invite. Landon “Hold the Soup” Campbell is his number one rival. Campbell won the Garrett Invite. Wayne’s Jacob “Sir Isaac” Newton is poised is take the rest of the field. Sleeper: Campos Southside.