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By STEVE KRAH stvkrh905@gmail.com It was one of the most highly-anticipated championship matches in the 78 years of the IHSAA State Finals. There was a buzz around the Indiana wrestling community for months. On Saturday, Feb. 20, before 12,602 leather-lunged fans at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, New Palestine’s Chad Red and Evansville Mater Dei’s Nick Lee — ranked No. 1 and 2 in the nation and holding four previous state titles between them — stepped under the lights with the 132-pound title on the line. Here they were, what long-time State Finals public address announcer Kevin Whitehead called “two of the finest high school wrestlers on the planet.” The crowd and the television audience was treated to a tussle between the two Big Ten Conference-bound grapplers. Red had never lost a match as a high schooler and yet he found himself behind 4-0 early in the match. He cradled his way back into the lead and wound up with his hand being raised after a 6-5 victory. “I just feel like I wrestled through that match calmly and, other than giving up that four. I wrestled pretty good,” Red said. “(Lee’s quick 4-0 lead) definitely caught me off-guard. I noticed I had to move a lot more. Once I started moving a little more, I started changing the momentum of the match. Once I locked up that cradle, I started changing the momentum of the match and the crowd got a little more quiet. It was back to us wrestling. I had to control the lead.” The New Pal Dragon sprinted off at 183-0 with state titles at 106, 120, 126 and 132. Red is only the third Indiana high schooler to go unbeaten throughout his career and the ninth four-time IHSAA state champion, joining Crown Point’s Jason Tsirtsis (2009-12), Griffith’s Angel Escobedo (2002-05) and Alex Tsirtsis (2001-04), Mater Dei’s Blake Maurer (2001-04), Indianapolis Cathedral’s Lance Ellis (1986-89), South Bend Central’s Howard Fisher (1949-52), Muncie Central’s Willard Duffy (1930-33) and Bloomington’s Estil Ritter (1924-27). Lee, who was at the top of the podium at 132 in 2015 and third at 126 in 2014, finished his junior season at 16-1. He’s been on big stages and won championships all around the country, but Saturday in Indianapolis was special. “This is crazy,” Red said. “This is one of my favorites, if THE best.” Ellis, the first Indiana grappler to run the table, was there to present Red with his medal and later reflected on the moment. “That was good for our sport, good for Indiana wrestling,” Ellis said. “What Chad Red did is amazing. He’s put himself in the record book as probably the greatest high school wrestler in Indiana history.” What makes Red so good? “A lot of things,” Ellis said. “It’s the time he puts in on the mat, the dedication, athleticism, just the will to win. He’s just a phenomenal wrestler. The bond he has with his dad (Chad Red Sr.) is special. Once you start winning, it becomes contagious.” But what it boils down to for Ellis is that Red has what it takes to go into an early deficit, in front of a huge crowd with many rooting against him and still dig deep and come out on top. “It comes down to mental toughness,” Ellis said. “And you’ve got to give (Nick) Lee all the credit in the world. For him to go after Red and challenge himself says a lot about him. Most people would do that. No one would do that. He’s a competitor.” Ellis said as impressive as the showdown was now, it will be even more important years from now when Red and Lee can look back on even bigger titles at the national and international levels. What did Lee think about the experience? “You don’t get to wrestle the best kid in the country all the time,” Lee said. “You don’t take it for granted. You go out there and give it 100 percent. The hype is the hype. There’s always hype every year in every weight class. The opportunity to wrestler somebody with that many great credentials is just exciting for me.” The moves that built the 4-0 lead? “An inside tie to a Fireman’s (Carry) and I got him to his back, so two (points) for a takedown and two for a near fall,” Lee said. “You can’t panic when you get down and he didn’t panic and he took the lead. That’s something you can admire in wrestlers at this level. They’re always in the match no matter what the score is.” Red will take his talents to the college mat at Nebraska while Lee has committed to Penn State. Who knows, but these two could meet again many times in the future? As for the immediate future for Red, he does not plan to be back in the wrestling room on Monday. “I’m going to take a long time off,” Red said. “I’m about the chill-ax right now, kick my feet up and sit back.” But Red will be back in the spotlight again soon enough when he takes on the Pennsylvania 132-pound champion March 26 at the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic.

Brought to you by EI Sports JEREMY HINES jerhines@cinergymetro.net Chad Red, Jr., or C.J as he is known, is one of Indiana’s most dominating high school wrestlers this season. He is the top 126-pounder in the state, and the No. 1 wrestler at that weight in the nation according to FloWrestling. Still, Red is always afraid that the next match might be the one he messes up in and loses. That’s what fuels him. “My goal is to be first in everything I do,” Red said. “I don’t like being ranked. I like to try and beat the odds. Now I have that number sign in front of my name. It doesn’t mean anything to me except that people are going to come at me harder, and want to beat me that much worse. I know I have to go out each time and work as hard as I can and wrestle the best I can, or I’ll lose.” Red, who wrestles for his dad Chad, Sr., at New Palestine High School, has been beaten before. He hasn’t lost in the Indiana high school seasons. He is a two time state champion and is undefeated in his high school career. But in the national tournaments, he has tasted defeat. He hated it. “I remember I was up 2-0 in a tournament and got caught in a headlock,” C.J. said. “I immediately called my dad and told him what happened. We talked for a few minutes then I turned off the phone and went back to training.” Coach Red says that is one of his son’s strengths. He can take a defeat and learn much more from that than he ever could from a win. But those defeats are very rare. So coach Red makes sure to keep his son grounded after each match. If C.J. takes a sloppy shot, or doesn’t have good foot movement, coach Red will point that out – even in victory. Coach Red does not want his son being satisfied with a mediocre win. “Wrestling for my dad has its ups and downs,” C.J. said. “He’s always on me. He tells me how I didn’t do this right, or that. I know it’s all constructive criticism, and I like it. It’s good. It makes me want to work harder. “I’ll go out there and feel like I wrestled a very good match. But when my dad tells me I did a good job, that’s when I really know I accomplished something. “ Inside, C.J. feels vulnerability. He knows he has weaknesses. But on the outside, he has always been a pillar of confidence. “We do not allow him to be cocky at all,” coach Red said. “We do not tolerate that. With Chad though, he has a swag of some sort. He has a confidence. That’s Chad. He’s been that way since he was born. He’s always been confident in himself. There is nothing wrong with that. He has to believe in what he’s doing. We, as coaches, can’t call plays or audibles from the sidelines in wrestling. He has to have his best every time he steps out on the mat.” That’s one of the reason C.J. loves wrestling. “It’s only you out there,” he said. “If you lose, you can only blame it on yourself. There are no excuses in wrestling.” C.J. wrestles a lot of Greco during the summers, despite his dad wishing he wouldn’t. But the 126-pound junior feels that is a way to get better. He wants to push himself, even when it means working on things he is not quite as good at. Coach Red sees a bright future in the sport of wrestling for his son. That’s why they work as hard as they do. “A lot of people tell Chad that he is good,” coach Red said. “I think he’s pretty good. I’m his biggest fan, but also his biggest critic. We have very high expectations for how he can perform. There is a big prize down the road for him if he continues to work. Whether it’s a college scholarship or whatever, there is something out there waiting on him. And there is always someone out there working to beat him.” New Palestine’s 120-pounder, Eugene Starks, is one of C.J.’s main practice partners in the Dragon wrestling room. “Chad is very aggressive and quick on his feet,” Starks said. “In practice I try to put up a fight with him. It has helped me tremendously. His shots are so good, it helps me learn to defend the shot better. He’s a great partner and a great teammate.” Red won state as a freshman at 106 pounds. Last year he was crowned the 120-pound champ. He has a goal to go undefeated in high school and win four state championships in the process. “It’s been a real blessing having a kid like Chad,” coach Red said. “He’s a great son, and a friend. I think the sky is the limit for him. He’s very solid and has a chance to really do something special. But like I always tell him, he has to keep a level head, stay focused on the prize and work to achieve it.” If you have a #WrestlingWednesday feature idea, email it to jerhines@cinergymetro.net