1A Team State Preview

Teams

Adams Central

Bluffton

Centerville

Cowan

Manchester

North Posey

Prairie Heights

Rensselaer Central

South Adams

Southmont

Tell City

Wabash

Ranked wrestlers

106

#6 Blake Zirklebach-North Posey

113

#4 Coy Hammack-Tell City

120

No Ranked Wrestlers

126

#10 Ethan Higgins-Wabash

132

#13 Dylan Stroud-Manchester

138

No Ranked Wrestlers

145

#14 Toby Abbott-Cowan

152

#8 Alex Currie-Adams Central

#11 AJ Dull-South Adams

#16 Gabe Phillips-Centerville

160

No Ranked Wrestlers

170

No Ranked Wrestlers

182

#9 Riley Woodall-Southmont

#12 Christian Summersett-Adams Central

195

#11 Blake Heyerley-Adams Central

#15 Wyatt Willman-North Posey

220

No Ranked Wrestlers

285

No Ranked Wrestlers

First round match-ups

Manchester vs South Adams

South Adams should be too deep from top to bottom for South Adams. While Manchester does have hammers I don't think that will be enough to carry them here. Having good big guys goes a long way in every class but especially here. Christian Summerset, South Adams, is a ranked guy at 182 and can wrestle 195 and get results as well giving them some flexibility.

South Adams advance

Wabash vs Centerville

If Centerville has a full line-up they should be able to advance in this match. The Bulldogs match-up well with Wabash and are good from 113-132 preventing Wabash from being able to bump around to get more favorable match-ups. Wabash has been giving up a lot of forfeits their past few times out and if that happens I don’t see a scenario where Wabash wins this dual.

Centerville Advances

Southmont vs Adams Central

Adams Central matches up well against Southmont. Adams Central has solid kids where Southmont is bad and it should be a good bonus point opportunity for the Jets. Southmont does have solid big guys but the match-ups aren’t in their favor as I feel like Adam Centrals' guys are just a bit better in the toss up matches.

Adams Central Advances

Bluffton vs Rensselaer Central

Bluffton has been without their best wrestler up to this point in the year. Rensselaer lost their best wrestler from last year, but picked up a good freshman to replace him. Bluffton has been wrestling well but I feel that Rensselaer’s line-up is too good from top to bottom and they come out with a win here.

Rensselaer Central Advances

Second Round

Tell City vs South Adams

Tell City is the top seed here for a reason. They have the deepest team in my opinion from top to bottom, returning 8 semi-state level guys from last year's team. Their good guys are spaced out enough for them to get favorable matchups in most duals. Matches to watch in this dual should be at 120 and 152.

Tell City advances

Prairie Heights vs Centerville

This is my first “upset” of the tournament. Centerville brought back 5 semi-state level guys compared to two for Prairie Heights, in a much tougher semi-state. Honestly I don’t get the seeding decision here with Centerville not only having a better team on paper, but a better record as well.

Centerville advances

Cowan vs Adams Central

Adams Central’s team has too much fire power for Cowan at this point. Cowan returns 1 guy with semi-state experience compared to the 4 guys the Jets bring back. Cowan is tough in those middle weights, Adams Central has a tough team from top to bottom and that depth will be the difference.

Adams Central advances

North Posey vs Rensselaer Central

North Posey is just a better team at this point in the season than Rensselaer Central. The thing that worries me about them as they advance in the tournament is their lack of “hammers”. While they do have good kids they don’t really have any guys that would pick to win every match that they’re in.

North Posey advances

Semi-Finals

Tell City vs Centerville

I think these are the two best teams in the tournament and, again, I don’t get how or why Centerville was seeded so low. There are several weights in this dual that should be good, such as 152 and 160. Centerville will need to get pins where they’re favored because I don’t have them favored to win a lot of these matchups.

Tell City advances

Adams Central vs North Posey

I look forward to some good matchups in this dual but bonus points will be the story here. Looking at similar opponents, North Posey should get a lot of quality wins in this dual. There are only a few spot where I can see Adams Central getting bonus points, there  are a lot of weights where I would be surprised if North Posey didn’t pick up bonus points. 195 should be the best match of the dual.

North Posey advances

Finals

Tell City vs North Posey

These teams are pretty even matched. For Tell City to give themselves the best chance to win they need to pick up quality wins, specifically a fall, at 126, 138 and 145 where their guys are much better. For North Posey their weights are 170 and 195. Looking at some common opponents, there are a lot of toss up matches in this dual, but when it’s all said and done i see Tell City picking up a lot of bonus points and winning a team state title.

IHSWCA 1A Team State Champions-Tell City