2021 IHSAA State Preview (Team)

2020 Champ:

Cathedral

Scoring (without bonus):

1st....20

2nd...16

3rd....11

4th.....9

5th.....6

6th.....4

7th.....2

8th.....1

Teams in the Race:

Cathedral

Evan Dickey-1st-20 points

Dillon Graham-4th-9 points

Zeke Seltzer-1st-20 points

Andrew Wilson-3rd-11 points

Ulrik Urasy-6th-4 points

Johnny Parker-4th-9 points

Projected Total: 73 points

What needs to happen:

First thing that has to happen for the Fighting Irish is winning that big Friday night match at 195. If Parker loses there then their chances for a 4-peat are all but over. They will also need to rack up some bonus point wins since a lot of their guys don’t have a great chance of placing higher than predicted, so there’s not a lot of points left on the table. They also need help from the field and with Evansville Mater Dei having such tough draws they could get it.

Chesterton

Hayden DeMarco-3rd-11 points

Sergio Lemley-1st-20 points

Aidan Torres-6th-4 points

Ethan Kaiser-7th-2 points

Brock Ellis-5th-6 points

Gavin Layman-5th-6 points

Evan Bates-1st-20 points

Projected Total: 69 points

What needs to happen:

Chesterton have the most placers when it's all said and done but with most of them getting 5th or lower it’s going to be hard for them to get enough points to take the title. The good thing for them there’s a lot of points they can steal. Gage DeMarco plays a big role in their team title hunt. If he can win Friday night, Chesterton gains another 11, DeMarco getting 4th, which will put them right around the top. They can also get a bunch if Aidan Torres can beat Alec Freeman Saturday morning. The last match where they can really bolster their title hopes is at 182 where If Layman can beat Drake Buchanan then he should make the finals.

Crown Point

Anthony Bahl-5th-6 points

Logan Frazier-2nd 16 points

Sam Goin-5th-6 points

Stephen Roberson-2nd-16 points

Jesse Mendez-1st-20 points

Javen Estrada-6th-4 points

Orlando Cruz-4th-9 points

Projected Total: 77 points

What needs to happen:

Crown Point coming into the postseason season was an on pier favorite to win it all here. With the loss of Cody Goodwin and Seth Willem at the regional it will be much tougher for the Bulldogs to capture a title this season. Crown Point has 4 big matches Saturday morning where they could go 4-0 and be towards the top or 0-4 and be out of the race after the quarters. Those matches at 126, 132, 152, and 160 are big if they want a chance here because if all those guys slide then they will most likely be eliminated from the team race.

Evansville Mater Dei

Evan Seng-5th-6 points

Cole Ross-5th-6 points

Alec Freeman-1st-20 points

Blake Boarman-3rd-11 points

Brody Baumann-2nd-16 points

Gabe Sollars-3rd-11 points

Projected Total: 70 points

What needs to happen:

The draws for the Wildcats are absolutely brutal. Reed Egli would’ve been a point scorer for them but with the injury to Cottey last weekend he will most likely be eliminated Friday night. Cole Ross draws into Lemley, which most likely drops him down to 5th. Boarman drawing into Jesse Mendez in the semis all but limits him to 3rd place this weekend. The match Evan Seng has with Toby Billerman is huge for their title hopes. Saturday morning Even if Baumann and Sollars both win titles, I am not sure it will be enough for them if Seng doesn’t win Saturday morning.

Perry Meridian

Toby Billerman-2nd-16 points

Alex Cottey-1st-20 points

Brady McKivitz-4th-9 points

Matthew Koontz-1st-20 points

JaJaun Dale-4th-9 points

Aiden Warren-1st-20 points

Jeff McClure-4th-9 points

Projected Total: 103 points

What needs to happen:

This tournament is Perry’s to lose. They have a bunch of winnable matches and don't need any crazy upsets really to take home the title. The biggest match for them is at 145, while it is only 9 potential points, you never know how close this race could be. Another big one is JaJaun Dale. He is the on paper favorite here but matches aren’t wrestled on paper. The same goes for Jeff McClure who could possibly make the finals or finish 8th. The only thing bad about being predicted to score as many points as the Falcons are is that there isn’t any room for them to score a whole lot more, but there is a chance for them to lose a bunch of points, especially Saturday morning. If they wrestle the first 2 rounds this weekend like they did last weekend the tournament will be over heading into the finals.

Hoosiermat Top 5:

1. Perry Meridian

2. Crown Point

3. Cathedral

4. Evansville Mater Dei

5. Chesterton