Al Smith Preview

December 25, 2019

Teams

106

Crown Point’s Sam Goin comes into this weekend after taking his first loss of the season a week ago. I do not him suffering the same fate this weekend. Goin is one of the few wrestlers in this weight that has been tested this year. I look for that to be the difference here as I do not see anyone really going with him. Bellmont’s Isaac Ruble had a solid year last year and comes in a returning state qualifier and Al Smith placer. Ruble hasn’t seen much from outside the area so this will be the first big test of the season for him. Garrett’s Hayden Brady took a loss to Ruble a few weeks ago and could get another shot at him this weekend. Lake Central’s Johnny Cortez comes in with the big fall over Jeffrey Bailey this year. He could have a coming out party and really show how good he is this weekend. Another wrestler to keep an eye on is Perry Meridian’s Keaton Morton. Morton is a little small for the weight right now but is a good wrestler, with his only loses coming to the #2 and #6 ranked wrestlers in the state.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Sam Goin-Crown Point

#5 Isaac Ruble-Bellmont

#9 Johnny Cortez-Lake Central

#11 Hayden Brady-Garrett

#14 Keaton Morton-Perry Meridian

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Sam Goin-Crown Point

2. Isaac Ruble-Bellmont

3. Johnny Cortez-Lake Central

4. Keaton Morton-Perry Meridian

113

Perry Meridian’s Alex Cottey returns to win his second Al Smith championship. The Junior comes in undefeated, after pinning his way through the county tournament. Cottey tends to keep some matches closer than they must be, but he is in control from start to finish. Goshen’s Nick Olson had a pretty good offseason but has not wrestled much this season. Olson didn’t place last year at this tournament, but I look for him to build of the strong offseason he had. The kid everyone is most interested in seeing is Crown Point’s Logan Frazier. The freshman is having a great season and has slowly moved up the rankings. Frazier had 1 setback this year, losing to Carmel’s Brac Hooper 6-4, but has been dominant outside of that. Peru’s Trey Sturgill has made it downtown but was unable to compete last year. This will be Sturgill’s first test of the season.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Alex Cottey-Perry Meridian

#7 Nick Olson-Goshen

#10 Logan Frazier-Crown Point

#11 Trey Sturgill-Peru

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Alex Cottey-Perry Meridian

2. Logan Frazier-Crown Point

3. Trey Sturgill-Peru

4. Nick Olson-Goshen

120

This weight features the 1,2, and 3 ranked wrestlers in the state. This weight should give us a preview of what we will see in February. Even with the field, Cathedral’s Zeke Seltzer must be the on-paper favorite. He rolled through this tournament last year, and I would not be surprised if he did the same this year. Crown Point’s Riley Bettich is capable of the “upset”, as he almost knocked off Littell last year in the finals. Rettich is the 2nd ranked kid in the state for a reason and is looking to add another state title his resume. Beating Zeke this weekend makes him a favorite to do so. In the semi-finals Bettich should see Merrillville’s Malik Hall, who is coming off a runner-up finish himself. Hall is big and strong and can slow down anyone while getting to his offense as well. While I don’t see a final without Bettich and Seltzer, Hall could pull of the upset assuming he has Bettich in the semis. Outside of the top 3 guys this field is deep. Mishawaka’s 11th ranked Brodie Fogarty, along with Bloomington South’s Delaney Ruhlman, and Perry Meridian Andrew Haggerty can all make deep runs in this tournament.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Zeke Seltzer-Cathedral

#2 Riley Bettich-Crown Point

#3 Malik Hall-Merrillville

#11 Brodie Fogarty-Mishawaka

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Zeke Seltzer-Cathedral

2. Riley Bettich-Crown Point

3. Malik Hall-Merrillville

4. Delaney Ruhlman-Bloomington South

126

Chesterton freshman Aidan Torres has shown he is a legit guy at this weight, and while he isn’t currently due to not having a ranked win thus far, I think that changes after this weekend. Torres lone loss coming in is an overtime loss to Stephen Roberson. Roberson, Crown Point, comes into this weekend having picked up a big win a week ago against Kysen Montgomery. Roberson finished 3rd a year ago at this tournament, with his only loss coming to the chap in the semi-finals. Jace Alexander, Wawasee, is tough to gauge because he does drop quite a few matches during the year, so it is hard seeing him navigate such a tough tournament. Alexander can do it, it’s just a question of whether he’s “on” every match. He got 6th at this tournament a year ago, then finished 6th at the state tournament. A few other wrestlers at this weight are 11th ranked Brendon Mark, who is coming off a season in which he made the state tournament. Also, don’t overlook Bloomington South’s Cade Meier. Meier fell out of the rankings after some weight changes and a bad loss early in the season, but he’s another state qualifier who can make a run at a title this weekend.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#7 Jace Alexander-Wawasee

#8 Stephen Roberson-Crown Point

#13 Brendon Mark-Mishawaka

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Stephen Roberson-Crown Point

2. Aidan Torres-Chesterton

3. Jace Alexander-Wawasee

4. Cade Meier-Bloomington South

132

This weight is another weight where the field is competing for second place. Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez is trying to be the best to ever come through Indiana and dominating this field will help. No one is beating Jesse Mendez this weekend. This will be the first time we see Matthew Koontz in Perry Meridian singlet. Koontz wrestled up a year ago at 145 but is down to a better weight for him at 132. He can beat anyone not named Mendez at this weight and I look for him to roll into the semis. Center Grove’s Hayden Watson is up a few from last year but that hasn’t slowed him down. Watson was dominant most of the season last year and got the short end of the stick last year at semi-state losing to eventual 4th placer, Gavinn Alstott in the ticket round. Watson-Koontz will be a big semi-final match at this weight to see who will wrestle Jesse. Other wrestlers to watch in this weight are 10th ranked Andrew Wilson or Cathedral. A state qualifier a year ago, Wilson has always been solid but has yet to really separated himself from the pack. Lake Central’s Isaiah Ponce could pull himself into the mix in the top 4 depending on his draw.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Jesse Mendez-Crown Point

#5 Matthew Koontz-Perry Meridian

#7 Hayden Watson-Center Grove

#10 Andrew Wilson-Cathedral

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Jesse Mendez-Crown Point

2. Matthew Koontz-Perry Meridian

3. Hayden Watson-Center Grove

4. Andrew Wilson-Cathedral

138

This is one of, if not thee, deepest weights in the tournament. 5 guys ranked in the top 12 plus a handful of guys right on the cusp of being ranked. Cathedral’s Logan Bailey comes in trying to win his first Al Smith title after falling short on a controversial call last year. Bailey will have a tough field to get through to do so, which includes Zionsville’s Logan Wagner, a two-time state placer, Crown Point freshman Cody Goodwin, and 2 previous state qualifiers in Penn’s Vince Sparrow, and Bellmont’s Kyle Lawson. Those are just the ranked guys in the weight. LaPorte Senior Tyson Nisley is good enough to ruin a few brackets this weekend, along with Droshawn Lewis from South Bend Riley. Chesterton’s Ethan Kaiser, Merrillville’s Anthony Rivera, and Prairie Heights Sam Levitz are three other guys to watch this weekend.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Logan Bailey-Cathedral

#5 Logan Wagner-Zionsville

#6 Cody Goodwin-Crown Point

#11 Kyle Lawson-Bellmont

#12 Vince Sparrow-Penn

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Logan Bailey-Cathedral

2. Cody Goodwin-Crown Point

3. Logan Wagner-Zionsville

4. Vince Sparrow-Penn

145

145 is headlined by 2nd ranked, and returning state placer, Brock Ellis of Chesterton. Ellis has looked great this year having already majored what could be the second-best kid in this weight, Crown Point’s Orlando Cruz. While I don’t think Ellis walks though the field, I do see him at the top when it is all said and done. Cruz is having a good freshman campaign with his only loss coming to Ellis. Perry Meridian’s Brady McKivitz is another kid you never really know what you are going to get from. McKivitz has had moments where he’s looked as good as anyone in the state, and others where you question how good he really is. Brady seems to wrestle to the level of his competition quite a bit, so maybe a tournament like this will give us a true glimpse of who is really is. Other guys in this weight include Lake Central’s Christian Ponce, South Bend Riley’s Simeon Norton, Cathedral’s Garrett Stewart, and the freshman from NorthWood, Kaden Lone.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Brock Ellis-Chesterton

#12 Orlando Cruz-Crown Point

#14 Brady McKivitz-Perry Meridian

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Brock Ellis-Chesterton

2. Orlando Cruz-Crown Point

3. Brady McKivitz-Perry Meridian

4. Christian Ponce-Lake Central

152

This is a weird weight. There are a lot of good wrestlers at this weight but none of them are super dominant against better competition. A lot of this field likes to play it close and win tight matches. Columbus East’s Kade Law did not place at this tournament a year ago but is the on paper favorite this year. He has a win over Perry Meridian’s Noah Baker this year, a 2-1 decision. Jacob Maldonado is a returning state qualifier and can win this weight, but he has not wrestled this yet this year to my knowledge, so I don’t really know what his status is. Speaking of unknown status, Perry Meridian’s Noah Baker got dinged up at county this past weekend, so his status is also up in the air for this weekend. Healthy, Baker can take out anyone in the field. Hobart’s Tyler Turley is another talented wrestler that did not place at this tournament a year ago. Turley has always been good but is another one who seems to be a fan of keeping matches closer than they must be. Based on results, Tyler looks to have opened up a bit more than in years past. This weight is super deep, and there’s a returning state qualifier in Scottie Saylor, Carroll (Fort Wayne), who is going to have a hard time finding a spot on the podium. Also, in this weight is Lowell’s Shawn Hollis, Chesterton’s Cade Johnson, Crown Point freshman Seth Willems, Wawasee’s Garrett Stuckman, Penn’s James Smith, and Zionsville’s undefeated Shane Bates.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#8 Kade Law-Columbus East

#9 Jacob Maldonado-Merrillville

#13 Shawn Hollis-Lowell

#14 Noah Baker-Perry Meridian

#15 Tyler Turley-Hobart

#16 Shane Bates-Zionsville

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Jacob Maldonado-Merrillville

2. Kade Law-Columbus East

3. Shane Bates-Zionsville

4. Tyler Turley-Hobart

160

While 160 is a good weight, there such a heavy favorite that it’s kind of diminish the rest of the talent in the weight. There are probably 2 guys that can beat Elliott Rodgers in the state, and neither will be here this weekend. He should roll to his second Al Smith title. Prairie Heights’s Isiah Levitz is a returning state placer and will likely come in as the second seed in this weight. Levitz is another one who placed lower at this tournament that he did at the state tournament. He has a bunch of weird results from the past year, including the offseason, but has shown that he is on the level and can compete with anyone. While Noah Hollendonner was unable to place here last year, he looks to be building from his post season run a year ago. Hollendonner was able to pick up a win over state placer Peyton Asbury last week and will look to keep the momentum rolling into this weekend. Also in this weight are Elkhart Memorial’s Kamden Goering, Columbus East’s Sam Morrill, and Zionsville Luke Davis, who is down 2 weights from last year.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Elliott Rodgers-Cathedral

#4 Isiah Levitz-Prairie Heights

#5 Noah Hollendonner-Crown Point

#12 Kamden Goering-Elkhart Memorial

#14 Sam Morrill-Columbus East

#16 Luke Davis-Zionsville

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Elliott Rodgers-Cathedral

2. Noah Hollendoner-Crown Point

3. Isiah Levitz-Prairie Heights

4. Sam Morrill-Columbus East

170

The toughest weight in the tournament is 170. 8 guys ranked, 6 of the top 10. We may be getting an early preview of the state finals as we have the top 2 ranked wrestlers in the state at this weight. Returning state runner-up Clay Fielden, Garrett, is looking for his first Al Smith title after a 4th place finish a year ago. On the opposite side of the bracket is 2-time state placer Graham Calhoun of Plymouth, who is a new team this year. While I do see this being the finals, there are plenty of wrestlers here who can beat either of these guys. Bloomington North’s Tristan Ruhlman had a good year and postseason last year and comes in with 1 loss, a 1-0 decision to Gabe Sollars. Cathedral’s Tyler Wagner has been on the cusp of being elite for awhile now and if he can come away with a title this weekend, he puts himself in the discussion for a title in February. Lowell’s Abel Verbeek is a returning state qualifier, who placed 5th at this tournament a year ago after losing his first match. He has taken a loss already to Jacob Simpson of Hobart, who will be in this field, in overtime, which will hurt his seed a bit. Others in this weight to watch are Chesterton’s Gavin Layman and Elkhart Memorial’s Clayton Lundy.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Clay Fielden-Garrett

#2 Graham Calhoun-Plymouth

#5 Tristan Ruhlman-Bloomington South

#8 Tyler Wagner-Cathedral

#9 Gavin Layman-Chesterton

#10 Clayton Lundy-Elkhart Memorial

#14 Jacob Simpson-Hobart

#16 Abel Verbeek-Lowell

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Graham Calhoun-Plymouth

2. Clay Fielden-Garrett

3. Tyler Wagner-Cathedral

4. Tristan Ruhlman-Bloomington South

182

This is another weight that features a potential 1 vs 2 match-up. Perry Meridian’s Aiden Warren is coming off a 3rd place finish at state but has since moved up 4 weight classes. The big weight jump hasn’t seemed to hurt Warren thus far in the season, but this will be a good measuring stick for him. Mishawaka’s Joseph Walker has been lights out this off season coming off some big win over nationally ranked guys and a 3rd place finish at the prestigious Super 32 tournament. The style Walker wrestles keeps him in every match no matter the opponent, but it sometimes gives an inferior opponent a chance to steal a match from him. We will see if that’s the case this weekend. Rounding out the field is NorthWood’s Jake Lone, who is a multiple time state place winner. Lone looks to crash the finals by knocking off a higher ranked kid this weekend. Other to watch for are Bellmont’s Caden Friedt, Columbus East’s Noah White, Cathedral’s Johnny Parker, and Center Grove’s Drake Buchanan, who jumped up 5 weights this offseason.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Joseph Walker-Mishawaka

#2 Aiden Warren-Perry Meridian

#4 Jake Lone-NorthWood

#9 Caden Friedt-Bellmont

#10 Noah White-Columbus East

#11 Drake Buchanan-Center Grove

#14 Johnny Parker-Cathedral

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Aiden Warren-Perry Meridian

2. Joseph Walker-Mishawka

3. Jake Lone-NorthWood

4. Drake Buchanan-Center Grove

195

This weight could be a rematch of last years’ finals at 182, where Mishawaka’s Jacob LaPlace was able to pull out a decision over Chesterton’s Evan Bates. Evan Bates is the slight favorite here having beaten LaPlace the last time they wrestled, but this match could either way. I don’t see anyone prevents this match-up from happening. Warsaw’s Brock Hueber picked up some good wins this offseason and has rolled thus far this season. I look for him to take out a few higher ranked this weekend outside of the Bates and LaPlace. Hobart’s Bobby Babcock is a big, strong athlete even at 195. Babcock was able to place 5th at this tournament a year ago, and I can see him a few spots higher this year. Others in the field include Merrillville’s Khris Walton, 7th place a yar ago, and Northridge’s Ibrahim Khaoucha

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Evan Bates-Chesterton

#3 Jacob LaPlace-Mishawaka

#9 Khris Walton-Merrillville

#11 Bobby Babcock-Hobart

#13 Brock Hueber-Warsaw

#16 Ibrahim Khaoucha-Northridge

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Evan Bates-Chesterton

2. Jacob LaPlace-Mishawka

3. Brock Hueber-Warsaw

4. Bobby Babcock-Hobart

220

This weight isn’t super deep and 2 of the 3 ranked guys are smaller guys for this weight. Cathedral’s David Guhl could win this weight due to him being big enough to compete with the field. Guhl does have a loss to Fuentes-Ortiz of South Bend Riley, but I don’t see that result being duplicated. Perry Meridian’s Jeff McClure is good, but he is also really small for the weight, and that has been his crutch thus far in the season. McClure can go with anyone at this weight but eventually giving up that much size catches up with him. I can see McClure winning the weight, but I can also see him losing to a kid who isn’t on his level due to the size gap. Jason Streck has jumped up to 220 this year after wrestling 170 a year ago. Streck comes in as a returning state qualifier and placed 7th here a year ago. If Streck has truly put on the size to be a 220 he could win this weight. He didn’t seem very big last year at 170 but a lot can change in a year.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#6 Jason Streck-Merrillville

#8 David Guhl-Cathedral

#13 Jeff McClure-Perry Meridian

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Jeff McClure-Perry Meridian

2. Jason Streck-Merrillville

3. David Guhl-Cathedral

4. Alejandro Fuentes-Ortiz-South Bend Riley

285

The final weight of the tournament feature 2 returning state placers. Penn’s Yehezquel DeVault comes in a returning champ. DeVault dominated the field last year and I can see the same thing happening again. There are a couple new contenders in the field, however. One being Cathedral’s Holden Parsons. Parsons is coming off a 7th place finish at the state tournament. Another wrestler to look out for is Mishawaka’s Jonathan Thomas. Up from 220, Thomas was somewhat unknown last year when he wrestled for South Bend Adams. Thomas finished 4th last year at this tournament, losing twice to Drew Bailey or Merrillville. Carroll’s Reeve Muncie has the size and skill to win this weight and place high in February. For whatever reason he hasn’t been able to take the next step in consistently beating those better guys. Also look out for Zionsville Cameron McDaniel, who placed 7th at this weight last year.

Ranked Wrestlers:

#3 Yehezquel DeVault-Penn

#5 Jonathan Thomas-Mishawaka

#12 Reeve Muncie-Carroll (Fort Wayne)

#13 Holden Parsons-Cathedral

HOOSIERMAT TOP 4:

1. Yehezquel DeVault-Penn

2. Holden Parsons-Cathedral

3. Jonathan Thomas-Mishawaka

4. Reeve Muncie-Carroll (Fort Wayne)