New Castle SS Preview

February 8, 2019

By: Sam Gobeyn

This Saturday, 224 of the best wrestlers from Central and Eastern Indiana will descend upon the storied New Castle fieldhouse to duke it out for a chance to wrestle for a state championship at Bankers Life Fieldhouse next weekend. There will be a crazy amount of high profile matches, so keep reading below to see what you should be watching out for tomorrow when the chaos begins….

106

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Alex Cottey

#4 Carleton Perry

#5 Suhas Chundi

#12 Elijah Anthony

#13 Logan Carrender

#15 Kody Glithero

Breakdown:

This crop of 106s should get the tournament off to a very exciting start, as this weight is absolutely loaded. The top quarter bracket features number one ranked, undefeated Alex Cottey of Perry Meridian. He should not be challenged this weekend, as he has beaten most of these guys handily during the regular season. The next quarter bracket is one of the most interesting as we will most likely see a ticket round match between 12th ranked freshman Elijah Anthony of Frankfort and 13th ranked Logan Carrender of Lawrence North. Carrender has been on a tear this postseason, winning his regional with all tech falls. Anthony was undefeated going into sectionals, but has suffered two decision losses to 5th ranked Chundi at sectionals and regionals. I like Anthony to win a nail biter here. The next quarter bracket features 4th ranked Carleton Perry of Warren Central, who has had a great first season in the lineup. Look for him to punch his ticket here without too much of a challenge. Then in the final quarter bracket, I expect 5th ranked Chundi and 15th ranked Glithero to be a very closely contested match. Chundi defeated him 5-2 at team state, and I expect him to get over the hump here and punch his ticket to Bankers Life next weekend. After the ticket round, results from this season so far would indicate that we will see a rematch between Cottey and Perry in the finals. Look for Cottey to win a low scoring, but controlled decision.

Toughest Ticket Round

#12 Elijah Anthony vs #13 Logan Carrender

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Alex Cottey
Carleton Perry
Suhas Chundi
Elijah Anthony

113

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Zeke Seltzer

#3 David Pierson

#14 Antonio Jefferson

#15 Jacob Simone

Breakdown:

This weight isn’t quite as deep as the other but it does feature two of the premier wrestlers in the state at this weight class, in Pierson and Seltzer. In the top quarter bracket, don’t expect Seltzer to be challenged in his probable ticket round match with Haggerty of Perry Meridian. Haggerty is very tough and has had a great season, but Seltzer is on a different level. The second quarter bracket should be a little more interesting. The 1 seed with in this quarter bracket is Spencer Gordon of Lawrenceburg, and he will most likely meet Christian White of New Palestine in the ticket round. They each have similar record, with four losses a piece, but I expect White to come out on top in this one as he has wrestled more quality competition this season. The third quarter bracket should be won pretty easily by returning ticket rounder and regional champion Jacob Simone of HSE, as the three other wrestlers in his quarter bracket are underclassmen without semi-state experience. The final quarter bracket at this weight class should feature a great ticket round matchup between returning placer David Pierson and 15th ranked Antonio Jefferson of Lawrence Central. Despite what the rankings say, look for this match to be very competitive. Their match in the Marion County finals was tied until the third period when Pierson got on top and blew the match open. Although I ultimately have Pierson coming out on top in this matchup, look out for this one being a potential upset. In regards to this weight class as a whole, don’t expect Seltzer to be challenged much. He defeated Pierson 5-0 at the beginning of the year, and he has been wrestling even better as of late.

Toughest Ticket Round

#3 David Pierson vs #14 Antonio Jefferson

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Zeke Seltzer
David Pierson
Jacob Simone
Christian White

120

Ranked Wrestlers:

#3 Brayden Lowery

#7 Carson Eldred

#10 Chris Stewart

#20 Harrison Hadley

Breakdown:

Similar to 113, this weight is not super deep but it still has its share of elite guys. In the top quarter bracket, returning state semi-finalist Carson Eldred should punch his ticket handily, as the quarter bracket does not feature another ranked wrestler. Two loss Willie Dennison of Anderson will be game, but look for Eldred to win convincingly. The same goes for the next quarter bracket, as undefeated Brayden Lowery should punch his ticket without too much of a challenge. However, the next quarter bracket should have some fire works, as two loss Traye Owens of New Castle and 10th ranked Christ Stewart of Warren Central should battle in the ticket round. Despite the incredible record on Owens, I like Stewart to win this match due to the great competition he has faced this year. Almost all of his losses are to top ranked guys, and I think all that experience in tough matches will pay off here. This final quarter bracket should be very interesting, Logan Galbraith of North Central and Parker Mosley of North Montgomery should face off. Galbraith, a regional qualifier last year, has been a great surprise this year, amassing a solid 21-3 record and a regional title in the process. Mosley also has a great record this year, and as a returning ticket rounder he will be looking to finally punch his ticket this year. I lean slightly towards Galbraith here based on strength of schedule, and more quality wins this season. After the ticket round, I think that the two best wrestlers in the bracket will meet in the semis when Lowery and Eldred wrestle, with Lowery coming out on top. On the bottom half of the bracket, look for Stewart to advance to the finals, before losing another close match to Brayden Lowery.

Toughest Ticket Round

Traye Owens vs #10 Chris Stewart

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Brayden Lowery
Chris Stewart
Carson Eldred
Logan Galbraith

126

Ranked Wrestlers:

#4 Lukasz Walendzak

#7 Logan Wagner

#9 Jevian Ross

#11 Chase Wilkerson

#17 Cameron Toole

Breakdown:

This is an extremely interesting weight because a lot has happened these past two weeks since the rankings were finalized. The top quarter bracket is one that could go a couple different ways. This weight class features 4th ranked Lukasz Walendzak as a three seed. He had a great Al Smith tournament, but since suffering what appeared to be a pretty serious injury against Roncall, he has suffered a couple of losses. His first round match will be against solid 17th ranked Cameron Toole of Lebanon. If he gets past Toole, which I expect him too, he will face off against undefeated Grant Stapleton of Lawrenceburg. Despite some his losses the last two weeks, look for Walendzak to bring his “A” game and come out of this quarter bracket. The next quarter bracket should feature a ticket round between two wrestlers with a lot of momentum right now, in Sam Slivka of Roncalli and Jared Brown of Pendleton Heights. Slivka is coming off a great weekend in which he defeated Jevian Ross in the regional finals. Brown is coming off of a great weekend as well, where he defeated Walendzak and then lost in the finals to Wilkerson. Both of these guys seem to be pretty evenly matched, but I expect Slivka to come out on top due to the momentum he has coming into this match. The third quarter bracket should also feature a very high profile ticket round match, this one between #9 Jevian Ross and #11 Chase Wilkerson. Ross defeated Wilkerson by fall earlier this season, however Wilkerson has had a great two weekends of wrestling and the momentum is on his side. Look for the senior Wilkerson to punch his ticket here in a barn burner. In the final quarter bracket, don’t expect there to be much drama as 7th ranked Logan Wagner should run through this quarter bracket in relatively dominant fashion. Looking past the ticket round, the semi-final between Logan Wagner and the Ross/Wilkerson winner should be a good one. In the top semi-final, look for Walendzak to control the winner of Slivka/Brown. In the finals I expect Wagner to defeat Walendzak. The two split matches at Al Smith but Wagner is wrestling really well right now, having a great conference tournament and winning his sectional and regional with no challenge. The winner of this weight will set themselves up nicely for next weekend.

Toughest Ticket Round

#9 Jevian Ross vs #11 Chris Wilkerson

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Logan Wagner
Lukasz Walendzak
Chris Wilkerson
Sam Slivka

132

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Alec Viduya

#5 Logan Bailey

#14 Seth Johnson

Breakdown:

Starting in the top quarter bracket here, I expect to see unranked Milo Merkel of Westfield come out on top here. He has had a solid season so far, amassing a 27-9 record on the very tough Westfield schedule. He should see regional champion Hunter Brown in the ticket round. Although Brown has a better record than Merkel, at 26-3, he hasn’t seen nearly as much top notch competition which is why I expect Merkel to come out on top here. Going down to the second quarter bracket, we should see a good ticket round match between 5th ranked Logan Bailey and Andre Beatty of Warren Central. Bailey has proven to be just as dangerous as he was last year despite moving up 4 weight classes. Look for him to win a controlled decision here against a very tough Beatty. Moving down to the third quarter bracket, I expect 2017 state champion Alec Viduya to be utterly dominant as he will not face a ranked opponent until the semis. Then, in the final quarter bracket, look for 2017 4th placer Seth Johnson to punch his ticket back to Bankers Life. Sebastian Bryant of North Central has had a solid season, but look for Johnson to win convincingly here. After the ticket round, I expect ranking to hold and Alec Viduya to win pretty convincingly over both Johnson and Bailey.

Toughest Ticket Round

#5 Logan Bailey vs Andre Beatty

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Alec Viduya
Logan Bailey
Seth Johnson
Milo Merkel

138

Ranked Wrestlers:

#4 Tyce Freije

#6 Gabe Smith

#8 Gabe Phillips

#12 Kyle Hollman

#13 Jared Rowlett

#16 Chris Wilkerson

#17 Andrew Wilson

Breakdown:

This weight starts a streak of absolutely brutal middleweight brackets this weekend at New Castle. This first quarter bracket is definitely the least deep as Chris Wilkerson is the only guy here ranked in the state or semi state. Look for him to punch his second ticket to state with relative ease here. Moving down we will see 4th ranked Tyce Freije of Roncalli here. He will face off against either Reece Luhman or Adam Negangard. However, I don’t see who he faces making much of a difference, as he has been on a tear as of late and looks poised to make a deep run these next few weekends. Moving down we will see a great ticket round match between two seniors, in #6 Gabe Smith and #12 Kyle Hollman. Both of these guys have had great seasons and it is a shame that one of their seasons will end here. Ultimately, I see Smith coming out on top here. He has had some great matches the past few weekends with Freije and has improved a lot as the season has went on. The last quarter bracket here is absolutely insane. The first match here will be between 8th ranked undefeated Gabe Phillips and 2018 ticket rounder Chase Poynter of Zionsville. Records would indicate that this match will not be close, however look for this to be a very close match, as Zionsville has a much tougher schedule. The second match in this quarter bracket will be between two state qualifiers, as Andrew Wilson vs Jared Rowlett will face off. Look for Wilson to come out of this quarter bracket and be Cathedral’s annual surprise qualifier. I expect the finals here to be a rematch between Tyce Freije and Gabe Smith for the 3rd weekend in a row, with Freije coming out on top once again in a hard fought decision.

Toughest Ticket Round

#6 Gabe Smith vs #12 Kyle Hollman

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Tyce Freije
Gabe Smith
Andrew Wilson
Chris Wilkerson

145

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Bryer Hall

#3 Alex Mosconi

#4 Aiden Warren

#5 Antuan Graves

#6 Jeff Dunasky

#18 Terrell Leavell

Breakdown:

This weight class is probably the best in any semi state across the state, as it features 5 of the top 6 wrestlers in the state. Thankfully, none of the guys in the top 5 will meet in the ticket round here. One of the two ticket round matches that are very interesting in my opinion is #5 Antuan Graves vs #6 Jeff Dunasky. Rankings-wise this should be a great match, but in reality I think we will see Graves win pretty dominantly here. The other great ticket round match here will be between #2 Bryer Hall and #18 Terrell Leavell. Leavell, defeated #6 Dunasky last weekend in a very controlled decision. Although on paper this matchup should not be close, Leavell holds a freestyle win over Hall and will not go down without a fight. Despite all this I still expect Hall to win this match and then drop a tight one in the semi-finals in a rematch to Antuan Graves. On the other side of the bracket, look for Mosconi to beat Warren for the 3rd time this season in a close one. Both semi-finals and placement round could go so many different ways, and I am really looking forward to seeing how it plays out. Although all of these guys are capable of winning a state title this year, none of them will want to finish 4th and risk a Friday night match with Nick Lee, so look for that 3rd place match to have a little more intensity than usual.

Toughest Ticket Round

#5 Antuan Graves vs #6 Jeff Dunasky

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Alex Mosconi
Antuan Graves
Aiden Warren
Bryer Hall

152

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Elliot Rodgers

#3 Cooper Noehre

#4 Brice Coleman

#6 Sam Fair

#15 Tytus Ragle

#19 Easton Williamson

Breakdown:

In my opinion this weight class features the worst ticket round draw in the entire state, as #2 Elliot Rodgers and #4 Brice Coleman should meet in the ticket round. This is one of those matches that the fans will really enjoy watching, but at the end of the day is a huge bummer as one of the top wrestlers in the state will end their season at New Castle. Coleman has had a great season, having wins over Conley, Noehre and Fair. However, look for his run to end here as he will face returning state runner-up Elliot Rodgers of Cathedral. Rodgers has been great so far this year, only suffering one loss, and I expect him to take his wrestling up another level during the postseason like he has the past two years. This match isn’t just huge for the individuals, but it is also huge for Cathedral as a team. If they are going to repeat as state champions next weekend, they need Rodgers to win here. The next quarter bracket should feature a great ticket round matchup between Sam Fair and Gabe Davin of Carmel. We slept on Gabe Davin in our rankings but he has had a great two weekends, winning both sectional and regional in convincing fashion. However, Fair has much more experience in these kinds of matches and I expect him to show it here. This third quarter bracket is incredibly interesting as well. In my opinion this quarter bracket is anyone’s for the taking. All of the guys in this bracket are solid, but I expect Otto to come out on top here as he is the only one here with ticket round experience and has also had a very solid season thus far. Then, in the bottom bracket, look for Cooper Noehre to win pretty easily. He has been on an absolute tear this season I expect it to continue this weekend. I think the finals match here will be a rematch between Rodgers and Noehre. It was an overtime victory for Rodgers and I expect this to be another battle, with Noehre getting one back here.

Toughest Ticket Round

#2 Elliot Rodgers vs #4 Brice Coleman

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Cooper Noehre
Elliot Rodgers
Sam Fair
Zach Otto

160

Ranked Wrestlers:

#2 Jordan Slivka

#3 Brooks Davis

#10 Jake Lowe

#13 Hayden Lohrey

#17 Bradley Harrington

#18 Aaron Taylor

#19 Ronan Hiner

Breakdown:

This is a pretty straight forward weight class, as far as New Castle weights go. The top quarter bracket should feature a great match between #10 Jake Lowe vs #17 Bradley Harrington. This match will most likely be a low scoring battle, and I expect Lowe to come out on top. The next quarter bracket features #13 Hayden Lohrey of Shenandoah. He should get through this quarter bracket relatively unchallenged as he is the only ranked wrestler here. The next quarter bracket features 2nd ranked Jordan Slivka, 18th ranked Aaron Taylor and 19th ranked Ronan Hiner. This is a great quarter bracket but Slivka should win pretty easily. The final quarter bracket features 3rd ranked Brooks Davis, and he is the only ranked wrestler in this quarter bracket. Look for him to win this quarter bracket convincingly to set up an Al Smith rematch with Slivka in the semi finals. This will be the premier match of the weight class, and I expect Slivka to win another close battle. Their Al Smith finals match went to overtime, with Slivka winning in ride outs. Look for Slivka to widen the gap a little bit here, as he seems to wrestle better in the postseason every year. Then, in the finals, look for Slivka to turn in a dominant performance over Lohrey.

Toughest Ticket Round

#10 Jake Lowe vs #17 Bradley Harrington

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Jordan Slivka
Hayden Lohrey
Brooks Davis
Jake Lowe

170

Ranked Wrestlers:

#4 Elijah Mahan

#7 Logan Hart

#8 Cody Klettheimer

#9 Tucker Coffman

#11 Josh Lowe

#12 Kyle Saez

#17 Tyler Wagner

Breakdown:

The first quarter bracket here should feature a solid ticket round match between #12 Kyle Saez and #17 Tyler Wagner. Saez has definitely had a better season, notching quite a few great wins, but you can’t discount how well Cathedral peaks their wrestlers this time of the year. However, still look for Saez to win this one, as he has a lot of momentum coming off of a regional title last weekend. In the next quarter bracket, look for 2nd ranked Elijah Mahan to coast through the ticket round and punch his second ticket to state. The next quarter bracket should feature a great ticket round match between 9th ranked Tucker Coffman and 11th ranked Josh Lowe. Both of them have great records and won’t want to end their senior season in the ticket round. Ultimately, I expect Coffman to win here due to his experience in the state tournament. The final quarter bracket should feature a great ticket round matchup between 7th ranked Logan Hart and 8th ranked Cody Klettheimer. Hart lost a close match in the ticket round last year and will be extra motivated to try to make it in his senior year. Klettheimer is a two time qualifier and one time placer, so he has a lot of experience in this round which could be a factor in this matchup. I’m going to go with Hart on this one, but nothing would surprise me here. After the ticket round, look for Mahan to win in the top semifinal and also look for the winner of Hart/Klettheimer to win the other semifinal. In the finals, I expect Mahan to be in postseason form and get the win, setting himself up nicely for next weekend at Bankers Life.

Toughest Ticket Round

#7 Logan Hart vs #8 Cody Klettheimer

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Elijah Mahan
Logan Hart
Tucker Coffman
Kyle Saez

182

Ranked Wrestlers:

#8 Cameron Bacon

#14 Jalen Morgan

Breakdown:

Starting at the top quarter bracket, there are no ranked wrestlers here. However, Farrell has had a great season and I think he will win a close match against one loss Hayden Filipovich of Indianapolis Lutheran in the ticket round. Moving down to the second quarter bracket, we should see two semi state qualifiers, Sterrett and Combs collide here. They have similar records, but I lean slightly towards Sterrett here based off of strength of schedule. In the third quarter bracket, 8th ranked Cameron Bacon of Carmel should be sitting pretty here as he does not have another ranked wrestler in his weight class. He has had a great season so far with his only loss coming to second ranked Bellamy. Look for him to get through the ticket round pretty dominantly. The final quarter bracket is very similar to the previous one, with 14th ranked returning state qualifier Jalen Morgan being the only ranked wrestler here. Look for him to punch his ticket here fairly easily. The potential semi final between Bacon and Morgan should be the premier match up of the weight class. I think Bacon is wrestling really well right now, and like him to come out with the victory in this match, and in the tournament as a whole.

Toughest Ticket Round

PJ Sterrett vs Jake Combs

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Cameron Bacon
JD Farrell
Jalen Morgan
PJ Sterrett

195

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Silas Allred

#7 Jack Heldt

#8 Austin Lane

#12 KJ Roudebush

#14 Tremor Bynum

Breakdown:

This weight features a lot of depth, including the 5th ranked wrestler in the country in Silas Allred. Starting in the top quarter bracket, the likely ticket round matchup between Heldt and Roudebush should be a good one. Both of them are seniors, looking to make their first appearance at state, so look for it to be a very intense match. I lean slightly towards Roudebush here, based on experience. Moving on to the next quarter bracket, look for 8th ranked Austin Lane to coast to the semifinals. He has had an impressive season, including an Al Smith and Regional title, and expect him to keep the momentum going here. In the third quarter bracket, we should see 14th ranked Tremor Bynum punch his second ticket, as he is the only wrestler in his quarter bracket with semi state experience. Then, in the final quarter bracket, we will see 1st ranked Silas Allred. His quarter bracket also lacks anyone with semi state experience, so we will most likely see him dominate here. In regards to the semi finals, I like Austin Lane to beat Roudebush in the semis, before ultimately falling to Allred in the finals.

Toughest Ticket Round

#7 Jack Heldt vs #12 KJ Roudebush

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Silas Allred
Austin Lane
Tremor Bynum
KJ Roudebush

220

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Andrew Irick

#4 Kyle Cornwell

#7 Drew Webster

#18 David Guhl

#19 Deshawn Young

#20 Haakon Van Beyen

Breakdown:

Another great weight this weekend, featuring 3 legitimate title contenders. The top quarter bracket should feature a ticket round matchup between 4th ranked Kyle Cornwell and 20th ranked Van Beyen. Look for Cornwell to win convincingly here, punching his third ticket to state. In the next quarter bracket, we should see a ticket round matchup between #1 ranked Andrew Irick and #18 David Guhl. Irick has had a great season so far and I expect him to continue his winning ways here. In the third quarter bracket we should see a ticket round matchup between #7 Drew Webster and #19 Deshawn Young. This should be a competitive match, but I expect Webster to come out on top, on the heels of a huge weekend where he pinned #1 Irick. In the final quarter bracket, look for Cullen Browning to cruise to the semis. Now, after the ticket round is where this weight gets really interesting. Irick and Cornwell should meet in the semis, which is a matchup that Irick has won twice this year. Should Irick win a third time, he could see Webster, who he is 1-1 against, for a third time. I think this is the most likely scenario with this time Irick getting the victory. This weight should be a great preview of what to expect next weekend at state.

Toughest Ticket Round

#7 Drew Webster vs #19 Deshawn Young

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Andrew Irick
Drew Webster
Kyle Cornwell
Cullen Browning

285

Ranked Wrestlers:

#1 Jamichael Watts

#5 Crae Kunkleman

#8 Dennis Hubbard

#10 John Harris

#14 Antone Alexander

#20 Zach McQueen

Breakdown:

Last but not least, the heavyweights. This years heavyweight class features 6 ranked wrestlers including 3 in the top 8. In the top quarter bracket, we could see a ticket round matchup between 10th ranked John Harris and 20th ranked Zach McQueen. Look for Harris to get through this quarter bracket fairly easily. He is battle tested this season, having has amassed an excellent 32-2 record, and should keep that going through the ticket round.. Moving down our second quarter bracket has no ranked wrestlers, but look for Kolt Keller of Clinton Central to make his way through after having a great weekend winning the North Montgomery Regional. The next quarter bracket features a great first round matchup between 5th ranked Crae Kunkleman and 14th ranked Antone Alexander. The winner of this match should win in the ticket round and I expect it to be Kunkleman. In the final quarter bracket 1st ranked Jamichael Watts and 8th ranked Dennis Hubbard will most likely wrestle in the ticket round. Watts is undefeated this season, and I don’t think that streak ends this weekend. Expect to see Watts kind of run through this weight Saturday, and position himself well for a state title next weekend.

Toughest Ticket Round

#1 Jamichael Watts vs #8 Dennis Hubbard

Hoosier Mat Top 4

Jamichael Watts
John Harris
Kolt Keller
Crae Kunkleman

Predictions Overview

Cathedral (7)
Perry Meridian (6)
Roncalli (6)
Warren Central (5)
Carmel (3)
North Montgomery (3)
Westfield (3)
Mount Vernon (3)