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State Finals Preview (152-285)

February 15, 2019

By: Sam Gobeyn

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Intro:

We are down to the final 224 wrestlers in the state, and on Saturday night 14 wrestlers will achieve the ultimate prize in Indiana wrestling, and be crowned a state champion. We will break down each weight class, in round order, below.

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152

 

Unranked Wrestlers:

  • Isaiah Mohmed (Wheeler)

  • Matthew Mangus (Zionsville)

  • Noah Hollendonner (Crown Point)

  • Cody McCune (Huntington North)

 

Breakdown:

This weight has three really interesting Friday night matchups. The first of these is #10 Eric Heistand vs #11 Cole Cervantes. Heistand has come into state the past two seasons as a semi-state champion and been upset Friday night. On the other hand, this is Cervantes’ first appearance at Bankers Life and he will definitely be looking to make the most of it. I like Heistand to finally get over the hump here and earn a state medal in his senior season. The next brutal Friday night match is #2 Elliot Rodgers vs #5 Nathan Conley. They are both two time state placers, with Conley getting 7th last year and Rodgers getting 2nd. This is honestly a pretty unfortunate Friday night match, as someone capable of winning a state title is going to go home without a medal. In the end, I see Rodgers winning a close one here. Rodgers always wrestles his best at Bankers Life, and I expect him to keep that streak alive and keep him and his team’s title hopes alive as well. The final Friday night match of interest here is #6 Sam Fair vs #7 Jake Schoenegge. These two met earlier in the season, with Fair winning a 5-3 overtime match. Despite this early season result, look for Schoenegge to get this one back. He’s coming off of a great weekend at Evansville, where he defeated Conley before dropping a close one to #1 Eli Dickens. Fair did well this past weekend at New Castle, with his only loss coming to Elliot Rodgers. However, he seems to be struggling with a pretty serious knee injury. For those two reasons, look for Schoenegge to pull off the win here.

In the top quarter-final, we should see #3 Cooper Noehre vs #14 Isaiah Levitz. Levitz is a very dangerous wrestler, as most Prairie Heights wrestlers are, but look for Noehre to be dominant here. He is wrestling about as well as anyone in the state right now, picking up win after win, and I think we will see more of the same here. The next quarter-final should be between 1st ranked Eli Dickens and the winner of the Heistand/Cervantes match. No matter the winner of that match look for Dickens to come out on top here. Similar to Noehre, he has improved a ton since last season and has been on absolute tear so far. Look for him to stay hot here and set up a huge semi-final matchup with Noehre. In the next quarter-final, we will most likely see #2 Elliot Rodgers vs #8 Ethan Hicks. Hicks has had a great senior season, but look for Rodgers to win this match comfortably and move on to the semis. In the final quarter-final, we will see a great matchup between 9th ranked Brock Ellis and the winner of the Schoenegge/Fair match. I think Schoenegge is wrestling great right now, as he did last year at this time, and like him to make his way to the semi-finals from this quarter-bracket. 

In the top semi-final, I think we will see a great matchup between #1 Eli Dickens and #3 Cooper Noehre. Both of these juniors have had similar years. Neither of them placed last year, but both of them have improved a great deal and had tremendous seasons. They also have similar styles, as they both wrestle a really high pace and have a lot of offense. Noehre looked ready to win a state championship this past weekend at New Castle, and I like him to stay on a roll here and punch his ticket to the state finals. In the bottom semi-final, I like Rodgers to come out on top no matter who he faces. He has defeated the three best wrestlers in that bottom quarter-bracket in the regular season, so look for him to make his way to his second straight state finals here.

In the finals, I think we see a trilogy match between Rodgers and Noehre. Their match last weekend seemed to be going Rodgers way until Noehre won a long scramble at the end of the second period. They then went to overtime, where Noehre was the victor. This matchup is reminiscent of the 2013 rivalry between Josh Farrell and Vinny Corsaro, as this is the same weight and the wrestlers come from the same school. I like Noehre to keep the streak going here, and give Greenfield Central their second state champion at 152 pounds in the past six years. 

 

Best Friday Night Match:

#2 Elliott Rodgers vs #5 Nathan Conley

 

Hoosier Mat Top 8:

  1. Cooper Noehre

  2. Elliott Rodgers

  3. Eli Dickens 

  4. Jake Schoenegge

  5. Ethan Hicks

  6. Eric Heistand

  7. Brock Ellis

  8. Isaiah Levitz

 

160

 

Unranked Wrestlers:

  • Jaymiere Johnson (Hammond Gavit)

  • Joe Parrish (Homestead)

  • Abel Verbeek (Lowell)

 

Breakdown:

The first interesting Friday night matchup here is #7 Jackson Pettigrew vs #13 Hayden Lohrey. They both have had great seasons, only having 5 losses combined between the two. This is Lohrey’s third time at state, and I like him to finally get over the hump here and get a state medal. He looked really good at semi-state this past weekend, and seems to be wrestling his best at the right time. The next good Friday night matchup here is between #11 Brady Welch and #12 Robert Deters. Welch has had a great freshman season, with almost all of his losses coming to ranked opponents. Deters has also had a great season with quite a few ranked wins. I like Deters to get the win here, as he has more experience and has wrestled at state before. The final Friday night match of interest here is #6 John Ruble vs #10 Jake Lowe. These two met earlier in the season, with Ruble winning a 3-2 decision. North Mont looked great last weekend at New Castle, getting 4 guys through. I like Lowe to pull of the 4 over 1 upset here, and give his team their second placer of the night. 

The top quarter-final should feature a great matchup between 3rd ranked Brooks Davis and 4th ranked Peyton Pruett. Pruett is 41-1 this season, with his lone loss coming to Jordan Slivka in overtime. He was dominant this past weekend and will be looking to stay hot and move into the semi-finals in his first trip at state. On the other hand, Brooks Davis is coming off of a 3rd place finish at New Castle where he lost a 1-0 match to Jordan Slivka. I think that this match will definitely be super close, but I favor Brooks Davis here. He had a great state tournament last year, and think he gets it done here. In the next quarter-final we will see 1st ranked Donnell Washington vs the winner of the  Pettigrew/Lohrey match. No matter who wins that match, expect Washington to win dominantly here. He has had an incredible senior campaign, including winning the Brecksville Holiday classic in Ohio. His lone loss came wrestling up to 170 against returning state champion Nick South. He was extremely dominant at semi-state last weekend, and I don’t expect him to have too much trouble here. In the next quarter-final we will most likely see 2nd ranked returning state champion Jordan Slivka vs the winner of the Deters/Welch match. The score of this match might be relatively close, but I expect Slivka to control this match start to finish. I don’t think he gave up an offensive point at New Castle last weekend, and expect him to probably pitch a shutout in this match. In the bottom quarter-final I think we will see #9 Peyton Asbury vs #10 Jake Lowe. These guys are both really strong and solid wrestlers, and I expect this to be a very close match. I like Asbury to get the win here. He has shown throughout the season that he has a knack for winning the close ones, and I expect him to do that here. 

In the top semi-final I expect to see Donnell Washington and Brooks Davis face off for a spot in the state finals. Davis is having a great end to his season, however I don’t think he will have much for Washington in this match. All of Washington’s wins in Indiana have been by bonus points except an 8-3 win over Jordan Slivka. He has been utterly dominant all year, so look for it to continue here. In the bottom semi-final, we should see a match between Jordan Slivka and most likely Peyton Asbury. This match will most likely be pretty low scoring, as both of these guys tend to have low scoring matches. Slivka is a gamer, and doesn’t lose many close matches especially in the postseason. Look for him to punch his ticket to the state finals here.

For all the marbles, 1st ranked Donnell Washington vs 2nd ranked Jordan Slivka. If this match is to happen, what a match it will be. These two met earlier this season, with Washington winning a pretty dominant 8-3 decision. However, I expect this match to be closer. I don’t think there have been many wrestlers in the history of Indiana that rise to the occasion quite like Slivka does. Last year in the quarter-finals he upset a 1st ranked wrestler from Portage on his way to the title, and he will be looking to do the same thing here. However, despite how much of a gamer Slivka is, I still expect Washington to win the title here. He has been so far ahead of the field this season, and I like him to pick up the title here. 

 

Best Friday Night Match:

#11 Brady Welch vs #12 Robert Deters

 

Hoosier Mat Top 8:

  1. Donnell Washington 

  2. Jordan Slivka

  3. Brooks Davis

  4. Peyton Asbury

  5. Peyton Pruett

  6. Robert Deters

  7. Hayden Lohrey

  8. Jake Lowe

 

170

 

Unranked Wrestlers:

  • Jason Streck (Merrillville)

  • Bryce Buckley (Eastern (Greentown))

  • Colin Kwiatkowski (Valparaiso)

 

Breakdown:

There are a few interesting Friday night matches here. The first one is between #5 Macartney Parkinson and #12 Kyle Saez. Saez has had a great season with some big wins over ranked opponents. Parkinson has also had a breakout season. He was undefeated in Indiana, until this past weekend, where he suffered his first loss of the season to Nick South in the finals at Evansville. I like Parkinson to get the win here and move into the quarter-finals. The next very interesting Friday night match here is 6th ranked Derek Blubaugh vs 7th ranked Logan Hart. Hart had a great weekend at New Castle, defeating returning state placer Cody Klettheimer in a huge ticket round match. He won in the semis against 11th ranked Lowe and then fell in the finals to 4th ranked Elijah Mahan. Blubaugh has had a pretty quiet season, not facing too many of the top guys at this weight class. He got 3rd place at Evansville this past weekend, suffering a 6-5 loss to 1st ranked Nick South in the semi-finals. Both of these guys are extremely big and strong for the weight class so look for this to be an extremely physical match. Ultimately, I like Blubaugh to win a close one here as I think he has a little more experience in these close matches.

The top quarter-final should feature a matchup between Parkinson and 10th ranked Fielden. Fielden is coming off of a great weekend, where he dominantly won the Fort Wayne semi-state. However, look for Parkinson to control this match. Parkinson has beaten many of the states best this year and I think he will make his way into the semi-finals here. In the next quarter-final we will most likely see 2nd ranked Graham Calhoun vs the winner of the Blubaugh/Hart match. No matter who wins that Friday night match, I like Calhoun to get the win here. Ever since his Friday night loss last year he has been on a tear, including winning Sophomore nationals last March. He has one loss this season, to 3rd ranked Joseph Walker, which he avenged in the semi-state finals last weekend. Look for him to stay hot here and make his way into the semi-finals. In the next quarter-final I believe we will see a matchup between 4th ranked Elijah Mahan and 18th ranked Zane Gilbreath. Gilbreath is a really tough wrestler, but look for Mahan to be dominant here and make his way into the semi-finals. The bottom quarter-final here should be one of the most interesting, as it should be a rematch of the Al Smith finals between #1 Nick South and #3 Joseph Walker. These guys are both freaks of nature, so look for this to be a super physical match. I like South to win a close one here as he looks to claim his second state title this weekend.

In the top semi-final I think we should see a matchup between #5 Macartney Parkinson and #2 Graham Calhoun. Parkinson has a few really big wins this season and has not had any bad losses. The same can be said for Calhoun except I feel like his big victories have been more dominant. He wrestles a really high pace and has scored a lot of points in most of his matches this season. I like him to pick up the win here and punch his ticket to the state finals. This next semi-final is one of the most intriguing of the tournament to me, as it should be returning state champion Nick South vs New Castle semi-state champion Elijah Mahan. If we had been discussing this match at the beginning of the season, I don’t think anyone would have given Mahan much of a chance at all to win. However, after his performance last weekend at New Castle, I think we have a match on our hands. He ran through New Castle, dominating Hart in the finals who beat him by 7 in the first tournament of the season. I think what we’re seeing here is not only someone who has gotten a lot better during the season, but also someone who is catching fire at the right time and believes he can win a state title. On the other hand Nick South has pretty much had the type of season you would have expected him to have after the season he had last year and the offseason he had this year. He has had a few close matches, but he has beat everyone that he has came across, including a big 10-5 win over the 1st ranked 160 in the state. This match is also intriguing because both of their styles are so different. South is super solid and stays within himself, whereas Mahan is super wild and throws the kitchen sink at you. Despite how good Mahan looked last weekend, I like South to get the win here and keep his repeat hopes alive.

In the finals I believe we will see 1st ranked Nick South vs #2 Graham Calhoun. Calhoun is one of the most solid wrestlers in that state, and has improved a great deal since last season. He has a lot of great wins this year at 170 and 182, however I think South’s strength will be too much for him. South is probably the strongest wrestler pound for pound in the state, and I think in order to beat him you have to have a pretty unorthodox style which Calhoun does not. Look for Nick South to win this finals match and claim his second straight state title. 

 

Best Friday Night Match:

#6 Derek Blubaugh vs #7 Logan Hart

 

Hoosier Mat Top 8:

  1. Nick South

  2. Graham Calhoun

  3. Elijah Mahan

  4. Macartney Parkinson

  5. Derek Blubaugh

  6. Joseph Walker

  7. Clayton Fielden 

  8. Zane Gilbreath

 

182

 

Unranked Wrestlers:

  • Austin Leech (Garrett) 

  • Zachary Flynn (Jasper)

  • Devontay Moore (North Central)

  • JD Farrell (Fishers)

  • Jake Combs (Hagerstown)

 

Breakdown:

There are a few interesting Friday night matches at this weight, the first one being between 5th ranked Evan Bates and 11th ranked Trizton Carson. Bates is coming off of a huge weekend where he defeated 3rd ranked Jacob LaPlace and 4th ranked Andrew Donahue to win the East Chicago semi-state. Carson has had a solid season, as he was undefeated until sectional came and he was in the same weight class as Carson Brewer. This past weekend at semi-state, he won two close matches to punch his ticket to state before having to injury default in the middle of his next two weeks. I am not sure what kind of injury he is dealing with here, but healthy or not I still expect Bates to win this match. The next interesting Friday night match here is 13th ranked Bradley Rossman vs unranked Jake Combs. Rossman has some big wins this year including one over New Castle semi-state champion Jalen Morgan. Combs looked really tough on Saturday, especially in the semi-finals when he picked up a solid win over JD Farrell of Fishers. With all things considered I like Rossman to get the win here and move on to Saturday. Due to a last second replacement because of injury, we will have another great Friday night match between 1st ranked Carson Brewer and 3rd ranked Jacob LaPlace. This happening makes you feel good for LaPlace, as he is definitely deserving of being here. But, you also have to feel for Noah Brown not getting his chance to wrestle here. Although ranking would suggest this match to be close, don’t expect it to be. Brewer has been on a mission so far this season, and is going to have a huge size advantage going into this match. LaPlace will definitely be game, and come out swinging, but look for this to be a pretty dominant win for Brewer. 

The top quarter-final should feature a great matchup between 4th ranked freshman Andrew Donahue and 14th ranked senior Jalen Morgan. Morgan had a good weekend, dominating the New Castle semi-state, however he did not face anyone close to the caliber of Donahue on Saturday. Donahue has had a good couple weeks, beating LaPlace at regional and making it to the finals at semi-state before dropping a close match to Bates. I like Donahue to get the win here, as he has had more high level wins, and make his way to the semi-finals as a freshman. In the bottom quarter-final I think we will see a great match between #2 Levon Bellemy and #7 Mason Winner. Bellemy was an Iowa state placer last year, and has only one loss this season, which came to Carson Brewer in the semi-state finals last weekend. Winner has also had a solid season thus far. On Saturday, he turned around an early season loss to Jake Lone in order to capture his third straight semi-state title. I like Bellemy to win a close one here but don’t count Winner out as he might be starting to turn it on at the right time. In the next quarter-final, I expect to see 1st ranked Carson Brewer and 6th ranked Jake Lone square off. Look for Brewer to win this match in dominant fashion. He has put together a great season, including a finals win against a nationally ranked opponent at the Brecksville Holiday tournament. His closest match this season against an in state opponent was last weekend when he defeated 2nd ranked Bellemy 14-2 in the semi-state finals. I think he is one of the biggest favorites in this tournament, along with Allred, and don’t expect him to be challenged here. In the bottom quarter bracket, look for Evan Bates to win handily over whoever comes out of that Rossman/Combs match. He has been on a tear as of late and I expect that to continue here. 

In the top semi-final I expect to see Donahue and Bellemy face off. Donahue was one of the best middle schoolers in the country, but I think his youth might show against a very physically imposing senior in Bellemy. Nothing would shock me here, but look for Bellemy to get the win here and move into the finals. In the bottom semi-final I expect to see a battle between 1st ranked Brewer and 5th ranked Bates. Bates has had a great season, and will definitely be game, but look for Brewer to dominate in this match.

In the finals, look out for a rematch between 1st ranked Brewer and 2nd ranked Bellemy. At Evansville this match was not close at all, with Brewer winning 14-2. With this match being under the lights, I expect it to be a little bit closer but still think that Brewer will win handily here. In my opinion he is a cut above from everyone else in the field and will end his senior season with a state title.

 

Best Friday Night Match:

#1 Carson Brewer vs #3 Jacob LaPlace

 

Hoosier Mat Top 8:

  1. Carson Brewer

  2. Levon Bellemy

  3. Evan Bates

  4. Andrew Donahue

  5. Mason Winner

  6. Jake Lone

  7. Jalen Morgan 

  8. Bradley Rossman

 

195

 

Unranked Wrestlers:

  • Chandler Chapman (Jay County)

  • Dakari Kenny (Pike)

  • Grant Johnson (New Prairie)

  • Kyle Krummen (East Central)

 

Breakdown:

This weight isn’t quite as deep as most weights are at the state finals, and that might partly be because of how dominant Allred is. Regardlessly we will still have some really close, even matches on Friday night. The first one I want to highlights is 12th ranked KJ Roudebush vs four loss Dakari Kenny. Kenny is coming off of a great weekend, where he took second at Evansville, with his only loss coming to 4th ranked Will Nunn. Roudebush also had a great tournament at New Castle, where he upset the 7th ranked wrestler to punch his ticket to state. I like Roudebush to win this match. He is a great athlete and super dangerous wrestler, so look for him to come out with the win here. The next good Friday night matchup at this weight is #6 Nick Willham vs #8 Austin Lane. Willham has had a really solid season. He only has two losses, both to Will Nunn, and also holds a 10-1 win over Lane earlier this year. Lane is definitely wrestling better right now than he was at the beginning of the season, but look for Willham to still win a controlled decision here. The final Friday night match of interest here is #5 Cale Gray vs unranked Ethan Potosky. Potosky missed a lot of the season with injuries, but has been wrestling well as of late. Gray is ranked 5th but has taken some losses the past few weeks. I like Potosky to pull of the upset here and earn his spot on the podium. 

Moving on to potential quarter-final matchups, I think we will see a good one between 10th ranked Rockne Hurley and 12th ranked KJ Roudebush. Both of these guys are very athletic for big guys, and I expect them to be very evenly matched. I lean towards Hurley to pull this one off, as I think he is a little more solid. In the next quarter-final, I expect to see 3rd ranked Charlie Agnew vs 6th ranked Nick Willham. Agnew only has one loss this year, and he won the Fort Wayne semi-state with all pins this past weekend. Despite all this, I like Willham to pull off the win here. He has wrestled a much tougher schedule this year, and I think that will pay off for him here. In the next quarter-final, we will most likely see #2 Ewan Donovan vs #4 Will Nunn of Castle. Nunn is wrestling really well right now. He is undefeated this season, and coming off of a semi-state title. Donovan has had a good season but was dominated by Hurley this past weekend. Look for Nunn to win a controlled decision here to earn his spot in the semi-finals. In the final quarter-final, we will most likely see a matchup between 1st ranked Silas Allred and the winner of the Gray/Potosky match. No matter who wins that Friday night match, look for Allred to win this match with relative ease and make his way to the semi-finals.

In the top semi-final I think we will see a matchup between Rockne Hurley and Nick Willham. Both of them are big and strong kids, and have had great postseasons so far. Ultimately, I like Willham to win this match and earn his spot in the state finals. I think he has more offense than Hurley and that could be the difference. In the bottom semi-final we should see a matchup of unbeaten wrestlers when Silas Allred and Will Nunn face off. Nunn has a lot of momentum going right now, however I don’t expect this to be much of match. Allred is on a different level than the field here and I expect him to show it here.

In the finals, there are numerous people who could come out of the top half of the bracket. I think Willham has the best chance, but whoever comes out of that side of the bracket should meet Allred in the finals. I expect the Nebraska commit to win this match dominantly, and capture his first state title.

 

Best Friday Night Match:

#6 Nick Wilham vs #8 Austin Lane

 

Hoosier Mat Top 8:

  1. Silas Allred

  2. Nick Willham

  3. Will Nunn

  4. Rockne Hurley

  5. Charlie Agnew

  6. Ewan Donovan

  7. KJ Roudebush

  8. Ethan Potosky

 

220

 

Unranked Wrestlers:

  • Reece Wicker (Churubusco)

  • Josh Howell (Terre Haute South Vigo)

  • Cullen Browning (North Eastern)

  • Damari Dancy (Portage)

  • Christian Graft (Huntington North)

 

Breakdown:

This weight might have more realistic contenders than any other weight in the whole tournament. A lot of these guys have traded matches with each other and that should make this weekend super interesting. Right off the bat, we will have an incredible Friday night match as 2nd ranked, and returning state qualifier, Joey Kidwell and 4th ranked Kyle Cornwell, returning 3rd placer, face off. These guys have both had great seasons, with only 5 losses between the two. They are both big and strong 220s and I think this will be a very tight match. I lean towards Cornwell getting the job done here, as he has a lot of state experience and knows what it takes to get on the podium. The next interesting Friday night match here is between 1st ranked Andrew Irick and 9th ranked Drew Bailey. Going into regionals, Irick was undefeated with two wins over Cornwell and a win over Webster. These past two weekends he has taken losses to both of those guys and now finds himself in a tough Friday night match. However, I still expect him to get the job done here and get on the podium here. The last interesting Friday night matchup here will come between 14th ranked Will Stewart and 11th ranked Jayden Elwood. These guys both have great records, but I lean towards Stewart here. 

In the quarter-finals, all four of the matchups should be very good matches. The top quarter-final should feature a match between 4th ranked Kyle Cornwell and 13th ranked Lawson Aiken. Aiken is catching fire right now, as he won the Evansville semi-state with a win over 3rd ranked Jacob Bolte. I still like Cornwell to pick up the win here, although don’t be surprised is Aiken pulls of the upset as he is definitely wrestling his best right now. In the next quarter-final, we should see 1st ranked Andrew Irick vs 10th ranked Levi Leffers. Leffers has a great record, but he hasn’t seen the top competition like Irick has. I like Irick to get the win here and move on to the semi-finals. In the next quarter-final we should see 5th ranked AJ Fowler vs the winner of the Elwood/Stewart match. Fowler had a great weekend, winning the East Chicago semi-state in dominant fashion. Both of his potential opponents are solid, but I think he is a cut above here. In the final quarter-final, I expect to see a great matchup between 7th ranked Drew Webster and 3rd ranked Jacob Bolte. Before regionals a few weeks ago, I would not have thought that Webster could have won this match. However he has been on fire these past few weeks, getting wins over 1st ranked Andrew Irick and 4th ranked Kyle Cornwell. Bolte was undefeated until Saturday when he took his first loss of the season to Aiken of Brownsburg. I think this will be a great match between two very offensive big guys, with Webster taking the win.

In the top semi-final, I think that we will see a 4th match between Andrew Irick and Kyle Cornwell. Irick took the first two and then Cornwell got his revenge on Saturday, picking up a 1-0 victory. I lean slightly towards Cornwell in this matchup, as I think he has made some improvements since the beginning of the season. In the bottom semi-final I think we will see a good battle between Fowler and Webster. These two are both extremely athletic and mobile for 220s, and expect this to be a super entertaining match. I like Webster to win this one, as he was very impressive this past weekend at the New Castle semi-state. 

Looking to the finals, I think we will see a rematch of the New Castle finals between Drew Webster and Kyle Cornwell. Their match at New Castle was about as close as it gets, but Webster was able to put Cornwell to his back and pick up the fall in overtime. I think that Webster has some of the best leg attacks and conditioning among all the upperweights in this tournament and expect that to be the difference maker here. Look for the junior Webster to win his first state title here.   

 

Best Friday Night Match:

#2 Joey Kidwell vs #4 Kyle Cornwell

 

Hoosier Mat Top 8:

  1. Drew Webster

  2. Kyle Cornwell

  3. Andrew Irick

  4. Arthur Fowler

  5. Lawson Aiken

  6. Jacob Bolte

  7. Levi Leffers

  8. Will Stewart

 

285

 

Unranked Wrestlers:

  • Samuel Littlejohn (Perry Meridian)

  • AJ Jones (Madison Grant)

  • Matthew Munoz (Jeffersonville)

  • Vincent Yoder (Fairfield)

  • Logan Swallow (Monroe Central)

  • Aiden Rea (Heritage Hills)

 

Breakdown:

I think that this is one of the most wide open heavyweight classes in recent history. It feels like every year at heavyweight there is a definite favorite and maybe one or two contenders that could challenge him, but this year I feel like there are quite a few guys that could realistically win it all. There are a couple very interesting Friday night matches, the first is between 2nd ranked DeVault of Penn and 5th ranked Kunkleman of HSE. Although they are close in rankings, DeVault has a much better record and more quality wins this season. Look for him to get the win here and move on to Saturday. Another interesting match on Friday night will come between 10th ranked John Harris and 18th ranked Will Crider. This match is not only big because there is a state medal on the line, but also because this match will be huge for Roncalli’s team title hopes. If Harris could sneak his way to the semi-finals, that would be huge point for Roncalli. I like Harris to get through here and pick up some big points for Roncalli here.

In the finals I expect Cartwright to win handily against the winner of the Jones/Sidibe match. Cartwright was dominant this past weekend, defeating DeVault handily in the East Chicago finals, so look for him to keep that up here. In the next quarter-final look for Watts to win dominantly over the winner of the Yoder/Munoz match. He ran through New Castle semi-state pretty easily and think he will keep his undefeated streak alive. The next quarter-bracket will most likely feature a great matchup between 2nd ranked DeVault and 6th ranked Keys. Keys had a great weekend, winning the Evansville semi-state in his first year in the Brownsburg lineup. I like him to keep his hot streak going and move on to the semi-finals here. In the bottom quarter-final, I think we will see 10th ranked Harris vs 12th Parsons of Yorktown. Look for Harris to pick up the win here, as he looked solid last weekend at New Castle.

In the top semi-final, I expect to see a battle of undefeateds between 1st ranked Jamichael Watts and 3rd ranked Alex Cartwright. They were both dominant at their respective semi-states this past weekend and expect it to continue here. I think that these two are the best heavyweights in the state and expect whoever win this match to be the state champion. I lean slightly towards Watts here as I think he is the more athletic of the two, and has more state experience. In the bottom half of the bracket, I expect Keys to defeat Harris. I think that the Brownsburg guys are wrestling very well right now and that Keys especially is peaking at the right time. Look for him to pick up the win here and advance to the state finals in his first season in the varsity lineup.

In the finals, I think that we will see 1st ranked Watts and 6th ranked Keys face off for the title. Keys has been on fire recently, and if he makes it to the finals here he will have even more momentum on his side. However, I like Watts to come out with the win here. He is one of the biggest and strongest heavyweights I have seen in a while and think he will come out with the title here. 

 

Best Friday Night Match:

#2 Yehezquel DeVault vs #5 Crae Kunkleman

 

Hoosier Mat Top 8:

  1. Jamichael Watts

  2. Dorian Keys

  3. Alex Cartwright

  4. John Harris

  5. Yehezquel DeVault

  6. Muhammad Sidibe

  7. Holden Parsons

  8. Vincent Yoder

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