Grapplers Prepare For Sectional Tournaments
PLYMOUTH — Win or go home.
That’s the message ringing throughout the state this weekend as the 78th Annual IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament gets underway. Tippecanoe Valley, Triton, Warsaw and Wawasee will travel to Plymouth in hopes of punching a ticket to the Rochester Regional. Whitko, meanwhile, will head east for the Carroll Sectional aiming to return there for the regional next weekend.
WARSAW
Kyle Hatch highlights a strong Tiger team entering the sectional field.
Hatch, a junior, enters as the top seed at 138 with a 33-0 record. Hatch’s biggest obstacle will be Culver Academies’ Stephen Muthart , the No. 2 seed who brings a 30-7 record to the table. Hatch has won the sectional at his respective weight in each of the past two years.
Kameron Hile will look to make some noise as the No. 2 seed at 132. Hile finished as the NLC runner-up at 132 last week, losing to Wawasee’s Tristin Ponsler in the title match, Ponsler will be the top seed for the sectional. Andrew Brock enters the 220-pound field with a 27-8 record and the No. 3 seed. Brock was also a runner-up in the NLC.
Alec Haines will look to jump a few spots as he enters the 285-pound tourney as the sixth seed with a 16-10 record. Francisco Ramirez (15-6) is seeded fourth at 152 with several tough challenges ahead of him, including Plymouth’s Micah Calhoun (27-3).
“Our goal at conference was to get guys into the top four,” said Warsaw head coach Justin Smith. “At the sectional you move on when you’re top four. We had a few guys finish fifth or sixth, they’re in the hunt and now we need them to pick it up at the sectional. Then obviouly our guys that can be in the finals, need to be in the finals. That’s our focus.”
WAWASEE
The Warriors left the NLC meet improved, but still unsatisfied. Wawasee will look to finish matches out at the sectional with a relatively young squad.
“It’s win or you’re done,” said Wawasee head coach Frank Bumgardner. “Our guys are finally believing that we can compete but just competing isn’t good enough anymore, now we’ve got to win. The stakes are higher this week and you’re going to have to find a way to win.”
Sophomore Ricardo Romo (106) and freshman Braxton Alexander (113) each enter as the No. 2 seed in their respective brackets. Romo finished the year with a 9-6 record while Alexander impressed in his rookie campaign with a 25-5 mark.
Tristin Ponsler will look to repeat as a sectional champion as he enters the 132-pound field as the top seed with a 28-3 record. Ponsler defeated No. 2 seed Kameron Hile at the NLC last Saturday.
Fellow seniors Ronny Shortt (20-6) and Zac McKee (21-10) will look to punch tickets to regional at 138 and 160, respectively. Shortt enters his bracket as No. 4 while McKee enters as the three seed.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY
The Vikings enter with forfeits at 106, 120, 126 and 170. Valley’s Josh Back enters as the only wrestlers currently expected to advance to the regional, based on seeding. Back will be the No. 2 seed at 195 with a 23-12 record. The Viking senior sits behind only Plymouth’s Nate LaFree (20-5) in the seeding. Nobody in the weight class advanced out of the sectional field at 195 last season.
Mariah Owens (11-11) will have a tough road as the freshman will face 113-pound top seed Jake Maroney (32-1) of Caston. Fellow freshmen Chevy Teeter (132) and Isaac Norris (138) will be seeded fifth and eighth in their respective brackets.
Rounding out the roster for Valley will be Jared Mikel (12-9) at 145, Isaac Randall (10-18) at 152, Dylan Warner (12-19) at 160, Tyler Manuszak (12-16) at 182, Jameson Baker (15-12) at 220 and Cody Craig (3-13) at 285.
TRITON
Triton rolls into Plymouth hot off a conference championship and looking to make noise in the annual sectional title tilt.
The Trojans boast several high seeds, including Gage Waddle. The senior will enter as the top seed at 160 with a mark of 32-2. Malachi Greene joins Waddle as another Trojans bracket topper. Greene put together a 30-4 record at 120 this season and will look to stay on top with Culver Academies’ Adam Davis (31-5) being the top threat as the bracket’s No. 2 seed.
Miles Ortiz holds down the three seed at 106 after posting an 18-13 record. Bryce Swihart (23-6) also comes in boasting a No. 3 seed for the Trojans as the junior will hold down that spot at 113. At 126 Adonic Salinas posted a 24-13 record this year, good enough to earn the senior a three seed in his class. Ryan Home will represent the Trojans at 285 as the three seed with a 21-13 mark.
Nick Harker will look to move his way up the ladder at 145 as he enters as the four seed with a 20-15 record. John Salinas holds down the two seed at 182 following his 20-14 record in 2015-16.
WHITKO
The Wildcats will start off in the hole as a team with forfeits at 126, 132, 138, 145, 195 and 285, but several individuals should bring Whitko plenty of fanfare Saturday afternoon at Carroll.
Erik Loe enters a very tough 160-pound bracket as the 3 seed despite a 24-4 record. Loe will have to get past Hunter Reed (26-5) of Columbia City and top-seeded Josh Garman (30-1) to capture a sectional title.
Loaded fields all around are pushing Whitko wrestlers into more compromising positions. Logan Busz earned a 25-10 record this year but will be just the fifth seed at 106. At 113 Kaleb Busz will also start behind the eight ball as a five seed despite a 25-10 record of his own.
RJ Patrick sports a 12-12 record and will be seeded fifth at 120 while Dillon Alma will have to fight for a regional ticket as the six seed at 170. Alma was 24-11 this year. At 220 Matt Smith represents the Wildcats with a 10-6 record.