Wawasee senior Elisha Tipping finished sixth at the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals. (File photo by Mike Deak)

By Steve Krah

INDIANAPOLIS — Elisha Tipping was a basketball player growing up in the Toledo, Ohio, area.

He played the court sport from third through 10th grade. When he moved to Indiana to attend Wawasee High School, he was convinced to give wrestling a try.

Tipping qualified for regional competition as a junior in 2017. The Marian University football commit wrapped up his mat career Saturday by placing sixth at 285 in the IHSAA State Finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“Athleticism and strength play a part, but I’ve got a great coaching staff,” said Tipping of a group which includes head coach Frank Bumgardner plus assistants Jesse Espinoza, Jamie Salazar, Dillon Whitacre, Matt Elvidge and Darrell Carr at the high school level. ““Bumgarner and Espinoza are fiery guys who get on me about everything.
“I learned a lot the last two years. I improved like crazy in all positions.”

Tipping gives plenty of credit to brother Jeremiah Dilley, who is now a Marian U. wrestler, for his help. “He gave me the motivation that got me here,” said Tipping. “He was my practice partner the whole first year. I learned a lot from him, too.”

Tipping (34-8) bested Yorktown sophomore Holden Parsons 3-2 Friday and lost a 3-1 overtime decision to Mooresville senior Jalen Comer in the quarterfinals. By beating Elwood senior Marcus Stone 3-0 in the wrestlebacks, Tipping gained the right to wrestle in the fifth-place match against Lawrence North senior Tyler Majors. Tipping lost 2-1 in double overtime.

Wawasee junior Geremia Brooks (132) placed seventh and NorthWood sophomore Jake Lone (170) eighth.
Brooks (38-6) followed up Friday’s pin of Plainfield junior Logan Burden in 5:17 with a 3-0 quarterfinals loss to Indianapolis Cathedral junior Alex Mosconi Saturday morning. A 2-0 wrestleback loss to Yorktown senior Alex Barr was followed by a 8-4 triumph against Jimtown junior Matt Gimson in the seventh-place match.

Lone (38-7) produced a 3-1 win against Portage senior Drake Guerrero Friday then was pinned in 1:34 by Perry Meridian senior Noah Warren in the quarterfinals. After a 12-5 setback against Roncalli junior Elijah Mahan in the wrestlebacks, Lone was shaded 3-2 by Frankton junior Cody Klettheimer in the seventh-place contest.

A pair of local standouts, Hunter Watts of Jimtown and Conner Graber of Northridge, earned state championships Saturday.

Watts, a junior, won the 120-pound title with a 2-1 win in the finale. Watts finishes his junior season at 44-1 and now stands 134-14 in his prep career. He placed second at 113 as a sophomore and sixth at 106 as a freshman. Watts is the first Jimtown state champion since Nick Crume won the 126 title in 2013.

Graber made history as the first Raider to bring home a state title. The senior won the 182-pound championship by rallying for an 9-8 win in the finals. He trailed 7-4 after two periods in the title match. Graber finishes his senior year 48-1 and claimed 146 wins in his outstanding high school career on the mat.

Cathedral (108 points) and Brownsburg (100.5) placed 1-2 in the final team standings. Wawasee scored 10 points and NorthWood 3.