PLYMOUTH – The road to the 77th Annual IHSAA State Wrestling Finals begins this weekend for local wrestlers and many have a chance to make some serious noise at their respective sectionals.

Plymouth will once again be the center of attention for the majority of local grapplers as Tippecanoe Valley, Triton, Warsaw and Wawasee will all compete in that sectional field. All four teams have at least one top seeded wrestler which sets the stage for an interesting field on Saturday morning.

Warsaw Will Look For Another Trio Of Champions

“It’s not out of line to say that we want to have four or five guys in the finals,” said Warsaw head coach Justin Smith. “We’ve talked to the kids about staying in the tournament and reminded them to work to be in that top four. For our guys that are maybe a little bit better, we want them to be in that championship match.

“Just like we had at conference, if we can come out with three or four champions then that will be a success.”

Smith has a reason to put those expectations on his team as three Tigers walked away with conference titles last weekend at the Northern Lakes Conference Championships held at Goshen High School.

Kyle Hatch enter the 120-pound sectional field as the No. 1 seed for the Tigers. Hatch finished the regular season with a 33-1 record and 21 falls. The sophomore won the sectional at 106 last year and should have a clear path to another sectional title.

“I’m just looking to have fun,” Hatch said in an interview at the NLC. “I want to wrestle tough and get as many pins as I can, I’m working towards the school record. I really just want to have fun with it and continue my success.”

Andrew Brock will be the only other Tigers on top of the bracket as he will have the top seed at 220. Brock finished fourth at the NLC but has beaten both the No. 2 seed, Chaz Scruggs of Plymouth, and the No. 3 seed, Simon Griffith of Culver Academy.

Rory Nolin will wrestle as the No. 2 seed at 195. Nolin enters with a 30-3 record and has already won soem big events including the Penn and Valpo Super Duals. He has beaten Plymouth’s Jacob LaFree twice already this season. LaFree is seeded third in the bracket. Nolin’s biggest challenge will come from No. 1 seed Wes Beck of Rochester.

Anthony Penn finished the season with a 23-7 record and enters the 285-pound bracket as the No. 2 seed behind Jordan Shafer of Rochester. Penn won his bracket at the NLC last weekend and finished with a 10-0 mark in conference matches, winning by fall in each contest. Another Tiger to keep an eye on will be Spencer Gareiss. Gareiss finished second at the NLC and will be seeded fourth at 160 this Saturday, behind No. 3 Marcos Rodriguez who defeated him at the NLC.

Ponsler Leads Wawasee Into Sectional Field

Wawasee’s wrestling program has been in a rebuild the past two seasons but that does not mean that the Warriors are without hope or promise at the sectional Saturday afternoon.

The Warriors have several wrestlers capable of qualifying for the regional and even bringing home a title.

Potential success for Wawasee starts in the 126-pound bracket with Tristin Ponsler. Ponsler won the NLC last weekend, displaying a lot of emotion along the way. Ponsler injured his shoulder at the sectional last season, effectively ending his season before he was ready. Hard work and focus have led the junior to a 35-1 record and a No. 1 seed in his weight class for this weekend’s sectional.

“Winning conference I think will get me a top seed at the sectional,” Ponsler said at the NLC. “I know I’ve earned this opportunity and hopefully it turns out well and I end up at the top next week.”

Winning the conference was a huge weight lifted off the junior and his biggest challenge might come from Cody Allmon of Plymouth, who Ponsler defeated at the NLC. Allmon is only a No. 5 seed because he floated between weight classes this season, but he is much better than a No. 5 talent.

Zach Ford will be the No. 5 seed in the 160-pound bracket but finished the season with a 15-8 mark. Ford had a decent showing at conference as he went 2-2 and finished fourth.

After a disappointing showing at the NLC, Wawase junior Stephen Possell will be out to make some noise in the sectional. Possell went 2-2 at Goshen last Saturday and never lack the physical strength, he just mentally seemed to be unprepared. Possell enters the 170-pound bracket as the No. 4 seed, but with a 26-10 record, has proven that he can exceed expectations.

“I expect, out of 14 weight classes, I expect at least one champion and hopefully two,” said Wawasee head coach Paul Meyer. “You never know what will happen until you’re there but I expect to see at least six placements from our guys at the sectional.”

Triton Has Plenty Of Opportunities At Sectional

Triton’s wrestling team will have plenty to look forward to at the sectional as the team has three No. 1 seeds entering the tournament.

The top seeds start at 106 with Malachi Greene. Greene finished the season with a 25-7 record and finished second at the Northern States Conference Championships last weekend at 113.

Nick Harker, seeded No. 5 at 145, will be the highest seeded local wrestler at that weight and will look to punch a ticket to the Rochester regional with a strong performance at Plymouth.

Grant Stichter was rewarded for his third place NSC finish and 24-9 record by being seeded No. 2 at 152. Alex Bollenbacher of Bremen is the No. 1 seed and top competitor for Stichter in the field.

After finishing as a runner-up at NSC, Gage Waddle will enter the sectional as the No. 1 seed at 160 pounds. Nate Spangle also picked up a No. 1 seed after finished the season at 30-3. Spangle will be the No. 1 seed for the 170-pound bracket.

At 285, Justin Hefner will hold down the No. 3 seed after earning a 23-10 record this season.

Vikings Hope For Several Sectional Champions

Two Tippecanoe Valley wrestlers will be at the top of their respective brackets entering Saturday’s sectional. Garrett Bell and Devin Childers have a combined three losses entering the tournament at Plymouth and losing does not seem to be in the near future for either grappler.

Childers (34-1) will be the top seed at 132 and should only see a challenge from the No. 2 seed Joey Bailey (33-2). Bell earned the top seed at 183 following his 31-2 campaign and seems to be the class of the bracket going in.

Wyatt Nelson will be the No. 4 seed at 138 and will have a great shot at punching a ticket to regional but will have a tough time breaking through top-seeded Triston Rodriguez of Culver.

Cody Runyon will represent the Vikings at 160 with a 25-7 record and a No. 2 seed. Runyon had one of his defeats come at the hands of No. 1 seed Gage Waddle of Triton.

Whitko Looking To Make Waves At Carroll

While the other local wrestling teams are beating each other up at Plymouth, the Whitko Wildcats will head east for the Carroll sectional. Whitko has just one top seed entering the tournament, but four other top-four seeds.

Jake Rothgeb (10-2) will enter as the No.1 seed at 126 in hopes of bringing home a sectional title for the Wildcats. Evan Cozad will have a fair shot at doing the same as he enters as the No. 2 seed at 145, behind North Side’s Logan Capps (19-4). Cozad has a 24-6 record entering the tournament.

At 160 Erick Loe will represent the Wildcats with a 9-3 mark and No. 2 seed while Zach Baughman will be seeded fourth at 183 despite have a very impressive 27-2 record entering the sectional.