BY JEREMY HINES
For the Daily Reporter
INDIANAPOLIS — Greenfield-Central sent two wrestlers to the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday, and both wrestlers won their respective opening-round matches.
Now, the Cougars’ duo will vie for state medals today, beginning with the state quarterfinals at 9:30 a.m., to stand among the top eight in their respective weight classes.
Seniors Carter Noehre (31-1) and Brad Lowe (41-4) both lost their Friday night state matches last season and didn’t place. In their second go-around, they will be ending their careers with a guaranteed spot on the winner’s podium.
Mt. Vernon sophomore Chris Wilkerson (37-9) and New Palestine senior Landon Burton (42-4) both lost close matches during Friday’s elimination round to end their seasons.
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Noehre defeated Western sophomore Hunter Cottingham by major decision 10-2. The Greenfield-Central 132-pounder scored four of his 10 points off of a slick duck-under move.
“I just had to get that match over with,” Noehre said. “I’ve been doing that move for a while now. I get elbow control and it’s pretty easy from there. Last year, I lost on Friday night and I was very nervous. It’s good to get this one over to calm my nerves a little bit.”
Lowe’s match was much closer. The Cougars 170-pounder wrestled to a scoreless tie with Columbus East senior Andy Davidson (32-17) in the first period. In the second period, Lowe scored an escape, but was unable to put any more points on the board the rest of the period.
In the third period, Davidson chose the down position. If he got up and escaped from Lowe, the match would have been tied 1-1. Lowe managed to ride him the entire period.
In the closing seconds it appeared that Lowe was too high and might give up the escape, but with four seconds left he adjusted and tilted Davidson to his back to earn two back points and the win by decision 3-0.
“I knew two minutes in that third period would be a long time to hold him down,” Lowe said. “It’s very difficult to ride a guy that long, and right now I have to keep shaking my wrists because I lost all feeling in them for a while. At the end I knew I was high, but I was able to adjust quickly and win the match.”
Wrestling action will resume today at 9:30 a.m. Noehre, ranked seventh in the state by IndianaMat, will take on second-ranked Manzona Bryant of Culver Academies in the quarterfinals.
Lowe, ranked seventh, will face fourth-ranked Jordan Rader of Peru. The winners of both matches will move on to the semifinal round while the losers will compete in the consolation rounds, which settle fifth through eighth place in their respective weight classes.
