GREENFIELD — They are almost there. Two wins, and you’re in.
For the 13 Hancock County wrestlers who have come this far, that’s how close they are to advancing to the IHSAA wrestling state finals next weekend. To get there, they’ll have to get through strong competition at Saturday’s New Castle semistate.
Mt. Vernon leads the local charge with a school-record eight wrestlers competing for a spot at state. Greenfield-Central and New Palestine each have two wrestlers at semistate, and Eastern Hancock brings one.
The road won’t be easy. The three county regional champions — Greenfield-Central’s Cooper Noehre and Mt. Vernon’s Chris and Chase Wilkerson — have the most favorable draws of the bunch, but that is far from a guarantee of advancement.
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There’s work to do for everyone. It took just one regional win to advance to this point, but wins in the first round and the quarterfinals are needed at semistate.
Two matches are all that stands in their way. Some will be favored to advance. Others could have to go through one another to get there. Some have a tough task ahead. Here’s what to expect in each of the weight classes involving county wrestlers this Saturday.
First-round matchups (with state ranking, school, record)
113 pounds
Brac Hooper (Carmel, 23-13) vs. No. 15 Christian White (New Palestine, 30-4)
Andrew Johnson (Mt. Vernon, 28-15) vs. Dylan Galusha (Rushville, 20-14)
Hancock County is represented by two wrestlers in this weight class, and they are on opposite sides of the bracket and would only meet in the championship match. White, a sophomore, is ranked fourth in this semistate and 15th in the state. He has a fairly difficult draw against Hooper, a freshman who is ranked eighth in the semistate. White has one other state-ranked opponent on his side of the bracket, No. 2 Zeke Seltzer (Cathedral, 35-1), who could await in the semifinal round. Seltzer and White met once this year, with Seltzer winning 16-3. Johnson, a freshman from Mt. Vernon, drew Galusha, a sophomore from Rushville. The winner could have to go through Jake Simone (Hamilton Southeastern, 37-4) in the quarterfinals, the state’s 14th-ranked wrestler in this weight class. Waiting in the semifinal could be No. 3 David Pierson (Warren Central, 28-2), who pinned White to win last week’s Perry Meridian regional.
120 pounds
Carson Johnson (Mt. Vernon, 30-11) vs. Garrett Condo (Franklin County, 31-8)
Johnson, a freshman from Mt. Vernon, is the fifth-ranked wrestler in the semistate at 120 pounds but has a tough path to state. He drew Condo, a senior, in the first round, and has a difficult road from there should he win his opening match. A quarterfinal matchup against undefeated Brayden Lowery (Roncalli, 35-0) is likely, and a possible semifinal matchup is No. 5 Carson Eldred (Westfield, 32-3). Only one state-ranked wrestler is on the other side of this bracket, as No. 10 Christopher Stewart (Warren Central, 23-8) should be favored to advance to the final.
126 pounds
Chase Wilkerson (Mt. Vernon, 29-3) vs. Joey Langeman (Carmel, 17-18)
Chase Wilkerson, a senior, should be heavily favored to advance to the quarterfinals, needing one more victory to advance to state. Standing in the way in the second round could be No. 11 Jeivan Ross (Warren Central, 31-6), who beat Wilkerson by decision fall this year. Also on Wilkerson’s side of the bracket is No. 7 Logan Wagner (Zionsville, 30-4), who could be a semifinal opponent. The opposite side of the bracket has two state-ranked wrestlers who could advance to the finals — No. 6 Lukasz Walendzak (Cathedral, 32-7) and undefeated No. 18 Grant Stapleton (Lawrenceburg, 34-0).
138 pounds
No. 17 Chris Wilkerson (Mt. Vernon, 35-5) vs. Luke Goodwin (Southport, 31-11)
Chris Wilkerson, a junior, has one of the most favorable draws of any Hancock County wrestler, with no state- or semistate-ranked opponent standing in his way of advancing to state. He should be favored in his first two matchups, which would be enough to advance. From there, five state-ranked wrestlers stand in the way of a semistate championship. A semifinal showdown against No. 2 Tyce Freije (Roncalli, 32-2) is possible. The opposite side of the bracket is loaded with state-ranked wrestlers who could advance to the finals opposite of Wilkerson. In contention are No. 5 Gabe Phillips (Centerville, 35-0), No. 12 Jarred Rowlett (Warren Central, 31-7), No. 13 Kyle Holman (Carmel, 23-9) and No. 16 Andrew Wilson (Cathedral, 23-15).
145 pounds
Joe Theriot (Carmel, 21-17) vs. Aidan Alford (Mt. Vernon, 14-16)
Noah Wright (New Palestine, 27-6) vs. Ben Wolf (East Central, 32-9)
Both Alford, a junior, and White, a senior, have difficult draws standing in their way of advancing to state, as top-five wrestlers could await in each of their quarterfinal matches. If Alford gets past Theriot, a likely matchup against No. 4 Aiden Warren (Perry Meridian, 30-4) would determine who advances to state. If Wright bests Wolf, he would likely see No. 3 Alex Mosconi (Cathedral, 35-3), who pinned Alford in the semifinals of last week’s regional. Alford and Wright could meet in the semifinals, while on the opposite side of the bracket, four more state-ranked wrestlers will look to advance to the finals, with No. 2 Bryer Hall (South Dearborn, 33-0), No. 5 Antwaun Graves ( Warren Central, 30-4), No. 9 Jeff Dunasky (Guerin Catholic, 33-3) and No. 20 Terrell Leavell (Lawrence Central, 23-10) in contention.
152 pounds
No. 3 Cooper Noehre (Greenfield-Central, 34-3) vs. No. 13 Titus Ragle (New Castle, 42-4)
No. 14 Easton Williamson (Lebanon, 30-3) vs. Max Hayes (Mt. Vernon, 22-6)
Hancock County’s two 152-pound qualifiers could meet in the quarterfinals with a spot at state on the line. Noehre and Ragle have met this year, with the Greenfield-Central junior picking up a 12-4 major decision win against the New Castle junior. Whoever gets out of the bottom portion of this bracket, with a spot at state clinched, would likely be favored to advance to the semistate finals. On the opposite side of the bracket are two top-five wrestlers who could meet in the quartefinals, No. 2 Elliot Rodgers (Cathedral, 34-3) and No. 4 Brice Coleman (Warren Central, 36-2).
170 pounds
No. 17 Drake Kendrex (Mt. Vernon, 31-4) vs. Alfredo Calderon (Centerville, 32-4)
Kendrex, a senior, has a challenging path to state ahead of him. If he gets past Calderon in the opening match, a likely quarterfinal pairing with No. 5 Elijah Mahan (Roncalli, 33-1) would await. No. 11 Kyle Saez (Westfield, 34-3) and No. 20 Tyler Wagner (Cathedral, 32-7) are possible semifinal opponents. Four more state-ranked opponents are on the opposite side of this bracket and could make the finals, with undefeated No. 3 Cody Klettheimer (Frankton, 34-0), No. 8 Tucker Coffman (Union County, 34-2), No. 10 Logan Hart (Carmel, 25-11) and No. 13 Josh Lowe (North Montgomery, 35-1) all possibilities.
182 pounds
Jake Combs (Hagerstown, 35-4) vs. Scott Stanley (Greenfield-Central, 19-19)
Ezekiel VanDeventer (Frankfort, 27-8) vs. PJ Sterrett (Mt. Vernon, 35-5)
The 182-pound weight class is another where two Hancock County wrestlers could meet with a spot at state on the line. Stanley and Sterrett would meet in the quarterfinals if each gets past their first-round opponents. Sterrett should be favored out of these four to advance to state, if only narrowly, as he topped both Combs and Stanley by decision earlier this year. Waiting in the semifinals for whoever emerges from this group could be No. 14 JD Farrell (Fishers, 23-3), and possible finals opponents include No. 12 Jalen Morgan (Elwood, 36-3) and No. 19 Devontay Moore (North Central, 24-10).
220 pounds
Alexander Burton (Eastern Hancock, 29-3) vs. Cade Campbell (Pendleton Heights, 28-12)
Eastern Hancock’s lone qualifier, the senior Burton, has two ranked wrestlers on his side of the bracket, No. 8 Drew Webster (North Montgomery, 35-1) and No. 15 Deshawn Young (Franklin Central, 28-6), who could be possible semifinal opponents. To get to state, Burton will have to get past the semistate’s sixth-ranked wrestler in Campbell, and either Cullen Browning (Northeastern, 36-2) or Dakota Arvin (Westfield, 22-14) in the quarterfinals. The favorite on the opposite side of the bracket to advance to the semistate final is No. 4 Kyle Cornwell (Elwood, 34-2), with No. 20 David Guhl (Cathedral, 29-10) another possibility.
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All four Hancock County schools will be represented at Saturday’s New Castle semistate, with 13 county wrestlers in total.
What: Semistate wrestling
Where: New Castle High School
When: 9 a.m. Saturday
Cost: $8
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