Four wins.
That’s all that separates any one of seven Johnson County wrestlers from a state championship this weekend.
Of course, that makes the task sound much simpler than it actually is. With Indiana’s best gathered at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the journey that begins with tonight’s opening round will be a difficult one.
Here’s a glance at the six weight classes that the county’s best will be trying to conquer:
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<strong>113 pounds</strong>
Center Grove sophomore Alex Petro (27-7) has a tough first-round matchup against Warren Central’s Skylour Turner, ranked No. 3 in the state — but it’s one Petro knows is winnable after a close 6-4 loss to Turner in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference tourney.
If he can get past that, the draw sets up favorably. The top two in the state, Asa Garcia of Avon and Alec Viduya of Roncalli, are on the other side of the bracket. Other than Turner, the top-ranked wrestler on Petro’s half of the draw is No. 6 Hunter Watts of Jimtown, who Petro wouldn’t see until the semifinals.
<strong>120 pounds</strong>
Whatever the opposite of a favorable draw is, Indian Creeks’ Alex Mosconi has it. The sophomore, ranked eighth in the state with a 43-3 record, faces No. 12 Cung Nier of Perry Meridian in the first round, but he could then conceivably have to win back-to-back matches against No. 2 Tylor Triana of Hobart and No. 1 Tyler Mills of Brownsburg just to make the final.
The good news is that Mosconi knows he’s within reach of anyone in the field. He lost a 2-0 decision to Mills in the regional final and took No. 3 Cayden Rooks of Columbus East to overtime in the semistate title match. Mosconi may have a tougher championship path than any wrestler in the state, but he’s capable of running the table.
<strong>145 pounds</strong>
Center Grove senior Logan Coyle couldn’t have asked for a much better setup in his quest to go out as a champion. Ranked eighth in the state with a 39-5 record, he’s looking at a draw with the Nos. 1, 2 and 5 wrestlers on the other side — and the Nos. 3 and 4 wrestlers sitting at home after semistate upsets.
That doesn’t mean, however, that Coyle has a cakewalk. He opens up against No. 9 Kain Rust of Perry Meridian, could potentially see No. 6 Jason Crary of Munster in the quarterfinals and either No. 7 Mason Winner (Jay County) or No. 10 Mario Traficanti (Crown Point) in the semis. Still, in a tournament featuring the best of the best, it’s tough to ask for a better path.
<strong>160 pounds</strong>
No. 6 Gleason Mappes of Center Grove (43-1), the county’s lone semistate champion, finished fourth in this weight class a year ago and has a good chance to match or top that given that he’s the fourth-ranked wrestler remaining (Nos. 3 and 4 didn’t make it through to this weekend).
Mappes opens against unranked Nicholas Potter of New Haven on Friday, and provided he keeps winning he can’t face anyone ranked ahead of him until the semis, when No. 1 Brad Laughlin of Yorktown may await.
<strong>170 pounds</strong>
Franklin senior Burk VanHorn entered the postseason ranked first in the state, but he hasn’t had the smoothest ride since. He’s lost a pair of overtime matches to No. 18 Eli Stock of Monrovia, one in a sectional semifinal and one in the title bout at Evansville last Saturday.
Stock is on the other side of the draw, but VanHorn does face a potential second-round showdown with No. 2 Tanner Webster of North Montgomery.
Center Grove’s Jonah Hays has played second fiddle to Stock and/or VanHorn throughout the postseason, but he’s managed to make it here, and at No. 14 in the state, the junior is very much a threat in his own right. Hays (31-13) wrestles Friday against No. 6 Jarod Swank of Penn, but nobody else in the state’s top 10 is in his half of the draw.
<strong>182 pounds</strong>
Franklin senior Jake Moore has toiled in the shadow of classmate VanHorn — but at 42-4 on the year, he’s established himself as a potential contender. Ranked 14th in the state, Moore opens with a winnable match against No. 17 Jeremy Torres of Portage.
From there, the road could get considerably tougher. No. 4 Jacob Gray of Delta looms as a potential second-round foe, and second-ranked Thomas Dull of Terre Haute North is a possible semifinal opponent. On the other side of the bracket are top-ranked Nathan Walton of Brownsburg, who pinned Moore in the semistate final, and No. 3 Lucas Davison of Chesterton.
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<strong>IHSAA Wrestling State Finals</strong>
When: 6 p.m. (first round); 9:30 a.m. Saturday (quarterfinals), 5 p.m. Saturday (consolations) and 7:30 p.m. Saturday (finals)
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Admission: $8 per session or $20 both days
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