SCOUTING THE STATE FINALS
A look at each of the weight classes involving Johnson County wrestlers:
106 pounds: Center Grove sophomore Joseph Hamilton (20-14), ranked 16th in the state and a fourth-place performer at both regional and semistate, has his work cut out in the opener, facing fifth-ranked Roncalli soph Peyton Schoettle (39-1). The latter’s only loss this season was a 3-2 decision to No. 3 Isaac Campbell of Floyd Central.
120 pounds: Reigning 113-pound state champ Charlie LaRocca (33-5) of Center Grove, ranked No. 5 after bumping up a weight class, holds a 7-0 record in the postseason, including three decisions over Monrovia junior Isaac Ash, ranked seventh. The senior opens this afternoon against North Newton senior Adrian Origel (36-4), with the victor to face either the state’s No. 14 (Greenfield-Central’s Jett McGuire) or No. 15 (Delta’s Kaid Jackson) wrestler in the quarterfinals. LaRocca and Ash are at opposite ends of the bracketing, and could only meet again in the final.
132 pounds: Center Grove’s Eddie Goss, a third-place finisher a year ago at 120, takes a 33-5 mark into his first-round match against Jack Davis (39-3), a sophomore at Bishop Chatard. Goss, a junior, is ranked fourth, while Davis is No. 15. Three of Goss’ losses are decisions to two-time state champion (at 106 and 120) Jake Hockaday of Brownsburg, including two in the postseason. For the two to meet again, both have to make it to the title match. It won’t be easy, as Goss would likely square off against No. 3 Hayden DeMarco of Chesterton (44-0) in the quarters.
138 pounds: William Vander Luitgaren (34-10), a Center Grove sophomore, makes his state finals debut today against top-ranked Clinton Shepherd (29-3), a Crown Point freshman. Shepherd won both matches between the two during the regular season, the first by tech fall and the second by pin. The winner of this match is likely to compete against sixth-ranked New Castle senior Gavyn Whitehead (34-1) in the quarterfinals.
144 pounds: Center Grove senior Reese Courtney (35-2), ranked first and was last season’s state runner-up at 138, seeks a slightly longer walk up the awards podium this time around. He faces Oak Hill senior Emilio Escano (40-4), ranked 18th, in a first-round match, with the winner to likely face No. 3 Jeffrey Huyvaert (45-1), a sophomore from New Prairie, in the quarters.
150 pounds: Another returning state runner-up ranked first in his new weight class, Center Grove senior Wyatt Krejsa (36-2) begins his quest for a championship medal against Western Boone senior Mason Adams (30-6). Krejsa has been dominant, particularly in the postseason, with six of his nine victories coming by way of pin. Should Krejsa prevail today, he would take on either 21st-ranked Luke Teusch of Huntington North (38-2) or Munster’s Christopher Bohn (44-1), ranked 10th, in the quarterfinals.
157 pounds: Center Grove junior Silas Stits (34-7) goes up against Crown Point sophomore Griffin Van Tichelt (18-10) in an opening-round match. Stits, ranked sixth, scored a 4-0 victory against No. 10 Van Tichelt during the regular season. A win would enable Stits to go up against either Warren Central senior Anthony Cashman (35-3), ranked fifth, or No. 14 KeVon Russell of Fort Wayne Snider (36-7) in a quarterfinal match. Stits and Cashman have split their two matches this season, each winning by a 5-4 score.
165 pounds: Indian Creek sophomore Oliver Hallett (36-3) takes his No. 8 state ranking into competition against another 10th-grader in No. 2 Waylon Cressell of Warren Central (37-1). Waiting for the winner of this match in the second round is either fourth-ranked Delta junior Kaeb Stebbins (37-2) or Lafayette Harrison senior Isaac Sinks (43-1), ranked No. 7.
175 pounds: Center Grove senior Noah Clouser (27-4), ranked fourth, goes up against West Lafayette Harrison senior Ethan Popp (35-1), ranked seventh, in the opening round. Should Clouser move on, he’ll likely find himself on the mat against second-ranked Chase Leech of Garrett (38-2) for the right to compete in the semifinals. Clouser has won five of his six postseason matches, the lone setback being to fifth-ranked Bray Emerine of Floyd Central (37-1) in the final at the Evansville Semistate.
190 pounds: Second-ranked Kaden McConnell of Center Grove (28-4), last season’s state runner-up at 195, goes up against Wawasee senior Donovan Blair (38-5), who holds a No. 23 ranking. The bracketing is such that McConnell could be going against top-ranked Gunnar Henry of Brownsburg (32-3), a junior, in the championship match on Saturday night. The two wrestled at regional and semistate, with Henry eking out wins of 3-2 and 2-1, respectively.
285 pounds: Center Grove senior Nate Johnson takes his 23-1 mark and No. 4 ranking against Batesville junior Max Amberger (40-4) in the opening round. A win likely pairs Johnson against No. 2 Brady Beck of Rochester (43-1), a two-time medalist at 220 pounds, in the quarterfinals. Johnson’s lone loss this season was to top-ranked Paul Clark of Crown Point during the regular season; a rematch is only possible if both wrestlers make it to the championship match on Saturday night.
