W STATE FINALS: Preview (brackets included!)

From ihsaa.org

Seven former state champions – including one attempting to join the exclusive club of four-time winners – along with the first-ever female participant headline the 74th Annual IHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals this weekend at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Two hundred twenty-four wrestlers in all – 16 in each of the 14 weight classes – will begin first round competition Friday, Feb. 17, at 6 p.m. ET. First-round winners will return to wrestle Saturday, with quarterfinal action beginning at 9:30 a.m. and semifinal matches to follow after all weight classes have concluded. 

Consolation bouts begin at 5 p.m., with championship matches under the spotlight scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Crown Point senior Jason Tsirtsis will attempt to win his fourth state championship this weekend and become just the eighth individual to accomplish that feat in tournament history. Tsirtsis’ brother, Alex, is one of those previous seven to win four titles as a Griffith wrestler from 2001-04.

Tsirtsis (38-0), ranked No. 1 at 145 pounds, won the 125 crown as a freshman in 2009, the 130 title in 2010, and the 140 bracket last year. He’ll be trying for a third consecutive undefeated season and faces Whitko senior Cody Bays (23-6) in Friday night’s opening round.

Two other individuals will be gunning for a third title, and both are competing at 126 pounds.

Lake Central senior Kyle Ayersman is 48-0 and won at 112 in 2010 before moving up to win at 119 last year. He could meet Union County senior Cody Phillips (32-2) in the championship round if both advance. Phillips was the 103-pound champ in 2009 and 2010 before stumbling in last year’s 112 semis and finishing third.

Other state champions in the field looking for a second blue ribbon medal include Lawrence North sophomore Nathan Boston (41-0 at 106), Pendleton Heights senior Mason Todd (37-0 at 120), and two others that could meet in the 132 title match: Danville junior Neal Molloy (42-0) and Perry Meridian senior Jared McKinley (44-1).

Also of note is Kayla Miracle, the first female to qualify for the state finals in the history of the tournament. A sophomore at Culver Academies, Miracle has accumulated a 42-5 record this year at 106 and won her first two matches at last Saturday’s Merrillville Semistate on a 17-0 technical fall and 10-0 major decision. She then dropped a one-point decision in the semis and ultimately finished fourth. She’ll face Garrett sophomore Hayden Lee (39-2) in the opening round’s fifth match on Friday.

One hundred and five schools will be represented at this weekend’s state finals, with top-ranked defending state champion Perry Meridian and 12-time champ No. 3 Evansville Mater Dei leading the way with nine participants each and No. 4 Indianapolis Cathedral with eight. 

Perry Meridian had the most semistate champions Feb. 11 with five at New Castle. Bellmont followed with four winners at Fort Wayne.

Of historical note …

State champions in the field (7)
106: Nathan Boston, 10, Lawrence North (41-0) – 2011 champ at 103
120: Mason Todd, 12, Pendleton Heights (37-0) – 2011 champ at 112
126: Kyle Ayersman, 12, Lake Central (48-0) – 2011 champ at 119, 2010 champ at 112
126: Cody Phillips, 12, Union County (32-2) – 2009, 2010 state champ at 103
132: Neal Molloy, 11, Danville (42-0) – 2011 champ at 130
132: Jared McKinley, 12, Perry Meridian (44-1) – 2011 champ at 125
145: Jason Tsirtsis, 12, Crown Point (38-0) – 2009 state champ at 125, 2010 state champ at 130, 2011 champ at 140

Four-time state champions (7)
Estil Ritter, Bloomington: 1924, 175; 1925, 175; 1926, heavyweight.; 1927, heavyweight
Willard Duffy, Muncie Central: 1930, 100; 1931, 108; 1932, 115; 1933, 115
Howard Fisher, South Bend Central: 1949, 95; 1950, 112; 1951, 127; 1952, 133
Lance Ellis, Indianapolis Cathedral: 1986, 98; 1987, 112; 1988, 112; 1989, 119
Blake Maurer, Evansville Mater Dei: 2001, 130; 2002, 145; 2003, 171; 2004, 171
Alex Tsirtsis, Griffith: 2001, 119; 2002, 130; 2003, 135; 2004, 145
Angel Escobedo, Griffith: 2002, 112; 2003, 125; 2004, 130; 2005, 135

State runners-up in the field (6)
113: Jarred Brooks, 12, Warsaw (31-0) – 2011 runner-up at 112
120: Brenden Campbell, 12, New Castle (50-2) – 2011 runner-up at 119
120: Paul Petrov, 12, Hanover Central (43-0) – 2010 runner-up at 103
135: Devon Jackson, 12, Yorktown (48-0) – 2011 runner-up at 135, 2010 runner-up at 130
152: Connor Mullins, 12, New Castle (28-0) – 2011 runner-up at 152
170: Tyler Willis, 12, Indianapolis Cathedral (42-1) – 2010 runner-up at 160

Undefeated wrestlers in the field: 27 (three each at 120, 182, and 195)

Mishawaka’s Michael Faulkner named top wrestling official
Michael P. Faulkner of Mishawaka has been named the recipient of the 2012 Interscholastic Athletic Officials Association Award for excellence in the sport of wrestling. Faulkner will be honored in a special ceremony at this weekend’s state finals tournament. 

Each year, the Indiana High School Athletic Association, in cooperation with the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association, recognizes and honors an outstanding official in each of 11 sports during the school year.

Faulkner has been a wrestling official for 17 years. During his career, he has worked every level of the state tournament, including 16 sectionals, 15 regionals, nine semistates, and six state finals. 

Faulkner was selected for this honor by a committee representing the officials associations. In Indiana, there are 26 associations made up of men and women who give up much of their personal time to assist in providing wholesome, worthwhile, and healthy activities for the student-athletes in our state. Statewide, there are more than 8,000 officials licensed by the IHSAA in 11 sports. 

During his 17 years of service, Faulkner served as an IHSAA clinician in 2009 and as a local association clinician for St. Joe Valley in the same year.

Faulker earned a bachelor’s degree in park and recreational leadership management from Ferris State University in 1992. He has worked as a superintendent of parks and recreation for the city of Mishawaka for 17 years. He and his wife, Monique, have been married for 15 years and have two sons, Austin and Alex.

Finally, the bracketed lineup for the 74th state finals:

106
#4 Jacob Brown (43-1) Castle 10
Kevin Condo (35-3) Franklin County 12

Sawyer Miller (39-3) South Adams 9
#12 Mike Garza (35-7) Merrillville 10

#19 Zachary Davis (38-10) Penn 10
#15 Connor Knapp (41-3) East Noble 9

#1 Nathan Boston (41-0) Lawrence North 10
#14 D.J. Smith (31-6) Franklin Community 10
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#7 Hayden Lee (39-2) Garrett 10
#20 Kayla Miracle (42-5) Culver Academies 10

#18 Hunter Fox (40-3) Cascade 9
#11 Jacob Cottey (36-9) Perry Meridian 10

#3 Tommy Cash (42-1) New Palestine 9
#10 Damon Kuhn (43-3) Evansville Reitz 11

#2 Stevan Micic (43-0) Hanover Central 10
Alan Mock (36-6) North Miami 11

113
#3 Schuyler Phillips (44-1) Yorktown 11
Alex Johnson (32-10) Evansville Mater Dei 9

#19 Adam Brodie (33-12) Merrillville 12
Ben Harvey (37-6) Indianapolis Cathedral 9

#13 Barry McGinley (34-11) Roncalli 11
#5 Darden Schurg (37-2) Crown Point 9

#11 Bailey LaHue (41-2) Corydon 9
#7 L.J. Moser (41-4) South Adams 11
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#2 Brandon James (45-0) Perry Meridian 9
Sheldon Corcoran (31-9) Logansport 10

#10 Anthony Schoettle (41-2) Center Grove 11
Sam Lovejoy (38-7) Fort Wayne Luers 9

#16 Forrest Glogouski (39-2) Fairfield 10J
#20 Joshua Davis (37-10) Evansville Reitz 10

#1 Jarred Brooks (31-0) Warsaw 12
#14 Taylor Fee (33-6) New Palestine 11

120
Paul Petrov (43-0) Hanover Central 12
#16 Jordan Lile (41-3) Fishers 10

#18 Blake Johns (37-9) Evansville Reitz 11
#20 Erique Early (36-3) Fort Wayne Snider 10

#11 Brock Bevans (44-4) Yorktown 12
#5 Alonzo Shepherd (47-4) Jeffersonville 12

#1 Mason Todd (37-0) Pendleton Heights 12
#17 Jacob Davis (37-7) Penn 12
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#4 Luke Welch (44-0) Castle 11
#12 Zachery Krumlauf (31-3) DeKalb 10

#8 Adam Garcia (42-3) Merrillville 11
#6 Andrice Martin (34-2) Franklin Central 11

#3 Brenden Campbell (50-2) New Castle 12
#16 Blake Denton (44-2) Twin Lakes 10

#13 Bobby Keuneke (34-7) Bellmont 12
Sam Goebel (14-8) Evansville Mater Dei 12

126
#4 Cody LeCount (43-0) Perry Meridian 10
Benjamin Fiechter (31-5) Southern Wells 11

#7 Logan Wedding (42-4) Evansville Memorial 11
#11 Julian Torres (33-6) Portage 11

#12 Aaron Ayala (30-7) Hobart 12
#6 Gideon VanHook (28-4) Evansville Reitz 12

#3 Nick Crume (44-1) Jimtown 11
#2 Cody Phillips (32-2) Union County 12
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#18 Devin Broukal (39-6) Bloomington South 10
#14 Trevor Burlison (30-7) Crown Point 11

#8 Robert Boston (33-3) Lawrence North 12
Kalib Jackson (38-5) East Noble 12

#5 Chandler Carroll (44-2) Yorktown 10
Sam Locke (31-9) Greenfield-Central 10

#1 Kyle Ayersman (48-0) Lake Central 12
#15 Josh Pierre (29-9) Evansville Mater Dei 10

132
#2 Neal Molloy (42-0) Danville 11
#14 Kody George (35-5) Homestead 12

#8 Anthony McHugh (43-1) Culver Academies 11
#3 Luke Blanton (43-1) Alexandria 11

#7 Levi Moss (37-6) Ben Davis 11
Chase Osborn (24-13) Penn 9

#9 Todd Batt (42-2) South Adams 12
Branson Schroeder (32-9) Evansville Mater Dei 11
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#5 Tommy Forte (38-2) Mishawaka 9
Austin Fuller (34-9) Union County 11

#12 Tyler Hupp (30-5) Indian Creek 11
Jared Wilson (30-6) Fort Wayne Snider 12

#10 Evan Loe (40-4) Peru 10
#4 Trevor Moody (43-2) Evansville Reitz 12

#1 Jared McKinley (44-1) Perry Meridian 12
Chris Johnson (33-11) South Bend Clay 12

138
#1 Devon Jackson (48-0) Yorktown 12
Joe Kelly (18-4) Chesterton 12

#4 Nick Bova (41-3) Perry Meridian 11
#15 Jordan Judy (39-5) Danville 12

#7 Brendon Kelley (41-5) Evansville Central 10
#13 Michael Venezia (29-6) Indianapolis Cathedral 12

#5 Alex Griffin (42-0) McCutcheon 12
#12 Kyle Jolas (43-3) Huntington North 10
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#2 Jake Lannert (40-2) Evansville Mater Dei 12
#18 Cody Handley (45-4) Northeastern 11

Benjamin Varner (30-9) Penn 12
#17 Lucas Riecke (36-4) East Noble 12

#11 Michael Nix (38-2) Fort Wayne Dwenger 12
#3 Mitchell Hartman (43-5) South Bend Clay 11

#6 Josh Farrell (36-3) Greenfield-Central 11
Jacob Stevenson (30-9) Franklin Community 9

145
#1 Jason Tsirtsis (38-0) Crown Point 12
Cody Bays (23-6) Whitko 12

Nolan Feller (39-5) Franklin County 12
#20 Brayden Montgomery (16-3) Danville 11

#15 Alex Bassemier (35-7) Evansville Mater Dei 12
#4 John Tatom (38-3) Hamilton Southeastern 11

#2 Brooks Faurote (43-1) Bellmont 12
Alex Katsafaros (32-14) Chesterton 10
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#5 Vincent Corsaro (32-3) Indianapolis Cathedral 12
Brent McCreary (30-12) Mooresville 11

#3 Charlie Mavros (35-3) Hanover Central 12
#7 Rhett Hiestand (44-4) Yorktown 10

Phillip Gerber (28-5) Bluffton 12
Zach Thorn (26-12) Portage 12

Brian Hayhurst (39-6) Evansville Memorial 12
Blake Giffin (36-6) South Dearborn 11

152
#1 Conner Mullins (28-0) New Castle 12
#14 Chris Katsafaros (32-6) Chesterton 11

#3 Quincy Richey (39-1) Brown County 12
Frank Martin (33-3) Homestead 11

Hunter Wells (35-2) Northfield 12
#7 Luke Kriech (32-5) Franklin Community 11

#6 Adrian Brown (48-1) Lafayette Jefferson 12
William Clinkscales (37-9) North Central (Indianapolis) 12
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#4 Isaiah Bradley (40-0) Muncie South 11
Jacob Ferguson (14-8) Martinsville 12

Daniel Ginter (28-6) Penn 12
#18 Gino Gillum (33-4) Indianapolis Cathedral 11

#5 Austin McCloskey (37-2) Western Boone 10
#13 Kennith Hughes (35-6) Lowell 10

#8 Ethan Farmer (43-2) Bloomington South 12
Zachary Beebe (47-4) Angola 12

160
#13 Tsali Lough (44-2) Terre Haute South 12
Damian Gomez (29-8) Hammond Noll 11

#6 Isaac Steury (36-2) Leo 12
#17 Connor Robinson (36-8) New Palestine 12

#2 Kirk Johnson (43-2) Perry Meridian 12
Kyle Walters (40-3) Union City 12

#3 Bobby Steveson (36-1) Merrillville 9
#10 Brock Warner (37-8) Center Grove 12
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#1 Brian Harvey (43-0) Indianapolis Cathedral 12
Chantz Luginbill (38-6) Adams Central 12

#8 Scottie Sopko (32-4) Hobart 9
#11 Seth Seitzinger (38-7) Bloomington South 11

#9 Swade Oser (54-1) Heritage Hills 12
Graham Redweik (46-3) Caston 12

#7 Jesse Goodnight (51-2) Kokomo 12
Clint Nicholson (34-9) Pendleton Heights 12

170
Anthony Linnear (33-5) Fort Wayne North 11
#18 Joe Ardizzone (35-10) Roncalli 12

#11 Clayton Fiddler (39-6) Bloomington South 11
#15 Ethan Dale (40-3) McCutcheon 12

Dalton Christensen (41-6) Logansport 12
#3 Austin Bowman (30-7) Franklin Community 12

#6 Jake Masengale (44-1) Perry Meridian 11
#7 Tanner Adams (45-2) Jimtown 11
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#14 Darryl Peppers (38-6) Merrillville 12
Carter Lewis (33-9) Greencastle 11

#1 Tyler Willis (42-1) Indianapolis Cathedral 12
James Starks (30-8) Fort Wayne Snider 12

#16 Garrett Weber (35-4) Leo 12
#10 Matt Irick (39-4) Hamilton Southeastern 12

#2 Sean Mappes (42-0) Center Grove 12
Dwight Hunter (31-14) South Bend Clay 12

182
#1 Tanner Lynde (48-0) Delphi 12
Ryan Fish (38-12) Madison 12

#16 Corey Crabtree (35-5) Muncie South 12
Dennie Brown (25-8) Southmont 12

#10 C.J. Martin (30-6) Perry Meridian 12
Carson Volheim (30-4) Elkhart Central 12

#4 Dalton Brandenstein (43-0) Evansville Mater Dei 12
#7 Dominic Fimbianti (37-3) Munster 12
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#11 Brad Busse (42-3) Bellmont 11
Dominique Robinson (34-12) Lawrence Central 12

Christian Winkle (38-5) Twin Lakes 12
Jonah Zorniger (30-9) Avon 11

#5 Dakota Thacker (39-6) Bloomington South 10
#3 Matt Hurford (45-2) Culver Community 11

#2 Lukas Schaeffer (50-0) Westfield 12
Trevon Carr (27-9) Leo 12

195
#3 Dane Maurer (42-0) Evansville Mater Dei 12
#9 Jaylin Allen (41-7) South Bend Clay 11

#11 Bo Butler (52-1) Kokomo 12
Taylor DeLong (44-9) Westfield 12

#6 Ian Early (39-2) Greenfield-Central 12
#4 Spencer Raypole (37-2) Carroll (Fort Wayne) 12

#2 Kourtney Berry (29-0) Merrillville 12
Dalton Halbig (38-6) Princeton 12
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#1 Mitch Sliga (45-0) Fishers 11
#8 Austin Gibson (36-8) Garrett 12

#14 Jacob Ricks (40-2) Benton Central 11
#13 Elijah Curtley (35-4) Jeffersonville 12

Dylan Jones (29-5) Avon 11
#20 Matt Langbehn (29-6) Crown Point 11

#5 Ben Baker (42-2) Bellmont 12
Jacob Lumpkin (40-4) Shenandoah 11

220
#12 Seth Biberstine (45-0) Southern Wells 12
#7 Michael Nickson (35-8) Merrillville 12

#11 Austin Gearlds (34-5) Greenfield-Central 12
#14 Aaron See (41-5) Northview 12

#2 Keith Knura (34-1) Indian Creek 12
#15 Levi Kinney (31-5) Indianapolis Cathedral 12

#4 Joe Gallegos (42-2) South Bend Clay 12
Nolan Wilson (33-6) Leo 11
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#5 Iyan Bass (45-0) Jennings County 12
Jordan Phillips (29-7) Southmont 12

#1 Tyler Kral (37-2) Crown Point 12
Cameron Colby (48-1) Kokomo 12

Chase Spears (38-5) Elkhart Memorial 12
#3 Gelen Robinson (44-4) Lake Central 10

#20 Justin Sanders (32-3) Pike 12
#8 Jared Boehm (52-3) Heritage Hills 11

285
#1 Kaden Suter (43-0) Martinsville 12
#8 Blake Ford (37-3) McCutcheon 12

#11 Brandon Daniels (36-5) Goshen 12
#9 Hayden Janney (34-4) Hamilton Southeastern 12

#5 Wesley Bernard (43-1) Indianapolis Cathedral 10
Andrew Amos (44-4) Angola 12

#2 Abraham Hall (46-0) Bremen 12
Drew Ponder (35-10) Center Grove 11
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#4 Donte Winfield (44-1) Perry Meridian 11
#12 Eric Hemmelgarn (40-3) Jay County 10

Dimitri Kaplanis (39-6) Wawasee 12
#13 Nathan Wright (39-2) Evansville Mater Dei 11

#15 Brian Snyder (26-5) Avon 12
#7 Marcus Dozier (41-7) South Bend Riley 12

#3 Dominique Stauffer (35-1) Elkhart Central 12
Chandler Burkhart (29-7) Southmont 12