A total of 19 local grapplers advance to Semi-State competition
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A boatload of local wrestlers grappled their way up IHSAA Wrestling State Tournament ladder on Feb. 8, with 12 Howard and Tipton County natives advancing to the Semi-State competition this weekend.
They were joined by another seven wrestlers from nearby Maconaquah and Peru High Schools to ensure a strong local presence in the penultimate stage of competition.
Ari Schrock (36-7) of Maconaquah earned top honors at 106 pounds, and Eastern's Carson Young (33-9) will join him by capturing fourth place.
Brady Shannon (25-10) of Western qualified for semi-state at 120 pounds by finishing fourth. At 126 pounds, Eastern's Triston Elmore (28-7) punched his ticket with a third-place finish.
The podium at 132 pounds was filled with local grapplers, as Glen Baldwin (41-6) of Peru took second, Jalton Archer (26-8) of Tri-Central placed third, and X'Avion Ford (10-6) captured fourth place.
Locals dominated the 138-pound rankings with Liam Bumgardner (32-3) earning the top spot over Christien Damewood (34-8) of Kokomo. Owen Tolle (27-11) prevailed for third place.
Erik Hunt (29-10) took third place at 144 pounds by defeating Kokomo Gabe Newland (33-5), who advances in fourth. Evan Oglesby (40-3) of Maconaquah won the 157-pound weight class.
At 165 pounds, Kokomo's Devon Rush (25-14) advanced in fourth place. Cory Dowden (36-3) placed second at 175 pounds.
Maconaquah again found gold at 190 pounds with Ethan Farnell (43-0) smoking the field. Brody Burns (29-8) of Western took third. Maconaquah also sent Austin Ringeisen (28-2) to the semi-state in second place at 215 pounds.
At the 285-pound weight class, Peru's Trevi Hillman-Conley (45-1) dominated the field, while Patrick Kinney (42-2) of Tri-Central settled for second.
The IHSAA Semi-State for these wrestlers takes place Sat., Feb. 15, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, beginning at 8:30 a.m. Tickets are available for $12 each at www.ihsaa.org, and the event will be streamed live through www.ihsaatv.org for $15.
See additional photos from this event, courtesy of Adam Hartsough, on the Lantern’s Facebook page or group.