County sending five wrestlers to first-ever IHSAA state competition

By RICHIE HALL

sports@readthereporter.com

Five Hamilton County girls wrestlers are headed to the first-ever IHSAA state finals.

Three Hamilton Heights wrestlers qualified out of the Rochester regional on Friday, with two wrestlers from Carmel qualifying from the Alexandria regional. The state finals take place next Friday at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum.

One of the Huskies’ state qualifiers is a defending state champion. Junior Kendall Moe won the 100-pound title at last year’s Indiana High School Girls Wrestling state finals. Moe is now wrestling at 105 pounds, and she is a strong favorite in that weight class.

At Rochester, Moe sailed through the draw, winning all four of her matches by fall. Moe pinned her first three opponents all in the first round, then took on Senniah Henderson of Lafayette Jefferson in the championship match. Henderson stretched Moe to a second period, but Moe eventually got the pin at the 3 minute, 27 second mark. Moe is unbeaten for the season at 19-0.

Heights senior Zoe Pugh is also on to the state finals, finishing as runner-up at 120 pounds. Pugh won her first three matches by fall, including a 17-second pin in the semifinals. In the championship match, Pugh lost to McCutcheon’s Aaliyah McLean by a close 5-3 decision.

Junior Isabella Bailey became the third state qualifier for the Huskies, finishing fourth at 145 pounds. Bailey won her first match by fall, then picked up another pin in the quarterfinals, or ticket round, after getting a last-second pin in the second period over Fort Wayne South Side’s Jessenia Garcia. Bailey was pinned in her semifinal and third-place matches, but she is still heading to state.

Heights had seven wrestlers competing in the regional. Senior 115-pounder Audrey Baber won her first match with a 57-second pin, but lost by fall to Marissa Nicolas in the quarters. Freshman Madeline McKinney was pinned in the first round in a 100-pound match, as were sophomore Amaelia Cordero Ballinger at 170 pounds and freshman Natalie Head at 190 pounds.

The Huskies placed fifth in the team standings, scoring 73 points.

Sheridan had three wrestlers competing at the Rochester regional. Junior Devyn Pewarski won a first-round match at 130 pounds by a 24-16 major decision before losing to Attica’s Joslyn Barnett by a 9-3 decision in the quarters.

Junior Adrianna Hamersley got a fast pin in a 135-pound opener, but dropped a close 5-2 decision in the quarter finals to Clinton Prairie’s Shelby Luper. Junior Eva Todd lost by fall in the first round at 145 pounds.

“Our girls went out and wrestled their tails off,” said Sheridan head coach Jason Hamersley. “We were in close matches with wrestlers ranked in the top 10 in the state and gave ourselves a shot to compete at state next weekend. We’re very excited to return eight girls next season and pick up right where we left off.”

Two Greyhounds at state

Carmel sophomore 115-pounder Grace Sharp was the first state qualifier of the day for the Greyhounds, and she won a wild ticket-round match to get there.

Sharp won her opening match with a second-period pin, then faced East Central’s Tegan Caddell in the quarters. Sharp led 11-1 in the second period before Caddell got a reverse and near-fall points to cut the lead to 11-7.

Sharp finished the period with her own reverse, then opened the third period with a take down for a 16-7 lead. Caddell again got a reverse and near-fall, but Sharp escaped, and clinched the match with a final takedown.

“It was kind of like a personal win from last year, where I lost in the deciding match at semi-state last year in overtime,” said Sharp. “So, it’s kind of like a personal win for me to be able to qualify this year after what happened last year.”

Sharp dropped her semifinal match after being pinned in the second period, but she came back to win the third-place bout, pinning Muncie Central’s Courtney Thrash in the second period.

Carmel junior Daniela Ramirez-Zarate earned a ticket to state at 155 pounds. Ramirez-Zarate got a fast pin in the first round, then pinned Monroe Central’s Chelsea Erwin in the quarterfinals to qualify for state. Ramirez-Zarate fell in the semifinals by a quick pin, then dropped a 7-0 decision in the third-place match.

“I came back from injuries, and I haven’t been able to complete a wrestling season yet,” said Ramirez-Zarate. “So, this is my first, being able to complete, and it makes me really happy because it shows that all my hard work paid off.”

The ‘Hounds had six wrestlers at the regional. Junior Giabella Romano won a first-round major decision at 130 pounds before falling to eventual champion, Beech Grove’s Jaydyn Madry by fall in the quarters. Freshman Tess Self (at 105), sophomore Masha Newsome (at 125) and junior Josie Belloti (at 170) all lost by pin in the first round.

Hamilton Southeastern had eight wrestlers at regional. Senior 120-pounder Kiarra Churchill beat Newsome by pin in the first round, then was pinned by Roncalli’s Olivia Lemus in the quarters. Junior 235-pounder Fanta Sall won her first match with a 28-second fall but was pinned in the quarters by Franklin Central’s Jayleigh Hollier. Junior Kelli Crawford, at 190 pounds, got a quick pin in her first-round match but lost by fall to FC’s Sophia Jones in the quarters.

Sophomore Lillianna Rodriguez at 105, senior Ella Shults at 110, junior Lindsey Lannan at 115, sophomore Daphne Gilliam at 135 and sophomore Samantha Broyles at 145 all dropped first-round matches.

Fishers senior Jolisa Janik won her opening match at 235 pounds by fall, before losing a quarterfinal bout to Greenfield-Central’s Keely Allen by technical fall. Janik was a first-year wrestler; read more about her season in an upcoming edition of the Reporter.

Noblesville senior Evangeline Howard was pinned in the first round by Franklin Central’s Madeline Thompson; the Flashes went on to win the team championship.