By RICHIE HALL
INDIANAPOLIS – Five Hamilton County wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals of the IHSAA boys wrestling state finals on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, setting the county up for its most medalists in five years.
Fishers advanced two to the quarters, both with dominating wins. First up was 126-pound senior Chayce Yant, ranked No. 6 in the state. He took on No. 8-ranked Penn sophomore Angelo Vargo, and the match was tight at first, with neither wrestler scoring in the first period.
But Yant started to roll in the second period. He made a takedown with 1:11 left for a 3-0 lead, then got three sets of four near-fall points. Once Yant hit 15-0, he had a technical fall victory.
“I just feel like I need to get to my offense quicker,” said Yant, who placed sixth at 120 pounds last year. “Take more shots in the first period, be more offensive. I just waited around a little bit. But once I got to my offense in the second period, I knew I could take over the match and get on top of him.”
Yant is 37-3 for the season and faces Avon junior Nate Rioux, ranked No. 2, this morning in the quarterfinals.
Fishers junior Xavier Smith is ranked No. 2 at 175 pounds, and he took care of business in his match with a 19-4 technical fall over DeKalb senior Dominick Dunn. Smith cruised through the first period for a 15-4 lead, then chose to start the second period in the down position. He got the escape point to go up 16-4, then made a take down to end the match.
“I feel I’m dialed in this tournament,” said Smith, a state qualifier at 165 last year. “I’m going to perform how I want to perform. Mentally, I’m super positive right now. Just looking for that next match, next opportunity to score.”
Smith is 40-4 and takes on Penn junior Vinny Freeman, ranked No. 3 in the quarters.
Major, Cain advance at 165
Two county wrestlers are competing at 165 pounds and both picked up easy wins on Friday.
Carmel senior Michael Major, the third-ranked wrestler at 165, won his match by pin over Evansville Mater Dei junior Camden Baumann, who is rated No. 21. Major was in control from the start and pinned Baumann with 12 seconds left in the first period.
Major missed the state tournament last year due to injury, so he was happy to be wrestling again and is also keeping a positive mindset.
“Just being with my teammates, coaches, friends, family, they were all really positive, and just keeping a positive mindset,” said Major. “I thought it was really fun leading up to it. Win or lose, I was ready to go out there. Just leave it all out.”
Major is 38-3 and takes on Penn senior Leonardo Santiago, ranked No. 23, in the quarterfinals today.
On the other side of the 165 bracket, No. 5-ranked Hamilton Heights senior Michael Cain beat Avon junior Griffan Larson by a 15-3 major decision. Cain began to take control in the second period with a reverse, followed by near-fall points, then maintained a strong advantage in the third period.
Cain said that once he got in control, he used “smart wrestling and smart points, nothing crazy” to get the win.
“In tough environments like this, secure the win and wrestle smart,” said Cain. “It only takes one point to win.”
Cain improved to 46-2 and takes on Bellmont senior Gavin Davis, ranked No. 7, in the quarters.
Freshman Maddox moves on
Westfield freshman Connor Maddox, ranked No. 5, easily picked up his first-ever state win by beating Monrovia senior Gavin Ash, the sixth-ranked 106-pound wrestler, with a 17-1 technical fall. Just like the other tech-fall winners, Maddox steadily built his lead throughout the match.
“Ash is tough,” said Maddox. “He’s a senior, so he’s obviously going to be really strong and big. I knew it was going to be a bit of a battle, but the points started coming. As the match went on, the more points started coming easily.”
Maddox is 39-1 and wrestles Fort Wayne Carroll freshman Joey Warner, ranked No. 14, this morning in the quarterfinals.
Other matches
Two more county wrestlers competed at state. Fishers junior Julian Burgett, the No. 14-wrestler at 215 pounds, took on Heritage Hills junior, No. 8 Jett Goldsberry in the first round. Goldsberry quickly built a lead and won by technical fall 16-0 in the second period. Burgett finished his season 33-12.
Westfield junior, No. 14 Job Mavrick, gave his opponent, Homestead senior and No. 4-ranked Caleb Evans, all he could handle in the first round. Neither wrestler gave up a take down in the three regulation periods; Mavrick went up 1-0 with an escape point in the second round, then Evans scored an escape point in the third round.
The match went to overtime, where Evans won with a takedown at the 25-second mark. Mavrick finished his season with a 25-6 record.
Quarterfinal action begins at 9 a.m., with the semifinals and wrestleback matches to follow. The consolation matches, which determine third through eighth places, begin at 4:30 p.m. The championship matches start at 7:30 p.m.
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