By RICH TORRES
NEW CASTLE – Considered one of the wrestling state tournament’s toughest roads, the New Castle Semi-state, once again, proved a difficult hurdle to clear on Saturday.
Overall, 37 Hamilton County wrestlers qualified for the semi-state tournament inside New Castle Chrysler Fieldhouse, and only a select nine survived and advanced into next weekend’s IHSAA State Finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
The Carmel Greyhounds pushed three wrestlers onto state, while Westfield had two. Hamilton Southeastern had three state qualifiers, and Fishers will be represented by junior J.D. Farrell at 182 pounds.
The HSE Royals brought eight wrestlers to semi-state and secured a pair of third-place finishes. Andrew Irick (33-2), who is ranked third in the state by IndianaMat.com, placed third at 220 with a pin in 1 minute, 16 seconds in the opening round and a 5-1 decision in the quarterfinals.
Irick lost his semifinal match 1-0 to Elwood’s fourth-ranked Kyle Cornwell (37-3), but he rebounded in the consolation round to defeat Northeastern’s Cullen Browning (38-4) by major decision 13-5.
“All the hard work is leading up this next weekend. Semi-state is a big tournament. It’s exciting, but it’s not the goal. Everything is working towards state,” Irick said. “I’m blessed to punch my ticket and move forward. I’m just going to keep working and try to get atop of the podium when it matters next weekend.”
HSE senior Crae Kunkleman followed Irick’s lead at 285, advancing to state with a pair of pins in 5:31 and 1:39. After getting pinned by eventual semi-state champion and top-ranked Jamichael Watts (32-0) of North Central in the semifinals, Kunkleman ended his day on a positive note.
“It’s been the goal since I was a freshman,” Kunkleman said. “My goal was always to get on the wall at HSE, and I finally accomplished that by making it to state. We’re going to live it up. Try to get on the podium, win that Friday night match (at state). It’s going to be awesome.”
Last year, HSE didn’t have a single state qualifier, but a fourth-place finish by Jake Simone (39-6) at 113 gave them three first timers.
“I’m glad to do this with one of my best friends, Crae. We work hard every day,” Irick said. “I’m not going alone. I have two of my best friends, and someone I work in the room with and pushes me. I push him, too. It’s a great feeling, but I’m not satisfied.”
Westfield’s state-qualifying duo refused to lose twice at semi-state, and both rebounded after losing in the semifinal round to seize third-place wins.
Two of the Shamrocks’ six semi-state qualifiers, fifth-ranked Carson Eldred (35-4), a junior, defeated North Central’s Logan Galbraith (23-5) to finish third at 120. Kyle Saez (37-4), a senior, lost to Roncalli’s Elijah Mahan (37-1) in the semifinals, but he won by decision 5-2 against North Montgomery’s Josh Lowe (37-3) to place third.
Farrell (26-4) won a pair of decisions, 9-2 and 5-2, respectively, to earn his first-career state berth. He lost by decision 3-1 in the semifinals to Hagerstown’s Jake Combs (38-5) before defeating North Central’s Devontay Moore (26-12) by decision 3-0 in the consolation finals for third-place.
Carmel had 13 semi-state qualifiers, but only three advanced to state with runner-up finishes.
The Greyhounds tallied 42.0 team points, which was good enough for sixth overall. Roncalli won the team title – their first in program history – with 104.0 points. Defending semi-state champion Cathedral had 97.5 points and Warren Central was third with 73.0. Perry Meridian (70.0) was fourth. North Montgomery (45.0) was fifth.
Carmel’s Suhas Chundi (27-13), who is ranked fourth, lost to Perry Meridian’s top-ranked Alex Cottey (38-0) in the 106-pound championship. Chundi, a junior, is a first-time state qualifier. He reached the semi-state finals with an ultimate tiebreaker win over Warren Central’s Carlton Perry (36-6) in the semifinals.
Kyle Holman (26-10) was runner-up at 138, falling to Roncalli’s second-ranked Tyce Freije (36-2) by decision 8-4 I the finals. Tenth-ranked Logan Hart (28-12) was second at 170.
“It’s tough here,” Kunkleman said. “There’s a lot of good competition.”
The IHSAA wrestling state finals will begin on Friday at 6 p.m. First-round winners will advance into Saturday’s placement rounds, which starts with the quarterfinals at 9:30 a.m.
Three Hamilton Southeastern wrestlers – Crae Kunkleman, Andrew Irick and Jake Simone – qualified for the state meet after their performances at the IHSAA semi-state meet Saturday at New Castle. (Photo provided)