Hamilton County wrestlers had a fine day at the New Castle semi-state on Saturday, with 14 wrestlers qualifying for the state finals.
Carmel had the most state qualifiers, with five reaching the top four at the semi-state. That included two runner-up finishes, first for Gavin Thompson at 113, followed by Isaac Ward at 126. Three more Greyhounds placed fourth: Tamir Halevi at 106, Michael Major at 132 and Nayl Sbay at 145.
As a team, Carmel finished in fifth place with 74 points. Cathedral won the semi-state with a score of 142.5 points.
Westfield took ninth as a team and had three state qualifiers. Ike O’Neill was the runner-up at 138 pounds, while Braxton Vest took third at 120. Mihail Platonov also finished third at 285 pounds.
Hamilton Southeastern advanced two wrestlers to state and placed 10th in the team standings. The Royals had the lone county champion: Ryan Cast at 170 pounds. Cast won the title by defeating Cathedral’s JJ Braun in an 8-3 decision in the championship match. Max Broom finished as the runner-up at 195 pounds.
Four more schools had one qualifier for the state finals. Hamilton Heights’ Evan Tilton finished second at 182 pounds; Tilton is 45-1 for the season. Noblesville’s Jacob Long placed second at 220 pounds, Fishers’ Griffin ingalls placed third at 126, and Guerin Catholic’s Peter Nguyen was fourth at 113 pounds. Sheridan scored four points at the meet, Peyton Cross went 1-1 at the meet while Jacob Jones also competed.
The state finals begin Friday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Team scores (top five and all-county): 1. Cathedral 142.5, 2. Warren Central 117.5, 3. East Central 94, 4. Perry Meridian 84, 5. Carmel 74, 9. Westfield 47.5, 10. Hamilton Southeastern 44, 13. Hamilton Heights 29.5, 22. Fishers 11, 24. Guerin Catholic 9, T25. Noblesville 8, T28. Sheridan 4.
Hamilton County results
106: 4. Tamir Halevi (C).
113: 2. Gavin Thompson (C), 4. Peter Nguyen (GC).
120: 3. Braxton Vest (W).
126: 2. Isaac Ward (C), 3. Griffin Ingalls (F).
132: 4. Michael Major (C).
138: 2. Ike O’Neill (W).
145: 4. Nayl Sbay (C).
170: 1. Ryan Cast (HSE).
182: 2. Evan Tilton (HH).
195: 2. Max Broom (HSE).
220: 4. Jacob Long (N).
285: 3. Mihail Platonov (W).