By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
NEW CASTLE – When the dust finally settled inside New Castle Fieldhouse this past weekend, a total of 11 Hamilton County wrestlers were left standing with one more guaranteed week remaining in their seasons.
Fishers’ Seth Lamb placed third at 120 pounds, advancing to the state finals. (Manford Photography)
Hamilton Southeastern advanced the most competitors with four state qualifiers overall after the conclusion of the New Castle Semi-State held on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Fishers had three wrestlers punch their tickets to the IHSAA state finals, which will begin this Friday inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.
Noblesville and Westfield had two state-qualifiers each and an individual semi-state champion for each program.
Westfield sophomore Connor Maddox (30-0) won the 106-pound semi-state title to uphold his No. 1 state ranking, according to IndianaMat.
Noblesville junior Aidan Kincaide (34-0), who is ranked third in the state, locked down the 165-pound semi-state championship to keep his unbeaten season alive.
For Maddox, his berth marks a second straight after placing fourth at 106 during state as a freshman. This year, he is ranked sixth in the nation by FloWrestling.
“I just made sure that I really put in the work this offseason,” Maddox said. “I wanted to go out on a good note, not just win, but dominate and really just kind of take over a bit.”
Maddox never let up through his four semi-state matches, winning three by pin and the championship final by technical fall (17-1) in 2 minutes, 15 seconds against Southmont sophomore Lukas Scott (36-2), who was ranked third in the state.
Maddox’s first pin was the fastest of the tournament at 23 seconds.
Shamrock teammate Aiden Driscoll (32-14), a sophomore, will join Maddox during the two-day state finals after placing fourth at 120. The top four semi-state finishers in each weight class advanced to Indianapolis.
Westfield’s Aiden Driscoll finished fourth at 120 pounds, qualifying for the state finals. (Manford Photography)
All four HSE state qualifiers placed fourth in their respective weight classes. Freshman Nolan Culp (27-6) moves on at 106. Senior Parker Culp (36-11) pushed through at 138. Junior Cohen Davis (30-8) qualified at 165, and sophomore AW VanKirk (33-10) survived a tough 285 bracket.
Fishers had two wrestlers place third with junior Seth Lamb (37-7) at 120 and senior Julian Burgett (40-3) at 215. Lamb defeated Driscoll by decision, 16-11, in the consolation finals.
Burgett is ranked second in the state and narrowly lost by decision, 4-2, in the semifinal round at New Castle against eventual champion fourth-ranked Seer Godwise (17-2) of Perry Meridian.
Senior Camden Funk (34-10) was fourth at 190 for the Tigers.
The Millers’ first state qualifier was freshman Brody Weimer (37-5) at 126. Weimer opened the day with a 15-0 (2:26) technical fall in the first round and followed up with a 17-8 major decision during his quarterfinal, round-to-go match.
After a loss in the semifinals, Weimer bounced back to take third after he upset sixth-ranked Bradyn Volz (37-2) of Eastern Hancock by fall during the consolation round in 4:06. Weimer is ranked 16th in the state.
Kincaide, who missed last season due to a back injury, won by pin in all four of his matches. His first unfolded in 59 seconds. His second required 34 seconds. In the finals, he pinned senior James Grimme (32-10) of Indianapolis Cathedral in 35 seconds.
“It was a bad injury, but we’re back at it and looking for a state title,” Kincaide said. “Just trying to get on and off the mat as soon as possible, just trying to be dominant.”
As a freshman, Kincaide placed fourth at 157 when the state finals were held in Evansville.
Hamilton County State Qualifiers
106 Pounds
(Soph.) Connor Maddox (30-0), Westfield
(Fr.) Nolan Culp (27-6), Hamilton Southeastern
120 Pounds
(Jr.) Seth Lamb (37-7), Fishers
(Soph.) Aiden Driscoll (32-14), Westfield
126 Pounds
(Fr.) Brody Weimer (37-5), Noblesville
138 Pounds
(Sr.) Parker Culp (36-11), Hamilton Southeastern
165 Pounds
(Jr.) Aidan Kincaide (34-0), Noblesville
(Jr.) Cohen Davis (30-8), Hamilton Southeastern
190 Pounds
(Sr.) Camden Funk (34-10), Fishers
215 Pounds
(Sr.) Julian Burgett (40-3), Fishers
285 Pounds
(Soph.) A.W. VanKirk (33-10), Hamilton Southeastern