Boys wrestling state championships: Major finishes second at state

By RICHARD TORRES

For The Reporter

INDIANAPOLIS – As an eighth-grader Carmel senior Michael Major remembers watching from the stands as his older brother Robert powered through the 2021 IHSAA wrestling state finals to finish second at 160 pounds.

Fast forward four years, and last Saturday night it was Michael under the state finals spotlight this time, while Robert sat in the crowd inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse to watch history repeat.

Michael Major (40-4) finished his senior season as state runner-up at 165 pounds narrowly losing to Merrillville senior Adrian Pellot (45-0) by decision 9-6 after leading the match 4-0 early.

“I was watching my brother wrestle his senior year. We had just moved here from Illinois, and it was awesome watching him through the state finals,” Major said. “He’s a really big role model to me. He always motivates me, makes me smile. It was awesome having him here. I had it in the back of my mind, if he’s here supporting me, I can do anything.”

Major became Carmel’s 57^th state-place winner in the wrestling state tournament’s 87 years and first runner-up since his brother achieved the feat. Michael is the seventh state runner-up in Greyhounds’ history.

“I think it’s really special. Not the result but the progress and the mindset working toward this. I think that means more win or lose,” Major said. “I don’t think any of the placement matters. It’s how you feel leaving it all out on the mat mentally, physically, technically.”

Prior to his state championship match with Pellot, who was ranked first in the state by Indianamat, Major defeated 21^st-ranked Camden Baumann (29-11) of Evansville Mater Dei by fall in 1 minute, 48 seconds last Friday to advance into the medal rounds.

Major, who was ranked third in the state, beat 23^rd-ranked Leonardo Santiago (37-8) of Penn by decision 1-0 before pulling off an upset to reach the title match.

In the state semifinals, Major knocked off No. 2 Evan Roudebush (46-2) by decision 2-0 with a third-period reversal.

In the finals, Major seemed set to upset his second higher-ranked opponent behind a first-period takedown and a second-period escape for a 4-0 lead, but Pellot recovered with a pair of takedowns to cut the margin 6-5 before the third.

“That was a really good match against a really good wrestler. I think the weeks, months training for this with my coaches and trusting everything they were putting in and my teammates motivating me, I think that got me really prepared for it,” Major said.

A third takedown by Pellot put Major down 9-5 before a penalty point was awarded to the Greyhound in the final seconds for stalling.

“When the Majors come into the room, they look at the coaches and ask, ‘What would you like me to do?’ Their only goal in life is to try to do what you try to get them to do. Those are the things that make Mikey special and will make him special,” Carmel coach Ed Pendoski said. “After the match, he said, ‘I wrestled hard. I competed and I had fun.’ He found peace and just went out and wrestled and had fun. We thought we were in the match, but here’s a high school kid that ended his career with how proud of where he was. He learned a lot about himself and trusting the process.”

Major was Carmel’s lone state qualifier this year, marking the 63^rd in the program’s history. He qualified for state in 2022 at 132 pounds and placed fifth at 138 in 2023.

Prior to Major’s run this weekend, Carmel’s last state-place winners were himself and Nathan Powell (2023). Major was attempting to become Carmel’s 11^th state champion and first since Scott Kelly at 125 in 2005.