The REPORTER
Eight Hamilton County wrestlers will be heading down to Evansville this weekend to compete for a state championship.
The IHSAA wrestling finals begin Friday at the Ford Center in Evansville. The event is in a different place this year since its usual site of Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis is being used for the NBA All-Star Game. But the goal is still a place on the podium – the higher, the better – for the 224 wrestlers who qualified for state this year.
The state finals begin with Friday’s first-round action. It could arguably be the most tense day for a high school wrestler, as it’s win or go home. That one victory means you advance to Saturday and a guaranteed spot in the top eight.
Gates open at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time (12:30 p.m. Central), with the Parade of Champions starting at 2:30 p.m. ET. First-round matches for weight classes from 150 to 285 pounds will begin at 3 p.m. ET, followed by matches for 106 to 144 pounds starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
As a result, no one is looking past their first-round opponent. Here is a look at the eight first-round matches involving county wrestlers.
120 pounds: Fishers junior Chayce Yant will take on Norwell sophomore Hunter Douglas. Yant is ranked 10th in the state in his class according to IndianaMat.com and is 39-3 for the year. He won the New Castle semi-state championship last Saturday. Douglas is 18-6.
126 pounds: Guerin Catholic senior Peter Nguyen, ranked 14th, will wrestle top-ranked Isaiah Schaefer, a junior from Evansville Mater Dei. Nguyen holds a 33-4 record, while Schaefer is 36-2.
132 pounds: Hamilton Heights senior Isaac Kuhn, ranked 19th, will also take on a No. 1 wrestler: Brownsburg junior Jake Hockaday. Kuhn is 30-6 while Hockaday is 33-2.
150 pounds: Carson Fettig, another Hamilton Heights senior, faces Evansville Mater Dei senior Tyler Vanover. Fettig is rated No. 16 and holds a 42-2 record; Vanover is ranked sixth and is 36-3.
157 pounds: Hamilton Heights junior Michael Cain, ranked 11th, faces third-ranked Western senior Mitchell Betz. Cain is 40-7 for the season and Betz is 37-1. On the other side of the bracket, Noblesville freshman Aidan Kincaide, ranked 12th, takes on eighth-ranked Gavin Davis of Bellmont. Kincaide is 35-5, Davis is 28-1.
165 pounds: Fishers sophomore Xavier Smith, ranked 15th, will wrestle No. 16 Brownsburg senior Jesse Derringer. Smith holds a 37-3 record, while Derringer is 27-9.
285 pounds: Noblesville senior Austin Hastings, ranked seventh, takes on No. 18 Heritage Hills sophomore Hayden Smith. Hastings won the New Castle semi-state championship and is 40-2 for the season. Smith is 32-3.