Five Hamilton County wrestlers advanced to the quarter-finals at the IHSAA state meet, which began Friday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The first athlete to win was Carmel senior Suhas Chundi at 106 pounds. He pinned Western junior Anthony Martin in the second period, and moves on to wrestler Crown Point freshman Sammy Goin this morning.
Westfield senior Carson Eldred moved on in the 120-pound division, getting a 7-3 decision over fellow senior Sam Scott of Heritage Hills. Next up for Eldred is Churubusco senior Dominic Heath.
Carmel senior Gabe Davin won his 170-pound match, moving on with a 9-4 decision against Elkhart Memorial junior Clayton Lundy. Davin will take on undefeated Plymouth senior Graham Calhoun in the quarter-finals.
Fishers senior JD Farrell also picked up a decision win, getting past Fort Wayne Carroll junior Matt Lepper 5-2. Farrell, now 39-2 for the season, will take on Heritage Hills senior Phoenix Rodgers in the morning session.
Hamilton Southeastern senior Andrew Irick, at 285 pounds, finished the night up with a 14-4 major decision victory against Franklin Community sophomore Jacob Johnson. Irick improved to 35-1 and will wrestle Western junior Braydon Erb in the quarter-finals.
Six other county wrestlers lost their first-round match on Friday. At 113 pounds, Carmel sophomore Brac Hooper dropped a 7-4 decision to Sullivan freshman Lane Gilbert, while Westfield junior Dylan Driver was pinned by Evansville Mater Dei junior Cole Ross in the first period.
Carmel senior Brendan Mattingly dropped a 138-pound match to Rensselaer Central senior Elijah Hickman by an 8-4 decision. At 145, Greyhounds junior Jake Shafer was pinned by Avon junior Jaden Reynolds in the first period, while Southeastern senior Reece Luhmann lost a 5-1 decision to Center Grove junior Riley Rust. Carmel senior Haakon Van Beynen lost by a first-period fall to Chesterton junior Evan Bates.
The quarter-finals begin at 9:30 a.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, with the semi-finals to follow. Consolation matches start at 5 p.m., with the championship matches under the spotlight starting at 7:30 p.m.
