Carmel senior Robert Major made some history for the Greyhounds Saturday night at the IHSAA state wrestling finals.
He also competed in a state championship match that will be talked about by wrestling fans for years to come.
Major battled it out with Evansville Mater Dei junior Broderick Baumann under the lights for the 160-pound state title during Saturday’s finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Major made a comeback in the third period before Baumann took control in the final seconds and took the championship in a 15-11 decision.
“It was exciting, that’s for sure,” said Carmel coach Ed Pendoski.
Both wrestlers came into the match undefeated. Baumann got the upper hand in the first period, using two takedowns to lead 4-1. Baumann increased that lead to 6-1 by starting the second period in the bottom position and gaining control in a reversal.
At this point, Pendoski gave Major this bit of advice: “Smile, Bobby.”
“And he gave us the grin and it was on,” said Pendoski. “He just kept wrestling.”
Major struck back in the middle of the period, getting his own reversal to get back on top, then scoring a couple of near-fall points to get within 6-5. But Baumann made another reversal, and that gave him an 8-5 lead at the end of the second period.
“The way that Robert competes and the way that Baumann competes, we were very certain this match wasn’t going to be 1-1 and go into overtime,” said Pendoski. “There were going to be points scored.”
And there were indeed many more points scored during a raucous third period, the last 60 seconds of which were a frenzy of reversals and near-falls. This time Major started in the bottom position, and he slowly but surely worked his way into a reversal with a minute to go, cutting Baumann’s lead to 8-7.
Ten seconds later, Baumann made a turn and took back control, leading 10-7 after yet another reversal. But his hold was tenuous, and it looked as if Major would be able to make an escape. Instead, Major was able to re-establish control by grabbing Baumann’s leg, and managed to get one of Baumann’s shoulders on the mat for a couple seconds.
With the reversal and the back points, Major briefly held an 11-10 lead. Both wrestlers got back up to their feet, but Major still had control. However, with 16 seconds left, Baumann was able to take Major down, earning reversal points, then got one of Major’s shoulders on the mat for five seconds, giving him the maximum three near-fall points. Baumann stayed in control for the remaining few seconds of the match.
“Anytime you wrestle in a match like that in the middle of Bankers Life and you make good choices, you wrestle hard and you keep competing, you have to be happy,” said Pendoski.
Major finished the season with a 40-1 record. He got to the championship match by winning two tough decision bouts, beating Plainfield junior Landon Boe 3-0 in the quarter finals and Columbus East junior Kade Law 3-1 in the semi-finals.
Major became the first Carmel wrestler to compete in a state-championship match since 2008, when Chris Mascaro was the finalist at 160 pounds. Major’s effort earned 20 team points for Carmel, which tied it for 22nd at the state meet.
TWO WESTFIELD WRESTLERS PLACE SEVENTH
Two junior wrestlers from Westfield both earned seventh-place finishes at the state meet on Saturday.
At 120 pounds, Braxton Vest began the day by falling to Sullivan sophomore Lane Gilbert in a 9-6 quarter-final decision. Vest lost by fall to East Noble junior Aidan Sprague in the wrestleback match, but rebounded to beat Brownsburg junior Aiden Haines in the seventh-place match by a 2-1 decision. Vest finished his season 35-4.
Mihail Platonov, wrestling at 285 pounds, also lost in the quarter-finals, as he was pinned by the eventual champion, Fort Wayne Carroll senior Reeve Muncie. Platonov was edged out by Franklin Central senior Antone Alexander in the wrestlebacks by a 3-2 decision, but finished the day by pinning Jeffersonville senior Matthew Munoz in the seventh-place match. Platonov ended his junior season with a 33-7 record.
Westfield tied for 32nd as a team with 12 points. Evansville Mater Dei won the team championship by scoring 112 points, just ahead of runner-up Chesterton’s 107 points.