Teams
Adams Central
Bluffton
Centerville
Cowan
Manchester
North Posey
Prairie Heights
Rensselaer Central
South Adams
Southmont
Tell City
Wabash
Ranked wrestlers
106
#6 Blake Zirklebach-North Posey
113
#4 Coy Hammack-Tell City
120
No Ranked Wrestlers
126
#10 Ethan Higgins-Wabash
132
#13 Dylan Stroud-Manchester
138
No Ranked Wrestlers
145
#14 Toby Abbott-Cowan
152
#8 Alex Currie-Adams Central
#11 AJ Dull-South Adams
#16 Gabe Phillips-Centerville
160
No Ranked Wrestlers
170
No Ranked Wrestlers
182
#9 Riley Woodall-Southmont
#12 Christian Summersett-Adams Central
195
#11 Blake Heyerley-Adams Central
#15 Wyatt Willman-North Posey
220
No Ranked Wrestlers
285
No Ranked Wrestlers
First round match-ups
Manchester vs South Adams
South Adams should be too deep from top to bottom for South Adams. While Manchester does have hammers I don't think that will be enough to carry them here. Having good big guys goes a long way in every class but especially here. Christian Summerset, South Adams, is a ranked guy at 182 and can wrestle 195 and get results as well giving them some flexibility.
South Adams advance
Wabash vs Centerville
If Centerville has a full line-up they should be able to advance in this match. The Bulldogs match-up well with Wabash and are good from 113-132 preventing Wabash from being able to bump around to get more favorable match-ups. Wabash has been giving up a lot of forfeits their past few times out and if that happens I don’t see a scenario where Wabash wins this dual.
Centerville Advances
Southmont vs Adams Central
Adams Central matches up well against Southmont. Adams Central has solid kids where Southmont is bad and it should be a good bonus point opportunity for the Jets. Southmont does have solid big guys but the match-ups aren’t in their favor as I feel like Adam Centrals' guys are just a bit better in the toss up matches.
Adams Central Advances
Bluffton vs Rensselaer Central
Bluffton has been without their best wrestler up to this point in the year. Rensselaer lost their best wrestler from last year, but picked up a good freshman to replace him. Bluffton has been wrestling well but I feel that Rensselaer’s line-up is too good from top to bottom and they come out with a win here.
Rensselaer Central Advances
Second Round
Tell City vs South Adams
Tell City is the top seed here for a reason. They have the deepest team in my opinion from top to bottom, returning 8 semi-state level guys from last year's team. Their good guys are spaced out enough for them to get favorable matchups in most duals. Matches to watch in this dual should be at 120 and 152.
Tell City advances
Prairie Heights vs Centerville
This is my first “upset” of the tournament. Centerville brought back 5 semi-state level guys compared to two for Prairie Heights, in a much tougher semi-state. Honestly I don’t get the seeding decision here with Centerville not only having a better team on paper, but a better record as well.
Centerville advances
Cowan vs Adams Central
Adams Central’s team has too much fire power for Cowan at this point. Cowan returns 1 guy with semi-state experience compared to the 4 guys the Jets bring back. Cowan is tough in those middle weights, Adams Central has a tough team from top to bottom and that depth will be the difference.
Adams Central advances
North Posey vs Rensselaer Central
North Posey is just a better team at this point in the season than Rensselaer Central. The thing that worries me about them as they advance in the tournament is their lack of “hammers”. While they do have good kids they don’t really have any guys that would pick to win every match that they’re in.
North Posey advances
Semi-Finals
Tell City vs Centerville
I think these are the two best teams in the tournament and, again, I don’t get how or why Centerville was seeded so low. There are several weights in this dual that should be good, such as 152 and 160. Centerville will need to get pins where they’re favored because I don’t have them favored to win a lot of these matchups.
Tell City advances
Adams Central vs North Posey
I look forward to some good matchups in this dual but bonus points will be the story here. Looking at similar opponents, North Posey should get a lot of quality wins in this dual. There are only a few spot where I can see Adams Central getting bonus points, there are a lot of weights where I would be surprised if North Posey didn’t pick up bonus points. 195 should be the best match of the dual.
North Posey advances
Finals
Tell City vs North Posey
These teams are pretty even matched. For Tell City to give themselves the best chance to win they need to pick up quality wins, specifically a fall, at 126, 138 and 145 where their guys are much better. For North Posey their weights are 170 and 195. Looking at some common opponents, there are a lot of toss up matches in this dual, but when it’s all said and done i see Tell City picking up a lot of bonus points and winning a team state title.
IHSWCA 1A Team State Champions-Tell City
