FRANKLIN — Indiana high school boys wrestlers will begin their quests for individual success when sectional tournaments begin later this month.
On Saturday, it was all about the team.
Greenfield-Central and New Palestine were among 12 battling in the Class 3A Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Duals Championship at Franklin Community High School Saturday.
Twelve teams — six qualifiers and six voted in — battled for an opportunity to be team state champions. The Cougars finished fifth and the Dragons placed ninth.
It was the second straight year Greenfield-Central has been voted into the field. The Cougars were third in an eight-team field in 2023.
“It’s neat, especially for the kids,” Greenfield-Central coach Josh Holden said. “We have a big watch party to find out if we’re in, it brings a little togetherness. It’s a team event, not an individual event, team event. I think that’s neat.”
Selections for the dual tournament are based on the most recent official enrollment data from the IHSAA, the IHSWCA broke schools down into four classifications. For the state duals, teams accumulate points through the advancement of wrestlers starting with the previous year’s individual sectional tournament. More points are given to underclass wrestlers, who would be eligible to wrestle in the following year’s state duals.
Six teams solidified spots by last year’s points, the remainder of the field is voted in. Both Greenfield-Central and New Palestine were voted into this year’s field along with Hobart, East Noble, host Franklin and Floyd Central. Qualifiers included Columbus East, DeKalb, Fort Wayne Snider, Mishawaka, Roncalli and Terre Haute South.
The top four seeded teams, No. 1 Terre Haute South, No. 2 Columbus East, No. 3 Floyd Central and No. 4 Franklin received first-round byes.
The Dragons opened with a tough 32-31 loss to East Noble. A week earlier, New Palestine finished one point ahead of East Noble at the Connersville Spartan Classic (an individual tournament) to finish second, behind two-time champion Greenfield-Central.
In the final match of Saturday’s dual, East Noble earned a major-decision win to pick up the extra point and team victory.
The Dragons were sent to the consolation round where ninth-place was the highest they could finish. They won, handily, their final two matches over Fort Wayne Snider (45-27) and Hobart (47-24).
“I try to refrain from what could have been,” New Palestine coach Andrew Frey said. “A tough first round losing by one [point]. That’s the third time that has happened this year so that is always a bitter taste. After that round we had to regroup. The next best thing on the day was ninth and that’s what we got.
“We have a pretty good group of kids that understand, they are competitors. I always tell them you have to have a short memory win or lose. We have to move on to the next one. Today we had to have a short memory after Round 1 and we wanted to end our day on a good note. We had to beat Fort Wayne Snider and beat Hobart, and we did that. Overall we ended well and I am happy with that.”
Blake Doss (106), Gunner Butt (126/132), Peyton Hornsby (138), Bryce Doss (144) and Shaun Glass (215) all went 3-0 on the day. Bryce Doss had three falls. Glass had two falls and a technical fall.
Frosh heavyweight William Glesing went 2-1 and earned a fall over a state-ranked wrestler in Fort Wayne Snider’s Ethan Dodson.
“He wrestled that kid earlier in the year and got pinned,” Frey said. “He got a really good takedown, got some back points and got another really good takedown and got the fall. He’s starting to figure out this high school wrestling thing and he’s starting to settle in. There’s an adjustment from middle school to high school, he’s wrestling some grown men. That was a huge one.”
Greenfield-Central reached the quarterfinals after a 43-20 first-round win over Snider. They lost a close 40-30 match to second-seeded Columbus East before grabbing two wins to finish fifth. The Cougars beat East Noble 42-25 and, in a rematch from a Wednesday regular-season dual, they beat Roncalli for the second time in four days, 36-29.
On Wednesday at G-C, the Cougars won 35-31.
“I thought we wrestled pretty well. We were a little sluggish in our second one against Columbus East, but, at the same time, closed the gap on them a little bit (after a loss earlier in the season),” Holden said. “So, can’t complain too much.”
Jett McGuire (120), Silas Frye (175) and Clay Guenin (190/215) all went 4-0. Guenin’s four wins were all by pin.
Tristen Lanum (215/190), Brayden Flener (285), JJ Harlow (138), and Cade Zuber (132) went 3-1.
The second meeting against the Royals went much like the first with the Cougars securing the victory with their upper weights.
Trailing 29-18, G-C finished with three consecutive victories by fall.
Frye got a pin with just five seconds left in the first period against Roncalli’s Gray Wiley. Lanum, who was moved down to 190, gave G-C the lead with a fall in 2:34 over Brody Heidelberger. Guenin sealed the win with 15 seconds left in the first period with a fall over Evan Nalley.
On Wednesday, Flener, in the 12th of 14 matches, won by fall to give the Cougars the win.
It was the 12th year of the IHSWCA state duals. Floyd Central won the team title. The tournament grew to a 12-team event this year after being eight teams in the past.
“When you’re a voted-in team — last year it was us and Columbus East and they got second and we got third — I don’t know where everyone else fell, but when you’re the voted-in team you want to prove you belong,” Holden said. “We’ll take it, move on and we have a couple of tough ones coming up, including conference. We’re trying to get better every day.”
“This is a great experience,” Frey said of the state duals. “This is an opportunity only 12 teams get and we’re one of them. We have to be happy about that. This is a tournament I see us being in years and years and years to come. This wasn’t just a one-time deal for us, hopefully. We’re going to be in it next year and the year after. Hopefully we’ll just build off this experience. We’re young. Of our starters, 10 are coming back next year. So those 10 should have that experience of this tournament and be ready.”
Greenfield-Central will wrestle Eastern Hancock at home on Thursday before defending its Hoosier Heritage Conference title Saturday at Pendleton Heights High School. G-C has won the HHC tournament three straight years.
New Palestine will host Lawrence North Wednesday, its Senior Night, before the HHC tournament.
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Greenfield Central (5th Place)
Match #1 Champ. Round 1
Greenfield Central defeated Fort Wayne Snider 43-20
175 – Silas Frye (Greenfield Central) over Jaeden Early (Fort Wayne Snider) Fall 4:00
190 – Clay Guenin (Greenfield Central) over Richard Nitcher (Fort Wayne Snider) Fall
1:03
215 – Tristan Lanum (Greenfield Central) over Ethan Leal (Fort Wayne Snider) Maj 8-0
285 – Ethan Dodson (Fort Wayne Snider) over Brayden Flener (Greenfield Central) Dec
1-0
106 – Braeden Ayres (Greenfield Central) over Kai Vaughn (Fort Wayne Snider) Maj 15-
4
113 – Tyler Tun (Fort Wayne Snider) over Hayden Tomey (Greenfield Central) Fall 0:34
120 – Jett McGuire (Greenfield Central) over Deacon Rhodes (Fort Wayne Snider) Maj
11-2
126 – Carter Krouse (Fort Wayne Snider) over Lincoln Parsons (Greenfield Central) Dec
7-4
132 – Cade Zuber (Greenfield Central) over Zane Maple (Fort Wayne Snider) Maj 14-0
138 – Jarred Harlow (Greenfield Central) over Kendi Quoi (Fort Wayne Snider) Dec 4-3
144 – Nate Miller (Greenfield Central) over Spencer Shively (Fort Wayne Snider) Fall
5:44
150 – Kannon Zuber (Greenfield Central) over Connor Prochaska (Fort Wayne
Snider) Fall 2:49
157 – Kévon Russle (Fort Wayne Snider) over Aiden Briles (Greenfield Central) Fall
4:25
165 – Ethan Smith (Fort Wayne Snider) over Mason Thompson (Greenfield Central) Dec
4-3
Fort Wayne Snider’s team score was adjusted by -1.0 for USC
Match #2 Quarterfinal
Columbus East defeated Greenfield Central 40-30
190 – Clay Guenin (Greenfield Central) over Colin McMahon (Columbus East) Fall 1:23
215 – Tristan Lanum (Greenfield Central) over James Moss (Columbus East) Dec 6-2
285 – Brayden Flener (Greenfield Central) over Dominic Piper (Columbus East) Fall 1:55
106 – Ethan Poling (Columbus East) over Unknown (Unattached) Forfeit
113 – Talon Jessup (Columbus East) over Braeden Ayres (Greenfield Central) Fall 4:26
120 – Jett McGuire (Greenfield Central) over Wyatt Behnke (Columbus East) Fall 1:13
126 – Gage Rutan (Columbus East) over Lincoln Parsons (Greenfield Central) Fall 5:50
132 – Cade Zuber (Greenfield Central) over Aiden Miller (Columbus East) Fall 1:39
138 – Caleb Kirkpatrick (Columbus East) over Jarred Harlow (Greenfield Central) Fall
3:43
144 – Caleb Cooper (Columbus East) over Nate Miller (Greenfield Central) Dec 3-1
150 – Nate Anderson (Columbus East) over Kannon Zuber (Greenfield Central) Maj 10-2
57 – Lincoln Cooper (Columbus East) over Aiden Briles (Greenfield Central) Fall 1:19
165 – Clayton Miller (Columbus East) over Mason Thompson (Greenfield Central) Dec
7-1
175 – Silas Frye (Greenfield Central) over Tyler Lake (Columbus East) Dec 6-5
Match #3 Cons. Round 2
Greenfield Central defeated East Noble 42-25
215 – Dylan Krehl (East Noble) over Tristan Lanum (Greenfield Central) Dec 6-1
285 – Brayden Flener (Greenfield Central) over Zackery Leighty (East Noble) Dec 1-0
106 – Braeden Ayres (Greenfield Central) over Awad Awad (East Noble) Fall 0:51
113 – Kealen Fuller (East Noble) over Hayden Tomey (Greenfield Central) Fall 0:29
120 – Jett McGuire (Greenfield Central) over Blake Byerley (East Noble) Inj 3:58
126 – Lincoln Parsons (Greenfield Central) over Conner Mosley (East Noble) Dec 6-1
132 – Cade Zuber (Greenfield Central) over Aymen Ahmed (East Noble) Fall 1:49
138 – Jarred Harlow (Greenfield Central) over Andrew Wilson (East Noble) Dec 10-6
144 – Nate Miller (Greenfield Central) over Tj Knox (East Noble) Fall 0:47
150 – Rylee Biddle (East Noble) over Kannon Zuber (Greenfield Central) Maj 15-4
157 – Benjamin Barker (East Noble) over Aiden Briles (Greenfield Central) Fall 0:57
165 – Dallas Plattner (East Noble) over Mason Thompson (Greenfield Central) Fall 0:57
175 – Silas Frye (Greenfield Central) over Alex Sprague (East Noble) Dec 5-3
190 – Clay Guenin (Greenfield Central) over Connor Leins (East Noble) Fall 3:06
Match #4 5th Place Match
Greenfield Central defeated Roncalli 36-29
285 – Brayden Flener (Greenfield Central) over Zane Baker (Roncalli) Fall 2:59
106 – Peyton Schoettle (Roncalli) over Hayden Tomey (Greenfield Central) Fall 0:27
113 – Blake Getz (Roncalli) over Braeden Ayres (Greenfield Central) Fall 1:20
120 – Jett McGuire (Greenfield Central) over Jack Richardson (Roncalli) Dec 14-7
126 – Lincoln Parsons (Greenfield Central) over JR Link (Roncalli) Dec 13-9
132 – Alex Plahitko (Roncalli) over Cade Zuber (Greenfield Central) Fall 1:35
138 – Jarred Harlow (Greenfield Central) over Andrew McHugh (Roncalli) Dec 8-4
144 – Will May (Roncalli) over Nate Miller (Greenfield Central) Dec 8-4
150 – Braden Getz (Roncalli) over Kannon Zuber (Greenfield Central) Maj 14-3
157 – Aiden Briles (Greenfield Central) over Tucker Billerman (Roncalli) Dec 2-0
165 – James Dozier (Roncalli) over Mason Thompson (Greenfield Central) Maj 13-0
175 – Silas Frye (Greenfield Central) over Gray Wiley (Roncalli) Fall 1:55
190 – Tristan Lanum (Greenfield Central) over Brody Heidelberger (Roncalli) Fall 2:34
215 – Clay Guenin (Greenfield Central) over Evan Nalley (Roncalli) Fall 1:45
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New Palestine (9th place)
Match #1 Champ. Round 1
East Noble defeated New Palestine 32-31
175 – Alex Sprague (East Noble) over Gavin Wilcher (New Palestine) Maj 8-0
190 – Connor Leins (East Noble) over Colin Whetsel (New Palestine) Dec 9-5
215 – Shaun Glass (New Palestine) over Dylan Krehl (East Noble) Fall 3:18
285 – William Glesing (New Palestine) over Zackery Leighty (East Noble) Fall 2:22
106 – Blake Doss (New Palestine) over Awad Awad (East Noble) Dec 9-5
113 – Kealen Fuller (East Noble) over Landon Stranger (New Palestine) TF 19-1
120 – Blake Byerley (East Noble) over Wesley Harbert (New Palestine) Fall 2:47
126 – Conner Mosley (East Noble) over Ryder Gardner (New Palestine) Dec 10-9
132 – Gunner Butt (New Palestine) over Aymen Ahmed (East Noble) Fall 2:43
138 – Peyton Hornsby (New Palestine) over Andrew Wilson (East Noble) Maj 16-5
144 – Bryce Doss (New Palestine) over Tj Knox (East Noble) Fall 1:05
150 – Rylee Biddle (East Noble) over Elijah Alonso (New Palestine) Maj 14-2
157 – Benjamin Barker (East Noble) over Jaedyn Jeffries (New Palestine) Dec 6-2
165 – Dallas Plattner (East Noble) over Gabe Flick (New Palestine) Maj 9-1
Match #2 Cons. Round 1
New Palestine received a Bye
Match #3 Cons. Round 2
New Palestine defeated Fort Wayne Snider 45-27
215 – Shaun Glass (New Palestine) over Ethan Leal (Fort Wayne Snider) Fall 1:34
285 – William Glesing (New Palestine) over Ethan Dodson (Fort Wayne Snider) Fall 1:37
106 – Blake Doss (New Palestine) over Kai Vaughn (Fort Wayne Snider) Maj 8-0
113 – Tyler Tun (Fort Wayne Snider) over Landon Stranger (New Palestine) Fall 5:20
120 – Deacon Rhodes (Fort Wayne Snider) over Wesley Harbert (New Palestine) Fall
5:37
126 – Gunner Butt (New Palestine) over Carter Krouse (Fort Wayne Snider) Maj 13-2
132 – Zane Maple (Fort Wayne Snider) over Braeden Lintner (New Palestine) Fall 3:57
138 – Peyton Hornsby (New Palestine) over Kendi Quoi (Fort Wayne Snider) Fall 5:14
144 – Bryce Doss (New Palestine) over Dalton Rhodes (Fort Wayne Snider) Fall 1:24
150 – Elijah Alonso (New Palestine) over Connor Prochaska (Fort Wayne Snider) Maj
16-5
157 – Kévon Russle (Fort Wayne Snider) over Jaedyn Jeffries (New Palestine) Dec 3-1
165 – Ethan Smith (Fort Wayne Snider) over Gabe Flick (New Palestine) Fall 3:25
175 – Gavin Wilcher (New Palestine) over Jaeden Early (Fort Wayne Snider) Maj 10-2
190 – Colin Whetsel (New Palestine) over Richard Nitcher (Fort Wayne Snider) TF 20-5
Match #4 9th Place Match
New Palestine defeated Hobart 47-24
285 – Luke Juris (Hobart) over William Glesing (New Palestine) Fall 2:35
106 – Blake Doss (New Palestine) over Blake Doeing (Hobart) Maj 14-4
113 – Landon Stranger (New Palestine) over Peter Janda (Hobart) Fall 2:38
120 – Seth Aubin (Hobart) over Wesley Harbert (New Palestine) Inj 2:00
126 – Gunner Butt (New Palestine) over Daniel Mata (Hobart) Dec 3-0
132 – Daniel McGill (Hobart) over Braeden Lintner (New Palestine) Fall 1:38
138 – Peyton Hornsby (New Palestine) over Zach Felty (Hobart) Fall 4:23
144 – Bryce Doss (New Palestine) over Cole Weber (Hobart) Fall 3:41
150 – Elijah Alonso (New Palestine) over Dominic Rivera (Hobart) Dec 8-5
157 – Jaedyn Jeffries (New Palestine) over Jayden Azcona (Hobart) TF 15-0
165 – Gabe Flick (New Palestine) over Diego Irizarry (Hobart) Dec 4-2
175 – Aidan Costello (Hobart) over Gavin Wilcher (New Palestine) Fall 1:37
190 – Colin Whetsel (New Palestine) over Aleks Tatum (Hobart) Fall 1:38
215 – Shaun Glass (New Palestine) over Josh Diaz (Hobart) TF 16-1
