Brooks Finishes Fourth At State
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jim Brenneman-
Brooks, the only area wrestler to compete for a place in the individual state wrestling tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, was disappointed to end up with fourth place but said with confidence, "I definitely plan to be back here competing in the finals next year."[[In-content Ad]]Reviewing the season as a whole, Warsaw head coach Tony Boley said, "I am very happy to see some great accomplishments by five or six quality wrestlers, but as a team we were disappointed due to our lack of numbers."
"We just couldn't bring in anyone from other sports to become involved in wrestling so our roster was short, Boley continued. "Wrestling helps an athlete with skills for football - improving balance, footwork, handspeed, and agility. Wrestling also helps to prepare for spring sports. But you just don't see many multi-sport athletes any more. If we could have had more numbers, then we could have been right up there contending for the conference championship."
The performance by Brooks on Saturday included one win and two losses.
At this level of competition the margin for error is quite narrow.
"Brooks wrestled hard and was very aggressive, but the mistakes were costly, and a few calls by the officials just did not go his way," said Boley.
In his first match Saturday, the Tiger junior improved his season record to 37-0 when he dominated Roncalli's Justin Kieffer, scoring three takedowns and a nearfall in a 10-0 rout.
In the semifinal round, Brooks fell out of the running for the championship. A few costly mistakes in his match against Camden Eppert of Anderson Highland resulted in a narrow 6-5 loss.
Brooks nabbed an opening takedown in period one, and then at the outset of period two he scored a quick reversal to assume a 4-0 lead. With just five seconds remaining in period two, Eppert got a reversal and then added a couple of takedowns in the final period, including one with 20 seconds remaining, to take the win.
In the consolation match, Brooks came up short against Alex Johns of Evansville Reitz, losing 6-4. Johns scored a first-period takedown to go up 2-0. Then the mistakes pestered Brooks in period two. He was penalized for locked hands and then gave up an escape with one second on the clock and Brooks was down 4-0.
Brooks came back to take charge in period three, scoring two takedowns, but it was too little too late and Johns wound up winning 6-4, leaving Brooks to settle for fourth place.
In spite of the fourth place finish, Boley said, "Still, Brooks is an outstanding wrestler and this was a great season for him."
Triton's two state qualifiers lost in their opening-round matches Friday. Blake Hoffer (145) lost to Gavin McGinley, who went on to take third. Chad Ulmer (189) lost to Nick Hodges of Southmont, who eventually earned fifth-place honors.
State Finals Individual Results
[With Final Matches for Other Area Wrestlers]
103 - Ethan Raley 33-0 (9 Indian Creek) def. Casey Kenney 47-1 (11 Jay County), 7-3
112 - Brandon Wright 44-2 (10 Cathedral) def. Camden Eppert 40-3 (11 Anderson Highland), 5-2
Alex Johns 52-1 (11 Evansville Reitz) def. Justin Brooks 37-2 (11 Warsaw 4th), 6-4
119 - Christopher Quiroga 47-3 (11 Lawrence North) def. Alex Weinzapfel 22-2 (12 Ev Mater Dei), 12-6
125 - Josh Harper 45-0 (11 Mishawaka) def. Frankie Porras 41-4 (10 Hobart), 3-2
130 - Tommy Churchard 47-2 (12 Valparaiso) def. Eric Roach (Crown Point), 9-8
135 - Sean McMurray 33-4 (10 Portage) def. Eric Galka 43-3 (12 Hob), 4-3
140 - Steven Sandefer 43-2 (11 Mish) def. Chris Mascaro 42-3 (12 Carmel), 8-2
145 - Brennan Cosgrove 43-0 (12 Hob) def. Sammy Bennett 39-5 (10 A Hgland), 13-5
Round 1: Gavin McGinley 42-4 (11 Cath 3rd) def. Blake Hoffer 40-4 (11 Triton dnp), 16-3
152 - Kyle Ulrey 46-0 (12 New Palestine) def. Briar Runyan 38-2 (11 Martinsville), 10-7
160 - Andrew Howe 46-0 (12 Hanover Central) def. Michael Duckworth 41-4 (10 Union County), 22-9
171 - Cooper Samuels 47-0 (12 Floyd Cen) def. Drew Graber 39-4 (11 Northridge), 7-0
189 - Steven Stahl 29-4 (12 Elkhart Memorial) def. Marcus Shrewsbury 41-3 (Cr Pt), 2-1
Round 1: Nick Hodges 36-1 (11 Southmont 5th) def. Chad Ulmer 37-7 (12 Tri dnp), 6-3
215 - Justin Woods 33-0 (12 Leo) def. Derrick Shire 29-6 (12 East Noble), 9-2
285 - Chico Adams 53-0 (12 Perry Meridian) def. Adam Chalfant 43-2 (9 Winchester), 3-2
Brooks, the only area wrestler to compete for a place in the individual state wrestling tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, was disappointed to end up with fourth place but said with confidence, "I definitely plan to be back here competing in the finals next year."[[In-content Ad]]Reviewing the season as a whole, Warsaw head coach Tony Boley said, "I am very happy to see some great accomplishments by five or six quality wrestlers, but as a team we were disappointed due to our lack of numbers."
"We just couldn't bring in anyone from other sports to become involved in wrestling so our roster was short, Boley continued. "Wrestling helps an athlete with skills for football - improving balance, footwork, handspeed, and agility. Wrestling also helps to prepare for spring sports. But you just don't see many multi-sport athletes any more. If we could have had more numbers, then we could have been right up there contending for the conference championship."
The performance by Brooks on Saturday included one win and two losses.
At this level of competition the margin for error is quite narrow.
"Brooks wrestled hard and was very aggressive, but the mistakes were costly, and a few calls by the officials just did not go his way," said Boley.
In his first match Saturday, the Tiger junior improved his season record to 37-0 when he dominated Roncalli's Justin Kieffer, scoring three takedowns and a nearfall in a 10-0 rout.
In the semifinal round, Brooks fell out of the running for the championship. A few costly mistakes in his match against Camden Eppert of Anderson Highland resulted in a narrow 6-5 loss.
Brooks nabbed an opening takedown in period one, and then at the outset of period two he scored a quick reversal to assume a 4-0 lead. With just five seconds remaining in period two, Eppert got a reversal and then added a couple of takedowns in the final period, including one with 20 seconds remaining, to take the win.
In the consolation match, Brooks came up short against Alex Johns of Evansville Reitz, losing 6-4. Johns scored a first-period takedown to go up 2-0. Then the mistakes pestered Brooks in period two. He was penalized for locked hands and then gave up an escape with one second on the clock and Brooks was down 4-0.
Brooks came back to take charge in period three, scoring two takedowns, but it was too little too late and Johns wound up winning 6-4, leaving Brooks to settle for fourth place.
In spite of the fourth place finish, Boley said, "Still, Brooks is an outstanding wrestler and this was a great season for him."
Triton's two state qualifiers lost in their opening-round matches Friday. Blake Hoffer (145) lost to Gavin McGinley, who went on to take third. Chad Ulmer (189) lost to Nick Hodges of Southmont, who eventually earned fifth-place honors.
State Finals Individual Results
[With Final Matches for Other Area Wrestlers]
103 - Ethan Raley 33-0 (9 Indian Creek) def. Casey Kenney 47-1 (11 Jay County), 7-3
112 - Brandon Wright 44-2 (10 Cathedral) def. Camden Eppert 40-3 (11 Anderson Highland), 5-2
Alex Johns 52-1 (11 Evansville Reitz) def. Justin Brooks 37-2 (11 Warsaw 4th), 6-4
119 - Christopher Quiroga 47-3 (11 Lawrence North) def. Alex Weinzapfel 22-2 (12 Ev Mater Dei), 12-6
125 - Josh Harper 45-0 (11 Mishawaka) def. Frankie Porras 41-4 (10 Hobart), 3-2
130 - Tommy Churchard 47-2 (12 Valparaiso) def. Eric Roach (Crown Point), 9-8
135 - Sean McMurray 33-4 (10 Portage) def. Eric Galka 43-3 (12 Hob), 4-3
140 - Steven Sandefer 43-2 (11 Mish) def. Chris Mascaro 42-3 (12 Carmel), 8-2
145 - Brennan Cosgrove 43-0 (12 Hob) def. Sammy Bennett 39-5 (10 A Hgland), 13-5
Round 1: Gavin McGinley 42-4 (11 Cath 3rd) def. Blake Hoffer 40-4 (11 Triton dnp), 16-3
152 - Kyle Ulrey 46-0 (12 New Palestine) def. Briar Runyan 38-2 (11 Martinsville), 10-7
160 - Andrew Howe 46-0 (12 Hanover Central) def. Michael Duckworth 41-4 (10 Union County), 22-9
171 - Cooper Samuels 47-0 (12 Floyd Cen) def. Drew Graber 39-4 (11 Northridge), 7-0
189 - Steven Stahl 29-4 (12 Elkhart Memorial) def. Marcus Shrewsbury 41-3 (Cr Pt), 2-1
Round 1: Nick Hodges 36-1 (11 Southmont 5th) def. Chad Ulmer 37-7 (12 Tri dnp), 6-3
215 - Justin Woods 33-0 (12 Leo) def. Derrick Shire 29-6 (12 East Noble), 9-2
285 - Chico Adams 53-0 (12 Perry Meridian) def. Adam Chalfant 43-2 (9 Winchester), 3-2
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092