Four Local Wrestlers Advance To State Finals
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Five area wrestlers have qualified for the state finals at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Warsaw's representatives are Anthony Boley (103) and Joey Navarro (275), who's ranked No. 1 in the state.Ê
NorthWood sends Jesse Espinoza (112), ranked at No. 9, and Nick Roelandts (119).
The state championship involves 224 wrestlers, 16 from each of the fourteen weight classes. These wrestlers have advanced to the finals after placing in the top four at semistate competitions.
Pairing in the state competition is based on how a wrestler finished at the semistate. Those who placed fourth will meet first-place finishers, while third-place finishers take on runners-up.
This year the event brings together 127 seniors, 64 juniors, 24 sophomores and nine freshmen.
The 152-pound class comprises seniors only, while four of the nine freshman weigh in at 103 pounds.Ê
The wrestling will be very tough, similar to that of the semistate, where nine of the 14 finals matches were decided by two points or less.
State-ranked wrestlers dominate as among the 224 participants, 171 are ranked in the top 16, while 53 are unranked.Ê Twenty-five first-round matches will involve two wrestlers who are ranked in the top 10.
Plymouth's Matt Arveson, ranked No. 2 in the state, will face No. 7 Nathan Moore of Perry Meridian. Navarro meets No. 6 Herbie Baine of Pike.
At 145 pounds, the No. 1 wrestler, Monrovia's Mitch Napier will tangle with Warren Central's Jim Perry, who's ranked No. 2.
The competitors for the most part boast outstanding win-loss records, with only 18 below an .800 winning percentage.Ê Eighteen have suffered only one loss, and 17 wrestlers are undefeated. At 140 pounds, four semi-state champs have perfect records, combining for a total of 156 wins against zero losses.
At Conseco, no less than three of these wrestlers will record their first loss.
At least 50 of the wrestlers competed in the state finals last year, including four returning champions. Hobart's Alexander Ramos, champion in 1999 at 103 pounds, returns as the No. 1 wrestler at 125 pounds.Ê
Portage's Fred Joseph defends his championship at the same 152-pound class, just as Lowell's Marcus Schontube defends his championship at 171 pounds, as does Lawrence North's Brad Stephens at 189 pounds.
The "Big Dance," that is what Warsaw Coach Tony Boley calls the wrestling state finals.
His son, Anthony (103), is listed as the first match in the pairings for the state finals.Ê Anthony, a sophomore, will meet a senior from Columbus North, Thadeus Douglas.ÊThe unranked Boley finished fourth at the Fort Wayne Semistate, while Douglas was the champ at New Castle.
Douglas is 42-2 this season and is ranked No. 10 in the state at 103. Boley has a record of 28-9 for a win average of .757, so the young Tiger is clearly the underdog.
However, Anthony leads the Tigers in scoring two-point nearfalls, in reversals and in falls.Ê Twenty-one of his victories have come by means of nailing his opponent to the mat.
He takes advantage of mistakes and will often pull off a surprise throw for a pin due to his free-style and Greco-Roman experience.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the weight-class spectrum, Navarro will tangle with Blain.Ê Navarro has suffered three losses, one early this season to Wawasee's Tom Bryan.
Navarro's other two losses came last week at the semistate.Ê Navarro seems to have recovered from the muscle-strain suffered there and is back up to speed physically.Ê
Blain has been beaten once this season, by the 275-pounder from Lawrence North who is coached by Brett Crousore, the son of Warsaw high school principal Paul Crousore.
Navarro has the quickness and skills necessary to defeat Blain, who puts his 34-1 record on the line.
Generally Navarro appears to be substantially outweighed in his 275-pound class, often by as much as 35 pounds.Ê Blain weighs in at just under the limit, so Navarro will have his hands full.Ê Can Warsaw's "big guy" pull it off? Coach Boley thinks so. For Navarro, it is a matter of confidence.Ê
ÊFor NorthWood, Espinoza (32-3 at 112) will battle against Nathan Peterson (40-2) of Floyd Central. Espinoza takes his No. 9 ranking against Peterson, who is ranked No. 2 and finished third last year at 103 pounds.Ê Meanwhile, senior Nick Roelandts, unranked at 119 pounds, will meet No. 9 Dustin Nosko (33-4)of Evansville Mater Dei, a freshman.
ÊOther area wrestlers include No. 8 Dustin Roe (41-2) of Rochester at 130 pounds, who will meet No. 16 Clint Leek (39-6) of Princeton.Ê
Also at 130 pounds, from the Northern Lakes Conference, No. 12 Tom Kidder of Northridge takes on No. 3Danny Williams of Warren Central.
Additional NLC participants are two from Goshen. Schuyler Barkes (32-0) is ranked at No. 1 in the 135-pound class, and he meets No. 10 Justin Jones of Winchester. In brackets opposite Barkes is No. 2 J.T. Young of Bloomington South. Young is also undefeated with a 39-0 record.
Another Goshen representative is Gerado Quiroz at 103. Quiroz is pitted against top-ranked Eli Myers (38-1) of Martinsville. In addition, Plymouth's outstanding NLC champ, Arvesen, who is ranked at number two in the state, will travel to Conseco with a 31-0 record. In the upper brackets of his weight class is undefeated Brad Stephens of Lawrence North, ranked No. 1 with a 45-0 record.
This is old-fashioned Hoosier Hysteria with no class system and the opportunity for smaller athletes from any size school to earn a championship. It's a "one-on-one" rumble, where, in each of the 14 weight classes, whoever wins four matches with no losses will come home a champion.
The "Big Dance" is at Conseco Fieldhouse, starting at 6 tonight.
ÊWhen: Friday at 6:00 p.m. at Conseco Field House, Indianapolis
Local and NLC schools represented: Goshen, Northridge, Northwood, Plymouth, Rochester, and Warsaw
103 - Anthony Boley sophomore, (28-9), Warsaw vs. # 10 Thadeus Douglas (42-2), senior, Columbus North
103 - # 6 Gerardo Quiroz (29-3), senior, Goshen vs. # 1 Eli Myers (38-1), junior, Martinsville
112 - # 9 Jessie Espinoza (32-3), senior, Northwood vs. # 2 Nathan Peterson (40-2), senior, Floyd Central (3rd in '99 at 103)
119 - Nick RoelandtsÊ (25-4), senior, Northwood vs. # 9 Dustin Nosko
(33-4), freshman, Evansville Mater Dei
130 - # 8 Dustin Roe (41-2), senior, Rochester (8th in '99 at 119) vs. # 16 Clint Leek (39-6), junior, Princeton
130 - # 12 Tim Kidder (34-5), junior, Northridge vs. # 3 Danny Williams
(41-1), sophomore, Warren Central
130 - # 1 Schuyler Barkes (32-0), senior, Goshen (4th in '99 at 130) vs. # 10 Justin Jones (37-3), junior, Winchester
189 - # 2 Matt Arvesen (31-0), senior, Plymouth (5th in '99 at 189) vs. # 7 Nathan Moore (39-6), sophomore, Perry Meridian
275 - # 1 Joey Navarro (34-3), senior, Warsaw vs. # 6 Herbie Blain (34-1), senior, Pike [[In-content Ad]]
Five area wrestlers have qualified for the state finals at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Warsaw's representatives are Anthony Boley (103) and Joey Navarro (275), who's ranked No. 1 in the state.Ê
NorthWood sends Jesse Espinoza (112), ranked at No. 9, and Nick Roelandts (119).
The state championship involves 224 wrestlers, 16 from each of the fourteen weight classes. These wrestlers have advanced to the finals after placing in the top four at semistate competitions.
Pairing in the state competition is based on how a wrestler finished at the semistate. Those who placed fourth will meet first-place finishers, while third-place finishers take on runners-up.
This year the event brings together 127 seniors, 64 juniors, 24 sophomores and nine freshmen.
The 152-pound class comprises seniors only, while four of the nine freshman weigh in at 103 pounds.Ê
The wrestling will be very tough, similar to that of the semistate, where nine of the 14 finals matches were decided by two points or less.
State-ranked wrestlers dominate as among the 224 participants, 171 are ranked in the top 16, while 53 are unranked.Ê Twenty-five first-round matches will involve two wrestlers who are ranked in the top 10.
Plymouth's Matt Arveson, ranked No. 2 in the state, will face No. 7 Nathan Moore of Perry Meridian. Navarro meets No. 6 Herbie Baine of Pike.
At 145 pounds, the No. 1 wrestler, Monrovia's Mitch Napier will tangle with Warren Central's Jim Perry, who's ranked No. 2.
The competitors for the most part boast outstanding win-loss records, with only 18 below an .800 winning percentage.Ê Eighteen have suffered only one loss, and 17 wrestlers are undefeated. At 140 pounds, four semi-state champs have perfect records, combining for a total of 156 wins against zero losses.
At Conseco, no less than three of these wrestlers will record their first loss.
At least 50 of the wrestlers competed in the state finals last year, including four returning champions. Hobart's Alexander Ramos, champion in 1999 at 103 pounds, returns as the No. 1 wrestler at 125 pounds.Ê
Portage's Fred Joseph defends his championship at the same 152-pound class, just as Lowell's Marcus Schontube defends his championship at 171 pounds, as does Lawrence North's Brad Stephens at 189 pounds.
The "Big Dance," that is what Warsaw Coach Tony Boley calls the wrestling state finals.
His son, Anthony (103), is listed as the first match in the pairings for the state finals.Ê Anthony, a sophomore, will meet a senior from Columbus North, Thadeus Douglas.ÊThe unranked Boley finished fourth at the Fort Wayne Semistate, while Douglas was the champ at New Castle.
Douglas is 42-2 this season and is ranked No. 10 in the state at 103. Boley has a record of 28-9 for a win average of .757, so the young Tiger is clearly the underdog.
However, Anthony leads the Tigers in scoring two-point nearfalls, in reversals and in falls.Ê Twenty-one of his victories have come by means of nailing his opponent to the mat.
He takes advantage of mistakes and will often pull off a surprise throw for a pin due to his free-style and Greco-Roman experience.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the weight-class spectrum, Navarro will tangle with Blain.Ê Navarro has suffered three losses, one early this season to Wawasee's Tom Bryan.
Navarro's other two losses came last week at the semistate.Ê Navarro seems to have recovered from the muscle-strain suffered there and is back up to speed physically.Ê
Blain has been beaten once this season, by the 275-pounder from Lawrence North who is coached by Brett Crousore, the son of Warsaw high school principal Paul Crousore.
Navarro has the quickness and skills necessary to defeat Blain, who puts his 34-1 record on the line.
Generally Navarro appears to be substantially outweighed in his 275-pound class, often by as much as 35 pounds.Ê Blain weighs in at just under the limit, so Navarro will have his hands full.Ê Can Warsaw's "big guy" pull it off? Coach Boley thinks so. For Navarro, it is a matter of confidence.Ê
ÊFor NorthWood, Espinoza (32-3 at 112) will battle against Nathan Peterson (40-2) of Floyd Central. Espinoza takes his No. 9 ranking against Peterson, who is ranked No. 2 and finished third last year at 103 pounds.Ê Meanwhile, senior Nick Roelandts, unranked at 119 pounds, will meet No. 9 Dustin Nosko (33-4)of Evansville Mater Dei, a freshman.
ÊOther area wrestlers include No. 8 Dustin Roe (41-2) of Rochester at 130 pounds, who will meet No. 16 Clint Leek (39-6) of Princeton.Ê
Also at 130 pounds, from the Northern Lakes Conference, No. 12 Tom Kidder of Northridge takes on No. 3Danny Williams of Warren Central.
Additional NLC participants are two from Goshen. Schuyler Barkes (32-0) is ranked at No. 1 in the 135-pound class, and he meets No. 10 Justin Jones of Winchester. In brackets opposite Barkes is No. 2 J.T. Young of Bloomington South. Young is also undefeated with a 39-0 record.
Another Goshen representative is Gerado Quiroz at 103. Quiroz is pitted against top-ranked Eli Myers (38-1) of Martinsville. In addition, Plymouth's outstanding NLC champ, Arvesen, who is ranked at number two in the state, will travel to Conseco with a 31-0 record. In the upper brackets of his weight class is undefeated Brad Stephens of Lawrence North, ranked No. 1 with a 45-0 record.
This is old-fashioned Hoosier Hysteria with no class system and the opportunity for smaller athletes from any size school to earn a championship. It's a "one-on-one" rumble, where, in each of the 14 weight classes, whoever wins four matches with no losses will come home a champion.
The "Big Dance" is at Conseco Fieldhouse, starting at 6 tonight.
ÊWhen: Friday at 6:00 p.m. at Conseco Field House, Indianapolis
Local and NLC schools represented: Goshen, Northridge, Northwood, Plymouth, Rochester, and Warsaw
103 - Anthony Boley sophomore, (28-9), Warsaw vs. # 10 Thadeus Douglas (42-2), senior, Columbus North
103 - # 6 Gerardo Quiroz (29-3), senior, Goshen vs. # 1 Eli Myers (38-1), junior, Martinsville
112 - # 9 Jessie Espinoza (32-3), senior, Northwood vs. # 2 Nathan Peterson (40-2), senior, Floyd Central (3rd in '99 at 103)
119 - Nick RoelandtsÊ (25-4), senior, Northwood vs. # 9 Dustin Nosko
(33-4), freshman, Evansville Mater Dei
130 - # 8 Dustin Roe (41-2), senior, Rochester (8th in '99 at 119) vs. # 16 Clint Leek (39-6), junior, Princeton
130 - # 12 Tim Kidder (34-5), junior, Northridge vs. # 3 Danny Williams
(41-1), sophomore, Warren Central
130 - # 1 Schuyler Barkes (32-0), senior, Goshen (4th in '99 at 130) vs. # 10 Justin Jones (37-3), junior, Winchester
189 - # 2 Matt Arvesen (31-0), senior, Plymouth (5th in '99 at 189) vs. # 7 Nathan Moore (39-6), sophomore, Perry Meridian
275 - # 1 Joey Navarro (34-3), senior, Warsaw vs. # 6 Herbie Blain (34-1), senior, Pike [[In-content Ad]]