Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
In semi-state action Saturday at Merrillville, three area wrestlers were eliminated from bids to compete at the state finals.ÊWarsaw's Elvidge brothers, Matt (125 pounds) and Chris (130), both had opening round wins but lost in the quarter finals, while Chase Davis of Wawasee bowed out in round one.
Warsaw coach Tony Boley had nothing but praise for the Elvidge brothers, who were workout partners in the wrestling room.ÊOf the elder, Boley said, "Chris was an overachiever, battling through tough odds and great obstacles all season long, I mean he was hurt and still wrestled hard.ÊHe has the most mental toughness of anyone I have ever coached and I certainly expect to see him as a coach in the future."
Speaking of the future, Boley went on to commend Matt, the freshman, and said, "He had great accomplishments over the year, and was a team leader along with Chris."
As for the team's prospects he said, "We have a good number of underclassmen who should be returning and about 40 coming up from the middle-schools, so we are certainly looking forward to next year and it appears that the program is going in the right direction."
Only 11 grapplers from the Rochester regional advanced from Merrillville.ÊIn fact, only four of the 56 state qualifiers out of Merrillville originated at the Plymouth sectional.ÊThree Rochester wrestlers also advanced, including Garrett James (125), who was a champion; Cory Fornal (140), a runner-up; and Matty Miller (160), who finished fourth.
The Northern Lakes Conference sends six competitors, all out of the Fort Wayne Semistate: three from Elkhart Memorial, two from Goshen, and one from Northridge. Columbia City sends five wrestlers to Conseco, including Bryan Deutsch (39-0), at 152 pounds, a weight class with three undefeated competitors.ÊMeanwhile Brent Boardman (140), of Whitko, took a championship at the Fort Wayne semistate to earn advancement to the state finals.
Nineteen undefeated wrestlers, as well as 17 with only one loss will put their records on the line in an exciting two days of battle next weekend at Conseco Field House.ÊThe individual state finals, Feb. 18 and 19, will bring together 224 high school wrestlers, 16 from each of 14 weight classes.ÊThe opening round begins Friday at 5 p.m., with the additional rounds beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Merrillville Semistate Championship
103 - Eric Galka 9 (Hobart 43-0) def. Gary Nelson 12 (Merriville 30-4), 3-0
112 - Alton Anderson 11 (Mich. City 36-3) def. Tyler Schneidt 11 (Benton Cent 33-3), 2-1
119 - Aaron Sessa 11 (Lake Cent 36-2) def. Adam Walters 11 (Portage 35-6) 10-7
125 - Garrett JameS (Rochester 40-2) def. Santana Adame (Griffith 40-5), 4-3
130 - Andrew Howe (Hanover Cent. 44-0) def. Jamal Lawrence (Mr'vl 32-7), 8-0
135 - Angle Excobedo (Griffith 45-0) def. Mike Leucuta (Prtg 35-4), 16-7
140 - Dan Zemlik (Prtg 37-3) def. Cory Fornal (Roch 40-3), 3-2
145 - Wesley English (Mr'vl 36-1) def. Lucas Morris (John Glenn 39-6), 3-0
152 - Eric Howe (Han C 42-0) def. Kyle Osborn (Mich C 33-2), 7-3
160 - Dallas Hesseltine (Prtg 40-1) def. Elijah Cook (Seeger 42-3), 6-3
171 - Ian Hinton (Mishawaka 40-1) def. Seth Parker (Laf. Harrison 39-3), 3-3 OT
189 - Dominic Willis (Kankakee Val 45-2) def. Ethan Winel (Lowell 42-3), 13-12
215 - Kameron Banes (Delphi 41-1) def. Nick Lam-Chi (Grif 39-3), 11-9
275 - Dexter Larimore (Mr'vl 37-1) pinned Jody Philpott (McCutcheon 36-4)
(Consolation)
103 - Tom Chruchard (Valparaiso 34-8) def. Nick Wiesjahn (Mishawaka 32-2), 6-0 OT
112 - Steve Salinas (SB Clay 39-7) def. William Vega (Lake Station 29-7), 3-1 OT
119 - Brennan Cosgrove (Hobart 37-6) def. Javier Salas (Mr'vl 10-3), 14-10
125 - Andy St.Germain (Chesterton 32-2) def. Matt Hemrey (Prtg 20-9), 10-5
130 - Brett Mellis (Crown Pt 31-8 def. Anthony Metzger (Laf Har 39-3), 4-3
135 - Tom Ginter 12 (Penn 36-4) pinned Matt Lyczynski (SB Washington 27-11),3:00
140 - Mike Sands (Andrean 31-2) def. Eric Oria (Mr'vl 35-3), inj. default
145 - Chad Biddle (Prtg 38-3) def. Max Znika (Lowell 33-13), inj. default
152 - Lucas Bolin (Penn 40-3) def. Scotty Houldieson (Grif 36-9), 4-2
160 - Andy Schnepp (McCtch 26-5) def. Matt Miller (Roch 34-9), 10-5
171 - Brad Kemp (Prtg 26-3) pinnedÊKaleb Matthews (Grif 30-11), 2:14
189 - Paul Sink (Highland 37-5) def. Pat Day (Mish 33-7), 7-5 ot
215 - Matthew Bogard (Glenn 40-3) def. Chris Allison (Bremen 31-5), 9-8
275 - Chris Kaston 12 (Winamac 42-1) def. Alex Delonis 11 (SB Clay 42-5), 6-2
Matches for Area Wrestlers
Opening Round
103 - Tom Churchard (Val) def. Chase Davis (Wawasee 24-9), 8-2
130 - Matt Elvidge (Warsaw) pinned Floyd Moore (Gary Wirt 21-4), 3:32
135 - Chris Elvidge (War) def. Jim Janda (Lake Central 29-15), 4-3
Quarter Finals
130 - Andrew Howe (Hanover Central 44-0) def. Matt Elvidge (War 29-5) 8-0
135 - Mike Leucuta (Portage35-4) def. Chris Elvidge (War 33-5), 9-1
