INDIANAPOLIS – Kyle Hatch saw his stellar high school wrestling career draw to a close with a third-place finish Saturday in the IHSAA State Finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Warsaw senior’s Saturday included a 12-3 major decision win against Columbia City junior Hunter Reed in the quarterfinals, a 15-0 technical fall loss to Evansville Mater Dei junior Joe Lee (the eventual state champion) in the semifinals and a 12-7 win against Jimtown senior Kenny Kerrn in the third-place match. Hatch, sporting a big chest scratch given to him by Warsaw practice partner Christian Taylor and nursing a sore knee suffered against Kerrn, reflected on his weekend and his career. “To get third is still an accomplishment,” Hatch said. “I’m a little disappointed in how I wrestled in the semis, but I’ll learn from it and go to (Wabash College).” In the third-place match, Hatch trailed Kerrn 4-0 at the end of the first period, 6-1 early in the second period and 7-4 at the end of the second period before pouring it on late to best a familiar drill partner. “Much respect to that kid,” Hatch said. “I’ve only wrestled him twice in matches, but we’re always wrestling in the summer, making each other better.” Hatch, who placed eighth in the IHSAA State Finals at 106 in 2014, and seventh at 120 in 2015, finished his senior season with record of 50-1 and with a career mark of 168-16. Wawasee sophomore Braxton Alexander (42-6 at 120) placed sixth, losing 5-2 to Elkhart Memorial junior Christian Mejia in the consolation finals after losing 12-3 to Columbus East sophomore Cayden Rooks (the eventual state champion) in the quarterfinals and 5-4 to Roncalli freshman Tyce Freje in the first round of consolations in his Saturday matches. “It’s not as amazing as everybody thinks. It’s just another tournament,” Alexander said after his first State Finals appearance. “I would like to thank my community for all their support.” He was already looking to the future moments after his season was over. “I’ve got a lot more in me,” Alexander said. “I need to get stronger. I need to have somebody push me a little bit more.” Alexander is 0-5 against Northern Lakes Conference foe Mejia in his prep career, including 0-3 in 2016-17. Mejia is No. 7 and Alexander is unranked.
IHSAA STATE FINALS Team scores: Brownsburg 100, Chesterton 80, Indianapolis Cathedral 67.5, Yorktown 67, Portage 54, Hobart 49, Columbus East 47, Monrovia 42, Evansville Mater Dei 40.5, Perry Meridian 40, Avon 39, Warren Central 32, Lawrenceburg 31, North Montgomery 31, Elkhart Memorial 29, Jimtown 29, Roncalli 25, New Palestine 24, Shenandoah 24, Delta 23, Eastern (Greentown) 22, Merrillville 19, South Bend Washington 19, Daleville 18, Munster 18, Bellmont 17, Crown Point 17, South Putnam 17, Penn 16, Lawrence North 15, Southmont 15, Warsaw 14, Richmond 13, Center Grove 11, Mishawaka 11, Terre Haute North 11, East Central 10, Griffith 10, Floyd Central 8, Franklin 8, Lafayette Harrison 8, Lebanon 8, Indianapolis North Central 8, Carmel 6, Culver Academies 6, Greenfield-Central 6, Plymouth 6, Wawasee 6, Westfield 6, Ben Davis 4, Indian Creek 4, Jay County 4, Mount Vernon 4, Northridge 4, South Bend Riley 4, Terre Haute South 4, Bloomington South 3, Columbia City 3, Danville 3, Elkhart Central 3, Hamilton Southeastern 3, West Noble 3, Wheeler 3. Championship Summary 106 – Brayden Curtis (Yorktown) dec. Andrew Black (Shenandoah) 4-3. 113 – Alec Viduya (Roncalli) dec. Hunter Watts (Jimtown) 7-4. 120 – Cayden Rooks (Columbus East) dec. Ty Mills (Brownsburg) 5-4. 126 – Alec White (New Palestine) pinned Blake Mulkey (Brownsburg) 3:32. 132 – Breyden Bailey (Indianapolis Cathedral) pinned Christian Hunt (Yorktown) 1:33. 138 – Brendan Black (Hobart) maj. dec. Kris Rumph (Portage) 10-2. 145 – Brayton Lee (Brownsburg) maj. dec. Jason Crary (Munster) 14-6. 152 – Joe Lee (Evansville Mater Dei) maj. dec. Noah Warren (Perry Meridian) 19-5. 160 – Brad Laughlin (Yorktown) maj. dec. Diego Lemley (Chesterton) 11-3. 170 – Eli Stock (Monrovia) pinned Tanner Webster (North Montgomery) 5:37. 182 – Jacob Gray (Delta) dec. Lucas Davison (Chesterton) 3-1. 195 – Andrew Davison (Chesterton) pinned Tristen Tonte (Warren Central) 5:59. 220 – Mason Parris (Lawrenceburg) pinned Corbin Maddox (Daleville) 2:46. 285 – Evan Ellis (Eastern of Greentown) dec. Isaiah McWilliams (South Bend Washington) 5-0. Consolation Summary 106 – Brayden Lowery (Perry Meridian) dec. Seth Johnson (North Montgomery) 6-1. 113 – Asa Garcia (Avon) dec. Brock Peele (Portage) 5-0. 120 – Tylor Triana (Hobart) dec. Colin Poynter (Portage) 6-0. 126 – Michael DeLaPena (Merrillville) dec. Graham Rooks (Columbus East) 1-0. 132 – Dawson Combest (Columbus East) dec. Kyle Luigs (Evansville Mater Dei) 5-3 (ot). 138 – Zach Melloh (Indianapolis Cathedral) dec. Jacob LaPlace (Mishawaka) 3-0. 145 – Boone Welliever (Southmont) pinned Elliot Rodgers (Indianapolis Cathedral) 3:28. 152 – Kyle Hatch (Warsaw) dec. Kenny Kerrn (Jimtown) 12-7. 160 – Alston Bane (Richmond) dec. Gleason Mappes (Center Grove) 3-2. 170 – Tristan Goering (Elkhart Memorial) by forfeit over Zack Fattore (Hobart). 182 – Nathan Walton (Brownsburg) dec. Thomas Dull (Terre Haute North) 5-3. 195 – Kyle Shaffer (South Putnam) by forfeit over Ben Stewart (Indianapolis Cathedral). 220 – Gunnar Larson (Avon) dec. Eli Pokorney (Chesterton) 5-2. 285 – Robert Samuels (Lawrence North) dec. Rickie Clark (Brownsburg) 12-11.
