They're two very different wrestlers, but they'll be in the same situation this weekend - vying for an IHSAA state championship.
Tippecanoe Valley senior Isaac Yoder is making his school's first appearance at the state level, while Jarred Brooks is making his second-straight. Yoder can also blend into a crowded room, while Brooks is more apt to make his presence known.However they act, or however many times they've been to Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for the state finals, it's exactly where they'll both be Friday night.
And with a first-round win Friday, they'll advance on to Saturday's competition.
Brooks Makes Annual Trip To State
According to indianamat.com, Brooks enters the state tournament ranked as the No. 4 wrestler in the 112-pound class, but by winning the Merrillville Semistate Saturday, he has the No. 1 seed.
In his opening-round match, Brooks takes his 27-1 record to the mat against Huntington North freshman Kyle Jolas, who despite his 40-6 record, doesn't concern Brooks all that much.
"He got fourth at the Fort Wayne Semistate," Brooks said. "I'm not trying to slam the semistate or anything, but Merrillville and New Castle are probably the two toughest semistates. I've practiced with Jolas, so I know how he wrestles. He's also a freshman, so I have that on him too."
On his road to the state finals, Brooks won the Plymouth Sectional, Rochester Regional and Merrillville Semistate.
This year's championships increased his career totals to three sectional titles, two at 103 pounds, and three regional crowns, two of which also came at 103.
While wrestling at 103 year ago, Brooks was defeated by Hanover Central's Paul Petrov in the Merrillville Semistate championship match, and the loss is one Brooks remembers.
"The Petrov loss at semistate was a blow to him," Warsaw wrestling coach Justin Smith said.
Following the second-place finish at the semistate, Brooks advanced to the state quarterfinals, where he fell 7-2 against eventual champion Cody Phillips of Union County. Phillips won the state title by downing Petrov in the championship match, 8-3.
Brooks settled for fifth place at last year's state, but predicts this year will be much different, especially after defeating Petrov at this year's semistate.
"I feel like I've matured a lot since last year," Brooks said. "Last year was kind of surreal on the mat at Conseco. You can feel all the people in the stands watching you. I've wrestled at nationals before and I was used to it, but this was for a state championship. I wouldn't say I choked, but it was really tough."
And Brooks isn't just wrestling for himself, he seems to be wrestling for his brother Justin Brooks.
Justin, a current red-shirt freshman wrestler at Indiana University, went to state each of his four years at Warsaw, finishing fourth twice and fifth twice.
Even though he was never able to stand on the first-place podium, Justin is still imparting knowledge to Jarred.
"Justin never had an older brother to push him more," Jarred said. "He's been showing me things he's learned at IU, and this summer, I was able to work with Jason Tsirtsis and Eric Roach."
Tsirtsis and Roach are two Crown Point wrestlers who won semistate crowns at 140 and 145, respectively. Tsirtsis takes two state titles into this weekend's meet, while Roach has won one himself, meaning Brooks is learning from some pretty good wrestlers, but he also has the work ethic to be a champion.
"It's like my dad always says, the weekend (meets) are preparation, but the week is when you really go at it and show heart," Brooks said. "In that room, we go at it for two hours. There's nothing like a practice in the wrestling room."
Because of a disciplinary reason, Brooks and his passion for wrestling were separated for the first few matches of the season.
"I was very eager to get on the mat," Brooks said about serving a suspension this year. "When I was able to get out there, I was a little rusty, but it felt good."
Brooks' enthusiasm for competition was apparent, as his first few opponents found out - quickly.
"He got some quick pins," Smith said about Brooks' return.
Since returning from the suspension, he's only lost once and that was via a disqualification for slamming an opponent on the mat too hard at the Penn Invitational.
And after wrestling at 119 pounds for much of the season, Brooks feels confident going into the state finals, and as usual, he could care less who knows it.
"I'd describe myself as being very, very confident in what I do," he said. "I've been in the game so long and worked with the best in the state and nation, I don't see why I wouldn't.
"I definitely think this is the year," he added. "But if it's not, it'll just make me strive 10-times more next year."
Yoder Makes Valley's First Trip
AKRON - Valley senior Isaac Yoder seems to be the biggest celebrity at Tippecanoe Valley High School.
Signs along SR 19 wish him luck, he's wished lucked on the school's opening door and he has signs wishing him luck throughout the school.
"It's really strange, because I've never seen this many decorations for myself," Yoder said.
The reason for Yoder's recent celebrity stems from winning Saturday's Merrillville Semistate at 152 pounds, making him Tippecanoe Valley's first ever state qualifier in wrestling.
Yoder takes his 42-2 record into Friday's opening round of the IHSAA State Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse. With a win, Yoder will advance to Saturday's quarterfinals, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
Prior to worrying about the quarterfinals, Yoder and his coach Scott Smith must first worry about Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger junior Carter Delaney in Friday's opening round.
"My thing is, 'One match at a time.'," Smith said.
Yoder has already defeated Delaney once this season, posting a third-round pin back on Nov. 27 at the Wawasee Invitational. However, when asked if he had ever faced Delaney before, Yoder couldn't remember.
It's that kind of mindset Yoder has - just focusing on the next opponent and not the last.
"Once I get on the mat, I just get relaxed and focused," Yoder said. "I always act like its the first time I've faced someone, out of respect for them."
Ever since taking the mat as a 140-pound freshman, Yoder has been going farther and farther in the state tournament.
During his freshman campaign, he finished second at the Plymouth Sectional, then placed second at 152 pounds as a sophomore and fourth at the Rochester Regional. A year ago, Yoder won the Plymouth Sectional with a 31-0 record before placing second at the regional.
This year, Yoder won the Plymouth Sectional, the Rochester Regional and the Merrillville Semistate.
"I had no idea what he could do (at the semistate)," Smith said. "I knew he could place out, but against kids from Crown Point, Chesterton, Penn and Mishawaka, we weren't sure where he'd fall in the mix."
According to Yoder, it may be his past experiences that prepared him for the semistate meet.
"I wasn't as stressed as much as usual," Yoder said.
This season, Yoder's been going into his matches with a much more relaxed attitude, illustrated by Smith's experience with him at Merrillville.
"We were standing at the semistate, watching the 135 or 140 match, and he was standing behind me focusing on his championship match," Smith said. "When I turned around to talk to him, he had a grin on his face and asked me if it'd be okay for him to borrow a video camera for a homework assignment he had forgotten about. It's time for his championship match, and he's worried about homework."
A more relaxed attitude, combined with a visit to a Purdue wrestling camp and frequent visits to the weight room have Yoder riding high at school.
"There's a lot of people that are happy I'm going to state," he said. "I've been getting a lot of encouragement from students and teachers."
Along with encouragement from kids in his own school, Yoder is also receiving accolades from Brooks and Justin Smith.
"He is the nicest kid and I'm really going to be rooting for him to do well," Brooks said about Yoder.
And the Warsaw coach was just as supportive.
"It's an incredible achievement to get kids down to state," Justin Smith said. "I'm happy for Tippy Valley and will definitely be cheering for them when Jarred's not wrestling."
