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Six area wrestlers, three from Warsaw Community High Schooland three from Whitko High School, have worked hard for the opportunity to participate in the state finals tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis this weekend.
Brett King, the 103-pound champ from the New Haven semistate, is one of the area grapplers headed to the tournament.
In practice this week, four different teammates were tag-teaming in the workout with the Whitko senior.
King was only 85 pounds as a freshman in the 103-pound weight-class. Is he stronger now?
"I don't even like to think about my record then, but I'm glad that I weigh more now and I work out a lot," said King.
Third place-finishers Bryan Frush (275) and Ryan Poage (215) are also advancing for Whitko and they worked out with each other, as well as with a couple slightly smaller wrestlers to tune up in quickness.
Warsaw likewise has three hard-working qualifiers.
Justin Brooks, (103 pounds) a freshman, is a polite gentleman with a winning smile, and after a tough workout this past week he said, "I am having all kinds of fun, definitely loving it."
Senior Tom Lowe (171) agreed.
"This is my best year yet as far as fun, by far," said Lowe. "Normally by this time of year I'm all burnt out, but I'm not even tired of it. I am ready to eat though."
Matt Elvidge (135) seems to be the one pushing his practice partners. He had little patience when partners let up or went easy on him.
One of his coaches is his dad, Brian Elvidge, who is also a practice partner.
"He works me real hard, he likes me working hard and keeping it going," said Elvidge.
The Warsaw coaches are serious about the Tiger qualifiers winning at Indianapolis and are concentrating on refining skills and wrestling smart in a wide variety of championship-level scenarios.
The coaches urged the wrestlers to not lose their composure and to stay intense.
The coaches direct the workouts, refining fundamentals, looking to avoid vulnerabilities, and adjusting fine points. Other Tiger wrestlers who did not advance were on the mat working with their teammates.
Teammates Andy Keener and Hans Sale worked with Tom Lowe, while Nick Missos, Adam Keener and Steven Palladino worked with Brooks. Meanwhile, Elvidge worked with his dad, as well as with former Tiger wrestler Anthony Boley, who is an assistant coach for his dad.
Warsaw's qualifiers all have had some tough losses to the same opponents in the recent season, and they will likely face these opponents again at Conseco.
Do they focus on that fact? All three of them say no.
"Everything is up for grabs, so I think about my next match," said Brooks. "That is all I need to worry about right now."
Elvidge (135) comes from Pennsylvania, a state with a strong emphasis on wrestling.
Elvidge has won an Indiana freestyle championship one time and has been involved in the sport since he was 4 or 5 years old.
With regard to nemesis opponents he said, "I just keep it out of my mind and think about my next match, that I can go out there and wrestle this kid, and if I go as hard as I can, I can beat anyone."
Elvidge feels he is ready in the sense of looking forward to the tournament.
Following the practice, still moving and bobbing, Elvidge said, "I just love my double-leg take down, but I've been working on more movement and a greater variety of moves, not just one favorite. I work on setting up more things, rather than just one. I feel that I've improved on that."
Brooks, evaluating himself said, "Over this past year, I've improved on bottom."
Brooks won a state championship twice in freestyle and he took first in the national Border Wars tourney in Michigan last year.
"I've been wrestling since sixth grade or maybe sooner," he said with a grin.
Lowe (171) also has a great deal of freestyle experience.
"I started freestyle when I was in fourth grade, and wrestled all the way up to middle school," said Lowe. "I've been second in state twice and third once, but I've never won a state championship. I've won lots of freestyle tournaments."
Lowe, a senior, was plagued by illness and injury in previous years, but this year he has remained healthy, except for one brief bout with sickness.
Lowe feels good about his weight and tries not to think about the need to control his food intake.
"I don't like to think about it because I get too excited about eating," said Lowe.
When asked about his areas of improvement, Lowe said, "Definitely I've become technically better on my feet. I am becoming a shooter. I'm not the greatest shooter, but by far, that is the area where I have improved this year."
Regarding matchups for the weekend, head coach Tony Boley said, "We never look at draws and we don't dwell on it. We cannot worry about anyone else but each wrestler must stay focused on himself, his own skills, and what he needs to do to improve."
The Whitko wrestlers have the same attitude.
Last year, Frush reached the regional but was eliminated in the consolation match.
"All three guys that beat him last year went on down to the state tournament and placed," said Koontz.
Frush is doing a bit better this year with a 43-2 record and No. 9 ranking.
Frush was asked pointedly whether it is because all the good guys are gone.
"No," answered the Whitko senior, grinning widely. "I'm getting smarter and better, and I am training hard."
Frush weighs in at only 242 pounds in a heavyweight class limited at 275 pounds
Meanwhile, Poage (215) took third in the semistate, which means he will be pitted against a second-place finisher from another semistate.
In addition to his high school career, Poage has also been wrestling freestyle since he was in middle school. His season record thus far is 37-4 and he is competing in a weight class that has only seniors in the state tournament.
The top 10 in the state rankings are among the sixteen qualifiers at 215 pounds, yet Poage simply said, "It is wide open."
The state finals are at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and open at 6 p.m. tonight with the parade of champions and first round matches. Friday winners advance to wrestle all day Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday evening, the finals commence with introductions at 7 p.m.
