INDIANAPOLIS – Warsaw sophomore Kyle Hatch took seventh place in the state wrestling tournament, beating senior Ben Cauffman of Carroll in his final match Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Cauffman grabbed the first takedown, but Hatch escaped near the end of the period. Hatch grabbed a takedown in period two, but Cauffman got Hatch in trouble with a reversal and a nearfall to go up 6-4. Hatch battled back in period three, nabbing a takedown and two nearfalls to seal the win, an 11-6 decision. “I’m tired and I didn’t do as well as I thought I would, but with seventh place, I improved on my dad’s eighth place,” Hatch said after the match. His father, Dan Hatch, a Tiger assistant coach piped in, “It’s challenging at times coaching your son!” The younger Hatch is very coachable and continued, “I need to improve on bits and pieces here and there, like on my feet, my ride, and to get out quicker with an escape when I’m on bottom.” The Warsaw wrestling program has a bright future, according to head coach Justin Smith. “We only lose one senior from the varsity roster, and most of the team is sophomores under the leadership of Kyle,” he said. “Our bigger weights are all juniors who should contribute to a good season next year.” Other area wrestlers and Northern Lakes Conference wrestlers who placed include 106-pound freshman Tanner DeMien (NorthWood) who took seventh; sophomore David Eli (Elkhart Memorial) took seventh at 182 pounds; and Rochester’s Jordan Schaffer was awarded eighth at 285 pounds. The state finals featured interviews with each champion following their match. Three wrestlers won all their matches by fall: Tommy Cash (138) from Lawrence North, Blake Rypel (195) from Cathedral, and Merrillville’s Shawn Streck (285). Penn won the team championship with 79 points, followed by Indianapolis Cathedral (73), Evansville Mater Dei (60), Merrillville (53) and Lowell (45.5). Penn had two champions, Kobe Woods (220) and Chase Osborn (182). Osborne also won the Ward E. Brown mental attitude award.
STATE FINALS (All Championship matches and other area placers) Listed in parentheses are the wrestler’s school and final record. 106 – 1. Colton Cummings (Lowell 45-1) def. Tyler Mills (Brownsburg 36-7 ) 8-0 maj; 7. – Tanner DeMien (NorthWood 42-6) def. Cameron Diep (New Palestine 42-6) 7-2 113 – 1. Garrett Pepple (East Noble 46-0) def. Drew Hildebrandt (Penn 38-1) 5-2 120 – 1. Brock Hudkins (Danville 33-0) def. Sawyer Miller (South Adams 44-1) 3-1 OT; 7. Kyle Hatch (Warsaw 44-4) def. Ben Cauffman (Carroll 39-7) 11-6 126 – 1. Chad Red (New Palestine 47-0) def. Gaige Torres (Portage 37-3) 9-2 132 – Nick Lee (Mater Dei 35-0) def. Jordan Vaughn (Franklin Central 43-6) 16-5 maj. 138 – 1. Tommy Cash (Lawrence North 45-2) pinned Joe Lee (Mater Dei 34-2) 3:11 145 – 1. Jacob Covaciu (Merrillville 44-1) def. Steven Lawrence (Portage 38-4) 7-5 OT 152 – 1. Tommy Forte (Mishawaka 37-0) def. Kellen VanCamp (Lebanon 45-2) 9-3 160 – 1. Drew Hughes (Lowell 44-0) pinned Darden Schurg (Crown Point 40-4) 3:06 170 – 1. Dylan Lydy (Ben Davis 46-0) over Ben Harvey (Cathedral 45-2) 3-1 OT 182 – 1. Chase Osborn (Penn 39-0) over Corey Hinkle (Western 47-1) 8-6); 7. David Eli (Elkhart Memorial 40-5) over Evan Elmore (Avon 29-7) 2-0 195 – Blake Rypel (Cathedral 47-0) pinned Tristen Tonte (Perry Meridian 43-3) 3:13) 220 – Kobe Woods (Penn 44-0) over Courvoisier Morrow (Warren Central 43-3) 7-2 285 – 1. Shawn Streck (Merrillville 46-0) pinned Nathon Trawick (Richmond 48-2) 5:34; 7. Ian Suttles (Valparaiso 48-7) over 8th Jordan Shafer (Rochester 39-10) 4-0
