By. E. Shawn Aylsworth
HA.com Managing Editor
Griffith senior Angel Escobedo captured his fourth state title, and Lawrence North senior Reece Humphrey his third, to highlight the 67th Annual IHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals held Feb. 18-19 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
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Humphrey takes his 165-8 career mark into this weekend�s Team State Finals at Center Grove. Escobedo, meanwhile, finished his spectacular career with a record of 223-1, the lone loss coming to an Illinois wrestler early in his junior year.
Escobedo, who will wrestle next year at Indiana University, joins six other Hoosier wrestlers who have done the 4-peat thing, including his teammate of the three previous years, Alex Tsirtsis: Estil Ritter of Bloomington (1924-27), Willard Duffy of Muncie Central (1930-33), Howard Fisher of South Bend Central (1949-52), Lance Ellis of Indianapolis Cathedral (1986-89), Blake Maurer of Evansville Mater Dei (2001-04), and Tsirtsis (2001-04).
Escobedo ââ?¬â?? whose cousins Jose Escobedo and Andrae Hernandez wrapped up their Griffith careers last year with three state titles among them ââ?¬â?? captured crowns in different weight classes each year: 112 as a freshman (when he was 58-0), 125 his sophomore year (64-0), 130 as a junior (52-1), and 135 this time around (49-0).
The Griffith grappler opened up with a technical fall victory in 5:15 (24-6) over Columbus East�s Tom Glick on Friday, then downed Lawrence North�s Michael Albert in a quarterfinal match, 21-9. Escobedo then pinned Indianapolis North Central�s Blake Kenny in 1:30 in the semis before dispatching of Portage senior Mike Leucuta, 18-6, in the 135 final.
With 156 career pins, Escobedo broke the old mark of 151 set by Ellis.
Humphrey, meanwhile, became the 20th three-time champion, and the first with a trio of titles for tradition-rich Lawrence North. Humphrey won the 112-pound crown to culminate a 45-2 sophomore season, then went a perfect 55-0 as a junior to master the field at 125.
The Ohio State-bound 125-pounder captured this crown by beating Hanover Central freshman Andrew Howe, 5-1, to improve to 48-0. That win followed a 6-0 semifinal victory over Bellmont�s Matt Irwin, whom Humphrey defeated 7-2 in last year�s 125 final. Humphrey opened with a pin in 4:41 of Jimtown�s John Brown before downing Merrillville�s Jamal Lawrence, 7-2, in the quarters.
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Elsewhere on the red, white, and blue-decorated finals mat, Matt Coughlin of Evansville Mater Dei (42-0) capped his incredible individual career by wrestling in his fourth straight championship match, pinning Columbia City junior Bryan Deutsch to defend his 152-pound crown. The only one of the five returning champions to compete in the same weight class, Coughlin was runner-up at 119 as a freshman and 130 in 2003.
And Winamac senior Christopher Kasten, the 215 champ a year ago, was the fourth successful defending champion, defeating Merrillville�s Dexter Larimore, 3-2, for the 275-pound title.
There�s no denying the excitement of getting your hands on a set of wrestling brackets, jotting down what wrestlers are undefeated, who won at what weight class last year, and so on. And while the aforementioned fabulous four made it all the way through to achieve their dreams, one did not.
That was Warren Central�s 112-pound senior Jon Lloyd, the defending champ at 103. Lloyd suffered the same fate that befell Lynn Panko and Scott Kelly a year ago (see below) when his opening match with Hobart�s Brennan Cosgrove, a freshman, turned into a shootout.
Falling behind 15-3 in the second period, Lloyd was unable to recover and lost by a score you just never see, 22-14. Lloyd finished at 43-5.
Results from the championship matches:
�· 103 pounds: Eric Galka (47-0), Hobart, freshman, def. Justin LaFlower (48-1), Indian Creek, senior, 1-0
�· 112: Ethan Harris (42-0), Beech Grove, sophomore, def. Jacob Wise (46-7), Warren Central, senior, 6-2
�· 119: Anthony Williams (46-2), Evansville Central, junior, def. Aaron Sessa (39-5), Lake Central, junior, 3-1 (OT)
�· 125: Scott Kelly (46-0), Carmel, senior, def. Alexander Warren (35-1), Mooresville, junior, 9-7 (OT)
�· 130: Reece Humphrey (48-0), Lawrence North, senior, def. Andrew Howe (47-1), Hanover Central, freshman, 5-1
�· 135: Angel Escobedo (49-0), Griffith, senior, def. Mike Leucuta (38-5), Portage, junior, 18-6
�· 140: Nick Walpole (53-0), Perry Meridian, junior, def. Dan Zemlik (40-4), Portage, senior, 6-1
�· 145: Wesley English (41-1), Merrillville, junior, def. Kurt Kinser (49-1), Bloomington South, junior, 4-0
�· 152: Matt Coughlin (42-0), Evansville Mater Dei, senior, def. Bryan Deutsch (42-1), Columbia City, junior, pin 1:47
�· 160: Paul Young (48-1), Bloomington South, junior, def. Dallas Hesseltine (43-2), Portage, senior, 4-3 (2OT)
�· 171: Nicholas Corpe (43-1), Elkhart Memorial, senior, def. Ian Hinton (43-2), Mishawaka, sophomore, 5-2
�· 189: Orrin Kleinhenz (49-0), Columbus North, senior, def. Kenneth Caldwell (47-1), Union County, senior, 11-5
�· 215: Lynn Panko (46-0), Avon, senior, def. Kyle Nehring (37-5), Columbus North, senior, 7-2
�· 275: Christopher Kasten (46-1), Winamac, senior, def. Dexter Larimore (41-2), Merrillville, junior, 3-2
Reversing the bridesmaid trend
At 145, Merrillville junior Wesley English was no doubt amped up about not having to deal with the specter of Tsirtsis, now at national powerhouse Iowa, again. English, who lost five times a year ago to Tsirtsis (including the 145 final), downed previously unbeaten Bloomington South junior Kurt Kinser, 4-0, to gain some payback.
Nothing like getting out from under the shadow of a guy who NEVER LOSES, eh, Wesley? (Tsirtsis, who, along with Ellis, are the only Indiana wrestlers to finish their careers unbeaten, left Griffith with a record of 236-0. And, um, yeah — thatââ?¬â?¢s a national high school record for consecutive wins.)
Columbus North senior Orrin Kleinhenz also knows what it�s like to breathe again after wrestling Goliath. A year ago, Kleinhenz lost in the 189 finals to Bloomington North�s Heath VanDeventer, who only finished 48-0.
This time around, though, Kleinhenz got the better of another finals match with an unbeaten opponent as he downed Union County senior Kenneth Caldwell, 11-5. Kleinhenz finished with a perfect 49-0 record, while Caldwell ended up 47-1.
Caldwell wins Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award
Caldwell, also a four-year letterwinner in football, became the first Union County athlete to win the Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award. The Carnegie Mellon-bound Navy ROTC scholarship winner ranks second in his class of 104 and was junior class president.
Panko not stanko, Kelly not smelly
Avonââ?¬â?¢s 215-pound champion Lynn Panko entered last yearââ?¬â?¢s state finals at 42-1 ââ?¬â?? and left immediately thereafter following a shocking opening-round loss. This time, however, Panko started off right by beating Lawrence Northââ?¬â?¢s Josh Locke, 10-2.
ââ?¬Å?All I thought about all season was what happened last year,ââ?¬Â Panko told The Indianapolis Star. ââ?¬Å?I wasnââ?¬â?¢t going to do anything stupid to get caught. This feels completely better.ââ?¬Â
And that statement was uttered before Panko blasted through his next two foes, pinning his quarterfinal and semifinal opponents in 58 seconds and 2:28, respectively. Panko then defeated Columbus North senior Kyle Nehring, 7-2, to finish a perfect 43-0.
But it wasn�t that easy. The match was tied at 2-2 with less than 30 seconds to go in regulation when Nehring slipped going for a takedown, at which point Panko turned the ill-timed boo-boo into a takedown and three near-fall points for the final tally.
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Then there�s Carmel�s 125-pound Scott Kelly, whom Panko has nothing on where first-round flameouts previously were concerned. He lost his last two first-round matches at Conseco.
(Hereââ?¬â?¢s where Dr. Evil says, ââ?¬Å?Throw me a frigginââ?¬â?¢ bone, Scott!ââ?¬Â)
Kelly�s first-round opponent, Oak Hill�s Evan Pence, suffered the wrath of the Ghost of State Finals Past when Kelly pinned him in 3:17. That was followed by 5-2 and 8-1 decisions in the quarterfinals and semis, setting up a battle royale with Mooresville�s Alexander Warren in the finals.
After leading 7-2 through two periods, Kelly backed into an overtime session when Warren got a late takedown and then two near-fall points as the buzzer sounded. But Kelly turned the tables, getting a takedown with just under 20 seconds left in the extra stanza for the title.
Congrats to both these proud champions for exorcising those round-of-16 demons.
Runners-up — again
On the other end of the fate spectrum, meet Larimore and his hard-luck 11th-grade compadre, Lake Central�s Aaron Sessa.
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Sessa, the 2004 runner-up at 112, almost climbed the 119 mountain this time around but fell just shy, dropping a 3-1 decision to Evansville Central junior Anthony Williams in overtime.
Larimore, meanwhile, took second last year at 275 ââ?¬â?? and second this year at 275 with the narrow loss to Kasten.
The little guys could pile up some titles
Not surprisingly, the majority of the 14 champions were upperclassmen ââ?¬â?? eight seniors and four juniors. But what was surprising is the fact that the two youngsters who won ââ?¬â?? freshman 103-pounder Eric Galka and 112-pound sophomore Ethan Harris ââ?¬â?? were victorious over seniors.
So what does this mean?
Well, aside from the assumption that it�s easier for Mother Nature to fit 103 pounds into the body of a 15-year old than an 18-year-old, it means you best keep an eye on Harris and Galka. Because we may be looking at one more three-time champ and perhaps another breathtaking four-time king down the road.
Besides, Galka�s already got the chemistry thang goin� on. His escape from top-ranked Justin LaFlower of Indian Creek for a 1-0 victory came with less than 10 seconds to go before overtime.
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(And my hair stylist, whose husband wrestled back in the day at Martinsville and had been training LaFlower, says the little guy has just been beatin� himself up for it ever since.)
Entering the finals undefeated
Amazingly, five of the 14 weight classes featured championship bouts between undefeated wrestlers. How cool is that?
With sectionals and regionals and semistates and wrestlebacks and invitationals and injuries and cutting weight ââ?¬â?? well, Iowa may get a lot of the national attention in this sport. But you canââ?¬â?¢t tell me our Hoosier state is not doing something pretty spectacular on the mats.
Here�s a look at all 19 wrestlers who were unbeaten entering the state finals, along with their pre-finals record and where they finished:
�· 103: Eric Galka, Hobart (43-0, champ); Justin LaFlower, Indian Creek (45-0, runner-up)
�· 112: Ethan Harris, Beech Grove (38-0, champ)
�· 125: Scott Kelly, Carmel (42-0, champ); Alexander Warren, Mooresville (32-0, runner-up)
�· 130: Reece Humphrey, Lawrence North (44-0, champ); Andrew Howe, Hanover Central (44-0, runner-up)
�· 135: Angel Escobedo, Griffith (45-0, champ)
�· 140: Nick Walpole, Perry Meridian (49-0, champ)
�· 145: Kurt Kinser, Bloomington South (46-0, runner-up); Thomas Johnson, Lawrence North (45-0, third)
�· 152: Matt Coughlin, Evansville Mater Dei (38-0, champ); Bryan Deutsch, Columbia City (39-0, runner-up); Eric Howe, Hanover Central (42-0, third)
�· 160: Jason Martin, Randolph Southern (37-0, fourth)
�· 189: Orrin Kleinhenz, Columbus North (45-0, champ); Kenneth Caldwell, Union County (44-0, runner-up); Eric Jones, Peru (45-0, third)
�· 215: Lynn Panko, Avon (42-0, champ)
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No. 1 Lawrence North advances six — but only one finalist?
Top-ranked Lawrence North got six of their eight through Friday�s matches to the quarterfinals, tying Merrillville and Portage for most place finishers at the �05 finals.
But the fact that only Humphrey came out on top doesn�t bode well for the Wildcats� opponents this weekend at the team state finals, where defending champ Lawrence North will be looking to earn its fourth team title. Up first?
Portage, which had three runner-up finishes at Conseco.
The other quarterfinal matches pit Mishawaka vs. Evansville Mater Dei, Bellmont against Columbia City, and Avon going against Warren Central.
But I don�t GET sick. . . .
The plan: Driving over to Shenandoah on Saturday morning to take in a Class 2A girls basketball regional, then heading back to Indy for the wrestling state finals that night.
The reality: Getting ââ?¬Å?stuckââ?¬Â — in bed, all weekend, with the flu.
Despite knowing everybody and their brother had the flu last week ââ?¬â?? and perhaps because of my repeated babblings of, ââ?¬Å?Oh I NEVER get sick!ââ?¬Â ââ?¬â?? whoomp, there it was, the beginning creepy crappiness around 5 p.m. on Friday. Thinking perhaps I could sleep it off, I headed home and to bed . . . from which vantage point I could clearly see the clock radio laughing at me every 20 minutes as I would wake up, then fall back to sleep (sort of).
This went on for what seemed like, oh, about four weeks, at which point I began sleeping in merciful increments of 60 minutes. Whoo-HOO!
At least the Daytona 500, and its wall-to-wall FOX servings of Darrell Waltrip, lasted most of the day on Sunday. (Congrats to Tri-West Hendricks graduate Jeff Gordon, the defending Brickyard 400 champion, on his third win in the Great American Race.)
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