Regional wrestling roundup: New Prairie's Jeffrey Huyvaert wins showdown of unbeatens
Match of the year? Nah, there are too many of those to count.
But the 4-3 victory by New Prairie’s Jeffrey Huyvaert over Kankakee Valley’s Cole Solomey in the 138-pound weight class, during Saturday’s Crown Point regional, will certainly rank as one of the biggest battles in Indiana high school wrestling this season.
Solomey, a senior, is ranked No. 1 in the state by the wrestling Website, Indiana Mat. He was state runnerup last season and has been the odds-on favorite to win a championship this year. He was undefeated, 40-0, entering the finals.
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Huyvaert, just a freshman, is ranked No. 5 by Indiana Mat. He was also undefeated, 44-0, when the finale began.
Only one could stay that way, and a takedown with 17 seconds remaining proved to be the difference as Huyvaert (now 45-0) came from behind to claim a stunning one-point victory.
“He just kept himself in really good position and relied on his intelligence and technique at the end,” said New Prairie coach Bobby Whitenack.
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Solomey scored a quick takedown, 13 seconds into the first period, taking control. But Huyvaert used a pair of escapes in the first and second periods to tie the score. A third-period escape by Solomey put the favorite up 3-2, setting the stage for Huyvaert’s dramatic finish.
There could be a rematch during next week’s semistate at East Chicago. The top four finishers in each weight class at a regional advance to the semistate level.
As a team, New Prairie had its greatest regional showing ever, scoring 103 points to finish second behind defending champion Crown Point (262 ½).
Eight Cougars advanced to semistate and four made the regional finals. The coach’s son, Hayden Whitenack, finished second at 152, dropping a 6-4 decision in overtime. Also finishing second for New Prairie were Aidan Ziegler (182) and Neil Johnson (195).
“It was a great day,” said Whitenack. “We have eight guys with an opportunity next week.”
La Porte senior Ashton Jackson, who is seeking his third consecutive state title, claimed the 120-pound championship and improved to 46-0 on the season. He is ranked No. 1 in that class.
John Glenn’s Brody King (113 pounds) and Mason Kobelt (170) each earned runnerup honors.
IHSAA WRESTLING REGIONAL RESULTS
At Crown Point
TEAM SCORES: Crown Point 262 ½, New Prairie 103, Lake Central 89, Chesterton 86 ½, Lowell 71 ½, John Glenn 44, Kankakee Valley 42, Wheeler 31, Hanover Central 30, La Porte 22, Valparaiso 21, Boone Grove 11. All others 0.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
106: Mason Jones (Lake Central) maj. dec. Logan Haney (Crown Pt), 9-0. 113: Gavin Jendreas (Crown Pt) pinned Brody King (Glenn), 2:37. 120: Ashton Jackson (La Porte) dec. Dominic Brown (Lowell), 5-1. 126: Logan Frazier (Crown Pt) maj. dec. Guillermo Rivera (Lake Central), 11-3. 132: Griffin VanTichelt (Crown Pt) pinned Hayden DeMarco (Chesterton), 3:37. 138: Jeffrey Huyvaert (New Prairie) dec. Cole Solomey (Kankakee Valley), 4-3. 145: Aidan Torres (Chesterton) won by injury def. over Anthony Bahl (Crown Pt). 152: Chase Kasprzak (Lake Central) dec. Hayden Whitenack (New Prairie), 6-4 in OT.
160: Sam Goin (Crown Pt) maj. dec. Kenneth Bisping (Lowell), 11-2. 170: Cody Goodwin (Crown Pt) tech fall Mason Kobelt (Glenn), 18-3 in 4:59. 182: Orlando Cruz (Crown Pt) tech fall Aidan Ziegler (New Prairie), 19-4 in 1:19. 195: Anthony White (Crown Pt) pinned Neil Johnson (New Prairie), 4:26. 220: Will Clark (Crown Pt) pinned Jayden Bartoszek (Hanover Central), 1:09. 285: Paul Clark (Crown Pt) dec. Mitchell Krolikowski (Wheeler), 4-0.
CONSOLATION ROUND
(For 3rd Place)
106: Aidan Diaz (Wheeler) pinned Caleb Halfacre (New Prairie), 0:35. 113: Mario Orueta (Lake Central) maj. dec. Devyn Moore (Lowell), 9-0. 120: Sontonio Sessa (Crown Pt) dec. Isaiah Wilson (Chesterton), 2-0. 126: Bentley Whitmer (Glenn) Ayden Campbell (Chesterton), 3:27. 132: Xavier Roberts (Valparaiso) dec. Dalton Robson (Lowell), 8-4. 138: Luke Reid (Valparaiso) dec. Kaptur Nowaczyk (Crown Pt), 6-4. 145: Caleb Solomey (Kankakee Valley) won by injury def. over Jayden Lewis (New Prairie). 152: Noah Sessions (Kankakee Valley) dec. Michael Mavros (Lowell), 5-2.
160: Ben Shaffer (Chesterton) pinned Adam Glass (Lake Central), 1:53. 170: Xander Warren (Boone Grove) dec. John Lively (Chesterton), 7-5. 182: Stefan Jokic (Lake Central) dec. Angelo Ramirez (Hanover Central), 5-1. 195: Trent Kersey (Lowell) dec. Sam Chambers (Hanover Central), 6-2. 220: Kaleb Abad (Lowell) dec. Clayton Deutscher (New Prairie), 1-0. 285: James Fanzo (Chesterton) dec. Christian Johnson (New Prairie), 9-6.
NOTE: Top four finishers in each weight class advance to IHSAA semistate at East Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 11.
Jimtown has a trios of champions at Goshen
DeKalb snared the team title, but Jimtown left Saturday’s wrestling regional at Goshen with reason to celebrate.
Three Jimmies earned individual championships, including Mikey Kallimani in the 132-pound weight class, Conner Watts at 160 and Aden Hartman at 106.
Elkhart finished second in the final team standings, with Ethan Freedline (170) and heavyweight Brayden Jellison winning titles for the Lions. DeKalb scored 113 ½ in the team race, while Elkhart had 86. Jimtown was fourth at 76 ½.
Northridge sophomore Travis Henke improved to 37-0 by winning the 220 class. He edged Fairfield’s Breckan Maran in the final, 5-3.
Concord’s Armen Koltkookian won at 195 and NorthWood’s Kaden Lone at 182.
IHSAA WRESTLING REGIONAL RESULTS
At Goshen
Team scores: DeKalb 113 1/2, Elkhart 86, Prairie Heights 82, Jimtown 76 1/2, Goshen 70 1/2, Northridge 61, Angola 48, Lakeland 47, West Noble 38, Concord 36, NorthWood 34, Fairfield 29, East Noble 27 1/2, Central Noble 20, Fremont 13. All others 0.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
106: Aden Hartman (Jimtown) dec. Kealan Fuller (E Noble), 6-2. 113: Drew Waldon (DeKalb) dec. Kamaron Straw (Angola), 9-5. 120: Mason Chase (DeKalb) pinned Isaiah McCue (Angola), 0:27. 126: Keegan Schlabach (Lakeland) maj. dec. Graysen Beasley (Northridge) 16-5. 132: Mikey Kallimani (Jimtown) dec. Brody Hagewood (Prairie Hts) 5-2. 138: Brock Hagewood (Prairie Hts) maj. dec. Taiden Chambers (W Noble), 13-2. 145: Braxton Miller (DeKalb) dec. Teegan Clouse (West Noble), 6-1. 152: Kaleb Lounsbury (Prairie Hts) dec. Garrett VonGunten (Northridge), 8-5 in OT.
160: Conner Watts (Jimtown) pinned Matt Levitz (Prairie Hts), 1:20. 170: Ethan Freedline (Elkhart) maj. dec. Dominic Dunn (DeKalb), 15-4. 182: Kaden Lone (NorthWood) dec. Laish Detwiler (Goshen), 3-1. 195: Armen Koltookian (Concord) dec. Nash Shupert (Elkhart), 5-4. 220: Travis Henke (Northridge) dec. Breckan Maran (Fairfield), 5-3. 285: Brayden Jellison (Elkhart) dec. Lance Army (Concord), 3-0.
CONSOLATION ROUND
(For 3rd Place)
106: Alex DeLaCruz (Angola) dec. Naima Ghaffar (NorthWood), 7-2. 113: Cole Hinkel (Goshen) dec. Zac Brown (Lakeland), 3-1. 120: Matthew Senn (Fairfield) won by injury def. over Calix Truex (NorthWood). 126: Camden Wiese (Goshen) won by injury def. over Braylon Meyer (DeKalb). 132: Cam Dews (Elkhart) dec. Essiah Kamer (E Noble), 6-5. 138: Nolan Castaneda (Goshen) pinned Brennon Whickcar (Elkhart), 0:38. 145: Blake Denman (Angola) dec. Brady Schiffli (Lakeland), 6-5. 152: Elijah Knepper (DeKalb) dec. Wyatt Claxton (Fremont), 4-1.
160: Jonathon Flores (Goshen) dec. Cael Arroyo (Northridge), 9-7 in OT. 170: Jericko Jackson (Prairie Heights) maj. dec. Marcus Castaneda (Goshen), 13-3. 182: Connor Leins (E Noble) maj. dec. Ethan Skinner (Central Noble), 11-1. 195: Jaxon Copas (Central Noble) pinned Noah Owsley (Lakeland), 3:49. 220: Connor McPhee (Jimtown) dec. Preston Stimac (Elkhart), 7-3. 285: James Hartleroad (DeKalb) pinned Mikey Lecount (W Noble), 1:53.
NOTE: Top four finishers in each weight class advance to IHSAA semistate at Fort Wayne’s Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 11.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: High school wrestling roundup: New Prairie freshman remains unbeaten
