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What to watch at Bloomington South wrestling regional

jim gordillo, the herald-times
·6 min read

One win to get in and then there's still the important matter of deciding one's destiny at the Evansville Semistate.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class from the sectionals at Bloomington North and Southridge will clash at Saturday's Bloomington South Regional, which begins at 8 a.m., with the finals expected shortly after noon. The top four in each weight class will advance to semistate.

There are 22 competitors from Bloomington North, South, Edgewood, Owen Valley and Paoli in the field coming out of North and two from Mitchell and one from Bedford North Lawrence who survived at Southridge.

Defending regional champs on hand are Indian Creek's Jackson Heaston (113), Sullivan's Lane Gilbert (120), Tell City's Coy Hammock (132), Edgewood's Cash Turner (138, now 145) and Delaney Ruhlman (152, now 170). Here's a quick look at each weight class from a local perspective:

106 pounds: South's Cam Meier (28-3) is ranked fourth in the Evansville Semistate and a dual in the finals against third-ranked Isaac Campbell of Floyd Central (28-1), who won their regular season match 4-2 in OT.

113: Edgewood's John Orman (23-7) faces a deep field with four of the top eight wrestlers in the semistate. Orman is No. 7. OV's Eli Collier opens against No. 6 Walter Hagedorn of Tell City (31-2). In the bottom part of the bracket, Mitchell's Ezari Brazzel (21-13) will have his hands full with fifth-ranked Heaston of Indian Creek.

120: Lane Gilbert of Sullivan (34-3) is ranked fourth and the favorite here. If South's Wayne Harden can win his opener against Jasper's Hayden Biggs, a regional qualifier last year, he'll likely have a rematch with the sectional champ in the semis.

126: OV's Jackson Emery faces the No. 6 wrestler in the semistate in Tell City's Chase Stephens, who competed at 138 last year. Oddly enough, BNL's Jorj Filler has the same exact draw as last year in Northview's Seth Cowden, sectional champ who was a semistate qualifier last year.

132: With a win, South's Wyatt Cooksey (20-10) could set up a rematch with Edgewood's Landon Clement (24-9), who faces a senior from Southridge making his first regional trip. Hammock, rated third in the semistate, will be waiting in the final.

138: OV's Branson Weaver (30-3) is ranked fourth in the semistate and a win would give him a shot at sectional champ Kasey Stewart of Terre Haute South. A win for South's Brant Turner would likely pair him up with Tell City's Kelby Glenn, ranked fifth in the semistate.

145: Edgewood's Turner, ranked fourth in the semistate, will be strongly favored and likely to meet TH South's Coy Bender in the semis. OV's Conner Rogers drew last year's regional runner-up at 120 in Brayden Lain of Tell City. South's Hunter Fender, who beat his opening foe, Antwane Webster of New Albany, 15-1 at the Jeff Invite, would see Lain in the semifinals.

152: Tough bracket with No. 2 Tyce DuPoint of Tell City and No. 4 Evan Roudebush of South in opposite brackets. Edgewood's Michael Neidigh drew DuPont. North's Jeremiah Casillas drew Southridge's Anthony Laughlin, who was ousted in the first round by Ruhlman last year. That winner will face Roudebush in the semis.

160: The top ranked wrestler in the semistate is Jasper's Jeb Prechtel (30-0), so Paoli's Austin Benales faces a tough task right off the bat. Hickok, who was knocked out by Prechtel last year, would meet him in the semifinals with a win over Southridge's Hudsen Allen, a regional rookie.

170: Ruhlman is the heavy, heavy favorite here. He's likely to face Tell City's Noah Terry (34-2), rated No. 4 in the semistate, in the final.

182: A first-round win for OV's Kyvan Bandy lines him up against Bray Emerine of Floyd Central (21-2), who is ranked No. 2 in the semistate.

195: An opening win for South's Drew Chandler and a rematch with Northview's Dalton Simmons awaits. Chandler won their battle at sectional, 6-4. On the other side of the bracket is third-ranked Reid Schroeder of Southridge (33-1).

220: An extremely focused Eli Hinshaw of Owen Valley, who lost his first match of the year in last week's finals and signed this week with the University of Indianapolis, should greet the field here. He's ranked third in the semistate. His likely semifinals foe, Tyson Ruhe of Jasper (26-4), is ranked eighth. Terre Haute South's Alex Rose will likely be the other finalist.

285: OV's Bryce Mills, ranked eighth in the semistate, is the favorite and will open against Mitchell's Alex Kling (23-10).

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS (sectional finish in brackets)

106: [1] Cameron Meier, BSouth (28-3) vs. [4] Camden Ames, Tell City (15-12). 113: [4] Eli Collier, OV (20-11) vs. [1] Walter Hagedorn, Tell City (31-2); [2] John Orman, Edg (23-7) vs. [3] Thomas Nguyen, New Albany [25-8]. [4] Ezari Brazzel, Mitchell (21-13) vs. [1] Jackson Heaston, Indian Creek (27-3). 120: [3] Wayne Harden, BSouth (12-10) vs. [2] Hayden Biggs, Jasper (20-13). 126: [4] Jackson Emery, OV (20-15) vs. [1] Chase Stephens, Tell City (23-4). [4] Jorj Filler, BNL (30-9) vs. [1] Seth Cowden, Northview (23-2). 132: [3] Landon Clement, Edg (24-9) vs. [2] Cole Wirthwein, Southridge (27-10); [1] Wyatt Cooksey, BSouth (20-10) vs. [4] Blayne Powers, Jasper (13-12). 138: [3] Branson Weaver, OV (30-3) vs. [2] Xavier Horton, Southridge (22-6); [2] Brant Turner, BSouth (17-12) vs. [3] Alex Hardin, Jasper (11-9). 145: [1] Cash Turner, Edg (34-1) vs. [4] Xavier Lopez, Jasper (17-12); [4] Conner Rogers, OV (22-13) vs. [1] Brayden Lain, Tell City (30-7). 152: [4] Michael Neidigh, Edg (21-16) vs. [1] Tyce DuPont, Tell City (33-2). [1] Evan Roudebush, BSouth (30-2) vs. [4] Manny Frederick, New Albany (22-17); [3] Jeremiah Casillas, BNorth (27-11) vs. [2] Anthony Laughlin, Southridge (33-9). 160: [2] Cael Hickok, BNorth (28-9) vs. [3] Hudson Allen, Southridge (27-14); [4] Austin Benales, Paoli (38-2) vs. [1] Jeb Prechtel, Jasper (30-0). 170: [1] Delaney Ruhlman, BSouth (30-0) vs. [4] Tanner Conway, Floyd C (15-16). 182: [2] Kyvan Bandy, OV (26-9) vs. [3] Hunter Kippenbrock, Jasper (13-12). 195: [1] Drew Chandler, BSouth (17-9) vs. [4] Paul Thompson, Pike C (22-9). 220: [2] Eli Hinshaw, OV (32-1) vs. [3] Eric Vanegas, Southridge (9-3). 285: [1] Bryce Mills, OV (26-6) vs. [4] Alex King, Mitchell (23-10).

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com or 812-331-4381 and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: What to watch at Bloomington South wrestling regional