Four wrestlers won their second consecutive state titles to lead the parade of 14 champions Saturday night (Feb. 19) in the 62^nd Annual IHSAA Wrestling State Finals at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Alex Ramos of Hobart at 125 pounds, Fred Joseph of Portage (152), Marcus Schontube (171) of Lowell and Brad Stephens (189) of Lawrence North were the repeat champions. Ramos, Schontube and Stephens completed undefeated campaigns.

Other unbeaten state champions were:

• J.T. Young of Bloomington South at 135.
• Eric Keith of Portage at 140
• Bryce Hasseman of Franklin at 160
• Matt Hasbrook of Indianapolis Cathedral at 215.

Schontube completed a two-year run of 90-0 at 171, while Stephens was 83-2 in two seasons at 189. Ramos, who earned his third victory over East Chicago Central's Robert Maldonado this season, was 81-0 the past two years while winning state titles at 119 and 125. Joseph finished his two-year title reign with a 87-8 at 125.

The final session drew a crowd of 10,343, bringing the total two-day attendance to 37,505.

In other matches, freshman John Sheets of Bellmont took a 4-1 decision from Goshen senior Gerardo Quiroz (32-4). Sheets, who finished the season at 49-2, became the first freshman to win a state title since 1995 when Evansville Mater Dei's Greg Schaefer won the 100-pound weight class.

Hasbrook completed a perfect season by blanking Jon Goldsberry of Heritage Hills in a battle of unbeatens. Keith did the same at 140 to win 2-1 in the second overtime against previously undefeated Derek Donelson of Plainfield.

Marcus Schontube, a senior at Lowell High School, was named the 2000 recipient of the Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award as selected by the Executive Committee of the Indiana High School Athletic Association.

Schontube, who completed back-to-back unbeaten seasons, won his second consecutive state championship in the 171 pound class. The four-year team captain for the Red Devils finished 41-0 this season after a 49-0 ledger last year. In addition to wrestling, Schontube was an all-state football player both athletically and academically. Last fall, he served as a co-captain at linebacker for his team, which reached the semi-state.

Academically, Schontube ranks in the top 10 percent of his senior class with a 3.7 GPA and will attend the University of Pennsylvania on a wrestling scholarship. He plans to study law or business. As a member of the National Honor Society, he has been an honor roll student throughout his high school career.

Farm Bureau Insurance, the corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Lowell High School in the name of Schontube.

103 -- John Sheets (49-2), freshman, Bellmont def. Gerardo Quiroz (32-4), senior, Goshen, decision, 4-1.

112 -- Nathan Peterson (44-2), senior, Floyd Central def. Jeff Gray (44-5), junior, Lawrence North, decision, 2-0.

119 -- Bobby Howard (52-2), senior, Lowell def. Wiley Craft (35-3), senior, Roncalli, decision, 10-1.

125 -- Alex Ramos (36-0), senior, Hobart def. Robert Maldonado (47-5), junior, East Chicago Central, decision, 5-2.

130 -- Ben Sprunger (40-1), senior, Bluffton def. Matt Birner (50-4), senior, Peru, decision, 6-3

135 -- J.T. Young (43-0), junior, Bloomington South def. Michael Escobedo (35-4), sophomore, Lake Central, decision, 6-3.

140 -- Eric Keith (51-0), senior, Portage def. Derek Donelson (42-1), senior, Plainfield, decision, 2-1 OT (2).

145 -- Mitch Napier (45-1), senior, Monrovia def. Jon Mongold (40-6), senior, Bloomington North, win by fall, 2:50.

152 -- Fred Joseph (41-3), senior, Portage def. Shaun Barnett (44-3), senior, Jimtown, decision, 5-1.

160 -- Bryce Hasseman (45-0), senior, Franklin def. Rick Elkins (44-3), junior, Portage, decision, 6-2.

171 -- Marcus Schontube (41-0), senior, Lowell def. Pat Ayelle (40-4), senior, Fort Wayne Luers, decision, 9-1.

189 -- Brad Stephens (49-0), senior, Lawrence North def. Matt Arvesen (34-1), senior, Plymouth, decision, 5-4.

215 -- Matt Hasbrook (49-0), senior, Indianapolis Cathedral def. Jon Goldsberry (29-1), senior, Heritage Hills, decision, 5-0.

275 -- Jason Fryar (39-3), senior, Whiteland def. Greg Wagner (42-4), junior, Fort Wayne Snider, decision, 7-5.