2002
Conseco Fieldhouse,
Attendance and
Excitement High at
The fans came out in huge
numbers to witness the excitement of the 64th Annual IHSAA Individual
Wrestling Championships on
Six individuals returned to
repeat as state champions during the weekend’s festivities.
Griffith’s Alex Tsirtsis at 130; Warren Central’s Danny Williams at 140; Evansville
Mater Dei’s Blake Maurer at 145; Michael Escobedo of
Lake Central at 152; Nathan Moore of Perry Meridian at 189 and; Jake O’Brien of
Franklin Central at 215.
Though Evansville Mater Dei
landed four individuals in the finals, Maurer was the lone to win a title for
the seven-time defending team state champions. Maurer completed a 43-1
sophomore year after winning the 130 pound division as a freshman. Williams,
the 135 pound champ in 2001, overcame a broken leg he suffered in December to
win his weight class. Escobedo, the 145 champ in 2001, finished 50-0 this year
for a two-year record of 93-0. Moore (50-0) and O’Brien (38-4) both repeated in
the same weight classes. Moore, a senior, went 98-1 over the last two seasons.
Both Griffith and Whiteland
managed two champions each. Angel Escobedo in the 112 pound class joined Tsirtsis to give Griffith a pair of champions, while Clint Palmore at 119 and Chris Cooper at 160 represented
Whiteland.
Tsirtsis (59-0), a sophomore, followed up last year’s
championship with an 11-3 victory over Brian Tun of
Fort Wayne Wayne in this year’s final round. Tsirtsis was the 119 pound winner in 2001 and owns a
two-year record of 116-0. Angel Escobedo finished a remarkable freshman campaign
by finishing 58-0 following his 13-2 decision over Evansville Mater Dei’s Craig Macke, the runner-up
at 103 last year. Griffith had a third representative in the championship round
as Jose Escobedo finished as the runner-up at 103 pounds.
Cooper (47-0) edged Daniel Bedoy of Hammond Noll, 2-1, for the 160 pound crown to join
his teammate on the top step of the podium. After a sixth place finish in the
same weight class a year ago, Palmore (43-3) capped
his senior year with the state title taking out Evansville Mater Dei’s Matt Coughlin by a 5-2 count.
The winner’s marks in all the
classes totaled 639 victories, with only 22 losses. All told, seven wrestlers
finished the year undefeated. Those also finishing unbeaten included:
Nick Hartman (47-0) of Lawrence
North at 103 pounds returned after a third place finish in 2001.
Jason Cook
(48-0) of Valparaiso at 135 pounds after a runner-up spot at 125 a year ago.
Interestingly, four family
members wrestled their way into this year’s championship round. Griffith’s Jose
and Angel Escobedo, Lake Central’s Michael Escobedo and Hammond Noll’s Dan Bedoy are all first cousins.
Attendance for the Friday’s
first session was 9,136 followed by Saturday’s second session of 9,218 and the
championship crowd of 10,953 for a total of 29,307.
Valparaiso’s Jason Cook named Ward E. Brown
Mental Attitude Award winner
Jason Cook of
The award is presented
annually to a senior in the state finals who best demonstrates excellence in
mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. The award is
named in honor of Mr. Brown, the IHSAA’s fourth
commissioner from 1976-83.
Cook became the second
wrestler from
Farm Bureau Insurance, the
corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to
Championship Match Results
103 -- Nick Hartman (47-0), senior, Lawrence North def. Jose Escobedo
(13-1), sophomore,
112 -- Angel Escobedo (58-0), freshman, Griffith def. Craig Macke (42-2), junior, Evansville Mater Dei, decision, 13-2.
119 -- Clint
Palmore (43-3), senior, Whiteland def. Matt Coughlin
(42-1), freshman, Evansville Mater, decision, 5-2.
125 -- Hector Mendez (48-5),
senior East Chicago Central def. Andy Uhl (42-1),
senior, East Noble, decision, 9-7.
130 -- Alex Tsirtsis
(59-0), sophomore, Griffith def. Brian Tun (38-2),
senior, Fort Wayne Wayne, 11-3.
135 -- Jason Cook (48-0),
senior,
140 -- Danny Williams (35-3),
senior,
145 -- Blake Maurer (43-1),
sophomore, Evansville Mater Dei def. Nate Newport
(42-1), junior, Franklin Central, 2-1,
2OT.
152 -- Michael Escobedo (50-0),
senior,
160 -- Chris Cooper (47-0),
senior, Whiteland def. Dan Bedoy (57-3), senior,
Hammond Noll, decision, 2-1.
171 -- Jason Woodson (45-4),
senior, Ft. Wayne Snider def. Chase Thompson (42-2), junior,
189 -- Nathan Moore (50-0), senior, Perry Meridian def.
Elliott Black (44-3), senior, Floyd Central, decision, 6-0.
215 -- Jake O’Brien (38-4), junior,
275 -- Jeremy Van Alstyne (27-2), senior, Center Grove def. Brent Surface
(43-5), junior,
State Finals Programs Available
Couldn’t be there for the
state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official state finals
program while supplies last!
Extra
copies are usually available for a period of one year following the event.
Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in person at the IHSAA Office (