News

Behind three individual state champions, Perry Meridian ran away with the overall team title in the 75th Annual IHSAA Wrestling State Finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

It was the third consecutive state championship for the Falcons under head coach Jim Tonte and its first under the new scoring format which was used at this event for the first time since 1995.The Falcons tallied a state finals record 102.5 points and were followed by runner-up Yorktown with 62 and third place Mishawaka with 53.

Perry Meridian's Cody LeCount, Riley McClurg and Donte Winfield each captured their respective crowns.

LeCount bested Grant Martsolf of Mishawaka at 132 on a technical fall, 16-1, McClurg outlasted Austin McCloskey of Western Boone at 160, with a 2-1 tiebreaker in overtime, and Winfield won a 5-1 decision from Rushville’s Joseph Garland in the 285 battle.

Jake Masengale, who lost 9-4 in the 182 final to Matt Hurford of Culver Community, was the only Perry wrestler to come up short in his last match.

A trio of wrestlers won their second state crowns.

Fishers’ Mitch Sliga wasted no time repeating as state champion in the 195 pound class pinning South Bend Clay’s Jaylin Allen in :31.

Junior Stevan Micic of Hanover Central won his second consecutive state title outlasting Zachary Davis of Penn, 9-7, for the 113 title. Micic won the 106 crown a year ago.

And Danville’s Neal Molloy took home his second 145 crown in three years with a 4-3 decision over Yorktown’s Eli Walker.

Josh Farrell of Greenfield-Central won his first state championship after coming up short a year ago in the 138 final. Farrell completed a 48-0 year after edging Vinny Corsaro of Indianapolis Cathedral, 3-2. Corsaro was last year’s runner-up at 145 and had beaten Isaiah Bradley of Muncie Southside, last year’s 152 winner, in this year’s semifinal round.

The two-day, three-session attendance was 27,035.

The 75th Annual IHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals
Feb. 15-16, 2013
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

Top 10 Teams
1.   Perry Meridian: 102.5
2.   Yorktown: 62
3.   Mishawaka: 53
4.   Indianapolis Cathedral: 45
5.   Franklin Community: 41
6.   Warren Central: 40
T7. Fishers: 36
T7. New Palestine: 36
T9. Bloomington South: 31
T9. Merrillville: 31

State Championship Match Results
106: Chad Red (9) New Palestine (48-0) def. Garrett Pepple (10) East Noble (43-2), 4-0.
113: Stevan Micic (11) Hanover Central (48-0) def. Zachary Davis (11) Penn (45-7) dec, 9-7.
120: Deondre Wilson (11) Warren Central (38-0) def. Drew Hughes (9) Lowell (39-2) dec. 6-2.
126: Nick Crume (12) Jimtown (38-0) def. Luke Welch (12) Castle (47-2), dec. 3-1 OT.
132: Cody LeCount (11) Perry Meridian (40-0) def. Grant Martsolf (12) Mishawaka (40-7), TF 16-1.
138: Tommy Forte (10) Mishawaka (46-0) def. Luke Blanton (12) Alexandria (51-1), dec. 12-7.
145: Neal Molloy (12) Danville (43-0) def. Eli Walker (12) Yorktown (43-2), dec, 4-3.
152: Josh Farrell (12) Greenfield-Central (48-0) def. Vinny Corsaro (11) Indianapolis Cathedral (46-4), dec. 3-2.
160: Riley McClurg (12) Perry Meridian (37-3) def. Austin McCloskey (11) Western Boone (45-2), TB-1 2-1.
170: Bobby Steveson (10) Merrillville (39-0) def. Riley Lefever (12) Carroll (Fort Wayne) (46-1), dec, 5-4.
182: Matt Hurford (12) Culver Community (47-0) def. Jake Masengale (12) Perry Meridian (40-3), dec, 9-4.
195: Mitch Sliga (12) Fishers (49-0) def. Jaylin Allen (12) South Bend Clay (45-8), Fall, :31.
220: Gelen Robinson (11) Lake Central (49-0) def. Fletcher Miller (11) Kokomo (50-1), dec. 7-2.
285: Donte Winfield (12) Perry Meridian (41-2) def. Joseph Garland (12) Rushville (39-4), dec. 5-1.

Luke Blanton of Alexandria Wins Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award
Following the state tournament, the IHSAA Executive Committee named Luke Blanton of Alexandria Monroe High School as the recipient of the Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award.

Blanton finished as the 138-pound state runner-up following a four-year wrestling career in which has served as team captain for the last three seasons. He also lettered three years in football and captained the team as a junior.

He ranks eighth in his senior class with a 3.84 GPA while pursuing an Academic Honors Diploma. Blanton is a member of the National Honor Society, Athletes of Character, member of the German Club, member of and vice president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the 2012 Homecoming King.

He is the son of Calvin and Denise Blanton of Gaston and will attend Indiana University where he’ll continue his wrestling career.

The award is named in honor of the IHSAA’s fourth commissioner (1976-1983) in 1985. Recipients of the award must be nominated by their principal and coach and must excel in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability in the sport.

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate sponsor of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Alexandria Monroe High School in the name of Blanton.