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CROWN POINT’S TSIRTSIS SHOOTS FOR FOURTH WRESTLING CROWN
Two Others Look for Third Championship; First Female Qualifies for State Finals
Seven former state champions, including one attempting to join the exclusive club of four-time winners, along with the first female participant headline the 74th Annual IHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals this weekend at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Two hundred twenty-four wrestlers in all, 16 in each of the 14 weight classes, will begin first round competition on Friday at 6 pm ET / 5 pm CT. First-round winners will return to wrestle on Saturday with quarterfinal action beginning at 9:30 am ET / 8:30 am CT and semifinal matches to follow after all weight classes have concluded. Consolation bouts begin at 5 pm ET and championship matches under the spotlight are scheduled for 7:30 pm ET.

Crown Point senior Jason Tsirtsis will attempt to win his fourth state championship this weekend and become just the eighth individual to accomplish that feat in tournament history. Tsirtsis’ brother Alex is one of those previous seven to win four championships as a Griffith wrestler from 2001-04.

Tsirtsis (38-0), top-ranked at 145 pounds, won the 125 pound crown as a freshman in 2009, the 130 pound title in 2010 and the 140 pound bracket last year. He’ll be trying for a third consecutive undefeated season and faces Whitko senior Cody Bays (23-6) in Friday night’s opening round.

Two other individuals will be gunning for a third title and both are competing at 126 pounds.

Lake Central senior Kyle Ayersman is 48-0 and won the 112 class in 2010 before moving up to win at 119 last year. He could meet Union County senior Cody Phillips (32-2) in the championship round if both advance. Phillips was the 103 pound champ in 2009 and 2010 before stumbling in last year’s 112 semis to a third place finish.

Other state champions in the field looking for a second blue ribbon medal include Lawrence North sophomore Nathan Boston (41-0) at 106; Pendleton Heights senior Mason Todd (37-0) at 120 and two others that could meet in the 132 title match -- Danville junior Neal Molloy (42-0) and Perry Meridian senior Jarad McKinley (44-1).

Also of note is Kayla Miracle, the first female to qualify for the state finals in the history of the tournament. A sophomore at Culver Academies, Miracle has accumulated a 42-5 record this year at 106 pounds and won her first two matches at last Saturday’s Merrillville semi-state on a 17-0 technical fall and 10-0 decision before dropping a one-point decision in the semis and ultimately finished fourth. She’ll face Garrett sophomore Hayden Lee (39-2) in the opening round’s fifth match on Friday.

Tim Creason wrote this article on Miracle for last Sunday’s South Bend Tribune.

One hundred and five (105) schools will be represented at this weekend’s state finals with Evansville Mater Dei and Perry Meridian leading the way with nine participants each across the 14 weight classes. Indianapolis Cathedral follows with eight. Perry Meridian had the most semi-state champions with five last Saturday in New Castle. Bellmont followed with four winners at Fort Wayne.

The 74th Annual IHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals
Site: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 125 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis | Website
Dates & Times
Friday, Feb. 17, 2012, 6 pm ET / 5 pm CT (First Round).
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012, (Quarterfinals at 9:30 am ET with semifinals to follow; Consolations at 5 pm ET; Finals at 7:30 pm ET).
Admission: $8 per session or $20 both days.
Webcast: Saturday night’s state championship matches will be streamed live at www.ihsaatv.org beginning at 7:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm CT. Mark Jaynes, former Evansville Mater Dei coach Mike Goebel and Jeremiah Johnson will host the program.

State Finals Brackets

State Champions in the Field (7)
106: Nathan Boston, 10, Lawrence North (41-0) | 2011 champ at 103.
120: Mason Todd, 12, Pendleton Heights (37-0) | 2011 champ at 112.
126: Kyle Ayersman, 12, Lake Central (48-0) | 2011 champ at 119; 2010 champ at 112.
126: Cody Phillips, 12, Union County (32-2) | 2009, 2010 state champ at 103.
132: Neal Molloy, 11, Danville (42-0) | 2011 champ at 130.
132: Jarad McKinley, 12, Perry Meridian (44-1) | 2011 champ at 125.
145: Jason Tsirtsis, 12, Crown Point (38-0) | 2009 state champ at 125; 2010 state champ at 130; 2011 champ at 140.

Four-Time State Champions (7)
Estil Ritter, Bloomington: 1924, 175; 1925, 175; 1926, Hwt.; 1927, Hwt.        
Willard Duffy, Muncie Central: 1930, 100; 1931, 108; 1932, 115; 1933, 115. 
Howard Fisher, South Bend Central: 1949, 95; 1950, 112; 1951, 127; 1952, 133.
Lance Ellis, Indianapolis Cathedral: 1986, 98; 1987, 112; 1988, 112; 1989, 119.
Blake Maurer, Evansville Mater Dei:  2001, 130; 2002, 145; 2003, 171; 2004, 171.
Alex Tsirtsis, Griffith: 2001, 119; 2002, 130; 2003, 135; 2004, 145.
Angel Escobedo, Griffith: 2002, 112; 2003, 125; 2004, 130; 2005, 135.

State Runners-Up in the Field (6)
113: Jarrad Brooks, 12, Warsaw (31-0) | 2011 runner-up at 112.
120: Brenden Campbell, 12, New Castle (50-2) | 2011 runner-up at 119.
120: Paul Petrov, 12, Hanover Central (43-0) | 2010 runner-up at 103.
135: Devon Jackson, 12, Yorktown (48-0) | 2011 runner-up at 135; 2010 runner-up at 130.
152: Connor Mullins, 12, New Castle (28-0) | 2011 runner-up at 152.
170: Tyler Willis, 12, Indianapolis Cathedral (42-1) | 2010 runner-up at 160.

Undefeated Wrestlers in the Field: 27 (Three each at 120, 182 and 195).

Media Information

Media Hosts: IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille, Communications Director Chris Kaufman along with assistants Toni Polizzi and Joe Hoffman will be on hand to assist in your coverage of the state finals.

Media Credentials: Deadline is Thursday, Feb. 16, at 4 pm ET / 3 pm CT. Please note that the 2011-12 IHSAA State Finals Media Credential will NOT allow admission to this event as a specific credential is required – no exceptions. Legitimate working news media should apply for credentials by e-mailing (with name of individual applying) IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille at jwille@ihsaa.org. E-mail requests MUST originate from a recognized business account; e-mails from personal accounts (ie: gmail.com, yahoo.com, aol.com, etc.) will not be accepted. Approved requests will be left to claim by the individual at media will-call at Bankers Life Fieldhouse beginning at 3 pm ET on Friday. Identification is necessary to pick up credentials.

Media Entrance: The media entrance is in the southeast corner of Bankers Life Fieldhouse adjacent to Delaware Street. The door is marked for Employees and Media and is located at the opposite end of the building from the public entrance. Please allow a few extra minutes to pass through security. Media credentials left at will-call are to be claimed at this entrance.

Media Work Room: As in previous years, the media workroom at Conseco Fieldhouse will be open both days and be available to working media members throughout Friday evening and all day on Saturday. The work area contains wireless internet access and complimentary phones that will accept credit card and 800 calls. Soft drinks and snacks will be available.

Mat Access: Bankers Life Fieldhouse will have the hockey boards set up around the perimeter of the wrestling mat area. During the championship round only on Saturday night will credentialed photographers be allowed inside the hockey boards to shoot action mat-side. Other than that, only participants, coaches and fieldhouse workers will have access to the mat area.

Programs: Copies of the official program containing brackets for each weight class and tournament history will be available in the Media Work Room.

Results: Will be updated continuously throughout both days of the tournament on the IHSAA website at www.ihsaa.org. Copies of the updated brackets will also be available in the media work room throughout the two days.

 

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MISHAWAKA’S MICHAEL FAULKNER NAMED TOP WRESTLING OFFICIAL
Michael P. Faulkner of Mishawaka has been named the recipient of the 2012 Interscholastic Athletic Officials Association Award for excellence in the sport of Wrestling.  Faulkner will be honored in a special ceremony at this weekend’s state finals tournament. 

Each year, the Indiana High School Athletic Association, in cooperation with the National Federation of Interscholastic Officials Association, recognizes and honors an outstanding official in each of 11 sports during the school year.

Faulkner has been a wrestling official for 17 years.  During his career, he has worked every level of the state tournament, including 16 sectionals, 15 regionals, nine semi-states and six state finals. 

Faulkner was selected for this honor by a committee representing the officials associations.  In Indiana there are 26 associations made up of men and women who give up much of their personal time to assist in providing wholesome, worthwhile, and healthy activities for the student-athletes in our state.  Statewide, there are more than 8,000 officials licensed by the IHSAA in 11 sports. 

During his 17 years of service, Faulkner served as an IHSAA clinician in 2009, and as a local association clinician for St. Joe Valley in the same year.

Faulker earned a bachelor’s degree in Park and Recreational Leadership Management from Ferris State University in 1992.  He has worked as a Superintendent of Parks and Recreation for the city of Mishawaka for 17 years.  He and his wife Monique have been married for 15 years and have two sons, Austin and Alex.

 

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BOYS BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS SHOW THIS SUNDAY
First round sectional matchups in the 102nd Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament presented by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance will be announced this Sunday (Feb. 19), beginning at 3 pm ET / 2 pm CT. Please note this is a different time than was first published several weeks ago.

The state tournament pairings show may be seen on any of the television or radio affiliates of the IHSAA Champions Network or viewed via webstream at www.ihsaatv.org.

Eight affiliates of the IHSAA Champions Television Network (listed below) will air the 90-minute show throughout the state originating from the Indianapolis studios of WTTV-4, the network’s flagship. Because of prior programming commitments before the time change, Indiana’s News Center 33 in Fort Wayne and WHME 46 in South Bend will air the show at 7 pm / 6 pm CT. Jerry Baker, Steve Witty and Jeremiah Johnson will host the program.

Listeners also may tune into any of the affiliates of the IHSAA Champions Radio Network. Bob Lovell will be the voice announcing the pairings for that program.

At approximately 4:30 pm ET / 3:30 pm CT, complete brackets will be available on the IHSAA website.

State Tournament Information

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BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING SECTIONALS BEGIN THURSDAY
The 75th Annual IHSAA Boys Swimming & Diving Tournament Series gets underway Thursday, Feb. 16, with sectional preliminary heats at 20 sites around the state. Diving prelims and semifinals start Saturday morning, Feb. 18, at each site with consolations and finals in each event scheduled for later in the day. All first place swimming event winners in each sectional will advance to the state meet along with any participant who equals or betters the state time standard in that event’s consolation or championship heat. The next fastest times in each event also will qualify in order to bring the field to 32 entrants.

The top four divers at each sectional will advance to one of four diving regionals slated for Tuesday, Feb. 21, with the top eight advancing to the state meet.

Heat sheets for the state finals and results from each sectional site will be posted to the IHSAA website on Sunday, Feb. 19, as they become available. Diving regional results will be posted on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

This year’s state tournament begins with 231 teams and 2,965 participants.

Sectionals
Dates
Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 (Swimming Preliminaries).
Saturday, Feb. 18, 2012 (Diving, Consolations & Finals in Swimming events).
Admission: $5 per session; $8 both sessions.

State Finals Ticket Information: Unreserved tickets are $8 per session or $12 both days. For the first time, a limited number of $15 reserved season tickets may be purchased online exclusively via the IHSAA e-commerce site at ihsaa.org beginning Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012 at 8 am ET / 7 am CT. Reserved seating for a single session will not be available. Tickets will not be sold over the phone or in person at the IHSAA Office.

Advancement
Swimming
1.   First place sectional winners in each event qualify for the state meet plus
2.   Any contestant who equals or betters the state time standard in their respective event in the consolation finals or championship finals of the sectional qualifies for the state plus. The state standard may not be achieved by a swimmer who is competing as the first leg of a relay.
3.   The next fastest number of contestants in the state that would bring the total number of state meet entrants to thirty-two (32) in each event. In the event that a tie exists for the 32nd position, the state qualifier shall be determined by the fastest preliminary time of both swimmers. If preliminary times are identical, both swimmers shall advance.

Diving
1.   First through fourth place sectional winners will qualify for the diving regional.
2.   First through eighth place regional winners will qualify for the state finals.

State Tournament Information

Notables

Defending Sectional Champions
Bedford North Lawrence, Bloomington South, Carmel, Castle, Center Grove, Chesterton, Franklin Central, Greenfield-Central, Hamilton Southeastern, Homestead, Jeffersonville, Muncie Central, Munster, North Central (Indianapolis), Northridge, Penn, Southmont, Warsaw, West Lafayette, Zionsville.

Active Sectional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)
26: Center Grove, Munster.
19: Hamilton Southeastern.
17: Homestead.
13: Chesterton.
9: Northridge.
7: North Central (Indianapolis).
5: Castle.
4: Bedford North Lawrence, Carmel, Muncie Central, Warsaw.
3: West Lafayette.

Most All-Time Consecutive Sectional Championships
26: Center Grove, Munster (1986-2011).

Top 10 All-Time Sectional Championships
41: Munster.
34: Columbus North.
27: South Bend Riley.
26: Center Grove.
25: Kokomo.
24: Carmel.
23: Valparaiso.
20: Anderson.
19: Castle, Hamilton Southeastern, North Central (Indianapolis), West Lafayette.

 

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GIRLS BASKETBALL REGIONALS THIS SATURDAY
Three teams that played in the 2011 state finals survived last week’s sectional rounds and are among the 64 heading for regional play in the 37th Annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament.

Regional games will be played this Saturday, Feb. 18, at 16 sites in the four classes with two semifinal games early in the day followed by a championship game that evening. The champions will move on to the semi-state round for a single game on Saturday, Feb. 25, with the winners earning a spot in the March 3 state finals at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute.

Penn (4A), last year’s 4A state runner-up, Brownstown Central, last year’s 2A runner-up now playing in 3A, and Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, the defending champion in 2A, each successfully navigated the sectional waters last week.

Two teams – Greenwood (4A) and Centerville (2A) – captured their first sectional championships in school history last Saturday.

Please note that the location of each semi-state game will be announced this Sunday afternoon at IHSAA.org.

Girls Basketball Regionals
Date: Saturday, February 18, 2012.
Admission: $6 per session; $9 both sessions.
Home Team: The second team listed in each game is the designated home team.
Regional, Semi-State, State Brackets: 4A | 3A | 2A | A

Notables

Looking for First Regional Title (18 of 64)
4A: Columbus North, Greenwood, Lawrence North, Michigan City.
3A: Hamilton Heights, Knox, Western.
2A: Bowman Academy, Centerville, Covenant Christian (Indianapolis), Evansville Mater Dei, Wabash.
A: Borden, Clay City, Randolph Southern, Riverton Parke, Tecumseh, West Central.

Looking to Break Regional Championship Drought (Five or More Years)
35: Norwell (1977).
32: Paoli (1980).
30: Sullivan (1982).
25: East Chicago Central (1987).
22: Edgewood (1990).
20: Bedford North Lawrence (1992).
19: Elkhart Memorial (1993).
17: Scottsburg (1995).
14: Morgan Township (1998).
13: Fremont, Madison, Park Tudor, Tri-West Hendricks, Triton Central (1999).
12: Barr-Reeve, Seeger (2000).
11: Jasper, Lebanon, South Ripley, Tipton (2001).
10: Gibson Southern (2002).
8: Southwestern (Shelbyville) (2004).
7: Mount Vernon (Fortville), North Central (Indianapolis), NorthWood (2005).
6: Castle, Lafayette Central Catholic (2006).
5: Anderson, Oregon-Davis, South Bend St. Joseph’s (2007).

Defending Regional Champions Still Alive (8 of 16)
4A: McCutcheon, Penn.
3A: Brownstown Central (2A last year), Fort Wayne Concordia.
2A: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, Winchester.
A: Fort Wayne Canterbury, Jac-Cen-Del.

Active Regional Championship Streaks (Three or more years)
4: Fort Wayne Canterbury.

Most Consecutive Regional Championships
6 by Pike Central (1990-95); 6 by NorthWood (1994-99).

Top 10 All-Time Regional Championship Leaders
12: Ben Davis, Kokomo.
11: Valparaiso.
10: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, NorthWood, Rushville, Scottsburg.
9: Anderson, Bedford North Lawrence, Benton Central, Mooresville.

2011 State Finals Teams Still Alive (3 of 8)
4A: Penn.
3A: Brownstown Central (played in 2A in 2011).
2A: Fort Wayne Bishop Luers.
A: None.

First-Time Sectional Champions
4A: Greenwood.
3A: None.
2A: Centerville.
A: None.

 

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STATE STATISTICAL LEADERS
The following lists of statistical leaders are compiled by VarVee.com, the IHSAA’s official statistics gathering partner. The IHSAA encourages each of its member schools to participate by registering at www.varvee.com and updating statistics by each Monday through the end of the season.

Girls Swimming & Diving: State Leaders
Boys Swimming & Diving: State Leaders
Wrestling: State Leaders
Girls Basketball: State Leaders
Boys Basketball: State Leaders

 

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NEWS & NOTES FROM AROUND THE STATE
The following items were submitted to the IHSAA. Have an interesting note? A conference or school record, coaching milestone or something else of interest? Please e-mail IHSAA Sports Information Director Jason Wille at jwille@ihsaa.org.

Chad Dockery has accepted the head football coaching position at Mooresville High School. Dockery comes to Mooresville from Woodmont High School in Greenville, South Carolina, where he has served as the head football coach and director of strength and conditioning for the past two years. Dockery is originally from Evansville and was a standout football player, wrestler and ran track at Evansville Memorial High School. Chad’s father Bruce is the head girls basketball coach and Athletic Director at Evansville Memorial.

On Saturday, April 21 the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association will induct four new members into the ISSA Hall-Of-Fame and present four other awards to outstanding professionals during its annual banquet at the Wyndham Hotel in Indianapolis. The four new Hall-Of-Famers are Bill Bilinski of the South Bend Tribune, Mike Knezevich, Steve Warden of the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette and the late Dave Niehaus who was the voice of the Seattle Mariners for 34 years. In addition, Pete DiPrimio will receive the Corky Lamm Award, John McCrory, of WSVX Radio, will receive the Marvin Bates Award, Tom Zupancic, of the Indianapolis Colts, will receive the Helping Hand Award and Lee Kelly will receive the Distinguished Service Award.

Northfield coach Moe Smedley recently won his 400th career victory with a 62-39 win over North Miami on Jan 17. Smedley is 89-83 in his eighth year at the school and 405-322 in his 33rd year overall. He also won the 2000 state championship at Marion.

In Eastern Hancock’s 92-91 boys basketball win over Alexandria on Tuesday night, two players scored 50 or more points in the same game. There have been a couple of instances where two different players have hit for 50+ on the same day but, records show, never in the same game. Victor Vincz, Eastern Hancock's junior guard, dropped 52 points while Alexandria senior Mitch Yeagy scored 51. Vincz's game broke a school record set by Dustin Smith that lasted 14 months. Yeagy's game was, naturally, also a season-high and school record. Vincz finished with 52 points, 17-of-25 FG, 7-of-8 3FG, 11-of-12 FT (and 5 assists). Yeagy (Alex) ended with 51 points, 15-of-25 FG, 4-of-7 3FG, 17-of-19 FT (and 6 assists). You can read about the game from HancockCountySports.com here or the Anderson Herald-Bulletin’s story here.

For the Goal Post Football Player of the Year Awards and the National Football Foundation – Indiana Chapter’s annual Scholar Athlete Awards, visit here.

 

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About the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA)
Founded in 1903, the purpose of the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. (IHSAA) is to encourage, regulate and give direction to wholesome amateur interschool athletic competition between its 408 member schools. The Association provides state championship tournament series in 20 sports, 10 for girls and 10 for boys. Approximately 160,000 student athletes participate in IHSAA sports on an annual basis.

Media Contacts
Jason Wille, Sports Information Director or Chris Kaufman, Communications Director
Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.
PO Box 40650, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240-0650
317-846-6601
jwille@ihsaa.org or ckaufman@ihsaa.org