By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor
Top-ranked host Mishawaka outclassed 31 other schools Dec. 30-31 en route to the team title at the annual Al Smith Invitational. The defending state champ Cavemen compiled 216 points to outpoint runner-up No. 11 Lawrence North (171).
The margin of victory was less than half of defending champion Mishawaka’s dominant 92.5-point gap from last year, when Mishawaka defeated Bellmont. The Cavemen managed but one individual crown this time around, compared with five a year ago.
Lawrence North (171 points) and unranked Lowell (13th with 104) each crowned a pair of champions to lead the field. The Wildcats slipped past a pair of higher-ranked schools – third-place No. 6 Bellmont (169) and seventh-ranked Merrillville (165.5) in fourth – for runner-up honors.
No. 16 Penn (142) finished fifth, with No. 14 Center Grove (134) sixth and No. 20 South Bend Riley downing 17th-ranked Elkhart Memorial by one point (132.5 to 131.5) for seventh.
In the two-day tournament’s marquee showdown at 130 pounds, defending 119 state champion Cashe’ Quiroga of Lawrence North outlasted three-time state champ Josh Harper of Mishawaka, 2-1. And the Wildcats’ second-ranked Brandon Nelson decisioned No. 5 Paul Beck of Mishawaka in overtime, 2-0, at 112.
The finals sweep of Cavemen helped ease the pain of playing second fiddle to two-time state champ Mishawaka (1991, 2008) for the Wildcats, themselves a four-time state champion (1992, 1993, 2004, 2005).
Lowell’s victories came at 119 from No. 10 Jake Lamb, a 6-3 upset winner over ninth-ranked Matt Milton of Center Grove, and from No. 7 Kurt Monix’s 14-3 major decision at 160 over No. 14 Quinn Kurtz of Prairie Heights.
Other huge showdowns on the day included the meet’s other defending state champ Steven Sandefer of Mishawaka decisioning Elkhart Memorial’s No. 7 Ryan Stahl 4-2 at 140, Hobart’s third-ranked 135-pound Johnny Dillon’s 4-3 upset of No. 2 Taylor March of East Noble, and No. 3 (at 119) Justin Brooks of Warsaw decisioning No. 4 Anthony Napules of Merrillville 8-5 at 125.
Zack Corpe, Elkhart Memorial’s 11th-ranked 145-pounder, was named the meet’s outstanding wrestler after a slew of pins. That included a finals stick of Lawrence North’s Matt Goodwin in 69 seconds.
Team scores
1. #1 Mishawaka 216
2. #11 Lawrence North 171
3. #6 Bellmont 169
4. #7 Merrillville 165.5
5. #16 Penn 142
6. #14 Center Grove 134
7. #20 South Bend Riley 132.5
8. #17 Elkhart Memorial 131.5
9. Chesterton 125.5
10. Peru 109.5
11. East Noble 105.5
12. Hobart 104.5
13. Lowell 104
14. Warsaw 103.5
15. Princeton 96
16. Prairie Heights 93
17. Jimtown 84
18. Jasper 80
19. Benton Central 77
20. New Prairie 73
21. Lake Central 63
21. Lawrence Central 63
23. Calumet 59
24. Goshen 55
25. Southport 53
26. Columbus East 51
27. NorthWood 49
28. Rochester 47.5
29. South Bend Adams 46
30. Valparaiso 41.5
31. LaPorte 38.5
32. South Bend St. Joseph’s 25
Stay tuned for LOTS more (including final team scores); till then, here’s a look at results from the Dec. 31 championship-round matches plus team scores after Day 1:
Individual results from Wednesday’s championship bouts:
103: #5 Kyle Ayersmen, Lake Central, dec. #4 Zack Stevens, Merrillville 6-3
112: #2 Brandon Nelson, Lawrence North, dec. #5 Paul Beck, Mishawaka 2-0 (OT)
119: #10 Jake Lamb, Lowell, dec. #9 Matt Milton, Center Grove 6-3
125: #3 (at 119) Justin Brooks, Warsaw, dec. #4 Anthony Napules, Merrillville 8-5
130: #1 (at 125) Cashe’ Quiroga, Lawrence North, dec. #1 (at 130) Josh Harper, Mishawaka 2-1
135: #3 Johnny Dillon, Hobart, dec. #2 Taylor March, East Noble 4-3
140: #1 Steven Sandefer, Mishawaka, dec. #7 Ryan Stahl, Elkhart Memorial 4-2
145: #12 Zack Corpe, Elkhart Memorial, pin Matt Goodwin, Lawrence North 1:09
152: Drake Stein, Princeton, major dec. Dustin Kern, Peru 10-1
160: #7 Kurt Monix, Lowell major dec. #14 Quinn Kurtz, Prairie Heights 14-3
171: #4 Shelby Mappes, Center Grove, dec. #5 George Lopez, NorthWood 3-2
189: #15 Travis Kepner, Benton Central, dec. Daniel Sandberg, Lawrence Central 9-7
215: #1 Billy Baker, Bellmont, dec. #2 Nathan Cleveland, Lowell 2-1
Heavyweight: #9 James Travis, Merrillville, dec. #10 Travis Thomas, Mishawaka 4-2
Team scores (after Day 1)
1. #1 Mishawaka 137
2. #6 Bellmont 115
3. #7 Merrillville 110.5
4. #11 Lawrence North 109
5. #16 Penn 106.5
6. #20 South Bend Riley 96.5
7. #17 Elkhart Memorial 94.5
8. #14 Center Grove 86
9. Chesterton 84.5
10. East Noble 83.5
11. Peru 81.5
12. Hobart 75.5
13. Jasper 74
13. Warren Central 74
15. Prairie Heights 68
16. Princeton 67
17. Benton Central 62
18. Lowell 61
18. New Prairie 61
20. Jimtown 57
21. Columbus East 51
21. Goshen 51
23. Southport 50
24. Lawrence Central 48
25. Calumet 45
26. Lake Central 42
26. South Bend Adams 42
28. Valparaiso 41.5
29. Richmond 39.5
30. NorthWood 38
31. LaPorte 37.5
32. South Bend St. Joseph’s 25
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