Wrestlers take the plunge at state today [Kokomo Tribune, Ind.]

Feb. 19--The IHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals begin today.

Austin Waite doesn't need a reminder. Neither does Montrail Johnson.

For the two juniors making their first trip to state, it's been on their minds constantly.

Just how long does Waite dwell on state each day?

"Oh, about 25 hours," the Maconaquah 135-pounder quipped.

School work is harder the week before state. A wrestler has focused his whole season, whole year, perhaps years and years of his life at what happens this weekend in Indianapolis. It's hard to get away from the thought of it.

"I even woke up halfway asleep and was thinking about how I've got to wrestle," said Johnson, a Tri-Central 145-pounder. "I've just been thinking about it a lot."

The waiting ends today. Wrestlers hit the floor at Conseco Fieldhouse at 6 p.m. Today's survivors advance to Saturday's place rounds where they'll hash out their spots on the podium and crown a champion.

Along with Waite and Johnson, two veterans return as Kokomo 215-pounder Dylan Green heads back after taking eighth last season, and Peru's Dalton Sparks, another in the 145-pound field, returns after taking a sixth-place medal last year.

DYLAN Green, 215 pounds

The Wildkat senior is a veteran of the state meet, and is no stranger to the anticipation. He said he's thinking about state "every day, all the time."

He made the trip last season, so he and Kokomo coach Ryan Wells know what to expect, and what they'll have to contend with even before Green takes to the mat.

"It was probably one of the neatest experiences of my life," Wells said of last year's trip and the parade of wrestlers and coaches that kicks off the meet. "Not quite making it as a wrestler [when I was in school], my goal was to make it as a coach. For me to make it my first year was awesome. When we were doing the parade of champions, it felt like my feet were about 12 inches above the ground -- I was floating."

Wells said that going through that last year will make it easier on Green to focus on the task at hand this season.

"He knows what to expect now," Wells said. "We're not going to be in awe of the building and all the people this year. Last year, it was great to be there, this year, we expect to be there and we're not even close to being done with our job."

Green doesn't have trouble focusing when the time comes to take to the mat. He said he was nervous when he entered the arena floor last year, but that went away.

"You just clear your mind and think about the task at hand," Green said.

The task at hand today for the 48-0 Fort Wayne Semistate champion is Penn's Devin Reagan (28-11). Wells has had Green concentrating on the strengths that have helped him stay unbeaten all season. He expects Green to pressure opponents, score when it's open, and not give up any two-point moves.

"A lot of people want to learn a lot of advanced stuff, but the basic moves are what you see all day on the mat Friday and Saturday," Green said. "The basic stuff's going to work all the time."

Making those basic elements effective against the top level of competition is where the challenge comes in. Green knows that opponents get more difficult each round as they clash for the one prize every competitor wants.

"It gets better and better as it goes on," he said. "You're at the show now, the last meet, and everybody's there to win a state championship."

Austin Waite, 135 pounds

Waite hasn't wrestled on the mats at state, but has learned from facing state-bound competition at the Fort Wayne Semistate last week, where he took third. That has given Waite (29-1) a healthy respect for what he'll contend with today when he faces Jeffersonville's Renaldo Weekley (45-7).

"They're all just as good as you if not better," he said of the state finalists. "It's going to take not just six minutes of wrestling, but six minutes of hard wrestling, being aware during all those minutes."

Having the right mentality is a key.

"Knowing that you can beat anybody, but knowing that anybody can beat you," he said. "Knowing that you can stick with them. If you go out there with the mindset that 'oh, I'm screwed, I can't beat this kid' you're not going to win. Having that mindset is absolutely essential."

Waite entered last week's semistate unbeaten but lost 6-5 in the semifinal round to Yorktown's Andrew Hiestand before rebounding in the third-place match.

"I think that helped me," he said. "[The semifinal] was still a great match, I was close and the kid I lost to is definitely state material. I think it really helped me because it woke me up to think that I could stick with these guys. Before, I thought 'man these guys are good.' But now I know I can wrestle with those guys."

He admitted that prior to taking his loss, there was an added pressure of maintaining his unbeaten run. Now that that's over, he's free to focus on opponents.

"He's got to focus on his stuff, things that made him the Austin Waite-type wrestler that he is," Maconaquah coach Bob Freije said.

The coach said Waite's strengths are his takedowns and overall skills. He'll need that skill set to beat opponents at state.

Freije said the difference between the top flight and the rest is "the speed. Each week it gets faster and faster. One small mistake gets huge. There's not much time for error."

Montrail Johnson, 145 pounds

The TC wrestler has looked forward to school days because while state can weigh on the mind in class, each day of school is a day closer to Conseco Fieldhouse. That's where Johnson (45-1) meets South Bend Clay's Laquan Lunford (43-1) in today's opening round.

Like Waite, Johnson suffered his first loss of the season in the semifinal round of the New Castle Semistate, edged out by unbeaten Hamilton Southeastern senior Pat Robinson, a state qualifier last season.

Johnson got plenty out of the experience. Not only did he get his ticket to Conseco at the semistate, he got a grasp on what it takes to survive.

"I'm going to have to be tough, and when times get tough, don't give up any shots," he said. "[I have to] set up my shots and be tough and fast and smarter, and try to trick them, catch them off guard."

That reliance on toughness has carried him this season. Last year he lost at the regionals and the experience fueled him. Over the regular season, when in difficult moments on the mat, he thought about how he'd never make it to state if he gave in.

"Every time I thought about quitting, it just pushed me harder," Johnson said.

Wrestling at the semistate was valuable not just for the exposure to top talent.

"I think it shows him where he was at too," TC coach Scott Walls said of Johnson. "Wrestling with the kid who was undefeated and it being such a close match, and that kid was a state qualifier last year. I think he knows he has enough to hang with those guys and even beat them. Even though he lost the match, I think it was a confidence booster."

It certainly was. Johnson hasn't spent the week nervous, instead he's eager.

"I'm more confident because I feel I've prepared enough to go and wrestle at this level," he said. "I believe I belong here. I just have to wrestle like I can."

Walls thinks that can carry him to Saturday's place rounds.

"I think the main thing is, if in his mind mentally he is confident and doesn't let his nerves get to him too much, I think he's going to be fine," Walls said. "I think he's got the talent to get him through the next round, and hopefully into the finals."

DALTON SPARKS, 145 POUNDS

The Bengal was sixth at the same weight last season. Ever since, he's been focused on training for this weekend. Peru coach Andy Hobbs has seen the senior take a big step forward.

"[He's improved] quite a bit. Last year, he sort of got hot at the right time," Hobbs said. The coach ticked off a string of camps and events Sparks attended including junior nationals in Delaware, Team Indiana work and an intense 28-day camp at the University of Minnesota. "The only time he's had off since last season was cross country. He's put every ounce of himself into being as good as he can be."

Sparks won the semistate title at Fort Wayne and takes a 43-3 record against Evansville Memorial's Matthew Prasek (38-10) this evening. After facing several elite wrestlers last season and this, Sparks understands what he has to do to win.

"You just have to have constant pressure on top, you have to be able to not only not get taken down, but take the other kid down, and you have to be able to get up from bottom. You can't relax in any position."

Hobbs knows what he wants to see.

"He's going to have to bring the offense all the time," he said. "It's another loaded weight class, stacked up with a bunch of good kids. You've got to put three or four matches together at a very, very high level, which is not easy to do, score first and [use] a lot of pressure. That's always our tactic."

Sparks noted that the weight class features three unbeaten competitors and a couple who he's lost to at some point in his career. After his experience last year, he feels up to the challenge.

"I know if I wrestle tough, I can beat any of them, so it gives me more confidence," he said.

All that remains is waiting for the state meet to begin.

"It's on my mind all the time," Sparks said. "I'm really anxious and excited and I can't wait for it to come."

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