By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor
Top-ranked Mishawaka posted a perfect 5-0 record, including a dominating 42-17 victory over No. 2 defending state champion Crown Point in the championship match, to once again walk away with the team title at the annual Chris Traicoff Invitational (aka “The Meat Grinder”) held Dec. 12 at Calumet.
The Cavemen had little trouble all day long, their closest match coming in a 39-24 fourth-round conquest of No. 13 Portage. Mishawaka’s other victories were against Highland (66-6), Westfield (57-7), and 10th-ranked Franklin (45-11).
Crown Point finished 4-1 on the day (more on the Bulldogs later), while Portage (3-2) wrapped up third place with a 39-31 victory over Franklin (2-3). No. 14 Lawrence North (4-1) finished fifth with a narrow 35-34 upset of No. 7 Indianapolis Cathedral (3-2).
“We have been looking forward to the Calumet tournament all year – it is one of the best tournaments in the state the entire year,” said Mishawaka coach Darrick Snyder, whose Cavemen are itching to get back to the team state finals after winning in 2008 but getting upset, 31-30, in the opening quarterfinal round a year ago by Cathedral. “We wrestled some great teams, and I am very proud of how hard and well our guys wrestled and the manner in which they conducted themselves.
“We pride ourselves on team wrestling at Mishawaka. We enjoyed the wins, but we are going back to work with two huge dual meets this week.”
The Cavemen will wrestle Dec. 17 at No. 16 rival Penn before returning to the mat the next night against the Lowell Red Arrows, the returning Michigan state champion.
In the battle for the crown at Calumet, Mishawaka spotted Crown Point a 3-0 lead after the opening match at 189 pounds before rallying with a pair of first-period pins by No. 2-ranked senior Christian Lentz (now 11-0 this season at 215) and No. 2-ranked senior Travis Thomas (also 11-0 at heavyweight).
Crown Point answered with victories by all three of its top-ranked wrestlers – decisions by 119-pound senior Anthony Hawkins and sophomore Jason Tsirtsis at 130, a 21-5 technical fall for 145-pound junior Eric Roach – but Mishawaka would take seven of the other eight matches.
Four of those victories were by decision, with pins by No. 2 senior Ryan Stahl (10-1) at 152 and No. 7 senior Richard Morin (9-0) at 171 plus a forfeit victory for second-ranked 112-pound senior Paul Beck (11-0).
All things considered, a second-place finish in the state’s toughest regular-season tournament was an excellent outing for Crown Point. The Bulldogs lost seven starting wrestlers to graduation from last year’s season for the ages, and they had another out due to injury Saturday.
“We wrestled some tough teams,” Crown Point coach Scott Vlink told nwitimes.com. “We have eight new guys in the lineup, and six are sophomores. There’s nothing to be disappointed in when you look at our efforts.”
Crown Point opened with a 69-12 win over Lake Station before thumping Munster, 46-21. A 36-25 come-from-behind victory over Portage – the Bulldogs trailed 23-9 before catching fire – preceded a 46-15 beatdown of Franklin, setting the state for a rematch of last year’s championship against Mishawaka.
The end result a year ago was a 39-28 win for the Cavemen. But we all remember that Crown Point rebounded to capture the school’s first state championship in late February at Center Grove with victories over Roncalli, Cathedral, and Perry Meridian.
Five Bulldogs – Hawkins, Tsirtsis, 140-pound Josh Flamme, Roach, and 189 Tyler Kral – went 5-0 at Calumet.
“You come to this thing, and it definitely pushes you to get better,” Tsirtsis, the defending 125-pound state champ who had four pins on the day, told nwitimes.com. “It’s definitely the toughest dual meet (tournament) in the state.
“It wasn’t the finish we wanted as a team, but we’ll get there.”
Portage’s top-ranked 160-pound senior, two-time deending state champion Sean McMurray, defeated No. 2 sophomore Tyler Willis of Cathedral and Mishawaka’s Stahl en route to being named the event’s outstanding wrestler.
“This tournament is a lot of my wrestling memories – you always wrestle some of the best (kids) the state has to offer, and I’ve taken some beatings here, too,” McMurray told nwitimes.com. “We struggled a little today, but this tournament tells you where you’re at because you’re facing top-notch competition.”
The Michigan State-bound McMurray was 49-0 last year in taking it all at 152, and he was the 135 champ in 2008 after a 33-4 season. McMurray survived Willis with a 1-0 win in Round 2, then came back to defeat Stahl (who bumped up to face McMurray) by a 4-0 count in Round 4.
“(Willis) didn’t really do anything – it’s hard to score when they just stay back and try to block everything,” McMurray told nwitimes.com. “I wasn’t worried because I don’t think anybody in the state can take me down.
“They say he’s going to be in the state finals, so we’ll see.”
Finally, Lawrence North coach Jared Williams was happy with how his inexperienced bunch of Wildcats competed most of the day.
“It’s probably the toughest day of wrestling in Indiana all year, and it really tests the toughness of your team,” Williams said. “It is especially difficult when you have a team as young as we do.
“But our kids responded well to a couple very close losses and finished the day with a great win over a good Cathedral team.”
The complete Traicoff Invitational results, courtesy of IndianaMat.com:
Results from the championship match:
#1 Mishawaka 42, #2 Crown Point 17
189 Tyler Kral (CP) dec. Abu-shehab, 6-1 (CP, 3-0)
215 #2 Christian Lentz (Mish) pin Hannon, n/a (Mish, 6-3)
Hwt #2 Travis Thomas (Mish) pin Swope, n/a (Mish, 12-3)
103 Martsolf (Mish) dec. Saroff, 4-2 (Mish, 15-3)
112 #2 Paul Beck (Mish) won by forfeit (Mish, 21-3)
119 #1 Anthony Hawkins (CP) dec. #19 Layten Binion, 3-1 (Mish, 21-6)
125 Wisler (Mish) dec. Dusty Schurg, 6-1 (Mish, 24-6)
130 #1 (at 135) Jason Tsirtsis (CP) dec. #5 Nick Schrader, 3-1 (Mish, 24-9)
135 #11 (at 130) Matt Guerra (Mish) dec. #9 (at 140) Dallas Schurg, 5-2 (Mish, 27-9)
140 Josh Flamme (CP) dec. Eddy, 4-2 (Mish, 27-12)
145 #1 Eric Roach (CP) tech fall over Reinhohl, 21-5 (Mish, 27-17)
152 #2 Ryan Stahl (Mish) pin Tom Renn, n/a (Mish, 33-17)
160 #9 Alex White (Mish) dec. Cope, 6-3 (Mish, 36-17)
171 #7 Richard Morin (Mish) pin Langbehn, n/a (Mish, 42-17)
The round-by-round results:
First round
#2 Crown Point 69, Lake Station 12
Munster 32, Lafayette Jefferson 22
#7 Indianapolis Cathedral 59, Valparaiso 18
#10 Franklin 62, Lowell 9
#14 Lawrence North 54, Floyd Central 21
Westfield 54, Southmont 18
#1 Mishawaka 66, Highland 6
#13 Portage 54, Calumet 18
Second round
#10 Franklin 31, #14 Lawrence North 27
#13 Portage 34, #7 Indianapolis Cathedral 33
#1 Mishawaka 57, Westfield 7
Calumet 48, Valparaiso 31
#2 Crown Point 46, Munster 21
Southmont 45, Highland 21
Lafayette Jefferson 75, Lake Station 6
Floyd Central 49, Lowell 30
Third round
#1 Mishawaka 45, #10 Franklin 11
Lowell 39, Highland 38
Valparaiso 63, Lake Station 18
#14 Lawrence North 35, Westfield 34
#7 Indianapolis Cathedral 39, Munster 22
Calumet 33, Lafayette Jefferson 30
#2 Crown Point 36, #13 Portage 25
Southmont 40, Floyd Central 30
Fourth round
#1 Mishawaka 39, #13 Portage 24
Lowell 54, Lake Station 27
Valparaiso 37, Highland 33
#2 Crown Point 46, #10 Franklin 15
#7 Indianapolis Cathedral 35, Westfield 31
Lafayette Jefferson 49, Floyd Central 21
#14 Lawrence North 43, Munster 27
Calumet 54, Southmont 24
Championship round
#1 Mishawaka 42, #2 Crown Point 17 (championship)
#13 Portage 39, #10 Franklin 31 (third place)
#14 Lawrence North 35, #7 Indianapolis Cathedral 34 (fifth place)
Calumet 43, Floyd Central 25 (seventh place)
Lafayette Jefferson 38, Southmont 21 (ninth place)
Westfield 37, Munster 24 (11th place)
Valparaiso 42, Lowell 31 (13th place)
Highland 42, Lake Station 36 (15th place)
Crown Point’s other results (thank you, DuneFan!):
#2 Crown Point 69, Lake Station 12
145 #1 Roach (CP) pin Chris Wall 6-0
152 Renn (CP) dec. Jack Hammons 10-5 9-0
160 Chris Hammons (LS) pin Cope 9-6
171 Langbehn (CP) forfeit 15-6
189 Kral (CP) forfeit 21-6
215 Hannon (CP) pin Moyet 27-6
Hwt Amaya (LS) pin Swope 2-12
103 Saroff (CP) forfeit 33-12
112 Harvey (CP) forfeit 39-12
119 #1 Hawkins (CP) forfeit 45-12
125 Dusty Schurg (CP) forfeit 51-12
130 #1 (at 135) Tsirtsis (CP) pin Clark 57-12
135 #9 (at 140) Dallas Schurg (CP) forfeit 63-12
140 Flamme (CP) pin Rosendahl 69-12
#2 Crown Point 46, Munster 21
152 Renn (CP) dec. Slosser 9-4 3-0
160 #5 (at 152) Alex Surma (Munster) forfeit 3-6
171 Cope (CP) dec. Musgrove 4-3 6-6
189 Kral (CP) pin Lucas 12-6
215 Seaman (Munster) pin Hannon 12-12
Hwt Kerrick (Munster) dec. Swope 3-1 12-15
103 #12 Ivan Ruiz (Munster) dec. Saroff 1-0 12-18
112 #12 Aurelio Medina (Munster) dec. Harvey 4-1 12-21
119 #1 Hawkins (CP) forfeit 18-21
125 Dusty Schurg (CP) pin Cecil 24-21
130 #1 (at 135) Tsirtsis (CP) pin Flores 30-21
135 #9 (at 140) Dallas Schurg (CP) pin Boelt 36-21
140 Flamme (CP) major dec. Smith 11-0 40-21
145 #1 Roach (CP) pin Henderson 46-21
#2 Crown Point 36, #13 Portage 25
160 Torres (Portage) dec. Cope 4-2 0-3
171 #1 (at 160) Sean McMurray (Portage) pin Langbehn 0-9
189 Kral (CP) pin King 6-9
215 Fischer (Portage) major dec. Hannon 13-4 6-13
Hwt Devyak (Portage) pin Swope 6-19
103 Saroff (CP) dec. Torres 4-3 9-19
112 #11 Brandon Coppinger (Portage) major dec. Harvey 14-6 9-23
119 #1 Hawkins (CP) dec. Torres 3-1 11-23 (penalty point to CP)
125 Dusty Schurg (CP) pin Spence 17-22 (penalty point to Portage)
130 #1 (at 135) Tsirtsis (CP) pin Blackwell 23-22
135 #13 (at 140) Luis Acuna (Portage) dec. #9 (at 140) Dallas Schurg, 2-0 (OT) 23-25 (overtime)
140 Flamme (CP) tech fall over Wilson 16-1 28-25
145 #1 Roach (CP) tech fall over Thorn 21-6 33-25
152 Renn (CP) dec. Keil 6-5 36-25
#2 Crown Point 46, #10 Franklin 15
171 Bass (Franklin) pin Langbehn 0-6
189 Kral (CP) pin Coulter 6-6
215 Knura (Franklin) pin Hannon 6-12
Hwt Kernodle (Franklin) dec. Swope 2-1 (OT) 6-15
103 Saroff (CP) dec. Pettijohn 7-3 9-15
112 Harvey (CP) major dec. Midkirk 12-3 13-15
119 #1 Hawkins (CP) pin Torrance 19-15
125 Dusty Schurg (CP) dec. Kreich 7-4 22-15
130 #1 (at 135) Tsirtsis (CP) pin Schofield 28-15
135 #9 (at 140) Dallas Schurg (CP) dec. Van Horn 6-2 31-15
140 Flamme (CP) dec. Bowman 7-3 34-15
145 #1 Roach (CP) pin Dickinson 40-15
152 Renn (CP) dec. Vaught 4-2 43-15
160 Cope (CP) dec. Hessman 6-4 46-15
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