News

Two of four Indianapolis Cathedral wrestlers earned state titles during the championship round on Saturday night helping the Irish repeat as IHSAA state champions at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Elliott Rodgers and Jordan Slivka won the 152 and 160 pound crowns, respectively, in back-to-back matches helping Cathedral accumulate 78 points to top the field and edge runner-up Avon with 72 points. It was the school's third state championship in the sport, all in the last six years under coach Sean McGinley.

Rodgers earned a sudden victory (9-7) over Greenfield-Central's Cooper Noehre in the 152 pound final and Slivka followed with his second straight title, a 12-7 decision over Donnell Washington of Portage at 160 pounds. Slivka had won it all at 145 last year.

Two other Irish wrestlers settled for runner-up finishes as Zeke Seltzer fell to Jacob Moran of Portage 3-0 in the 113 pound final. It was Moran's second title after winning at 106 in 2018. Alex Mosconi was the other Cathedral wrestler who lost a 5-2 decision to Evansville Mater Dei's Matthew Lee. It was the second straight year Mosconi came up short in a final match having finished as runner-up at 132 last season.

Avon's Asa Garcia capped his high school career with his third championship in four years pinning Roncalli's Alec Viduya at the 1:23 mark in the 132 match. Garcia had won the 106 crown as a freshman and won it all at 126 last year. Viduya had been looking for his second title after winning at 113 pounds in 2017.

Carson Brewer walked away with the 182 pound crown following a 6-2 decision over Andrew Donahue of Culver Academies, joining Garcia as an Avon state champion.

Columbus East also tallied two champions as Cayden Rooks won the second title of his career with a 9-2 victory over Braxton Alexander of Wawasee at 138 pounds. It was the third straight trip to a final match for Rooks. Nick South was the other Olympian earning top prize with an 11-0 major decision over Clayton Fielden of Garrett at 170.

The 81st Annual IHSAA Wrestling State Finals
Feb. 15-16, 2019
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

Top 10 Teams     
1.   Indianapolis Cathedral: 78
2.   Avon: 72
T3. Brownsburg: 65
T3. Evansville Mater Dei: 65
5.   Columbus East: 61
6.   Roncalli: 53
7.   Portage: 41.5
8.   Culver Academies: 39.5
9.   Perry Meridian: 39
10. Jimtown: 36

State Championship Match Results
106: Brennen Cernus (9) Culver Academies (38-2) def. Alexzander Cottey (10) Perry Meridian (41-1) dec. 6-0.
113: Jacob Moran (12) Portage (37-1) def. Zeke Seltzer (9) Indianapolis Cathedral (42-2) dec. 3-0.
120: Brayden Littell (11) Center Grove (44-0) def. Blake Boarman (10) Evansville Memorial (40-2) dec. 9-3.
126: Jesse Mendez (9) Crown Point (42-0) def. Raymond Rioux (11) Avon (42-4) dec. 6-0.
132: Asa Garcia (12) Avon (46-1) def. Alec Viduya (11) Roncalli (41-2) Fall 1:23.
138: Cayden Rooks (12) Columbus East (43-1) def. Braxton Alexander (12) Wawasee (38-2) dec. 9-2.
145: Matthew Lee (11) Evansville Mater Dei (41-0) def. Alex Mosconi (12) Indianapolis Cathedral (42-4) dec. 5-2.
152: Elliott Rodgers (11) Indianapolis Cathedral (41-4) def. Cooper Noehre (11) Greenfield-Central (41-4) Sudden Victory-1 9-7.
160: Jordan Slivka (12) Indianapolis Cathedral (36-3) def. Donnell Washington, Jr. (12) Portage (37-2) dec. 12-7.
170: Nick South (12) Columbus East (44-0) def. Clayton Fielden (11) Garrett (40-4) major dec. 11-0.
182: Carson Brewer (12) Avon (42-0) def. Andrew Donahue (9) Culver Academies (39-3) dec. 6-2.
195: Silas Allred (11) Shenandoah (35-0) def. Nick Willham (12) Greenwood Community (36-3) major dec. 11-2.
220: Arthur (AJ) Fowler (12) Calumet (43-2) def. Lawson Aiken (12) Brownsburg (34-5) Fall 5:48.
285: Dorian Keys (11) Brownsburg (39-4) def. Alex Cartwright (12) LaVille (32-1) dec. 3-2.

Hunter Watts of Jimtown wins Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award
Senior Hunter Watts of Jimtown High School was recognized following the state finals by the IHSAA Executive Committee as this year’s winner of the Mental Attitude Award, named in honor of Ward E. Brown.

Watts was a place-winner all four years of high school topped by last year’s 120 pound state championship. He finished as the runner-up at 113 in 2017, sixth at 106 in 2016 and capped his career today with a third place finish at 126. Watts has received several awards during his tenure at Jimtown including three-time Most Valuable Wrestler for his team, the Elkhart Kiwanis Student Athlete of the Winter 2018, and the Northern Indiana Conference MVP for 2018-2019.

Hunter has worked with the Jimtown Wrestling Club over the last four years in the off-season, serving as a coach, referee and mentor to hundreds of kids in the community.

Academically, Watts is 12th in his class of 147 students with a 4.04 GPA. He has received Academic All-Conference honors from the Northern Indiana Conference, as well as receiving Academic All-State honors twice from the IHSWCA.

Watts is the son of Jason and Rachel Watts of Elkhart, Indiana. After graduating from Jimtown, he will attend Central Michigan University and pursue a degree in Engineering or Business. Watts will wrestle for the Chippewas next year.

Each year the IHSAA Executive Committee selects a senior who was nominated by his principal and coach and was determined to have best demonstrated mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the proud corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented $1,000 to Jimtown High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Hunter Watts. The award is named in honor of the IHSAA's fourth commissioner who served from 1969-76.