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State Champions crowned in Boys Wrestling
INDIANAPOLIS - The Center Grove Trojans needed a hero to emerge, anyone to turn the tide once and for all.
Junior Sean Breedlove volunteered for the job.
With two-time defending state champion Brownsburg ahead 133.5-133.0 in the point standings after trailing 127.0-117.5 prior to the championship finals, Breedlove came to the rescue and secured Center Grove’s first-ever wrestling team state title Saturday night inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 137.0-133.5.
Entering the championship round, both Center Grove and Brownsburg placed four wrestlers in the finals apiece, and the top-ranked Bulldogs responded by winning three of four individual state crowns, including two head-to-head with the Trojans.
Breedlove’s 175-pound title match was third-ranked Center Grove’s last hope. The program’s last shot to fend off a potential fourth consecutive runner-up finish and a three-peat for the Bulldogs.
“I don’t know what it was, but I felt like I knew it was going to come down to me,” said Breedlove, who was making his first-career state finals appearance. “I didn’t really feel pressure at all. I just felt motivation. I didn’t have pressure. I was ready to go get after it.”
Breedlove (38-0) led his finals match against Garrett senior Carter Fielden (44-3), 3-0, early in the first period and 6-5 in the second until the duo deadlocked 6-6 in the third.
A pair of takedowns by Breedlove in the final 1:26 settled the match and the team race, as the state’s top-ranked 175-pounder, according to IndianaMat.com, won by decision 12-8.
“To get it after three years in a row in second place and now be state champions. Yeah, it’s awesome,” Breedlove said. “I’m so happy. This is amazing.”
In 2022-23, Center Grove finished second to Crown Point, 167-131. In 2023-24, the Trojans just missed against Brownsburg, 124.5-121.5. A year ago, Brownsburg tied a state finals record with seven individual state champions to beat Center Grove, 243-115.
This year was Center Grove’s time to hoist the trophy.
“The first year we got second, there was excitement. Obviously, the first time the school had ever made it to the top two in wrestling. Then, the second year, we were so close. We lost by three points, and we all know how close three points is in wrestling,” Center Grove coach Maurice Swain said. “Then, last year, Brownsburg had a phenomenal season. It was one of those years that will probably never be replicated. So, to get over the hump, finally to have things go our way, it was just our day.”
Swain, an Anderson High School graduate, had a feeling this time would be different, as his alma mater’s band performed the national anthem before the finals began.
However, it was Breedlove who had Swain pumping his fist in victory in the corner of the mat while the scoreboard flipped for the last time.
“When people ask about winning titles and team titles, I always say, it takes a really good team. It takes wrestling and competing well, but it also takes a little bit of it was just your time,” Swain said. “I was just our weekend.”
Brownsburg did its best to turn Center Grove into the first program since South Bend Central (1949-52) to finish runner-up four straight years.
Top-ranked Brownsburg sophomore Traevon Ducking (35-4) pinned Center Grove junior Daniel Brown (32-7) in 5:44 for the 113-pound crown and his second state title.
Brownsburg’s Case Bell (35-3), ranked first in the state, scored another pin in 45 seconds against Avon sophomore Case Bridge (33-11) in the 120 finals for his second straight state title, which narrowed the team points margin 133.0-129.5.
A 9-7 come-from-behind decision by junior Maximus Quiroz (49-2) of Chesterton against Center Grove senior Dominic Brown (28-3) in the 126 finals had the Brownsburg fans cheering for the Duneland Trojan.
Top-ranked Brownsburg junior Braylon Reynolds (40-3) applied the pressure in the 144 finals by beating Center Grove junior Peyton Hornsby (32-6) by decision 7-4 for his first state title and a 133.5-133.0 team lead.
Brownsburg went 3-0 in the finals and 2-0 against Center Grove until top-ranked Crown Point junior Clinton Shepherd (38-1), a Penn State recruit, provided the stopper at 150.
Shepherd bested Brownsburg senior Tommy Gibbs (32-5), an Indiana recruit, by major decision 16-3, in the finals, which put Center Grove’s fate in Breedlove’s hands.
“That match showed how hard (Sean) wrestled. It showed that he trains a certain way, so yeah, I could see where there was some motivation because he went out there and got it done,” Swain said. “Obviously, we didn’t want it to be as close as it was, but Brownsburg, they don’t quit at all. It took every point, and they made it really, really tough.”
Twice as Nice
Last year, Avon’s Nathan Rioux snapped his string of consecutive second-place finishes by claiming his first state title at 126.
In his fourth straight state appearance, the top-ranked senior and Purdue commit made it back-to-back, winning the 132 title with a 4-0 decision.
Rioux is ranked 10th in the nation, according to FloWrestling, and ends his career as a four-time place winner. He recorded the tournament’s fastest pin at 32 seconds on Friday night.
“Coming off a state title last year, I feel like I had a little more pressure on me but just staying composed through all my matches helped me a lot,” Rioux said. “Last year, finally getting the job done boosted my confidence, especially in the finals. It gave me the motivation I needed.”
Top-ranked Kameron Hazelett (42-2) of Lowell repeated at 285. The sophomore, who is ranked 10th in the nation, won three of his four matches by fall to tie for the most tallied during the state finals with Reynolds.
New Prairie sophomore Matthew Staples (39-0) capped his second straight undefeated season by winning the 165-pound title. Last year, Staples finished 45-0 to win the 157-pound championship. Staples was ranked first in the state this year and is sixth in the nation at 157.
“Wrestling is a sport where nothing comes easy,” Staples said. “Everyone’s nervous. Everyone gets nervous. Everyone’s human, so I just use it, the nerves. I can run a little faster, jump a little higher. It’s the pressure. Some people crush under pressure. I love it.”
Perfect Finishes
A total of four wrestlers won state titles as unbeatens, including two first timers and Ironman champions in top-ranked Connor Maddox of Westfield at 106 and Michael White of Lawrence North at 190.
Maddox (34-0), a sophomore, became Westfield’s first individual state champion in program history. In 2025, Maddox finished fourth at 106, but a tournament-best, four straight tech falls secured his first-career state title.
“I’m just super grateful,” Maddox said. “It’s not every day that you get an experience like this. I’m just grateful and so incredibly humbled to be a part of something like this.”
White (47-0), an Oklahoma State commit, became Lawrence North’s first state champion since Tommy Cash won the 138 title in 2015.
White posted three tech falls to reach the finals where he led 16-2 and survived a late charge by Boonville junior Sam Howard (50-1) by decision 18-15 in a battle of unbeatens.
White is a three-time place winner, finishing sixth at 175 in 2024 and second at 190 last year. The senior is ranked first in the nation.
“I’m very excited (about Oklahoma State) because I know what I can do in front of a crowd. This is just a small step,” White said. “Once I get to Gallagher(-Iba Arena) and there’s bigger crowds, I’m going to put the pace on everybody.”
First Time Feeling
Top-ranked, 157-pound Linkin Carter (51-1) of Eastside avenged his lone loss of the season under the lights to win his first state title.
Carter, a senior, defeated Cowan senior Jackson Bradley (42-2), a Purdue commit, by decision 4-3 in the finals. Carter lost to Bradley by decision 4-3 during the Fort Wayne Semi-State the weekend prior.
Top-ranked Crown Point sophomore Ceasar Salas (39-2) won his first state title by handing North Miami senior Hartley Hoover (47-1) his first loss in a 7-0 decision to settle the 215 championship.
Lowell junior Evan Stanley (45-3) upheld his No. 1 ranking with a 9-8 decision in the 138 finals for his first state title. Stanley is a three-time place winner after finishing fourth at 132 in 2024 and third at 138 in 2025.
Eastside’s Linkin Carter named Ward Brown Mental Attitude Award
Senior Linkin Carter of Eastside Jr/Sr High School was recognized by the IHSAA Executive Committee as this year’s recipient of the Ward E. Brown Mental Attitude Award.
Each year the 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 during his four years of high school.
Carter is a four-time state qualifier, finished third at 150 last year, and capped his career with the157 pound state championship this evening.
Carter ranks among the best students in his class at Eastside. He is a four-time wrestling team captain and the recipient of the 2023 Lane Burns Memorial Award. In football, he earned KPC All-Area honors for three years, was named the 2024 Offensive Player of the Year, and served as the team captain in 2024.
He serves as a team leader and mentor for Rebel Ministries and founded a peer Bible study that has met weekly for three years, while also participating in Faith in Action Days through his church. For four years, he has led student mission trips to Jamaica and has completed foster care training, mentoring foster children for five years and participating in trauma-informed training to better support his four adopted brothers.
He is the son of Erin and Tim Carter of Saint Joe, Indiana and plans to attend a four-year university to study criminal justice and continue his wrestling career. He hopes to make a career as a detective and work towards becoming a U.S. Marshall.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the proud corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented $1,000 to Eastside High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Linkin Carter.
The award is named in honor of Ward E. Brown, the IHSAA's fourth commissioner who served from 1969-76.
88th Annual IHSAA Boys Wrestling State Finals
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Feb. 20-21, 2026
Top 10 Team Scores
1. Center Grove 137 > School's first wrestling state title
2. Brownsburg 133.5
3. Crown Point 86.5
4. Lowell 73.5
5. Delta 71
6. New Prairie 68
7. Avon 61.5
8. Columbus East 48.5
9. Indianapolis Cathedral 47.5
10. Evansville Mater Dei 40.5
State Championship Results
106: Connor Maddox (10) Westfield (34-0) def. Karson Kahalekomo (9) Delta (43-5) TF 17-2 (3:17)
113: Traevon Ducking (10) Brownsburg (35-4) def. Daniel Brown, Jr. (10) Center Grove (32-7) Fall 5:44
120: Case Bell (10) Brownsburg (35-3) def. Case Bridge (10) Avon (33-11) Fall 0:45
126: Maximus Quiroz (11) Chesterton (49-2) def. Dominic Brown (12) Center Grove (28-3) Dec 9-7
132: Nathan Rioux (12) Avon (41-3) def. Jensen Boyd (11) Delta (45-6) Dec 4-0
138: Evan Stanley (11) Lowell (45-3) def. Tylin Thrine (12) New Castle (40-3) Dec 9-8
144: Braylon Reynolds (11) Brownsburg (40-3) def. Peyton Hornsby (11) Center Grove (32-6) Dec 7-4
150: Clinton Shepherd (11) Crown Point (38-1) def. Thomas Gibbs (12) Brownsburg (32-5) MD 16-3
157: Linkin Carter (12) Eastside (51-1) def. Jackson Bradley (12) Cowan (42-2) Dec 4-3
165: Matthew Staples (10) New Prairie (39-0) def. Aidan Kincaide (11) Noblesville (37-1) TF 19-3 (4:08)
175: Sean Breedlove (11) Center Grove (38-0) def. Carter Fielden (12) Garrett (44-3) Dec 12-8
190: Michael White (12) Lawrence North (47-0) def. Sam Howard (11) Boonville (50-1) Dec 18-15
215: Ceasar Salas (10) Crown Point (39-2) def. Hartley Hoover (12) North Miami (47-1) Dec 7-0
285: Kameron Hazelett (10) Lowell (42-2) def. James Hartleroad (12) New Prairie (40-5) Fall 3:27