Crown Point leads after Day 1 of IHSAA wrestling state finals; girls fall in opening round

Reaching the wrestling state finals is an achievement every wrestler strives for, but only 28 of 224 wrestlers who enter the tournament will have a chance to wrestle under the lights in the championship round.

Friday's win-or-go-home opening round is the first step toward the finals and the day-long event split into two sessions had plenty of drama, grit and emotion as talented grapplers fought to compete another day.

More: Jesse Mendez closing in on 4th state title: 'I want to be known as the best ever do it.'

IHSAA wrestling state finals: Check out Day 1 results for 2022 tournament

Crown Point leads after Day 1, Brownsburg, Cathedral in striking distance

Having one of the best wrestlers in the nation in Jesse Mendez is a great place to start, but Crown Point showcased its depth on Day 1 of the state wrestling finals.

Crown Point had nine of 10 wrestlers advance to Saturday's quarterfinal round. The Bulldogs ended Friday in first place with 35 points. Brownsburg is in second with 31 points. Evansville Mater Dei is in third place with 25 points followed by Cathedral (19.5) and Center Grove (16). Roncalli is seventh with 12.5 points. Avon (12 points) and Warren Central (10 points) are tied for eighth and 10th, respectively.

Brownsburg has eight of its nine wrestlers advance to Saturday. Cathedral had five of seven wrestlers advance.

For Brownsburg, winning is important, but how the team gets its wins is equally important. Pins, tech falls and major decisions are worth more points than a regular decision. Dominating on the mat is key, that's why 126-pounder Braden Haines could not let his foot off the gas during his 13-2 major decision win over Lakeland's Keegan Schlabach.

"Each point matters," Haines said. "We go out there each match, try to score as many points as possible and try to close the gap each match at a time.

"The confidence is really high (heading into Saturday). We practice hard each and every day with the greatest coaches in the state of Indiana. It pushes us and we push each other so it makes it pretty easy."

Historic run comes to end for Julianna Ocampo, Heather Crull

Ten years ago Culver Academy's Kayla Miracle made history as the first girl to compete in the state finals. Miracle, then a sophomore, lost her opening round match and never reached the state finals again.

The Culver native went on to win four WCWA Nationals championships at Campbellsville and reach the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo.

High school success doesn't preclude anyone from achieving success later in their career and Miracle's journey is one freshmen Heather Crull and Julianna Ocampo can look to for inspiration.

Making history: Only one girl had ever qualified for state finals. This year, two made it.

The 106 pounders from Northeastern and New Haven, respectively became the second and third girls to ever qualify for the state finals. The longtime friends and sparring partners hoped to be the first girls to win matches at the tournament, but both grapplers lost in the opening round.

Ocampo drew one of the loudest ovations of the day when she briefly took a 3-2 lead over Crown Point's Gavin Jendreas in the first period. Jendreas regained the lead in the second period, closing the round with Ocampo in a hold that aggravated her shoulder. After getting tended to by the medics and her coaches, Ocampo continued the match but Jendreas earned a 11-5 decision.

Crull showed fight for three periods before falling to Avon's Luke Rioux 9-0. Crull said the entire state finals experience was a learning opportunity for her.

"I was really nervous today but it was also exciting coming in and seeing how everything was set up," she said. "I tried to think it's just like any other day and it's not something too big, nothing bigger than I've ever seen before."

Crull and her father Todd, shared a long embrace in the Gainbridge tunnelway after the match. As a coach, Todd knows his daughter's career is just getting started. But as a father, he knows the loss may sting for a while.

"The main thing is to keep her head up," the elder Crull said. "It's just the beginning. She had a heck of a run her freshman season. Just before (the opening round) we're on our way up here, we're planning out our summer as far as Freestyle, Folkstyle Nationals, the different trips were going on, the World Team Trials and all those are bigger, more important. She's got to keep chasing, keep practicing and keep working."

Several unbeaten wrestlers remain

Capping an unbeaten season under the lights is the fairy tale ending most wrestlers dream about. Heading into Day 2, several wrestlers are two wins away from achieving that feat.

In a stacked 106-pound bracket, Southport's Nathan Smith improved to 49-0 with his first-period pin against Bloomington South's Cameron Meier. At 113 pounds, LaPorte's Ashton Jackson moved to 48-0 with a 7-0 decision over Guerin Catholic's Peter Nguyen.

Who will stay perfect?: 19 Indiana grapplers enter IHSAA wrestling state finals undefeated.

East Noble 126 pounder Aiden Sprague (40-0), East Central 126 pounder Blake Wolf (48-0), Manchester 132 pounder Dylan Stroud (38-0), 138 pounders Jesse Mendez (39-0) and Roncalli's Bryce Lowey (39-0), 145 pounders of Perry Meridian Matthew Koontz (41-0) and Cowan's Toby Abbott (35-0), three 152 pounders Western's Mitchell Betz (45-0), Crown Point's Samuel Goin (38-0) and Roncalli's Kody Glithero (39-0), Floyd Central 160 pounder J Conway (35-0), Mater Dei 170 pounder Brody Baumann (33-0), West Lafayette 195 pounder Connor Barket (53-0), 220 pounders Nate Critchfield of Mater Dei (35-0) and Christian Carroll of New Prairie (20-0) and 285 pounder Hunter Whitenack (29-0) all remain unbeaten.

Koontz said he changed his mindset after finishing in third place at the state finals last season. Instead of focusing on winning a state title, he's focused on doing his best every time he takes the mat. The change in attitude is paying dividends so far.

"Last year I focused a lot on trying to win a state title," Koontz said. "This year, I've kind of just focused on trying to be my absolute best. Quit worrying about outcomes. Just take every day, day by day working as hard as I can."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA Wrestling state finals: Crown Point leads after Day 1