Meska, Garringer head to semi-state

Until last season, Drake Meska had never been past the sectional round of the tournament.
Now, not only does he have a chance to advance to the state finals, he expects to do so.
“I’m pretty excited,” said the Jay County High School senior before Thursday’s practice. “The goal is to place, but going to state is going to feel awesome.”
Meska and sophomore teammate Kyle Garringer will try to reach that state finals goal when they compete in the wrestling semi-state meet hosted by Woodlan at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne on Saturday beginning at 9 a.m.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the state finals, meaning Meska and Garringer would each have to win two matches to earn another weekend of wrestling.
“It would be nice to send both of them,” said JCHS coach James Myers of his wrestlers, both of whom were sectional champions and regional runners-up. “This program hasn’t sent two since ’99. To get one out for any school I think is a good year. To get two out, you’re amongst those small handful of schools that get multiple state qualifiers every year. I really think both of them can get out this weekend.”
South Adams, which finished the season ranked 17th in the state and finished second to No. 9 Bellmont in the sectional, will have seven wrestlers competing at the semi-state.
Meska (40-3), who is ranked seventh in the state, won his first-round match last season, but his year came to an end in the ticket round when he fell 14-2 to Homestead’s Tucker Smith. He will again be a favorite to advance through the first round of the 140-pound bracket as he lines up against Nestor Ruizvelasco (24-12).
In the quarterfinals he is likely to take on Woodlan’s Cody Zink (32-2) with a trip to the state tournament on the line.
“I’m ready, and I’m more experienced,” said Meska, who said he’s hoping for re-matches against Bellmont’s Brooks Faurote and Yorktown’s Cole Vanhorn in the semifinals and finals. “I’m probably not going to be as nervous as I was last year. I’m excited.”
Myers said he likes his senior’s confidence.
“(Two-time state medalist Casey Kenney) had that mentality too,” he said. “I think it’s good to have. You don’t want to come into the semi-state saying, ‘I don’t know if I can beat this kid.’
“He really believes, and I believe, that he could win the semi-state this weekend.”
Garringer (31-5) was the only freshman at the semi-state tournament last season in the 189-pound division, and fell 5-0 to 20th-ranked Taylor Scott of Heritage. He opens his tournament this season against Manchester’s Aaron Snep (25-11). And if he reaches the ticket round, he would likely meet Brandon Dillenbeck (37-3).
“With Kyle, he’s probably got a little tougher road than Drake does,” said Myers. “In the second round, if we get by the first, he’s got a returning state qualifier in Dillenbeck from Goshen.
“I think he’s really peaked at the right time. Maybe having some time off, taking it easy on the wrestling, has helped. He’s looked good the last two or three weekends.”
Garringer, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury, said he is healthy again and added that his experience at the semi-state meet last season should help him this time around.
“It’s just a whole ’nother atmosphere up there,” he said. “It’s just completely different. The quality, obviously, is a lot better. You’ve just got to keep your head.”
Josh Ehr (40-0) represents the Starfires’ best chance at a state berth. He is ranked second in the state and was a state qualifier as both a freshman and sophomore before falling short last season.
He will open against Carter Delaney (28-10) of Bishop Dwenger in the 152-pound bracket, and then would meet the winner of an opening-round match between Matt Hill (27-10) of Jimtown and Ben Lenehan (21-14) of Western in the ticket round.
Todd Batt (39-1), a junior, is South Adams’ other regional champion and he starts against Brett Martz (22-11) of Fairfield in the 125-pound bracket. His second-round match would come against either Snider’s Jared Wilson (27-6) or Huntington North’s Rob Newsome (26-9).
Other first-round matches for SAHS are: 119 — Eric Pimental (23-13) vs. Kody George (37-1) of Homestead; 135 — Gabe Sprunger vs. Corey Botts (28-4) of Leo; 140 — Charlie Hirschy (26-15) vs. Kevin Marsh (43-3) of West Noble; 145 — T.J. Burnfield (19-2) vs. Zach Beebe (32-9) of Prairie Heights; HWT — Maverick Morningstar (28-11) vs. Tyler Maine (18-8) of Marion.
In likely ticket-round matches, 18th-ranked Burnfield would have to deal with No. 17 Jon Timmerman (35-1) of Carroll and Sprunger would meet up with eighth-ranked Colin Downey (39-2) of Huntington North. Morningstar could take on either Ta’Quan Walker (22-4) of Fort Wayne North Side or Justin Mullins (24-12) of Northwood.
South Adams advanced one wrestler, then-senior Jim West, to the state finals last season. The Patriots went without a state qualifier after advancing Kenney to the tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in both 2008 and ’09.
The last pair of wrestlers from Jay County to reach the state finals in the same season were James Brewster and Joey VanSkyock in 1999. In fact, in the 11 years since the Patriots have sent just two wrestlers total — Kurt Hess in 2005 and Kenney — to Indianapolis.
If Meska and Garringer are able to make the trip to Conseco together, Myers said it would be a result of all the time they’ve put in the mat over the years.
“It’s all the wrestling that they have done, all the stuff they do in the summer,” he said. “They have seen all kinds of styles — slow styles, guys who come at you, real physical guys, guys who are more technical. They just spend so much time wrestling. Anything that comes at them, they have seen it before.”[[In-content Ad]]