Keeping a promise

When Mason Winner secured his second state medal on the opening night of the state finals last season, more than just the next three matches were on his mind.

The family patriarch, Bill Winner, was battling Alzheimer’s disease.

The distraction of his grandfather’s failing health weighed on Mason more than the three opponents he faced on the second day of the state tournament.

He lost all three matches that day and finished eighth, a year after placing one spot higher as the first Patriot freshman to win a wrestling state medal.

Bill Winner succumbed to the affliction on June 13, a day before Mason’s birthday. Before his passing, Mason made a promise. 

He would win a state championship.

Mason, a Jay County High School junior, and senior Chandler Chapman continue their quest for state titles as the IHSAA wrestling state finals begin at 6 p.m. Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“I just know that you can’t let anything outside mentally bother you,” said Winner, a 182-pounder who, with a win in the opening round Friday would secure a state medal for the third consecutive season, joining 2014 graduate Eric Hemmelgarn as the only wrestlers in program history to accomplish the feat.

A Friday night victory guarantees a top-eight finish and a state medal as the tournament resumes at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

“Last year I was doing a lot of stuff with my grandpa and that’s when he started getting bad,” said Winner, who was seventh at 145 pounds as a freshman and eight at 160 last season. “Mentally I wasn’t there. Physically my body was there but mentally I wasn’t.

“It’s not an excuse. What happened happened. You have to fix it and go on.”

Winner got his work ethic from his grandpa and father Jon. He learned to be stubborn, to never give up. Should he lose —  Mason has a career record of 124-11 — to work harder and keep pushing.

The dedication and determination to being the best he can carried him to a 40-2 record this year and the No. 7 ranking in his weight class. On Saturday, he became the first Patriot to win three semi-state championships.

In Friday’s opener, Winner meets North Central senior Devontay Moore (26-12), who finished 19th in the final state rankings.

“He’s a senior that was fourth at regional and pulled off a (four seed over a one seed) upset at semi-state,” said JCHS coach Eric Myers. “Definitely a dangerous kid. Have to be ready for him. He looks like a pretty athletic kid so Mason will have to be prepared on his feet.”

The spectacle that is the opening round of the state tournament is filled with fanfare and emotion. The Parade of Champions prior to wrestling introduces every competitor. Once the matches start, state medals are guaranteed while seasons, and careers, end.

Since this marks the third straight year Winner qualified for state, the atmosphere won’t be overwhelming for him.

“I think just having the experience on Friday night helps eliminate some of those distractions,” Myers said. “He’s used to the Parade of Champions, used to Bankers Life. Those distractions are minimized so he can focus more on the wrestling.

“A first-year kid may get caught up in some of that.”

Chapman, a 195-pound senior, is in such a situation. The back-to-back sectional and regional champion had his 16-match winning streak end on Saturday. After earning his first state berth, he suffered consecutive losses in the semi-state semifinal and third-place matches.

“It’s a whole new weekend,” Chapman said. “My mindset has changed from last weekend.”

Chapman (16-2), who missed practice Wednesday and has been battling a bit of an illness, meets sixth-ranked Penn senior Rockne “Jack” Hurley in his opener on Friday.

“You see (four seeds over one seeds) all the time,” Myers said.

A former Patriot is one of them.

As a sophomore who was fourth at semi-state, Hemmelgarn upset a semi-state champion on the opening round of the state finals on his way to placing third.

In 2016, nationally ranked Andrew Davison of Chesterton was also upset in the opening round.

“I told Chandler, ‘Why not you?’” Myers said. “Focus. Wrestle hard. Anything can happen.”

Being the underdog, Chapman said, works to his advantage.

“Kind of makes it easier because there’s not much pressure on us,” he said. “Literally have nothing to lose. We’re going in there and we’re not expected to win.”