Kohler punches ticket to state

FORT WAYNE — One more step.
Andy Kohler, a Jay County High School senior, is one win away from his ultimate goal — a state medal.
Kohler earned his second consecutive berth in the state finals with his third-place finish Saturday in the IHSAA wrestling semi-state tournament at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.
The state finals begin with the opening round at 6 p.m. Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. A win guarantees a state medal, with the quarterfinals, consolations and finals to be contested Saturday.
“It’s definitely a dream come true to go to state again,” said the 182-pound Kohler, the lone state qualifier out of nine local athletes who reached semi-state. The top four places in each weight class earn a state berth.
“Two years in a row is great,” he said.
Kohler accounted for 15 of Jay County’s 21 points, as the seven Patriots finished 21st out of 62 teams represented. Yorktown won the team championship with 114 points.
South Adams, which had sophomores Wyatt Miller and Isaiah Baumgartner fall in the quarterfinal “ticket” round, tied for 31st with four points.
An opening-round pin of Oak Hill’s Stewart Mossholder in 5 minutes, 44 seconds, gave the fifth-ranked Kohler a meeting with Homestead’s Wyatt Clem in the ticket round, a rematch of last season’s match that Kohler won 7-0.
This time, the Patriot did better.
Kohler scored the first five points on a pair of takedowns and an escape — he started the second period in the down position — and led 7-1. Clem, who pinned Jonathan Hernandez in 5:34 in his first match, scored two late points on a reversal, but was simply overmatched. Kohler won 11-3, punching his ticket to state.
“Starting out, those two wins felt good,” said Kohler, who has an opening-round match Friday against No. 13 Hunter Dalton (40-3), a Bloomington North senior. “I felt like I wrestled real well in those two.”
Then the JCHS senior suffered his second loss in eight days as fourth-ranked David Eli of Elkhart Memorial pinned him during the third period of the semifinal match.
An early takedown gave Kohler (44-2) a 2-0 advantage, which Eli turned into a 3-2 lead after an escape less than a minute later and a reversal in the second period. Kohler worked to get out of Eli’s grasp with a minute left to tie the score 3-3. Kohler took a shot at Eli, who was able to get out of it and turn it into a takedown for a 5-3 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the second period.
Eli later threw Kohler to the mat as he tried to get away, and the Patriot landed awkwardly on his right knee. Kohler started the third period in the down position, and got stuck in a cradle and pinned 34 seconds into the third.
“I felt like I was wrestling real well against David,” said Kohler, who lost to Eli 4-3 in the semi-state semifinal last season as well. “We’ve been real close. He is a good wrestler. He has a heck of a cradle, you can’t breathe.”
Jay County coach Eric Myers agreed Kohler was toe-to-toe in the semifinal.
“I felt like he was right there,” he said. “Eli turned him kind of hard. There is nothing illegal about it. It shook him up a bit and he ended up getting pinned there.”
Unlike last season, though, Kohler was able to bounce back despite a sore knee to win his third-place match. He defeated Bellmont junior Caleb Hankenson 5-4. They split their last two meetings, with Kohler winning in the sectional title and Hankenson upsetting Kohler in the regional championship.
The revenge victory gave the two-time state qualifier more confidence after semi-state than he did last season.
“I’ve wrestled great all year,” he said. “Maybe had a couple ups and downs, getting too big-headed from not really losing much.
“Now I’ve lost a couple times, it’s a reality check. I know what I can and can’t do.”
Jay County had a pair of juniors win their opening matches but fall in the ticket round. At 152 pounds, returning semi-state qualifier Tyler Leonhard defeated Brody Hardcastle of Oak Hill by a 5-2 decision before dropping a 7-4 decision to Cross Dietrich of Columbia City.
Ivan Hemmelgarn, who used his go-to cradle to pin Northridge’s Chris Howe to reach the 160-pound ticket round, lost a 7-1 decision to No. 6 Josh Garman of Carroll in the quarterfinal.
“Keep raving on (Ivan) because he went from a fifth-place sectional guy last year al the way up to the ticket round,” said Myers. “He kind of got a taste of it.
“I’m hoping those two guys are ready to come and punch their ticket next year.”
Leonhard finished the season 35-9, and Hemmelgarn — Garman eventually became the semi-state champion so he will be a state alternate — was 35-12.
Two Patriot seniors had their careers come to an end in the first round Saturday. Dallas Dudelston (30-13) lost to Leo’s Chase Hissong 6-1 at 132, and Levi Hummel (33-11) dropped a 3-2 decision to Tate Burns of Eastside at 170 pounds.
“Levi and Dallas have been great role models for the team,” Myers said. “They always work hard and do everything I ask of them. It’s hard to see those guys go but they are great to have in our program.”
Sophomores Kaimen Sanders (17-11) and Gaven Hare (25-11) also lost their first matches at 120 and 220 pounds respectively.
South Adams coach Jesse Gaskill was disappointed that Miller (106) and Isaiah Baumgartner (195) had their seasons end, but is hopeful for their futures on the mat.
“Personally, I think both of them were too hyped up for the day,” Gaskill said. “Both being sophomores, we’re making this trip two more times for sure, and if one of those times we can get down to state, that is the goal.”
Miller finished his year 31-5, and Baumgartner was 28-4 with two losses to Kohler.