Medal Winner

INDIANAPOLIS — After the buzzer sounded, Mason Winner got up, clapped his hands a few times and went back to the center of the mat.

It was just another victory for the Patriot freshman.

But this one, for the kid who has traveled the nation competing in tournaments, had a little more meaning behind it.

It earned him a state medal.

Winner controlled his match from start to finish, earning a 5-1 decision over Crown Point junior Mario Traficanti during the opening round of the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals on Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

“Pretty good,” said Winner, a 145-pounder who earned his 37th win of the season. The victory guarantees him a top-eight finish and a state medal as the state finals resume at 9:30 a.m. today.

Jay County junior Gaven Hare lost his 220-pound match, getting pinned by Chesterton’s Eli Pokorney 1 minute, 39 seconds, into the first period.

Winner’s strategy for most of the season has been to push the pace, and he followed the script again Friday night against Traficanti. Winner (37-2) grabbed Traficanit’s right leg and lifted it into the air near the edge of the circle, then swept the left leg for the takedown with 21 seconds remaining in the opening period.

Traficanti got away from Winner in the second period to cut his deficit to 2-1, but Winner nabbed another single-leg takedown for a 4-1 lead.

“He is in control,” said JCHS coach Eric Myers. “He keeps himself in good position and he does like to push the pace and dictate the pace.

“You watch those guys and slowly but surely they start to break.”

Traficanti was no different. Winner escaped 40 seconds into the third period for a 5-1 advantage. From there, Traficanti was trying everything he could to get back in the match. Winner just wouldn’t let him.

“He was gassing toward the end,” Winner said. “He was getting desperate.”

And when Winner — the only wrestler in JCHS history to qualify for state as a freshman — became the school’s 20th state medalist, he showed little emotion.

“It is just amazing how mature he is beyond his age,” Myers said. “That comes from all the work that he’s put in and the matches he’s already wrestled. He’s wrestled some big matches already in offseason tournaments.”

Next up for Winner is Indianapolis Cathedral freshman Elliot Rodgers (26-13), who defeated Columbus East junior Corban Pollitt by a 5-3 decision. Winner and Rodgers are the only 145-pound freshmen, and two of just 18 freshmen out of 224 state qualifiers.

Myers is hopeful for Winner’s match against Rodgers on Saturday morning.

“Mason will have to control his match, control his pace and get after it,” Myers said. “It is definitely a winnable match.”

Potential semifinal opponents for Winner are sixth-ranked Munster seniro Jason Crary (36-3) or No. 9 Kain Rust (41-4) of Perry Meridian.

Also advancing in the 145-pound bracket were No. 1 Brayton Lee (43-0) of Brownsburg, No. 2 Kasper McIntosh (36-2) of Portage, No. 15 Boone Welliever (41-0) of Southmont and junior Xander Stroud (33-5) of Elkhart Central.

Hare, who is ranked 13th in state, nearly got a takedown in the early stages of his match against fifth-ranked Pokorney. Hare, who at 5 feet, 8 inches, is nearly 8 inches shorter than Pokorney, snapped the Chesterton sophomore to the mat but wasn’t awarded the takedown.

“I went into the match wanting to score the first takedown, establish a little offense” said Hare, who finished his year 37-8. “Got behind him pretty quick. Didn’t get the (takedown) but it was a confidence booster.”

But before he knew it, Hare was on his back, trying to fight off a pin.

“He kept coming and coming,” he said. “You can’t stop them all.”

A takedown and two-point near fall gave Pokorney a 4-0 lead, and he then pinned Hare with 21 seconds remaining in the first period.

“He went right after it,” Myers said. “I thought things looked good right at the beginning.

“He wrestled well. He did a good job getting to the state finals.”

Hare, who was a semi-state qualifier a year ago, was in good spirits after his loss.

“I had a great season,” he said. “It was fun. I legitimately had the time of my life this season. Even though I lost I still had fun.”