Four to state

For about two decades, state berths were hit or miss for the Patriots.

Beginning in 2011, they have had at least one wrestler make it to Indianapolis every year.

Since 2017, they’ve advanced two or more.

On Friday night, the largest contingent in school history will make its way to the state capital.

Four Jay County High School athletes — Tony Wood, Cameron Clark, Cody Rowles and Christian Wittkamp — will compete Friday in the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“It’s just really cool,” said Jay County coach Eric Myers, whose current group matched the 1984 and 1985 squads that each had four state qualifiers.

“These guys just have an opportunity at an experience that they’ll never forget. It’s just a really special thing for those guys to be able to experience, to go down to Gainbridge Fieldhouse and get on the floor, walk in the parade of champions …

“It’s something that you would like your whole team to have the opportunity to experience. I’m just happy that these guys are able to do it.”

The Patriots’ four state qualifiers tie them for eighth-most this year, trailing No. 3 Center Grove (12), top-ranked Crown Point (11), No. 2 Brownsburg (nine), No. 4 Cathedral (6), and No. 10 Warren Central, No. 13 Mishawaka and Merrillville all with five.

Wood, Clark and Rowles will be in the first half of the split session that begins at 2 p.m., with 152-pounder Wittkamp to follow in the second half at 5:30 p.m.

Those who win their first-round matches clinch a state medal and advance to compete in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m. Saturday, with semifinals, consolation matches and finals to follow.

Wood (41-0) leads the JCHS contingent after winning the 138-pound semi-state championship Saturday at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne.

He has been to the state finals twice. He has not won a match there yet.

His goal this weekend?

“The state title,” Wood said. “I want to go under those lights, win that finals match.”

He has a legitimate chance to be there.

Wood, who is ranked fourth in the state, will wrestle Cathedral’s 10th-ranked Max McGinley (35-9) in the opening round Friday. His possible quarterfinal opponents are No. 11 Lucas Clement (37-6) of Merrillville and No. 9 Reese Courtney (33-8) of Center Grove. He could face either No. 5 Jeffrey Huyvaert (48-1) of New Prairie or No. 6 Michael Major (25-0) of Carmel in the semifinals.

The top two ranked wrestlers in the class — No. 1 Cole Solomey (44-1) of Kankakee Valley and No. 2 Cheaney Schoeff (40-0) of Avon — are on the opposite side of the bracket. (Third-ranked Parker Reynolds of Brownsburg was knocked out of the tournament in the ticket round at the Evansville semi-state with a loss to No. 12 Kelby Glenn.)

“It’s definitely a good feeling seeing that bracket,” said Wood, “but at the end of the day, my goal was to be state champ. So I wasn’t really too worried about it because if they were on my side, I would have to beat them to be state champ anyway.”

Myers, who coached Todd Batt to the 132-pound state championship match while at South Adams in 2012, said that experience taught him the importance of staying focused. It has to be a one-match-at-a-time mentality.

“Tony’s pretty determined,” he noted. “One pretty cool thing about Tony is his mindset and his attitude seem consistent. He doesn’t get too high or too low, and I think that really benefits him.”

The remaining three Patriots are all considered underdogs based on state rankings.

The 11th-ranked Clark (36-2), who finished seventh in the state at 138 pounds last season, will open his day against Plymouth’s No. 5 Wesley Smith (45-2). If he advances to the quarterfinals, he would meet either third-ranked Wyatt Krejsa (17-0) of Center Grove or fourth-ranked Jackson Todd (32-3) of Pendleton Heights.

Clark is hoping to rebound from his semi-state championship loss to No. 17 Braxton Miller of DeKalb.

“My goals are just to go out, put that match behind me from semi-state and just go out and wrestle like I did pretty much the whole year before that match,” said Clark, who was also a state qualifier as a freshman. “Go out, wrestle like I can, and I’ll be fine.

“That kid wasn’t better than me. He was just better than me that day. Congrats to him.

“I’m going out for revenge on Friday.”

Rowles, who is ranked eighth in the state at 126 pounds, and Wittkamp face uphill battles after placing fourth in their weight classes at semi-state. (That means they open the state tournament against a semi-state champion.) Both get opponents from powerhouse Mater Dei of Evansville who are ranked third in the state.

In his opening match, Rowles (37-3) starts against Evan Seng (34-3), who finished fifth in the state at 106 pounds in 2021 and 113 pounds last season. (Rowles as a state qualifier as a freshman in 2021 but got knocked out in the semi-state last season.) Wittkamp (34-8) will take on Hunter May (36-1), who was eighth at 152 pounds last season after placing fourth at 145 as a freshman.

In both cases, Myers said he’s hopeful his guys can stay in the matches and give themselves an opportunity to win.

“Mater Dei’s a tough, really good program, usually a pretty tough draw,” he said. “But as a (fourth-place semi-state finisher) you’re going to have a tough draw no matter what.”