Ready for regional

Seven Patriots advanced to the regional. On Saturday, each will look to win at least two matches to punch their tickets to state.

Brackets for the IHSAA Regional 3 tournament hosted by Muncie Central were released on Sunday, giving the Jay County High School girls wrestlers an idea of what their path to state may look like.

Of the seven Patriots, four will have to open their day against a ranked wrestler.

Despite having to face No. 13 Josenit Vasquez Ochoa (20-9) of Franklin Central in the opening round of the 100-pound weight class, No. 7 Katie Rowles got one of the best draws she could hope for.

Vasquez Ochoa comes from the Perry Meridian sectional, which had a loaded 100 bracket that also included No. 2 Claire May (26-0) of Roncalli, No. 3 Aaliyah Brown (26-2) of Center Grove and No. 6 Aniah Delgado (18-4) of Perry Meridian. By drawing the fourth-seeded Vasquez Ochoa, Rowles avoids seeing Brown or Delgado in the ticket round.

Should Rowles beat the FCHS freshman, she will face either Nichol Smith of Eastern or Olivia Dudley of New Castle in the ticket round. Neither opponent has a winning record on the season with Smith sitting at 8-9 and Dudley at 5-7.

Rowles would likely see May in the semifinal. In 2025, May pinned Rowles in 3 minutes, 38 seconds in the third-place match at state.

Alexis Tipton (12-12) and Gracie Rowles (8-6) weren’t as lucky as Katie Rowles. Tipton will face No. 6 Olivia Lemus (25-3) of Roncalli in the 115 opener, while Gracie Rowles drew No. 8 Monica Alvarado (12-1) out of North Central to begin the 125 bracket.

Should Tipton pull off the upset, she could face either Lawrence Central’s Saniyah Broaden (14-17) or Pendleton Heights’ Nova Tyler (8-5) in the ticket round. Potential quarterfinal opponents for Gracie Rowles are Marissa Szentes (8-6) of Bishop Chatard and Chloe Bills (14-5) of Franklin County.

Madison Gage also has a tough path in the 155-pound bracket. After falling to No. 15 Sophia Gropp (25-4) of Wes-Del 1-0 in an ultimate tiebreaker to lose the sectional final, Gage is forced to go against Eastern Hancock’s Elizabeth Fish (21-7), who is ranked 16th.

Should Gage upset Fish, she would get the winner of Anderson’s LaRayna Elliott (23-10) and Alia Stocker (17-12) of Franklin Central with a trip to state on the line. Potential semifinal opponents include No. 13 Easter Ajishyri (25-7) of Lawrence North and No. 14 Laycie Kirk (19-7) of North Central. The only other ranked wrestlers in the 155 bracket are Gropp and No. 8 Journee Wells, who are set to collide in the semifinal as well.

No. 7 Maleah Parsons (27-7) and No. 16 Amara Crawford (24-4) avoided ranked opponents in their opening matches, but will likely have to go through one to get to Indianapolis.

Parsons’ first match in the 135-pound bracket is against Lacie Lowe (18-5) of Lawrenceburg. She then will likely face No. 6 Dayonna Dyson (29-4) of Franklin Central in the ticket round.

Should Parsons make it past Dyson, she has a nice path to the final as Pendleton Heights’ Claire Bowman (23-5) is the favorite from the top quarter. The final will likely feature either No. 11 Caitlyn Moore (21-7) of Perry Meridian, or set up a rematch of the sectional title with No. 5 June Wagner- Gilbert (29-3) of New Palestine.

Crawford will face Adalia Harvey (3-14) of Pendleton Heights in the first round of the 190 bracket. A win pits her against either No. 11 Aneesa Thompson (24-7) of Perry Meridian or Lawrence North’s Ace Grayson (21-8) in the ticket round.

Fourth-ranked Sophia Jones (28-3) of Franklin Central is favored to be Crawford’s semifinal opponent. No. 3 Zoie Gray (25-0) — who ended Crawford’s season in 2025 — and No. 8 Shelby Life (13-0) of Centerville are set up to meet in the top semifinal.

Kenady Lyons (7-11) is set to face the top-seeded wrestler of the Shenandoah sectional to open the 235 weight class. Should Lyons get past Hailey Salisbury (5-4) of Frankton, her shot at a run to state relies on a win against either To’Neyse Stigler (14-8)  of Lawrence Central and Breanna Birdsong (15-11) of Warren Central.

Last season, Jay County sent five girls to state, including Katie Rowles. Three more made it to the ticket round, including Parsons and Crawford. Gage fell in the first round, while Gracie Rowles, Tipton and Lyons are all first-year qualifiers as freshmen.

    Katie Rowles of the Jay County High School girls wrestling team will aim to punch her ticket to back-to-back appearances at state at Saturday’s regional. The senior ranks No. 7 in Indiana in the 100-pound division. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)