NEW CASTLE — Two Madison County wrestlers — Tremor Bynum and Harrison Hadley — will compete for top honors at the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals last weekend at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Five Pendleton Heights wrestlers competed at the semistate in New Castle on Saturday, Feb. 10, where Pendleton Heights’ Bynum punched his ticket to the state championships along with one Bulldog, Hadley.
Wrestlers from the Pendleton Heights, Perry Meridian, Richmond and North Montgomery regionals participated at New Castle, one of four semistate events across Indiana.
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The top four wrestlers in each weight division moved on to the state final, where the state’s 16 best wrestlers in each weight class will compete for state titles. State finals are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 16, and Saturday, Feb. 17.
Bynum, a junior wrestling at 195 pounds, won his first two rounds at semistate, assuring his trip to Indianapolis, but he lost his third match, dropping him to the third-place match, where he came away with the win.
Bynum took his 43-5 record into the first match of the day against Brayden Clevenger (32-12) of New Palestine, where Bynum won by a fall.
In his second match, Bynum went up against Andrew Irick of Hamilton Southeastern; Bynum won a hard-fought 3-1 decision.
That sent Bynum into his third match of the day against Roncalli’s Sam Henson. Henson got the win in a fall. The loss dropped Bynum into his fourth match of the day, the third-place competition, where Bynum bounced back and won 7-3 against Michael Bohman of Franklin County.
Bynum wrestled very well on the day, coach Dave Cloud said, noting he is excited for Bynum to compete at state.
“The introduction of the wrestlers sends shivers down your spine,” Cloud said.
Bynum must work hard this week to prepare for his first-round opponent, Bryson Ford of Benton Central High School, Cloud said, but he has confidence in Bynum.
Lapel High School sent two wrestlers to the semistate. Hadley (106 pounds) brought a 39-3 record into semistate and won his first match of the day against Hudson Harreld, a freshman from Zionsville, in a 13-7 decision.
Hadley then won his second match of the day, beating Eli Otto, a freshman from South Dearborn, in a 13-5 decision.
In his third match of the day, Hadley lost to Alex Cottey, a freshman from Perry Meridian, in a 10-2 decision.
That dropped Hadley into the third-place match against David Pierson, a Warren Central freshman. Hadley, a junior, lost in a 6-2 decision and finished fourth, still qualifying for state.
The other Bulldog wrestler, senior Marc Fensler (152 pounds) had a 21-3 record going into semistate, but he lost his first match of the day to Andrew Roberts (20-11) of Lawrenceburg in a 7-3 decision.
The other four Arabian wrestlers joining Bynum at semistate included freshman Jarod Brown (120 pounds). He brought a 36-9 record in but lost by fall in the first round to Brendon Mattingly, 35-2, of Carmel.
Senior Elijah Bauer (132 pounds) brought a 32-7 record into the semistate and won his first match by an 8-6 decision against Austin Boggs (31-13) of South Dearborn.
Bauer lost his second match against Carter Noehre (31-1) of Greenfield-Central, ending Bauer’s season.
Junior Caleb Gibson (145 pounds) brought a 28-10 record into semistate but drew a tough first-round opponent; Gibson lost to Hayden Lohrey (40-2) of Shenandoah in a 7-4 decision.
Junior Jarod Miller (152 pounds) had a 32-10 record and lost by a fall in the first round to Stevie Brown (35-5) of Franklin County.
The top 10 teams at New Castle were: Indianapolis Cathedral, 192.5 points; Perry Meridian, 113; Roncalli, 80.5; Zionsville, 80; Elwood, 52; Warren Central, 52; Greenfield-Central, 47.5; Carmel, 42; Beech Grove, 38; and Lawrenceburg, 34.
Pendleton Heights finished with 15 points, and Lapel finished with 9.