Wrestling: Region flexes muscle in 1st round

INDIANAPOLIS -- Craig Fruth already was Clark's first qualifier for the wrestling individual state finals since 1994.

With a victory in Friday night's first round, the senior 160-pounder guaranteed he will be the Pioneers' first state placer since at least two years earlier.

Fruth topped Avon's Dalton Jones 12-6 before a crowd of 8,858 at Conseco Fieldhouse to advance to today's second and final day of the tournament.

"That (placing) was my goal all season," said Fruth, whose only two losses this season have come to three-time state champion-to-be Hanover Central's Andrew Howe. "I wasn't going to settle for anything less than placing. I couldn't go home empty-handed.

"Since the walk (during the opening ceremony), it got my blood going," he added when asked about being nervous. "I knew I had to stay patient and wait for the first match to let it all out."

Region wrestlers made a strong showing overall, as 19 of the 28 state qualifiers won on Friday, assuring themselves they will place.

Crown Point advanced five of its seven qualifiers to today's 8:30 a.m. (Central) quarterfinals. Hobart had four of its five move on, and Merrillville three of five. Hanover Central advanced two of its four wrestlers, and Valparaiso was two for two.

"The Merrillville Semistate is the best semistate in the state," Hobart junior 140-pounder Johnny Dillon said. "All our guys are tougher than nails."

And Dillon proved it. He was the only one of nine fourth-place semistate finishers from the region to win on Friday, beating Yorktown's Jordan Dulaney 5-1. Dillon had lost 4-3 in the first round of last season's state meet at 125 pounds, after placing third in the semistate.

"It (winning on Friday) takes that load of pressure off your chest for tomorrow," Dillon said. "You can wrestle so much better. In Indiana, Friday night, it's do or die. It happened to me last year. I wouldn't have been able to handle it again."

The Brickies' other winners were 135-pounder Eric Galka, a two-time state champion whose 36-second pin of Castle's Chad Welch was the third-fastest at that weight in state meet history; 145-pounder Brennan Cosgrove, who took another step toward his coveted first title; and 125-pounder Frankie Porras.

Crown Point's quintet was 103-pounder Anthony Hawkins, 130-pounder Eric Roach, 145-pounder Tony Conway, 160-pounder Mark Myers and 189-pounder Marcus Shrewsbury.

Merrillville's winners were 112-pounder Carlo Martinez, 119-pounder Anthony Napules and 189-pounder Jake Salas, who should have one of the tournament's most intriguing quarterfinal matches. Salas will face Elkhart Memorial's Steve Stahl, who handed Salas his only loss of the season, an 11-3 major decision in the semifinals of Mishawaka's Al Smith Invitational.

Both of Hanover's winners advanced in style. Howe, at 160, picked up right where he left off from last season when he won his second straight state title, that one at 152, with four technical falls; no one in state meet history had even recorded three in any weight class. On Friday, he recorded a 25-10 tech fall in 5:38 against Floyd Central's Tyler Alvey. And 140-pounder Brandon Ward's 15-0 tech fall in 2:24 over New Haven's Kevin Elser was the fastest in state meet history at that weight.

Valparaiso's two winners were 130-pounder Tom Churchard and 140-pounder Alex Miller.

Munster 152-pounder Aaron Estrada and Portage 135-pounder Sean McMurray also won to clinch medals.

Contact Michael Osipoff at 648-3137 or mosipoff@post-trib.com