Hanover Central duo has strong showing

Updated: March 23, 2011 1:20PM

INDIANAPOLIS- Hanover Central put together a strong Saturday at the individual wrestling state meet.

Freshman 103-pounder Stevan Micic (43-5) placed third, and junior 112-pounder Paul Petrov (47-3) was fourth at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Micic gave Lawrence North's Nathan Boston a great run in the semifinals, before falling 5-3. Micic got back points in the second period for a 2-0 lead, before Boston tied the score at 3-3 with a takedown in the third and later got the decisive back points. Micic then topped Bloomington South's Jacob Boomsma 9-4 for third.

In his semifinal, Petrov lost a 3-2 nail-biter to Pendleton Heights' Mason Todd on an escape with 50 seconds left in the third period. Petrov then lost 10-3 to Union County junior Cody Phillips. Phillips had won the 103-pound state title in each of his first two seasons, including last season with an 8-3 victory against Petrov, before Warsaw's Jarred Brooks topped Phillips 5-2 in Saturday's semifinals; Brooks had edged Petrov 2-1 in a semistate final last weekend.

We meet again: Crown Point junior Tyler Kral (41-2) topped Munster senior Jack Seaman (43-6) 6-2 in an all-region third-fourth place match at 215 pounds.

Seaman had downed Kral 6-0 in a semistate final last weekend, after Kral had recorded a first-period pin in a team regional final.

In the semifinals on Saturday, Kral dropped a 2-0 overtime decision to Perry Meridian's Logan Cooper, who got a takedown eight seconds into OT. Kral had gutted out an overtime victory in the quarterfinals, getting a disputed takedown with 23 seconds left in OT to defeat Bellmont's Travis Thatcher 4-2, after having trailed 2-0.

In his semifinal, Seaman got pinned at 3:05 by Indian Creek's Trey Reese, after he had advanced with a 31-second pin of his own in the quarterfinals.

Rounding up the region: Lake Central senior Bradley Wartman (44-4) placed sixth at 140 pounds, Lowell junior Charlie Mavros (37-10) seventh at 140, Chesterton junior Anthony Quiroz (33-1) fifth at 160, Merrillville junior Kourtney Berry (46-1) fifth at 189, Crown Point senior Josh Flamme (36-4) sixth at 152, Griffith senior Brian Orzechowicz (42-5) sixth at 112, Portage senior Luis Acuna (26-6) seventh at 135, and Munster sophomore Santo Marciano (45-8) seventh at 103.

Wartman - who placed fifth at 135 last season - lost a tough match in the quarterfinals, a 3-1 overtime decision to Terre Haute South's Phelan Montgomery, who got the winning takedown with 16 seconds left in OT. Mavros lost a 17-6 major decision in the quarters to Evansville Mater Dei's Jake Lannert. Then, in each's first consolation match, Wartman edged Mavros 5-4, getting the go-ahead takedown with 27 seconds left in the third period after he had trailed 4-2; Wartman had topped Mavros (who won his second consolation match on Saturday by pin) 3-0 in a semistate semifinal last weekend.

In a marquee matchup in the quarterfinals between a pair of juniors, Quiroz (a state qualifier at 160 last season and the runner-up at 152 as a freshman) suffered his first loss of the season, 5-1 to Indianapolis Cathedral's Tyler Willis (the state runner-up at 160 last season to Portage's three-time champion and Michigan State freshman Sean McMurray, and seventh at that weight as a freshman). Willis got the jump in the match by putting Quiroz to his back in the first period for a 5-0 lead. Quiroz then responded with a pair of consolation victories, including a pin in his second.

Berry, too, suffered his first loss of the season in the quarterfinals, a tight 1-0 match to Bloomington North's Garret Goldman. He then came back with two consolation victories, including a pin in his first.

Flamme lost an overtime battle in the quarters, 3-2 to Perry Meridian's Kirk Johnson. With the score tied at 2-2, Flamme chose down in the fourth overtime session and couldn't escape, with Johnson awarded the victory. Flamme then won the first of his two consolation matches.

Orzechowicz got pinned in the quarterfinals by Todd at 4:57, before winning the first of his two consolation matches.

Acuna lost in the quarterfinals 7-2 to Indianapolis Roncalli's Justin Kieffer, before winning his second consolation match (by pin).

Marciano lost in the quarterfinals by a 15-1 major decision to Boston, before winning his second consolation match.

By the numbers: Overall on Saturday, region wrestlers went 8-8 in the quarterfinals (with Crown Point going 4-1 in that round) and then 4-4 in the semifinals (with the Bulldogs going 3-1 in that round).

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