The Westfield wrestling team won its own Shamrock Duals on Saturday, Dec. 6, going 5-0 in dual meets to win the trophy. (Manford Photography)
By RICHIE HALL
It’s always fun to win your own tournament.
The Westfield wrestling team was all smiles Saturday, Dec. 6 when it accepted the trophy at its own Shamrock Duals tournament. Westfield easily won five dual meets for the victory.
The Rocks were winners over Ben Davis 52-23, Fishers 45-27, Rossville 57-20 and Fort Wayne Carroll 51-19 before beating Whiteland 51-19 in the championship bout.
“We’re getting better,” said Westfield coach Tom Griffin. The coach said his wrestlers still have “some stuff to figure out, but overall, we’re getting consistent improvement. That’s what we’re looking for.”
The Shamrocks had six wrestlers finish the day undefeated: Charley Head, Aiden Driscoll, Trevor Humburg, Graydon Staley, Seth Tanner and Job Mavrick.
Westfield’s own dual meet was the second big event for the Rocks. They competed at the Center Grove Classic on Nov. 22, where Connor Maddox won at 113 pounds and Jon Stryker was the 190-pound champion. Maddox did not wrestler at the Shamrock Duals, as he is preparing the IRONMAN tournament, which takes place this weekend at Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.
Maddox said his preparation consists of “training hard, eating clean and preparing my mind. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to wrestler on a big national stage, so I’m glad to get to do it here soon.”
Noblesville takes third place
Noblesville coach Michael Weimer had plenty of reason to be happy with how his Millers performed after their third-place finish at the Shamrock Duals.
“We’ve never been in the top pool,” said Weimer. “We’ve never been a top-four team since I’ve taken over as the head coach. We had a lot of firsts.”
Noblesville won duals over Mt. Vernon 69-9, Carmel 47-25, Homestead 43-30 and Fort Wayne Carroll 50-23, with its only loss to Whiteland 35-23. The Millers had three wrestlers go undefeated: Luke Chastain at 150 pounds, Aidan Kincaide at 165 and Yan Tioua at 190.
“This program is a process-based program,” said Weimer. “Everybody embraces the process. Guys aren’t worried about winning and losing. They’re embracing the process of getting better and learning.”
The day was especially satisfying for Kincaide, who had gotten injured around this time last year. He fractured his back, which he said put him “in a really dark place.”
“I just wanted to come back and compete,” said Kincaide. “And just being able to come out here and just wrestle for the glory of God, it just brings me so much joy.”
Tigers, Hounds to meet tonight
Carmel and Fishers both competed at the Shamrock Duals and will return to action tonight in a dual meet at the Greyhounds’ Eric Clark Activity Center.
Carmel was 3-2 at the Duals, beating Mt. Vernon 49-24, Yorktown 66-12 and Fishers 40-30. The Hounds fell to Homestead 37-31 and Noblesville.
Will Massey went undefeated for Carmel at 215 pounds. The Greyhounds have a new coach this year: Kyle Ayresman, who was a longtime assistant for Brownsburg, the two-time defending team state champion.
“We are a very green team when it comes to wrestling,” said Ayresman. “My first few months here is just about getting these kids more matches. Just go out and compete more so they can be ready for these larger matches when we get later in the year.”
Fishers went 2-3 at the meet, with wins over Rossville 44-27 and Westfield’s junior varsity 60-19. The Tigers fell to Westfield 45-27, Ben Davis 44-33 and Carmel.
Two Fishers wrestlers went unbeaten for the day: Camden Funk at 190 and Julian Burgett at 215.
“Overall I think we wrestled okay,” said Tigers coach Cameron Diep. “We have a lot of young guys who are first-timers in the varsity lineup, so we’re really trying to get those guys to turn the page and mature quicker than normal.”
Unfortunately, one of Fishers’ top wrestlers, Xavier Smith, is out for the season with an injury. Diep said the focus for Smith is getting him ready for college competition next season at Purdue.
“He is a very bright young kid and is a positive young kid and you’ll see him in the corner coaching with us,” said Diep.
