These are the Bloomington-area high school wrestlers to watch in 2023-24
The mats are back out so here's a quick look at the boys wrestlers to watch at the Bloomington area's four programs at Bloomington North, South, Edgewood and Owen Valley.
Also note that there are new middleweight classes this year at 144 pounds, 150, 157, 165, 175, 190 and 215.
Bloomington South is even younger than usual
HEAD COACH: Mike Runyon, 11th year.
TOP RETURNERS: Cam Meier, Jr. (36-6 at 106); Wayne Harden, So. (12-11 at 120); Wyatt Cooksey, So. (23-12 at 132); Evan Roudebush, Jr. (34-3 at 152).
OUTLOOK: A group of 23 is out for the Panthers and 10 of them are freshmen, several of whom will hold down varsity spots as things get underway. "I've always said we've been young in the past but we're extremely young," Runyon said. "But we've got some good young kids who have been with us through elementary and middle school and now high school. But with our strength of schedule, they are going to get thrown into the fire right away." In all, six are back from last year's sectional squad with another out for the season. Sophomore Hunter Fender (26-14 at 145), a semistate qualifier last year, is done after getting hip surgery this summer that also took him out of football. The injury bug has also sidelined Harden (football) and sophomore Andrew Matthews (150-57) for the time being.
Healthy are ready to go are Meier (ranked No. 2), who made a run to state last year at 106, finishing fourth. He's at 113 this year. Cooksey comes back at 144 after a semistate appearance as does Roudebush (165), with both looking to take the next step. Brian Conley (126), Tristan Hicks (175) also return as starters. Other wrestlers back include Carson Bohall (150) and Duncan Hand (215), the lone senior and battling Oliver Piwoszkin, who wrestled several varsity matches last year. Among the newcomers are freshmen Jaxsen Jean at 106, William Maitha (120), Amrin Pratt (132), Corbin Coulter (138), Mason Grubb (190) and first-year wrestler Johnathan Merriman (285) and sophomore Quincy Edwards (157). Junior Tyler Norris, a middle school wrestler, is back in the sport and one of several football players coming in after a semistate run kept them out of the room until late November.
Bloomington North is older than usual
HEAD COACH: Roy Bruce, 2nd year.
TOP RETURNERS: Cael Hickok, Sr. (31-11 at 160); Jeremiah Casillas, Sr. (27-12 at 152).
OUTLOOK: The Cougars have eight from last year's sectional roster back and finally have a number of juniors and seniors for the first time in a while. They'll be led by Hickock, a semistate qualifier and Casillas, who has made such huge improvements, he's holding down 165 over Hickok (157). Bruce's off-season roster of nearly 50 is now at 35, a clear indication of the increase in enthusiasm at North. "The kids want to work," Bruce said. "They want to come in and work and they're pushing each other and that depth makes our varsity guys even better." North started the season with a runner-up team finish at Jasper on Nov. 18. Other returners are senior Kanye Roberts-Gray, dropping from 126 to 120), his drill partner junior Cas Crevello (126), sophomore Yanni Nunez, battling three others for the 138 spot; sophomore Michael Tedrow (144), up from JV, senior Darren Burns (150), sophomore Axsel Garza (175) and senior Chase May (285), who has already topped his win and pin totals from 2022-23.
At 106, expected starter freshman Jacob Gadd is out with a broken arm, opening it up to frosh Oscar Rigdon and Kyle Burton, with the other taking over at 113. Freshmen Trae Hopkins (132) and Mattheus Wynalda (190) hold those spots while 215 will see either junior Sean Connellon and sophomore Peter Bossev. "It's great they can learn off the seniors," Bruce said. "We are having fun. Everybody is into it and everyone is picking each other up. We're one big team. That culture is building."
Edgewood hoping a busy offseason pays off
HEAD COACH: Danny Coyne, 2nd year.
TOP RETURNERS: John Orman, So. (26-9 at 113); Landon Clement, Sr. (25-12 at 132); Michael Neidigh, Jr. (21-17 at 152).
OUTLOOK: The Mustangs welcome eight back from the sectional squad and have 13 of the 14 weight classes filled, save for 175, for its second-year coach. They spent the off-season preparing to battle the bigger schools they'll have to go through in the postseason. "Most of the team put in a lot of off-season work in," Coyne said. "There's been a big mentality change. This team seems to want to do more off-season work. They're hungry and striving to get better. We want to be better." Orman, a semistate qualifier now at 120, is off to a flying start but upcoming battles with ranked foes in the next few weeks will be important tests. Clement (138) is also back off a semistate appearance and can thrive this season if he stays healthy. Neidigh (150) was a regional qualifier.
Also back and improved are sophomore Kaitlyn Holmes at 106, senior Peyton Arthur (132), junior Joel Silvernail (144), sophomore Cayleb Stephens (157) and senior Trenton Fender (215). Another returning junior, Keegan Lane, and 6-5, 235-pound freshman Kamin Strunk, who has a background in MMA, will fill the 285 slot. New faces to watch include freshman Andrew Eyster at 113, who Coyne calls, "tough as nails," junior Cayleb Sides (126), sophomore Cameron Richardson (165) and sophomore Christian Fields (190).
Injuries slowing Owen Valley early
HEAD COACH: Steven Spicer, 6th year.
TOP RETURNERS: Eli Collier, Sr. (20-12 at 113); Jackson Emery, Jr. (20-16 at 126); Branson Weaver, Sr. (34-6 at 138); Kyvan Bandy, Sr. (27-12 at 182)
OUTLOOK: The Patriots have a solid group of 28, including 10 back from the sectional squad, that will be missing a few key pieces early on due to injuries. OV has had three different lineups so far. Leading the returnees is Weaver, a state qualifier who did it the hard way without winning a sectional or regional title, will compete at 144 and 150 this year, but likely the smaller weight for the postseason. Collier (120) and Emery (132) were both regional qualifiers last year.
Also back are sophomore Isaiah White (126), senior Jensen Ackison (157), senior Quaid Hinshaw (165) and sophomore Collin Willen (190). Hinshaw has gotten off to a 10-1 start. Newcomers to the lineup are freshman Austin Boltinghouse (106), sophomores Hunter Sloan (138) and Dylan Hale (285) and junior Kacey Orman at 215. Out for now are Bandy (190), a semistate qualifier, 150-pound junior Lucas McBee (broken hand), 113-pound junior Tray Reuter (2-3 weeks, knee) and 175-pound freshman Braddock Nickless (shoulder).
Girls' programs spreading
Girls' wrestling is on the rise in Indiana and each of the area's four programs will have athletes competing this year. The sport is not sanctioned by the IHSAA yet, but more female-only tournaments are popping up and the state coaches association is once again holding a girls' state championship in early January.
At South, coach Donnie Hillenburg has nine athletes out including Joclyn Herrera (105), Lila Pierce (115), Faith Hand (120), Abi Goodwin (135), Victoria Moore (145), Henna Ahmed and Caylee Minton (155), Shell Murphy (190) and Jaclyn Hillenburg and Dorthy Fisher (235).
Edgewood has five, four competing: Halle Sanders (100), Zoey Zambrano (140), Helen Bower (190) and Ayrica DeHart (235), who recently won a tourney title at Monrovia. North has two, Alexandria Burns (135) and Joanna Hanner (170) and Owen Valley two, Aaliyah White (135) and Addie Woods (155)
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington-area IHSAA high school wrestlers to watch in 2023-24
