'I gotta take what's mine.' Mishawaka wrestler Beau Brabender focused on semistate title
Like a panther stalking his prey, Beau Brabender works his way around the wrestling mat.
Back and forth, the Mishawaka High School senior paces … and paces … and paces some more before he heads into the circle for a match.
“I like to set my territory,” says Brabender with a laugh. “I like to stay moving, stay warm, just game-planning for the match.”
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When he’s done putting in the miles and gets to center circle, Brabender’s opponent usually wishes he would have just kept walking.
Ranked No. 1 in the state in the 157-pound weight class by the wrestling Website, Indiana Mat, Brabender is undefeated this season at 39-0. He’s the odds-on favorite to win a championship at the state finals in Evansville on Feb. 17.
But before that, there’s a little matter of the East Chicago semistate this Saturday. Brabender — the defending champ — is very likely to run into Indiana’s No. 2-ranked 157-pounder, Adrian Pellot from Merrillville.
If that comes about — they wouldn’t meet until the finals — it will be a rematch, and a revenge match for Pellot. Brabender beat him by two points earlier this season at the Al Smith Invitational.
Sure, he might be tempted to look ahead, but Brabender says he’s only thinking about is his opening-round contest against Haydn Hood of Harrison-Lafayette.
“I always just focus on (the match) in front of me, never overlook anybody,” Brabender said. “Get into my offense, try to get the first takedown and mind my P’s and Q’s.”
The top four finishers in each weight class advance to state, which starts Friday, Feb. 16 and ends Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Ford Center in Evansville. The finals are being moved from their usual location in Indianapolis because the capital city is hosting the NBA’s All-Star Game.
The semistate begins 10 a.m. Eastern time, 9 a.m. Central time, at East Chicago High School. To make the top four, a wrestler must win his first two matches.
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Brabender finished fourth at state last year in the 152-pound class, which only fuels his ambition to finish on top this season. But he knows there are a lot of other guys with the same goal. He says he doesn’t take anything for granted, even if he is ranked No. 1.
“Everybody else is working for what they want, and if I’m not working every day to get better, then people are going to head-hunt for me,” he said. “I gotta take what’s mine.”
Be the aggressor in every match, he says. Score first.
“Scoring right away is very important,” says Brabender. “There’s a statistic saying that the guy who scores the first takedown will win 85 percent of the time, and I think that holds true.
“I don’t overlook anybody, but I’m always confident,” Brabender said. “I can wrestle with anybody and I can beat anybody.”
Another intriguing matchup — at least, where the Tribune area is concerned — may occur in the 144-pound class. If they both reach the finals, New Prairie’s undefeated sophomore, Jeffrey Huyvaert (42-0) could face Mishawaka senior Zar Walker (39-1).
Huyvaert is ranked No. 3 by Indiana Mat. Walker is No. 6.
Unfortunately, in the 150-pound class, at least one very good local wrestler will be sent home early. If each wins his opening match, Penn’s Wesley Harper (29-2) and New Prairie’s Jayden Lewis (38-4) will meet in the ticket round, with only one advancing to state. Both are ranked.
Wrestlers who advanced from last Saturday's Goshen regional will compete in Fort Wayne’s semistate at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum. New Haven’s Julianna Ocampo (33-1), who is ranked No. 7 in the 106-pound class, hopes to become the first female ever to win a semistate title. She was runner-up a year ago.CAPSULE CAPSULE
IHSAA SEMISTATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Top four finishers Saturday in each weight class advance to IHSAA state finals in Evansville on Friday, Feb. 16.
At East Chicago
■ WHERE: East Chicago High School
■ START TIME: 9 a.m. CST / 10 a.m. EST
TRIBUNE-AREA COMPETITORS
106: Riley Griffin (La Porte) 10-7; Brody Blevins (Mishawaka) 29-10; Aidan Diaz (Penn) 3-3; Alonzo Chantea (Plymouth) 42-2. 113: Chance Smith (Mishawaka) 15-16; Brady Harper (Penn) 29-3; Colin Moats (Bremen) 28-6; Caleb Halfacre (New Prairie) 34-7. 120: Brody King (John Glenn) 36-7; Alex LaCava (Marian) 35-10; Ryan Schmidtendorff (Penn) 34-8; Josh Kite (Mishawaka) 31-8. 126: Dylan Bennett (Penn) 28-7; Coen Kraemer (Plymouth) 33-11; Josh Chapman (John Glenn) 26-10; Caden Garza (Marian) 33-12.
132: Colby Smith (Mishawaka) 18-19; Walter Drews (John Glenn) 36-8; Seth Wright (Plymouth), 34-8; Preston Manzuk (Marian) 31-14. 138: Jonah Skiles (LaVille) 22-15; Wesley Smith (Plymouth) 43-1; Josh England (La Porte) 25-7; Jake Petras (Penn) 24-15. 144: Jeffrey Huyvaert (New Prairie) 42-0; Christopher Firebaugh (Plymouth) 35-6; Aidan Whitten (Penn) 22-14; Reece Greene (Bremen) 28-7; Zar Walker (Mishawaka) 39-1.
150: Wes Harper (Penn) 29-2; Jayden Lewis (New Prairie) 38-4; Caydn Smith (Plymouth) 42-2. 157: Isaiah Rivas (Riley) 24-12; Christopher Scott (Penn) 22-9; Beau Brabender (Mishawaka) 39-0. 165: Leonardo Santiago (Penn) 19-14; Will Kennedy (Mishawaka) 35-4; Marques Young (Riley) 34-6. 175: Kevin Szajko (Mishawaka) 21-15; Mason Kobelt (John Glenn) 37-6; Zymarion Hollyfield (Penn) 13-1; Caiden Paredes (New Prairie) 37-6; Jeirmi Scales (Riley) 27-9.
190: Aiden Ziegler (New Prairie) 33-8; Trey Dunning (Mishawaka) 29-9; Tavion Lee (Washington) 20-11; Vinny Freeman (Penn) 31-2; Samuel Pressler (La Porte), 18-18. 215: Malachi Evans (Penn) 24-11; Jonathan Neese (LaVille) 26-3. 285: Brody Brown (Penn) 37-11; Chris Johnson (New Prairie) 32-8; Anthony Popi (Plymouth) 39-5.
At Fort Wayne
■ WHERE: Allen County Memorial Coliseum
■ START TIME: 8:30 a.m. EST
TRIBUNE-AREA COMPETITORS
106: Cole Carper (Jimtown) 31-5. 113: Cole Hinkel (Goshen) 35-4; Kaiden Braden (Concord) 22-11; 120: Aden Hartman (Jimtown) 26-6. 126: Will Hahn (NorthWood) 30-8. 132: Lynkyn Ratcliff (NorthWood) 27-10; Donovan Cunningham (Concord) 27-9; Graysen Beasley (Northridge) 34-1. 138: Matthew Senn (Fairfield) 28-8; Cam Dews (Elkhart) 35-4. 144: Cohen Lundy (Elkhart) 21-8. 157: Brennon Whicker (Elkhart) 27-5.
165: Chance McCollough, (Elkhart) 31-9; Jonathon Flores (Goshen) 30-9. 175: Cameron Freedline (Elkhart) 12-3; Laish Detwiler (Goshen) 39-1. 190: Keith Miller (NorthWood) 23-7; Kaullin Price (Elkhart) 29-10. 215: Brady King (NorthWood) 21-7; Travis Henke (Northridge) 36-1. 285: Jeremiah Riffell (Concord) 26-7; Brody Streeter (Northridge) 28-9.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: IHSAA semistate wrestling preview: Qualifiers, start time location
