Harrison claims 13th straight IHSAA Wrestling Sectional Title
LAFAYETTE — Harrison sophomore 106-pound wrestler Dwayne Putt was on the verge of having his shoulder pinned after being outmaneuvered and taken down by skilled Lafayette Jeff freshman Parker Barnard.
Putt was down 7-3 in the opening 30 seconds and then winced in pain, grabbing his left elbow. He had pinched a nerve but there was never a question as to whether the spry 5-foot-5 Putt would finish the match.
"I lost feeling in it but I told myself I can't lose this one," Putt said. "I set it in my mind."
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Putt battled back and with one aggressive reversal, he turned Barnard on his back to score a pin with 50 seconds in the first period and claim the 106-pound IHSAA Sectional Championship at Lafayette Jeff High School.
Putt was part of another sectional meet coated in blue and orange for the Raiders. Harrison won its 13th consecutive team IHSAA Sectional Championship and scored 274.5 points.
For the first time, Harrison had wrestlers from all 14 divisions qualify for the Logansport Regional.
"We have big goals as a team this year for regionals," said Harrison 175-pound sectional champion Ethan Popp. "To be able to get all 14 guys, I know they've all worked very, very hard and we wouldn't expect anything less from them."
McCutcheon placed second in team scoring with 254.5 points while Delphi and Faith Christian tied for third with 125 points. West Lafayette placed fifth with 116.5 points, Lafayette Jeff placed sixth with 97 points, Seeger scored 96 points to place seventh, Attica placed eighth with 67 points, Central Catholic finished ninth with 45 points and Carroll finished 10th with 20 points.
Among the most impressive overall performances was Harrison senior 165-pound wrestler Isaac Sinks who is 37-0 this season after moving to West Lafayette from Manhattan, Kansas. Sinks had been a two-time state placer in Kansas but moved to Indiana after his father took a job working at the Caterpillar Large Engine Center.
"The highlight of moving to Indiana has been this tournament," Sinks said. "It was huge getting to see all the teams and getting to wrestle."
While Sinks and Popp have become a hardened duo for Harrison, the same could be said for McCutcheon featuring 190-pound sectional champion Brock Finney and 215-pound sectional champion Cole Chicoine.
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Chicoine and Finney each won their titles via pinfall in the first period.
"I had a good day, I learned a lot from today and that will help me moving forward going into the state tournament," Finney said. "I learned to take better shot defense."
Notables from West Lafayette included sisters Isabel and Rose Kaplan who each made it to the Logansport Regional next Saturday. Isabel placed second after reaching the 113-pound title match before being pinned in the championship by McCutcheon junior Josh Marlin. Rose received the final 126-pound regional spot after pinning Delphi senior Brandon Terrell and finished fourth.
Here are the top pins and moves from the 2024 IHSAA Wrestling Lafayette Jeff Sectional Meet and a list of wrestlers by weight class who qualified for next week's Logansport Regional Meet.
And that ladies and gentlemen is 27 seconds of pure domination. Cole Chicoine 215-pound champion. @samueltking #boilercountryscores pic.twitter.com/10ai32M40V
— Ethan Hanson (@EthanAHanson) January 27, 2024
Move of the meet - Cole Chicoine - McCutcheon
Sometimes the world of high school wrestling can be a tad bit hard. It gets even harder when being on the receiving end and having to face an extremely technical and powerful wrestler like Chicoine.
Chicoine picked apart Harrison sophomore Joseph Gutierrez in the 215-pound title match. The senior picked Gutierrez up off his two feet, displaying immense strength and control. Gutierrez had little defense for Chicoine who was the 215-pound state runner-up in 2023.
Chicoine put on a show and earned another commanding win.
Huge win for Ethan Seubring of Faith Christian pinning Tiernen Tuttle of Harrison to crown himself 138-pound sectional champion. @FCS_EagleSpirit #boilercountryscores pic.twitter.com/ZxDiK2nEmZ
— Ethan Hanson (@EthanAHanson) January 27, 2024
Pin of the night - Ethan Seubring - Faith Christian
The sophomore Seubring displayed a high level of discipline and while hooking the leg and back of his 138-pound opponent Tiernen Tuttle.
Seubring shifted quickly while keeping Tuttle on his back to score the win and earn the sectional title. Seubring is Faith Christian's first 2-time sectional champion and holds the program record for most pins in a season.
Wrestlers that qualified for IHSAA Logansport Regionals
106
1st - Dwayne Putt - Harrison - sophomore
2nd - Parker Barnard - Lafayette Jeff - freshman
3rd - Braden Montez - McCutcheon - freshman
4th - Wyatt Asay - West Lafayette - freshman
113
1st - Josh Marlin - McCutcheon - Junior
2nd - Isabel Kaplan - West Lafayette - Sophomore
3rd - Brice Emery - Harrison - Sophomore
4th - Josh Barton - Faith Christian - Freshman
120
1st - Aiden Dallinger - McCutcheon - Senior
2nd - Kayden Stonebraker - Seeger - Junior
3rd - Aaron Dewell - Harrison - Sophomore
4th - Tats Greiner - West Lafayette - Junior
More: West Lafayette wrestler Rose Kaplan wins second straight state title
126
1st - Wyatt Strickler - McCutcheon - Senior
2nd - Logan McClimans - Attica - Senior
3rd - Seth Dewell - Harrison - Sophomore
4th - Rose Kaplan - West Lafayette - Senior
132
1st - Dylan Fernandez - Harrison - Senior
2nd - Tavien Smith - Faith Christian - Sophomore
3rd - Rafael Sanchez - McCutcheon - Freshman
4th - Rylan Farrell - Attica - Senior
138
1st - Ethan Seubring - Faith Christian - Sophomore
2nd - Tiernen Tuttle - Harrison - Junior
3rd - Hayden Foley - McCutcheon - Junior
4th - Anthony Bowen - Seeger - Freshman
144
1st - John Bush - Lafayette Jeff - Senior
2nd - Nolan Richards - Harrison - Senior
3rd - Keaton Scheffee - McCutcheon - Senior
4th - Rylan Meador - Carroll - Sophomore
150
1st - Boden Rice - Attica - Senior
2nd - Carter Heriges - Harrison - Sophomore
3rd - Nathan Phebus - Delphi - Senior
4th - Eli Blossom - Faith Christian - Senior
157
1st - Javon Frost - Delphi - Senior
2nd - Zachary White Jr. - Faith Christian - Junior
3rd - Haydn Hood - Harrison - Junior
4th - Brody Ashby - Seeger - Senior
165
1st - Isaac Sinks - Harrison - Senior
2nd - Matthew Hughes - McCutcheon - Senior
3rd - Cameron Brown - Faith Christian - Senior
4th - Porter Mitrione - West Lafayette - Senior
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175
1st - Ethan Popp - Harrison - Senior
2nd - Orlando Castaneda - McCutcheon - Junior
3rd - Paul Walgamuth - Lafayette Jeff - Sophomore
4th - Isaiah Frost - Delphi - Sophomore
190
1st - Brock Finney - McCutcheon - Senior
2nd - Eli Switzer - Central Catholic - Senior
3rd - Martin Koen - Harrison - Sophomore
4th - Niko Karlaftis - West Lafayette - Sophomore
215
1st - Cole Chicoine - McCutcheon - Senior
2nd - Joseph Gutierrez - Harrison - Sophomore
3rd - Lannon Pickering - Delphi - Senior
4th - David Curl - West Lafayette - Senior
285
1st - Alex Luna - McCutcheon - Junior
2nd - Connor Merzdorf - Senior
3rd - Ethan Mcllrath - Delphi - Freshman
4th - Kayne Acton - Seeger - Junior
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Harrison claims 13th straight IHSAA Wrestling Sectional Title