Mishawaka's Zar Walker falls in state title wrestling tilt
It takes guts to make a championship match at the IHSAA state wrestling finals. And it takes more guts to compete when you are hurt.
Imagine what it must take to do both at the same time.
Mishawaka senior Zar Walker found out during his 144-pound weight class final Saturday night at Evansville’s Ford Center. He lost to New Haven’s Easton Doster, 6-4.
Walker injured his shoulder when Doster slammed him to the mat with 1:04 remaining. He was cleared by medical staff to continue, but the match was halted again a few seconds later when Doster was called for an illegal hold.
Penalty points were awarded in each case but there was no disqualification. Theoretically, Walker could have won the match if he had been unable to continue. But to his credit, he fought to the end.
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Doster, undefeated at 39-0, became the first New Haven wrestler ever to win a state title. Walker (46-2) was attempting to repeat the accomplishment of his brother, Joe Walker, who won the 182-pound state title in 2020.
Walker was the only area wrestler to reach the championship round. In fact, only two out of eight survived the morning quarterfinals … Walker and Plymouth heavyweight Anthony Popi.
Popi eventually finished fourth.
The hoped-for rematch between Walker and New Prairie’s Jeffrey Huyvaert never materialized as the Cougar sophomore was defeated in his 144-pound quarterfinal match against Center Grove’s Reese Courtney, 7-2.
Huyvaert eventually finished fifth, beating Brownsburg’s Parker Reynolds, 1-0, in the consolation round. He finishes his sophomore season with an unofficial state record of 398 takedowns.
Also finishing fifth was Mishawaka’s Beau Brabender, who suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 quarterfinal loss to Mitchell Betz of Western, the eventual champ. Brabender was hit with a locked-hands penalty when only three seconds remained on the clock.
He pinned Silas Foster of Purdue Polytechnic in the fifth-place consolation match.
Sixth-place finishes went to Penn’s Wesley Harper (150-pound class) and Travis Henke of Northridge (215). Like Brabender, Harper dropped a 4-3 decision in the morning round, giving up a takedown to Evansville Mater Dei’s Tyler Vanover with two seconds remaining.
Penn’s Brady Harper (113) and Zymarion Hollyfield (175) each finished eighth.
In a stunning finish, three schools finished within 3-1/2 points in the battle for a team title. Defending champ Crown Point, the pre-meet favorite, was the third of those, scoring 121 points.
Center Grove scored 121 ½ to finish second, while Brownsburg won its first state championship since 2017, scoring 124 ½.
In the semifinals, Walker defeated Owen Valley’s Branson Weaver, 4-3. Popi fell to Center Grove’s Nate Johnson, 9-0.
The 144 finale was a wild match from start to finish. After a scoreless first period, Doster scored two points on a tilt as the second period began. Walker escaped at the 1:30 mark.
In the third period, Walker landed a blast double that looked like a sure takedown, but the official ruled it out of bounds. Doster got a takedown with 1:12 left to take a 5-2 advantage.
That’s when the trouble began, with Doster’s slam leaving Walker flat on the mat needing medical attention. He returned to center ring, only to apply what the television announcers described as a full-Nelson.
There was discussion, but Walker insisted the match continue, and a false start penalty against Walker yielded the final score.
“I was tired of taking a back seat,” said Doster. “I trusted myself, did my thing and I won.”
IHSAA STATE WRESTLING FINALS
At Evansville
TEAM SCORES (Top 20): Brownsburg 124 ½, Center Grove 121 ½, Crown Point 121, Warren Central 71, Avon 52, Evansville Mater Dei 50, Floyd Central 42, Indianapolis Roncalli 39 ½, Indianapolis Cathedral 39, Delta 32 ½, Monrovia 29, New Haven 28 ½, Bellmont 28, Mishawaka 28, Merrillville 28, Western 28, Lawrence North 26, Rossville 26, Tell City 26, New Castle 24.
ALSO: Penn 15 … Plymouth 11 … New Prairie 10 … Northridge 6.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
106: Peyton Schoettle (Indianapolis Roncalli) dec. Mason Jones (Lake Central), 3-2.
113: Revin Dickman (Brownsburg) dec. Nathan Rioux (Avon), 5-0.
120: Charlie LaRocca (Center Grove) dec. Ty Henderson (Evansville Mater Dei), 3-2.
126: Luke Rioux (Avon) dec. Isaiah Schaefer (Evansville Mater Dei), 8-5.
132: Jake Hockaday (Brownsburg) pinned Hayden DeMarco (Chesterton), 2:31.
138: Kyrel Leavell (Warren Central) pinned Clinton Shepherd (Crown Pt.), 2:51.
144: Easton Doster (New Haven) dec. Zar Walker (Mishawaka), 6-4.
150: Wyatt Krejsa (Center Grove) dec. Hunter May (Floyd Central), 13-6.
157: Mitchell Betz (Western) dec. Adrian Pellot (Merrillville), 5-3.
165: Waylon Cressell (Warren Central) maj. dec. Duke Myers (Bellmont), 12-4.
175: Chase Leech (Garrett) dec. Bray Emerine (Floyd Central), 3-2.
190: Noah Weaver (Rossville) dec. Gunner Henry (Brownsburg), 10-6.
215: Will Clark (Crown Pt.) pinned Brandon Johnson (Lawrence No, 1:29.
285: Nate Johnson (Center Grove) pinned Hosia Smith (Indianapolis Cathedral), 1:47.
CONSOLATION ROUND
(For 3rd Place)
106: Royce Malone (Monrovia) pinned Jensen Boyd (Delta), 3:00. 113: Ayden Bollinger (Delta) dec. Jalen Sawyer-May (Kokomo), 3-2. 120: Gavin Jendreas (Crown Pt.) maj. dec. Isaac Ash (Monrovia), 16-6. 126: Braylon Reynolds (Brownsburg) dec. Gunner Butt (New Palestine), 3-0. 132: Tylin Thrine (New Castle) dec. Jackson Bradley (Cowan), 7-0. 138: Brady Ison (Brownsburg) dec. Tony Wood (Jay County), 3-1. 144: Reese Courtney (Center Grove) dec. Brandon Weaver (Owen Valley), 4-2.
150: Kaptur Nowaczyk (Crown Pt.) dec. Tyler Vanover (Evansville Mater Dei), 4-0. 157: Anthony Cashman (Warren Central) dec. Aidan Kincaide (Noblesville), 3-2. 165: Brant Beck (Rochester) won by inj. def. over Anthony Rinehart (Crown Pt.). 175: Aidan Costello (Hobart) dec. Ethan Farnell (Maconaquah), 2-0.
190: Noah Terry (Tell City) pinned Elias Cressell (Wabash), 0:13. 215: Jackson Weingart (Indianapolis Cathedral) won by def. over Caden Brewer (Brownsburg). 285: James Hartleroad (DeKalb) dec. Anthony Popi (Plymouth), 1-0.
CONSOLATION ROUND
(For 5th Place)
TRIBUNE-AREA WRESTLERS
144: Jeffrey Huyvaert (New Prairie) dec. Parker Reynolds (Brownsburg), 1-0.
150: Chris Bohn (Munster) pinned Wesley Harper (Penn), 3:33.
157: Beau Brabender (Mishawaka) pinned Silas Foster (Purdue Polytechnic), 0:41.
215: Keagan Martin (Bellmont) dec. Travis Henke (Northridge), 3-1 in OT.
CONSOLATION ROUND
(For 7th Place)
TRIBUNE-AREA WRESTLERS
113: Blake Getz (Indianapolis Roncalli) pinned Brady Harper (Penn), 3:53.
175: Kyle Harden (Indianapolis Cathedral) dec. Zymarion Hollyfield (Penn), 7-3.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Mishawaka's Zar Walker is IHSAA wrestling state runnerup at 144 pounds
