Two of a kind: OV's Weaver, South's Roudebush lead Herald-Times All-Area wrestling team

They both finished the season 43-3, each gaining their 100th career win. One was fourth in his weight class, the other fifth.

And since each wrestler is in a different weight class, well, we can't just get them together on the mat to break the tie. It's a race that's too close to call, so Owen Valley 144-pound senior Branson Weaver and Bloomington South 165-pound junior Evan Roudebush are the 2024 Herald-Times Wrestlers of the Year.

Both of them played important leadership roles this year by way of example, with their focus and dedication to the sport.

Branson Weaver is a historic figure

That's not hyperbole. Weaver is the first Patriot to medal at state since Matt Morin won the 145 crown in 1988. It's the kind of breakthrough sixth-year head coach Steven Spicer has been hoping for as he builds up OV's program, but it took Weaver's belief in himself to make it happen.

"I think he really bought in at a young age," Spicer said. "He set the blueprint, the standard that the rest of the program holds now.

"Whatever we did, Disney Duals, Midwest Classic, camps, he never missed any wrestling opportunity, in season out of season. And he's a natural leader. He has a 3.81 GPA, so he's intelligent and other kids want to be around him. He's held that role well."

Weaver was just a face in the crowd in middle school when Spicer first got to know him. "But you could tell in warmups he was super athletic," Spicer said. "At that time, he was playing football, wrestling, track, all the sports.

"It wasn't until eighth grade or as an incoming freshman that we realized, this is the guy who could be at state. He bought into everything, work ethic, diet, training, the mental aspect."

It was a process for Weaver, who lost in the first round at state last year, then came back to win his first 40 matches before suffering his first loss in the semistate semifinals. He bounced back from that right away to take third.

"Kids from OV can see it's possible," Spicer said. "They don't have to go to a bigger school. This being a classless sport, an individual sport, it doesn't matter where you go. Step to the line, slap hands and get after it."

Weaver got after it from a physical and mental standpoint, breaking down film, asking questions, willing to be coached and push himself. So he was always confident in himself when he stepped to the line, a huge factor when he faced the best in the state his last seven matches.

"He is the highest IQ wrestler I've ever coached," Spicer said. "A lot of people will get nervous and shut down. He lets it fly. It doesn't matter who he's wrestling, he throws everything he's got at them."

As a result, Weaver set school records for season win (43), consecutive wins (40) and career wins, finishing 133-19, along with season (31) and career (94) pins.

'Be like Branson'

His success sends a message to current Patriots returning next year and those in the pipeline that a kid from Spencer or Patricksburg can make it to the big show and succeed once they get there.

The hope is Weaver's feats mean it will inspire someone else, so it won't be another 36-year wait. In the meantime, Weaver, whose wrestling career is over (he plans to study nursing at Indiana University) remains a celebrity in Owen County and the best ambassador for the sport the Patriots could hope for.

At a recent middle school practice, Weaver made an appearance, and gave every kid, all 31, a chance to go at him, one after the other. Then he showed up at usual for a workout with the high school team.

"You see the light on Branson," Spicer said. "Especially in Owen County. We told him, 'You're the man, enjoy it. It's short-lived.' He still has since the state meet, not missed an off-season practice.

"He wants to coach one of the elementary school teams. Everyone looks up to him, from the juniors to middle schoolers."

Evan Roudebush keeps climbing

Like Weaver, Roudebush is an important guy in his practice room.

South sent a large number of freshmen and sophomores onto the mat all season, the 'Baby Brigade' as they were known, and into the postseason and with them was a junior in relentless pursuit of a state title.

They watched Roudebush come closer than he ever has this year but had his disappointing setback to deal with, losing his first postseason match of the year in the quarterfinals at state. Dream broken, he finished out with a pin and a 5-0 decision to finish as high as he possibly could at that point.

Two of his losses this year were to the 165 state champ in Indiana and the 157 champ in Class AA in Illinois. Roudebush worked hard in the off-season to make himself almost unbeatable.

"And we're going to continue to work in this off-season on the same thing, finding some more offense," South coach Mike Runyon said. "It's more of a focus on some certain moves and different move you have to have when you're working again the higher level wrestlers to put moves together."

That starts with building up his confidence to take a chance against the top guys, to know that what he'll decide to do will most likely work and not open him up to a takedown.

"He just needs to have more confidence in his offense and open up a little bit more," Runyon said. "He has his defense down, but when he gets into the right match, the offense, he just doesn't have the offense.

"He needs to overcome that, so this summer, we're really going to go against the higher-end guys. We want to wrestle all higher-end guys, We want him to know that if he takes a shot, he's going to score."

With a career mark of 103-17, he's always been on the right track to win the 68th title in Bloomington (South) High School history.

"He came up a little bit short, but the improvement over last year (when Roudebush was upset at semistate), and the year before that has been positive," Runyon said. "He knows where he's going so we're headed in the right direction.

"And next year, we hope to get the grand prize."

2023-24 Herald-Times All-Area Wrestling Team

106: JAXSEN JEAN, South, Fr. (29-9)

First at sectional, second at regional, fell in first round at semistate. Jeff Classic champ. Conference Indiana champ.

113: ELI COLLIER, Owen Valley, Sr. (32-9)

First at sectional, first at regional to win his first postseason titles. Lost in second round at semistate. Western Indiana Conference runner-up at 120, eighth at Mooresville Holiday Classic at 120.

120: JOHN ORMAN, Edgewood, So. (27-7)

First at sectional, second at regional, lost in second round at semistate to eventual state champ. Western Indiana Conference champ at 120. Fifth at Mooresville Holiday Classic. Repeat All-Area, 53 career wins.

126: CAYLEB SIDES, Edgewood, Jr. (17-13)

Third at sectional, lost in regional opener. Second at Western Indiana Conference.

132: AMRIN PRATT, South, Fr. (20-15)

Second at sectional, third at regional, lost in first round at semistate. Goshen Invitational champ. Jeff Classic champ. Fourth at Conference Indiana.

138: WAYNE HARDEN, South, So. (9-4)

Third at sectional, lost in regional opener. Missed most of season due to injury. Repeat All-Area.

144: BRANSON WEAVER, Owen Valley, Sr. (43-3)

First at sectional, first at regional, third at semistate, fourth at state finals, first Patriot to medal since 1988. H-T Wrestler of the Year. Went undefeated until semifinals at semistate. Mooresville Holiday Classic champ. Bo Henry champ. Western Indiana Conference champ.

144: WYATT COOKSEY, South, So. (32-9)

Second at sectional, second at regional, lost in second round at semistate to eventual champ and third-place finisher at state. Jeff Classic champ. Goshen Invitational champ. Conference Indiana champ. 55 career wins. Repeat All-Area.

150: MICHAEL NEIDIGH, Edgewood, Jr. (29-6)

First at sectional, second at regional, lost in first round at semistate. Western Indiana Conference champ. Third at Capital City Classic. Fifth at Mooresville Holiday Classic. Honorable mention last year.

157: CAEL HICKOCK, North, Sr. (25-6)

First at sectional, first at regional, fourth at semistate, lost in first round at state to eventual runner-up. 66 wins last two seasons. Fourth at Mooresville Holiday Classic. Bo Henry champ. Missed Conference Indiana meet due to injury. Repeat All-Area.

165: EVAN ROUDEBUSH, South, Jr. (43-3)

First at sectional, first at regional, first at semistate, fifth at state finals, finishing season with a pin in 4:38 and a 5-0 decision. Only losses were to Illinois 2A state champ at 157 and Indiana's first and third place finishers at 165. Jeff Classic champ. Goshen Invitational champ. Conference Indiana champ. 103 career wins. Three-time all-area.

175: TRISTIAN HICKS, South, Jr. (18-20)

Third at sectional, fourth at regional, lost in first round at semistate. Fourth at Jeff Classic. Third at Goshen Invitational.

190: MASON GRUBB, South, Fr. (18-18)

Third at sectional, lost in first round at regional. Third at Goshen Invitational.

215: OLIVER PIWOSZKIN, South, So. (17-12)

Injury kept him out of the postseason. Second at Conference Indiana.

285: DYLAN HALE, Owen Valley, So. (33-9)

Third at sectional and fourth at regional, lost in first round at semistate. Fifth at Mooresville Holiday Classic. Third at Western Indiana Conference.

HONORABLE MENTION: Austin Boltinghouse, Owen Valley, Fr. (24-13 at 106); Trey Reuter, Owen Valley, Jr. (20-9 at 113, 120); Kanye Roberts-Gray, North, Sr. (18-10 at 120); Trae Hopkins, North, Fr. (22-14 at 132); Peyton Arthur, Edgewood, Sr. (15-16 at 132); Joel Silvernail, Edgewood, Jr. (14-9 at 144); Lucas McBee, Owen Valley, Jr. (14-6 at 150); Carson Boholl, South, Jr. (21-15 at 150); Cayleb Stephens, Edgewood, So. (21-11 at 157); Jeremiah Casillas, North, Sr. (24-11 at 165).

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on X @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: OV's Weaver, South's Roudebush head Herald-Times All-Area wrestling