ANDERSON, Ind. —
For Alexandria’s Luke Blanton, Pendleton Heights’ Clint Nicholson and Shenandoah’s Jacob Lumpkin, qualifying for the 2012 IHSAA State Individual Wrestling finals brings a bevy of emotions.
For Blanton, it’s a bittersweet feeling.
He finished third at the New Castle Semistate and will face Culver Academies junior Anthony McHugh in the first round Friday. Both wrestlers have 43-1 records on the season. Blanton is rated No. 3 at 132 pounds by IndianaMat.com, while McHugh is No. 8 and finished second at the Merrillville Semistate.
While Luke Blanton is happy to return to Indianapolis for the state tournament, he would love to be walking in the Parade of Champions with his brothers and fellow Tigers Josh and Jon on Friday.
“It won’t be the same without them,” Luke said. “It’s great (that I’m going) and that’s what I’m thinking right now.”
Last year, Blanton pulled out a dramatic comeback in the first round to reach Saturday’s competition. That’s where he got caught looking ahead.
Blanton lost his first match of the morning to Jimtown’s Nick Crume in the quarterfinals. This time around, Blanton plans to have tunnel vision.
“Last year I learned to not overlook anybody whatsoever,” Blanton said. “I beat the No. 1 seed, rated third in the state. I was thinking I was all hot. I just looked over somebody and got beat, like I should have. This year I can look past anybody. I want to wrestle my match and just dominate everybody.”
“He’s been there before, he has the experience and knows what it’s like,” Tigers coach Jack Grimaldi said. “He’s just got to go one match at a time and hopefully he’ll be able to put it all together and have a good (two) days.”
For Nicholson and Lumpkin, the trip to the state finals will be their first.
Both be facing a semistate champions after placing fourth in their respective weight classes at New Castle.
Nicholson is 34-9 this season and ranked No. 16 in the 160-pound division. The Arabians senior will face Kokomo senior Jesse Goodnight, who is 51-2 on the season and ranked No. 7 at 160 pounds. He won the championship at the Fort Wayne Semistate.
“I think it means a lot to him,” PH coach Dave Cloud said. “He really wanted to wrestle at state finals. It means a tremendous amount to him. It’s something that he will always cherish.”
Nicholson will be one of two Pendleton Heights wrestlers in the Parade of Champions. The second is his training partner, classmate and good friend Mason Todd.
“It’s going to be real cool,” Nicholson said. “We always talked about going to state together. We trained real hard together, and we’ve made it.”
Lumpkin, a junior, is the first Shenandoah wrestler to participate in the Parade of Champions since 1997.
“I haven’t been there since 2006, my senior year,” Shenandoah coach Gary Black said. “In my opinion, (the Parade of Champions) is the greatest spectacle in high school sports. It’s going to be really special and I can’t wait for him to be a part of it.”
“It means a lot. That’s all I can say about that,” Lumpkin said. “I’ve been focused on (qualifying for state) since middle school.”
Like his peers, Lumpkin’s path to Bankers Life Fieldhouse has been paved with hard work in the wrestling room.
“He’s been one of the hardest workers in the room since he was a freshman,” Black said. “I think he can wrestle with anybody if he goes out there and works hard.”
In the first round, Lumpkin (40-4) will face Bellmont senior Ben Baker (42-2). Baker was the 195-pound champion at Fort Wayne.
High School Sports
Related Photos
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Alexandria's Luke Blanton wrestles Oak Hill's Riley Johnson during the Central Indiana Conference championships earlier this year. Don Knight
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Pendleton Heights' Clint Nicholson wrestles Frankton's Stephen Back during the Madison County championships earlier this year. Don Knight
Discussion
Wrestlers have eyes on prize
Different paths lead grapplers to state finals meet
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