ANDERSON — Sam Bennett, Mason Berryman and Mason Todd begin their quest to return to Indianapolis this week.
But the start of the high school wrestling season doesn’t signal their return to the mat. Far from it, in fact.
The trio of returning state finalists rarely have been out of competition since the IHSAA tournament ended last February.
“Each athletic season, in a lot of ways unfortunately, has come around to a year-round format,” Highland coach Kyle Poyer, who guides Bennett and Berryman, said. “It creates an opportunity for some of the best kids to have the means to get out-of-season competition. I think that can give some of the elite guys a leg up on the (high school) competition.”
Bennett and Pendleton Heights’ Todd competed at the National Freestyle Finals in Fargo, N.D., over the summer. Todd walked away with All-America honors in his 103-pound weight class and gained unique perspective and experience.
“That was a tremendous experience for him,” Arabians coach Dave Cloud said. “He not only had the experience of winning some matches and being an All-American, but the biggest thing he learned was how to compete. As a freshman or a sophomore going out there, you’re going to see some of the best kids in the country. You get to see how they compete, how they train, how they prepare. They can’t do anything but help you.”
Madison County wrestlers have had some pretty good role models close to home.
Highland’s Camden Eppert, now a freshman at Purdue, won his second state championship last year as a senior at 119 pounds. Pendleton Heights’ Matt Todd spent his senior season with an unbeaten record then won sectional, regional and semistate crowns before finishing second in the state at 160.
Bennett was third last year at 152, Berryman was fourth at 125 (one of the state’s deepest weight classes) and Mason Todd became the first Arabian freshman ever to qualify for the wrestling state finals.
In addition to the five state finalists, six other county wrestlers qualified for the semistate.
It was an impressive contingent that should help develop the next generation of stars.
“I think it does help, but not as much as you’d like,” Cloud said. “After a kid like Camden Eppert does what he did, Kyle should have 60 guys out this year wanting to be the next Camden Eppert. I should have 35 freshmen here wanting to be the next Matt Todd.
“But I think a select few kids do look at that and say, ‘That’s me. I want that to be me.’”
Bennett and Berryman had front-row seats for Eppert’s two state title runs. They plan to use that experience to claim their own medals this year.
“I want to see me and Mason both win together,” Bennett said. “That would be the first time Highland High School has had two state champions (in the same year) in any sport. We’re best friends, and I know it would mean a lot to our coaching staff. They put in a lot of time with us, especially (assistant coach) Maurice Swain.”
Berryman said the Scots’ stars help each other improve, even if it means their friendship takes a brief hiatus each day during practice in the wrestling room.
“In that room, we aren’t friends,” he said. “It’s like we hate each other. We’re going to battle as hard as we can, and we’re going to push each other as much as we can. Then, when it’s over and we get out of there, we can be friends again.”
Todd will attempt to return to the state finals without the support of older brother, Matt. The two were nearly inseparable last year as they climbed the rungs to Indianapolis.
But Mason has come back this season a changed man.
Always aggressive, he’s developed a new seriousness about the sport.
“He’s definitely a lot more confident,” Cloud said. “He feels he has a chance to be a top-five finisher at 103. He’s always been a hard worker, but he knows now the very best kids put in that little extra effort.”
Extra effort could be needed in a county race sure to be tight.
Jack Grimaldi is rebuilding a strong program at Alexandria, and Matt Goen and Fred Short are expected to have improved clubs at Anderson and Elwood, respectively.
Throw in some budding stars for Nate Andrews at Lapel, and the race for the county title could become crowded very quickly.
“I think you’re going to see a lot more competition in the county this year,” said Cloud.
High School Sports
County grapplers look for strong run
Three wrestlers eye return to IHSAA State Finals
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Tipton bedevils Madison-Grant
The Madison-Grant softball team dug a deep hole on Friday night in the championship game of the Class 2A, Sectional 39 at Eastern High School in Greentown. Trailing 5-0 after four innings, the Argylls scratched their way back into the game, but were on the short end of a 5-4 decision against the Tipton Blue Devils.
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Indians’ Dabney headed to state
The North Central Boys Track Regional is traditionally one of the toughest in the state with powerhouses Lawrence Central, Ben Davis, Pike and the host Panthers among the competitors
But that didn’t faze Anderson senior Derrick Dabney, who turned in two brilliant performances in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles at Thursday’s regional to advance to the state meet at Indiana University in Bloomington next Saturday. -
Roller coaster ride comes to end for Lapel
The Lapel Bulldogs couldn’t overcome one more hurdle in their roller-coaster season on Thursday as they fell to Wapahani 4-1 in the softball championship game of the Class 2A, Sectional 40 at Shenandoah High School.
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Mason powers Bulldogs into final
The Frankton pitching staff opened the door just a tick Thursday with occasional bouts of wildness. Lapel sophomore Dane Mason blew the door off its hinges with the first multi-homer game of his high school career — including a walk-off grand slam — and the third-ranked Bulldogs stomped the rival Eagles 14-3 to reach this Class 2A baseball sectional final.
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Panthers upset Tigers in sectional
Elwood used a seven-run third-inning to stun Alexandria 11-5 and advance to the semifinals of the Class 2A baseball sectional at Eastern.
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Shenandoah bows out with loss to Wapahani
Wapahani’s Red Raiders advanced to the championship game of the Class 2A Frankton Baseball Sectional with a 7-2 win over Shenandoah.
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Arabians defend softball title
The Pendleton Heights softball team seemed determined Wednesday to both learn from the past and repeat the parts of it that it found favorable.
That combination resulted in a 7-1 victory over Greenfield and the 4A sectional championship.
The Arabians will play the champion from the Roncalli Sectional in Tuesday’s regional at Pendleton Heights at 7 p.m. -
Pendleton Heights survives round one
The bottom of Pendleton Heights’ batting order came up big Wednesday, and the Arabians survived to fight another day in this Class 4A baseball sectional.
Brandon Schnepp, Skyler Reis and Augdan Wilson — PH’s seventh, eighth and ninth hitters — combined to hit 6-for-8 with two doubles, four runs scored and four RBIs. That was enough to keep the Arabians one step ahead of upstart Connersville until a five-run sixth-inning rally broke open the 10-4 victory. -
Tribe snaps out of long sectional funk
The Anderson Indians baseball team didn’t just get a monkey off their collective backs, they knocked it out of the park ... three times.
Behind a trio of home runs and a strong pitching performance by Curtis Wilson, Anderson won its first sectional baseball game in three years. -
Eagles, Bulldogs reach semifinals
Wednesday was a good night if you were a fan of the Frankton-Lapel Community Schools baseball teams as Frankton knocked off Winchester 17-7 and Lapel routed Muncie Burris 5-1 in Class 2A baseball sectional play.
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