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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Madison-Grant outlasts Alex
Jeremy Johnson was mad, and John Irwin was glad.
After being demoted from the starting lineup, Johnson took out his frustrations on Central Indiana Conference leader Alexandria, scoring a career-high 27 points, including the game-winner, as Madison-Grant defeated the Tigers 58-56 on Friday night in Fairmount. -
Arabians roll over Tigers for HHC title
Pendleton Heights reportedly didn’t miss many shots in practice this week.
The Arabians likely missed even fewer Friday night at Yorktown.
In a de facto Hoosier Heritage Conference championship game, the visitors made 24 of 34 attempts from the field and rolled to a 64-26 victory against the Tigers. -
Indians excel at exceeding expectations
In the field for today’s Pendleton Heights Wrestling Regional are 21 wrestlers ranked in the top 20 in their respective weight classes by IndianaMat.com. Four of those are 21 are recognized as the No. 1-rated wrestler in their division by the state’s top website for high school wrestling.
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Korn’s 34 leads Frankton to victory over Mississinewa
Frankton had a near-perfect first quarter and parlayed that and Aaron Korn’s 34 points into a Central Indiana Conference win here Friday.
The Eagles survived 35 3-point attempts by Mississinewa to defeat the Indians 80-66. Frankton is now 8-7 and 4-1 in the CIC. -
Bulldogs stomp Faubion, Lutheran
It was Samaritan’s Feet night on Friday as Lapel faced Indianapolis Lutheran in an Indiana Crossroads Conference battle.
Both coaching staffs went sans shoes to raise awareness and to provide money for shoes for the less fortunate.
It didn’t stop the Bulldogs from stomping on the Saints.
Lutheran’s J.C. Faubion was averaging 25 points per game heading into Friday’s matchup, but Lapel wasn’t intimidated. The Bulldogs held the Saints sharpshooter to 12 points, crushing their opponents 62-37. -
Richmond bedevils Anderson
Quinten Hunter scored 11 of his team-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, Kristian Rodriquez and Joel Okafor each netted 15 and the Richmond Red Devils moved to 3-1 in the North Central Conference with Friday’s 69-62 win against the Anderson Indians at Tiernan Center
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Anderson, Pendleton swimmers move on
In many respects, Thursday’s girls’ swim sectional at Fishers High School went better than expected for the small contingent of Anderson and Pendleton Heights swimmers in attendance. With little hope of upending heavyweights Hamilton Southeastern, Fishers and Yorktown in the team standings, swimmers concentrated on individual performances and simply trying to advance to Saturday’s final round. Each of the three relay teams for both schools advanced, along with one individual from each school.
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Tri-Central trips up Frankton girls
It might not have been the best end result for Senior Night that a Frankton basketball team has ever experienced. But Eagles coach Dean Riddle found some positives despite a 70-53 loss to Tri-Central here Thursday night.
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Pike powers past Anderson
Senior night is a time for celebrating the accomplishments of those players who have made a commitment to the program. Unfortunately, the Anderson Indians girls basketball team had nothing to celebrate as they dropped a 63-42 decision to Indianapolis Pike on Thursday.
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Eagles lose to Trojans 70-53
Photos from Frankton as the Eagles hosted the Tri-Central Trojans on Thursday.
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