Senior staff writer
Eight wrestlers from the Southside captured individual regional championships Saturday.
Perry Meridian claimed the team title on its home mats, earning 220 points and four individual titles: Brayden Lowery at 106 pounds; Noah Warren, 152; Christian Warren, 160; and Jalen Allen, 182. The Falcons advanced 10 wrestlers into the championship matches.
Roncalli finished second with 121.5 points; Beech Grove was fifth, Franklin Central seventh and Southport 11th.
Beech Grove’s Ethan Smiley, 132, remained unbeaten in 39 matches, and teammate Bailey Moore, 138, won at Perry Meridian along with Roncalli’s Alec Vidura, 115.
At the Brownsburg Regional, Center Grove’s Glenn Mappes, 160, won to pace the Trojans to a third-place finish.
Southsiders qualifying for Saturday’s semistates:
Beech Grove: Walter Ballinger, 152; Rilee Miller, 220.
Center Grove: Alex Petro, 113; Peyton Pruett, 126; Jonah Hayes, 170; Cory Heinrichs, 285.
Franklin Central: Josh Vaughn, 106; Gavin Keesee, 182; John Owensby, 195.
Greenwood: Jacob Schrader, 138; Logan Coyle, 145; Nick Wilham, 152.
Perry Meridian: Sammy Fair, 113; Sunny Nier, 120; Jack Servies, 132; Brooks Davis, 138; Kain Rust, 145; Cameron Amos, 170; Anthony Ruhana, 195; Steve Woolbright, 285.
Roncalli, Sam Slivka, 106; Tyce Frejie, 120; Josh Hiatt, 132; Brian Keeney, 138; Trent Smith, 152; Elijah Mahan, 160; Sam Hansen, 182; Marc Roland, 285.
Southport: Chad Rothwell, 145; Brett Wright, 160.
Center Grove competes at 9 a.m. Saturday at Evansville Reitz; qualifiers from the Perry Meridian Regional compete at New Castle at 9 a.m. The top four finishers in each class advance to the state finals Feb. 19 and 20 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.