CALUMET TOWNSHIP — Lake Central opened the season just about exactly as it hoped.
The Indians rolled through the Rolland C. Beckham Fall Brawl on Saturday at Calumet, winning all five duals convincingly.
“We’re just trying to set the tone, to let everyone know that we’re not here to just play patty cake,” junior Carlos Perez said. “If guys see other guys winning, that’s what starts the fire.”
Lake Central beat Illiana Christian 84-0, Bishop Noll 78-6, Hammond Central 68-6, Tippecanoe Valley 63-15 and McCutcheon 59-15 to take the team trophy back to St. John.
Individually, junior Mason Jones won all five of his matches at 106 pounds, earning three pins. Like most of the Indians, his aim for the day was just to get in some competitive mat time against a live opponent.
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He was the highest-ranked wrestler in his class, but McCutcheon and Glenn offered good opponents.
“Today was just to make sure I’m feeling strong and fast at 106, making sure the cut isn’t hurting me or taking away from my ability to wrestle,” Jones said. “I just kind of wanted to test myself today.”
Perez is a 145-pound transfer from Mount Carmel. He spent the day working on some moves that he’d been struggling to hit in practice. He finished the day 5-0. It’s the type of day he expects to repeat as the season goes on.
“I really think I can go far, maybe win state,” Perez said. “I really don’t think there’s anyone in my weight (who can beat me).”
Chase Kasprzak followed Perez with wins in each 152-pound match. The junior admitted he was a little gassed toward the end of the first match. He came together after that and was happy with his overall performance.
“After that, I started rolling and was better and better each match,” Kasprzak said.
He said the team, especially the underclassmen, could only benefit from some early success.
“I think this was a good confidence booster. It gives us high hope for the rest of the season,” Kasprzak said. “We’re starting up here now.”
Lake Central was able to get some of those first-time varsity wrestlers into action. Most tallied at least a win or two.
“It’s really important to have this first tournament just to get everyone to know what it feels like to be on the mats with these higher-level guys,” Jones said. “Coming in here and seeing what this atmosphere is like, I think that’s really important.”
Among the other local teams, the host Warriors were 3-2. Munster and Hammond Central were 2-3. Whiting and Illiana Christian were each 1-4. Bishop Noll was 0-5.
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez wins the 138-pound state title during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday …
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez works to pin Kankakee Valley’s Cole Solomey in the third round during their championship match at 138 pounds du…
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez works to pin Kankakee Valley’s Cole Solomey in the third round during their championship match at 138 pounds du…
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez works against Kankakee Valley’s Cole Solomey during their championship match at 138 pounds during the wrestling…
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez works against Kankakee Valley’s Cole Solomey during their championship match at 138 pounds during the wrestling…
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez works against Kankakee Valley’s Cole Solomey during their championship match at 138 pounds during the wrestling…
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez gets a hug from coach Bill Hawkins after winning the 138-pound state title during the wrestling State Finals at Gai…
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Crown Point celebrates their team wrestling title at the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday evening.
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Crown Point celebrates his team title at the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday evening.
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez wins the 138-pound state title during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday …
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Crown Point’s Samuel Goin hugs coach Vince Sessa after winning the state title at 152 pounds against Bloomington South’s Delaney Ruhlman durin…
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Crown Point’s Gavin Jendreas comes off the mat with coaches Bill Hawkins and Vince Sessa after losing the 106-pound championship match 4-3 aga…
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Crown Point’s Samuel Goin wins the state title at 152 pounds against Bloomington South’s Delaney Ruhlman during the wrestling State Finals at …
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Crown Point’s Samuel Goin controls Bloomington South’s Delaney Ruhlman in the state title match at 152 pounds during the wrestling State Final…
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Crown Point’s Anthony Bahl and Cathedral’s Zeke Seltzer battle during the 132-pound title bout during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge…
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Crown Point’s Logan Frazier gets a hug from coach Bill Hawkins after winning at 126 pounds during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fie…
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Crown Point’s Logan Frazier wins his match over Whiteland’s Joey Butler at 126 pounds during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhou…
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Crown Point’s Logan Frazier controls Whiteland’s Joey Butler in the 126-pound final during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse…
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LaPorte’s Ashton Jackson celebrates his victory at 113 pounds during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis Saturday…
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LaPorte’s Ashton Jackson works on Rochester’s Preston Haines in the 113-pound championship match during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbrid…
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LaPorte’s Ashton Jackson goes up against Rochester’s Preston Haines in the 113-pound championship match during the wrestling State Finals at G…
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Chesterton’s Gage DeMarco wrestles Aataevon Jordan in the third-place match at 195 pounds during wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhou…
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Hobart’s Jacob Simpson works against Southridge’s Reid Schroeder in the 182-pound fifth-place match during the wrestling State Finals at Gainb…
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Valparaiso’s Connor Svantner wrestles in the fifth-place match against Jimtown’s Landon Buchanon at 170 pounds during the wrestling State Fina…
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Crown Point’s Cody Goodwin works against Avon’s Landon Bee in the 160-pound third-place match during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge …
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Crown Point’s Paul Clark works against Evansville Mater Dei’s Nate Critchfield in the third-place match at 220 pounds during the wrestling Sta…
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Crown Point’s Jesse Mendez is introduced before the start of the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday evening.
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Crown Point’s Logan Frazier and Whiteland’s Joey Butler get ready for their match at 126 pounds during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge…
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Crown Point coaches Darden Shurg and Brandon Lorek watch a match in the semifinals during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse …
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Crown Point’s William Clark celebrates his win in the fifth-place match at 195 during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in I…
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Merrillville’s David Maldonado gets his medal for his seventh- place finish at 126 pounds during the wrestling State Finals at Gainbridge Field…
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Chesterton’s Aidan Torres tries to take down Perry Meridian’s Matthew Koontz in the third-place match at 145 pounds during the wrestling State…
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Crown Point’s Orlando Cruz works against Center Grove’s Drake Buchanan in the final match at 182 pounds during the wrestling State Finals at G…
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Crown Point’s Gavin Jendreas tries to bring down Jake Hockaday of Brownsburg in the 106-pound championship match during the wrestling State Fi…
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