It’s the final step before the IHSAA State Finals, and four Warriors are still marching down the path of success.

The Fort Wayne Semi-state is next on the state ladder, the third stop en route to Evansville for the state finals. Let’s take a look at the four Wawasee wrestlers and what their paths look like to reach step four.

Kaleb Salazar, 113
Salazar (37-3) has been about as consistent as anyone on the Wawasee roster this year. And winning two matches certainly isn’t out of the question for the senior, but he is going to have to find a way to do something he hasn’t done yet this year if he wants to advance to the state finals.

Salazar will get Brady Shannon of Western in round one, certainly a winnable matchup against Shannon who has 18 losses this season. Shannon competed at the Al Smith but didn’t place, and hasn’t won a top honor at a tournament since an early December win at Western’s own tourney. Salazar, on the other hand, comes in having won the NLC, sectional and regional titles and certainly looks the bill on paper to advance.

Where Salazar could have trouble is in the ticket round, where a potential showdown with Garrett’s Abrum Swathwood is a reality. Of the three losses Salazar has this year, two are to Swathwood and both came at the Al Smith Invite, where Swathwood won the first matchup 4-2 and then rolled past Salazar in the fifth-place rematch, 17-4.

A couple names to watch elsewhere in the 113 bracket are Kokomo’s Jalen May, who knocked Cameron Senter from the state finals in the 113 bracket a year ago, and Delta’s Ayden Bollinger, who finished third at 106 at state a year ago and is 35-0 this season. Bluffton’s Levi Johns, who is 38-1 this season, is also lurking on Salazar’s side of the semi-state bracket.

Cameron Senter, 126
Speaking of Senter, the sophomore returns to the semi-state but likely has his biggest challenge of the year ahead of him in round one. Ranked No. 1 in the semi-state by Indiana Mat, Delta’s Neal Mosier is first up for Senter, sitting at 34-1 on the year and coming off his only loss of the season in the semi-finals of the Jay County Regional.

Mosier lost by fall to Jay County’s Cody Rowles, which sent Mosier to a three-seed from Jay County, whereas Senter is a two from Goshen.

Senter (32-5) was the sectional champion at Elkhart and runner-up at the Goshen Regional.

Should Senter get the upset in round one, his state ticket will come from beating either Alex Ousley of Maconaquah (28-9) or Carter Krouse of Fort Wayne Snider (29-4).

Looking elsewhere in the 126 bracket is local rival Will Hahn of NorthWood, a 34-win Bradin Daniels of Union City, a 31-win Hickson Love of Marion, and the other side had a 40-win Keagan Hallis of Eastbrook in addition to Drew Waldon of DeKalb, who beat Senter in the regional final.

Ethan Rodriguez, 144
Rodriguez (26-6) has quietly gone about his business to make the semi-state round once again, still pursuing his first state finals appearance. Two wins away, Rodriguez will start with North Miami’s Riley King (29-7) in the opener. The two did not face off in the Wawasee November Duals as Rodriguez was still injured from the Bellmont match the week prior, whereas King beat Gaige Boyd in the head-to-head matchup between North Miami and Wawasee at 144 pounds.

Rodriguez was the sectional champion at Elkhart and runner-up at Goshen, starting his day at the regional with a pair of pins before losing by tech fall in the championship to Prairie Heights’ Brody Hagewood.

A win by Rodriguez against King would mean a ticket victory against either No. 1 Easton Doster of New Haven, who is 31-0 on the year, or Sam Wolpert of Bellmont (34-7), who was the opponent when Rodriguez suffered the scary nerve injury on the first night of the season.

A 42-win David Conner of Kokomo could be lurking in the semis, and the other side of the bracket features Hagewood, a 38-win Emilio Liscano of Oak Hill and a 41-win Ethan Fike of Eastside.

Donnie Blair, 190
The senior has been on a mission this season, and Blair is ready to break through. Aiming to podium in Evansville in his final season, Blair (35-4) has been vocal about his goals, and now has racked up NLC, sectional and regional titles to his credit, all first-time ordeals. That momentum will put Blair in good position at Fort Wayne, getting Wes-Del’s Dallas Godby (14-10) in the first round, the first time the two have met. Godby went just 1-2 in action at the Jay County Regional, winning his first match in an upset of Bellmont’s Cole Mendez, but losing by pin and 8-1 decision in the next two rounds.

A win over Godby would pit Blair against Homestead’s Ryan Schoff (22-10) or Maconaquah’s Austin Ringelson (29-7) in the ticket round, two more opponents Blair hasn’t seen this season.

The semi-finals, on paper, would be a bigger challenge as the semi-state’s No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3-ranked contenders are all in the same pod in Kokomo’s Chad Washburn, Leo’s Eli Coolman and Adams Central’s Trevor Currie, respectively. A semi-state finals appearance ‘could’ produce a sixth head-to-head matchup against NorthWood’s Keith Miller or a third straight week against Elkhart’s Kaullin Price, but Wabash’s Elias Cressell, Monroe Central’s Jerimiah Ullom and Jay County’s Bryce Wenk will all have a say in the matter.