Your four state advancers are Donnie Blair, Cam Senter, Kaleb Salazar and Hunter Miller.

The odds were pretty good for Wawasee to slide at least one through the semi-state gauntlet. Having 10 athletes on deck for the East Chicago Semi-state and needing just two wins, Wawasee had the muscle to get someone to Indianapolis.

Make it four wrestlers qualified for the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals!

Wawasee will have Kaleb Salazar, Cam Senter, Hunter Miller and Donovan Blair all working this Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse as part of the state finals, all four making their first-ever trips to the final rung of the state ladder.

The duo of Salazar and Blair worked their way to the semi-state finals before finding losses while Miller took third and Senter fourth to highlight Wawasee’s full day of work.

Three others made the ticket round before finding their fate – Logan Stuckman, Gavin Malone and Cam Zimmerman – going to show the strides the program made in the tournament series.

There was no stopping Salazar from making his first state finals in three tries. A 5-0 lead after two periods had Salazar nearly pin Diaz in the second, then just keep going to open the third, spreading out what ended up being a 12-1 major decision and arms raised for the Wawasee junior.

“Going into semi-state, I wanted to pin through and give up limited points,” started Salazar. “When I got to semi-state, the goal was just to win. Whatever it took to win. I did it, I got through. Very proud. I just wrestled my match and did what I’ve been doing all season.”

Salazar pinned Twin Lakes’ Grant Marohl in the second period to open the day, then knocked off Crown Point’s Logan Haney with a sound 8-2 decision to make the finals. In the championship match versus Lake Central’s Mason Jones, Salazar hung with the No. 6-ranked junior but never managed any floor points in a 3-0 decision to Jones.

113 – Cam Senter v. Liam Siburcrist, North White

After an early takedown for Siburcrist, Senter recovered and never looked back. Getting a reversal nearing the end of the first period, Senter almost got a pin out of the hold into a near three, then just went from there. Momentum has been big for Senter this season, and that continued in the ticket round, getting another two takedowns to win the match 9-4 and add an impressive line to his résumé as a freshman.

“I watched some film and kind of knew how (Siburcrist) was going to wrestle, so I went with the stuff I knew and just wrestled free,” said Senter. “I couldn’t really believe it. I was amazed. Then I thought, don’t stop at this. You’re going to state, but don’t end there. Go try to win the whole thing.”

The opener was never in doubt for Senter against Calumet’s Andrew Williams, Senter posting a 14-1 major to move on. Senter’s win streak ended at 14 matches in the semis against Hobart’s Seth Aubin, the Brickie sophomore shutting out Senter in a 5-0 decision. Up against another tough competitor, Senter again ran into a good defensive foe in McCutcheon’s Aiden Dallinger, who maneuvered his way to a 6-3 decision in the third-place match.

126 – Colten Sutton v. Logan Frazier, Crown Point

It was perhaps the toughest assignment Sutton could have had, opening the tourney against the state’s top-ranked Frazier, a defending state champion. The match ended up being what it was, Frazier getting a quick takedown and working Sutton into three near falls, building a 14-0 scoreline before finally pinning the Wawasee junior in the second period. The loss ended Sutton’s surprising run that included a sectional title and his first semi-state appearance, all of his tourney success being ‘firsts’.

132 – Titus Taylor v. David Maldonado, Merrillville

Another tough matchup for Wawasee at 132, where Taylor was making his first semi-state appearance against the No. 5-ranked Maldonado. A pair of takedowns and a near fall preceded Maldonado putting an end to the drama with a pin in just over a minute in to close out Taylor’s tourney run.

138 – Logan Stuckman v. Jeff Huyvaert, New Prairie

It was a tall drink of water facing Stuckman, Huyvaert coming into the tourney undefeated on the season while Stuckman had seen losses in two of his last three tournaments. After a 5-0 first round in favor of the Cougar freshman, it went downhill for Stuckman fast as Huyvaert opened with an escape then executed four straight takedowns to build a big lead Stuckman couldn’t catch. A 20-5 tech fall moved Huyvaert on while Stuckman went home once again from the semi-state without a ticket to Indy.

Stuckman made the ticket round by working through a snappy 8-1 decision over West Central’s Drake Fritz, getting three takedowns among the lot.

145 – Ethan Rodriguez v. Devin Wible, Hobart

It was heartbreak for Rodriguez, who had a win in hand only for Wible to wriggle out of danger into an 8-7 decision. The match was about as back-and-forth as it could get, with seven lead changes, including a reversal from Wible with five seconds left to flip the scoreboard to the Brickie. The match was 4-4 heading into the third, where Rodriguez opened with an escape, then given a misconduct point to pull up a 6-4 lead. Wible countered with a takedown seconds later, with Rodriguez flipping into a reversal with 29 seconds left. Wible countered with the late reversal to close the match, sending Rodriguez home.

152 – Hunter Miller v. Chase Kasprzak, Lake Central

Miller was bound and determined to punch his first ticket, and after a scoreless first period, opened the second with an escape seven seconds in. As luck would have it, that would be all of the scoring in the contest as Kasprzak chose neutral to open the third and couldn’t get a point on Miller, who worked the third period as well as any period he’s had all year to punch the ticket.

“I was very happy, just went out and controlled the match. I thought maybe I had scored more points, but that’s OK, I got the job done,” said Miller. “I held good position. He didn’t shoot much. It’s kinda easy when someone just holds position and they don’t go on offense. I was just happy. Nothing really felt different, I just had a smile all day. Being around my family, my dad, they all helped me get there.”

Miller had absolutely no trouble in the first round, dominating Calumet’s Quentin Falls in a 15-0 tech fall, but once again couldn’t solve Mishawaka’s Beau Brabender, who beat Miller for the fourth time this season in a 2:38 pin in the semis. Miller would close out with a bit of redemption, beating Penn’s Bryce Denton, 6-4, in sudden overtime to take third place. Denton had pinned Miller a week ago in the regional semis.

170 – Gavin Malone v. Carlos Perez-Xochipa, Lafayette Harrison

A rather uneventful first period picked up quickly in the second, specifically for Perez-Xochipa. An escape off the restart and subsequent takedown got the Harrison star on the board, to which Malone reversed, only for Perez-Xochipa to escape and work into a takedown, and four seconds later, a pin to close the book on Malone. The Wawasee senior was aiming for his first state finals berth, but came up short in his second shot in the ticket round in four years of semi-state qualification.

Malone and Portage’s Manolo Hood waged a good battle in the opening round, running the score to 8-8 before Malone found his opening and got a takedown with 49 seconds left in the second and put Hood on his back for the pin.

182 – Cam Zimmerman v. Ethan Popp, Lafayette Harrison

Zimmerman made a career out of toeing the line of showstopper and disaster, and it finally caught up to him in the ticket round. So good at finding trouble, only to get out of it and work the angle in his favor, Zimmy couldn’t catch up to a couple mistakes against Popp and it cost him advancement. A mild 3-2 deficit midway through had Zimmy in control after a takedown, but quickly Popp worked into a reversal for a 5-2 lead. That lead extended to 7-2 after a Popp takedown to open the third, and as Zimmy was in chase mode, he couldn’t make up for the third period takedown despite a late reversal. The 7-4 decision to Popp would be Zimmy’s final match as a senior.

The cat and mouse game worked in Zimmy’s favor in the opening round, sitting level at 4-4 to Aidan Ziegler of New Prairie in the third before getting and escape and takedown in the final 26 seconds to came away with a 7-4 victory. Zimmy was wrestling in his third straight semi-state and second straight ticket round.

195 – Donnie Blair v. Anthony White, Crown Point

Sometimes a bad day is your best friend. A purported burst appendix suffered by White earlier in the week didn’t stop the No. 8-ranked Crown Point stud from wrestling on Saturday. But a little slow pace by White allowed Blair to keep up. And a takedown with 33 seconds left in the third had Blair and White tied at 6. In overtime, Blair did what he said cost him a sectional title, and this time took his shot and caught White. As the two rolled to the mat, Blair got the position and the twooooooo, setting off a wild celebration in what was Blair’s biggest win of his career.

“To be honest, it was a little instinct, but also what (Wawasee assistant coach) Garrett (Stuckman) would want me to do,” admitted Blair. “I was just imagined the motion of what Garrett would want me to do, and outside single. It just worked. I literally don’t remember the last couple of seconds. And it took a while for me to realize what was going on. I was so excited.”

Blair wasn’t done, gaining a second win over Tippecanoe Valley’s Bazle Owens in the semi-state semis, the Valley brawler Blair’s first upset of the state tournament as the No. 1 seed of the Plymouth Sectional. The semi-final featured just one takedown and four stalling calls, Blair getting that takedown and doing enough for the 4-2 victory to move to the finals. But as rematches go, so goes the reality that Mishawaka’s Christian Chavez is just dialed in on Blair as Chavez made it four-for-four with a first-round pin in the finals. Blair opened his day with a 5-2 decision over Hobart’s Jake Sparks.

Final thoughts from Bum: “The support from our families and community in attendance was amazing. We had three seniors unfortunately have their career come to a close, but what an amazing group of men who have only represented the program with the utmost tenacity and respect. It continues to be a humbling experience to be a part of such an incredible and successful legacy that is Wawasee wrestling! Thank you to everyone who has helped in making this a possibility, both current and past!