There were plenty of tense moments Saturday at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, and not just some of the floor paneling slipping on top of the ice rink below.

State dreams were on the line at the Fort Wayne Wrestling Semi-state, and for four Wawasee Warriors, it was trying to match the output of a year ago in sending four wrestlers to the IHSAA State Finals.

As the headline eludes, just two will make the trip to the state’s toe in Evansville, Kaleb Salazar at 113 pounds and Donnie Blair at 190 pounds, as both finished third overall in their respective weight classes to move on to the final round. Cameron Senter lost in his first round match at 126 pounds and Ethan Rodriguez fell one match short, going 1-1 at 144 pounds.

Here’s a recap of each of their days, along with some in-depth feedback from Wawasee head coach Jamie Salazar.

Kaleb Salazar, 113, 3rd

Salazar started each of his first three matches a little slow, but in the first two, picked up the pace to punch his second straight ticket to the Finals. Salazar would dance just a bit with Western’s Brady Shannon before getting a takedown, which Salazar would get Shannon turned over for a first-round pin. Meeting Adams Central’s Kale Beer after Beer upset Garrett’s Abrum Swathwood in the opening round, Beer got the first takedown of the Salazar match. Salazar would find a window into a reversal to even the score, and it was all Salazar from that point. A reversal off bottom to open the second worked into a near three to close the period, and an elementary takedown in the third left Salazar with a jubilant 9-2 ticket to Evansville.

The field caught up to Salazar in the semis as Kokomo’s Jalen May was waiting, and the two-time state finalist would limit Salazar’s offense in a well-managed 6-2 win in the semis. While May would lose to undefeated Ayden Bollinger of Delta in the championship match, 4-1, Salazar (40-4) came back and dominated New Haven’s Karrington Cooper, 8-2, to take third.

“We talked about just staying calm. Score points and get them frustrated, and you know, that’s what he did. He kept a clear state of mind early on and got those big wins. It was a big plus. It was what today was about for him. He’s been trying to get to this point all season and he wasn’t about to lose focus of that. He knew he belongs here. He’s wrestled under these spotlights before. It’s good to see him back in the state finals. Proud of him, he’s carrying that family torch, carrying that legacy.”

Cameron Senter, 126, DNQ

Wawasee fans have seen this match before from Cameron Senter, sometimes by him and sometimes against him. Today, it was against him. Senter played defense for most of his match against Delta’s Neil Mosier, and the clock became the second opponent as the match wore on. Mosier hit the only real offense of the match with a takedown with nine seconds left in the first period, and even that looked like Mosier just kind of fell into the hold rather than taking it. Each had an escape off bottom, but Senter (32-6) was still without anything as time ran out in the third, trailing 3-1 as his season would come to an end.

“Cam was in good spirits coming in here, but I think he just took a little too long getting going and just ran out of time. He was feeling Mosier out a little in the beginning, on the attack. When he realized this was a really winnable match, he was behind and the clock was running out on him. There was a moment where they were both going out of bounds (in the third), I thought, this is the moment he’s going to turn it around. It just never happened. It was two good wrestlers who know each other. He dug deep, had a great season. As a sophomore, he’s going to be back here to take it to that next level.”

Ethan Rodriguez, 144, DNQ

Another seasonal tale with Rodriguez where he looks unstoppable one match, then unable to get anything going the next, Rodriguez ran into an absolute buzzsaw in the ticket round that ended his semi-state. In round one, Rodriguez was paired against North Miami’s Riley King, and from the jump, Rodriguez was on top with a takedown just nine seconds in. The hold worked into a near two to close the period with Rodriguez up 4-0. Rodriguez worked into a reversal off bottom in the second, and hit a very slick hold on King in the process, getting the eventual tap at 3:10 to move on.

But it was a completely different story in the quarters as New Haven’s Easton Doster was waiting, and he wasn’t playing around. Doster was lightning quick, super aggressive, and chippy enough that anything he did physically or emotionally just frustrated Rodriguez more. Seven Doster takedowns in the first two periods had the Bulldog up 14-6 and it seemed he was just toying with the 27-win Rodriguez. Doster wouldn’t get a pin, but didn’t seem to care in the 21-9 final.

The result ended the tournament for Rodriguez (27-7), but may not end his season as Doster would go on to win the 144 title, leaving Rodriguez as the 144 callback option for Fort Wayne. Doster, to his credit, had a monster day in scoring 64 points in two tech falls, the major over Rodriguez, and a 4-0 shutout of Prairie Heights superstar Brody Hagewood in the final.

“That New Haven kid is no joke, he’s maybe one of the top five wrestlers in the state and he proved it today. You know, Ethan is on standby because of it as a callback, and the Goshen Regional had two of them, so who knows. That New Haven match, that was good, hard Indiana wrestling. Ethan didn’t back down, he was aggressive, took shots, it just wasn’t there. His first match he showed why he belonged here, took care of business and was smart about it.”

Donnie Blair, 190, 3rd

Cracking jokes in one breath and threatening to throw up in the next, Blair was in his usual character ahead of his day, but serious as they came on the mat. Coming into a ridiculously difficult 190 bracket that had the top three ranked competitors in the same half of Blair’s bracket, Blair had to dig deep. And even in round one against a 14-10 Dallas Godby of Wes-Del, who upset Bellmont at the regional to make it through, Blair was only up 3-1 midway through the second before getting a takedown and some breathing room to close the second. A pair of twos in the third made it academic at 9-2, moving Blair on to face Maconaquah’s Austin Ringeison in the ticket round. It was much the same against Ringeison, leading just 4-2 in the third before Ringeison opened with an escape off bottom to slice the lead in half. Blair, however, got a takedown moments later to get some breathing room, and after cutting Ringeison loose, held off the Brave the final 15 seconds to second his second trip to the Finals.

A semi-state championship run ended for Blair in the semis as Leo’s Eli Coolman just wore down Blair, stayed true to his defense, and wouldn’t budge an inch in a 1-0 grinder in favor of the Lion. Blair would have bottom for the third, but couldn’t get to his feet and away on a pair of occasions as time ran out on a potential fourth straight postseason title. And for the SIXTH time this season, Blair and NorthWood’s Keith Miller would dance again, and for the fifth time, Blair (38-5) would come out with a nailbiter win, this time 2-0. A mere reversal in the second was all that the two would muster on the scoreboard in yet another grudge match between the two Northern Lakes Conference stars.

“Sometimes Donnie tries to do a little too much, and I think he lost focus that he needed to just get a point. Sometimes that happens in the moment. I don’t think he was outwrestled, he just didn’t get his point in that third period. Gotta stick to the basics sometimes. Otherwise, he had a heckuva day to get to this point to push to the state finals. Super proud of the kid. Now go get that podium.”