It’s talked about at a young age, and the adults likely talk about it more. To place at the Al Smith Invite is a big deal for all involved, and for two Wawasee wrestlers, they are in line to compete for an elusive place in Indiana prep wrestling immorality.

After day one of the two-day bracket tournament, the 43rd annual Al Smith Invite has 106-pounder Kaleb Salazar and 195-pounder Donnie Blair both 3-0 and in the championship semi-finals.

Salazar reached the mark by scoring consecutive pins to open the day, beating Bellmont’s Ethan Curtis and Chesterton’s Blake Bryan. In the quarters, Salazar fended off Mount Vernon’s Connor Bayliss, 4-0, to set up quite a semi-final. All four of the finalists are ranked in the state’s top 10, No. 7 Salazar pitted against No. 9 Julianna O’Campo of Fort Wayne Snider, who started the tournament as the bracket’s top seed. On the other half of the draw are No. 6 Cam Meier of Bloomington South and No. 8 Mason Jones of Lake Central.

“Kaleb was super aggressive in the first two rounds, and in the quarters had a very good match,” said Wawasee head coach Frank Bumgardner. “He was having to wrestle in positions and just ride it out, but didn’t panic at all in the Mount Vernon match. Not super dominant but hard fought.

“Julianna is an exceptional wrestler, period,” continued Bumgardner. “She is the top seed for a reason, a multi-national champ on the girls scene. Bottom line, she’s good. We think we have a style that can slow her down. She had some tough matches and wasn’t flawless by any means. It should be a good one right away in the morning.”

Blair toed the line of elimination all day, but managed to come out of the positive side of his three matches. Blair was in real trouble in his first match with Brylin Smith of Warren Central, time running out on Smith as he had Blair nearly covered on the mat to end the third. Blair, however, was leading 9-2 before the late movement, giving himself enough cushion to move on, 9-7. Blair again built a decent lead, 5-0, on Nash Shupert of Elkhart en route to a 5-2 decision, but found himself trailing NorthWood’s Brady King 1-0 in the third period before using an escape and takedown to advance, 3-1. Blair, like Salazar, will get the top seed in his bracket and it will come against Mishawaka’s Christian Chavez, who is ranked No. 3 in the state. Kaden McConnell of Center Grove and James Veal of Merrillville are on the bottom half of the bracket.

“Donnie learned from mistakes he made in his first match,” noted Bumgardner. “He got the lead, gave up a point, but didn’t let that become multiple points in the second match. That’s all we needed from him. That was a good sequence for him.”

Wawasee will have a third athlete also competing on Thursday for placement, 152-pounder Hunter Miller, who is alive in the consolation bracket.

Miller opened with two wins, a pin of Hobart’s Dominic Rivera and a 3-2 grinder against Merrillville’s Adrian Pellot, but ran into one of the state’s finest in Crown Point’s Anthony Rinehart in the quarters. Rinehart, a national placer at the Ironman Tourney, would knock Miller out of the winner’s bracket with a second round pin. Miller would rally with a solid 6-5 win over Plymouth’s Cadyn Smith, the second time in as many weeks Miller has beaten Smith.

Miller will see Bloomington South’s Even Roudenbush on Thursday, and if he can win, will see either Mishawaka’s Beau Brabender or Fort Wayne Carroll’s Jackson Todd.

“Hunter is wrestling at a high level right now,” Bumgardner said. “We knew in order to place in that bracket, which is absolutely loaded, he was going to have to wrestle smart and take advantage of other’s mistakes. He’s not 100 percent physically right now, but it’s quite an accomplishment for him to be placing in this bracket.”

Wawasee had an exceptional day throughout, with seven of its 13 athletes registering three wins in its competition and two with two wins each.

Ethan Rodriguez shook off a tough opening round loss to win three of his next four matches and the trio of Cam Senter, Cam Zimmerman and Gavin Malone all won two consoles to tally three wins overall on the day. Logan Stuckman and Colten Sutton each had a pair of wins in the run of play.

Offered the Wawasee head coach of the overall day, “This is an extremely tough tourney. Something like 17 of the top 20 dual teams in the state are here. Our guys just had to go out and compete like always. The bottom line is there’s just some wrestlers here that are better than them. Can’t get around that. But there is no panic button after a loss. It gives us data points. Some of our matches exposed some weaknesses we can work on. We can take pride in the fact that we competed hard and we can get out of here with some positive results.”

Wawasee’s remaining trio will return to Mishawaka Thursday morning at 9 a.m. for the final round.

43rd Al Smith Classic Wrestling Invite Results for Wawasee High School

106

Kaleb Salazar (18-2) placed 6th and scored 13.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Kaleb Salazar (Wawasee High School) 18-2 won by fall over Ethan Curtis (Bellmont HS) 20-6 (Fall 1:05)
• Champ. Round 2 – Kaleb Salazar (Wawasee High School) 18-2 won by fall over Blake Bryan (Chesterton HS) 14-15 (Fall 3:23)
• Quarterfinal – Kaleb Salazar (Wawasee High School) 18-2 won by decision over Connor Bayliss (Mount Vernon) 18-4 (Dec 4-0)

113

Cameron Senter (16-7) place is unknown and scored 7.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Cameron Senter (Wawasee High School) 16-7 won by major decision over Tate Krueckeberg (Bellmont HS) 12-11 (MD 17-4)
• Champ. Round 2 – Josh Kite (Mishawaka High School) 18-5 won by fall over Cameron Senter (Wawasee High School) 16-7 (Fall 2:58)
• Cons. Round 2 – Cameron Senter (Wawasee High School) 16-7 won by fall over Adam Myers (Chesterton HS) 2-11 (Fall 0:36)
• Cons. Round 3 – Cameron Senter (Wawasee High School) 16-7 won by decision over Ben Velazquez (Carroll High School) 12-9 (Dec 7-0)
• Cons. Round 4 – E`shawn Tolbert (Portage High School) 19-2 won by major decision over Cameron Senter (Wawasee High School) 16-7 (MD 16-5)

120

Jaxon Senter (2-11) place is unknown and scored 4.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Jaxon Senter (Wawasee High School) 2-11 won by forfeit over Forfeit Jimtownhs (Jimtown High School) 0-2 (For.)
• Champ. Round 2 – Tanner Tishner (Western High School) 10-0 won by fall over Jaxon Senter (Wawasee High School) 2-11 (Fall 0:33)
• Cons. Round 2 – Daniel Mata (Hobart High School) 16-5 won by fall over Jaxon Senter (Wawasee High School) 2-11 (Fall 0:28)

126

Colten Sutton (8-7) place is unknown and scored 5.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Colten Sutton (Wawasee High School) 8-7 won by forfeit over Forfeit Sb riley (South Bend Riley HS) 0-2 (For.)
• Champ. Round 2 – Logan Frazier (Crown Point HS) 13-3 won by fall over Colten Sutton (Wawasee High School) 8-7 (Fall 1:07)
• Cons. Round 2 – Colten Sutton (Wawasee High School) 8-7 won by decision over Cameron Moyer (Jimtown High School) 9-10 (Dec 9-5)
• Cons. Round 3 – Isaiah Martinez (Warsaw Community HS) 21-3 won by fall over Colten Sutton (Wawasee High School) 8-7 (Fall 2:21)

132

Forfeit WawaseeHS (14-6) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Caleb Cooper (Columbus East HS) 9-8 won by forfeit over Forfeit WawaseeHS (Wawasee High School) 14-6 (For.)
• Cons. Round 1 – Landon Sutton (Carroll High School) 1-3 won by forfeit over Forfeit WawaseeHS (Wawasee High School) 14-6 (For.)

138

Logan Stuckman (19-3) place is unknown and scored 5.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Logan Stuckman (Wawasee High School) 19-3 won by fall over Parker Dippon (Warsaw Community HS) 0-2 (Fall 1:16)
• Champ. Round 2 – Max McGinley (Indianapolis Cathedral HS) 16-3 won by decision over Logan Stuckman (Wawasee High School) 19-3 (Dec 8-3)
• Cons. Round 2 – Logan Stuckman (Wawasee High School) 19-3 won by decision over Seth Wright (Plymouth HS) 13-6 (Dec 6-0)
• Cons. Round 3 – Dieter Gerst (Lowell High School) 13-7 won in sudden victory – 1 over Logan Stuckman (Wawasee High School) 19-3 (SV-1 5-3)

145

Ethan Rodriguez (19-4) place is unknown and scored 9.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Christian Washington (Crown Point HS) 6-5 won by major decision over Ethan Rodriguez (Wawasee High School) 19-4 (MD 16-3)
• Cons. Round 1 – Ethan Rodriguez (Wawasee High School) 19-4 won by fall over Trayvon Fleming (South Bend Riley HS) 11-6 (Fall 4:41)
• Cons. Round 2 – Ethan Rodriguez (Wawasee High School) 19-4 won by fall over Joey Gonzalez (Portage High School) 8-9 (Fall 1:53)
• Cons. Round 3 – Ethan Rodriguez (Wawasee High School) 19-4 won by fall over Kristian Blake (Warren Central High School) 7-8 (Fall 1:48)
• Cons. Round 4 – Evan Eutsey (Penn High School) 18-3 won in sudden victory – 1 over Ethan Rodriguez (Wawasee High School) 19-4 (SV-1 8-6)

152

Hunter Miller (20-2) placed 8th and scored 8.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Hunter Miller (Wawasee High School) 20-2 won by fall over Dominic Rivera (Hobart High School) 7-8 (Fall 0:30)
• Champ. Round 2 – Hunter Miller (Wawasee High School) 20-2 won by decision over Adrian Pellot (Merrillville High School) 19-2 (Dec 3-2)
• Quarterfinal – Anthony Rinehart (Crown Point HS) 10-3 won by fall over Hunter Miller (Wawasee High School) 20-2 (Fall 3:46)
• Cons. Round 4 – Hunter Miller (Wawasee High School) 20-2 won by decision over Caydn Smith (Plymouth HS) 21-5 (Dec 6-5)

160

Carson Nine (10-10) place is unknown and scored 0.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Benjamin Tollard (Portage High School) 20-3 won by tech fall over Carson Nine (Wawasee High School) 10-10 (TF-1.5 4:56 (20-4))
• Cons. Round 1 – Matthew Trumble (LaPorte High School) 17-9 won by fall over Carson Nine (Wawasee High School) 10-10 (Fall 2:12)

170

Gavin Malone (21-2) place is unknown and scored 10.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Gavin Malone (Wawasee High School) 21-2 won by forfeit over Forfeit Laportehs (LaPorte High School) 0-3 (For.)
• Champ. Round 2 – Ethan Freedline (Elkhart HS) 16-6 won by decision over Gavin Malone (Wawasee High School) 21-2 (Dec 8-6)
• Cons. Round 2 – Gavin Malone (Wawasee High School) 21-2 won by fall over Lane Gibson (Garrett High School) 11-4 (Fall 4:33)
• Cons. Round 3 – Gavin Malone (Wawasee High School) 21-2 won by fall over John Lively (Chesterton HS) 19-7 (Fall 3:00)
• Cons. Round 4 – Anthony Cashman II (Warren Central High School) 15-3 won in the ultimate tie breaker over Gavin Malone (Wawasee High School) 21-2 (UTB 3-2)

182

Cameron Zimmerman (16-3) place is unknown and scored 8.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Cameron Zimmerman (Wawasee High School) 16-3 won by forfeit over Forfeit Mtvernon (Mount Vernon) 0-2 (For.)
• Champ. Round 2 – Ethan Risner (Portage High School) 18-4 won by fall over Cameron Zimmerman (Wawasee High School) 16-3 (Fall 3:10)
• Cons. Round 2 – Cameron Zimmerman (Wawasee High School) 16-3 won by fall over Ethan Barkey (Jimtown High School) 10-9 (Fall 3:25)
• Cons. Round 3 – Cameron Zimmerman (Wawasee High School) 16-3 won by decision over Brody Burns (Western High School) 7-4 (Dec 12-5)
• Cons. Round 4 – Kaden Lone (Northwood High School) 21-2 won by decision over Cameron Zimmerman (Wawasee High School) 16-3 (Dec 7-4)

195

Donovan Blair (16-5) placed 6th and scored 9.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Donovan Blair (Wawasee High School) 16-5 won by decision over Brylin Smith (Warren Central High School) 18-5 (Dec 9-7)
• Champ. Round 2 – Donovan Blair (Wawasee High School) 16-5 won by decision over Nash Shupert (Elkhart HS) 7-3 (Dec 5-2)
• Quarterfinal – Donovan Blair (Wawasee High School) 16-5 won by decision over Brady King (Northwood High School) 15-8 (Dec 3-1)

220

Derek Morrison (6-11) place is unknown and scored 3.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Keagan Martin (Bellmont HS) 25-1 won by fall over Derek Morrison (Wawasee High School) 6-11 (Fall 2:39)
• Cons. Round 1 – Derek Morrison (Wawasee High School) 6-11 won by forfeit over Forfeit Northwood (Northwood High School) 3-12 (For.)
• Cons. Round 2 – Keyton Ousley (Peru High School) 13-4 won by fall over Derek Morrison (Wawasee High School) 6-11 (Fall 1:22)

285

Eleazar Vazquez (10-11) place is unknown and scored 2.0 team points.

• Champ. Round 1 – Eleazar Vazquez (Wawasee High School) 10-11 won by decision over Jake Mellentine (Mount Vernon) 3-12 (Dec 8-5)
• Champ. Round 2 – Perris Green (Warren Central High School) 16-4 won by decision over Eleazar Vazquez (Wawasee High School) 10-11 (Dec 3-2)
• Cons. Round 2 – Trevi Conley (Peru High School) 17-3 won by fall over Eleazar Vazquez (Wawasee High School) 10-11 (Fall 0:37)