Wawasee’s Donnie Blair is heading to his second IHSAA Wrestling State Finals, and has been riding with the support of his crew including Titus Taylor and Carson Nine. (Photos by Mike Deak)
OK, so we got the ‘Evansville is far’ part out of the way yesterday. It’s not going to change between now and Friday. So let’s get down to business on the mats.
Wawasee seniors Kaleb Salazar and Donnie Blair are making a return trip to the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals, both coming off sectional and regional championships and each were third a week ago at the semi-state. Both enter this weekend’s tournaments seeking their first podium placement, and need a win Friday to make the top eight. And at this level, there are no cupcakes in the way, especially for the two opponents Wawasee drew in the opening round.
Let’s take a look at what both Salazar and Blair are up against, and get their thoughts on the process as a whole.
IHSAA Wrestling State Finals
Ford Center, Evansville
Wrestling begins at 150 pounds at 3 p.m. Friday (EST)
Wrestling resumes with quarterfinals at 10 a.m. Saturday (EST); Consolations at 5:30 p.m. (EST); Finals at 8:30 p.m. (EST)
113 Pounds
Round 1
Kaleb Salazar (40-4) vs Nathan Riuox, Avon (32-5)
Of all the 113-pounders in the field of 16, Rioux had the best finish in 2023, earning state runner-up as a 106-pounder as a freshman. This year, Rioux is 32-5 and the Evansville Semi-state runner-up after falling, 4-2, to Revin Dickman of Brownsburg in their championship match. Rioux, who is ranked No. 2 by Indiana Mat and Salazar, ranked No. 16, have never met in IHSAA competition. Salazar is coming off a third-place finish at Fort Wayne, winning his first two matches before losing by decision to Kokomo’s Jalen May. He came back to beat New Haven’s Karrington Cooper to claim the three-seed.
A Salazar win on Friday would have him take on the winner of Gavin Lewis of Crown Point (28-5) or Sully Frazier of Zionsville (26-8). Notable names on the other half of the bracket include Fort Wayne champion and No. 3-ranked Ayden Bollinger of Delta, top-ranked Dickman, and Penn freshman Brady Harper.
“Going in as a three-seed, you are going to go against somebody good being a runner-up somewhere else, that’s how it works at state,” said Salazar after a workout Tuesday evening. “Knowing that, you go out and do whatever you can. It’s the last high school tournament of my career. Just have to go out and have fun, see where it goes.”
“You can only wrestle one match at a time. Getting focused on what’s ahead, you can’t (look ahead). You have to worry about the one in front of you. Once you step on the mat, that’s all that matters. I have to stay aggressive, look to score points. I can’t wrestle against (Rioux), I have to wrestle my match and make him wrestle me. Dictate the pace. I’m looking forward to it.”
190 Pounds
Round 1
Donnie Blair (38-5) vs Kaden McConnell, Center Grove (28-4)
What Salazar is up against is exactly what Blair will have to deal with, at least on paper. McConnell was the state runner-up a year ago at 195, and nearly entered this year’s tournament as the top seed in the bracket, but lost in the Evansville Semi-state championship match to Brownsburg’s Gunner Henry, 2-1. Blair knows Henry well as Blair wrestled Henry in the first round of last year’s state tournament to a major decision loss to the Brownsburg stud. But this year, Henry is on the other side of the bracket, and Blair opens against the No. 2-ranked McConnell. Blair was 3-1 at the Fort Wayne Semi-state, winning his first two matches to claim his ticket to Evansville, but couldn’t find a point in a 1-0 loss to Leo’s Eli Coolman in the semis. Blair would come back to claim his fifth win of the season against NorthWood’s Keith Miller, who drew Henry in this year’s first round matchup.
Should Blair score the upset over McConnell, the No. 23-ranked Warrior would get either Noah Weaver of Rossville (46-0) or a Northern Lakes Conference championship rematch against Mishawaka’s Trey Dunning (31-11). The top pod of the 190 bracket features three of the top four ranked wrestlers with Henry (1) against Miller, and Penn’s Vincent Freeman (4) against Luke Penola of Zionsville (3). One of Blair’s five losses this season is also lurking on his side of the draw, that being Kenneth Bisping of Lowell, who beat Blair in the quarters at the Al Smith.
“I think I might have a little bit of an advantage (against McConnell) in that he might be looking a little past me,” offered up Blair in the Wawasee weight room. “He’s ranked second in the state, I’m down there at 23 and you have all those other really high-ranked kids on the other side. He might be thinking, hey, I can just walk to the final. I know what McConnell is going to do, I know his tendencies. I just know what I have to do. If I wrestle me, control my match, control my ties, I can wrestle and beat anybody in the state. If I push him, keep him on his heels, he’s going to get really uncomfortable.”
“It’s mindset. Last year, that trip to state, I was really nervous before all of my matches. I beat myself before I even walked on the mat. This year, I’m much more loose. I’ve been able to have more fun, but I have the ability to flip the switch and tune all that stuff out when it’s game time.”