Karlee Clevenger has a bye into the ticket round for Friday’s Goshen Regional. (Photo by Mike Deak)

The regional rounds of the first IHSAA girls wrestling state tournament are set, and Wawasee has its path to how its seven wrestlers can punch their tickets to the IHSAA State Finals. The regional round is a 16-woman bracket per weight class, with each wrestler needing two wins to guarantee their spot in the state finals, then two more wins to claim a regional championship.

Let’s take a look at the matchups and see what’s in front of us for Friday’s Goshen Regional.

100 – Karlee Clevenger (20-7) receives a forfeit
Will take on: Katie Lovingood of Wheeler (3-1) or Diana Hernandez of Hammond Central (16-4)
Notes: This has been a microcosm of Clevenger’s season. Clevenger only had one match at the Goshen Sectional, and that was in the championship where she scored a pin and the one seed for the regional. Hernandez on paper looks like Clevenger’s opponent with Lovingood having only wrestled in last week’s sectional this season.

110 – Hadley Faurote (17-8) vs Ashley DeBusk of Hobart (21-6)
Win and will take on: Onica Gradeless of Mishawaka (20-3) or Isabella Robledo of Highland (25-11)
Notes: Faurote was one win from a sectional title in her first year of wrestling with Wawasee. Faurote has been one of the most improved Lady Warriors on the mat this season, but draws a very tough pod with all three of the others having won 20-plus matches this season. Gradeless was the champ from Mishawaka and has been very consistent this season.

115 – Lydia LaBarbera (16-11) vs Janiyah Brooks of South Bend Washington (14-2)
Win and will take on: Aubrey Schelstraete of New Prairie (3-0) or Keewa Yu of Crown Point (12-9)
Notes: LaBarbera carries the historical tag of being the first win ever for Wawasee this season, and was one win from a sectional title after the Goshen dust settled. Brooks won just one match at Mishawaka over a four-win Triton wrestler in a forfeit-filled bracket. Schelstraete has only wrestled at the sectional, but won all three of her matches by pin.

135 – Kenidi Nine (27-8) vs Hayden Lane of Hobart (12-2)
Win and will take on: Isabella Reller of Penn (20-8) or Emma Alvarez of Lowell (10-8)
Notes: Nine came into the state tournament ranked No. 15, and is looking for her second straight state finals appearance. A win over Lane would likely have Reller waiting in the ticket round. The 135 class is one of the toughest top-to-bottom lineups in the state, and Goshen’s setup is top heavy with No. 1 Naimi Ghaffar of NorthWood, No. 4 Charisma Lawrence of Merrillville and No. 11 Helene Papadakis of Crown Point all in the mix, Lawrence potentially awaiting Nine in the semi-finals.

140 – Cyanna Leon (23-12) vs Grace Christos of Wheeler (2-2)
Win and will take on: Haile Horwarth of Penn (19-9) or Emmalynn Moore of Highland (33-4)
Notes: Leon enters the regional as the No. 1 seed in her pod after winning the Goshen sectional title, but there are some big numbers in the quad, specifically a 33-win Moore lurking. Leon has been a bulldozer for the Lady Warriors, and gets Christos first, who only wrestled this season at the Illiana Christian Sectional.

155 – Alex Garcia (13-11) vs Bailey Varella of Hobart (19-6)
Win and will take on: Mariana Castro of Warsaw (23-8) or Trinity Barricks of South Newton (8-3)
Notes: Garcia is looking to make it three-for-three in state appearances, being the first girls wrestler in Wawasee history to make the state finals as a freshman, then return last year. The junior has all the ability in the world, but will be challenged from one of the region’s top 155s in Varella, who was the top seed heading into the Hobart Sectional. Warsaw’s Castro has been very good all season, but Garcia has beaten Castro head-to-head this season, notably a pin in the Tiger Den in December.

170 – Kenadi Pierce (14-9) vs Kaiah Long of Warsaw (21-7)
Win and will take on: Keely Culbreth of Kankakee Valley (25-6) or Olivia Hunt of Crown Point (14-17)
Notes: Pierce is on the upswing of her first season of high school wrestling, finishing third at Goshen after a 3-1 day. She will be challenged right away by Long, who squashed Pierce in December’s dual and went five minutes with Penn’s Amani Reed in the Mishawaka final. The Goshen Regional will feature five of the state’s top 14 170 pounders. The other half of the grid will see a 25-win Culbreth take on Hunt, which no one in their right mind would count out a Crown Point wrestler in the spotlight.