Tsirtsis, Kral win state championships
By Mark Smith msmith@post-trib.com February 21, 2012 3:58PM
Hanover Central High School's Paul Pelrov wrestles his opponent in the 120-pound weight class, New Castle High School's Brenden Campbell. High school wrestlers from across the state competed in the 2012 IHSAA State Wrestling Tournament Saturday, Feb. 18,
The 74th Annual IHSAA Individual Wrestling State Finals
Feb. 17-18, 2012
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
State Championship Match Results
106 – Stevan Micic - HANOVER CENTRAL (47-0) 5-1 over Nathan Boston 10 Lawrence North (44-1)
113 – Jarred Brooks - Warsaw (35-0) 18-6 over Schuyler Phillips - Yorktown (47-2)
120 – Paul Petrov - HANOVER CENTRAL (47-0) 14-11 over Brenden Campbell - New Castle (53-3)
126 – Kyle Ayersman - Lake Central (52-0) 1-0 over Cody LeCount - Perry Meridian (46-1)
132 – Jared McKinley - Perry Meridian (48-1) 9-2 over Todd Batt - South Adams (45-3)
138 – Devon Jackson - Yorktown (52-0) 12-2 over Josh Farrell - Greenfield-Central (39-4)
145 – Jason Tsirtsis - CROWN POINT (42-0) 22-7 over Vincent Corsaro - Indianapolis Cathedral (35-4)
152 – Isaiah Bradley - Muncie Southside (44-0) 2-1 over Luke Kriech - Franklin Community (35-6).
160 – Brian Harvey - Indianapolis Cathedral (47-0) 12-4 over Connor Robinson - New Palestine (39-9)
170 – Sean Mappes - Center Grove (46-0) 7-6 over Jake Masengale - Perry Meridian (47-2).
182 – Tanner Lynde - Delphi (52-0) 8-1 over Lukas Schaeffer - Westfield (53-1).
195 – Mitch Sliga - Fishers (49-0) pinned Kourtney Berry - Merrillville (32-1) 3:20.
220 – Tyler Kral - CROWN POINT (41-2) 3-2 over Joe Gallegos - ( South Bend) Clay (45-3).
285 – Abraham Hall - Bremen (50-0) 3-1 over Dominique Stauffer - Elkhart Central (38-2).
Article Extras
Updated: February 21, 2012 3:58PM
INDIANAPOLIS — There’s a never been a day like this.
For Crown Point. For Hanover Central. For south Lake County.
There are only 14 state wrestling champions every year.
In 2012, five of them came from here.
From a state that is approximately 250 miles from north to south, five boys who almost surely live within a 10 mile radius were the Indiana state champions at their weight at the 74th state wrestling finals Saturday night at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis.
Crown Point seniors Jason Tsirtsis (145 pounds) and Tyler Kral (220 pounds) won state championships for their school, the eighth and ninth individual state championships for CPHS in the last four years. And Tsirtsis (42-0) has won four of them.
With his 22-7 technical fall win over Cathedral sophomore Vince Corsaro (35-4), Tsirtsis became only the eighth teenager in the 74-year history of the state tournament to win a state wrestling title every year in high school. And Tsirtsis (172-2 in four years) joined his brother Alex Tsirtsis (2001-2004), who was 234-0 in his four years, in Hoosier mat immortality, the only brothers to win four state titles each.
Tsirtsis received two standing ovations from the large Saturday night crowd and, as his brother Alex looked on, the Northwestern recruit completed an almost impossible trek in his brother’s footsteps, knowing he could not beat perfection but giving it a Hall-of-Fame try, winning every single match in 2010 (43-0), 2011 (43-0) and 2012 (42-0), with only the state team tournament at Center Grove this Saturday left in his high school career.
Joining Tsirtsis at the top of the state is CP senior Tyler Kral, who topped Merrillville semistate champ Joe Gallegis (45-3) to win the 220-pound championhip by a 3-2 score, with two ponts coming for Gallegos stalling.
The showdown here was in the semifinals, the fifth meeting of Kral and Lake Central star Gelnon Robinson, the son of Gary Roosevelt, Purdue and NBA legend Glenn Robinson.
In a pivotal moment near the end of the second period, Robinson, leading 1-0, took down Kral as the horn sounded.
But officials took four points (a takedown and a near fall) off the board, much to the displeasure of the crowd.
With the score tied 1-1 late in the third period, Kral caught Robinson for a takedown and a near fall and a 6-1 victory, his fourth win over the LC star in five tries.
Kral wins at the highest weight class ever for a CP wrestling champion.
Lake Central Paul Ayersman (52-0), who will attend Purdue, finished his season as Lake Central’s first three-time champ by winning four matches at 126 pounds.
Hanover Central had the greatest wrestling day in schoool history, as both 106-pound sophomore Stevan Micic (47-0) and 120-pound senior Paul Petrov (47-0) won state championships.
The duo became the first HC winners since three-time state champ Andrew Howe won in 2004-2006.
Micic’s win was an upset, as Nathan Boston had won 90 matches in a row in his two-year career.
The HC sophomore, who had defeated undefeated New Palestine freshman Tommy Cash (43-0) in the quarterfinals, built a 5-0 lead and held on as Boston’s takedown wioth 20 seconds left was not enough on a 5-4 victory.
But Petrov’s final against New Castle’s Brenden Campbell (53-3) had even more drama as the Hanover senior built an early 5-2 lead only to give up five ponts on a near fall and trail 7-5 in the second period.
Still trailing 11-10 midway in the final period, Petrov caught Campbell for a takedown and near fall and the deciding four points.
Petrov’s father and coach Nick Petrov celebrated as the crowd gave both boys a huge ovation.
Crown Point’s Darden Schurg (39-4) placed fourth in the state, going 2-2 at the finals, while CP juniors Trevor Burlison (126) and Matt Langbehn (195) were knocked out in Friday’s first round.
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