Nine Shelbyville and Triton Central wrestlers one win away from semistate berth

All Reuben Martins-Thomas has to do to earn his first semistate appearance is defeat Southport freshman Braylon Maynard in his opening match at 190 pounds Saturday at the Perry Meridian Regional.

That would secure the Shelbyville sophomore a top-four regional finish and a spot at the New Castle Semistate. However, the more regional wins Martins-Thomas (17-12) can accumulate Saturday means a higher semistate seed.

More wins won’t come easy, though. A win in his opener sets up a semifinal match against either Perry Meridian’s Seer Godwise (25-4, ranked No. 12) or Warren Central’s Byron Baltzall (23-8).

The other half of the bracket at 190 pounds features No. 3 ranked Michael White (35-0) of Lawrence North, New Palestine’s Eli Oberle (16-10), Roncalli’s Gray Wiley (23-10) and Purdue Poly’s Hernan Justiniano (22-11).

A total of nine Shelby County wrestlers – six from Shelbyville and three from Triton Central – will compete at the Perry Meridian Regional. The goal is the same for all of them – win that first match.

175 pounds

The bracket at 175 pounds features three state-ranked wrestlers and two Shelby County athletes.

Shelbyville senior Andrew Burton (28-14) opens against No. 19 ranked M.J. Morton (28-6) of Roncalli. A win likely sets up a semifinal match against Warren Central’s Waylon Cressell, ranked No. 1 in the state. Cressell (36-2) faces Beech Grove’s Dakota Centers (17-11) in his opener.

Triton Central’s Dayne Bailey (20-7) will battle Southport’s Abel Mejia (22-15) in a quarterfinal match. North Central’s Jaylin Hill (36-2), ranked No. 9, takes on New Palestine’s Isaiah Hames (14-7) in the final quarterfinal of the bracket.

165 pounds

Shelbyville junior Julian Eads has amassed 40 wins this season but needs one more against Lawrence North’s Jericho Jackson (31-5) to get to New Castle. To win the regional, Eads (40-7) will have to go through No. 11 Mason Thompson (27-6) of Greenfield-Central and No. 20 James Dozier (24-9) of Roncalli.

157 pounds

Shelbyville junior Brady Bryant (35-6) has the most wins in the 157-pound bracket – four more than the only state-ranked wrestler, No. 4 Christian Arberry (31-3) of Warren Central, who is in the other half of the bracket.

Bryant opens against Roncalli’s Andrew McHugh (22-9). The winner meets either Greenfield-Central’s Aiden Briles (21-11) or Southport’s Aganze Mulumeoderwa (28-14) for a spot in the regional championship match.

Triton Central wrestling poses for a photo while at the Purdue Polytechnic Sectional on Feb. 1.

150 pounds

To get to the championship at 150 pounds, Triton Central’s Braxton Zimmerman (20-9) must go through No. 16 Jessie Franklin (36-1) of North Central to potentially get to either Warren Central’s Aaron Durham (19-8), ranked No. 20, or Lawrence North’s Erick Grady (23-10).

Purdue Poly’s Silas Foster (32-4), ranked No. 2, is in the other half of the bracket.

144 pounds

A pair of top-five wrestlers highlight the 144-pound bracket that includes Shelbyville junior Jaylen Eads (35-6). He will open the regional against No. 16 Alex Plahitko (27-5) of Roncalli.

New Palestine’s Bryce Doss (26-1), ranked No. 3, likely will be waiting for the winner.

The other half of the bracket should be dominated by No. 5 Moses Stevenson (25-3) of Franklin Central.

138 pounds

Triton Central’s Conner Phipps must defeat Lawrence North’s Steven Hunter (30-6) to get his semistate slot at 138 pounds.

Warren Central’s Terry Easley (27-5) is in the same half of the bracket with Phipps. New Palestine’s Gunner Butt (28-2), ranked No. 4, is in the other half of the bracket.

126 pounds

For Shelbyville sophomore Tripp Garner (30-6) to win a regional title at 126 pounds, he will have to defeat a trio of state-ranked wrestlers including his first opponent, No. 14 Gavyn Kemp (29-4) of Roncalli.

Franklin Central’s Richard Rogers (32-8), ranked No. 18, is the likely semifinal opponent while No. 9 Eli Broady (28-3) of Mt. Vernon is favored to move through the top half of the bracket.

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