Shelbyville senior Jacob Harker will make a return trip to the New Castle Wrestling Semistate while sophomore Julian Eads will make his first appearance.
Both Golden Bears won their first match Saturday morning at the Perry Meridian Regional to automatically advance to the semistate round of competition.
Eads (photo below), competing at 157 pounds, pinned Lawrence Central’s Kiaun Fields late in the third period in his opening match. Eads then lost to eventual regional champion Anthony Cashman of Warren Central and was defeated in the third-place match by New Palestine’s Jaedyn Jeffries, 7-1.
At 285 pounds, Harker (main photo) pinned Beech Grove’s Dusty Miller in the second period to advance. He then lost to Greenfield-Central’s Brayden Flener, who won the regional title, and Warren Central’s Perris Green, 6-4, in the third-place match.
A total of 10 Shelbyville and Triton Central wrestlers competed at the Perry Meridian Regional.
Triton Central’s Chance Uhls (106 pounds), Ayden Nufio (113), Anthony Toon (120) and Conner Phipps (126) all suffered pinfall losses in their first matches.
Shelbyville’s Andrew Burton (165) and Brayden Schultz (190) also lost by pinfall. Tripp Garner was defeated 15-6 by Southport’s Keegan Dresslar at 113 pounds. Brady Bryant took a 17-2 loss to North Central’s Jessie Franklin at 150 pounds.
Harker and Eads will need to win two matches Saturday at New Castle to advance to the IHSAA State Finals on Feb. 16-17 that will be held this year at the Ford Center in Evansville.
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