Wabash placed seven wrestlers in the top-eight Saturday afternoon at the 2004 Little State Wrestling Tournament. The tournament returned to the site of its origin in 1958, Wabash College, for the two-day event that featured 14 teams in individual competition. At the end of the tournament, 174-pounder Chris Healy (SR/Jasper, IN/Jasper) was named the Outstanding Wrestlers by the coaches.
Healy went 4-0 for the weekend with three pins, including a thrilling last-second win in the second period of the championship bout against Mike Jackson to earn the 174-pound title for the third consecutive year, becoming 20th wrestler in Little State history to win three titles. Healy opened with a pin at 2:52 against Dan White from Wilmington in the opening round, the pinned Dustin Gordon from Lincoln before advancing to the finals with an injury default. Healy earned Outstanding Wrestler honors in a vote of the coaches for the second year in a row.
Adam Miller (SR/Pendleton, IN/Pendleton Heights) took second at 157 pounds. He started with a pin against John Music of Manchester 1:51 into the first match, then won a 6-5 decision over Roshwan Hill. A 3-1 victory over Brandon Garner earned Miller a spot in the finals against Carl Amermine from Wilmington. In the championship bout it was Amermine coming out on top, pinning Miller at the 1:31 mark to take the title.
Kevin Meyer (SR/Columbus, IN/Columbus North) (photo left) and Garrett Thiel (FR/Lowell, IN/Lowell) each finished fifth in their respective weight classes. Meyer defeated MacMurray's Casey Roddis in the finals of the 165-pound weight class. Meyer won his first two matches, including a pin at 1:30 against the University of Indianapolis' Jimmy Wright to advance to the semifinals before losing a 3-2 decision to eventual champion Tyler Williams from Lincoln College.
Thiel beat Dan Heckendorn from Wilmington with a 5-0 decision in the finals of the 197-pound weight class. Thiel opened with a 5-2 win before falling 11-8 in the second round. He rallied with two straight wins before losing 9-5 in the semifinals to move into the fifth-place bracket.
Drew McCoy (SR/Greenfield, IN/New Palestine) (right) was sixth at 149 pounds, with teammate Derek Woods (FR/Greentown, IN/Eastern) finishing seventh. McCoy lost his first match on the mat before winning three straight to advance to the semifinal round. He lost 6-4 in the semis, then dropped a close 6-5 contest against Joe Hoover from Manchester in the finals.
Woods won his first match with a pin at 4:19, but lost by a pin in round two to fall into the consolation bracket. He came back to win two straight matches before losing in the quarterfinals. He claimed an injury default in his final match to take seventh.
Senior Phu Hong (Indianapolis, IN/Lawrence Central) was eighth at 125 pounds. He earned a 15-7 win on his way to the top-eight placing, defeating Jon Heller of Lincoln.
The Little Giants return to the mat Wednesday, December 8 for a dual meet against in-state rival Manchester College. The meet will take place at Pendleton Heights High School in Pendleton, Indiana. Action on the mat begins at 7 p.m.