HS wrestling state finals: Cathedral repeats, while locals enjoy final big night on the mat

INDIANAPOLIS – Jordan Slivka is best known by his nickname inside the Cathedral wrestling room.

After Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, few in the state will dispute it as Slivka came up “clutch” when his team needed him the most.

Locked in a dead heat with Avon for the IHSAA wrestling team state championship, Slivka applied the finishing touch at 160 pounds while junior Elliott Rodgers got his revenge at 152 to secure Cathedral’s first repeat in school history.

Rodgers defeated third-ranked Cooper Noehre (41-4) of Greenfield-Central with a takedown, just 30 seconds into the match’s first overtime period, and pushed the Irish’s team lead over Avon by six points.

With a potential for a tie in the team standings, Slivka, an Ohio recruit, erased all doubt. The four-time state place-winner turned a 7-5 deficit in the third period into a 7-0 run through the final minute to push Cathedral to its third team wrestling state title in six years.

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“I wanted two pinky rings this year,” Slivka remarked after securing his second consecutive individual state championship. “It was the same thing as Elliott the match before. He showed me, I can fight back, so I just kept fighting. There’s too much motivation for me out there not to win this. I had the team behind my back.”

And he was far from 100 percent.

Tearing cartilage in his ribs prior to the state tournament last month, Slivka was in survival mode the past four weeks, which made him the prime candidate to bring home the state title.

“That’s why his nickname is clutch,” Rodgers said.

Ranked second in the state, Slivka (36-3) was the underdog against top-ranked Donnell Washington (37-2) of Portage despite winning state at 145 last year. Slivka lost to Washington by decision 8-3 earlier this season.

But his team needed a push after two of Cathedral’s four state finalists lost while Avon closed the gap before the Irish won 78-72.

“I still can barely lift anybody,” Slivka said. “But I was still energized. I wanted it more. I started piecing things together, and I knew he would get frustrated. I just kept battling the whole time. The whole six minutes.”

Rodgers (41-4) needed 6:29 against Noehre, who beat him in the semistate title match a week before in New Castle in overtime by decision 5-3. Rodgers beat Noehre 5-3 in overtime during the regular season.

Noehre led 7-5 until Rodgers attacked and scored a takedown to tie the match. Once the bonus period began, Rodgers drove Noehre to his back in 29 seconds.

“I try not to get too much into my own head during a match, and I was just thinking, you’re not out of it,” Rodgers said. “It’s not over until the third period is over.”

Cathedral led Avon by six-point margin before the championship finals, but the Orioles had three wrestlers vying for state titles, led by top-ranked Asa Garcia.

Doyel:Avon's Asa Garcia getting mind right to wreak havoc at wrestling finals

Garcia (46-1) cut the deficit to two points after he claimed his third career state title and second straight — Avon’s first three-time champion in school history. The Indiana recruit pinned No. 2 Alec Viduya (41-2) of Roncalli in 1:23.

“I heard the smack of the mat, and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, seriously?’ I started it with a pin and finished with a pin,” Garcia said. “It’s just an amazing feeling. This one felt so much more deep in the heart. About made me cry on the mat.”

Garcia owns Avon’s school record for career wins at 162-12, winning his first state title by fall at 106 in 2016. He was the 126 champion last year.

Top-ranked Brayden Littell, a junior, became Center Grove’s first state champion since Sean Mappes in 2011-12 at 170. Littel finished unbeaten at 120 with a 9-3 decision in the finals to improve his record to 44-0.

Perry Meridian’s top-ranked sophomore Alexzander Cottey’s (41-1) attempt at an unbeaten championship season ended in the finals with a 6-0 decision against second-ranked Brennen Cernus (38-2) of Culver Academies at 106.

Cottey was state runner-up at 106 last year, losing by major decision 9-1 to Moran, who became a three-time state place-winner after claiming a repeat title with a 37-1 record.

Top-ranked Jesse Mendez (42-0) of Crown Point won the 126 title with a 6-0 decision against Avon’s fourth-ranked Raymond Rioux (42-4).

Columbus East’s top-ranked Cayden Rooks (43-1) captured the title at 138 with a 9-2 decision over No. 4 Braxton Alexander (38-2) of Wawasee.

Cathedral’s Alex Mosconi lost to Evansville’s Mater Dei’s top-ranked Matthew Lee at 145 by decision 5-2.

Avon’s Carson Brewer won the 182 title by decision 6-2. Shenandoah’s Silas Allred won the 195 title by major decision 11-2.

Zeke Seltzer, who came into the state finals ranked second overall at 113 by IndianaMat, muscled toward the title match with a 9-4 decision in the morning quarterfinals before shutting out No. 9 Gavinn Alstott of Floyd Central 3-0 in the semifinals.

Seltzer (42-2) lost for the only the second time this season, once again to Indiana recruit and Portage senior Jacob Moran, who was ranked first in the state.

Moran defeated Seltzer by decision 7-4 during the regular season and won the 113 title on Saturday night with a 3-0 decision.

Cathedral’s title marks the first repeat wrestling team state champion since Perry Meridian won three straight from 2011-13. Prior to the Irish’s back-to-back title run, 14 other programs had won two more consecutive team championships since 1932-33.

The Irish won last year’s team championship with 108 points.

Cathedral established its lead in the team points standings earlier in the day by advancing 4 of 5 medal-round competitors into the semifinals and championship finals.

“I wanted to be the best team. That was my legacy to leave for Cathedral, not just be a decent wrestler, but be the best team captain we’ve ever had,” Slivka said. “I think I claimed it right there.”

IHSAA WRESTLING STATE FINALS

Team scores: 1. Cathedral 78, 2. Avon 72, 3. (tie) Brownsburg 65, 3. (tie) Evansville Mater Dei 65, 5. Columbus East 61, 6. Roncalli 53, 7. Portage 41.5, 8. Culver Academies 39.5, 9. Perry Meridian 39, 10. Jimtown 36.

Individual winners

106: Cernus Brennan (Culver Academies) def. Alexzander Cottey (Perry Meridian), Dec. 6-0
113: Jacob Moran (Portage) def. Zeke Seltzer (Cathedral), Dec. 3-0
120: Brayden Littell (Center Grove) def. Blake Boarman (Evansville Mater Dei), Dec. 9-3
126: Jesse Mendez (Crown Point) def. Raymond Rioux (Avon), Dec. 6-0
132: Asa Garcia (Avon) def. Alec Viduya (Roncalli), Fall, 1:23
138: Cayden Rooks (Columbus East) def. Braxton Alexander (Wawasee), Dec. 9-2
145: Matthew Lee (Evansville Mater Dei) def. Alex Mosconi (Cathedral), Dec. 5-2
152: Elliott Rodgers (Cathedral) def. Cooper Noehre (Greenfield-Central), SV-1, 9-7
160: Jordan Slivka (Cathedral) def. Donnell Washington (Portage), Dec. 12-7
170: Nick South (Columbus East) def. Clayton Fielden (Garrett), MD, 11-0
182: Carson Brewer (Avon) def. Andrew Donahue (Culver Academies), Dec. 6-2
195: Silas Allred (Shenandoah) def. Nick Willham (Greenwood), MD, 11-2
220: Arthur Fowler (Calumet) def. Lawson Aiken (Brownsburg), Fall, 5:48
285: Dorian Keys (Brownsburg) def. Alex Cartwright (LaVille), Dec. 3-2