Wrestling state series opens for Trojans at LaPorte sectional Saturday
Tom Keegan
onwardtrojans@gmail.com
Indianamat.com ranks the top 10 wrestlers by semi-state, including the one at East Chicago Central, where Chesterton competes.
Based on those rankings, the wrestlers ranked in the top four would be considered the favorites to win their first two semi-state matches and advance to the state meet.
Five Chesterton wrestlers names appear in the semi-state rankings, and only one, junior Lucas Anderson, appears in the top four of his weight class. Anderson is ranked No. 4 in his weight class.
Sophomore Max Quiroz is ranked No. 5 at 126 pounds. If the rankings play out on the mat, that would translate to Anderson and Quiroz winning in the first round at semi-state and advancing to too-close-to-predict second-round matches.
The rankings also project close first-round matches for the Shaffer brothers, No. 8 Charlie at 157 pounds, and No. 7 Drew at 165 pounds, and then a match against a highly seeded wrestler.
There is plenty of time for all that to change before the postseason reaches the semi-state stage.
The state tournament series starts Saturday for Chesterton with the eight-team sectional at LaPorte. The top four in each of the 14 weight divisions advance to the Crown Point regional Feb. 8.
So half the wrestlers who compete Saturday make it to the regional round, where the top four of eight in each division advance to the semi-state, where the top four of 16 wrestlers advance. The second round is known as the ticket round because wrestlers who win their first two matches earn a ticket to the state tournament.
As wrestlers, the strengths of Drew and Charlie Shaffer are almost as different as their reactions when they learned of Crown Point’s Griffin Van Tichelt dropping from 165 pounds to 157, meaning he is a potential road block to Charlie now and is out of Drew’s way.
“It gives me a little wiggle room at semi-state, hopefully, maybe even at regionals,” Drew said.
Of Van Tichelt, Drew said, “He’s strong and compact, explosive. He’s a little sloppy but he makes up for it.”
Charlie’s scouting report on Van Tichelt: “He’s very strong. He’s very fast. He doesn’t stop moving. He’s hard to keep up with.”
Charlie couldn’t complain too loudly for Van Tichelt dropping down because all the 157 wrestlers caught a break when Portage standout Michael Ortega dropped down to 150 pounds.
Any conversation about the differences between the Shaffer brothers starts at the top.
“You don’t want to emulate my top game,” Drew said. “I don’t think I’ve turned anybody this entire year. I just don’t feel comfortable on top, so I just let them go.”
In contrast, Charlie said, “I think I’ve ridden out almost every one of my opponents who have taken bottom. I’ve only cut people, and only one or two people have gotten an escape on me. Other than that, I just rode everybdoy else.”
There are things Charlie wishes he did as well as Drew.
“There are a lot of things I need to do better,” he said. “He’s pretty tough and he takes way better shots than I do, but I make up for that on top.”
One wall of the Chesterton wrestling room has the name of every Trojan who competed at state.
Two years ago, Ben Shaffer wrestling at 160 pounds earned his trip to state by pinning Mishawaka’s Courtney Rider in the second period of their quarterfinal match. Ben’s a sophomore at Trine University and wrestles at 174 pounds.
This season is Drew’s final chance at joining Ben on the wall. Charlie has three more chances.
“I feel like now is the best I’ve ever been,” Charlie said. “I’m taking more shots. I’m doing better on top, doing better on bottom. In the past, I could never get out, but I’m starting to get out a lot, and in neutral I’m starting to do better, taking more shots, taking riskier moves.”
Drew has a far better chance of winning a sectional title than Charlie because New Prairie freshman Matthew Staples, undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state, is in Charlie’s bracket.
Drew, bouncing back from feeling sick recently, has no one ranked ahead of him in his bracket at LaPorte. He won the 157-pound sectional title last season, and Quiroz and Anderson also are seeking to repeat as sectional champions one weight class higher than in 2024.