By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor
INDIANAPOLIS – There was no pressure on Indianapolis Cathedral senior Gavin McGinley heading into the final match of the North Central (Indianapolis) Regional team championship Jan. 30 against Lawrence North senior Qwion Booker:
Win by pin or go home.
McGinley, the state’s sixth-ranked wrestler at 145 pounds, did all he could against Booker, whom he had defeated just four days earlier for the sectional title at Lawrence Central – including a pair of nearly fatal three-point near falls that would have brought the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish all the way back from a stunning 14-point deficit with three matches to go.
But Booker, no slouch himself as the state’s No. 15 wrestler at 145, wisely stalled his way to a 17-1 technical fall defeat at 5:27. After a 20-minute discussion by officials that included bringing security forces onto the floor (they weren’t needed), No. 10 Lawrence North was declared the winner after the third tiebreaking criteria broke a 31-31 deadlock.
The third and final determining factor, ironically? Most pins.
Lawrence North got pins at 103 pounds (No. 8 sophomore Brandon Nelson over Cathedral freshman Blake Roytek in 3:07), 119 (No. 2 junior Cashe’ Quiroga over Cathedral sophomore Sam Oskins in 2:21), and at 130 (senior Jeremiah Edwards, who bumped up from his No. 8 spot at 125 to record a monumentally huge third-period pin over Cathedral No. 19 junior Dominic Corsaro).
That trio of sticks trumped the Irish’s duo of No. 14 junior Calvin Sullivan (a 3:03 pin winner against LN freshman Matt Rattay at 135) and No. 12 160-pound senior Connor Hofmeister (actually a winner by disqualification after LN frosh Brandon Douthitt was booted for attempting to move up two weight classes from his registered 145 slot).
Irish fans must be cursing the presence of this writer, whose entry into the North Central gym coincided with Lawrence North reeling off five straight wins as the Wildcats went from a 9-zip deficit to a 19-9 lead. (The match began with Cathedral junior Tom Stipp outlasting LN junior Ethan Wilson, 1-0, at 152 pounds.)
Trailing by 10, Cathedral rallied to win five of the next seven matches – but the two losses were the mammoth pins by Quiroga and Edwards. The latter gave the Wildcats (back-to-back team state champions in 1992 and ’93, then again in 2004-’05) a 31-17 lead with just three bouts to go, meaning Cathedral would have to swell up big-time in order to escape.
The Irish came thisclose to doing it, too.
Sullivan got the train a-rollin’ at 135 with his second-period pin of Rattay to pull Cathedral within 31-23. But despite putting LN 20th-ranked junior Matt Goodwin on his back at the end of the first period and almost getting more near fall points in the second, Cathedral’s eighth-ranked Tony McGinley was only able to register a victory by decision, 8-4, at 140.
That set the stage for the wacky battle at 145 between his cousin, Gavin, and Booker … with fans in the stands not having a clue as to how a tiebreaker would go down should the match end in a tie.
Gavin McGinley got things rolling at 0:45 of the first period with a takedown and trio of near fall points, the Irish faithful going berserk as Booker flailed mightily on his back. But the cagey LN grappler managed to scoot out-of-bounds with 24 seconds to go, and the first period ended at 5-0.
From the down position, Gavin McGinley scored a near-immediate escape and takedown in the second period, and he was awarded a penalty point for the first of three stalling violations by Booker to make it 9-0 at the 1:15 mark. Unable to do anything, however, Gavin McGinley cut Booker for an escape at 0:46 before receiving another quick penalty point for stalling on Booker before the second two minutes ended at 10-1.
The Cathedral crowd once again went nuts early in the third period when their hopeful hero scored another takedown and put Booker perilously close to pindom. But the LN wrestler again found his way out-of-bounds at 1:12, and the three near fall points he happily surrendered made it 15-1. With Gavin McGinley unable to make a quick stick, the match ended in a tech fall at 17-1 with 33 seconds to go when Booker was whistled for his third stalling violation.
The only thing missing from the subsequent lengthy criteria discussion was some theme music – perhaps Prince’s “Controversy” or the theme from Jeopardy.
With the win, Lawrence North now gets to host the state’s other surprise regional winner, Southmont, in Feb. 6 semistate action. The unranked Mounties upset No. 11 Carmel, 30-28, in the North Montgomery Regional semifinal, then slipped past Zionsville Sectional champion Westfield, 35-33, for the crown.
The survivor of next Wednesday’s matchup will face the Columbia City Semistate winner – likely No. 9 Elkhart Memorial – in the Feb. 23 team state quarterfinals at Center Grove.
STAY TUNED FOR QUOTES FROM LN COACH JARED WILLIAMS AND CATHEDRAL COACH SEAN MCGINLEY!
Your complete results from the North Central (Indianapolis) Regional:
SEMIFINALS
#10 Lawrence North 42, Hamilton Heights 24
103 – #8 Brandon Nelsen (LN) pin Zach Powell (HH), 1:41
112 – Jarrid Logan (HH) dec. Jordan Johnson (LN), 7-0
119 – #2 Cashe’ Quiroga (LN) pin Sam Marshall (HH), 3:31
125 – #8 Jeremiah Edwards (LN) pin Austin Woodward (HH), 1:53
130 – Brandon Alley (HH) pin Corey Gorman (LN), 4:53
135 – Justin Dotson (HH) dec. Robert Kinder (LN), 8-4
140 – #20 Matt Goodwin (LN) dec. AJ Miller (HH), 6-0
145 – #15 Qwion Booker (LN) dec. Zach Bowers (HH), 4-3
152 – Ethan Wilson (LN) dec. Josh Duncan (HH), 2-0
160 – #22 Bryce Grimes (LN) dec. Matt Miller (HH), 12-8
171 – Wyatt Toller (HH) pin Matt Brumfield (LN), 1:51
189 – B.J. Grimes (LN) pin Justin Edwards (HH), 5:18
215 – #18 Zac Garrity (HH) pin Corey Schwab (LN), 2:58
Hwt – #23 (at 215) Nick Polson (LN) pin Jackson Kerfoot (HH), 2:48
#4 Indianapolis Cathedral 59, Pendleton Heights 12
#4 Indianapolis Cathedral 59, Pendleton Heights 12
103 – Blake Roytek (Cath) pin Andrew Wilson (PH), 2:30
112 – #2 Brandon Wright (Cath) pin Justin Eschelman (PH), 2:37
119 – #14 John Grey (Cath) major dec. Eric Jarrett (PH), 15-1
125 – Nick Hupp (Cath) tech fall Cody Stephenson (PH), 15-0
130 – #19 Dominic Corsaro (Cath) pin Corbin Fowler (PH), 1:35
135 – #14 Calvin Sullivan (Cath) pin Nick Sigler (PH), 1:12
140 – #8 Tony McGinley (Cath) dec. #3 Cory Wenzara (PH), 7-4
145 – #6 Gavin McGinley (Cath) pin Parker Savage (PH), 4:34
152 – Tom Stipp (Cath) pin Nick Holt (PH), 3:07
160 – #12 Connor Hofmeister (Cath) tech fall Jasper Moffitt (P), 16-1
171 – #9 Matt Todd (PH) pin Casey Devlin (Cath), 1:07
189 – Henry Nichols (PH) dec. Spencer Poling (Cath), 4-1
215 – Jake Buchanan (Cath) pin Daniel Stephenson (PH), 2:49
Hwt – Kyle Smitherman (PH), dec. Brandon Dennin (Cath), 12-8
CHAMPIONSHIP
#10 Lawrence North 31, #4 Indianapolis Cathedral 31
(LN wins on third tiebreaking criteria – most pins, 3-2)
103 – #8 Brandon Nelsen (LN) pin Blake Roytek (Cath), 3:07
112 – #2 Brandon Wright (Cath) major dec. Greg Bell (LN), 13-4
119 – #2 Cashe’ Quiroga (LN) pin Sam Oskins (Cath), 2:21
125 – #14 (at 119) John Grey (Cath) major dec. Eric Ross (LN), 9-0
130 – #8 (at 125) Jeremiah Edwards (LN) pin #19 Dominic Corsaro (Cath), 5:19
135 – #14 Calvin Sullivan (Cath) pin Matt Rattay (LN), 3:03
140 – #8 Tony McGinley (Cath) dec. #20 Matt Goodwin (LN), 8-4
145 – #6 Gavin McGinley (Cath) tech fall #15 Qwion Booker (LN), 5:27 (17-1)
152 – Tom Stipp (Cath) dec. Ethan Wilson (LN), 1-0
160 – #12 Connor Hofmeister (Cath) won by DQ over Brandon Douthitt (LN)
171 – #22 (at 160) Bryce Grimes (LN) dec. David Page (Cath), 10-6
189 – B.J. Grimes (LN) major dec. Spencer Poling (Cath), 11-3
215 – #23 Nick Polson (LN) dec. Jake Buchanan (Cath), 11-4
Hwt – Kenneth Jones (LN) dec. Brandon Dennin (Cath), 7-4
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