What to watch for at the state wrestling meet as Bloomington South, Edgewood wrestlers compete

Monroe County is sending four athletes to the IHSAA state wrestling meet this weekend in Indianapolis.

It's a split group, with two, Bloomington South's Delaney Ruhlman and Edgewood's Cash Turner both returning to state, and two, South freshmen Cam Meier and Evan Roudebush there for the first time.

Here's what you need to know as action starts on Friday:

How to watch

Tickets are digital, $10 for Friday's session, $15 for Saturday, and available only at Ticketmaster.com (with service fees applied).

Saturday's state championship bouts in each weight class will air live on Bally Sports Indiana. IHSAAtv.org will livestream all other bouts for a subscription fee of $15. That will include the finals for those outside the Bally Sports Indiana (BSI) coverage area.

Also follow the tournament live at trackwrestling.com.

Win and get in

Like last year, the first round on Friday will be split into two sessions to keep numbers down. The first session at 11 a.m. will be with weight classes 152-285. The second, at 7 p.m., will have those from 106-145.

So Ruhlman will be on the first wrestlers on the mat at 152, while the other three will go in the evening session. Only the winners will come back for the next round.

More: State finals bound: Three area wrestlers take the next step, heading to next round

More: Bloomington South, Edgewood compete at Semi-State

Quarterfinals and semifinal session on Saturday starts at 9 a.m. with consolations at 4:30 p.m. and championship bouts at 7:30.

State lineup

Here's a closer look at the four state qualifiers:

Cam Meier

Bloomington South, Fr. 106

RECORD: 24-8. STATE RANKING: NA. SEMISTATE FINISH: lost in 2nd round.

OPENING OPPONENTS: No. 3 Nathan Smith, Southport (47-0), Sr. Winner gets either No. 7 E'Shawn Tolbert, Portage (24-5) or No. 9 Levi Johns, Bluffton (39-1).

OUTLOOK: Smith, who took seventh at last year's meet, pinned Meier in the finals of the Conference Indiana in the first period. But Meier, who had actually planned to watch his brother Cade wrestle for Campbellsville University at his conference meet, is just happy to be there. He got a callup (a first for South coach Mike Runyon) when the fourth-place finisher from Crawford County couldn't make it. Meier was beaten in the second round by the eventual champion, earning the honor.

More: Bloomington South's Cameron Meier off to a strong start as a freshman wrestler

ON HEARING HIS SEASON WASN'T OVER: "When I left Evansville, I was really focused on getting better for next year and getting ready to go to state and hopefully win it next year. When I got called back in, I was like, 'Holy crap, that's surprising.' Guess I got a second chance. God must have given this to me.'"

WHAT IT MEANS TO MAKE STATE: "To get a shot up there after getting put out at state means a lot."

Evan Roudebush

Bloomington South, Fr. 138

RECORD: 26-10. STATE RANKING: NA. SEMISTATE FINISH: 4th.

OPENING OPPONENTS: No. 1 Jesse Mendez, Crown Point (37-0), Sr.. Winner gets either No. 10 Julius Gerencser, Daleville (26-3) or Ike O'Neill, Westfield (30-10).

OUTLOOK: Roudebush will make his inaugural state appearance against one of the state's all-time best in Mendez, who is 153-1 and headed to Ohio State. He beat Panther Delaney Ruhlman in last year's 138 final and is trying to become the 10th wrestler in state history to earn four titles.

WHAT HE'S LEARNED IN HIS FIRST POSTSEASON: "I think a lot of effort and focus. My endurance helped me push through matches and I just had to make some small adjustments, whether it be in a match or in practice."

WHAT IT MEANS TO MAKE STATE: "You never know if you'll be there next year. So I'm pretty excited for it."

Delaney Ruhlman

Bloomington South, Jr. 152

RECORD: 32-1. STATE RANKING: No. 3. SEMISTATE FINISH: 1st.

OPENING OPPONENTS: No. 23 Austin Brickey, FW Carroll (33-10), Sr. Winner gets No. 2 Anthony Reinhart, Zionsville (40-2) or No. 20 Kenneth Bispring, Lowell (35-6).

OUTLOOK: Ruhlman, last year's runner-up at 138, will start with a state rookie. Beyond that, Round 2 should bring rematch with only wrestler to beat him this season in Rinehart (3-2 in Al Smith Classic semis). Rinehart's only loss is to No. 1 Sam Goin of Crown Point, who is in the opposite bracket. The other four-man group in the top bracket includes Nos. 6 (Tyler Jones of Warren Central), 13, 14 and 15.

WHAT HE LEARNED AT STATE LAST TWO YEARS: "My freshman year, I was extremely nervous in my Friday match. And last year, since I was able to experience the entire tournament, this year I will be able to have the correct mindset instead of being so nervous going into my matches."

WHAT MAKING IT BACK MEANS: "I always have to work for it. It's never a given. You always have to push in the practice room and have the correct mindset going into, especially regionals and semistate, I'd say."

Cash Turner

Edgewood, Jr., 138

RECORD: 32-1. STATE RANKING: No. 5. SEMISTATE FINISH: 3rd.

OPENING OPPONENTS: No. 2 Cole Solomey, Kankakee Valley, Jr. (40-3). Winner gets either No. 3 Bryce Lowery, Roncalli (37-0) or Allan Maggard, Columbia City (27-14).

OUTLOOK: Turner's opening foe placed sixth at 132 last year. He was beaten in his semistate final by Crown Point stud, Jesse Mendez, in a 20-5 tech fall. But Turner also has state experience, placing seventh as a freshman, and was determined to get back to the podium this year after failing to make it back as a sophomore. It'll be a tough road. Lowery was fourth at 106 in 2020 and seventh at 126 last year.

WHAT MAKING IT BACK MEANS: "I got to realize just how big it is. You don't realize it until you walk through the parade of champions and see how many are there and only one can win. It's awesome. But I wrestle kind of the same, as it's just a another tournament on the same mat. I don't see anything but the square mat."

WHAT HE LEARNED AT STATE IN 2020: "I think this trip, it's going to be a little easier. I've been there before and I know what's going on. It won't be as overwhelming. I think that coming this year, after getting knocked out in the ticket round and being able to recover, is pretty big. That loss just pushed me harder to want to go back."

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: What to look for as local wrestlers compete in state finals