H.S. wrestling: Grange’s title at 220 helps Penn to fourth at Al Smith Classic

Steve Krah
·4 min read
Mishawaka’s Beau Brabender, left, competes against Jimtown’s Mikey Kallimani in the 126 weight class during the Al Smith Invitational for high school wrestling on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mishawaka High School.
Mishawaka’s Beau Brabender, left, competes against Jimtown’s Mikey Kallimani in the 126 weight class during the Al Smith Invitational for high school wrestling on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mishawaka High School.

MISHAWAKA — Juan Grange grew up wrestling in Texas.

But he had never experienced the Al Smith Classic.

Grange, who started at Penn in 2020-21 after moving from the Houston area but saw the annual 32-team tournament at Mishawaka High School canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, turned his only appearance as a senior into a championship one.

A 7-2 win against Columbus East junior Tommy Morrill in the finals Thursday, Dec. 30 gave Grange the right to climb to the top of the victory stand and helped the Kingsmen place fourth with 178.5 points.

“I stayed in good position and had good movement,” said Grange of what got him the title and allowed him to move to 14-0 in 2021-22. “I started off a little sloppy. My shots weren’t getting in. By the end of the match, I got my cardio up through training and I just sharpened up my shots. I was able to finish.”

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► H.S. wrestling: Penn fifth, Mishawaka ninth after Day 1 of Al Smith Classic

Penn coach Brad Harper commented about Grange.

“Juan is a very seasoned wrestler,” said Harper. “He’s very smart with mat strategy. He’s got some really good fakes. He’ll put some points on you if you’re not ready.

“He’s a very respectful kid. I’m excited to see what he can do (in the state tournament series.”

Grange, who was coming off an elbow injury and competing in just his second tournament of the season, was one of eight Penn wrestlers to advance to the second day of the 42nd Al Smith Classic. Other placers were senior Matteo Vargo (second at 126), sophomore Wesley Harper (second at 138), junior A.J. Steinbeke (third at 160), junior Peyton Kendall (fifth at 285), sophomore Dylan Bennett (seventh at 113), Zymarion Holyfield (seventh at 145) and freshman Ryan Schmidtendorff (eighth at 106).

Penn’s Wesley Harper during the Al Smith Invitational for high school wrestling on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mishawaka High School.
Penn’s Wesley Harper during the Al Smith Invitational for high school wrestling on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mishawaka High School.

Because of illness, the Kingsmen did not use its complete varsity lineup.

“Hopefully we can put it together by Team State (Class 4A Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Duals Jan. 8 at Brownsburg).”

Wesley Harper, Brad’s nephew, went against a three-time state champion in Crown Point senior Jesse Mendez and was pinned in 41 seconds in their finals match Thursday.

“Overall, I think I wrestled a great tournament,” said Harper. “Mendez (who became a three-time Al Smith Classic winner) is one of the best in the world. I had a great opportunity. It was fun. I had nothing to lose and went out and went for the throw. I think I got him a little mad when he heard all that noise (from the crowd).”

Mendez was one of nine Crown Point wrestlers in the finals. The Brandon Lorek-coached Bulldogs scored 316.5 points — 34 more than runner-up Center Grove. Indianapolis Cathedral (195) came in third.

Mishawaka (113) placed ninth. Sophomore Zar Walker (132), junior Isaac Valdez (170) and junior Christian Chavez (195) all placed fourth and sophomore Beau Bradbender (126) came in fifth.

Cavemen coach Steve Sandefer gave his assessment.

“There was a lot of good things, but a lot of the stuff that we need to work on we’[ve been talking about for weeks,” said Sandefer. “It’s still a learning process and we’re just trying to hammer into into their heads.

“A lot of the matches we saw in the (Al Smith) finals are matches we’ll be seeing in the State Finals. That’s something that’s always exciting for fans to see.”

Mishawaka goes to the Class 3A IHSWCA State Duals Jan. 8 at Franklin Community.

LaPorte junior Ashton Jackson (113) was the other area weight class champion. He beat Cathedral senior Evan Dickey 6-2 in the finals.

LaPorte’s Ashton Jackson, left, competes against Indianapolis Cathedral’s Evan Dickey in the 113 final during the Al Smith Invitational for high school wrestling on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mishawaka High School.
LaPorte’s Ashton Jackson, left, competes against Indianapolis Cathedral’s Evan Dickey in the 113 final during the Al Smith Invitational for high school wrestling on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021, at Mishawaka High School.

“I wrestled (Dickey) last year in the State Finals and saw him twice as some freestyle tournaments,” said Jackson, who is 27-0 on the season. “He beat me pretty good there so it’s nice to get one back.

“I was not too concerned as to what he was doing. I was just focused on my attacks and scoring points.”

Jimtown (senior Landon Buchanan second at 170 and junior Mikey Kallmani sixth at 126) came in 13th, Wawasee (senior Dylan Tom seventh at 126, junior Logan Stuckman eighth at 132 and junior Gavin Malone eight at 160) 15th, NorthWood (senior Isaac Benjamin third at 220 and junior Kaden Lone sixth at 160) 19th while LaPorte was tied for 20th.

Among other area schools with placers, Plymouth (sophomore Anthony Popi eighth at 285) wound up 24th, Elkhart (junior Brayden Jellison fourth at 285) 27th and Concord (junior Armen Koltookian seventh at 195) 28th.

Complete results are on trackwrestling.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana High School wrestling: Al Smith Invitation Mishawaka