INDIANAPOLIS – Dillon Jackson had mixed emotions as he came off the mat at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Saturday. The Yorktown senior wrestler ended his Tiger career with a win, just not the victory he was hoping for. Jackson finished third in the 170-pound weight class at the IHSAA State Finals. While he was happy to end his career in victory, he had hoped it would be a win in the state championship match.
“It’s a little rough,” Jackson said. “I left it out on the mat, and I’ve got to be happy with that.”
Jackson was one of two wrestlers from East Central Indiana to finish third at the state tournament Saturday, along with Delta’s Sage Coy (132 pounds). No ECI wrestlers reached the finals on Saturday night.
Jackson was a two-time state qualifier in his Yorktown career. He also finished third at 170 pounds in his other state appearance as a junior.
“Anytime you have a senior, whether they’re wrestling for seventh or third, you like to see them go out on a win if at all possible,” Yorktown coach Trent McCormick said.
Jackson opened his Saturday with a 9-8 victory against Franklin Community’s Jacob Stevenson in the quarterfinals. Cathedral’s Ben Harvey then defeated Jackson by fall in 3:18 in the semifinals. Jackson faced Adams Central’s Kaine Luginbill in the third-place match, which Jackson won by a 7-2 decision.
Luginbill was a familiar opponent. The pair faced off once in the regular season, and in regional and semistate championship matches. Saturday’s match was scoreless after the first period. Jackson picked up a reversal early in the second period, and a three-point near fall early in the third period, crucial points in the victory.
“I tried my best to go out there and keep it fresh and hit him with stuff that he hadn’t seen before,” Jackson said.
Coy started his Saturday with a win by fall (4:30) against Roncalli’s Nick Ellis. Evansville Mater Dei’s Nick Lee then defeated Coy by pin in 1:44 in the semifinals. Coy collected a forfeit in in the third-place match, with East Noble’s Connor Knapp having been the scheduled opponent.
Coy, who attended Southside in his first two years of high school, is a junior who saw his first postseason action this year. He missed weight his freshman year and was injured during his sophomore year. He said he was pleased to finish third at state in his first postseason, though he would have liked to have a chance to wrestle the third-place match and earn his spot.
“It’s a great feeling, I’m happy with how I did,” Coy said. “Obviously not where I want to be. But first time coming down here, and I’m coming out third, losing the match to the guy that’s definitely going to win it (Coy’s prediction later proved correct). I’m pretty happy with it. Obviously not where I want to be.”
The junior 132-pounder was one of two Delta placers on Saturday. Teammate Jacob Gray finished sixth at 160 pounds. A third Eagle, Scottie Evans, qualified for state but lost on Friday night. First-year coach Gary Schliessman said the showing was a big step in program development for the Eagles.
“This is a great start,” Schliessman said. “To get three guys here at the state, we had five at the semistate, we’re excited. This is great for the program, and I just see, it’s probably going to be a snowball effect.”
Yorktown had five placers on Saturday. Brad Laughlin finished fifth at 138 pounds, and Dru Berkebile did the same at 152. Christian Hunt finished sixth at 106, and Myron Howard was seventh at 195 pounds. The Tigers had eight total state qualifiers, as Cael McCormick (145), Hunter Hiestand (182) and Dax Hiestand (285) each took losses on Friday night.
Yorktown has qualified wrestlers for the championship matches in recent years, including Rhett Hiestand, who won the 160-pound state title as a senior last season. Despite not having a competitor in the finals this year, Trent McCormick said he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially with having two freshmen, one sophomore and one junior among the state qualifiers and set to return next season.
“The five state placers, phenomenal,” Trent McCormick said. “Three of them are underclassmen, so we had four state qualifiers here this weekend that were underclassmen, so that’s always good for the future.”
Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.