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Shaffer, Thomas have eyes set on semistate wrestling success
Evansville Semistate wrestling qualifiers Kyle Shaffer and Trace Thomas have several similarities and differences between them.
Shaffer is a senior from South Putnam who has a wealth of IHSAA tournament experience, after placing sixth in the state in the 182-pound class two years ago.
Thomas is a sophomore at Greencastle who is competing in his first IHSAA competition after missing last year due to a concussion.
Ironically, Shaffer also was also unable to compete last year to injury.
Now both healthy, they are both two wins away from berths in the state finals next weekend at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Shaffer is the sixth-ranked 195-pounder in the state, according to indianamat.com, and takes a perfect 42-0 record into this weekend.
Only one wrestler, fifth-ranked Kurtis Wilderman of Evansville Mater Dei, is placed higher than Shaffer in the state rankings.
South Putnam coach Josh Hendrickson, a former North Putnam wrestler, feels Shaffer is exactly where he thought he would be at this point in the season.
“He has wrestled really well,” Hendrickson said. “His regional final match was his toughest, but he’s beaten some other ranked kids.”
Hendrickson is confident that Shaffer will continue to succeed through the final two levels of the tourney.
“I would put Kyle up against anyone in the state,” he said. “He just has to go out and wrestle his match. He has to be aggressive, look to score and wrestle for three periods.”
Hendrickson considers Shaffer a well-rounded wrestler, strong in all areas with no glaring weaknesses.
“He’s exceptional from his feet in the neutral position,” he said. “He’s very good at takedowns.”
Shaffer suffered a back injury during football in his junior season, and battled back to start the season in wrestling.
“We pulled him from the first tournament of the season because he was having back spasms,” Hendrickson said. “They just lingered and lingered and it came to a point where he couldn’t go. He wishes he could have wrestled last year, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way.”
Hendrickson and other adults served as practice opponents for Shaffer this week in preparation for the semistate. He said the week has basically been to review fundamentals.
“It’s back to the basics,” Hendrickson said. “You don’t win with fancy moves. The fundamentals of wrestling are what win big matches.”
Intense both on the football field and the wrestling mat, Shaffer admits that he was driven even more for this season by the fact that he couldn’t participate a year ago.
“You have to miss wrestling to love it,” he said. “After last year, I was pretty upset because I didn’t get to compete. I have been coming in here and working hard every day, and I’m just really glad I’m in the semistate.”
It’s hard to have a lot of complaints about a perfect season, and Shaffer feel good about the season so far.
“I think it’s gone really well,” he said. “I’ve worked hard and gotten better every day. There were some matches I don’t think I did too well in , but coach has coached me up the next day about what I did wrong.”
Shaffer said an additional focus this week has been to make sure he can wrestle a full three rounds. Even though the clock time is just six minutes for a match, the exertion involved makes it seem like hours.
“I’ve been trying to get my cardio up,” he said. “In the past, I’ve been able to wrestle some good rounds but not all three. Just trying to wrestle a full match, and take each match one at a time.”
Thomas is one of a set of athletic triplets that includes brother Cauy and sister Erin.
Cauy Thomas is also an excellent wrestler, having won a Putnam County title each of the past two years (at 106 and 120 pounds) and a Western Indiana Conference title last year at 106. He was sidelined by injury at mid-season and has not been able to compete in the state tournament.
Erin, meanwhile, excels in both track and field and soccer for the Tiger Cubs.
Their father, Shane, is a former standout wrestler at Greencastle and took over as wrestling coach this year when Charlie Pingleton was unable to lead the program for health reasons.
Like Hendrickson, Shane Thomas had high expectations for Trace this year and is pleased with his son’s performance and 36-5 record.
“We expected him to be at the semistate,” he said. “Two of those losses were to Jacob Clark of Avon, who is a senior ranked second in the state. He’s had a very good season.”
Trace is not ranked in the state’s top 20, but finished second in the Mooresville Regional and has competed well against all ranked opponents who have crossed his path.
Coach Thomas knows there are multiple goals possible for this weekend.
“Winning is the ultimate goal,” he said. “Advancing is the first priority. He’s got to work on one match at a time, and worry about beating the Castle kid first.”
Coach Thomas noted that preparation for potential wrestling opponents is not much different than what football or basketball teams do, in terms of talking to opposing coaches and identifying strengths and weaknesses.
Trace Thomas admits he didn’t expect to still be wrestling at this point, but trusts his dad’s belief in him.
“He always said he believed I could make it if I worked hard enough,” he said. “It’s great to have my dad as a coach; since he’s my dad, he pushes me as much as he thinks I can go. If he thinks I can go to the state, he’ll push me that hard.”
Trace has wrestled in some big high school gymnasiums before good crowds, but the thousands who will be on hand at the massive Ford Center in Evansville will be different.
“I don’t have any experience in matches this big,” he said. “I’m both excited and nervous. I am thrilled to go and try my hardest and see how well I can do.”
The Evansville Semistate will match the top four wrestlers in each weight class advancing from regionals at Mooresville, Jeffersonville, Castle and Bloomington South.
The 16-team bracket in each weight class pairs the winner of one semistate against the fourth-place finisher from another, and the second and third finishers against each other in miniature brackets.
The eight first-round losers and four second-round losers will all be eliminated at that point, and the final four will earn a trip to the state finals.
Hendrickson noted that placing as highly as possible in the final four is advantageous, as the higher a wrestler places the lower seeded of an opponent he will face.
Saturday’s semistate pairings
At Evansville’s Ford Center
152 — Trace Thomas, Greencastle (36-5) vs. Clay McNutt, Castle (29-11)
Winner wrestles victor between Tucker Schank, Southridge (43-5) and Zack Newton, Seymour (31-9) in second round for state finals berth.
Top-rated 152-pound wrestler in Evansville Semistate (by indianamat.com) — Joe Lee, junior, Evansville Mater Dei (No. 1 in state, verbally committed to Penn State).
195 — Kyle Shaffer, South Putnam (42-0) vs. Aaron Brievogel, Gibson Southern (24-18)
Winner battles victor between Deion Cooper, New Albany (26-13) and Chris Barclay, Terre Haute North (27-8) in second round for state finals berth.
Top-rated 195-pound wrestler in Evansville Semistate (by indianamat.com) — Kurtis Wilderman, senior, Evansville Mater Dei, No. 5 in state; Shaffer ranked second in semistate, sixth in Indiana.