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Mowery-Shields, Beadles eye state berth at Evansville Wrestling Semi-State
By Trent Scott
Sports Editor
When the bright lights at Evansville’s Ford Center turn on Saturday morning, two South Putnam wrestlers will be looking to take in the sights and sounds, then do it again a week later.
Aiden Beadles and Keenan Mowery-Shields will represent the Eagles at the IHSAA Wrestling Evansville Semi-State this weekend, looking to become state qualifiers and make a return trip the following week with the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals being held in Evansville due to the upcoming NBA All-Star Game held at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse, the normal home of the finals.
Both wrestlers will be making their first trip to the penultimate weekend of the wrestling calendar, having survived through both the Avon Sectional and Mooresville Regional to make the trip to Evansville.
“We work hard all year and this is the goal,” Beadles said. “We didn’t have anyone at semistate last year and (South Putnam head coach Antonio Hernandez) said he wanted to send a couple of guys to semistate this year, so that’s been a goal all year.
“With the work we’ve done, I saw a couple of us getting to this point and I’m happy that I’m one of them.”
“It’s a really exciting experience, getting to semistate as a freshman,” Mowery-Shields added. “Getting to do it with Aiden, a good friend of mine, has been fun.
“It has shown how good a lot of these guys are that I don’t get to see during the regular season. It’s much more of a challenge having to wrestle six minutes than getting a pin in the first period.”
Mowery-Shields finished as runner-up at Avon and third place at Mooresville at 285 pounds while Beadles finished third at 215 pounds at both stops in the state tournament trail.
Each has had his struggles and both wrestlers said that what had worked for most of the season wasn’t going to cut it against the competition they were facing.
“At this point of the year, matches are a lot less about how big I am and my strength,” Mowery-Shields noted. “I learned that wrestling against (Avon’s Oluwagbenga Orisadare) I was so worried about overpowering that I got caught with a smooth move and with (Center Grove’s Nate Johnson), he didn’t feel that strong but he set up everything perfectly and caught me.
“I’m realizing how much of a technical difference there is between myself and these other guys as well as the fact I still have a lot of room to grow.”
“We’ve been in a tough sectional and regional,” Beadles added. “Usually, I’m going on the mat to get a pin and, so far, I’ve only had two pins since the tournament started. The rest have gone the distance or I’ve gotten pinned, so it’s been tough.
“We’ve conditioned for this all year, though, so I’ve been ready for it.”
Beadles in particular had a wild bout with Martinsville’s Dominick Mercer in the regional opener to get to the semistate but said the work put in at South Putnam’s practices made the difference in the end.
“I went out there and I don’t think (Mercer) was expecting it because I had lost to him earlier in the season,” Beadles said about his regional opener. “I went out aggressive and had him on his back, though it was eventually called out of bounds; if it hadn’t, I would have had the pin in the first period.
“It was a fight after that. There were a lot of points that went back-and-forth but when it came down to it at the end, I felt I had a better gas tank, so I was able to get the quick takedown and back points to win in the end.
“I wanted to do that for coach and the team,” Beadles added. “I wasn’t going to let myself to lose because I was too tired.”
Mowery-Shields added the pair were often practicing with one another, crediting the senior for helping him get to this point in the season.
“We really push each other and he’s helped prepare me for this,” Mowery-Shields said. “Going back to football, he’s been a great leader. He’s done everything he can to help me and prepare me to do my best.”
Neither wrestler is as experienced as one might expect. Beadles began wrestling as a sophomore and Mowery-Shields is in his second year in the sport.
Both wrestlers said they were having to learn quickly to adapt to the ever-increasing levels of the competition.
“I always thought I could get to this stage if I kept improving in practice and gave it my all to improve,” Mowery-Shields said. “I’ve taken practice seriously and learned as much as I could but also know I still have a lot to learn.
“It’s been pretty crazy. I watched some videos of me wrestling last year and I think I sucked last year. I never realized how big of a leap I’ve made in the last two years until watching film the last two years and compared them.”
“I’ve learned that not everything has to be a quick pin but winning by a point is all that matters,” Beadles added. “I won my last two matches against (Avon’s Grant Stewart) by a point or two, so it’s been all about getting that smart move in.
“Some of these guys are better that me, so I have to improve a lot if I want to move on further, but being patient has been something I have had to learn to keep moving on.”
Beadles will begin his run at 215 pounds against North Posey junior Brant Oakley (32-8) with Franklin Community freshman Kellen Fellure (32-8) and Southridge junior Noah Owens (27-14) on the other side of the quarter bracket.
Mowery-Shields opens with Vincennes Lincoln sophomore Gabe Vieck (28-10) at 285 pounds with No. 11 Justin Brown (31-3), a senior from Flord Central, and Jennings County senior Karmon Carney (17-13) in the other half of the quarter bracket.
Both wrestlers knew the margin for error was slim at this point in the season but both, while happy to have met their initial goal, were eyeing up a second trip to Evansville in a week’s time.
“He’ll be a challenge,” Mowery-Shields said. “It’s semistate; everyone knows what they’re doing.
“I can’t do anything stupid, stick to fundamentals, do what I know and don’t overlook anyone. I just want to do whatever I can to make it to state, try my hardest and do what I can to advance.”
“I’ve watched some film and (Oakley) is a little more defensive as a wrestler,” Beadles pointed out. “He and (Stewart) have wrestled and Oakley beat Stewart by a point, so I think we’re pretty evenly matched.
“He’s a junior, so having an extra year of strength training might give me a little advantage, but I’m going into it like any other match, not being overconfident or anything but to go into it like it could be my last.
“Semi-state has been our goal all season but going to the finals would top things off,” Beadles added. “I want to get to the second round, which is a big accomplishment in itself, and go on to state, but going and giving it my all is my most important goal.”