South Putnam's Rudy Harris qualifies for State Finals with 3rd-place finish

Monday, February 11, 2013
South Putnam junior Rudy Harris reacts to advancing through the "ticket" round of Saturday's semi-state at Evansville. Harris will compete for the Eagles at the IHSAA wrestling state finals this weekend. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

EVANSVILLE -- Rudy Harris is going further this time.

After missing out on a chance to go to the Indiana High School Athletic Association State Wrestling Finals in 2012, the South Putnam junior will make the trek to Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday, Feb. 15 after finishing third in the Evansville Semi-State Saturday.

Harris defeated Rashawn Jefferson of Vincennes Lincoln 5-2 and Moises Valenciano 7-4 to ensure his place in Indianapolis next weekend.

In the semi-final match, Harris was defeated by South Spencer's Kalob Salkill 8-4 but finished the day on a high by defeating Northview's Jesse Miller 5-2 to finish third.

Two other Eagle wrestlers, Tanner Thompson and Jacob Williams, were eliminated in the first round of the day at the Ford Center.

Thompson was defeated by Evansville Mater Dei's Sam Bassemier 3-1, with Bassemier the only man to score a takedown.

Williams was defeated in overtime by Bloomington South's Boyd Haley 3-1, with Haley getting the better of Williams in a scramble to advance and eventually finish in fourth place.

South Putnam head coach Josh Hendrickson said that both had tough matches to start the day with.

"We knew they weren't going to have easy matches coming into today," Hendrickson said. "They wrestled hard but just didn't come out on top in those particular matches.

"Both of them had great seasons. Semi-State qualifier is a pretty good accomplishment any season."

Harris beat Jefferson on the back of a first- and third-period takedown to advance to the ticket round against Valenciano.

The lanky South Putnam wrestler was half a foot taller than his southern adversary and used his length to keep Valenciano from mounting much offense.

Harris scored three takedowns in the match and fended off Valenciano in the closing seconds to secure a birth at the state finals.

Hendrickson said that Harris wrestled the way he wanted to in the opening matches.

"Rudy wrestled well," Hendrickson said. "He did what he was supposed to do by getting through his first two matches. They were not easy matches for him.

"The ticket match was fun. It's always hard because the whole day is built on that match. He won it, though, and that was big."

A semi-state crown, however, was dashed when Harris lost to undefeated Salkill in the semi-final.

Harris scored the first takedown and led 2-1 after the first period. Salkill escaped to start the second period and scored a takedown and near fall points.

Unable to figure out a way to get Salkill back to the ground, Harris was taken down again and fell into the third place match.

"The semifinal match was one I thought could have gone either way. I thought Rudy could have won that match. If he doesn't give up those back points, he could have won."

Miller, like Jefferson and Valenciano, could not find the range to attack Harris and, with the score 3-2 late in the match, Harris scored a takedown to ensure his third-place status.

Harris now advances to the state finals for the first time and Hendrickson said that getting third instead of fourth place was a vital necessity as the remaining South Putnam wrestler prepares for Friday.

"Rudy was able to finish a long day with a win," Hendrickson said. "Sometimes that is a bigger deal than it sounds. That could be the difference between drawing a national champion and a lesser opponent in the first round.

"Sometimes you end up with an opponent that you defeat handily and sometimes a different opponent might take you into three overtimes.

"We'll see what the draw throws Rudy and prepare for that opponent. Everything this week is preparation for that Friday night match."

Rudy Harris (34-5) is matched up with Mason Nickell (37-4) of Roncalli in Friday's round of 16 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

South Putnam junior Rudy Harris earns a takedown against Northview's Jesse Miller in the third-place match at the IHSAA semi-state on Saturday. Harris will face Roncalli's Mason Nickell on Friday. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)



IHSAA Evansville Semi-State Wrestling Tournament at Ford Center

Team Scores
1. Bloomington South 114, 2. Franklin Community 103, 3. Danville 77.5, 4. Evansville Reitz 60, 5. Ben Davis 54, 6. Evansville Mater Dei 51, 7. Castle 47, 8. Avon 37, 9. Center Grove 36, 10. Floyd Central 35, 11. Heritage Hills 35, 12. Columbus East 30, 13. Evansville Central 28.5, 14. Evansville Memorial 28, 15. Indian Creek 21, 16. Corydon Central 20, 17. Greenwood 20, 18. North Posey 20, 19. Jasper 18, 20. Jeffersonville 18, 21. South Spencer 18, 22. Brownsburg 16, 23. Martinsville 16, 24. Evansville Harrison 14, 25. Madison 13, 26. Edgewood 12, 27. Northview 11, 28. South Putnam 11, 29. Cascade 10, 30. Mooresville 7, 31. Terre Haute South 7, 32. Gibson Southern 6, 33. Greensburg 6, 34. Plainfield 6, 35. Seymour 6, 36. Vincennes Lincoln 6, 37. Mt. Vernon 4, 38. North Knox 4, 39. Owen Valley 4, 40. Bedford North Lawrence 4.

Individual Champions
106 -- Brock Hudkins (D)
113 -- Damon Kuhn (EVR)
120 -- Bailey LaHue (CC)
126 -- Luke Welch (C)
132 -- Levi Moss (BD)
138 -- Tyler Hupp (IC)
145 -- Neal Molloy (D)
152 -- Brayden Montgomery (D)
160 -- Luke Kriech (FC)
170 -- Jake Rickenbaugh (HH)
182 -- Dakota Thacker (BLS)
195 -- Clayton Fiddler (BLS)
225 -- Conner Tolley (FC)
285 -- Norman Oglesby (BD)

Comments
View 2 comments
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. Please note that those who post comments on this website may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.
  • Congratulations RUDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOOD LUCK FRIDAY NIGHT!!!!!!!!

    -- Posted by onetwomany97 on Mon, Feb 11, 2013, at 8:08 AM
  • Way to go Rudy, congrats to you...... come by and Iwill make you a pan of baked Ziti just for you.....again congrats...oxoxoxoxoxo GRAMMA BELIN

    -- Posted by breynolds.ali@gmail.com on Mon, Feb 11, 2013, at 10:04 AM
Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: