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UPDATED: Beadles falls in IHSAA Wrestling State Finals opener
EVANSVILLE — South Putnam’s Aiden Beadles saw his quest for All-State honors in wrestling come up a match short after falling in the opening round of the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals Friday afternoon.
The Eagle senior fell at 5:09 in the third period of his match against No. 3 Keagan Martin of Bellmont at the Ford Center in Evansville. Beadles finished the season 35-9.
“Overall, I don’t think it was a bad match,” Beadles said. “I could tell (Martin) had a good defense, had watched film on me and was ready for what I was going to throw at him.
“When he had me taken down, he had good hips and wore me down. He was a little more technical than me but also did his research.”
“It was clear (Martin) gameplanned for the match, watched film of Aiden’s attacks, what worked for him at the semistate and defended all of that really well,” South Putnam head coach Antonio Hernandez added. “We thought maybe he would be looking at (Crown Point’s Paul Clark) and might overlook Aiden but he realized that Aiden is a good wrestler, having gotten through the Avon Sectional, Mooresville Regional and Evansville Semi-State.
“He gave Aiden respect and knew he was in for a fight. I know Aiden got caught but it was still a match I thought would go the distance.”
After a minute of jostling to open the bout, Beadles was able to get inside Martin but the stout Brave wrestler was able to keep his balance and slide around the Eagle senior for a takedown and a 2-0 lead after the opening period.
Beadles escaped to start the second period but, similar to the first, was unable to land a takedown after a good setup and Martin slid behind.
Martin would show some offense of his own with a quick double leg takedown after Beadles escaped and took a 6-2 lead into the third period.
“His best offense was his defense,” Beadles said about Martin. “He waited for me to make mistakes on offense or was able to get out of things, like when I had him in a front headlock or when I was able to get to a leg.
“He was also able to use my own moves against me but was also able to reattack when the chance was there for him.”
The Bellmont senior would finish the match in the third after an escape to start the period, snatching a single leg and tripping Beadles to his back, finishing with the fall to advance in the state tournament.
One unique aspect of this year’s tournament was the Ford Center hosting both a semistate as well as the state finals as Gainbridge Fieldhouse was used as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities, though Beadles said the experience was worthwhile regardless of the location.
“It was a really cool place,” Beadles said about the Ford Center. “Having been there for semistate, it put me a little ahead, especially with how cool the mats were with an ice rink underneath them.
“It was a different experience but a cool experience. I’m sure it would have been cool at Gainbridge but it was awesome down there as well.”
While the ride was shorter than he had hoped, Beadles said the experience showed that with the right partners and mindset, getting to the highest level of competition was within anyone’s grasp.
“It’s been so much fun,” Beadles said. “I’ve had a good group around me, both in coaches and teammates, all of whom helped build me up and brought me to this point.
“As a sophomore, if you had asked if I would even get out of sectionals, I’d have said you were crazy, so to get to state in three years shows that nothing is impossible. It also shows how much work the coaches have done in getting me this far with that same nothing is impossible mindset.”
Beadles was the fifth state qualifier in South Putnam history and, as Hernandez noted, it was an important moment for the program given Beadles had not wrestled beyond the sectional level in his first two years with the Eagles.
“This changes everything, including our motivations and goals for next year,” Hernandez said. “We aren’t going to be preaching about getting to semistate; we’re going to be aiming to et a state placer and that’s possible because of what Aiden did.
“I remember his first practice, watching him do well with Ethan Harcourt, who had some experience. Aiden came to us highly touted from football, so getting him was huge for us with his mentality and we’re incredible proud of what he’s done.
“He’s said several times that the coaches taught him well but, at the end of the day, he’s the one that had to go on the mat, shake hands and wrestle,” Hernandez added. “He will be remembered by this program for what he’s accomplished. It hit me (Monday) that I’m going to miss this guy and props to him for what’s been a great career.”