Third at the Hobart girls wrestling regional, Chesterton’s Arti Haney seeks a first-round win and second-round upset victory at Plymouth regional Saturday

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

In girls wrestling, which does not have a semi-state, the biggest matches come in the second round of the regional, better known as the ticket round. Win in the second round and your ticket is punched for a trip to Indianapolis for the state final. Lose and your season is over.
The first round reduces the field from 16 to eight. The second round determines which four wrestlers in each weight division advance to state.
Sisters MJ (115 pounds) and Alice Scharp (140), a freshman and a sophomore, are joined by juniors Ally Williams (125) and Arti Haney (145) in competing at the Plymouth regional Saturday, Jan. 10.
Williams lost in the first round last season at the Goshen regional, Alice Scharp and Haney in the ticket round.
Going from first-round regional winner to second-round winner is the biggest step a high school wrestler can take.
Same as last year, Haney placed third in the sectional. Wrestling the same as last year in the regional won’t cut it.
After pinning Garrett’s Mika Roxas in 1:08 in the first round of the 2025 Goshen regional, Haney faced Merrillville senior Honesty Lacey and was pinned.
“I think I’ve gotten better,” Haney said. “I felt like I was inconsistent. I’ve put in more effort this year.”
Failing to make it out of the second round will not likely be the result of not paying attention. Haney earned third place at the Hobart sectional in part because of paying attention to Knox matches in previous years, which facilitated a 31-second pin of Rilee Wintczak.
“During the last match I wasn’t in my head,” Haney said. “I had an idea she was going to throw a headlock because Knox, that’s what they do, so I kind of waited and then she threw it, so I dropped my hips and I threw her with it. A lot of girls team’s throw headlocks. It’s a pretty common thing. I try not to.”
A reserve running back in Mark Peterson’s football program, Haney runs and jumps for the track team in the spring and won the long jump at the DAC meet as a freshman.
Staying low and being tough enough to take the hits and keep plowing forward with the plan both are vital ingredients for success for wrestlers and running backs.
“I feel like being a running back increases my endurance for doubles because we have to drive through them,” Haney said. “Being able to take the hit makes me more likely to drive through them.”
Haney (23-8) faces Glenn’s Miah Lichtenbarger (12-5) in the first round Saturday. Barring an upset, the winner will be the underdog facing East Noble’s Elaine Leins (21-5), who pinned her opponent in 31 seconds to win the Goshen sectional.
Indianamat.com ranks Leins No. 16 in the state at 145 pounds.
Regardless of how Haney fares in a loaded division that includes the state’s No. 2 wrestler Merrillville’s Charisma Lawrence, it’s been a year of improvement for the junior three-sport athlete who took a 14-8 record into last year’s regional, compared to 23-8 this season.