Winter sports review 2025-26: Boys wrestling

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Dropping to the 126-pound division midway through the season proved a wise move by Chesterton wrestler Max Quiroz, who won a state championship and then pleased the crowd with a backflip and an entertaining interview on the mat.
A year after Chesterton had a rare season without a wrestler advancing to state, two made it and both came home with medals. Lucas Anderson earned an eighth-place medal at 190 pounds, moving up a weight class midway through the season.
DAC final standings: 1. Crown Point, 2. Merrillville, 3. Portage, 4. Chesterton, 5. Valparaiso, 6. Lake Central, 7. LaPorte, 8. Michigan City.
All-DAC:
106: Rashad Nelson (Merrillville).
113: Sam Westfall (Crown Point), Cruz Orueta (Lake Central, state 6th).
120: Ethan Alvarez (Merrillville, state 7th), Jacob Powers (Crown Point, state 6th).
126: Maximus Quiroz (Chesterton, state champion), Colin Strayer (Crown Point, state 6th).
132: Gavin Lewis (Crown Point).
138: Sontonio Sessa (Crown Point).
144: Luke Reid (Valparaiso, state 7th), Teigan Newell (Crown Point, state 6th).
150: Clinton Shepherd (Crown Point, state champion).
157: Anthony Bustamante (Merrillville).
165: Greyson Strickland (Chesterton).
175: Griffin Van Tichelt (Crown Point, state 4th).
190: Benjamin Fedorchak (Valparaiso), Lucas Anderson (Chesterton, state 8th).
215: Caesar Salas (Crown Point, state champ).
285: Tony Brooks (Crown Point).
Most Valuable Wrestler: Clinton Shepherd (Crown Point).
Chesterton awards:
Most valuable: Maximus Quiroz.
Sportsmanship: Greyson Strickland.
Most improved: Keegan Gibbons.
Mental attitude: Lucas Anderson.
Most pins: Lucas Anderson and Caden Mahaffey 24.
Most takedowns: Maximus Quiroz 100.
Most wins: Maximus Quiroz 49.