Max Quiroz heads to 126-pound state championship match tonight vs. Center Grove’s Dominic Brown after taking control of semifinal in second period and defeating previously unbeaten Rex Moore of North Miami, 6-2

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

So many factors could have dragged Chesterton junior wrestler Max Quiroz out of his comfort zone early Saturday afternoon for his match vs. North Miami’s undefeated Rex Moore.
The big Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd, the fact that a berth in the state championship match was at stake, his opponent’s record, all those factors can creep into the head of anyone who lets it.
Yet, bright lights and all, Max was Max to the max. He looked like the same slippery, sound, aggressive yet smart wrestler he was at dual meets and Saturday tournaments all year. Quiroz had an answer for everything Moore threw his way.
After a scoreless first period that featured both wrestlers feeling each other out and deftly defending shots Quiroz took control in the second period and never surrendered it, winning a 6-2 decision.
After Quiroz took down his opponent near the edge of the circle, one of the referees spotted blood in Quiroz’s mouth and called for an injury timeout and an athletic trainer cleaned it. As Quiroz walked from the mat after having his hand raised, he flashed a bloody smile, the bloody best smile of his life. He also was bleeding confidence, per usual.
Quiroz (48-2 overall, 23-0 at 126) meets Center Grove senior Dominic Brown (28-2) in tonight’s final.
Brown placed fifth at state last season at 126 and reached tonight’s final by edging Lowell’s Noel Verduzco, 9-8.
Quiroz defeated Verduzco in a regional semifinal in overtime, 13-10, and in the semi-state final, 7-4. This is his first state championship experience.
Lucas Anderson, Chesterton’s semi-state champion, wrestles in the seventh place match tonight after a crowd-pleasing, back-and-forth tussle he lost to East Central’s Brody Wingate, 10-6.
After the fieldhouse is cleared in preparation for the third session of the two-day tournament, Anderson will wrestle Bellmont senior Xavier Palacios in the seventh- place match.