Seemingly peaking at the perfect time, Chesterton dominates wrestling dual meet at LaPorte, 60-15, scoring seven pins, including four that took less than a minute

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Based on the evidence supplied in three competitions over a five-day stretch, it’s apparent that the Chesterton boys wrestling team is heading into the postseason as a better team than at any point this season.
First came the third-place finish at the DAC meet on Saturday in Portage. Next, the Trojans scored a convincing victory at home vs. chief rival Valparaiso on Tuesday. And then Chesterton traveled to LaPorte on Wednesday to dominate the Slicers, 60-15, during a night rich with blink-and-you-missed-it pins.
Eight matches into a night that started with 132-pound wrestlers clashing, the Trojans had a 42-0 lead. Emeric Ritter started things off with a technical fall for five points. Then Luke Johnson avenged his DAC loss to Matthew Kurzydio by pinning him in 3:04 for six points. It was one of six pins for the Trojans.
Four Chesterton wrestlers executed their pins in less than a minute. Patrick Mochen, second-place finisher at the DAC Championships, needed just 38 seconds. DAC champ Max Quiroz wrapped up his match in 40 seconds. Lucas Anderson got it done in 44 seconds. Joey DeMeo put his opponent away in 57 seconds. Emmet Burkus and Tyler Santiago also pinned their opponents.
LaPorte has had tougher teams than this year’s, but Chesterton did face two wrestlers whose names appear in the Indianamat.com rankings of the 10 wrestlers in the East Chicago semi-state that the Trojans compete in.
DAC champion Greyson Strickland is ranked No. 5 in those rankings and LaPorte’s Christian Ford follows at No. 6. They didn’t look that evenly matched Wednesday night. Strickland defeated Ford by major decision, 19-5.
Caden Mahaffey is No. 7 in the 150-pound semi-state rankings and LaPorte’s Grant Uhlemann is No. 7 at 157 pounds. Mahaffey bumped up to wrestle Uhlemann and defeated him 9-6.
The Trojans return to LaPorte for the sectional on Saturday, Jan. 31.
“I feel this time of year we’re on the right trajectory,” Chesterton coach Andrew Trevino said. “Where some teams have some bumps and bruises, I feel we’re getting stronger as the year goes on. I think we get better every day. I feel like every day in the room the guys are buying into the technique and the system of wrestling that we’re shelling out to them. I really feel like they’ve bought in.”
The practices in advance of the sectional will focus on making sure the team returns to LaPorte fresh and fine-tuned.
“Right now, it’s about maintaining and staying healthy,” Trevino said. “We’re not teaching new moves at this point of the year. We’re just making what we do better.”