It’s called the “ticket round.”
At semistate meets, winners in the quarterfinal round clinch a spot in the top four of their weight class, punching their “ticket” to state.
Kankakee Valley senior Aron Ceglarek, a two-time state qualifier at 285 pounds, hasn’t been that far. He lost in the opening round of the semistate in each of the last two seasons.
While watching the ticket round unfold last year, the same thought dominated his mind.
“I want to be there,” he said.
He’ll get his third and final chance at Saturday’s East Chicago Semistate after winning the Crown Point Regional.
Ceglarek (35-4) said he’s a different wrestler than he was at the time of his two early semistate exits.
“I’m much more focused this year,” he said. “Last year, I’d get mad on the mat when something wouldn’t go my way and I’d lose all of my focus. This year, I’ve really focused on, if I don’t get something, I just keep working until I get it.”
Kougars coach Brad Burvan said Ceglarek had extra motivation for this season, following a close 2-0 decision that ended his junior season.
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“Last year really hurt, with him getting beat in the last couple of minutes,” Burvan said. “That’s kind of stuck in his head. His goal has been to make it to state this year.”
Ceglarek also credited his development to his practice opponents. That includes senior Logan Nowak (182) and junior Nick Schoonveld (195), two of the five other Kougars heading to semistate with Ceglarek.
But it’s also included former heavyweight state champions from Iowa and Illinois, who’ve been brought in to give Ceglarek similar-sized opponents.
“They beat me up,” Ceglarek said with a laugh. “But they’ve all been getting me ready. Nowak and Schoonveld sometimes help me out with my speed and conditioning, too.”
Ceglarek and the rest of the Kougars hope that practice pays off on Saturday.
“I don’t think he’s going to let those things happen again, what happened last year,” Burvan said.
Portage power: Behind six individual champions, Portage captured a third straight regional title. The Indians totaled 234 points at the Calumet Regional, well ahead of second-place Merrillville (175).
Junior Anthony Maceo won at 195, continuing his seasonlong development that came after a late start to the wrestling season. That’s because Maceo spent the fall months as the quarterback for Portage in football.
“He’s just a great, athletic kid,” Portage coach Leroy Vega said of Maceo. “He wasn’t our starter at the beginning of the year, but he’s been getting better every week.”
Portage junior Kris Rumph got redemption in the 138 final, beating the top-ranked Brendan Black to avenge a sectional loss.
“It’s about getting better and improving from the previous match,” Vega said of Rumph’s turnaround. “They’ve always been close matches. We hadn’t squeaked one out yet but we finally put six minutes together and capitalized on a few little mistakes.”
Also winning regional titles for Portage were sophomore Brock Peele (113) and juniors Kasper McIntosh (145), Zach Nugent (152) and Jeremy Torres (182).
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
East Chicago Semistate Outlook
Advancement: The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to next weekend’s state finals.
Schedule: First round begins at 9 a.m.; final round to begin at approximately 4:30 p.m.
Wrestlers to watch: Colin Poynter, 120 pounds, Portage; Tylor Triana, 120, Hobart; Colton Cummings, 126, Lowell; Michael DeLaPena, 126, Merrillville; Jeremiah Reitz, 132, Griffith; Brendan Black, 138, Hobart; Kris Rumph, 138, Portage; Jason Crary, 145, Munster; Kasper McIntosh, 145, Portage; Diego Lemley, 160, Chesterton; Oszkar Kasch, 160, Crown Point; Lucas Davison, 182, Chesterton; Andrew Davison, 195, Chesterton; Eli Pokorney, 220, Chesterton; Justin Akers, 220, Crown Point.
Outlook: Coming off of conference, sectional and regional championships, Portage enters as the top contender among local schools, but will face a strong challenge from Penn. There are six weight classes where the top two wrestlers, as ranked by IndianaMat.com, are Region wrestlers: 120, 126, 138, 145, 160 and 220.