INDIANAPOLIS — When the brackets for the state meet were revealed last Sunday, Portage junior Ismael Cornejo drew top-ranked Burk VanHorn of Franklin in the first round of the 170-pound weight class.
Cornejo had a message for his coaches Monday morning.
“I’m going to beat Burk,” Cornejo said. “And I felt really good about it.”
And he was right.
On the opening night of the state finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Cornejo scored a 3-1 overtime decision over VanHorn for the biggest upset of Friday night’s first round.
“I’ve told my teammates several times, I’ve never lost an overtime match,” Cornejo said just before getting swarmed by his teammates in celebration. “And I’m not starting here.”
It was Cornejo’s third appearance at state, but the win over VanHorn means he’ll advance to the second day of competition for the first time.
“In the past few years, I’ve lost on Friday night and it was terrible,” he said. “This time, I didn’t care who I wrestled. When I saw it was Burk, I thought it was the perfect opportunity.”
The road doesn’t get easier for 10th-ranked Cornejo. He faces second-ranked Tanner Webster from North Montgomery to open Saturday’s quarterfinal round. But Cornejo didn’t seem worried.
“If I beat the No. 1 guy, I can beat the No. 2 guy,” he said.
Cornejo was one of five wrestlers from Portage to advance along with Brock Peele (113), Colin Poynter (120), Kris Rumph (138) and Kasper McIntosh (145).
Chesterton matched Portage with five winners, starting with senior Jack Tolin at 132. It was a close 5-4 victory for the Northwestern commit, with Tolin hanging on in the final seconds to prevent a takedown that would’ve cost him the match.
“I was confident where I was,” Tolin said. “It’s a position that I drill pretty often. I’m not the most flexible, but I trusted my hamstrings on that.”
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Also victorious for the Trojans were Diego Lemley at 160, Lucas Davison at 182, Andrew Davison at 195 and Eli Pokorney at 220.
Crown Point had three winners including junior Noah Lamore, who won 3-1 at 152 over fourth-ranked Austin Bethel of Mount Vernon, a strong statement in Lamore’s first state meet appearance.
“I feel like I haven’t gotten the respect yet,” he said. “I wanted to show that I could compete at this level and beat some of the top guys. I knew I belonged here and I wanted to showcase my talents.”
Teammates Oszkar Kasch (160) and Justin Akers (220) will join Lamore in Saturday’s rounds, as will a trio of Hobart wrestlers — Tylor Triana (120), Brendan Black (138) and Zack Fattore (170).
Also advancing were Wheeler’s Jose Diaz at 113, Griffith’s Jeremiah Reitz at 132, Munster’s Jason Crary at 145 and the Merrillville duo of Michael DeLaPena (126) and Brandon Streck (285).
Dave Melton is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.