Lowell junior Andres Moreno said he was too hesitant during the first period Friday night.
Coach Bobby Howard saw it, too.
“(Howard) told me, ‘Welcome to Indy,'” Moreno said. “That’s when I got my mind in the right place and went from there.”
Those words helped Moreno refocus on his 113-pound match during the first round of the wrestling state meet at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Moreno defeated Center Grove junior Alex Peto 5-1, moving his season record to 44-0 and advancing to Saturday’s placement rounds.
But slow starts can’t always be overcome at the state meet, as Chesterton senior Diego Lemley learned in his first-round match at 160. The third-ranked Lemley spent much of the first period fighting off a pin and trailed 5-0 to start the second. He lost 9-0 to Perry Meridian’s Brooks Davis.
“I can’t believe this is how it ended,” Lemley said. “I don’t even know what to do now.”
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Lemley was the state runner-up last season at 160.
“I wasn’t content with that finish,” Lemley said. “I feel like it was expected of me again, but I just never found that same fire.”
In his state debut, Chesterton senior Cade Girgenti continued his postseason streak with a first-period pin at 182. Girgenti (36-1) said the bright lights of Indy didn’t have any effect on him.
“I got a little bit nervous but that happens before every match,” Girgenti said. “It goes away as soon as I get on the mat. I’ve just been believing in myself, knowing that I can do it.”
Two other Chesterton wrestlers will join Girgenti in Saturday’s action: senior Lucas Davison at 195 and junior Eli Pokorney at 285.
Portage leads all local schools with five wrestlers heading into Saturday, but a scary moment at 126 overshadowed those wins.
Senior Colin Poynter’s head hit the mat hard following a takedown, and the match was stopped after Poynter was examined by trainers.
Portage coach Leroy Vega said that Poynter was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
“We’re not worried about anything other than how Colin is right now,” Vega said. “We’re hoping to get some good news later.”
Vega credited senior Kasper McIntosh — who won his match at 145 — with helping the team refocus after watching a teammate go down.
“This is a tight group,” Vega said. “Kasper brought the guys together and said we just have to move forward. It’s hard to say it, but that’s what has to happen.
“We have five guys left who are capable of winning it. We’ll do what we can do to get as many guys into the finals and hopefully we’ll end up with more points than anybody else.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.