The Bellmont Braves did not enter Thursday’s seeding meeting expecting more than the four seeds they received, but the random draws afforded to the other 20 unseeded wrestlers in each bracket saw the Braves pitted against one of the top two seeds three times. Four of the nine unseeded wrestlers in the Bellmont lineup will face a top-four seed from Crown Point in the opening round.
The Braves’ only returning Al Smith placer from last year’s tournament, Xavior Palacios, was rightfully awarded the team’s top seed. At 22-0, Palacios is the #4 seed at 190 and will wrestle a Caveman of Mishawaka in the opening round in Mason Henrich (8-10).
Wrestling in the Cave in the opening round, Ben Mills, Ethan Curtis and Gabe Myers will wrestle the absolute heart of the Crown Point lineup in back-to-back-to-back bouts. Ben Mills will face #2-ranked and seeded Gavin Lewis, while Ethan Curtis will see the top-ranked man at 126 in the state in Gavin Jendreas. Gabe Myers, who has had a fine season so far, will see #3 ranked and top-seeded Landon Hawkins in his Al Smith baptism.
Jacob Binegar and Will Franze were each drawn against wrestlers with one loss, with Binegar wrestling #6-seed Cruz Orueta of Lake Central and Franze seeing Cameron Moyer of Jimtown (16-1). A win against Moyer would pit him against the #1 seed.
Over in the big boy gym, the draws will be better. Freshman Austin Manley will see the #8 seed, Cohen Lundy of Elkhart (16-2) and Landon Rich will wrestle Hank Redman of Columbus East (15-3).
Ryne Fawbush will also wrestle a Crown Point opponent in the opener. He will face #12-ranked Austin Reading of the Bulldogs.
Sophomore Henry Faurote will look for his first taste of Al Smith success as the #4 seed at 138 with his 21-1 record. His opening-round opponent is Rey Santiago of Peru. Faurote is on the same half of the bracket as sophomore phenom Evan Stanley of Lowell, the undefeated and #1-ranked 138 in the state.
Gavin Davis, who was hurt in the seeding because he sat out last year’s Al Smith his shoulder injury, is on the #5 line at 165. He will face Brayden Watson (4-11) of Western.
Bellmont’s heavyweight, Grady Baker, will see a different South Bend Riley opponent than the one he pinned at Goshen. Baker will open with Shawn Fryman (10-3).
On an additional note, organizers of the event noted that next season’s tournament will not be held in 2025. It will instead be held on January 2nd and 3rd, 2026.
Top Seeds at 45th Annual Al Smith Classic (shown with IndianaMat state rankings)
106-#2 Daniel Brown – Center Grove (17-2)
113-#16 Brady Harper – Penn (5-1)
120-#3 Royce Malone – Center Grove (13-2)
126-#1 Gavin Jendreas – Crown Point (11-2)
132-#3 Landon Hawkins – Crown Point (8-2)
138-#1 Evan Stanley – Lowell (15-0)
144-#1 Jeffrey Huyvaert – New Prairie (13-0)
150-#5 Jayden Lewis – New Prairie (12-1)
157-#3 Christian Arberry – Warren Central (17-2)
165-#3 Adrian Pellot – Merrillville (16-0)
175-#1 Waylon Cressell – Warren Central (22-2)
190-#4 Kyle Harden – Cathedral (13-0)
215-#7 Aidan Abad – Lowell (15-0)
285-#1 Lucas Szymborski – Crown Point (4-1)
About the Author
