DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
INDIANAPOLIS – A year after missing out on the State Finals altogether in Evansville, the Adams Central Flying Jets returned to the state medal stand as Maverick Dubach finished in eighth place at 157 pounds, leading the Jet contingent of three wrestlers in Indianapolis.
Dubach’s win on Friday night moved him into the top 30 in school history for his career, with Maverick winning his 103rd varsity match. Next year as a senior, Dubach will have a shot at a 45-win season to put himself second on the all-time list.
The weekend also saw the completion of fantastic sophomore seasons for Dylan Ogg and Brason Schortgen, who will join Dubach as leaders on next year’s team as the Jets hope to capture Team State, conference, sectional and regional titles in 2026.
The honor of being semi-state champion did Dylan Ogg little good as the Fort Wayne 138s were drawn against the talented Evansville semi-state placers. All four southern wrestlers knocked off their northeast opponents, including Ogg, the champion.
His opponent was Peyton Richards of Switzerland County in the opening round at the top of the bracket and Richards never allowed Dylan into the match.
The Pacers’ first state placer in school history took Ogg down within 20 seconds and made those three points count, riding Ogg out for nearly four of the six minutes of the bout.
The difficulty of placing for the local 138s was evident when three of the four semifinalists wrestling Saturday afternoon came from Evansville. Richards went on to finish in fourth place.
No wrestler in Adams Central history has ever won more than the 47 bouts won by Dylan Ogg this season.
Brason Schortgen opened the second session for the Jets Friday against Merrillville’s Marlone Kirksy at 150 and the Pirate wrestler scored a takedown in the opening minute, pinning Schortgen and ending his sophomore season.
Schortgen’s 44 wins would have been broken the record (if not for Ogg) of the most wins by an AC underclassman ever.
The Jets were not shut out, however, as Dubach came through with the program’s lone win of the State Finals, securing the program’s seventh state medal in the past 10 State Finals.
Dubach defeated Kameron Mikesell of WeBo thanks to a late reversal in the second period that broke a 6-6 tie. Mav got a late turn for some extra nearfall to finish off the 12-6 victory.
Silas Stits of Center Grove, the eventual third-place finisher, had all the answers for Dubach in a 13-0 Saturday morning win, setting up a classic bout between Dubach and Brock Hagewood of Prairie Heights.
Hagewood joined his brother as a state medalist by preventing Jacob Weaver of Rossville from joining his own brother as a medalist on Friday night. Noah Weaver repeated as champion at 215.
Dubach scored a takedown against Hagewood in the second period to take the lead, then chose neutral in the third with the score 3-3. The bout ended up in overtime, where it was Hagewood moving on to take on Jackson Bradley of Cowan for third place.
Only four schools in Indiana smaller than Adams Central had a state medalist, and none of them could manage a second in a tournament dominated by the big donut county schools. Of the 112 medals won in the state of Indiana with its 92 counties, 60 of them were claimed by schools from Marion and five neighboring counties.
Adams Central finished the postseason as the team on top of the points leaderboard for qualification for next year’s 1A Team State tournament, six points ahead of North Miami. Those two teams met in Monroe for the 1A title this January.
About the Author
