The Indiana High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament is in officially in the books. Who among a group of 15 wrestlers from Southwestern Indiana fared the best in the state capital?
The answer is Sam Howard.
The Boonville junior finished his season as the IHSAA state runner-up following a loss to Michael White of Lawrence North in the 190-pound title match. He did come agonizingly close to returning home with a blue medal. White, the 2025 runner-up, defeated Howard in an 18-15 decision.
Howard was the first individual in program history to reach the final match under the lights at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The junior completed the year with a 53-1 record following victories in Indianapolis over Quintin McLeod of Logansport in the first round (2:19 fall), Brody Wingate of East Central in the quarterfinal (11-3 major decision) and Kyle Harden of Cathedral in the semifinal (14-4 major decision).
Howard has steadily improved each season to become one of the top wrestlers in his weight class. He was 53-2 at 175 pounds as a freshman before losing in the semi-state. Howard followed that season with a 38-5 mark at 190 and a spot in the state finals last year (he lost to White in the opening round).
And remember, he still has another year to potentially earn a blue medal.
Mater Dei had four its six state qualifiers reach the placement rounds. Freshman Spenser McCammon led the Wildcats with a third-place finish at 113 pounds via a 7-5 decision against Delta’s Kaid Jackson. Camden Baumann was fourth at 165, Wyatt Ulrey placed fifth at 126 and Asa Spencer finished eighth at 144.
Other area individuals who placed: Gibson Southern’s Deacon Dressler (sixth at 157), Memorial’s Conner Hoar (eighth at 175), Princeton’s Jaran Kerney (eighth at 215) and Heritage Hills’ Hayden Smith (sixth at 285). Below are the final matches from the entire Southwestern Indiana contingent at the state championship.
Evansville-area finishers at IHSAA wrestling state finals
113: Spenser McCammon (Mater Dei) dec. Kaid Jackson (Delta) 7-5 for third place
120: Peyton Schoettle (Roncalli) pinned Alden Walker (Mater Dei) in 1:05 in first round
126: Wyatt Ulrey (Mater Dei) dec. Colin Strayer (Crown Point) 7-1 for fifth place
126: Blake Getz (Roncalli) pinned Nolan Mullins (Jasper) in 2:43 in first round
132: Layne Horn (Rochester) major dec. Owen Blessinger (Southridge) 15-1 in first round
138: Evan Stanley (Lowell) major dec. Eli Hedges (Heritage Hills) 13-2 in first round
144: Luke Reid (Valparaiso) dec. Asa Spencer (Mater Dei) SV 4-1 for seventh place
157: Jeffrey Huyvaert (New Prairie) major dec. Deacon Dressler (Gibson Southern) 15-6 for fifth place
165: Brant Beck (Rochester) major dec. Camden Baumann (Mater Dei) 14-6 for third place
175: Jacob Cole (Rossville) dec. Conner Hoar (Memorial) 3-1 for seventh place
175: Jacob Cole (Rossville) dec. Tyson Barrow (North Posey) 5-4 in first round
190: Michael White (Lawrence North) dec. Sam Howard (Boonville) 18-15 in championship match
215: Kellen Fellure (Franklin Community) dec. Jaran Kerney (Princeton) 4-1 for seventh place
215: Ceasar Salas (Crown Point) def. Caden Thacker (Mater Dei) injury default 2:56 in first round
285: Keenan Mowery (South Putnam) dec. Hayden Smith (Heritage Hills) UTB 3-2 for fifth place
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: How every Evansville area wrestler finished at the IHSAA state championship
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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