MISHAWAKA ― In just one word, legendary Mishawaka boys wrestling coach Al Smith described not just the South Bend area wrestling scene, but the entire community surrounding it. There is perhaps no better personification of Smith’s sentiments than in the annual invitational named after him.
While Crown Point won the 46th annual Al Smith Invitational, three New Prairie individuals proved the South Bend area is still exactly what Smith said it is.
Solid.
Cougars sophomore Matthew “MJ” Staples was the most solid of them all. In fact, his adjective could be bumped up to great after he won the 165-pound individual championship by amassing five wins in two days, including a second-round pinfall victory against Center Grove sophomore Owen Porterfield in the title match.
The defending IHSAA state champion has still yet to lose a match at the high school level.
“It’ll never get old, because it’s always a gift,” Staples said. “It’s exciting every single time. It makes you happy and fills you with joy … I like to see New Prairie at the top.”
Staples is inspired by legendary boxer Mike Tyson, as well as the No. 1 high school wrestling recruit in the Class of 2026, Virginia Tech commit and Team USA member Bo Bassett. He listens to interview clips of each of them, developing an inspirational and mature mindset at a young age.
Staples said that is how he is able to not let the pressure that comes with being a reigning, undefeated state champion get to him.
“No matter who you are, no matter what you’re doing, the pressure is still there,” Staples said. “No one can hide from feelings ― you can’t run from it ever. You have to embrace it.”
Staples was the only individual champion from any South Bend area school at the 2026 Al Smith Invitational, as his two teammates fell in their title bouts. First was 157-pound senior George Mason University commit Jeffery Huyvaert, who set a state record for most takedowns in a single season in 2023-24.
Once he got into the second round of the championship match against Center Grove senior William Vander Luitg, Huyvaert’s right foot/ankle appeared to be bothering him. He pushed through the pain, but the Trojans’ ace won in three rounds by points.
In the final match of the invitational, Cougars senior Jacob Hartleroad squared off against Lowell sophomore and defending 285-pound state champion Kameron Hazelett. Hartlaub won the state championship as a sophomore at Dekalb, but he did not defend it in his junior campaign due to sitting out the season because of his transfer to New Prairie.
In what was his Al Smith Invitational debut, Hartleroad cruised to the title match, but lost via points in three rounds. It was his first loss of the season.
“One of the things I love about wrestling is accepting not just the wins, but the losses, too,” Hartleroad said. “I like taking these losses early. I would rather lose here than the state finals.”
The Cougars were the highest-finishing South Bend area team in eighth place. New Prairie head coach Bobby Whitenack took a lot of pride in that fact.
He believed there was no better test for the Cougars ahead of the upcoming Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) meet and IHSAA state tournament than the Al Smith Invitational.
“We’re trying to change the image of what New Prairie is. We’re a state (championship) caliber school,” Whitenack said. “They get to see the expectations of the state finals. If you’re wrestling on day two here, it’s similar to what it is down in Indy. That’s where we’re trying to push ourselves.”
Work for the sport, and it’ll work for you
Thirty-two teams from across the state of Indiana convened at Mishawaka High School’s “The Cave” for two days, starting January 2 and ending January 3, this year. Smith once again used just one word to describe what the annual invitational named after him has grown into since the first running in 1979.
Unreal.
Like most great coaches, Smith said this yearly invitational and his legacy would not have been possible without those he coached, such as six individual state champions and a 1991 state championship team.
“Those guys paid a heck of a price to build this,” Smith said. “Running laps and stairs and doing push-ups, we would come in over Christmas break and we would start wrestling at eight o’clock in the morning, and some of those guys never walked off of the mat until probably five o’clock at night.”
Smith was not able to attend last year’s event due to health issues, so when he was escorted into The Cave via wheelchair by his son Byron Saturday, he was consistently greeted by countless people who wanted to pay their respects. He was even given a standing ovation by fans, coaches, staff and wrestlers alike prior to the championship introductions.
One of the first to greet Smith was Cavemen first-year head coach Benji Dolly. He said his first-ever wrestling match when he was five years old was officiated by Smith, and Dolly has a photo of that match along with the boots he wore that day proudly displayed at his home.
“Growing up in Mishawaka, you knew who Al Smith was,” Dolly said. “I felt a big burst of pride [Friday] when the first whistle blew and I thought, ‘This is bigger than me.’ It always has been, and it always will be.”
The Cavemen were not as dominant as they had been in years past at the 2026 invitational, finishing 18th with 83 total points, but Dolly was confident Mishawaka wrestling will one day again reach the heights of those 34 teams coached by Smith that racked up 420 total wins.
“Wrestling is in our DNA in this community,” Dolly said. “If you are from Mishawaka, there is wrestling blood in you somewhere. It was here before me, and it’ll be here after me … We fight and claw for everything we have in Mishawaka. That’s why this sport works for us.”
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleSmedley03.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: New Prairie is South Bend area’s best at Al Smith Wrestling Invitational
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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