And then there was one.

Anthony Quiroz is the last Chesterton wrestler standing after Saturday's Merrillville Individual Semistate, the Trojan 160-pounder finished third in his weight class to earn the team's only state berth.

"My goal is still to win state," Quiroz said. "I'll do the extra work and hopefully it shows at state."

For the first time in his high school career, Quiroz finished a post-season tournament paired against someone other than Portage's Sean McMurray. Harrison (West Lafayette)'s Cameron Vlahos edged Quiroz 4-3 in the semifinals, handing him his first loss of the season that wasn't against McMurray.

"It's frustrating, I guess," Quiroz said. "I was standing. I need to attack a little more. Hopefully, we're on the same side of the bracket (at state). I'm pretty sure I can get the next time."

Vlahos led Quiroz by that score entering the third period and Quiroz was unable to turn him from the top position.

"They had us scouted really well," Chesterton assistant coach Jason Cook said. "(Vlahos) did enough to win. Sometimes, you don't have to put on a highlight show. You just have to eke it out. We couldn't generate any offense against him. It's a great weight class here. Anthony's goal is to be on the top of the (awards) podium (at state)."

Quiroz (31-5) came back to blank South Bend Washington's Melcolm White 3-0 to claim third. McMurray blanked Vlahos 7-0 in　the finals.

"I was upset, but I wanted to get third to get a good (state) draw," he said.

Zack Thornton was denied in his bid to return to state, losing in the quarterfinals 7-3 to Merrillville nemesis Anthony Napules, who went on to capture the 125 title.

"Zack's one of the best 125-pounders in the state. He just wasn't good enough to beat Napules today," Cook said. "That's what it boils down to, six minutes. Our area is strong, especially at 125. All of Zack's losses are still on the mat, guys going to state. He was good enough to beat anybody in his weight class, he just couldn't pull it off. I coached Zack for two years and I wish I had been here for all four."

Freshman Chris Katsafaros (130) was the only other Trojan to survive the first round, scoring a first-period pin. He then suffered the same fate in the round to go, losing by fall to Calumet's Mike Clark at 1:41.

"Chris made a great move, we were almost celebrating, (Clark) rolled through it and he gets pinned," Cook said. "Chris was good enough to compete with anybody in the state. He had the potential to place at state, but that doesn't mean they write your name on the wall. It'll be motivation for next year. Fortunately,　he has three more years to achieve his goals and we're fortunate to　be able to coach him. He's a great kid with great potential."

At 152, Brandon Garvey was knocked in the first by McCutcheon's Jared Wethington, 8-3.

"Brandon had a good draw," Cook said. "We knew he could beat those two guys. Taking nothing away from them, that's just how we feel about the kid. He's pretty much the model for what Chesterton wrestlers are. He's a classy kid. He works as hard as he can about every moment of practice. He's a goofy kid, but when that whistle blows, he's hitting fireman's carries all over the mat. He's the most predictable wrestler I've ever coached, but he's still fun to watch."

Heavyweight Frank Raudry exited with a fall at 2:41 against Harrison's Hector Huizar.

"Frank went out and had a shot," Cook said. "He tried to throw him and it didn't happen. Frank's had a great attitude and worked hard. He just was up against a kid with a lot more experience who did what he was supposed to do. But he didn't give in until the whistle blew."

Chris Copollo got an unexpected call Friday afternoon to fill a vacancy at 145. He was able to make weight for the meet, where he was pinned by Munster's Alex Surma in 1:58.

"We hadn't seen him for a couple days," Cook said. "He hadn't been practicing. We asked him, 'hey, can you come in and make weight?' It's not like he came in with a chance to make state, wrestling a couple scrubs. He ends up with a couple losses to　guys who are probably going to be the state champion (Jason Tsirtsis) and the state runner-up　(Surma) in his last two matches."

103 -- Paul Petrov (Hanover Central) dec. Jarred Brooks (Warsaw), 6-4 (ot). 112 -- Kyle Ayersman (Lake Central) dec. Paul Beck (Mishawaka), 7-6. 119 -- Danny Bradley (Knox) dec. Anthony Hawkins (Crown Point), 5-1. 125 -- Anthony Napules (Merrillville) dec. John Petrov (Hanover Central), 5-2. 130 -- Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point) pin Mike Clark (Calumet), 3:38. 135 -- Matt Guerra (Mishawaka) dec. Bradley Wartman (Lake Central), 7-5 (ot). 140 -- Cameryn Brady (Lowell) dec. Frankie Porras (Hobart), 4-3 (4 ot). 145 -- Eric Roach (Crown Point) dec. Laquan Lunford (South Bend Clay), 7-1. 152 -- Ryan Stahl (Mishawaka) dec. Tanner Lynde (Delphi), 6-0. 160 -- Sean McMurray (Portage) dec. Cameron Vlahos (Harrison), 7-0. 171 -- Andy Wiseman (Penn) dec. Richard Morin (Mishawaka), 5-2. 189 -- Braden Atwood (Delphi) pin Matt Hurford (Culver Academy), 1:14. 215 -- Nate Cleveland (Lowell) dec. Christian Lentz (Mishawaka), 6-3. Hwt. -- James Travis (Merrillville) dec. Damon Howe (Plymouth), 5-1.

Zac Stevens (Merrillville) pin Reise Overby (Harrison), 2:32. 112 -- Brandon Coppinger (Portage) won by injury default over Danny Rodriguez (Highland). 119 -- Layton Binion (Mishawaka) dec. Alex Gregory (Penn), 8-6. 125 -- Taylor Wisler (Mishawaks) dec. Jordan Hicks (Seeger), 6-2. 130 -- Nick Schrader (Mishawaka) dec. Forrest Son (Harrison), 7-2. 135 -- Trey Grayson (Lafayette Jefferson) dec. Luis Acuna, (Portage), 3-1. 140 -- Josh Flamme (Crown Point) dec. Paul Manbu (Warsaw), 6-0. 145 -- Alex Surma (Munster) pin Brian Hodge (Harrison), 0:55. 152 -- Dustin Schultz (Kankakee Valley) dec. Nicholas Hill (West Side), 3-0. 160 -- Anthony Quiroz (Chesterton) dec. Melcolm White (South Bend Washington), 3-0. 171 -- Ryne Bell (South Newton) dec. Eric Johnson (Highland), 8-3. 189 -- Timmy Buckingham (South Bend Riley) dec. Danny Abu-Shehab (Mishawaka), 12-3. 215 -- Joe Gallegos (South Bend Clay) dec. Devin Reagan (Penn), 9-4. Hwt. -- Travis Thomas (Mishawaka) pin Kegan Clark (Logansport), 1:42.

Posted 2/15/2010