Few wrestlers have been able to defeat defending state champion Brandon Wright this season---that is until he ran into Roncalli’s Justin Kieffer.

The Warren Central senior, who won a state wrestling title last year with Cathedral, had lost only one match all year until Kieffer beat him in the semis of the 125-pound category in regional state tournament action on Saturday before the junior beat Perry Meridian’s Jason Simmons to win it.

The top four finishers in each category at the Perry Meridian regional advance to the semistate round next week in the 72^nd annual Individual state wrestling tournament.

Freshman Josh King did his best go give Roncalli momentum to start the meet as he finished third in the first match at 103 pounds. Rebel senior Aaron Davis finished third behind Jared McKinley and Aaron Handley at 112.

The Rebels Josh Kieffer beat Seve Duncan, Beech Grove, to win the 119-pound category. In the 135-pound category, Roncalli’s Carl Goss and Abner Gomez, Cardinal Ritter, finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Senior Ben Kane, Roncalli, finished sixth for the 140-pound category while RHS sophomore Danny Rojas placed fourth in the 152-pound category. Roncalli’s Jake Bartley, senior finished in fourth-place in the 171-pound category.

Roncalli junior Jake Tucker, who wrestled in the 215-pound category, finished in fourth while senior Matt Massengale placed sixth in the 285-pound category.

Wrestlers from Cathedral and Bishop Chatard competed in the Pendleton Heights regional. First-place honors went to one Chatard wrestler – Anthony Bill in the 171-pound category – and two wrestlers from Cathedral – Michael Venezia in the 103-pound category and Tyler Willis in the 160-pound category.

Other Cathedral wrestlers placing in the regional are as follows: Brian Harvey, second place, 112 pounds; John Hummel, fourth place, 119 pounds; John Stringfield, second place, 130 pounds; Sam Oskins, fourth place, 135 pounds;  Austin Neibarger, third place, 152 pounds; Casey Devlin, fourth place, 171 pounds; Jake Buchanan, third place, 215 pounds; Wesley Stokes, third place, 285 pounds.

Alex Taylor was the only other Bishop Chatard wrestler to place, coming in fifth in the 130-pound category.