The Delphi High School wrestling team opened its season with a home invitational honoring the legacy of the late longtime coach Mike Atwood. Mike coached at Delphi between 2001 and 2019 where his teams earned six Hoosier Conference championships, three sectional championships, two regional championships, and qualified for the team state tournament twice. He coached nineteen individual state qualifiers with thirteen placing top eight, two finishing second, and one winning the state championship. He was inducted into the IHSWCA Hall of Fame in 2014. Athletic Director Chip Dale honored Atwood’s legacy by telling the crowd of the impact Atwood had on the sport of wrestling and placing an empty Oracle coach’s chair at the championship mat. The Oracles are coached by Atwood’s son, Mike Atwood. The team titled went to Harrison who held 8 of the 14 weight class titles at the end of the day, and a team score of 336 points. The Oracles finished fourth in the 10 team field behind Harrison, Northridge, and Seeger. Senior Javon Frost (157 lbs) lead six Oracles with top 5 finishes as the lone Delphi champion. He opened the tournament with a first period pin of Bryson Davis of Fountain Central. He wrestled a tight match with Haydn Hood of Harrison until a pin with 19 seconds remaining in regulation. He finished his next two matches with first period pins over Gabe Barbo of Northridge and Jesse Ward of Twin Lakes. He pinned Joseph Bijak of North Newton in the second period before facing the Raiders’ Hood in the championship round where Frost stuck Hood a second time in the third period. Frost ended the tournament with 17 takedowns, bringing him to a three year total at Delphi of 113. Oracle Senior Brandon Terrell (126 lbs) earned a third place finish, pinning opponents from Harrison and Northridge in the first period and pinning his opponent from Twin Lakes in the second period. Terrell continued his streak of pins in the semifinal match with a first period fall over Ethan Cox of Seeger before falling to Cole Meiser of Culver Military Academy in the second period of the championship. Delphi Freshman Ethan Mcilrath (285 lbs) earned a fourth place finish in his first varsity tournament. He started the tournament quickly with a first period pin over Fountain Central’s John Carver. He fell to Harrison’s Conner Merzdorf with 12 seconds remaining in the first period, but followed that performance with a pin of Twin Lakes’ Nate Smolek in the first two minutes. Mcilrath fell to heavyweight champion Brody Streeter in the first period of the semifinals before succumbing to a third period fall in a hard fought rematch against Harrison’s Merzdorf. Fellow Freshman Isaiah Arnett (144 lbs) earned a fifth place finish in his first varsity tournament. He earned first period pins against opponents from Fountain Central and Twin Lakes but lost by first period fall to eventual 144 pound champion Nolan Richards. He wrestled a competitive full match against Northridge’s Khaoucha, losing by points 8-3. It took Arnett 55 seconds to pin his semifinal opponent from Benton Central and another 2 minutes 57 seconds to stick his opponent from Twin Lakes to earn fifth. First year Sophomore wrestler Chance Jarrell (165 pounds) earned a fifth place finish with a first period pin of Isaiah Rodzankas of Northridge and losses to eventual 165 champion Isaac Sinks of Harrison and Sam Cook of Twin Lakes. Jarrell scored two first period pins on his way to fifth with wins over Jackson Smith of Benton Central and another pin of Rodzankas. Senior Nathan Phebus (150 lbs) had the most mat time of any Oracle Wrestlers, winning 9-5 in regulation over Brandon Pigg of Fountain Central, losing 12-8 to Carter Heriges of Harrison, losing 6-0 to Wyland Buck of Northridge, and winning 19-6 over Colton Robertson of Twin Lakes. Phebus picked up his sole pin over Morgan Wright of South Newton in 18 seconds and won a nailbiter 8-7 in a rematch against Brandon Pigg of Fountain Central.