Last Saturday No. 3 Crown Point had its best day of wrestling in school history when it won three individual state championships. They topped that this Saturday at Center Grove High School, winning the schools first team wrestling state title over Perry Meridian in its first appearance in the final eight.

            “It’s an amazing feeling to do something for the first time in school history,” Crown Point 112- pound Anthony Hawkins said. “It’s been a great couple weeks.”

            Hawkins was one of the Bulldogs individual winners exactly a week ago.

            The Bulldogs began the day with a 48-9 trouncing of fellow state championships newcomer Roncalli. Crown Point only dropped two decisions in the quarterfinal.

            Cathedral upset undefeated and No. 1 ranked Mishawaka in its opener setting the stage for a heated semi-final between the No. 4 Irish and Crown Point.

            Cathedral led 20-16 with four matches left, when Marcus Shrewsburry put Cathedral’s Spencer Poling on his back and won by fall, shifting the momentum in the match. Shrewsburry won by fall in the first stanza in each of his three matches.

            “It was one of those days for me,” the 189-pound Shrewsburry said. “I just didn’t want to lose and needed to come through at the right times.”

            Cameron Halsted (103 pounds) locked up the match for the Bulldogs with a 2-1 win over Cathedral’s Brian Harvey in a match that needed four play stoppages to stop Harvey’s bleeding nose.

             “That was an emotional match for us,” Crown Point Head Coach Scott Vlink said. “The key was to not let up after it, and our guys didn’t.”

            Letting up was the last thing on the minds of the Bulldogs. They came out of the gates strong in the final against a game Perry Meridian squad, winning 3 out of the first 4 matches.

            The Falcons would not go down without a fight however, storming back and into the lead 16-11 on three straight wins from Jacob Tonte (140- pounds), Jacob Tasseff (145-pounds), and Blake Wood (152-pounds). Tonte won by fall over Crown Point’s Josh Flamme, contributing seven points to Perry Meridian’s cause.

            Crown Point then imposed its will as they won four of the final seven matches; three of those wins were by fall. Heavyweight Kyle Marshall set the stage for the outcome when he pinned Falcon heavyweight Devin Schaefer 26 seconds into the match. Hawkins sealed the state title for the Bulldogs two matches later, outlasting Michael Clem in a major decision 18-6.

            Vlink was impressed with the way his team handled the final match.

            “We kept our momentum going between the matches,” he said. “I don’t know what got into Kyle (Marshall), he just wasn’t going to lose.” 

            Marshall, a senior, echoed his coach.

            “I said to myself this is my last match, and I am going to get it done for my team,” he said.

            Perry Meridian’s runner-up finish is its fourth in four trips to the final match, while Crown Point is now one-for-one in title bout experiences.

            “The difference in the (championship) match was our heavy weights,” Hawkins said. “They really stepped it up for our team, and I couldn’t be happier.”

            The win was a result of a true team effort for the Bulldogs as they put the finishing touches on a season that produced three individual state champions and an IHSAA Team State Title.