Wrestling: Four from region win state

But Hobart senior 145-pounder Brennan Cosgrove and Portage sophomore 135-pounder Sean McMurray had at least one thing in common on Saturday night: Both won a wrestling state title at Conseco Fieldhouse.

They were two of the region's four state champions, with Hanover Central senior 160-pounder Andrew Howe, for the third time, and Valparaiso senior 130-pounder Tom Churchard, for the first time, also ascending to the top step of the podium.

There also were four runners-up in Crown Point freshman Eric Roach, to Churchard; Hobart senior and Mental Attitude Award winner Eric Galka, to McMurray; Hobart sophomore 125-pounder Frankie Porras; and Crown Point junior 189-pounder Marcus Shrewsbury.

For Cosgrove, it was an elusive state title captured, after he was runner-up last season at 140 and in 2006 at 135, and placed third at 119 as a freshman. This time, he made no mistake, winning in emphatic fashion, a 13-5 major decision against Anderson Highland sophomore Sammy Bennett.

"I'm happy," said Cosgrove, a Purdue recruit who finished his senior season 43-0. "I was expecting to win it.

"It felt like a normal tournament -- that's the way I looked at it."

Cosgrove said he might have been happier if he had beaten Peru's George Markou -- a "tough" wrestler who "doesn't stop coming" -- in the final, instead of in the quarterfinals 7-4. Also during that match, Cosgrove aggravated a left knee injury he suffered in the first minute of his first semistate match, and made his way off the mat limping with his arm draped around an assistant coach. Cosgrove -- who used a portable electrical stimulation machine during the afternoon break, was icing it and taking ibuprofen -- said he was going to undergo an MRI next week to determine the nature of the problem.

McMurray was jumping for joy after he shocked two-time state champion Galka 4-3. As he left the mat, he said, "Giants beat the Patriots, Giants beat the Patriots."

"I'm pretty stunned," a teary-eyed McMurray said. "I'm so excited."

McMurray -- who had lost 7-4 to Galka in a semistate semifinal, and suffered his only other three losses of the season to Churchard -- got the decisive takedown with 29 seconds left in the match, after Galka had gotten an escape with 1:21 left. Galka nearly got a reversal in the waning seconds, but after Brickies coach Steve Balash questioned the officials, who then conferred, the result stood.

"I still had his leg," said McMurray, who placed seventh at 112 last season. "I was fine. I saw them talking about it, but I wasn't going to be upset. I was just going to wrestle.

"There was no difference," he added when asked about comparing Saturday's match to last weekend's. "I wrestle every match the same, no matter if it's a state champ or a JV kid. I wrestle the same exact match every single time."

Galka, a Northwestern recruit, was the state champion at 130 last season and at 103 as a freshman, both undefeated, and a state qualifier as a sophomore.

"You never know what they're going to call," Galka said. "I never should've given up that takedown at the end. It could've gone either way. That happens.

"I had a pretty decent season, but obviously it didn't come out like I wanted it. Now I have to get ready for college."

Howe, going to Wisconsin, scored a 22-9 major decision 160 against Union County sophomore Michael Duckworth.

Churchard, the runner-up at 125 last season, broke through for a title, topping Roach 9-8.

"I'm not sure if it's real yet," Churchard said.

"It was a one-goal mindset. I really came through, and I couldn't be happier."

It was the fourth meeting between the two wrestlers, as Churchard also had beaten Roach in the finals of sectionals, regionals and semistate. On Saturday, he led 5-0 and 9-6, before Roach got a takedown as time expired.

"This time, I felt good on my feet," Churchard said. "I still gave up points I shouldn't have, but I was in control.

"He'll be back again. He's going for multiple state titles. He'll come out with some hardware, no doubt in my mind."

Roach suffered his only four losses of the season to Churchard.

"I thought I had it," Roach said. "I trained my butt off as hard as I could. I mean, he's older, it's his last year. I still have three more years to come back even stronger.

"It's a good accomplishment, but I'm looking for more. I really wanted it, but it didn't happen."

Porras, who had a fantastic run, lost 3-2 to Mishawaka junior Josh Harper, a three-time state champion with a 136-1 career record.

"Of course, everyone wants to win, but I think I wrestled pretty good, except for some spots here and there," said Porras said, who had lost to Harper 2-0 in a semistate final on a reversal with five seconds left. "I have nothing to be ashamed of. He's a three-time champion now. I wanted to get my hand raised at the end, but I wrestled pretty well."

Porras got both of his points on stalling calls against Harper, as a chorus of boos cascaded as the match ended.

"He's a great wrestler," Porras said. "He knew he had to win -- that's all that matters."

Shrewsbury lost 2-1 to Elkhart Memorial's Steve Stahl.

"I'll probably be a lot happier with second place in a few days from now," Shrewsbury said. "I really wanted to win. In the heat of the moment, that's all that matters."

Stahl was awarded the decisive point when Shrewsbury was called for stalling with 19 seconds left in the match.

"Good call, bad call, they go both ways," Shrewsbury said. "Obviously, it was beyond my power."

In the quarterfinals, Shrewsbury had grabbed a 7-1 victory over Jimtown's previously undefeated Ryan Konrath, who generally had been considered the favorite in the weight class. And in the semis, he had edged Columbus East's Cory McGrady 4-3 in overtime. He was awarded the tying point when McGrady was called for stalling in the waning seconds of the third period, then got the decisive escape 15 seconds into OT. Shrewsbury had topped McGrady by an identical 4-3 score to take seventh place at 189 last season.

Contact Michael Osipoff at 648-3137 or mosipoff@post-trib.com