photo courtesy New Prairie Athletics

(Indianapolis) — Ordinarily, freshmen who fare the best in high school wrestling are in the lower weight classes.

New Prairie’s Matthew Staples is no ordinary freshman.

Staples capped a perfect freshman season with a 45-0 record and the 157-pound state championship Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Cougar standout defeated Warren Central senior Christian Arberry, 4-1, in the title match. The win makes Staples the first freshman to win an IHSAA title at a weight above 130 pounds since 1924.

Staples trailed the match, 1-0, after two periods, but tied it on an escape in the first eight seconds of the third. With :44 seconds left, Staples hit a takedown on Arberry worth three points and kept his opponent at bay the rest of the match to claim the crown. He is the second state wrestling champion in New Prairie history

Here is a list of other area wrestlers who made the podium tonight

132- Layne Horn, Rochester 7th

144- Jeffrey Huyvaert, New Prairie 5th

157- Brant Beck, Rochester 7th

165- Chance McCullough, Elkhart 6th; Leo Santiago, Penn 8th

175- Vinny Freeman, Penn 3rd

190- Devin Kendrex-Harrison, New Prairie 6th

215- Travis Henke, Northridge 4th; Malachi Evans, Penn 7th

285- Declan Gard, Rochester 4th