Seymour freshman AnnMarie Shuler poses with high school coach Dan Rasey (left) and middle school coach John Shuffitt (right) after competing in the IHSGW state finals on Friday.
Submitted photo
Seymour freshman AnnMarie Shuler talks with coach John Shuffitt prior to her match at the IHSGW state finals on Friday at Mooresville High School.
Submitted photo
The sold out crowd watches the IHSGW state finals on Friday at Mooresville High School.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
A plethora of matches take place during the IHSGW state finals on Friday at Mooresville High School, including AnnMarie Shuler in the 106-pound weight class.
Dylan Wallace | The Tribune
MOORESVILLE — The last time Seymour’s AnnMarie Shuler wrestled Southport’s AnnaMae Mosconi, she was pinned in 45 seconds.
Shuler, Seymour’s stud freshman who qualified for the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling state finals on Friday, was matched up in the first round against Mosconi, Southport’s seasoned senior who is already committed to wrestle at Campbellsville University.
It was going to be a tough match for Shuler inside Mooresville High School, but she wanted to come out with more confidence than last time, and she did.
“I wanted to improve my confidence because last time, she had psyched me out in the beginning before I even wrestled her,” Shuler said. “I wanted to improve my confidence and I wanted to take better shots on her. Last time, I took a really bad shot and got thrown to my back.”
Mosconi was still able to get the win over Shuler, scoring a fall at the 3:40 mark.
“I felt more confident,” Shuler said, “but it was mostly the fact that she’s just stronger and at the top of the weight class than the bottom of the weight class.”
Despite the loss, the experience Shuler gained from this is valuable, especially as a freshman.
“It was a lot to take in,” she said. “It was good to experience, it was way different than any other event I’ve been to, but overall it was a fun experience.”
It was a packed house inside Mooresville, and Shuler said it was the most people she’s seen at a meet.
In the 106-pound weight class, Shuler thought it was one of the more stacked brackets at the state meet. Going forward, Shuler plans to stay in this weight class, and she’s determined to do some damage at the state meet as she gets older.
“It makes me really motivated for what I want to do in the future,” Shuler said. “She’s (Mosconi) a senior already signed for college, and it really shows that I’m not that far behind and she’s at the end of her high school career and I’m at the beginning, so it motivates me to get to that point.”
The top eight finishers in each weight class earned a state medal. As of press time, Northeastern’s Heather Crull and Fort Wayne Snider’s Julianna Ocampo squared off for first place. Heritage Hills’ Makenzie Smith was third, Merrillville’s Joy Cantu fourth, Mosconi fifth, West Lafayette’s Isabel Kaplan sixth, East Noble’s Kyleigh Honaker seventh and Indian Creek’s Elizabeth Dowty eighth.
“I was a little disappointed I didn’t get to wrestle (more),” Shuler said, “but I looked up where I was at and seemed content with how good I’ve been doing my freshman year.”
In addition to the experience and success Shuler had this season, another special moment on Friday was how many people came out to support Shuler.
From coaches to teammates to family members to friends, Shuler had a strong contingent of fans cheering her on not just on Friday but throughout the whole season.
“It was really awesome because there were people you wouldn’t expect to show up that went out of their way to take off work and show up just to cheer me on and were still really proud of me even though I lost in the first round,” Shuler said. “I felt a little bad because some of them did take off work and I was only there one round, but it was really great to see everyone.”