High school wrestling: Landon Buchanan looking for strong finish to Jimtown career

Landon Buchanan got to step on the awards podium at the 2021 IHSAA State Finals.

As a 160-pounder Jimtown junior, Buchanan placed eighth.

Now competing at 170, Buchanan is off to an 11-0 start to the 2021-22 season and was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 40th annual Jim Nicholson Invitational at Elkhart on Saturday, Dec. 11.

Buchanan, who got his mat start at age 4 in the Jimtown Wrestling Club, was a freshman when the Gimson twins (Connor, third at 138; and Matt, fourth at 132) and Hunter Watts (third at 126) were seniors representing the Jimmies at the State Finals and finished with a combined 516 career victories.

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Jimtown coach Jerimiah Maggart has noticed the influence and similarities between the Gimsons, Watts and Buchanan.

“Just being with those guys and learning what it takes to be at that top level (has helped),” Maggart said. “Just like those guys he’s an awesome student. He’s a great kid. He works hard. You’d want kids like him all through your lineup.”

Buchanan wants to end his prep career with a flourish.

“I’ve worked hard in the offseason,” Buchanan said. “I’ve tried to find a bunch of drill partners (including Maggart) and worked out at (Midwest Extreme Wrestling in Mishawaka) and at the (Jimtown Regional Training Center).

“I push myself and try to get a little better everyday. Eating right is the biggest thing that’s helped me out this year. It’s helped me get a lot stronger and feel better.”

Buchanan, a football starter at running back and linebacker, was around 185 in the fall.

“A lot of it was fat and water weight,” he said of the extra pounds. “If you go hard in the room, it comes off.”

While he is undecided on the school, Buchanan says he would like to wrestling in college and study business. He carries a 3.8 grade-point average.

Penn wins Nicholson Invitational

Finishing strong in the last two of five rounds, Penn (443 points) beat out Rochester (411) to win the Nicholson Invitational in Elkhart last weekend.

“We still don’t have a lot of guys in our lineup,” said Kingsmen coach Brad Harper, who saw freshman Ryan Schmidtendorff (106), junior Arman Hairopoulous (132), sophomore Wesley Harper (138) and senior Juan Grange (220) place first and juniors Grant Mallery (152) and Tavon Livingston (160) come in second. “We have a motto in our room — ‘Next Guy In’ — you’ve got to be ready. (With sickness, ACT tests etc.), the next guy had to step up.

“It was nice for them to finish Kingsmen Strong.

“It’s an honor to be a part of this tournament. It’s been going on for 40 years. It’s great to be a part of that tradition.

“It’s fun and unique. It gives you that individual feel, but there’s still scoring with the team. And everyone gets five matches.”

Lions on the rise

Led by junior Josh Corona (first at 113), junior Brayden Jellison (second at 285), senior Anthony Escobedo (195) and freshman Kaulin Price (170), host Elkhart came in fourth at the Nicholson.

“We’ve got some grit,” said Lions coach Zach Whickcar, who also had some wrestlers out of the varsity lineup. “We’ve got some youth and with that comes some bumps and bruises. Watching kids learn how to wrestle through adversity is big.

“I really like this team. We’re in a position where we can be really good.”

Whickcar, who knew former Elkhart Memorial and Elkhart Central coach Jim Nicholson, appreciates the tournament format he created because it allows wrestlers to see like competition.

“You separate that top four and, ultimately, if you’re hot you end up wrestling (each other) and if you’re not so hot you also see those who are not doing so well.”

Cavemen off to 10-1 start

By going 3-1 at the Traicoff Duals at Calumet New Tech, Mishawaka is 10-1 to start the season. The loss was by a 39-35 score to Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association No. 3 Franklin.

“The Traicoff is always a tough tournament,” Cavemen coach Steven Sandefer said. “We have many new faces in the lineup along with familiar faces as well.

“I was really impressed with the chemistry and leadership we have on this year’s team.”

The Cavemen are ranked No. 3 among IHSWCA 3A teams and No. 15 overall. Mishawaka visits Concord for a Northern Lakes Conference dual Thursday, Dec. 16 then goes to the Henry Wilk Classic at Penn Saturday, Dec. 18.

Howell-Bey leads Saint Joseph

William Howell-Bey was a three-time semistate qualifier and ticket-round participant at South Bend Washington, where he competed his last few years for head coach Tony McWilliams and graduated in 2013. He started wrestling as a Clay fifth grader and won three city championships.

Howell-Bey is in his third season as head coach at South Bend Saint Joseph. It was an adjustment for him coming from a public school to a private Catholic institution, but he began to get his athletes to understand what wrestling is all about in his eyes.

“You’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some, but in the long run, this will make you so much better,” Howell-Bey said. “It’s not about outcome, it’s income. I’ve had first-year wrestlers as seniors or juniors and they graduate and they call me and tell me they’re so glad they wrestled because nothing in life is that hard.

“You have to grind and it’s for that last three seconds when you get your hand raised. My heavyweight (sophomore Josh Brewer) just won his first match ever in two years (in the fifth round of Elkhart’s Jim Nicholson Invitational). I kept telling him one day you’re going to get it and it’s going to pay off.

“We’re changing the culture over there.”

Saint Joseph junior John Aranowski came into the meet unbeaten and wound up placing third at 195.

“I would say he’s the hardest worker in the room,” Howell-Bey said of Aranowski. “When I started (at Saint Joseph), he had no wrestling experience. I kept working with him and he worked on his own. Now he’s a leader on the team that I didn’t expect him to be. Now he gets mad when kids don’t show up to practice. He makes them get better. His voice is active.”

Away from wrestling, Howell-Bey is a police officer at Indiana University South Bend and a sergeant in the Marine Reserves and working toward a Criminal Justice degree through Indiana Wesleyan University.

Henry Wilk Classic/Penn Girls Invitational

Penn is scheduled to host the Henry Wilk Classic and Penn Girls Invitational at 8:30 a.m. and 9:15 a.m., respectively, Saturday, Dec. 18.

Joining the Kingsmen in the boys field are Mishawaka, Jimtown, Edwardsburg, Fort Wayne Snider, Springboro (Ohio), Westfield and Zionsville.

Besides Penn, the girls field includes Elkhart, Jimtown, New Prairie, NorthWood, South Bend Saint Joseph, Bellmont, Benton Central, Boone Grove, Brebeuf, Central Noble, Columbia City, Crawford County, East Noble, Frankfort, Frontier, Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Snider, Greenfield-Central, Illiana Christian, Jay County, Kokomo, Lake Central, Lafayette Jeff, Lebanon, Maconaquah, New Haven, North Central, Northview, Olentangy (Ohio) and Rochester.

Enter through Door G. Admission is $8.

Mike Bottorff Invitational

LaVille is scheduled to host the Mike Bottorff Invitational at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 18.

Joining the Lancers in the field are Concord, Marian, South Bend Saint Joseph and Pioneer.

Enter through Door F (west side of campus). Admission is $7. Fans are asked to park in the West Lot between the football stadium and the west side of the school.

Wawasee December Duals

Wawasee is scheduled to host the Wawasee December Duals at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 18.

Joining the Warriors in the field are Angola, Northridge, Norwell, Plymouth and Utica (Ohio).

Enter through Door 6. Admission is $8.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: High school wrestling: Jimtown's Landon Buchanan aims to finish strong