Penn senior Vinny Freeman became the first wrestler in program history to win four regional titles Saturday. That, plus other regional results.
MISHAWAKA ― Vinny Freeman bounced to his feet after his final home wrestling match in his prolific prep career and paid tribute to those who matter the most to him.
That would be his family, friends and fans.
The Penn High School senior, who flashed the heart sign towards the stands after another victory, made that final match on his home mats one to remember too.
Freeman became the first wrestler in the tradition-rich history of the Penn program to win four regional championships.
Freeman, who placed third at the state finals in 2025, beat Rochester junior Kale Shotts by a technical fall 17-1 in the title match at 175 pounds Saturday, Feb. 7. That moved his record to 34-3 on the season.
Freeman was one of six individual champions for the host Kingsmen, who totaled 206 points to win their sixth straight regional championship. Penn, which has won regional team titles now in 15 of the past 16 years, advances 11 grapplers to the East Chicago Central Semi-state next Saturday, Feb. 14.
Riley finished in third place in the final team standings with 111.5 points. Sophomore Vince McCoy led the Wildcats with a title at 106 pounds.
Mishawaka was fourth with 96 points as the Cavemen were led by champion Brody Blevins, a senior, at 113 pounds.
Rochester, sporting four individual titlists, was team runner-up to Penn with 168.5 points.
But this day definitely belonged to Freeman, the two-sport star at Penn who is bound to wrestle for Cornell University next season. Freeman, a three-time state finalist, has now won a pair of regional titles at 175 and one each at 182 and 190.
"This means everything to me, especially to do it at home in front of all the people who have supported me here at Penn," said Freeman. "And to do it here with the guys we have on this team.
"When I look back, the past four years went really fast. But there are just so many great memories and so many people who have supported me here that it's awesome. "
Freeman was joined as a champion by teammates Angela Vargo (138), Hudson Odle (144), Ryan Hall (150), Aiden Whitten (157) and Alessio Retzloff (190). Odle and Retzloff are seniors, while Vargo, Hall and Whitten are each juniors. Vargo is now 37-6, Odle 29-9, Hall 32-7, Whitten 27-8 and Retzloff 36-5.
Vargo and Odle had a pair of classic clashes with rival competitors from Mishawaka in their title matches. Vargo beat senior Will Mason 9-8 and Odle outlasted senior Corey Gardner 16-14 in a fierce showdown in the final.
Penn coach Brad Harper was happy with the work of his team Saturday.
"I'm just very proud of our team," Harper said. "First and foremost, as a program, we talk about class and respect and we had that 100 percent today. Our coaching staff just does a phenomenal job. They all know their jobs, and they are positive and push our kids hard.
"We lost some tough ones today, but we will learn from those and go back to work on Monday. We're a family, win or lose. We have 11 guys advancing to sem0-istate, but it's all 14. That's our mindset as a program."
Freeman, who is now 140-24 in his prep career, noted that his championships are won in the practice room.
"There's some pressure, but I think that I'm built for it and I embrace it," Freeman noted. "That's due to the work I've put in. My mindset is always developed in practice, doing the same things over and over. Consistency beats motivation.
"I credit my father (Marcus) for instilling that type of discipline in me. My mindset is always on focus, consistency and my work ethic, even on the days that are tough. The goal is always to win a state title. But I want to reach my full potential to become the best person and wrestler that I can be."
Harper praised his superstar leader and historic champion.
"Vinny's mindset is to become the best and he's all about the team," Harper remarked. "He trains hard and pushes himself physically and mentally. It's amazing what he brings to the practice room as far as his high character and leadership. He'll be a huge miss in our program after this season."
Blevins, McCoy shine
Both Blevins and McCoy were dominant in their final matches in the regional round Saturday.
Senior Blevins topped Riley sophomore Roman Marquez 22-9 at 113 pounds to win his title.
"I made some mistakes today, but at this time you just have to win," said Blevins. "I just need to go out there every match with the confidence that I'm the best and I'm out to get everyone."
McCoy started the finals off by pinning Penn freshman Levi Laidig in the third period in the 106 class.
"I didn't wrestle my best in the finals, but I'm still pretty happy with it," McCoy said. "I just have to keep working hard in practice and keep the same mentality every times out there."
Both Blevins and McCoy are excited for the semi-state round. Each were eliminated in that portion of the state tournament series in 2025.
"I feel good because I think this is my best shot at state," Blevins said. "I've been knocked out at semi-state the past two years. I just have to take one match at a time and go out there every time and compete."
"I want it (a trip to the state finals) really bad this year," concluded McCoy.
Blevins sits at 22-2 and McCoy at 40-4 this season.
New Prairie pair claim titles
The duo of Matthew Staples and Jeffrey Huyvaert each continued stellar seasons for New Prairie with regional titles Saturday at Crown Point.
Sophomore Staples, who won a state title in 2025, claimed the 165-pound championship. Staples is now 34-0 on the season.
Senior Huyvaert took home the title at 157 pounds. He improved to 39-1 this season.
Host Crown Point won the regional team title with 253.5 points. Lowell was second with 153 points with New Prairie third with 123.5.
Concord strong at Goshen
A trio of Concord grapplers earned regional crowns at the Goshen Regional Saturday.
Senior Donovan Cunningham won the 132-pound title for the Minutemen to improve to 34-6. Juniors Brycen Brosamer (144) and Jacob Bemiller (175) each also won titles for Concord. Brosamer is 34-4 and Bemiller 36-8. It's the first time Concord has three regional champions in the same year since 1991.
Other area champions at Goshen were Elkhart senior Kyle Sommer at 285 and Jimtown junior Blake Roberts at 157. Sommer is 28-4 and Roberts 31-8.
East Noble won the team title at Goshen with 116.5 points. Wawasee was second with 94 points.
For complete results from all the area regionals, visit ihsaa.org.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn boys wrestling wins IHSAA regional championship
Category: General Sports
