Four (Or More) Time State Champions In College = Indiana

 You know for being a "basketball state" Indiana sure does have a lot of neat & rather surprising wrestling history. Their state tournament dates back all the way to 1922 & the Hoosier state didn't take long to crown their first four time champion. 

Estell Ritter 

Indiana's first four time state champion did so all the way back in 1927. Estell Ritter stood upon the top of the award stand for times for Bloomington. I don't believe he competed in college. 

Willard Duffy 

Willard Duffy won his four Indiana High School State titles for Muncie Central from 30'-33'. He was a standout for the Indiana Hoosiers in college making the NCAA finals in 1935, 1936 & 1938. I'm not sure the reasoning but it looks like he didn't compete in 1937. Very odd considering the NCAA's were held at Indiana State that year. 

Howard Fisher 

A four time Indiana state champion for South Bend Central from 49'-52', I don't believe that Howard Fisher wrestled in college. 

Lance Ellis 

Lance Ellis won his four Indiana state titles for Indianapolis Cathedral from 86'-89'. He wrestled collegiately for Indiana. 

Blake Maurer 

Winning four Indiana State titles for Evansville Mater Dei from 01'-04', Blake Maurer wrestled collegiately for Ohio State. Unfortunately his career was cut short due to injury but he did qualify for the NCAA's as well as place at CKLV before this happened. 

Alex Tsirtsis 

Alex Tsirtsis won four Indiana State titles for Griffith from 01'-04'. Collegiately he wrestled for the Iowa Hawkeyes where he had a very respectable career. An All American in 2006 as a sophomore with a 7th place finish, he placed 5th-3rd-3rd-4th at the BIG 10 championships. Along with these accomplishments he was also a four time Midlands place-winner, placing 6th as a freshman, 3rd in his redshirt season & a runner up his sophomore & senior seasons. 

Angel Escobedo 

I imagine if Angel Escobedo reads this article he'll probably resent the fact that I called Indiana a "basketball state" because he's done & he continues to do all that he can to make Indiana a wrestling state. Winning four state titles for Griffith from 02'-05', Escobedo had an outstanding collegiate career competing for the Hoosiers. A four time All American, he won a national title his sophomore season of 2008. He was 4th as a freshman, 5th as a junior & 3rd as a senior. He was also a three time BIG 10 champion, a two time Midlands champion and a CKLV champion. 

Jason Tsirtsis 

Jason Tsirtsis won four Indiana high school state titles for Crown Point from 09'-12'.  He had an outstanding collegiate career. Starting off at Northwestern, as a freshman in 2014 he won both a BIG 10 & a NCAA title. Winning second BIG 10 title in 2015 as a sophomore, he would finish 3rd at the NCAA's.  He placed 4th at the BIG 10's in 2016 as a junior, taking 2017 off to redshirt.  Coming back as a senior in 2018, now competing for Arizona State, Tsirtsis won a PAC-12 title & finished 7th at the NCAA championships. Among these credentials, Tsirtis was also a five time Midlands place winner.  Winning the title as a sophomore in 2015 & taking runner-up honors in 2016 as a junior, he was 5th in his freshman, redshirt & senior seasons. 106-22 varsity record. 

Chad Red Jr 

Chad Red Jr won four Indiana state titles for New Palestine from 13'-16'. He had a phenomenal collegiate career at the University of Nebraska. Among his many credentials he earned NCAA qualification five times. This included a 7th place finish as a freshman in 2018, an 8th place finish in 2019 as a sophomore & a 6th place finish as a senior in 2021. In the BIG 10 championships he was a four time place-winner, making the finals as a sophomore & taking 3rd place as a junior.  A 4th place finish at the Midlands in his redshirt season, he was also a three time place-winner at CKLV. 4th as a freshman, he was 5th as a junior & 3rd as a super-senior (the extra year due to COVID-19). 

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Jesse Mendez of Crown Point will be competing for Ohio State this upcoming season.