The state qualifiers: Alex Deming

Deming focuses on state after ‘bittersweet’ semistate finish

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Alex Deming

A paragon of strength and conditioning, Rochester senior Alex Deming is going to the IHSAA state wrestling finals for the third straight year.

He was second at the 2022 Fort Wayne semistate at 195 pounds, and he won the Fort Wayne semistate title at 195 last year.

This year, he was routed through the East Chicago semistate and finished fourth Saturday.

He defeated Merrillville’s Terrelle Elmore by fall and Lowell’s Aiden Abad 3-1 to clinch his state spot before losing to Hanover Central’s Jayden Bartoszek 4-3 and McCutcheon’s Cole Chicoine 12-7.

“It’s bittersweet because I made state the past two years,” Deming said. “Unfortunately, this is the lowest I’ve ever placed at semistate, but you know, stuff happens, right? I’m going to go back to the wrestling room and critique some stuff. This is the hardest semistate in the state, so I’ve got a good shot at getting a one-seed and possibly beating him.”

That No. 1 seed is Indianapolis Cathedral’s Jackson Weingart, who won the New Castle semistate last week. Deming and Weingart will square off at the Ford Center in Evansville in the opening round tonight.

In the final IndianaMat.com poll of the season, Deming was ranked No. 5 and Weingart was No. 8.

Deming tore through the Plymouth sectional with two falls and a 17-3 major decision over Warsaw’s seventh-ranked Kameron Kauffman. He then won the Penn regional with two pins – one of them over Kauffman in the finals – sandwiched around an 11-2 major decision over Penn’s Malachi Evans.

Then came the pin over Elmore.

Abad, however, was a nailbiter until the end as Abad sidestepped Deming’s shots. Deming would eventually get the winning takedown on a counter with six seconds left.

“I was pushing the pace of the match, and I was in charge,” Deming explained. “I kept shooting in and shooting in, and unfortunately, I didn’t get any stalling calls or anything. And then that last few seconds, he shot in, and I just went around because he was so tired. Just the extra conditioning in the wrestling room really helps sometimes.”

Coach Clint Gard said afterwards that Deming needs to improve at making mid-match adjustments.

“Just fundamentals,” Deming said. “I always have the mindset to be the underdog, so you do what it takes. … Now I know what I need what I need to work on. So we got number one (Crown Point’s Will Clark) and number two (Chicoine) in the state here. I’m number five, and I lost to Hanover, so that’s what happens.”