Now that the dual match between Columbus East and Columbus North is behind them, the two schools can focus on their conference wrestling tournaments.
The Olympians will next compete in the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament at Madison, and the Bull Dogs will wrestle in the Conference Indiana tourney at Perry Meridian. Both begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Eighth-ranked East will be a heavy favorite to defend its HHC title. Junior Cayden Rooks (126 pounds), seniors Graham Rooks (138) and Dawson Combest (138) and junior Nick South (160) are top seeds in their respective weight classes.
“I definitely think we’re favored to win, but being favored to win on paper and doing it are two different things,” East coach Chris Cooper said. “The last (three) days, we’ve been focused on Columbus North, but we’ll look at individual matchups and see what we can do.”
Third-ranked Perry Meridian will be a heavy favorite in Conference Indiana. North is led by senior 170-pounder Brigham Kleinhenz.
The Bull Dogs finished fifth in the conference last year.
“We’re definitely looking to improve on that,” North coach Justin Cooper (no relation to Chris) said. “I think we can get top four if we wrestle hard. Last year, we had a lot of guys that didn’t score points. But it’s a tough conference.”
East girls to host HHC
The wrestlers won’t be the only ones competing in conference championships this weekend. Columbus East is hosting the HHC girls swimming and diving meet.
Diving preliminaries begin at 6 p.m. today. Swimming finals are a 1 p.m. Saturday, with the diving finals taking place at its normal spot within the swim finals.
East plans meet, greet
The Columbus East girls basketball team will host its annual “Meet and Greet” following Saturday’s game against New Albany.
The Olympians welcome any prospective players to join them for pizza and some shooting competitions after the varsity game, which will begin around 1:30 p.m.
North sets volleyball meeting
Columbus North volleyball coach Caitlin Greiner will hold a parent/player meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the school’s LGI room for anyone interested in trying out for the Bull Dogs volleyball team in the fall. Players and parents should enter through the cafeteria entrance and be directed to the room.
Players will meet the coaching staff, go over schedules for workouts and open gyms and learn what to expect heading into the summer. Incoming freshman also can meet the returners and ask any questions they might have about the team’s expectations.
