It was a very solid day for the Columbus East wrestling team in its invitational tournament on Saturday.
Seven Olympians were crowned champions in their weight classes, and it carried them to an easy victory.
East scored 298 points, which was well ahead of runner-up Terre Haute South’s 202. Brown County finished eighth with 77.
“It was definitely our most complete tournament of the season,” East coach Chris Cooper said. “I can’t complain with how we wrestled. We wrestled really well. A lot of the guys are turning the corner, and it’s a lot of stuff that we focus on in practice. We make a big effort in tournament time of getting bonus points, getting falls and tech falls. We did a fantastic job of that today, so I’m real proud of my guys.”
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East senior Cayden Rooks is one of Cooper’s most experienced wrestlers, and he didn’t disappoint Saturday. Rooks scored four straight pins on his way to claim the title at 138 pounds. His efforts also earned him the MVP of the tournament.
“Being a senior is different than it was being a freshman,” Rooks said. “There is not as many nerves now going into it, but everything was still the same objective. I know exactly what I want to do when I go out there. No matter who the guy is, nothing changes. Everything is the same.”
Other winners for the Olympians included Noah Lykins (106), Jeremy Clark (126), Joey Gordon (132), Sam Morrill (160), Nick South (170) and Jacob Bolte (220).
“I just went out there and tried to be dominant in the (championship) match,” said South, who won by a 19-4 technical fall. “I went heavy on the head to just try to break him. It makes it easier to score points, and not many kids like keeping heavy on the head. I’m going to keep trying to stay in that mentality when state tournament time comes.”
Bolte, who won his title match by a first-period fall against Greensburg’s Robbie Lorenz, said he is comfortable with where he is at this point in the season.
“I’m definitely wrestling better than last year,” Bolte said. “I’m where I need to be, but not where I want to be. At East, we pride ourselves in growing over the season. As the season goes on, I’ll become better.”
Nate John, Noah White and Brycen Copeland earned runner-up finishes at 120, 182 and 285, respectively, for East. Third-place finishers for the Olympians includes Kade Law (145), Jacob Shaver (152) and Shawn Tyler (285). Kenton Wilson took fifth at 113.
For Brown County, David Tucker was the runner-up at 126. Bryce Denton and Christian Fouts finished fourth at 132 and 170, respectively. The Eagles’ Brandon Leslie (113), Reid Davis (160) and Jason Stratton (182) all were sixth.
