Columbus East will look to maintain its spot as one of the state’s top wrestling teams, and Columbus North will try to make a big step forward after an improved 2020-21 season.
The wrestling season kicks off for area teams today, when Brown County travels to Scottsburg for duals against the host Warriors and Southwestern (Hanover). North and Jennings County start next week, and East begins on Dec. 2.
Here is a look at those four teams heading into the season:
Columbus East
The Olympians have finished in the top five at state multiple times in the past few years, but coach Chris Cooper said this might be the best dual-meet team he has had.
East hopes it will be able to show that this year when they compete in the IHSWCA state duals Class 3A bracket at Franklin. The Olympians, who are ranked No. 1 in 3A, were unable to compete in the state duals last year because of travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m real excited,” Cooper said. “We do have a lot of depth. It’s a really balanced lineup. We have had some good teams and a lot of success over the past 10 years, but this dual meet team could be as good as any we’ve had. It’s definitely our goal to win state duals in 3A.”
Two state qualifiers return in junior Liam Krueger, who moves from 106 pounds to 113 and senior Kade Law, who either will be at back at 160 or move to 170. Law, who also qualified for state as a freshman, finished third last year at 160.
Senior Noah Lykins, who moves from 113 to 120; senior Reese Fisher, who moves from 132 to 138; senior Tony Ruiz-Tapia, who moves from 138 to 145 or 152; junior Tommy Morrill, who returns at 220; and senior Ashton Hartwell, who is back at 285; all lost in the semistate quarterfinals, or the “ticket round,” one win short of qualifying for state.
Junior Bo Wagner, who returns at 126; sophomore Nate Anderson, who moves from 120 to 132; senior Eli Pollitt who moves from 145 to 152; senior Jaden Durnil, who returns at 182; and senior Josh Schrader, who is back at 195; also made the semistate last season.
Senior Tristan Statler could break into the lineup at 170 or 182, and Patrick McMahon is battling Hartwell at 285. Junior Jordan Sutton could be at 152 or 160, and senior Kenton Wilson, who wrestled some varsity as a freshman, could be at 138 or 145.
East, which won Hoosier Hills Conference, sectional and regional titles last season, might not have a wrestler light enough to fill the 106-pound spot.
“We may have to forfeit that weight class,” Cooper said. “We may get that figured out, but I don’t know. There’s quite a bit of competition in those middle weights. We’ll see how it shakes out.”
Columbus North
The Bull Dogs have some lofty goals after going 7-7 in dual meets and finishing fourth in the Jennings County Sectional. They did not get to compete in the Conference Indiana Tournament because they were in quarantine.
Columbus North’s Jason Shuey, left, wrestles Columbus East’s Nate Anderson in the 120-pound weight class at Columbus East, Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. Paige Grider for The Republic
The Republic file photo
“We’re definitely going to take each week one week at a time, but we have some goals to be top three in our conference and top three in our sectional, and we are looking to have our first winning season since 2013,” North coach Matt Joyce said. “Then, our kids have some pretty big individual goals.”
Sophomore Jason Shuey, a semistate qualifier at 120, moves to 126. Junior Liam Phillips, who moves from 145 to 152; senior Bryce Abner, who jumps from 152 to 195; and junior Cody Thurnall, who returns at 285, were regional qualifiers.
Junior Jaedin Richards moves from 152 to 138, and senior Jared Slocum at 182, is back after sitting out last season. Stepping into the lineup are freshman Liam Curfman at 106, freshman Bryce Hawkins at 113, freshman Wyatt Clark at 120, freshman Justice Thornton at 132, sophomore Josiah Green at 145, freshman Luke Spurgeon at 160, sophomore Keller DeSpain at 171 and sophomore Alex Lozano at 220.
“We have a lot of talented kids coming back, and we have a couple of really good seniors,” Joyce said. “Then we have some strong juniors. We have some older guys leading, and then we have some younger guys peppered in the mix, as well.”
Jennings County
The Panthers, who finished fifth in the HHC and third in the sectional last year, will have a large team with 47 wrestlers.
“We have a really good, hard-working group,” Jennings coach Jeff Morrison said. “We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores out for the team, so that’s good.”
A pair of regional qualifiers return in sophomores Jonah Mathews at 132 and Chris Hernandez, who moves from 170 to 160.
Senior Alexis Giltner moves from 120 to at 126, junior Evan Sochacki returns at 138 and sophomore R.J. Barberis moves from 152 to at 145. Junior Teagan Trotter moves from 160 to 182, and senior Gage Gasper moves from 285 to 220.
Stepping into the lineup are freshman Eli Simmons at 106, sophomore Tyler Marksberry at 113, freshman Lane Kirchner at 120, seniors Bryce Barnes or Jayden Umila at 152, senior Colton Ross at 170, senior Chris Kiste at 195 and junior Will Rowlett at 285.
“It seems to be quite a mix,” Morrison said. “We have two freshmen in the lineup and a few seniors, but a couple of them haven’t wrestled a lot of varsity, so we’ll see how it works out.”
Brown County
The Eagles have a new coach in California native Justice Guerrero, who just moved from Phoenix last month.
Guerrero has nine wrestlers, led by senior Lane Mullins, semistate qualifier at 285. Senior Brandon Phelps was a regional qualifier at 160.
The rest of the roster consists of senior Summer Romick at 113, senior Landon Mullis at 145, senior Chris Luckey at 152, junior Clayton Fouts at 170 and sophomore Jesse Fouts and junior Andy Weddle at 182. Junior Ethan Scott could be at 145 or 152 when he returns from an injury.
“We’re a small, but we’re tough,” Guerrero said. “We have a couple of seniors that are pretty good. The know how to work their techniques and bring the intensity. They push each other and want to be better. There are a couple inexperienced people on the team, but they’re getting better. They do a good job of picking each other up.”
