Columbus East’s Patrick McMahon wrestles Cathedral’s Hosia Smith in the 285-pound match at Columbus East, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2022.
The Republic file photo
Patrick McMahon has hit his stride so far this season.
The Columbus East senior has been one of the many bright spots for the wrestling team. After not having a ton of varsity experience his first three years, his hard work has paid off, and he has become of the top wrestlers in his 285-pound weight class with a couple of weeks to go before the postseason.
McMahon learned a lot from his predecessor at 285, Ashton Hartwell, who was a sectional and regional champion and was a state qualifier last year as a senior. With Hartwell’s graduation, it was McMahon’s turn to show case his talent. He hasn’t disappointed.
One of the biggest things McMahon learned from Hartwell was willing to get into a lot of different positions that many guys can’t.
“He was very comfortable and very good with having a little bit of everything,” McMahon said. “You see with a lot of guys, they’ll have one area that they’re pretty good at. Once you get them out of that position, they’re really uncomfortable, but I’ve learned to be OK with or potentially pretty good. That’s were you’ll find the cracks in their foundations.”
Currently sitting at No. 17 in the indianamat.com rankings at 285, he’s beaten a couple wrestlers ranked ahead of him. The most recent was eighth-ranked Hosia Smith of Cathedral, who was ranked No. 3 at the time.
“He absolutely has to battle, and it has been paying off for him this year. He’s starting to wrestle very well,” East coach Chris Cooper said. “He’s got some big wins, so he’s got to feel excited about that moving forward. I think of all of that is a tribute to all of the practice partners he’s had. At no point in time ever does he come and have an easy day at practice because he’s got to battle and grind.”
Patrick McMahon
McMahon is the eldest son and third-oldest out of 10 total siblings. His brother Colin, an eighth-grader will likely be on the wrestling team next year. Another brother Henry, a seventh-grader, just started to pick up wrestling. His youngest brother Joseph hasn’t started wrestling yet, but could in the future.
Patrick McMahon said he didn’t start getting serious with wrestling until he reached the seventh grade.
McMahon has a big tuneup tournament in the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament on Saturday that will be hosted at East this year, then off to the Jennings County Sectional on Jan. 28.
McMahon has many goals before the conclusion of his senior year. One of his biggest ones is making the school’s Wall of Fame and getting to the state finals. He has learned one big thing about being a wrestler during his time with the Olympians program.
“There is inevitably going to be times that it’s going to be the worst experience,” McMahon said. “It is going to hurt. You are going to be tired. You are not going to want to continue doing it. You’re going to want to quit, but, if you stick with it, you find something. Whether it be the team, whether it be your friends on the team, you’ve got to find something that is not (just about) the wrestling to get you through the times when the wrestling is bad.”
McMahon has plenty of drive and determination to make a name for himself during the postseason.
“He wants to think of himself as a state-ranked kid. His expectations is not like, ‘I’m now varsity, and feel it out for my first time.’ He doesn’t have time. He’s a senior. He wants to jump in right away. He wants to be known around the state,” Cooper said. “He fully expects himself to get right in the lineup and do the same thing that we had guys do in the past. There’s Sean Galliger and Rob McKee and Ashton Hartwell and these state placers and good 285-pounders that we’ve had. He wants his name to be a part of that list.”
