Columbus East’s Tommy Morrill competes against Cathedral’s Jackson Weingart in the 220-pound match at Columbus East, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.
The Republic file photo
The fact that Tommy Morrill qualified for the Wrestling State Finals for the second year in a row didn’t come as much of a shock to those in and around the Columbus East program.
But the Olympians‘ other state qualifier wasn’t even part of the team last year and had never been a full-time varsity wrestler until this season.
“We needed a 195(-pounder), and I was like, ‘Well, Jackson (Fox) didn’t wrestle his junior year,’ and I was like, ‘We need him back for his senior year. He’d be a great asset on the team,’ and I was able to convince him to come back,” Morrill said.
Fox is glad he did. He finished fourth at 182 pounds in Saturday’s Evansville Semistate to qualify for state.
“I’m really happy,” Fox said. “I was on the fence about it after summer. Then, I just started doing it. Most of it was Tommy because he kept pressuring me to come back. He told me to come to a couple practices, and I did, and then I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’m here, and I’m doing it now.”
Morrill, who competes at 220 pounds, and Fox often spar against each other in practice. Fox competed most of the season at 195, but wrestled at 182 in the state duals and in the postseason tournament.
“I was wrestling about 10 to 13 pounds under at 195, so it was pretty difficult, but I did it,” Fox said. “I wrestled Tommy every day in practice, so it didn’t really feel much different.”
Columbus East’s Jackson Fox competes against Madison’s Van Skinner in the 182-pound sectional final match at Jennings County, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023.
The Republic file photo
The 17th-ranked Fox (33-7) will square off against second-ranked D’Alcapon Veazy of Fort Wayne Snider (38-1) in the opening round on Friday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“Getting fourth out of semistate means you’re wrestling the champ from somewhere else,” East coach Chris Cooper said. “Looking at three possibilities, I think this is the best matchup for Jackson by far, style-wise. So we were pretty excited about that one.”
“It could be my last match, so I just have to go out there and do everything I can to win,” Fox added.
Fox won a pair of matches on Saturday to punch his first ticket to state.
“I thought it was pretty cool because I’ve never been to semistate before, and in that second match, I was like ‘Now is my time to shine. I just have to get out there and do it,’” Fox said. “(Qualifying for state) wasn’t really on my mind until halfway through this season. After beating some good kids at some tournaments, I really thought I could.”
Meanwhile, Morrill, a senior, will be making his second appearance at state after falling in the opening round at 220 last year.
“I’d say the most important thing I learned from that is the importance of putting in extra work,” Morrill said. “This year more than any other year, I participated in offseason tournaments, offseason duals, anyoffseason matches I could get. I went to clinics. Finding those opportunities is really where you’ll improve.”
The third-ranked Morrill (38-1) drew 25th-ranked Jayden Bartoszek of Hanover Central (39-7) in the first round at 220. The winner will face either fifth-ranked Keagan Martin (46-2) of Bellmont or seventh-ranked Devin Kendrex (40-4) of Mt. Vernon (Fortville)in Saturday morning’s quarterfinals. Looming in the semifinals likely will be top-ranked Will Clark (34-3) of Crown Point, who handed Morrill his only loss this season, an 11-3 major decision, or second-ranked Brady Beck (41-1) of Rochester.
“Tommy is there to win,” Cooper said. “You don’t have to beat the whole field. You just have to win four matches. It doesn’t matter if you have somebody good Friday or Saturday morning, you can’t control any of that stuff, so we really don’t worry about it at all. We’ve won five state titles since I’ve been here, and three of those five matches, we’ve had tougher matches during the day on Saturday instead of under the lights. I think the top half of that bracket where Tommy is is tougher, but we’re there to win.”
And winning it all is Morrill’s objective.
“Tommy is capable,” Cooper said. “He’s wrestling really well right now. He just has to put together four good matches.”
“I’m excited,” Morrill added. “I don’t see this competition anywhere else, so state is really the finale. I have to bring it all on the mat.”
