Columbus East’s Colin McMahon, in orange, and Columbus North’s Jose Ramirez wrestle for the 190-pound weight class sectional title during the IHSAA wrestling sectional at Jennings County High School in North Vernon, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. McMahon defeated Ramirez to take the title.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
NORTH VERNON — Columbus East hasn’t had many close calls when it comes to its sectional wrestling streak that has stretched nearly a decade now.
The Olympians, however, had one of their tightest battles in recent years, however, thanks to the addition of Franklin to the Jennings County Sectional and an improved Columbus North squad. East scored 223 points, while the Grizzly Cubs edged the Bull Dogs 193.5 to 190 for second.
The sectional title is the ninth in a row for the Olympians.
“I wouldn’t say any of them are easy,” East coach Chris Cooper said. “There are days when we’ve wrestled well and won by a large margin. But every single time, it’s hard. I told our guys right before we took the team picture that we probably weren’t at our best today, and they realized that. It’s a credit to them for all the work they put in every day, consistent work, that we can not be at our best exactly and still win that as a team. So I’m excited for them. It’s a great group of guys with incredible work ethic. Anything you could ask for from a coach, this team has it.”
The Olympians had four champions, and North had three, giving Columbus half the titles among the 14 weight classes. Both teams advanced 10 individuals to next week’s Jeffersonville Regional with top-four finishes.
East’s Talon Jessup scored two first-period pins and then a major decision in the final to take the 106-pound class. Caleb Cooper (144) and Nate Anderson (150) each scored two pins, followed by a decision in the final. Colin McMahon won a decision and two pins, the second coming against North’s Jose Ramirez in the 190-pound final.
The Bull Dogs’ Justice Thornton won two pins before edging Jennings’ Lane Kirchner 2-0 in the 138-pound final. North’s Asher Ratliff had a pin, a major decision and a decision to take the 157-pound class. Keller DeSpain scored a pin and a decision before pinning East’s Tyler Lake in the 175-pound final.
East’s Ethan Poling (113), Gage Rutan (126) and Clayton Miller (165) also finished second. Caleb Kirkpatrick (138) and Lincoln Cooper (157) each took third.
“We’ve been working all year, putting in all the work at tournaments, and every single time, we come back and get better,” Jessup said. “That’s the best part about this team. Sure, winning the team championship helps, but each individual guy contributes to that. Even these JV guys are here to support us, they really are a big part of this team and help us get better.”
North’s Cohen Long (132) finished second. Luke Spurgeon (150) and Evan Saevre (165) took third. Nolan Riley (106), Josiah Green (144) and Alex Lozano (285) were fourth.
The Bull Dogs suffered a big blow on Thursday when senior 126-pounder Jason Shuey, a semistate qualifier last season, sustained a concussion in practice and was unable to compete on Saturday.
“We’re down two weight classes today, so for us to get 10 out of 12 through is a pretty good ratio, and to have three champs, that’s big,” North coach Matt Joyce said. “We had a couple other guys that had tight matches in the finals, so they’ll be geared up and ready to go for next week. I’m pretty happy with the way the guys competed.”
The host Panthers finished fifth out of 13 teams with 104 points and advanced six wrestlers to regional.
Along with Lane Kirchner, Kamron Carney (285) was a runner-up. Luke Kirchner (120) and Chris Hernandez (175) each finished third, and Sam Hernandez (190) and Xavior Gindhart (215) were fourth.
“I’m happy,” Jennings coach Jeff Morrison said. “We got two guys in the championship, so not too bad of a day. The competition here at this sectional was the best I’ve seen it, so it was a very tough day.”
