East, North look to build on big wrestling seasons

The 2021-22 wrestling season was a big one for Columbus schools.

Columbus East won the IHSWCA State Duals Class 3A title and won its seventh consecutive sectional and sixth straight regional titles. Columbus North finished second in the sectional for the first time since 2012.

Here is a look at those schools, along with two teams that open up their seasons this week — Jennings County and Brown County.

Columbus East

The Olympians were hit hard by graduation, losing nine semistate qualifers and the 160-pound state runner-up and Republic Wrestler of the Year Kade Law, who now wrestles for Purdue. But veteran coach Chris Cooper expects East to once again contend for conference, sectional and regional titles.

“I think our expectation at this point is to kind of reload,” Cooper said. “It’s kind of the next-man-up mentality. We had a great big senior class last year, but we have just as big of a senior class this year. There’s a lot of leadership still on the team. I think this is going to be a year where some of the guys that have been behind some of the older guys the last couple of years will get a chance to shine.”

Senior Tommy Morrill was a state qualifier at 220 last year. Senior Liam Krueger was a state qualifier as a sophomore before falling in the ticket round at 113 in last year’s semistate.

Junior Nate Anderson was a semistate qualifier at 132 and will move up to 145 this season. Senior Bo Wagner was a semistate qualifier at 126 and moves up to 132 or 138. Seniors Braden Isbell (132/138) and Patrick McMahon (285) also wrestled some varsity last season.

Freshman Talon Jessup will step in at 106, and freshman Aiden Miller will be at 113 or 120 — whichever one of those classes Krueger doesn’t end up. Freshman Caleb Cooper or sophomore Gage Rutan will be at 126, and senior Cam Crider or freshman Caleb Kirkpatrick will be at 152. Junior Hunter Lashley or Crider will take over at 160, with senior Mitch Williams at 170, junior Tyler Lake at 182 and senior Jackson Fox at 195.

“Guys are going to get their opportunity this year,” Chris Cooper said. “Guys like Jackson Fox and Tyler Lake, they’re pretty good wrestlers. It might be the first time in the varsity lineup, but they’ve been battling in that room for some time. There are some guys that might not be real well known around the state, but they could surprise some people this year.”

The Olympians open the season Dec. 1 at Seymour. They have not qualified for this year’s State Duals, which are Jan. 7 at Franklin, but could contend for a spot with good early season showings against Franklin and against Terre Haute South in the East 8-Way tournament.

“I think we have a pretty solid team,” Chris Cooper said. “The goal is just to get 1 percent better every day. That’s what we talk about every drill, every practice, every day. I think if we can do that, we’ll put a good squad out there.”

Columbus North

The Bull Dogs have high hopes after finishing second in both Conference Indiana and the Jennings County Sectional.

“I think there are going to be some pretty tough battles,” North coach Matt Joyce said. “We’re going to wrestle our hardest and just see where we land, but we have goals of being top two at those places again, with the ultimate goal of winning both of them.”

Columbus North’s Justice Thornton, left, reverses his position against Columbus East’s Noah Lykins during their 126-pound match at Columbus North High School.

The Republic file photo

Sophomore Justice Thornton, who fell in the ticket round at semistate at 126, will move to 132 or 138. Senior Liam Phillips, who moves from 152 to 160, and junior Keller DeSpain (170) also were semistate qualifiers. Sophomore Liam Curfman was a semistate qualifier at 106, but is not sure if he will wrestle this season.

Sophomore Bryce Hawkins (113), junior Jason Shuey (132), junior Josiah Green (145), junior Alex Lozano (220) and senior Cody Thurnall (285) were regional qualifiers last season, but all are facing battles to retain varsity spots.

Freshman Nolan Riley takes over at 106, and freshman Caleb Barr and sophomore Savannah Fellows are battling at 113. Sophomores Joseph Cloud and Hawkins will be at 120 or 126.

There is a logjam in the middle weights. Thornton and Shuey will be at 132 or 138. Green returns at 145, but is facing stiff challenges from freshman Asher Ratliff and sophomore newcomer Jackson Haston.

“We’ve been working on getting them spread out some, but that’s where we’re at right now,” Joyce said. “A lot of it is going to kind of be determined by where our body composition readings come out next week. We have quite a few football players. They want to keep that size on for football, so there may be some shifting up for some of them, too.”

Sophomore Evan Saevre returns at 152, where he is battling freshman Jaiden Newland at 152. Sophomore Jose Ramirez is back at 182. Junior Bryce Luttrell a move-in from West Virginia, steps in at 195. Lozano or sophomores Keyshon Osborne or Jon Morales will be at 220, and Thurnall and Brian Avila are battling at 285.

“We have another good strong, young group,” Joyce said. “They’re looking great. They’ve come in and really hit the ground running. We just got our football guys in this week, so they’re making adjustments and getting into wrestling mode.”

Jennings County

The Panthers will look to improve on a fourth-place finish in the Hoosier Hills Conference and a third in its own sectional.

“We’re much more experienced this year and much more competitive in the weight room,” Jennings coach Jeff Morrison said. “We depended on a lot of sophomores last year, so this year, we have a lot of juniors, and that’s a little better.”

Sophomore Lane Kirchner was a semistate qualifier at 120 and will move up to 126 or 132. Senior Teagan Trotter was a semistate qualifier at 170 and could be there or at 182. Senior Evan Sochacki was a regional qualifier at 138 and moves to 145.

Junior Jonah Matthews moves from 132 to 138, and junior R.J. Barberis moves from 145 to 152. Junior Chris Hernandez, who was at 160, will be there or at 170. Senior Vincent Pittman moves from 195 to 220 or 285.

Freshman Logan Pike takes over at 106, and junior James Hatton will be at 120. Freshman Daniel Rodriguez will be at 126 if Lane Kirchner is at 132. Junior Aiden Kirchner or sophomore James Hayden will be at 160 or 170, whichever place Chris Hernandez doesn’t land.

Freshman Sam Hernandez steps in at 182 or 195. Sophomore Xavior Gindhart will be at 195 or 220, and senior Will Rowlett will take over at 285 if Pittman is at 220. The Panthers currently do not have a 113-pounder.

“We have some talent, and we have a lot of guys behind them to push those guys to make it a lot more challenging this year,” Morrison said.

Brown County

After having only three wrestlers last year — all of which graduated — the Eagles have 11 newcomers to begin this season.

“We have a few athletes from other sports that they decided they wanted to give wrestling a try,” second-year coach Justice Guerrero said. “We have some incoming freshman that are experienced wrestlers and a couple transfers that are new to the area.”

Juniors Charlie Webb and Mikey Kobiernik will be at 132 or 138, and possibly even get down to 126 by the end of the season. Freshman Eddie Kraus steps in at 138 or 145, and freshman P.J. McMasters and sophomore Dylan Alfrey will be at 145 or 152.

Freshman Jovi Nabors takes over at 160, and senior Caelen Stanley and junior Aaron Woodrum will be at 170 or 182. Sophomore Liam Cassiday steps in at 182 or 195. Freshman Jackson Reed will be at 195 and junior Caleb Knaus will be at 195 or 220.

“I’ve been really pleased with the progress they’ve made,” Guerrero said. “The kids are excited to learn. Their technique is getting down pretty well.”

The 2022-23 wrestling schedules for Columbus East and Columbus North: 

Columbus East 

Dec. 1;at Seymour;6:30 p.m.

Dec. 3;at Jeffersonville Duals;8:30 a.m.

Dec. 8;Franklin;6:30 p.m.

Dec. 10;at Perry Meridian Falcon Duals;9 a.m.

Dec. 14;Columbus North;6:30 p.m.

Dec. 17;East 8-Way;9 a.m.

Dec. 28-29;at Mishawaka Al Smith Tournament;10 a.m.

Jan. 4;Cathedral;6 p.m.

Jan. 11;at Bloomington South;6:30 p.m.

Jan. 14;HHC;9 a.m.

Jan. 20;at Brownsburg;6:30 p.m.

Columbus North 

Nov. 23;at Jeffersonville Turkey Tussle;9 a.m.

Dec. 3;at Bloomington North Invitational;9 a.m.

Dec. 10;North Duals;9 a.m.

Dec. 14;at Columbus East;6:30 p.m.

Dec. 17;at East Central Invitational;9 a.m.

Dec. 23;ECIC Tournament at Jay County;9 a.m.

Dec. 29-30;at Connersville Spartan Classic;9 a.m.

Jan. 3;at Seymour;5 p.m.

Jan. 7;Old Capital City Classic at Corydon Central;8 a.m.

Jan. 10;Jennings County;6:30 p.m.

Jan. 14;Conference Indiana at Southport;9 a.m.

Jan. 19;Bedford North Lawrence;6:30 p.m.