Columbus North’s Asher Ratliff wins the 157-pound weight class sectional title during the IHSAA wrestling sectional at Jennings County High School in North Vernon, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Asher Ratliff feels he has a lot to prove on Saturday.
The Columbus North sophomore will look to seek vengeance and punch his state qualifying ticket when he wrestles in the Evansville Semistate at the Ford Center.
Last year was a tough pill to swallow for Ratliff. He came up one win shy on making it to Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 145 (pounds), falling in the semistate quarerfinals, or the “ticket round,” which is the round that punches a wrestler’s spot in the state finals tournament.
That loss has been in the back of Ratliff’s mind the past 360-plus days.
“No matter how you lose, it hurts. You put in all this work all year, and ultimately, the goal is to go to state, win state and go as far as you can,” Ratliff said. “Losing that opportunity, that feeling can sit with you forever. When this tournament came around, it is not something that you want to feel ever again.”
The ninth-ranked Ratliff (35-2), who will be one of nine Bull Dogs competing on Saturday, looks to put an end to his nightmare when wrestles Martinsville’s 16th-ranked Evan Hamblin (31-5) in opening round at 157 pounds. In the “ticket round,” Ratliff likely would face Floyd Central’s 24th-ranked Noah Banet (30-6), who will face Evansville Mater Dei’s Kaden Farmer (19-17) in the opening bout.
Asher Ratliff
During Saturday’s regional at Jeffersonville, Ratliff broke the school record for most single-season takedowns in a season with 123, breaking Jacob Milenbaugh’s record of 122 in 2009.
“He’s got more maturity. He’s a kid that’s always had the skill… He’s chasing goals outside of winning and losing, which is exactly what I want for all of our wrestlers,” North coach Matt Joyce said. “It was a tough match (last year), it was the toughest draw in the state. Last year, coming second out of regional was rough, but he’s been looking forward to this week for a very long time.”
Ratliff has been used to this type of physicality. He’s been a dual-sport athlete most of his life, participating in football, where he was the starting quarterback last year, to go along with wrestling.
Ratliff said the practices in wrestling and football have their differences.
“The soreness is so much different. After a football game, you feel beat, you’ve got bruises. After a wrestling meet, you wake up and can’t move and your muscles are giving out on you,” Ratliff said. “A lot of muscle stamina in wrestling, and then out on the football field, a lot of cardio and short bursts. In wrestling, it’s being able to exert your whole body and still wrestle to the best of your ability.”
Like Ratliff, many of his wrestling teammates are football players, as well. Joyce and football coach Logan Haston try to make it as convenient as possible for the athletes to try to attend as many practices and workouts as possible.
“We share a lot of athletes, so making sure our schedules are compatible,” Joyce said. “With our sports, it’s impossible for our kids to go to every single thing of both. If they can get to a handful of ours, get to a handful of theirs and get to what they need, then we come out ahead.”
While Ratliff won’t be as nervous when he steps onto the mat at the Ford Center, he will look to rewrite the history on Saturday.
“That’s what you work on. When I was 6 years old, I went to the state finals. As a kid, watching those kids, they look like giants, those high school wrestlers,” Ratliff said. “Now, being one of those guys and being able to be there and wrestle and have all those people watching me, that’s huge. Every night, that’s what I’ve been thinking about.”
