MALE
Sam Morrill // Columbus East senior wrestler
Morrill won his first two matches by first-period pin, then earned a major decision in the semifinals and a decision in the final to win the 170-pound weight class in the Jasper Semistate and lead the Olympians to a sixth-place team finish.
His performance last week: “I think I wrestled great. I was nervous before my matches, but I wrestled some of my best matches this year.”
Do you do anything special to prepare? “I pace back and forth, and I just try to focus on what I will do at the start of the match.”
Favorite drink: “Sweet tea”
Favorite food: “Ramen noodles”
Favorite class: “Astronomy”
Favorite sports team: “Chicago Bears”
Favorite athlete: “Graham and Cayden Rooks”
Role model: “My coach (Chris Cooper)”
Best advice: “Trust the process.”
Athletics goal: “I want to win state.”
If you could travel anywhere: “Probably Japan, because the culture is very different, and I think it would be very cool to visit.”
FEMALE
Elise LaSell // Columbus East senior gymnast
LaSell won the all-around competition with a 33.35 and also won the floor (8.9) and finished second on the vault (8.5) and bars (7.7) and fifth on the beam (8.25) to lead the Olympians to a second-place finish in a tri meet at Bloomington South.
Her performance last week: “My goal for every meet is to just do my best and help my team in any way I can, but it’s always nice to come out with an all-around win.”
Do you do anything special to prepare? “I watch my routines from previous meets to know what I can do better, and then I always pray before every event.”
Favorite drink: “Cherry coke”
Favorite food: “Grilled cheese”
Favorite class: “Newspaper or business management”
Favorite sports team: “UCLA gymnastics”
Favorite athlete: “Shawn Johnson”
Role model: “My grandma (Linda Lewis)”
Best advice: “To do what you know you can do.”
Athletics goal: “To go as far as I can in the postseason, and hopefully, that means I can make it to state.”
If you could travel anywhere: “I’ve already been to five countries in Europe, so I’d probably want to go to Australia or some tropical island since I’ve never been anywhere like that.”
