Indian Creek wrestler Brad Trietsch has spent 13 months looking forward to another chance in the postseason.
After experiencing the anguish of having his junior season cut short due to a knee injury, Trietsch, who has recovered and been in and out of the state rankings in the 138-pound class this season, aspires to make up for lost time.
The Braves participate in the Bloomington North Sectional on Saturday.
“It was pretty devastating,” said Trietsch, who was 27-0 last year before losing the match in which he was injured at the Brown County Invitational. “I considered wrestling in the state tournament with a torn MCL but figured I wasn’t going to get what I wanted, which was a state title.
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“I just rehabbed and started preparing for the next year.”
Due to it being a partial tear, surgery wasn’t required. Instead, Trietsch built the strength in his legs through a combination of body-weight squats and exercises utilizing resistance bands and ankle weights.
He played football this past fall, finishing as Indian Creek’s second-leading receiver with 35 receptions for 653 yards and two touchdowns.
Come November, he still was worried about how the knee would hold up in wrestling situations.
“It was weird. I had definitely lost some feel and speed,” Trietsch said. “But it allowed me to develop some parts to my game that I had neglected before.
“Now that I’ve got most of my feeling and speed back, I think I’m ultimately a better wrestler now.”
Indian Creek coach Pat Dowty looks forward to what he hopes is a long postseason run from his senior, who won all three matches to claim the title in his weight class at last weekend’s Western Indiana Conference meet at Edgewood.
“Brad has just gotten better and better,” Dowty said. “He’s a hard-working kid, so any time I have a kid who works as hard as Brad, I don’t count him out of anything.
“The sky is the limit with him. I’m excited to see how it turns out.”
The same goes for Trietsch.
After having his postseason dreams snatched away last winter, he’s aiming for the loftiest perch on the podium inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
“It will take a lot of hard work, but everything to this point has been preparation for sectional,” Trietsch said. “Then the real fun starts.”
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A look at some of the top local wrestlers to watch at Saturday’s sectional meets:
Mooresville Sectional
Center Grove: Alex Petro (113), Peyton Pruett (145), Gleason Mappes (160), Jonah Hays (170)
Franklin: Jake Bechert (106), Tyler Fuqua (120), Manny Cheam (285)
Greenwood: Jacob Schrader (160), Nick Willham (170)
Whiteland: Ryan Hammond (220), Garrett Curtis (285)
Bloomington North Sectional
Indian Creek: Trent Watkins (113), Owen Sego (132), Brad Trietsch (138), Grant Goforth (195)
Southport Sectional
Roncalli: Brayden Lowery (113), Alec Viduya (126), Tyce Frieje (132), Elijah Mahan (170), Sam Hansen (195)
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IHSAA wrestling sectionals
Where: Mooresville (Center Grove, Franklin, Greenwood, Whiteland), Bloomington North (Indian Creek), Southport (Roncalli)
When: 9 a.m. Saturday
Tickets: $6 at each site
Advancement: The top four wrestlers in each weight class at each sectional move on to the Feb. 3 regionals.
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