The hype surrounding Brayden Littell’s wrestling skills began months before he entered the ring for his first match this season.
It was a lot of pressure, but Littell, a Center Grove junior, welcomed it.
“I was kind of confused by it because just the fact I wasn’t there for two seasons, so they really hadn’t seen me wrestle,” said Littell, who wrestled the first part of his freshman year at Perry Meridian, transferred to Center Grove in the middle of the 2016-17 school year and sat out last season after undergoing MCL and ACL reconstruction on his right knee.
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“But it also lifted a little bit of weight off my shoulders. I think I am pretty good, and if everybody else thinks so, it made me work harder for it.”
Predictions about Littell proved spot on. He won all 44 of his matches, established a new Trojans single-season standard for pins and, oh yes, won the state championship in the 120-pound weight class.
Littell’s dominance earned him the honor of being named the Daily Journal’s Wrestler of the Year.
The junior’s 30 pins this season eclipsed the mark of 29 that Center Grove’s previous state titlist, Sean Mappes, set during the 2011-12 season. Mappes still holds the single-season mark for victories (46), though Littell and teammate Peyton Pruett, a fifth-place state finisher at 160 pounds in February, are in a three-way tie for second with Shelby Mappes (2008-09).
“Brayden’s got amazing talent,” Center Grove coach Maurice Swain said. “The big improvement for him over the season was keeping that confidence all year, and maintaining it through the state tournament.
“The physical part with his knee, that was never an issue all year. It had been a long enough time for him to recover.”
In the postseason, Littell’s dominance was evident at the Mooresville Sectional and Evansville Reitz Semistate. Even while battling a nasty flu bug at regional, Littell pinned his first-round foe, won the semifinal 3-0 and the title match 1-0.
“That Monday I didn’t practice because I was throwing up and was doing it through the week,” Littell said. “And after every (regional) match I threw up. It was awful. I threw up a lot during regionals.”
He pinned his first two semistate opponents to cruise into the semifinals, where he downed Evansville Mater Dei sophomore Blake Boarman, 6-2. That set up a championship showdown against his regional final opponent, Brownsburg’s Kysen Montgomery, with Littell prevailing, 3-0.
All three advanced to the semifinals of the state meet, with Littell again defeating Boarman, 9-3, in the title match at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Asked which surprised him more, going undefeated or recording 30 pins, Littell thought for a moment before responding.
“I would say the 44-0 because not many people can do that,” he said. “And we wrestle good teams.”
Littell expects to compete at 126 pounds next season, though there’s always the chance he could jump two weight classes. He wants to improve his quickness and get stronger on his neutral takedowns between now and the start of his senior season.
Again, Littell’s reputation promises to precede him.
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The 2019 All-County wrestling team:
Drake Buchanan, Center Grove freshman: Finished 23-10 at 138 pounds … Johnson County champion … advanced to opening round of Evansville Semistate.
Cameron Elmore, Indian Creek junior: County champion at 285 pounds … Advanced to quarterfinals of Evansville Semistate … Finished with a 21-11 record.
Tyler Fuqua, Franklin sophomore: County champion at 132 pounds … Made it to Evansville Semistate, losing in first round … Posted a 28-9 record.
Jordan Latham, Center Grove senior: Was a semistate qualifier at 170 pounds for the Trojans … Placed third in sectional and fourth in regional.
Brayden Littell, Center Grove junior: Won county, MIC and state championships at 120 pounds … 44-0 record tied for second in school history for wins in a season … 30 pins set new single-season standard at Center Grove.
Peyton Pruett, Center Grove senior: County and MIC champion … Finished fifth in state at 160 pounds … Posted a 44-2 record … County, sectional and regional champion.
Owen Sego, Indian Creek junior: County and Western Indiana Conference champion … Qualified for semistate, where he made it to semifinals at 138 … Finished with a 29-6 record.
Michael Tharpe, Center Grove freshman: Finished with a 26-11 record at 106 pounds … County champion … Advanced to quarterfinals of Evansville semistate … Sectional champion and regional runner-up.
Jalen Ward, Franklin sophomore: Wrapped up season at semistate, where he made quarterfinals at 170 pounds … County champion who finished with a 23-15 record.
Hayden Watson, Center Grove freshman: Wrestled in the 113-pound division, finishing the season at 34-4 … County champion … made it to quarterfinals of Evansville Semistate.
Nick Willham, Greenwood senior: State runner-up at 195 pounds … County, conference, sectional and regional champion … Had 16 pins this season and 47 for career … four-year starter with a career record of 124-36.
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