Franklin heavyweight looking to make deep state run

<p><strong>O</strong>n a team loaded with talented senior wrestlers, junior Jacob Johnson is one sizeable look at both the present and future for 10th-ranked Franklin.</p><p>Johnson, a state finalist at 285 pounds last season, has built on that experience by gaining confidence and strength, and he’s currently ranked fifth in the state in his weight class.</p><p>He takes a spotless 12-0 record into the Class 3A state duals tournament on Saturday, an event being hosted by the Grizzly Cubs. Johnson, who lost in the opening round of the state finals at Bankers Life Fieldhouse and finished his sophomore season with a 32-10 record, placed fifth at sectional as a ninth-grader and has a career record of 61-23.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>Also a two-year starter at right guard for the Franklin football team, Johnson plans to put in the work necessary to one day wrestle at the collegiate level.</p><p>“It’s just the competitive edge of wrestling,” Johnson said. “The only person you have out there is yourself. Just two grown men out there battling it out.”</p><p>At 248 pounds, Johnson certainly is that. But it wasn’t until his second go-round with the sport that he truly became passionate about it.</p><p>As a fourth-grader, Johnson started wrestling at the suggestion of his teacher, Mrs. Bechert, mother of current Franklin varsity wrestlers Jake and Luke. The physical and mental demands of the sport were something Johnson wasn’t ready to experience on a daily basis.</p><p>“It was the hardest thing I had ever done to that point,” he said.</p><p>Johnson stepped away for a couple of years and decided to try competitive wrestling again the summer before starting seventh grade. This second time proved to be the charm for Johnson, who not only stuck with it but grew to love the sport in ways he had never envisioned.</p><p>He grew into the sport and made his varsity debut during the 2018-19 season, which, as it turned out, was the final season for longtime Grizzly Cubs coach Bob Hasseman, a member of the Indiana Wrestling Hall of Fame.</p><p>Enter his successor, fellow Hall of Famer Jim Tonte, who had coached Perry Meridian and Warren Central to elite status. Johnson hoped his love for wrestling would continue after the coaching change, which he says has been relatively seamless.</p><p>“When I first heard coach Hasseman was retiring, it was hard because we all loved him,” Johnson said. “But coach Tonte has taught me a lot of things. He’s tough on us, but he’s focused on us and helping us get better. I know as long as I pay attention, I should get better and better and better.”</p><p>Johnson’s confident he can not only make it back to state, but go deep into the bracketing.</p><p>Twelve of the 16 finalists in the 285-pound class last February were seniors. There were three juniors and then Johnson, the lone sophomore.</p><p>“Being at state last year just brought a whole lot of energy to me,” he said. “Losing in the first round, it made me want to get back into the wrestling room.”</p>