Center Grove’s Royce Deckard reacts after winning his 220-pound match against Whiteland’s Jakarrey Oliver at the Johnson County tournament on Saturday.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
Twenty-one points.
Center Grove wrestling coach Maurice Swain might have taken issue had his fourth-ranked squad surrendered that amount in a midweek dual meet, only this was far from the case.
Rather, it represents how many total points the Trojans allowed against four opponents Saturday at the annual Johnson County tournament at Indian Creek. Center Grove rolled up a sum of 280 points in lopsided victories over the host Braves, Whiteland, Greenwood and Franklin.
“Our guys have been hungry. We’ve been putting in a whole lot of work the last few years with these guys in the offseason,” Swain said. “We’ve been expecting to really jump another level this year, and as of right now, we kind of have.
“Now we have to jump to another level going to the Al Smith (Invitational in Mishawaka on Dec. 29-30), the postseason and all that stuff.”
Ten of the day’s 14 individual champions donned the red, white and black singlet, led by sophomore 106-pounder Charlie LaRocca, who took home Wrestler of the Meet honors.
Joining LaRocca as best in his weight class were teammates Reese Courtney (120), Wyatt Krejsa (132), Silas Stits (138), Hayden Watson (145), Julian Weems (160), Noah Clouser (170), Drake Buchanan (182), Ronnie Thompson (195) and Royce Deckard III (220).
LaRocca posted one of eight pins the Trojans had in defeating the Grizzly Cubs in the final match, 63-9.
”(Wrestler of the Meet) is not something I came in wanting, but throughout the day I realized it was probably a great possibility that I could get it,” said LaRocca, who entered competition ranked 11th in the state at 106. “That last match, I was really looking to get out quick and get the fall.”
The origins of Saturday’s performance by Center Grove are in the school’s wrestling room.
“I feel like our room is probably the hardest-working room in the state,” LaRocca said. “We go every day and we never stop. Everybody is high intensity, high pace, so I just feel like we were best prepared to do this today.”
The 220-pound division featured sixth-ranked Jakkarey Oliver and No. 14 Nolan Skaggs of Franklin, yet it was Deckard prevailing in the end.
“I think Trey … we call him that because he’s Royce Deckard III, he beat two highly-ranked guys today, was 4-0 and had a great day,” Swain said. “We had a lot of guys who had good days.”
Indian Creek junior Jackson Heaston lived up to his No. 7 ranking at 113 pounds, winning that division. Another junior, Whiteland’s Joey Buttler, billed as the state’s fourth-best 126-pounder, picked up his second county championship to go along with the one he won as a freshman.
Buttler prevailed despite struggling with allergies most the day.
“I wasn’t feeling great, but I stuck it out,” Buttler said. “I didn’t have a very good first match, but I won. The next two matches I wrestled smarter because I knew my endurance wasn’t up, and got the wins.”
Franklin wrestlers Jacob Johnson (285) and Jude Barger (152) claimed the other blue ribbons by winning their respective weight classes. The Grizzly Cubs posted a 3-1 mark in team competition and scored 192 points in those matches; Whiteland was 2-2 (126 points), Indian Creek 1-3 (117) and Greenwood 0-4 (41).
