Franklin senior Jacob Johnson, right, shown wrestling top-ranked Leighton Jones of Brownsburg in regional competition, returns to the state finals for a third consecutive season.
Daily Journal file photo
Jacob Johnson won’t be the tallest or heaviest of the 16 wrestlers qualified for the state finals in the 285-pound division.
If anything, the Franklin senior finds himself at or near the opposite end of the spectrum in both categories.
Standing 5-foot-9 and somewhere in the 255- to 260-pound range, Johnson, making his third and final visit to Gainbridge Fieldhouse as a state finalist, is the very definition of low center of gravity.
Anchored by legs capable of squatting 545 pounds, Johnson, ranked fifth in the state, feels he has positioned himself for a deep run this weekend — one that could possibly conclude with him wrestling under the spotlight in Saturday night’s championship match.
“Our expectations are nothing short of winning a state title,” Grizzly Cubs coach Jim Tonte said. “It’s Jacob’s third time there, so from a preparation standpoint he’s wrestled the best competition in the state. But it’s got to be one match at a time.
“Jacob is so deceiving and has great footwork. He’s got pretty good technique in all areas.”
Johnson, eliminated in the opening round of state at 285 as a sophomore and junior, takes a 38-3 record to the mat today against Merrillville senior Theodore Sparks (33-5), who is ranked 14th.
Should he win, he’ll return Saturday morning for quarterfinal competition against the winner of today’s match between No. 9 Makhi Watts of North Central (35-5) and 13th-ranked Brayden Jellison (33-8), a junior from Elkhart.
Johnson, who has verbally committed to wrestle at the University of Indianapolis, feels he’s better prepared for success than in his previous trips to state.
“The difference is this year a lot of things have clicked and my wrestling has gotten a lot better,” said Johnson, who owns a career record of 113-30. “I’ve been practicing with a lot of my coaches, and I feel I’m more prepared for the guys I’ll see at the state finals.”
As a sophomore, Johnson weighed approximately 240 pounds; he was around 250 last season.
“The added weight this season definitely helps,” said Johnson, who carries a 3.4 grade-point average and plans to major in exercise science at UIndy. “My legs have gotten a lot bigger, so it’s hard for opponents to grab my legs and take me down.”
The lone regular-season blemish on Johnson’s record is a 7-4 loss to Evansville Mater Dei senior James Ralph; he lost, 1-0, to top-ranked Brownsburg senior Leighton Jones in the championship match at the Mooresville Regional and was pinned by Jones last week in the final of the Evansville Mater Dei Semistate.
Johnson and Jones are on opposite ends of the finals bracketing. The only way they could meet for a third time in as many weeks is in the championship match, an opportunity Johnson hopes presents itself.
One of 11 Johnson County wrestlers qualified for state, Johnson knows he must take every opponent seriously if he’s going to have a chance at achieving his goal of state champion.
“The draw came out on Sunday, and my mood going into the finals is better than it’s ever been,” Johnson said. “It’s completely mental. I need to go into every match like I’m facing a state champion. Like coach Tonte always says, respect all, but fear none.
“It’s always the same mindset with me.”
