Junior Reese Courtney, top, now in his third season as a starter, is shown competing during last season’s regional at Mooresville.
Senior leadership isn’t always exclusive property of 12th-graders.
Take Center Grove, for instance, which plans to lean heavily on a core of mat-tested juniors who’ll no doubt shoulder much of the responsibility for fifth-year coach Maurice Swain.
This applies to both scoring points and, yes, making them in order for younger members of the team to gain valuable insight.
Along with seniors Hyatt Yeager and Andre Merritt, the Trojans, fresh off last season’s fourth-place team finish at the state meet, boast a five-pronged junior nucleus of Reese Courtney, Noah Clouser, Nate Johnson, Wyatt Krejsa and Charlie LaRocca.
All that group did last season was combine for a 163-34 record.
Krejsa and Johnson advanced to state in the 132- and 285-pound weight classes, respectively, with Krejsa picking up a fifth-place medal. The other three were one victory from competing inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but each lost in the ticket round of the semistate at Evansville.
In recent seasons, Drake Buchanan and Hayden Watson, both four-year starters from 2018-22, could be counted on to set the tone for the practice room.
“Right away last spring we let this group know they were going to be in that leadership role, and they’re doing a good job of it,” Swain said of his juniors. “Initially, it’s maybe a little tough for them, but it’s a learning process. We have each type of leader that we need.”
Krejsa is among the most vocal along with Clouser, who competed at 170 pounds last season.
“It’s all just come so fast,” said Krejsa, who transferred to Center Grove prior to the 2021-22 school year after previously being part of the Delta school system in Muncie. “Last year I was the new kid, and now I’ve been thrust into that leadership role.
“Most the time during summer practices, coach Swain was saying that we need some leaders, and we need them now.”
Meanwhile, Courtney (a 120-pounder as a sophomore and a state finalist at 113 as a freshman) leads more by example, while LaRocca (106) is known for his laser focus while training and the mullet-driven Johnson occasionally offers his brand of levity.
Merritt and Johnson, starters on Center Grove’s football team, will get late starts on the mat since they are now preparing to face Cathedral in Friday’s night’s Class 6A semistate.
Having started the second half of his prep career, Courtney likes being counted on as one of his team’s leaders.
“My whole goal is to work hard, but to also have some fun in trying to get better,” Courtney said. “This season has already been a blast. The attitude that everyone has coming into practice is more exciting than in years before.
“We’re ready to be leaders, and we’ve been ready for it. We know what to expect.”
SCOUTING THE COUNTY
Center Grove Trojans
Coach: Maurice Swain
Last season: Won MIC and sectional championships; regional runner-up, third at semistate, fourth at state finals
Key returnees: Andre Merritt and Hyatt Yeager, seniors; Noah Clouser, Reese Courtney, Nate Johnson, Wyatt Krejsa, Charlie LaRocca and Kaden McConnell, juniors; Eddie Goss, Silas Stits and Julian Weems, sophomore
Outlook: Despite graduating two state champions, the Trojans remain strong in most, if not all, weight classes. Three state finalists return in Krejsa, who was fifth at 132 pounds, and Goss, who placed eighth at 113. Johnson, meanwhile, advanced at 285 pounds, losing in the opening round. Meanwhile, six others advanced to semistate competition in Evansville, with LaRocca (106), Courtney (120), Merritt (152) and Clouser (170) making it to the second round.
“We like our team. We like the number of new guys that we have in the room,” said Swain, now in his fifth season. “We like the leadership that we have from our returning starters and our older wrestlers. Our expectations are to compete to the best of our ability and to exhibit good attitude and effort throughout the season.”
Franklin Grizzly Cubs
Coach: Jim Tonte
Last season: County and sectional runner-up, fifth at regional
Key returnees: Luke Bechert and Ryan Million, juniors; Alex Leugers, Colten Stevens, Owen Trimpe and Aiden Woods, sophomores.
Top newcomers: Noah Stevenson, senior; Jed Brown, Brayden Isley, Kaleb Owens and Brody Stephens, juniors
Outlook: Bechert and Million, regional qualifiers last winter, lead a very young group of Grizzly Cubs that could include one senior in Stevenson. Last season’s squad finished second in the Johnson County and Mid-State Conference meets.
“We are a very young group and will be for the next few years. We have a group of young, hard-working kids who just lack varsity experience,” Tonte said. “We have one of the toughest schedules in the state, so they will see top-level competition all year.”
Greenwood Woodmen
Coach: Jay Yates
Last season: Fifth in Johnson County meet, eighth in Mid-State Conference, ninth at sectional.
Key returnees: Gavin Rice, senior; Oren Fiesel, Gabe Folco and Landon Maxwell, juniors; Jordan Jewell and Michael Schrader, sophomores.
Top newcomers: Carson Andreas and Jackson Frahm, freshmen
Outlook: Let the numbers show that the Woodmen are poised to make strides after failing to advance anyone to the sectional semifinal round a year ago.
“This year’s team has 10 freshmen, which is the highest amount of freshmen Greenwood has had in over a decade,” Yates said. “We have a core group that wrestled a lot in the offseason, and have several kids looking to make it out of sectionals this year. As a team we should be more competitive at the county, conference and sectionals than the last couple of seasons.”
Indian Creek Braves
Coach: Pat Dowty
Last season: Western Indiana Conference runner-up; sixth at sectional, 10th at regional
Key returnees: Breyden Bruner, Matthew Buzzard, Jackson Heaston and Carson Ringer, seniors; Brock Bragg, Landon Craig, Phoebe Dowty, Curtis Gault, Jackson Neibert, Logan Porter and Hannah Seitzinger, juniors; Will Beaver, Jude Heaston, Logan Lindsey, Luke Neibert and Elias Strouse, sophomores.
Top newcomers: Chelsea Guernsey, junior; Nick Jackson, sophomore; Libby Dowty and Oliver Hallet, freshmen
Outlook: Jackson Heaston returns for his final season and will no doubt be among the focal points of this squad after placing seventh at 113 pounds at the state meet. Luke Neibert, meanwhile, experienced a deep run of his own last winter by advancing to the Evansville Semistate as a ninth-grader in the 106-pound class. Freshman Hallet, a two-time state middle school state champion, is expected to step right into the starting lineup, likely as a 160-pounder.
“This team will be better than last year because the whole varsity team is back except for one person,” Dowty said. “We had a lot more guys doing offseason wrestling that will be much better than last year. This includes Jackson and Jude Heaston, and Luke and Jackson Neibert, Phoebe Dowty and Hannah Seitzinger, Logan Porter and newcomers Libby Dowty and Oliver Hallet.”
Whiteland Warriors
Coach: Anthony Meister
Last season: Third in Mid-State Conference, sectional and regional; 10th at semistate
Key returnees: Sam Allen, Eli Brooks, Joey Buttler, Blake Driver, Keegan Grandinetti, Jakarrey Oliver, Vincent Tinoco and Cooper Williams, seniors.
Top newcomers: Dominic Brown and Damian Romero, freshmen
Outlook: Four-year starter Buttler, the reigning state runner-up at 126 pounds, leads a squad that isn’t exactly lacking in big-match, big-meet experience. Brooks lost in the first round of state finals at 132; four of his teammates had their respective seasons come to an end in the first round of semistate in Tinoco (170), Allen (195), Oliver (220) and Williams (285).
“This team and program have been hard at work over the past couple of years, and we look to build on our success that we had last year,” Meister said. “We are looking to advance more wrestlers to semistate and, ultimately, state.”
