Center Grove’s Charlie LaRocca celebrates his win in the 113-pound championship match at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Saturday.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
INDIANAPOLIS
A weekend that began with one of the greatest days in the history of Johnson County wrestling managed to take it up a notch.
The 85th annual state finals featured seven locals making it to the championship match Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, including two in the same weight class.
Center Grove, which qualified a program-record 12 individuals — five of whom advanced to the final match — added Charlie LaRocca to its impressive scroll of state champions with the junior capturing the 113-pound division. Whiteland senior Joey Buttler also enjoyed his view from atop the podium after winning the 132 class.
The Trojans also broke new ground in the team standings. By racking up 131 points, coach Maurice Swain’s squad took second to three-time champion Crown Point, which finished with 167.
“It’s been exciting. It’s been a lot of hard work, and the guys have been putting themselves in a position to compete at a high level,” said Swain, whose 2021-22 team held the previous best finish (fourth) in Center Grove history. “It’s been fun, and it’s also obviously been one of those rides where you don’t want it to end.”
LaRocca capped a 42-2 season by defeating Indian Creek senior Jackson Heaston, 3-1. He had previously won over Heaston, 8-2, in the championship match of the Evansville Semistate.
Familiarization has its benefits, LaRocca said, but there is more to it.
“Just treat every opponent the same. It really makes no difference how many times you wrestle a guy,” LaRocca said. “What matters is if you beat him in six minutes, and I got that done tonight.”
Buttler, who had already scored a pair of hard-fought 3-1 wins over Brownsburg junior Brady Ison this postseason, shared the spotlight — literally and figuratively — with Ison a third time. Buttler won, 6-3.
Driving Buttler all season was making it to the final match at 126 as a junior before losing to Crown Point’s Logan Frazier, 5-3.
“That really motivated me because I knew I was so close, but being close doesn’t matter,” said Buttler, who finished this season with a 45-0 record. “That really, really pushed me this last year. I always expect to be dominant, but I didn’t expect anything like this.”
Four of the Trojans’ other wrestlers made it to the title match, only to fall short.
Senior Hyatt Yeager, a first-time state qualifier, won his first-round match Friday, and then just continued on before losing to undefeated New Castle freshman Tylin Thrine, 5-3, at 126 pounds.
Yeager entered the Mooresville Sectional weeks ago ranked 13th in the state in his weight class.
“These last two days have just been absolutely surreal for me,” said Yeager, who had a 35-9 record. “I didn’t think a lot of people thought I would make it this far, but I did, and even surprised myself at times. It just feels amazing to be here.
“(The spotlight) … it’s just a completely different feeling. It’s one I’ve wanted to achieve since I was 4 or 5 years old. To finally be able to get here and do it is just an absolute privilege.”
Others picking up runner-up medals for Center Grove were juniors Reese Courtney at 138, Wyatt Krejsa at 145 and Kaden McConnell at 195.
Courtney lost to Kankakee Valley senior Cole Solomey beneath the lights, 6-2; McConnell came up short against Castle senior John Purdy, 4-0.
Krejsa, who wasn’t able to compete the much of the regular season due to a UCL injury, took a 20-0 record to the mat against Chesterton senior Aidan Torres, who had won all 51 of his matches this season and prevailed in the final, 11-2.
“There’s definitely a lot of disappointment right now, but I did really good considering my circumstances,” Krejsa said. “I wasn’t even practicing until January. I definitely battled back, and it gives me something to work on for next year.”
Center Grove sophomore 120-pounder Eddie Goss was the aggressor against Delta’s Neal Mosier in a 4-3 victory in the third-place match, putting the finishing touches on a 40-6 season.
“I just knew I had to keep my pace, shooting, moving my feet and showing the ref I had action,” said Goss, who made the podium as a freshman as an eighth-place finisher at 113 pounds. “I knew I was going to win that match from the beginning.
“(Third) feels all right, I guess. But I’m young. I’ve still got more time to get there and win the next two.”
Trojans senior Andre Merritt took part in the fifth-place match at 160, winning by fall over Penn’s Aaron Steenbeke at 2:01 to finish the season with a 39-6 mark. Teammate Julian Weems, a sophomore, placed fifth at 182 pounds for a final mark of 29-9 after defeating Penn’s Vincent Freeman, 7-4.
The two Roncalli seniors advancing to state made impressive showings as well, with Bryce Lowery winning the 152-pound title. Teammate Luke Hansen picked up a fifth-place medal at 195, finishing with a 43-1 record.
