Wrestling: Season preview

In time, we’ll know whether the seniors on Center Grove’s roster make up the most decorated class in program history.

Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t.

The simple fact that Reese Courtney, Noah Clouser, Jack Greenwood, Charlie LaRocca, Kaden McConnell, Nate Johnson and Tyler Schott are in the discussion speaks volumes.

One (LaRocca) is a defending state champion. Three others were runner-ups at the state meet last winter in their respective weight classes.

Most have known each other since breaking in their first singlet.

“Charlie, I’ve known him since preschool, and we’ve always been really good friends,” said Greenwood, who is contending for the starting spot at 113 pounds. “I’ve probably known the rest of them since fifth or sixth grade.

“We’re all really close, and work hard in the (wrestling) room. I know a lot of them have been wrestling since they were little kids.”

Greenwood was the latest of arrivals to the mat, starting the sport in sixth grade.

Last February, he witnessed 12 of his teammates advancing to state at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis; 10 of them are back. Good pal LaRocca defeated Indian Creek senior Jackson Heaston in the 113-pound final, 3-1; earning the right to stand on the second spot on the podium were Courtney (138), Kresja (145) and McConnell (195).

As a team, the Trojans were second behind Crown Point, their best finish ever.

Crown Point and another school incorporating the Bulldogs nickname (Brownsburg) are viewed as two of the main teams standing in the way of coach Maurice Swain’s Trojans taking that all-important next step and making history.

It begins with the seniors.

“These guys, they go back really far,” Swain said. “They’ve been part of Center Grove elementary and middle school teams together, and it would be a special accomplishment for them to win a state title.

“They care a great deal about each other’s accomplishments. They want to see their teammates do well.”

Courtney, who has represented Center Grove at 113, 120 and 138 pounds during his career, owns a career record of 96-22. He and the majority of his teammates have been around long enough to know there is no room for letting up simply because this Trojans team might appear dominant on paper.

If he and his teammates keep working, improving and believing behind the closed doors of the Center Grove wrestling room throughout the cold-weather months, it can be done.

“We’re just kind of like a family. Since we were, like, 4 or 5 years old, this is what we knew we were doing,” Courtney said. “This season we would like to win state, beat Crown Point and Brownsburg, but it’s going to take three straight weeks of competing well and everybody staying healthy.”

SCOUTING THE COUNTY

Center Grove Trojans

Coach: Maurice Swain

Last season: County, sectional, regional and semistate champion; state runner-up

Key returnees: Noah Clouser, Reese Courtney, Jack Greenwood, Nate Johnson, Wyatt Kresja, Charlie LaRocca, Kaden McConnell and Tyler Schott, seniors; Eddie Goss and Silas Stits, juniors; Justus Thrasher, sophomore

Top newcomers: Jerimiah Argbah, senior; Dominic Brown, Miguel Flores, Dolan Greika, Joseph Hamilton, Cash Kratoska, Charlie Mandabach and William Vander Luitgaren, sophomores; Sean Breedlove, freshman

Outlook: It might be a disservice to this Trojans squad to go all cliché and say the sky is the limit. When your team returns 10 state finalist, four of whom were took part in a championship match, it seems Center Grove has the ingredients necessary to again piece together another special season. Now add Brown — a transfer from Lowell who made it to state as a freshman 120-pounder last season — to the mix, and there is premier talent throughout the lineup. LaRocca, the reigning champ at 113 pounds, is likely to move to 120. Courtney is back after taking second at 138, finishing with a 36-9 record. Kresja (20-1) secured a second-place medal at 145, while McConnell (40-4) earned one of his own at 195 pounds. Goss, meanwhile, took third at state at 120. Clouser (170), Johnson (220) and Schott (285) also made it to state, and are looking to return. Swain made it a point to bump up the regular-season competition, including the Ironman Invitational at Walsh Jesuit in Ohio next month.

“This group of guys, the junior and senior classes together, (a state title) is obviously a goal that they’ve had,” Swain said. “But there are a whole lot of things that have to go right.”

Franklin Grizzly Cubs

Coach: Jim Tonte

Last season: Sixth at sectional, 18th at regional

Key returnees: Luke Bechert, Brayden Isley, Lance Jones, Ryan Million and Brodie Stephens, seniors; Caleb Beals, Owen Trimpe and Aiden Woods, juniors; Keegan Jochim, Cory Fuller and Judah Wheeler, sophomores

Top newcomers: Kellen Fellure, Oscar Garcia, Cameron Sommers, Jonah Strain and Cory Tonte, freshmen

Outlook: The Grizzly Cubs are a good blend of experience and promise led by seniors Bechert and Million, both of whom are entering their fourth year of varsity competition. Add to that a group of ninth-graders that excelled at the middle school level and in offseason tournament competition, and it’s easy to see why Tonte is excited about this group. Trimpe and Woods return after advancing to regional as sophomores; Stephens also made it out of sectional.

“We’re really excited about this team, and this program right now,” said Tonte, now in his fifth season at Franklin. “We have leadership, some experience and some young kids coming in. I think we’re going to maybe be a little bit more competitive than people think.”

The latest round of postseason redistricting will send Franklin and Indian Creek to the Jennings County Sectional, as opposed to the Mooresville site. Regional qualifiers would then participate at the Jeffersonville Regional.

Greenwood Woodmen

Coach: Jay Yates

Last season: Ninth at sectional, 14th at regional

Key returnees: Oren Fiesel, Gabe Folco and Landon Maxwell, seniors; Jordan Jewell and Michael Schrader, juniors; Carson Andreas, Jackson Frahm and Pedro Orozco, sophomores

Top newcomers: Jefferson Delmonte, Deegan Homan, Keagan Murray and Everett Nickolous, freshmen

Outlook: Jewell is back after qualifying for regional at 132 pounds. The junior is slated to fill the 144 slot this time around, and is expected to team with Andreas (heavyweight), Frahm (106) and newcomer Murray (126) to be at the center of the Woodmen’s fortunes this season.

“They would definitely be the nucleus of the team,” Yates said. “Those four kids consistently placed in the top eight in their weight class in ISWA state tournaments in the offseason. Even though they’re young, I expect them to be very competitive.

“At Greenwood, we’ve never had more than two kids go to state the same year, and never had more than one place. As a coach, taking multiple kids there is definitely a goal of mine.”

Indian Creek Braves

Coach: Pat Dowty

Last season: Seventh at sectional, 11th at regional

Key returnees: Landon Craig, Phoebe Dowty, Curtis Gault, Chelsea Guernsey, Hannah Seitzinger and Logan Porter, seniors; Will Beaver, Jude Heaston, Nick Jackson, Logan Lindsay, Elias Strouse and Jerrod White, juniors; Libby Dowty and Oliver Hallet, sophomores

Top newcomers: Jensen Bridges, Mark Ferguson, Joaquin Giron, Elijah Guyer, Drake Hardin and Mason Porter, freshmen.

Outlook: The Braves graduated four-year standout Jackson Heaston, the 2023 state runner-up at 113, but plenty of reasons for optimism exist, starting with the return of semistate qualifiers Jude Heaston and Strouse. Heaston is projected to start the year at 113 but could drop to 106 by postseason. Strouse advanced to the Evansville Semistate in the 120 division and should jump to 132 this winter.

Some talented ninth-graders are also set to become staples of the Indian Creek lineup, a theme that will carry on through the next few seasons. Bridges (165 or 175 pounds) and Guyer (157) are expected to make an impact this time around.

“We’re going to be really young this year,” Dowty said. “The difference is a lot of my young kids are in the upper weights. My biggest thing with the kids is for them to go compete, and if you compete, the winning will eventually come.”

Whiteland Warriors

Coach: Anthony Meister

Last season: Sectional runner-up, third at regional, eighth at semistate; tied for 12th at state

Key returnees: Donnie Lynem, Cayden Holder and Aaron Picchetti, seniors; Jacob Atkins, Kai Beasley and Jaden Farr, juniors

Top newcomers: Carnell Baker, Jaiden Fouty, Marcus Knapp and Cam Williams, freshmen

Outlook: The Warriors advanced five wrestlers to the Evansville Semistate last season, but all have graduated, including 132-pound state champion Joey Buttler, leaving Meister with less experienced talent to build around.

“To get better every day as an individual and as a team,” Meister said of the goals for this winter. “One thing I like about this team is that we are finally starting to get some of my club kids that have wrestled in the program a while to come up.

“Right now, it’s kind of a group effort. We have a couple of kids (Lynem and Picchetti) who have gone to all the offseason tournaments. It starts with them. They’re seniors, and hopefully it trickles down. I think we will have a total of 15 or 16 freshmen on the roster, and probably five or six in the lineup. It’s kind of the same situation we were in four years ago.”