Saturday’s annual Johnson County wrestling tournament certainly didn’t lack drama.
In the final-round dual to determine the team championship, with the scored tied 32-all, it went down to the final match at 113 pounds as Franklin sophomore Dayson Lashlee scored an 11-3 win to not only take an individual county title, but give the Grizzly Cubs a narrow 36-32 win over defending champion Center Grove at Indian Creek.
The match was a seesaw affair that saw the Trojans take an early lead before Franklin surged, only to have Center Grove tie the match three times before Lashlee’s clincher.
And it was done without first-year Franklin coach Jim Tonte, who was in Louisiana to see his son play for Marian University in the NAIA national football championship.
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Well, sort of. Tonte was on the phone with his assistant coaches throughout the tournament and especially during the final with Center Grove.
“He was on the entire time just catching up with what was going on,” Franklin assistant Spencer Hessman said. “It was tough for (Tonte), but we told him go, we would handle it, and the boys fought hard and won. You could definitely feel the energy.”
Franklin had plenty of energy.
Last year, the Grizzly Cubs crowned only two individual champions, but they more than tripled that in this meet. In winning all four matches — including blowouts of Indian Creek (66-14), Whiteland (69-6) and Greenwood (76-0), Franklin took seven individual titles.
In addition to Lashlee’s win at 113, winning Cub grapplers included junior Jake Bechert at 126, sophomore Jude Barger at 138, senior Ethan Nash at 145, junior Tyler Fuqua at 152, junior Harris Eason at 195 and sophomore heavyweight Jacob Johnson.
“The boys all fought hard,” Hessman said. “They deserve this.”
Fuqua, ranked 13th in the state at 152, was a repeat winner after taking the 132-pound crown last year.
Center Grove (9-3) also dominated in its other three matches and had three first-place individuals, including the outstanding wrestler of the tournament, eighth-ranked sophomore Hayden Watson at 132 pounds.
"He does everything we ask,” Center Grove coach Maurice Swain said. “Him and Drake Buchanan are stepping up and our leaders and captains."
Joining Watson in winning individual titles for the Trojans were junior Sam Hesser at 160 pounds and ninth-ranked sophomore Buchanan at 182. Buchanan also won last year at 138.
Despite losing to Franklin and Center Grove, Whiteland’s future looks bright after a trio of freshmen — Eli Brooks (106 pounds), Joey Butter (120) and Jakerrey Oliver (220) — won titles in their respective weight classes. Indian Creek’s Owen Sego, ranked 14th at 170 pounds, won his team’s lone individual championship.
In the end, it came down to the Grizzly Cubs and the Trojans as it so often does at this event. Despite his team coming up short this time, Swain enjoyed being part of another dramatic clash.
“We had two teams wrestle hard for a county championship and it came down to every single match,” he said. “It’s fun to be in those type of dual meets, win or lose.”
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The winners in each weight class at Saturday’s Johnson County wrestling tournament:
106 Eli Brooks, Whiteland
113 Dayson Lashlee, Franklin
120 Joey Butter, Whiteland
126 Jake Bechert, Franklin
132 Hayden Watson, Center Grove
138 Jade Barger, Franklin
145 Ethan Nash, Franklin
152 Tyler Fuqua, Franklin
160 Sam Hesser, Center Grove
170 Owen Sego, Indian Creek
182 Drake Buchanan, Center Grove
195 Harris Eason, Franklin
220 Jakarrey Oliver, Whiteland
285 Jacob Johnson, Franklin
Wrestler of the meet: Hayden Watson, Center Grove
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