The lightest Center Grove wrestler found himself carrying the heaviest of responsibilities on Saturday, which is what Charlie LaRocca wanted.
His team leading Franklin by a point with 13 matches complete, LaRocca, a 106-pound freshman, knew his performance would either make or break his team’s chances of winning a Johnson County tournament title.
And win he did.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryLaRocca’s pin of Grizzly Cubs’ ninth-grader Ryan Million with 58 seconds remaining in the second round sealed the Trojans’ 35-27 victory.
“That’s the best time to be a wrestler,” LaRocca said. “I know everyone wanted me to go out there and perform. You’ve just got to do what you do, stay calm and just get it done. I knew I had to give it my best effort.
“Hearing my teammates cheering for me made me a little more nervous than I was, but I knew they needed me to win, and the pressure fed into me.”
The tournament featured four teams inside Center Grove’s West Gymnasium. Greenwood, which was to have been the host school, had its team quarantined for two weeks due to COVID-19, though the Woodmen are expected to return to practice this week.
As is the case most seasons, ninth-ranked Center Grove and No. 10 Franklin dominated, setting up the day’s final match between the longtime rivals.
“Charlie, he works hard in the room every single day. He never takes a rep off, he never takes a practice off,” Center Grove coach Maurice Swain said. “Every day, he just freaking gets after it. If we have to put it in the hands of Charlie at the end, I was 100 percent confident he was going to get it done.
“We figured it would be close. (Franklin) tried to switch their lineup around, and it helped them a little bit, but we still found a way to win.”
The Trojans, led by junior 145-pounder and wrestler of the meet Hayden Watson, finished with eight individual champions, the others being Reese Courtney (113), Kaden McConnell (126), Noah Clouser (132), Sam Howe (138), Riley Rust (152), Mason Crump (160) and Drake Buchanan (182).
Five Cubs wrestlers took first in their respective divisions — Caleb Wyss (120), Tyler Fuqua (170) and the three heaviest weight classes with Harris Eason (195), Nolan Skaggs (220) and Jacob Johnson (285).
“Between now and Jan. 2, we have to get a lot better,” said Franklin coach Jim Tonte, referring to the Class 3A team state duals tournament being hosted by his squad. “Just minimizing quality decision points. To win dual meets, you have to be able to stop teams when they get on a roll. Momentum is huge in dual meets … it was a good dual meet against a good team.”
Indian Creek sophomore Jackson Heaston won the 106-pound division, running his season record to 13-2.
The day’s most anticipated match came at 182 pounds with Center Grove junior Drake Buchanan, ranked second in the state, matching up against No. 4 Jalen Ward, a Franklin senior. Buchanan took control early on his way to victory via tech fall.
Both were state finalists last season, with Buchanan picking up a sixth-place medal at 182.
Johnson’s individual county title wasn’t secured until the junior, the state’s fifth-ranked wrestler at 285, scored a 5-3 decision over Trojans junior Owen Green in overtime.
“I had wrestled (Green) two other times, and the last time was my freshman year. I was leading at 220 with about 15 seconds to go and he ankle picked me and took me down, Johnson said. “I knew he was a really good opponent. I wanted to pin him, but just had to stick to my game plan.”
