Franklin freshman Kellen Fellure won the 215-weight class at last week’s Jennings County sectional.
Daily Journal file photo
Franklin coach Jim Tonte began identifying the promise of his current group of freshmen when they were fifth-graders.
And yet no matter how the weeks and seasons ahead unfold, Kellen Fellure will always be the Class of 2027’s first sectional champion.
Rest assured, he won’t be the last.
“I feel like they’ve been going pretty strong for about five years now,” Tonte said of his ninth-graders. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and they have a long way to go. But we have a big freshman group with 21 or 22 kids.”
Four of them qualified for Saturday’s regional at Jeffersonville. In all, 11 Grizzly Cubs made it out of last week’s Jennings County Sectional by finishing in the top four of their respective weight classes. Fellure, who competes at 215 pounds, earned a spot on top of the awards podium by scoring a 4-3 decision over Seymour senior Jesus Aguilar in the final.
His journey through the bracketing included pinning his first two opponents — and, understandably, a few pre-match jitters.
“It was real exciting. Just everything I’ve been working for,” said Fellure, who has a 29-8 record this season. “To be in the state tournament, I had a lot nerves building up, but after that first match, I was okay.”
Other Franklin freshmen qualified for regional are 120-pounder Oscar Garcia (23-13), 150-pounder Cameron Sommers (27-11) and 157-pounder Corinthian Tonte (27-12).
Not a lot of wrestlers so young are penciled in to compete in one of the heavier weight classes, but Fellure, who checked into this world 24 inches long and weighing eight and a half pounds, has always been one of the more sizable kids in his class.
“When I was born, the nurse said, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s a toddler,’” said Fellure, laughing.
Though comparatively new to the varsity scene, Fellure’s wrestling lineage to this point has already had its share of triumphs and heartaches.
“I remember a few years back. Kellen didn’t win a match for several months,” coach Tonte said. “He was getting discouraged, but we kept telling him to trust the process. The kid just kept going and kept going, and trusting the process worked.”
As a seventh-grader, Fellure placed seventh at 160 pounds at the middle school state meet. Last year, he won the 182-pound division.
“The only matches I won in sixth grade were middle school matches, but I didn’t win any club matches. I knew things could only get better,” Fellure said. “Coming into the high school season as a middle school state champ, I knew I would have the opportunity to do something special.”
That starts Saturday in the state’s southernmost reaches, an area Fellure knows well. His father, Kyle, a former wrestler at the University of Indianapolis, was a teammate of Jeffersonville coach Danny Struck in the late 1990s. The two remain friends to this day, giving Kellen opportunities to both practice and compete there during the offseason while growing up.
He looks forward to going back.
“The goal right now is to win regional. I feel real confident in my training and what my coaches have done for me,” Fellure said. “Last weekend was a big confidence boost for me.”
IF YOU GO
Mooresville Regional
When: Saturday, 9 a.m.
Local teams participating: Center Grove, Greenwood, Whiteland
Jeffersonville Regional
When: Saturday, 9:30 a.m.
Local teams participating: Franklin, Indian Creek
Advancement: Top four finishers in each weight class advance to Evansville Semistate
Admission: $10; children 5 and under free
