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2613
#WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: O'Neill thrives in new role
By JEREMY HINES
Thehines7@gmail.com
 
Ike O’Neill spent his first year of high school wrestling competing at the junior varsity level. He wasn’t overly strong or fast and his technique was average. There weren’t any real indicators that O’Neill would be a stellar grappler.
 
O’Neill may not have had many believers that freshman season, but he would soon change that. O’Neill would prove that wrestling was no different than everything else he did in his life. O’Neill has a worker’s mentality and was willing to do more than anyone else to get the results he wanted.
 
That attitude has led him to be a stellar student. His grade point average is 4.3. It also led him to become an Eagle Scout. O’Neill has proven time and time again that whatever he sets his mind to, he masters.
 
“Ike is every wrestling coach’s dream, to be honest,” Westfield coach Phil Smith said. “He is a phenomenal student. He’s an Eagle Scout. He’s a phenomenal leader. He’s one of those kids where everything about him is work ethic and being tough.”
 
As a sophomore O’Neill cracked the Westfield varsity lineup and eventually qualified for semistate. According to Smith, that’s when they knew that O’Neill could be special.
 
Last season, as a junior, O’Neill qualified for state. It was a bittersweet moment for the Shamrock. While Ike wrestled on mat 4 in the ticket round of the New Castle semistate his older brother Thadeus was wrestling on mat 3. As Ike was wrestling, he could hear the crowd’s reaction and knew his brother had lost his match. So, when Ike won, it just didn’t feel right. He cared about his brother and knew what he was going through.
 
Thadeus has been able to push Ike to get better in a lot of things. Mainly because the brothers are insanely competitive with each other. Thadeus was going for his Eagle Scout award, so Ike wanted to try and get his first.
 
“Thadeus and I were always on the same sports teams growing up,” Ike said. “We did everything together. Naturally we started to compete with each other. If he beat me at wrestling, I wanted to go home and beat him at ping-pong or pool. It has developed into competing in everything.”
 
On the mat Ike has a toughness that some people might not expect.
 
“My teammates like to poke a little fun at me,” Ike said. “They say I look unathletic in a singlet. I’ve heard it a lot in high school. My friends say I’m the most unathletic kid to ever qualify for state. I just laugh it off.”
 
Coach Smith says that a lot of people are surprised by Ike’s physicality and strength.
 
“From his freshman year, on the surface, we didn’t know what he could do,” Smith said. “But we think every kid is capable if they put in work. With Ike, he didn’t have flashes of pure wrestling technique that really inspired us – but I think we always knew with him, it was a toughness thing.
 
“He’s not the most flashy guy. But after he wrestled someone, his opponents usually come off the mat shaking their heads and thinking, wow, he’s a lot stronger than I thought.”
 
Ike’s dad, Terry, was the longtime coach at Westfield. In fact, he was Smith’s high school coach. But Terry never forced Ike into wrestling.
 
“He always gave us the option to wrestle,” Ike said. “Now, he says that, but if we stopped, I’m not sure how kindly he would have taken it. But he never wanted us to burn out in middle school. He let us control the pace that we developed.”
 
Currently O’Neill is ranked No. 6 in the 145-pound class. His goal this season is to place at state.
 
“Where Ike was at and where he is now is amazing,” Smith said. “He’s not the most gifted athlete but he certainly outworks everyone around him and his wrestling technique has really responded. That’s a testament to the kind of kid he is. He’s a no-mess around guy. He’s always there. He’s always trying to improve. He’s been our captain for two years now. He’s found his rhythm and it’s fun to sit back and see how good he can get.”
 

2888
#MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Football’s his future, but Jellison giving his all to wrestling as Elkhart senior
By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com
 
Brayden Jellison is a two-time Elkhart Sectional champion at heavyweight.
 
His 42-second pin in the finals Saturday, Jan. 28 helped the Elkhart Lions to a second straight IHSAA Elkhart Sectional team title.
 
The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Jellison heads to the Goshen Regional on Feb. 4 at 24-4 for the 2022-23 season after he went 35-10 and placed fourth at the Fort Wayne Semistate and sixth at the State Finals at 285 as a junior.
 
“I’ve definitely come a long way,” says Jellison, who went to wrestling camps at Elkhart Central as a youngster. “I struggled freshman year and sophomore year.”
 
Brayden was an Elkhart Central Blue Blazer as a freshman. As a sophomore, Elkhart Central and Elkhart Memorial combined athletic teams in preparation for the full unification of the two schools which took place 2021-22.
 
How did Jellison raise his mat level?
 
“Just the hard work in the (practice) room,” says Jellison. “I just wanted to come out here and finish off this year on top (of the podium at State Finals).”
 
His go-to move?
 
“An undertook to a single-leg,” says Jellison.
 
An offensive lineman in football, where he has earned all-state and all-Northern Indiana Conference honors, Jellison is committed to play that sport at Illinois State University in the fall.
 
Jellison says it’s his agility that has the Redbirds considering him at guard or center.
 
“Wrestling helps me get the footwork and more stamina built up,” says Jellison.
 
Elkhart head coach Zach Whickcar admires Jellison’s worth ethic and dedication to wrestling.
 
“It says a lot about him,” says Whickcar, a former Elkhart Central wrestler. “Football is his first love and wrestling is not easy. He comes out here and pushes himself.”
 
Jellison is one of the Lions’ leaders.
 
“He does a great job of making sure everyone is doing the right thing, everyone’s focused and that people are representing us the right way,” says Whickcar. “Obviously, he’s a great representation of what we want to be on the mat.”
 
Jellison will get to lead a large group at the Goshen Regional. Eleven teammates also qualified, including senior Genesis Ramirez (106), senior Josh Corona (113), sophomore Blake Mock (126), junior Cam Dews (132), sophomore Brennon Whickcar (138), sophomore Cohen Lundy (145), junior Cam Freedline (160), junior Ethan Freedline (170), sophomore Kaullin Price (182), senior Nash Shupert (195) and senior Preston Stimac (220).
 
Whickcar also sees Jellison leading in the class room, where he carries a 3.7 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. He is involved in student government and is a National Honor Society member.
 
“That’s a game changer,” says Whickcar. “Being a great athlete is one thing, but being a student-athlete is big.”
 
Jellison plans to major in Sport Management at Illinois State.
 
“I just want to be involved in sports after college,” says Jellison.
 
Brayden is the son of Elkhart Central graduates Zach and Courtni Jellison and has two younger siblings at Elkhart High — junior Logan and freshman Brynlee.
 
Zach Jellison played basketball and wrestled his senior year of high school. Courtni was a softball player. Logan Jellison is in football and wrestling. Brynlee Jellison is in volleyball, basketball and track.

2085 4
#MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Goshen’s Detwiler has turned himself into strong mat competitor
By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com
 
Goshen High School junior wrestler Laish Detwiler is 75-11 over the past two seasons (35-9 in 2021-22 and 40-2 so far in 2022-23) and is heading into his second IHSAA Fort Wayne Semistate Saturday, Feb. 11.
 
Detwiler has been involved with the mat sport since seventh grade. But something changed his sophomore campaign.
 
“Last year I started taking this seriously,” says Detwiler. “I wrestled throughout middle school but I wasn’t very good. Last year I just put my mind to getting better.
 
“I don’t have that much time left in high school and I just have to change something. I just had to push myself and start working harder.”
 
Detwiler, who competed as a light 195-pound freshman and 170-pound sophomore, is now at 182 as a junior.
 
This season he is 2-1 against NorthWood senior Kaden Lone with a 4-2 loss in the Northern Lakes Conference finals, a 3-2 win in the Elkhart Sectional championship match and a 3-1 loss in the Goshen Regional finals. Lone (38-4) is a three-time semistate qualifier who placed seventh at the 2022 State Finals.
 
“He’s a hard worker,” says RedHawks coach Jim Pickard of Detwiler. “He had never played football until this year and by the end of the year was a two-way starter (making 41 total tackles at defensive end and 23 carries as a running back). He’s become very athletic. He’s learned a lot and put some time in.”
 
Detwiler drew Jay County junior Bryce Werk (30-6) as his first-round semistate opponent. The winner of the match faces the winner of Maconaquah sophomore Austin Ringeisen (39-2) and Fort Wayne Carroll sophomore William Jeffries (25-7).
 
The 182 field also features Fort Wayne Snider sophomore De’Alcapon Veazy (34-1) and Monroe Central senior Hunter Page (35-0).
 
Detwiler will be at Memorial Coliseum with five teammates — junior Cole Hinkel (39-5 at 113), senior Camden Wiese (32-6 at 126), senior Nolan Castaneda (32-11 at 138), junior Jonathon Flores (32-10 at 160) and senior Marcus Castaneda (31-10) at 170.
 
In the 2021-22 state tournament series, Detwiler competed at 170 and was a runner-up to Jimtown senior Landon Buchanan at the Elkhart Sectional and Goshen Regional.
 
At the Fort Wayne Semistate, Detwiler beat Fort Wayne Bishop Luers’ Mason Daring then lost in the “ticket round” to Eastern of Greentown’s Brodie Porter, who went on to top Buchanan in the semistate finals.
 
Porter and Buchanan placed second and fifth, respectively, at the 2022 State Finals.
 
“His losses last year were very quality,” says Pickard. “He’s turned it on this year.”
 
Leadership is another of Detwiler’s assets.
 
“A lot of it is leading by example and making sure I’m always doing the right thing,” says Detwiler. “I’m pushing my teammates when they’re having an ‘off’ day and making sure they’re still getting through their workouts.”
 
After going 15-10 overall and 4-4 in the NLC in 2022-23, Pickard has 517 career dual victories and is in 30th season at Goshen.
 
“It’s still that different connection with the kids that you get,” says Pickard of why he continues to coach. “I enjoy it. I think I’ve built a decent program here.”
 
He served as an assistant principal for eight or nine years while leading GHS wrestling and took on athletic director duties toward the end of the 2021-22 season.
 
With Josh Abbs, Tom Gangwer, Taylor Grim, Matt Katzer, Eric Kilmer, Greg Mueller, Travis Pickard and Troy Pickard as assistant coaches this season, the RedHawks are using a new hashtag on apparel and social media — #fightforsix.
 
“It encompasses it all,” says Jim Pickard. “Don’t give up. Go for six full minutes and when you can go for six points (for a pin).”
 
Detwiler has taken his head coach’s guidance to heart.
 
“Coach Pickard has given me a lot of advice,” says Detwiler. “The main thing he tells me is to keep my head up and keep working hard in practice no matter what.”
 
Besides wrestling and football, the 5-foot-10 Detwiler enjoys lifting weights.
 
“I’ve gotten a lot stronger,” says Detwiler. “I wasn’t very strong my freshman year and then I started hitting the gym my sophomore year and it translated into getting better.”
 
Grim is also a strength and condition specialist at Goshen and has his athletes doing traditional lifts like squat, bench press, deadlift and clean and jerk.
 
“He’s really helped us with technique a lot,” says Detwiler of Grim. “He’s always in there pushing us to make sure we’re on-task.”
 
Detwiler is a strong student. He carries a 3.7 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and is considering pursuing wrestling and sports medicine in college.
 
Laish — a name that comes from the Old Testament — is the second of Aaron and Renita Detwiler. Sister Emma is a college freshman. Brother Judah is 9.
 
“My dad got me into wrestling,” says Laish of his father’s mat experiences in Pennsylvania and Virginia. “He wrestled his whole life so he is a big inspiration for me.”
 

1894 4
#WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Pacers ready to take the next step
By JEREMY HINES
Thehines7@gmail.com
 
David Wolf was surprised to learn a few years back that Switzerland County High School even had a wrestling program. Now, in addition to being the Chief of Police in Vevay, the county seat, he’s also the wrestling coach.
 
His goal with both jobs is to make a difference in his community. He’s certainly doing just that.
 
Before Wolf, the Pacers had never had a single wrestling sectional champion. This year the team had three. Two of those wrestlers went on to win the school’s first regional championships. Wolf is hoping the success keeps coming.
 
“It feels awesome to see what these guys are accomplishing,” Wolf said. “I don’t do this to praise myself. I do it for the kids. To see them reach their goal is amazing. We sent six kids to regional this year. We had never had more than two go before. It’s just awesome.”
 
Wolf’s strategy has been simple. Make the team a family. He coached his own twin sons, who went on to be the first two Pacer wrestlers to ever qualify for semistate. Now three of the four coaches on the staff have kids that wrestle on the team.
 
“Our number one thing is that we want to create that family culture,” Wolf said. “We want to be positive figures to the team. I want to be a positive influence and we want to look out for each other.”
 
This season the Pacers have four wrestlers qualify for the Evansville semistate. Freshman Peyton Richards goes in as a regional champ at 120 pounds.
 
Peyton’s mental mindset is on a whole new level,” Wolf said. “His drive, his will to work, it’s hard to match. I haven’t seen anyone that mentally prepares the way he does. He wakes up at 5:30 every morning and practices in his basement. He leads by example.”
 
Sophomore Gabe Rose won regional at 138 pounds.
 
“Game is a little bulldog,” Wolf said. “He is mentally prepared. He is physically prepared. The kid doesn’t like losing and it drives him to do better. He lost to a kid earlier in the season and since then they have wrestled two more times and Gabe won in the first period. He is on a mission.”
 
Freshman Ethan Rose (Gabe’s brother) finished second in regional to qualify for semistate.
 
“Ethan is an animal,” Wolf said. “If he ever makes it to 106 pounds he can be a state contender. He walks around at about 96 pounds and eats everything he wants. He has to drink two bottles of water to qualify. He’s outsized, bad, but he’s a fighter.”
 
Sophomore Dakota Fields placed third at 113 pounds in the Jeffersonville regional.
 
“Dakota quit wrestling for a few years and just came back this year,” Wolf said. “He didn’t wrestle as a freshman. He came back and has been a huge asset to this team. He’s a hard worker and he’s an all-around great kid.”
 
Part of the reason for the Pacers’ success is the youth program in the area.
 
“We are finally getting kids in high school that have come up through our youth programs,” Wolf said. “My assistant coaches started the youth programs and it has helped us tremendously.”
 
The Pacers are a very young team and Wolf has hopes that in the next couple of years the team can qualify for 1A Team State.
 
“We don’t lose anybody after this year,” Wolf said. “We are a freshman and sophomore led team.”
 
The team’s success has not gone unnoticed in the community.
 
“With this success the recognition is really growing,” Wolf said. “People keep coming up to me in town and they talk about how awesome our team is doing. The community is growing and recognizing our success. More and more people are coming to our home meets.”
 
Before this year, Switzerland County had never had a winning season in wrestling. They finished this season with a dual meet record of 24-6.
 
As the Chief of Police, Wolf deals with a lot of problems on a daily basis. In the short time it took to interview for this article multiple people in the community came up asking for his help with things related to his job as a policeman. He tries to handle each issue in a positive manner and be a good influence on the community, just like he does with his team. He learned from the former police chief, James Richards. Richards was the Chief of Police for 16 years. Now he’s an assistant wrestling coach for Wolf.
 
“We want to be positive figures to these kids,” Wolf said. “I’m excited for these guys. I’m excited for the future of the program. My coaches invest 100 percent in this program. We really think we are going to turn some heads in the next few years.”

1977 1
#MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Three-time state finalist Farnell enjoying the ride with Maconaquah Braves
By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com
 
Maconaquah High School wrestler Logan Farnell has earned his third trip to the IHSAA State Finals.
 
The Braves 160-pound senior has absorbed something from his other visits to Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis and the state tournament series leading up to them.
 
“I learned just to enjoy the moment, have fun and wrestle my match,” says Farnell, who finished second to Rochester’s Brant Beck at the Peru Sectional Jan. 28 and reigned at the Peru Regional Feb. 4 and Fort Wayne Semistate Feb. 11 and is scheduled for his State Finals first-round bout on Friday, Feb. 17.
 
Gates open at 12:30 p.m. The Parade of Champions begins at 1:30. The first round for weight classes 106-145 starts at 2 with 152-285 beginning at 5:30.
 
Friday’s winners advance to Saturday, Feb. 18. Doors open at 8 a.m. The quarterfinals/semifinals session starts at 9 a.m. After the fieldhouse is cleared, doors open at 3:30 with the consolations at 4:30 and finals at 7:30. All times are Eastern.
 
Farnell, who is comfortable on his feet or on the mat, scored a 17-1 technical fall then three pins to earn his latest semistate title. He took first place at semistate and went on to place sixth at the 2022 State Finals. He was a semistate runner-up then lost in the first round at State in 2021.
 
He posted a 1-3 record as a freshman then went 40-4 as a sophomore and 46-3 as a junior and is 45-1 as a senior. His 129 career wins ranks him third all-time at Maconaquah. At the top of the list are state qualifiers Chase Wilson (Class of 2014) with 167 and Joe Schrock (Class of 2004) 143.
 
Farnell is also a three-time Three Rivers Conference meet winner.
 
His commitment to wrestle and study University of Indianapolis was set a couple of months ago.
 
“I wanted to get it done before the season so I can relax and have fun,” says Farnell, who will join the Jason Warthan-coached Greyhounds and study physical therapy.
 
“I thought it would be fun and my mom has gone through physical therapy,” says Logan for his reasons of choosing that major. “I want to help people. I want to give back to the community. I feel that’s a way I can do it.”
 
Bob Freije, who is in his 19th year as Maconaquah head coach, has been training Farnell since the wrestler was in elementary school.
 
“He’s a work-in-progress like everyone should be,” says Freije of Farnell. “He keeps learning more and more and more because knowledge is power.
 
“That’s really leading to all his success.”
 
Freije appreciates Farnell for what he means to the team.
 
“He’s a good leader and mentor to his peers,” says Freije. “He’s very humble. Everything you want in a student-athlete.”
 
Logan, who also plays baseball, is one of Danielle and Michelle Farnell’s five children.
 
Dalton Farnell (Class of 2020) is the oldest brother and a former wrestler and baseball player at Maconaquah.
 
Ethan Farnell is a 170-pound sophomore wrestler for the Braves who lost in the second round at semistate. He also plays football.
 
Caitlyn Farnell is a freshman wrestling manager. Aidyn Farnell is a middle school wrestler.
 
The Farnell brothers were two of seven grapplers making the trek from Bunker Hill to Fort Wayne Saturday.
 
Junior Brayden Raber (113) placed fourth and earned a State Finals berth. Sophomore Austin Ringeisen (182) bowed out in the second round. Falling in the first round were senior Camron Montgomery (285) and Wyatt Price (145) and junior Alex Ousley (126).
 
Robert A. Freije is the son of 2008 Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee Robert H. Freije, who went 322-120 in 26 seasons (1978-2003) at Plainfield and Brownsburg.
 
“I learned a lot from my father,” says the younger Bob Freije, who has 371 dual wins on his ledger. “Growing up around that and knowing that family atmosphere and trying to connect. You mold them and make them as good as they can be.
 
“Don’t be a cookie-cutter. I got that from my dad. Every one of his wrestlers were different. Having him as my mentor has made me the type of coach I am.”
 
Frieje is a physical education teacher at Maconaquah and runs the whole wrestling program, including the Battling Braves club. His assistant coaches are Derrick Page and Bill Tabler.
 

2083 1
#MondayMatness with Steve Krah: Fairfield’s Maran bound for regional again — this time as a lighter competitor
By STEVE KRAH
stvkrh905@gmail.com
 
Breckan Maran, a 190-pound junior at Fairfield High School, is heading to the Goshen Regional for the third time in his prep wrestling career.
 
For the first time since 2017, the Falcons will be represented by more than two grapplers.
 
It’s fitting that Maran has more teammates sharing the experience with him in 2024. The meet on Saturday, Feb. 3 will also feature juniors Matthew Senn (138), Dirk Rumfelt (157) and Aldahir Ortiz-Sanchez (165) and senior Ryan Noel (175).
 
His head coach — 1992 Fairfield graduate Gene Willard — has noticed how Maran cares about the others around him.
 
“Breckan always has been a team player,” says Willard of an athlete who ended the football season weighing 216. “At the beginning of the season he thought he was going to go at 215. The week before we started competing, he said, ‘I want to go 190. Am I OK?’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘(senior) Ethan (Hochstetler) can go 215 and (sophomore) David (Almiray) is the heavyweight and I can fill 190.
 
“Mentally, (Breckan) is very tough but that’s the team aspect of it. He just holds things together.”
 
Says Maran, “Going to semistate last year and regional the year before and knowing a lot about wrestling, I’d say my teammates look up to me.”
 
Willard, who is in his second season as Falcons head coach and eighth in the program after stints at Whiteland Community and Lakeland, said there was an adjustment period to the lighter weight, then Maran began rolling again.
 
“He’s been looking really good,” says Willard, who saw Maran win the 190 title at the 2024 Northeast Corner Conference meet after placing second at 220 in both 2022 and 2023.
 
The coach also recognizes a leadership style. It’s one he had himself as a Fairfield athlete.
 
“Breckan is one that leads by example,” says Willard. “If you ask most unless he’s around he’s around his friends he’s very soft-spoken.
 
“If someone needs correction or motivation he’s there to support them. He holds everything near and dear to his heart. Sometimes he puts a lot of pressure on himself to succeed and carry the team when he doesn’t have to.”
 
The past two wrestling postseasons, Maran competed at 220.
 
As a sophomore in 2022-23, he placed second at both the Elkhart Sectional and Goshen Regional and lost in the second round at the Fort Wayne Semistate.
 
As a freshman in 2021-22, he finished second in the Elkhart Sectional and did not place at the Goshen Regional.
 
Maran is 29-5 during his junior wrestling season at Fairfield High School.
 
Two of those defeats came at the Elkhart Sectional as he was pinned in 3:00 by Elkhart junior Kaullin Price in the semifinals and beaten 6-3 by NorthWood senior Keith Miller — a wrestler he had beaten by a point during the regular season — in a consolation match.
 
“I couldn’t quite come back,” says Maran of the second-round fall. “That’s my thought on the mental side.”
 
The Elkhart Sectional is sending champion Donovan Blair of Wawasee, runner-up Price of Elkhart, third-placer Miller of NorthWood and fourth-placer Maran to the Goshen Regional.
 
“We knew that was going to be a tough weight class coming in,” says Willard. “He got caught (against Price) and that happens.
 
“Hopefully, (Breckan) will be able to rebound and the Elkhart Sectional can advance all four 190-pounders to semistate.”
 
Maran started wrestling as a seventh grader. In the eighth grade, he was 207 pounds. He started playing tackle football in the third grade. There was a time that he was too big to carry the ball by Prairie Football League rules and was assigned to a spot on the line.
 
As a high schooler, he runs over and around tacklers as a fullback and also uses his gifts to bring ball-carriers down as a middle linebacker.
 
“That’s part of his mentality: If you don’t get out of the way I’m going to go through you,” says Willard, who coached a freshman Maran in that sport. “He’s always worked his butt off.
 
“His work ethic got him where he is today.”
 
Says Maran, “I’m pretty quick and I’ve got some decent muscles. With wrestling, I just like the physicality.”
 
One of the strongest kids in the school, Maran enjoys his time in the weight room. You can often find him there during the spring when he’s not staying in-shape with wrestling workouts and some competitions. He placed fourth at 220 at the 2023 Frosh-Sophomore State meet.
 
“Before I dropped the weight by bench (press) was 325, my squat was 475 and my clean (and jerk) was 265,” says Maran. “Since I’ve cut down to like 187 I haven’t tried to max.”
 
Tom and Tosha Maran have two sons — Braedon and Breckan. Brandon Maran played football and basketball at Fairfield.

2083 4
#WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Volz rewriting Eastern Hancock record books
By JEREMY HINES
Thehines7@gmail.com
 
Eastern Hancock senior Cameron Volz isn’t looking for attention. But, when you climb the state wrestling rankings, lose by one point to a returning state champion and have the opportunity to do something no other wrestler in his school has accomplished in 22 years, you can’t hide from the spotlight.
 
Volz was asked if there was anything about him that would be interesting to readers. He thought for a second, then asked his mom.
 
“Well, you broke the school record for career wins,” his mom said.
 
But Volz didn’t want to talk about that.
 
“No mom, not that. I don’t care about that,” he said. “That’s not what I want people to know.”
 
After thinking for a moment, Volz came up with his answer.
 
“I really just want people to know that I have a big heart,” he said. “I want to leave a footprint in people’s lives.”
 
He’s certainly leaving his mark on Royal wrestling. Volz is currently ranked 14th in the 132-pound class. He’s ranked No. 2 in the New Castle semistate. He owns the school record for wins, but he’s not even sure how many he has (somewhere around 140 he estimates). He is also vying to become the first Eastern Hancock wrestler to place in the state tournament since 2002.
 
“Cameron is a hard worker,” Eastern Hancock coach Sam Pfaff said. “You have to be in order to become the level of wrestler Cameron is. He’s got a great mind set. He’s like a true student of the game. He’s always watching film, learning, and asking questions.”
 
That studying helped Volz close a gap with New Castle’s Tylin Thrine – the returning state champion and the No. 2 ranked grappler in the weight class. During the regular season Thrine handled Volz, winning 5-1. But in the Centerville sectional final the match was much closer.
 
Volz scored a first-period takedown in the match. In the end, Thrine prevailed by a single point, 4-3.
 
“We went into this one with a little bit of a different attitude,” Pfaff said. “We said, you’re the underdog here – you have nothing to lose. Throw everything you have at him. I told him he can’t be afraid, and to let it all fly. We spent all week working in different positions and trying to iron some things out. In the match we got the early takedown, but Tylin in his freakish athletic fashion, got right back to his feet.”
 
Volz doesn’t believe in moral victories. According to him, he hates losing. But he knows matches like he has had with Thrine can only help him in the future.
 
“I’m grateful for those opportunities,” Volz said. “Those opportunities make me better and hopefully I make him better as well.”
 
Volz brings a vast skillset to the mat.
“Cameron is incredibly athletic and very fast,” Pfaff said. “He has incredible technique. He has to wrestle with confidence though. Going back to the Thrine match, he showed he is a better wrestler when he goes out there without fear and doesn’t worry about the end result. When he does that, he’s really, really solid and can hang with just about anyone.”
 
Cameron’s freshman brother, Bradyn, won the 113-pound weight class in sectional. Cameron loves working with Bradyn on the mat, as well as with the Eastern Hancock youth program.
 
“I like coaching,” Volz said. “I feel like I’m pretty good at it. I know a lot about wrestling and I try to show that to the younger guys.”
 
In his personal life, Volz has dealt with a lot of adversity. The adversity isn’t something he wanted to delve into for this article, but Pfaff said it’s something that shaped Volz into who he is today.
 
“He’s had some personal stuff in his life that he’s had to overcome,” Pfaff said. “That has really figured into the mindset he brings to wrestling. There are some things he’s had to experience in life that have shaped his view. That’s helped him in a way. He’s experienced adversity in his personal life and he’s able to bring that to the mat. When things get tough, he knows how to push through and gut them out.”
 
The last Eastern Hancock wrestler to place in state was Keith Oliver in 2002.
 
“I definitely want to change that this year,” Volz said. “But if I can’t, hopefully my brother can. He’s my project and I love seeing him succeed.”
 
Volz will wrestle Saturday in the Richmond regional.

1693 3
#WrestlingWednesday with Jeremy Hines: Thornton ready for another trip to state
By JEREMY HINES
Thehines7@gmail.com
 
Columbus North junior Justice Thornton is a patient person. In his view, patience is a key to success.
 
Thornton uses his patience when competing against his family in his favorite board game, Monopoly. He learns what his opponents are trying to do, then he figures out a way to counter their strategy. He’s got a pretty good success rate against his older brother and his two sisters.
 
But Thornton is not just patient on family game night. He uses the same approach on the wrestling mat where he is a three-time Conference Indiana champion as well as three time sectional and regional champion.
 
“Monopoly is a game about thinking,” Thornton said. “You have to figure out how you’re going to play. It really correlates to wrestling. In wrestling, you have to figure out what your opponent does and you have to use that against them.”
 
According to Columbus North coach Matt Joyce, Thornton uses his smarts to be successful on the mat.
 
“He is extremely competitive, in a good way,” Joyce said. “He really enjoys wrestling. He’s a really smart wrestler. He knows where he can wrestle well. He’s really broadened his technique too as he’s gotten older.”
 
Thornton agrees.
 
“There are some wrestlers that are really fast and athletic,” he said. “There are some guys that are just absolute powerhouses. I like to think my strength is in my technique. I’m not the fastest or the strongest, but I win with technique.
 
Justice qualified for state last year. He did not advance past the Friday night round. This year he’s hoping to change that. He has his sights set on standing on top of the podium.
 
Last season Justice was wrestling in semistate against Brady Ison. It was a close match. Ison went for a front headlock and it ended up causing Justice to black out for 30 seconds. He then had to injury default to fourth place.
 
“We had to take Justice to the hospital to get checked out,” Joyce said. “He was OK, but that set him up for a tough Friday night, drawing a No. 1 semistate champ in the first round. This year he’s going out there and trying to take care of business.”
 
Thornton is one of nine Columbus North wrestlers competing in the Evansville semistate Saturday. Thornton, Cohen Long and Asher Ratliff all enter the competition as regional champions. Thornton is currently 31-1 on the year at 138 pounds. Long, a freshman, is 28-8 at 132 and Ratliff, a sophomore, is ranked No. 9 at 157 with a 35-2 record.
 
“Asher is the starting quarterback for the football team and just broke the school’s single season take-down record,” Joyce said.
 
Nolan Riley, Josiah Green, Luke Spurgeon, Evan Saevre, Keller DeSpain and Jose Ramirez will also be competing at the semistate for Columbus North.
 
Last season Thornton was the lone Bulldog to advance to state.
 
“I really hope I have some teammates with me this year,” Thornton said. “Asher has a decent draw for semistate. Cohen wrestles a kid he lost to earlier in the season but we’re going to help him prepare for that. Luke is someone I practice with a lot. I hope some of these guys have a great day Saturday.”
 
As for his own goal, Thornton isn’t satisfied with just making it to state.
 
“My goal is to win the ticket round on Saturday,” he said. “Then I want to go into that championship match. It will be close, but hopefully I can get my hand raised there. Then I’ll go ahead and win on Friday night of the state finals and then on Saturday I want to be the one standing on top of the podium when it’s all over.”

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Lake Central’s Mason Jones Drives Into Potential State Finals Run with Renewed Confidence
By Anna Kayser
 
One year after losing in the quarterfinals and wrestling his way back to fifth place at 106 pounds at the IHSAA State Finals, Lake Central senior Mason Jones is looking to leave it all on the mat.
 
Throughout his high school career, he hasn’t taken too many losses. Eleven as a sophomore, two a year ago – the second coming in that pivotal quarterfinal match that would inevitably propel him into his final high school campaign – and none thus far as he gears up for semi-state this coming weekend.
 
If you’re counting along, that means Mason Jones has racked up a lot of wins through three years as a varsity wrestler for Lake Central. There was just more to learn in the losses.
 
“I feel like I took away from just my overall season last year that there was always more I could do, more I could work towards especially when I came up short,” Jones said. “Last year at state, it felt like everything stopped and that it was all over. I had to take some time, sit down and remember that it wasn’t over, there was still more to go.”
 
Jones now enters his final run at a state title ranked No. 1 in his semi-state 106 pounds and No. 2 in the state, trailing only Delta freshman Jensen Boyd. The rankings are one aspect that has helped him build that strong mental foundation.
 
“I’d say it is a bit of a confidence boost, seeing that after all this time – all the work that I’ve put in to get to where I am now – I’m getting a bit of recognition,” Jones said.
 
Looking back on last year’s state run, his mental game is strides ahead of where it was last February. Following his quarterfinals loss, his coaches expressed the importance of confidence and staying true to his wrestling style even under the bright lights.
 
After getting his first state finals experience under his belt last year, he now steps into an opportunity this year with a more collected demeanor.
 
“His mental game wasn’t 100 percent there yet [last year], but the biggest difference this year is the confidence,” Lake Central head coach Luke Triveline said. “He’s putting in work in the offseason, he put in the work in the offseason, he’s doing his conditioning, he’s got good practice partners, obviously our team is doing well. And he’s really putting in the effort to mentally believe in himself and put him in a position to make a state title run.
 
That confidence is just a sliver of his mental game, something that was torn down after that loss in the quarterfinals and something he’s built back up to become one of the best wrestlers in the state.
 
“My dad is always telling me, ‘On any given day, anybody can win and anybody can lose. You have to go out there and give it 100 percent every time you step onto the mat’” Jones said. “I go out there knowing that I just have to outwork whoever I’m wrestling, otherwise there’s no guarantee that I get my hand raised.”
 
There’s a balance between being humble and not taking a season record or ranking for good, and Jones works hard to keep that balance in check.
 
“We just try to keep them humble, keep them hungry and keep them working to do what a state champion does,” Triveline said. “There’s only one state champ in each weight class, so you’ve got to be able to do more and push yourself more than you think you’re even capable of.”
 
Now, Jones is focusing on giving all he can to finish out his high school career on his terms, leaving everything he has on the mat as opposed to walking away thinking he could have given more.