Photo by Rudy Marquez
Thanks to our news partners at the Pilot News
By Steve Krah
Correspondent
INDIANAPOLIS — Plymouth High School wrestlers Graham Calhoun and Andrew Himes have faced and overcome adversity in different ways during the 2019-20 season.
Both were placers — 170-pounder Calhoun third and 285-pounder Himes eighth — at the 82nd annual IHSAA State Finals wrestling tournament held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
In addition, NorthWood senior Jake Lone placed second at 182 and Culver Academies junior Eli Pack finished fourth at 195. Culver Academies sophomore Braden Welch (170) competed Friday night and did not advance to Saturday. While much of Himes’ hard times came during the regular season, Calhoun saw his over the weekend.
Calhoun (46-1) lost a 6-4 overtime decision to Castle senior Robert Devers in the semifinals for the only loss of the season. Until that point, Calhoun had not surrendered a takedown during the season. Devers scored two.
The Rockie had earned 14-2 major decision against Franklin Community junior Jalen Ward Friday and a 19-7 major decision against Carmel senior Gabe Davin in the quarterfinals. He bested Indianapolis Cathedral senior Tyler Wagner 6-1 in the third-place match.
“It was tough,” said Calhoun. “I think I’m most proud of being able to come back from (the semifinals loss). It was a really tough loss.
“I’ve got to get to my offense more. My sets weren’t good,” he said. “I thought I wrestled a really poor match. I thought I did enough to win but it just wasn’t enough. That’s OK. I just had to overcome a little bit of adversity and come back and finish strong like I did in the last match.”
With his prep career complete, Calhoun is off to wrestle and study at the University of Wisconsin, where he expects to be a 174-pounder. “I’ve got a lot to work on,” said Calhoun. “I’m looking to see how
much better I can get from now until when I get on campus.”
Read has long been a fan of Calhoun and his family.
“There’s not a better kid to coach,” said Read. “He’s really coachable. He’s an overachiever. He’s not a great athlete. He gets more out of his wrestling than most anybody. He’s got a lot of potential yet that’s untapped.”
Himes got the attention of the more than 10,000 assembled Friday night when he pinned previously-unbeaten Monroe Central senior Logan Swallow (44-1) in 2:40.
“It was a big win,” said Himes. “I was really ecstatic when I heard the crowd and everything off the throw.”
Himes was then topped 7-2 by Indianapolis Cathedral Holden Parsons in the quarterfinals, downed 8-2 by Mooresville senior Robbie Gentry in the wrestlebacks and pinned in 1:19 by Western junior Braydon Erb in the seventh/eighth place match.
It was a feat that Himes, who weighed in Friday at 276.5 pounds and Saturday at 275.6, was even at the State Finals.
“He had (Mononucleosis) earlier in the season and came back from that,” said Read. “That’s a really hard sickness to come back from.”
Himes also missed time with a shoulder injury and Impetigo.
“I couldn’t have contact for three weeks with the Mono,” said Himes. “So I just went in the week before (the Northern Lakes Conference meet) and drilled around by myself against air. I have strength and quick feet for my size.”
Read said he was pleased to see Himes get past his hard knocks and perform on the big stage.
“He’s a good kid,” said Read. “It’s exciting. I loved to see him on the podium.”
Saturday also marked the close of Read’s 39 years as Plymouth head coach. To him, it’s been about the life lessons as much as the mat moves.
“If I can help a kid to develop integrity then when it comes to crunch time, I can depend more on him than those kids who lack integrity,” said Read. “As a coach, you’ve got to figure out who they are. You’ve got to figure out the struggles they’ve had. You’ve got to figure out the issues they have with life in general and at home. It’s just a
whole gamut of things. If you’re not willing to do that, there has to be something better for you to do than coach.”
Lone (41-3) lost 5-2 to Mishawaka senior Joseph Walker in the championship match after losing 13-3 to him during the season.
With a 4-2 lead, Walker elected to go down to start the third period. He escaped at 1:41 and held off Lone the rest of the way. One of the lessons that Lone learned in grappling Walker the first time was to be the aggressor when the match called for it.
“I learned to keep my feet moving,” said Lone. “It was ‘go’ time. Time to get after it. It was the last match of senior year. You lay it on the line.”
Before the finals, Lone pinned three opponents — East Central junior Kole Viel in 3:53 Friday, Center Grove sophomore Drake Buchanan in 3:48 in the quarterfinals and Perry Meridian junior Aiden Warren in
3:03 in the semifinals.
Pack (35-4) earned a 5-2 decision against Brownsburg sophomore Isaiah Street Friday and 6-3 win against Mississinewa senior Kyler Funk in the quarterfinals. He was pinned in 2:43 by Shenandoah senior Silas Allred in the semifinals and lost 3-1 to Fishers senior J.D. Farrell in the third-place match.
“I’m happy I’m making big jumps forward,” said Pack. “I didn’t make it (to State Finals) the last two years. This year, I improved a ton mentally. I know I can still go when I’m tired and that’s an awesome feeling. The last couple of years, I thought conditioning was the issue. Wrestling is the biggest mindset game that there is.”
Welch (170) lost 7-2 to Bloomington South junior Tristan Ruhlman Friday. Indianapolis Cathedral won its third straight team championship.
