Rocks Wrestling with Intensity, Pushing for Strong State Finish

photo by Macauley Beck

The wrestling Rocks look for strong performances in the region and state meets.

Damarcus Wilson, Staff Reporter

1, 2, 3…. Pinned!

Inside Trinity’s Steinhauser Gymnasium sit two big mats. As fans and family members come in and wrestlers begin to warm up, they all know what is about to go down.

Two wrestlers stand at the center of the mat and get into position. They shake hands and the ref blows the whistle to start the match. Who will come out victorious?

A month after a 1-2 season start in North Posey, Ind., the Rocks prepare for a dual meet against Central and the Section Duals. 

The wrestling Rocks last season placed third at the Jefferson County Invitational and first at the Fort Knox Invitational. They went on to place 18th at state.

Third-year head coach Patrick Fleming said,  “We are returning a lot of talent this year.”

Fleming believes the team can accomplish a great deal this season.  About a Saturday scrimmage, Fleming said, “It’s always everything, every practice, every scrimmage. It’s always about getting better.”

Fleming said the big goal this year is to win state as a team.

Senior Kadin Kulmer, who wrestles at 195, last year won regional, the second time in his high school career, and placed third in state. It was his third time placing in the top three.

Kulmer believes this year will see even better results. He said, “Practices are a little more intense than the last couple of years.”

With everyone working together and getting better as a team, Kulmer said, “ The work ethic from everybody has improved this year, like they want to win it more this year.”

Junior Landon Lenhart (145) capped off last season with a third in Region Four and a fifth at state.  He also sees improvement coming. He said, “The team will be good, a lot better than last year.”

Sophomore Ty Lehman (138) didn’t wrestle fully last season because of a season-ending injury. He was able to practice in the off season with the Rocks and improved by wrestling AAU.

He said the Rocks have “worked their tails off.” Lehman said, “I feel really good about our season and our team as a whole.”

Wrestling Rocks during a preseason scrimmage……………….video by Damarcus Wilson