GREENFIELD — More times than not, Greenfield-Central wrestling coach Josh Holden doesn’t need to say a word.
Their own worst critics, scrutinizing each decision, reaction and result, the Cougars’ self-driven trio of Gavin Rose, Carter Noehre and Brad Lowe instinctively compile a mental checklist after every match — win or lose.
Even after Rose captured his first career sectional title at Shelbyville this past weekend, and seniors Noehre and Lowe both repeated as individual weight-class champions, nothing changed.
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“What’s funny to me is we had three champs, and every one of them comes off the mat and the first thing they say to me is what they did wrong. Gavin, Carter and Brad, all three came off saying, ‘That was sloppy. Or I can’t believe I did this. Or I can’t believe that guy broke me down off my base.’ They never come off the mat happy,” Holden said. “They all look unsatisfied. What do I need to do to get better? That’s why they are the way they are.”
What they are is determined, Holden added, to make a push at the IHSAA state finals later this month in Indianapolis after all three qualified for state together in 2016-17.
“It definitely added fuel to the fire,” said Lowe, who is ranked seventh in the state at 170 pounds by Indianamat. “At practices you want to go longer, go harder, hit moves better and not take shortcuts.
“I couldn’t sleep the night before sectional. I was thinking about it so much. Not only because it was sectional, but because I know what it leads to. I’m excited for that.”
All three cleared the first of three steps in their postseason quest to reach Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Feb. 16, with a combined six falls, two technical falls and two major decisions at sectional.
Lowe improved to 35-2 on the season to earn his second straight sectional title, only needing 6 minutes and 56 seconds of mat time to win four straight matches and qualify for this Saturday’s Perry Meridian Regional.
With three pins his season total spiked to a team-high 25. His tech fall in the finals was his first of the year and cemented the program’s 123rd sectional champion in school history.
For his efforts, Lowe secured a top seed at regional, opposite of top-ranked Noah Warren of Perry Meridian in the weight-class bracket. Warren carries a 35-1 record and is a two-time state place-winner at seventh in 2016 as a 160-pounder and runner-up at 152 last February.
Lowe lost to Warren this season by major decision 11-2, but before he can think about a rematch or a regional championship repeat, Roncalli’s Elijah Mahan (30-3), who is ranked 11th, could stand in his way in the semifinals.
“I’m going to approach (regional) like any other match. Watch film, be ready for anything, bring the intensity to the matches and do what I need,” Lowe said.
Noehre, who is unbeaten at 24-0, is quickly rounding back into shape after missing several weeks with an injury. Ranked seventh at 132, Noehre is seeking a regional repeat like Lowe, and he also could face a familiar foe if he reaches the tournament finals.
Roncalli’s fourth-ranked Tyce Freije (10-0), who is on the opposite side of the bracket, met Noehre in the sectional, regional and semistate finals last year. Freije lost the first two before turning the tables at the New Castle Semistate en route to an eighth-place finish at state.
Noehre broke through for his first state appearance as a junior. After becoming a two-time national qualifier for the prestigious USMC/USAW Cadet/Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., this past summer, he’s working to polish his skills for one last shot at a state title.
“For Carter, it being the last go around, it’s about winning it. It’s not even about placing now, you’re a senior,” Holden said. “For him, it’s about mistakes. At one point (at sectional), he got granbied into a headlock by the Shelbyville kid, which was a good move for him, but we can’t be in that position. He’s given up some goofy reversals, and then on bottom he’s giving up some arms. We talked about that. There are still things to fix, and he knows it.”
For Rose, a 15th-ranked junior at 120, it’s about respect and the lack thereof, based on the state rankings.
A two-time state qualifier and a place-winner at 113 at seventh overall in 2017, Rose has been overlooked until recently, moving up to third from fifth, according to Indianamat’s latest New Castle Semistate rankings.
This season he’s 29-2 with key wins against Cathedral’s fifth-ranked Lukasz Walendzak by decision 4-0 and over Mt. Vernon’s 14th-ranked Chase Wilkerson in overtime 2-0 to avenge an earlier loss to the Marauder 4-2 by decision.
His only other loss by decision 8-1 was to second-ranked Sam Fair (36-1) of Perry Meridian, who holds the opposite bracket’s top seed at regional.
“We don’t put a lot of stock in rankings. We’ll come out and prove stuff no matter what the rankings are, every week,” Holden said. “The kid is a two-time state qualifier and doesn’t get much respect, so we’ll keep going out there and earn it.”
Rose could get his chance at regional, if he and Fair meet in the finals. This season Rose has 20 pins on the season — three short of his 23 through 48 matches in 2017.
“We know we have a lot of work to do because our regional is tough,” Holden said. “We just have to keep it going. We can’t have a lull. We can’t have a lull now. We have to pick it up every week.”
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Hancock County Regional Qualifiers
at Perry Meridian H.S., Saturday at 9 a.m.
106: Christian White, New Palestine (31-7)
• Second at Shelbyville Sectional
113: Dylan Dorman, Greenfield-Central (25-13)
• Second at Shelbyville Sectional
113: Chase Nelson, New Palestine (28-13)
• Third at Shelbyville Sectional
120: Jared Diep, New Palestine (25-13)
• Fourth at Shelbyville Sectional
120: Gavin Rose, Greenfield-Central (29-2)
• Shelbyville Sectional Champion
126: Larry Evans, Greenfield-Central (23-10)
• Second at Shelbyville Sectional
132: Carter Noehre, Greenfield-Central (24-0)
• Shelbyville Sectional Champion
138: Max Jones, New Palestine (23-15)
• Third at Shelbyville Sectional
138: Kenny Thompson, Greenfield-Central (20-16)
• Second at Shelbyville Sectional
145: Noah Wright, New Palestine (30-9)
• Third at Shelbyville Sectional
145: Avery Wills, Eastern Hancock (21-17)
• Fourth at Shelbyville Sectional
145: Cooper Noehre, Greenfield-Central (28-8)
• Second at Shelbyville Sectional
152: Jordyn Wills, Eastern Hancock (30-10)
• Second at Shelbyville Sectional
160: Logan Robinson, New Palestine (27-9)
• Second at Shelbyville Sectional
160: Garrett Friesen, Eastern Hancock (26-12)
• Fourth at Shelbyville Sectional
170: Brad Lowe, Greenfield-Central (35-2)
• Shelbyville Sectional Champion
195: Brayden Clevenger, New Palestine (31-9)
• Fourth at Shelbyville Sectional
195: Clayton Cochard, Eastern Hancock (31-7)
• Shelbyville Sectional Champion
220: Landan Burton, New Palestine (37-1)
• Shelbyville Sectional Champion
220: Hunter Gulden, Greenfield-Central (30-9)
• Second at Shelbyville Sectional
220: Alexander Burton, Eastern Hancock (28-13)
• Fourth at Shelbyville Sectional
285: Hunter Holcombe, New Palestine (7-6)
• Fourth at Shelbyville Sectional
Hancock County Regional Qualifiers
at Pendleton Heights H.S., Saturday 9:30 a.m.
120: Chase Wilkerson, Mt. Vernon (35-3)
• Second at Lawrence Central Sectional
132: Chris Wilkerson, Mt. Vernon (32-6)
• Second at Lawrence Central Sectional
138: Aiden Alford, Mt. Vernon (28-18)
• Fourth at Lawrence Central Sectional
145: Max Hayes, Mt. Vernon (30-9)
• Third at Lawrence Central Sectional
160: Drake Kendrex, Mt. Vernon (37-4)
• Second at Lawrence Central Sectional
182: P.J. Sterrett, Mt. Vernon (38-6)
• Lawrence Central Sectional Champion
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