Columbus East High School

NORTH VERNON — The Columbus East girls wrestling team opened its season in commanding fashion Wednesday evening, sweeping Hoosier Hills Conference rivals Jeffersonville and Jennings County in a road tri-dual at Jennings County High School. The Olympians set a fierce tempo from the opening whistle and never let up, dispatching the Jeffersonville Red Devils 60-24 before rolling past the host Panthers 67-16. Junior varsity action set the tone early against Jeffersonville, with Kyleigh Branum recording a 19-3 technical fall and Elle Bliton securing a quick first-period fall. When the varsity dual got underway, East immediately took control with three consecutive pins: Ella Pope at 100 pounds, Valeria Barrientos at 105, and Tienica Dits at 110 staked the Olympians to an 18-0 advantage. After Jeffersonville answered with a win at 115, Gloria Cloud extended the East lead to 24-6 with a pin. The Red Devils mounted a comeback bid with three straight victories at 125, 130, and 135 to level the dual at 24-24. From that moment on, East took over completely, sweeping the remaining bouts to close out the match. Thania Diaz ignited the unanswered run with a fall at 140, followed by victories from Lexi Burns at 145 and Issabel Wakefield at 155. After Annie Redman accepted a forfeit at 170, upperweights Madison Shrader (190) and Kaydence Spradlin (235) punctuated the 60-24 triumph with back-to-back pins. East brought the same intensity to the mat against Jennings County. Bliton (190) notched her second pin of the night in JV action alongside a fall from Kyleigh Traylor at 170. In the varsity matchup, the Olympians overwhelmed the Panthers from top to bottom, picking up 11 individual victories on their way to a 67-16 rout. Winners against Jennings County included Pope (100), Barrientos (105), Branum (110), Cloud (115), Marlee Veon (120), Nahyla Trinidad (130), Diaz (140), Burns (145), Redman (170), Shrader (190), and Spradlin (235). Ten Olympians wrapped up the evening with unblemished 2-0 records: Pope, Barrientos, Branum, Cloud, Diaz, Burns, Redman, Shrader, Spradlin, and Bliton. Dits and Traylor also finished the night undefeated at 1-0. "The girls got multiple compliments on how mean and aggressive they were tonight," head coach Ty Olds said. "The girls understood the mission and came out with a little chip on their shoulder. It's always great to start the season with some duals against teams we are familiar with and have good relationships with. There are definitely some things we need to clean up and that’s our plan to get ready for this weekend at New Pal." The Olympians will face an immediate litmus test this Saturday, November 7th, when they head to the New Palestine Invitational. Action gets underway at 9 a.m., featuring a loaded field of high-caliber programs from across the state.