Columbus East High School

Floyd Central Secures Title, Columbus East Claims Second in Hard-Fought Battle The Columbus East Olympians put up an impressive performance in the Hoosier Hills Conference (HHC) wrestling tournament held Saturday at Floyd Central High School. The Olympians secured a strong second-place finish with 246.5 points, just behind host and champion Floyd Central, which totaled 258.5 points. Here’s a closer look at Columbus East's standout individual results, highlighting their first- and second-place finishers: First-Place Champions 113 lbs – Ethan Poling (23-6) Poling dominated his weight class with three consecutive victories by fall, including a quick pin in just 38 seconds during the semifinals. He sealed his championship with a 1:22 fall over New Albany's Jack Cavallo. 138 lbs – Caleb Kirkpatrick (27-4) Kirkpatrick powered through the competition, winning by fall and technical fall before taking a hard-fought 4-0 decision over Floyd Central’s Hunter Banet in the finals. 150 lbs – Lincoln Cooper (27-2) Cooper showcased his technical prowess, finishing his tournament with a dominant 18-0 technical fall victory over Varric Wright of Floyd Central in the championship bout. 165 lbs – Clayton Miller (25-6) Miller proved unstoppable, pinning his first two opponents before securing a 12-3 major decision victory over Briley Compton of Seymour in the title match. 175 lbs – Hank Redman (23-5) Redman claimed his weight class crown with a semifinal fall and a decisive 7-4 victory over Floyd Central’s Colton Philpot in the championship. 190 lbs – Colin McMahon (26-4) McMahon breezed through his bracket, capping his run with a 17-1 technical fall over Spencer Fain of Floyd Central in the final. 215 lbs – James Moss (19-5) Moss delivered a stellar performance, winning by technical fall and decision before securing a 7-4 decision victory over Floyd Central’s Kenny Ward to earn his title. Second-Place Finishers 132 lbs – Gage Rutan (25-5) Rutan advanced to the championship after a fall and a technical fall but came up short in an 11-6 decision to Floyd Central’s Tony Kessinger. 144 lbs – Caleb Cooper (26-5) Cooper made his way to the finals with back-to-back technical falls before falling in a close 3-1 decision to Jennings County’s Lane Kirchner. Results for the ENTIRE team: 106 F F (0-3) placed 6th. Quarterfinal - Trey Pinter (Floyd Central) 15-15 won by forfeit over F F (Columbus East) 0-3 (For.) Cons. Round 1 - F F (Columbus East) 0-3 received a bye () (Bye) Cons. Semi - Chase Koznarsky (Seymour) 19-8 won by forfeit over F F (Columbus East) 0-3 (For.) 5th Place Match - Tim Wilkins (Jeffersonville) 18-20 won by forfeit over F F (Columbus East) 0-3 (For.) 113 Ethan Poling (23-6) placed 1st and scored 26.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Ethan Poling (Columbus East) 23-6 won by fall over Kaiden Cochrane (Jennings County) 5-9 (Fall 0:43) Semifinal - Ethan Poling (Columbus East) 23-6 won by fall over Will Honecker (Jeffersonville) 18-20 (Fall 0:38) 1st Place Match - Ethan Poling (Columbus East) 23-6 won by fall over Jack Cavallo (New Albany) 18-9 (Fall 1:22) 120 Ayden Hamm (0-5) placed 6th and scored 3.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Jon Steele (Jeffersonville) 12-14 won by major decision over Ayden Hamm (Columbus East) 0-5 (MD 17-9) Cons. Round 1 - Ayden Hamm (Columbus East) 0-5 received a bye () (Bye) Cons. Semi - Xavier Bottoms (New Albany) 20-9 won by tech fall over Ayden Hamm (Columbus East) 0-5 (TF-1.5 5:00 (16-0)) 5th Place Match - Jon Steele (Jeffersonville) 12-14 won by fall over Ayden Hamm (Columbus East) 0-5 (Fall 2:13) 126 Wyatt Behnke (13-13) placed 3rd and scored 12.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Wyatt Behnke (Columbus East) 13-13 received a bye () (Bye) Semifinal - Fynn Douglas (Floyd Central) 16-1 won by tech fall over Wyatt Behnke (Columbus East) 13-13 (TF-1.5 1:35 (19-4)) Cons. Semi - Wyatt Behnke (Columbus East) 13-13 won by fall over Leidan Montiel Mora (Seymour) 7-6 (Fall 2:46) 3rd Place Match - Wyatt Behnke (Columbus East) 13-13 won by decision over Stephen Goodman (New Albany) 21-7 (Dec 8-3) 132 Gage Rutan (25-5) placed 2nd and scored 19.5 team points. Quarterfinal - Gage Rutan (Columbus East) 25-5 won by fall over Asher Owens (Bedford North Lawrence) 0-6 (Fall 0:26) Semifinal - Gage Rutan (Columbus East) 25-5 won by tech fall over Chase Cavallo (New Albany) 23-6 (TF-1.5 3:10 (19-2)) 1st Place Match - Tony Kessinger (Floyd Central) 25-6 won by decision over Gage Rutan (Columbus East) 25-5 (Dec 11-6) 138 Caleb Kirkpatrick (27-4) placed 1st and scored 23.5 team points. Quarterfinal - Caleb Kirkpatrick (Columbus East) 27-4 won by fall over Brady Franks (Jennings County) 11-9 (Fall 3:43) Semifinal - Caleb Kirkpatrick (Columbus East) 27-4 won by tech fall over Dane Botkin (Seymour) 17-8 (TF-1.5 4:00 (15-0)) 1st Place Match - Caleb Kirkpatrick (Columbus East) 27-4 won by decision over Hunter Banet (Floyd Central) 22-8 (Dec 4-0) 144 Caleb Cooper (26-5) placed 2nd and scored 19.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Caleb Cooper (Columbus East) 26-5 won by tech fall over Liam Chandler (Seymour) 11-11 (TF-1.5 2:44 (15-0)) Semifinal - Caleb Cooper (Columbus East) 26-5 won by tech fall over Damian Castillo (New Albany) 15-11 (TF-1.5 2:34 (16-1)) 1st Place Match - Lane Kirchner (Jennings County) 25-2 won by decision over Caleb Cooper (Columbus East) 26-5 (Dec 3-1) 150 Lincoln Cooper (27-2) placed 1st and scored 25.5 team points. Quarterfinal - Lincoln Cooper (Columbus East) 27-2 won by fall over Caleb Shirley (New Albany) 11-11 (Fall 3:13) Semifinal - Lincoln Cooper (Columbus East) 27-2 won by fall over Quintin Smith (Jeffersonville) 18-20 (Fall 0:57) 1st Place Match - Lincoln Cooper (Columbus East) 27-2 won by tech fall over Varric Wright (Floyd Central) 21-10 (TF-1.5 3:14 (18-0)) 157 Aiden Miller (4-4) placed 3rd and scored 15.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Graham Ehringer (Floyd Central) 18-10 won by decision over Aiden Miller (Columbus East) 4-4 (Dec 6-2) Cons. Round 1 - Aiden Miller (Columbus East) 4-4 won by fall over Mekhi Cooper (Jeffersonville) 12-27 (Fall 2:11) Cons. Semi - Aiden Miller (Columbus East) 4-4 won by decision over Darrell Hicks (Jennings County) 16-9 (Dec 9-2) 3rd Place Match - Aiden Miller (Columbus East) 4-4 won by fall over Will McLaughlin (New Albany) 9-10 (Fall 0:53) 165 Clayton Miller (25-6) placed 1st and scored 25.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Clayton Miller (Columbus East) 25-6 won by fall over Adrian Carrilllo (Jeffersonville) 17-18 (Fall 4:46) Semifinal - Clayton Miller (Columbus East) 25-6 won by fall over Nick Cortes (Jennings County) 22-11 (Fall 3:04) 1st Place Match - Clayton Miller (Columbus East) 25-6 won by major decision over Briley Compton (Seymour) 21-7 (MD 12-3) 175 Hank Redman (23-5) placed 1st and scored 22.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Hank Redman (Columbus East) 23-5 received a bye () (Bye) Semifinal - Hank Redman (Columbus East) 23-5 won by fall over Xander Hobbs (Jeffersonville) 18-21 (Fall 1:27) 1st Place Match - Hank Redman (Columbus East) 23-5 won by decision over Colton Philpot (Floyd Central) 14-15 (Dec 7-4) 190 Colin McMahon (26-4) placed 1st and scored 25.5 team points. Quarterfinal - Colin McMahon (Columbus East) 26-4 won by fall over Reed Wilson (DQ) (Jennings County) 3-10 (Fall 0:17) Semifinal - Colin McMahon (Columbus East) 26-4 won by fall over Siyour Miniggia (Jeffersonville) 17-17 (Fall 0:56) 1st Place Match - Colin McMahon (Columbus East) 26-4 won by tech fall over Spencer Fain (Floyd Central) 14-11 (TF-1.5 5:42 (17-1)) 215 James Moss (19-5) placed 1st and scored 21.5 team points. Quarterfinal - James Moss (Columbus East) 19-5 won by tech fall over James Dyer (Jeffersonville) 7-14 (TF-1.5 5:22 (18-2)) Semifinal - James Moss (Columbus East) 19-5 won by decision over Cristian Gomez (Jennings County) 20-7 (Dec 3-2) 1st Place Match - James Moss (Columbus East) 19-5 won by decision over Kenny Ward (Floyd Central) 14-16 (Dec 7-4) 285 Dominic Piper (13-15) placed 4th and scored 9.0 team points. Quarterfinal - Bobby Garvis (Floyd Central) 15-15 won by decision over Dominic Piper (Columbus East) 13-15 (Dec 1-0) Cons. Round 1 - Dominic Piper (Columbus East) 13-15 received a bye () (Bye) Cons. Semi - Dominic Piper (Columbus East) 13-15 won by decision over Xavior Gindhart (Jennings County) 19-9 (Dec 5-0) 3rd Place Match - Bobby Garvis (Floyd Central) 15-15 won by major decision over Dominic Piper (Columbus East) 13-15 (MD 8-0) Team Summary The Olympians' remarkable effort across weight classes was a testament to their depth and determination. Despite missing out on the top team spot by just 12 points, Columbus East demonstrated championship-caliber performances. The O's, who never dodge wrestling the best teams in the state, head to 4A #1 Brownsburg on Friday, January 24th, to wrestle in their final dual meet before the start of the IHSAA State tournament. Good luck Olympians!