Overtime had not been kind to Hobart senior Tylor Triana.
“I’ve been in overtime three times, and two of them ended up in losses,” he said. “I knew I had to do something differently. It was all in my mind.”
Triana, ranked No. 4 at 120 by IndianaMat.com, went into overtime during his championship match against No. 6 Brock Peele of Portage at Saturday’s Griffith Sectional.
But this time, Triana gained the decisive two points with a takedown for a 3-1 victory.
“I needed this week to boost my confidence a little bit,” Triana said. “I knew it was going to be a grind.”
Triana has been wrestling against Peele for years, going back to their days at the local Region Wrestling Academy. And with no secrets left between the two, Triana said he had to rely on a mental edge in overtime.
“They know how I wrestle,” Triana said. “It’s basically the mental block that you have to push past. Tell yourself that you’re OK even though you’re tired.”
Triana was one of three Hobart wrestlers to finish first, along with Dante Colza (160) and Zack Fattore (170). The other 11 champions came from Portage, which captured its 10th straight sectional title with a team score of 322.
In another match between state-ranked wrestlers, No. 13 Jacob Bondon of Portage pinned No. 11 AJ Fowler of Calumet in the first period of their 195-pound championship match.
It was the postseason debut for Bondon in his senior season.
“I’m so excited that I can finally use the skills I’ve been saving up for three years,” Bondon said.
Bondon had to fight for his varsity spot, too. He was competing with classmate Anthony Maceo, a state qualifier last season. But Maceo was hampered by a shoulder injury suffered at the and of football season, giving Bondon the varsity spot early on — and he never let it go.
“I was expecting him to come back at any time,” Bondon said. “It’s a lot easier to settle in now.”
Portage’s other nine champions were: Jacob Moran (106), Ricky Hegedus (113), Colin Poynter (126), Alec Luna (132), Kris Rumph (138), Donnell Washington (152), Jeremy Torres (182), Chester Swopes (220) and Ricky Beehn (285).
Portage’s success came without coach Leroy Vega, who missed the meet while recovering from knee surgery. But senior Kasper McIntosh, who won the title at 145, said the season-long lessons from Vega were still fresh in their minds.
“Coach Vega likes to preach the basics,” McIntosh said. “The basics are easy to train. They’re the most natural things to happen in a match.”
Vega’s absence was still noticed by McIntosh, who’s committed to Minnesota — the same school where Vega wrestled.
“Without him, it was a lot quieter,” McIntosh said. “And with a lot less yelling.”
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Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.