Every wrestler wants to win a state title, and Crown Point junior Gavin Jendreas has two of them.
But he says his collection remains incomplete.
“Coming into high school, I wanted to win state titles individually and as a team,” he said. “I’ve only been able to get one of those done.”
There are several new names on the Bulldogs’ roster this season as the two-time defending state champions look to complete the three-peat. But perhaps no one is hungrier than Jendreas, whose appetite for success has not been satisfied by those team titles and a pair of individual top-five finishes.
Jendreas, who is ranked No. 2 at 120 pounds by IndianaMat, went 24-3 and finished fifth in the state at 113 pounds last season. He went 35-5 and was the state runner-up at 106 as a freshman.
Although Jendreas hasn’t won an individual state title, Crown Point coach Branden Lorek said he has made undeniable contributions to each of the team championships.
“He’s come up really big for us numerous times,” Lorek said. “Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to come up as big as he’s wanted individually, and that’s been hard to watch. But he always comes back for the team.”
Jendreas said the runner-up finish at the end of his freshman season was especially difficult to handle because it meant an early end to his dream of becoming a four-time state champion. Coming to terms with that loss while appreciating the team title the same night proved to be a delicate balancing act.
“It was bittersweet for me,” he said. “You’re working toward that all season, and to get so close but fall short, I was just upset and disappointed. But it was also a long season with the team, so it was satisfying to get the team title.”
Jendreas’ sophomore season presented a different set of challenges. First, in late November, he suffered a broken left pinkie and damaged enough tendons that he needed hand surgery, which sidelined him until Christmas. Jendreas said he considered a much more drastic measure that would’ve gotten him back to practice sooner.
“I told them they could cut my finger off,” he said. “I didn’t want to take any time off.”
Jendreas then had the flu for the semistate and state meets, and it persisted into the small break he takes at the end of each high school season.
“That was step one. I had to get over that sickness,” he said. “I took a week off just to let my thoughts sit and relax, and we train really hard here, so we have to take a little time off to let our bodies recover at the end of the year. But it was right back to work after that, and I haven’t taken any time off since.”
The goal remains the same for Jendreas this season, but his role has changed after many of his teammates graduated.
“It’s a very different dynamic for me, trying to be a leader on a team where I’ve usually been one of the younger guys,” he said. “I’ve just been trying to help some of these guys through the season because I’ve been through two of them and I think I have pretty good experience at this point.”
One of those guys is sophomore Landon Hawkins, who is ranked No. 2 at 126.
“He’s experienced it all before I did, and he’s helping me learn the ropes of high school wrestling,” Hawkins said of Jendreas. “Whenever we’re drilling against each other, he’s holding me accountable, making sure we’re always going really hard.”
Jendreas said he hopes to make an impression on college coaches too.
“I’m just really excited for this season,” he said. “I’m a completely different person now, and I think I’ll put the state on notice and, hopefully, the country at some of these tournaments coming up.”
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Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.