Brownsburg sophomore Jake Hockaday wins Indiana 120-pound state wrestling title in battle of champions

Crown Point crowns four individual champions, while Brownsburg has three

Author:
Phillip B. Wilson
Publish date:
Feb 19, 2023 1:26 AM EST

By Phillip B. Wilson

INDIANAPOLIS — Jake Hockaday envisioned a showdown with two-time wrestling state champion Ashton Jackson, so when the moment came in Saturday night’s 85th IHSAA state finals, the Brownsburg 120-pound sophomore showed he was more than up to the challenge.

So convinced he could knock off the LaPorte champion who entered 56-0 and hadn’t lost in two years, Hockaday even planned a special celebration when the mission was accomplished.

He seized an early four-point lead and fended off the expected late surges for a 6-3 triumph, then Hockaday pointed at his coach, Kyle Ayersman. As Ayersman approached, Hockaday threw his coach down to the mat, just like they planned in the hotel room.

“I told him I was ‘fiving him,’” Hockaday said of punctuating his 37-4 season with the coach takedown. “I pointed at him, called him over and threw him.”

A 106-pound state champion as a freshman, Hockaday considered himself an equal against Jackson, who is headed to Purdue. And he had added motivation from a match three years ago, when Jackson pinned him.

“I just tried to stay calm, keep the pace up and not let him dictate the match,” he said. “I knew he was going to be violent. I just had to keep scoring points.

“I wrestled him three years ago and he pinned me. I did not forget it. That ate me up. And he beat my teammate last year, so I had to get it back in blood.”

The Bulldogs celebrated three state champions as 106-pound freshman Revin Dickman defeated Avon rival and Contenders Wrestling club teammate Nathan Rioux 3-0 and 285-pound senior heavyweight Leighton Jones downed Evansville Memorial’s Kelton Farmer 7-2.

Brownsburg finished third in the team standings behind champion Crown Point, which had four winners to repeat for its third-ever state title, and runner-up Center Grove.

“It feels amazing,” Dickman said after improving to 44-5. “(Rioux and him) have trained all of our lives together, Contenders Wrestling, since we were like 4. It’s always going to be a close match.”

Jones atoned for finishing third in each of the past two years to finish his season at 40-5.

“I feel like I’ve been the best heavyweight in the state the last two years, but I didn’t get it done when it mattered most,” said Jones, an Iowa football recruit. “It was the only way for me to end it, on top of everything.”

Center Grove 113-pounder Charlie LaRocca defeated Indian Creek’s Jackson Heaston 3-1 to wrap up a 44-2 junior season. Heaston had finished seventh at 113 last year.

“My confidence has been high all year,” LaRocca said. “It’s been the goal since last year. We’ve been talking about it since July. I had to get it done tonight and I did.”

LaRocca and Heaston have also trained together at Contenders.

“I wouldn’t say we’re friends, but I consider him a good rival,” LaRocca said.

“This means the world to me. I put so much into this sport. I’ve dreamt about this moment. It doesn’t feel real.”

Center Grove had four other wrestlers in the finals, but each of them lost. In a 145-pound matchup of unbeatens, Chesterton senior Aidan Torres wrapped up a 55-0 season with a convincing 11-2 victory over Center Grove junior Wyatt Krejsa, who fell to 22-1.

Brownsburg’s Brady Ison lost his 132-pound finale to Whiteland senior Joey Buttler 6-3 as Buttler finished 48-0.

Roncalli senior Bryce Lowery also stayed perfect at 47-0 with a 3-1 win over Evansville Mater Dei’s Hunter May at 152 pounds. Hunter May dropped to 42-2.

New Castle freshman Tylin Thrine finished unblemished at 45-0 after a 5-3 victory over Center Grove’s Hyatt Yeager.

Crown Point senior Cody Goodwin stunned Bloomington South’s Delaney Ruhlman, 2-1. Ruhlman entered 43-0. Goodwin finishes 25-4.