Wrestling
Chesterton senior rewarded for offseason work with win even he couldn’t explain yet
Chesterton senior Brandon Bolin couldn’t recall how he did it.
The Trojans’ 160-pounder knew he was stronger, a product of routine visits to the weight room before the football season.
He also knew he was starting to reap the rewards of all that work, finding consistent time in the varsity lineup after spending his junior season on JV.
Still, he couldn’t explain how he ended up pinning the state’s top-ranked 160-pound wrestler during the Hobart Super Duals on Saturday.
“It was all in the moment,” Bolin said. “I just knew that, once I got him on his back, I had to hold him.”
Bolin pinned Hobart senior Tyler Turley at 5:42, capping his 5-0 day and a first-place finish for the Trojans.
Bolin will have plenty of time to review the film and figure out how he managed that pin, but the more lasting impact from that victory will linger in his mind.
“It gives me a lot more confidence going into those matches against better kids,” Bolin said. “And I know that if I keep working harder, I can beat them too.”
Chesterton sophomore Sergio Lemley entered this season in a much different place than Bolin did.
As a freshman at Mount Carmel in Chicago, Lemley won a state title at 113 pounds. He entered this season as IndianaMat’s top-ranked wrestler at 120 and went 5-0 at 126 on Saturday.
In Lemley’s never-ending search for ways to improve, though, he took the advice of assistant coach Keith Davison and started eating healthier.
“I’ve been cutting out the junk food,” he said. “I never needed it. I ended up feeling a lot better than I did before, and I don’t think I’m going back anytime soon.”
That change was just another part of the inward focus for Lemley as he looks to repeat last season’s success in his home state.
“I changed my nutrition and have been focusing on my technique,” he said. “I’m just working on myself, really.”
Hobart went 4-1 on Saturday, losing only to Chesterton.
Junior Jacob Simpson is one of several Brickies moving to wrestling after playing on the football team that lost to Roncalli in the Class 4A state final.
For Simpson — ranked No. 9 at 170 by IndianaMat — there are clear signs he’s rounding into form. After needing overtime to defeat Highland junior Jesse Herrera one week earlier, Simpson scored an 8-2 decision in regulation on Saturday.
“Coming back from football, my conditioning probably wasn’t there at first,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been getting better throughout the week.”
Simpson’s performance earned him Hobart’s traveling team trophy: a two-by-four signed by former professional wrestler “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, who carried a similar piece of lumber during his career.
Simpson’s transition from football to wrestling is moving right along.
“It’s just like going into any other sport, really,” he said. “The main difference is getting back in the room and getting the feel of things. That’s probably the hardest part. But I’m feeling pretty good.”
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