Trojans sophomore looks forward to 1st appearance in state finals

Wrestling coaches try to get their athletes not to focus on any match other than the one coming up next.

Center Grove’s Alex Petro learned this one the hard way.

As a freshman last season, Petro finished fifth at 106 pounds at the Mooresville Sectional and wound up a spectator for the remainder of the postseason.

Disappointed, Petro improved his ability to concentrate on the task at hand, which will come in handy Friday night when Petro makes his IHSAA wrestling state finals debut at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“It feels pretty good to accomplish something like this. It’s a big difference compared to last year,” said Petro, who takes a 27-7 record into his 113-pound first-round match against Warren Central senior Skylour Turner (30-5).

“I’ve always tried to be the best I can be. Where I think I’ve improved the most is just letting go of things.”

Petro is referring to losses and even victories when he felt he didn’t wrestle to his potential.

Petro placed third at the Evansville Reitz Semistate on Saturday.

He pinned his first- and second-round opponents — Chris Tucker of Evansville Reitz and Camden Rose of Greensburg, respectively — but lost to ninth-ranked Seth Horty of Evansville Memorial 13-1 in the semifinals. Petro defeated Evansville Mater Dei freshman Kane Egli 3-1 in the consolation match.

“Alex had a pretty solid freshman season but just lost at the wrong time,” Trojans coach Cale Hoover said. “Alex is an interesting guy. He’s a lot of fun, asks a lot of questions and is always going about 400 miles per hour.

“But he’s started to grow up quite a bit. The last five weeks, in particular, we’ve seen a real difference in him.”

Friday marks the second time this season Petro will wrestle Turner. The latter scored a 6-4 victory at the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference tournament in January.

One of seven Johnson County wrestlers to make it to the state finals, Petro has set a top-five finish at state as his primary objective.

It won’t be easy.

Petro’s side of the 16-person state finals bracket includes six wrestlers ranked among the top 20, according to IndianaMat.com. This includes Turner (third), Jimtown’s Hunter Watts (sixth), Greenfield-Central’s Gavin Rose (seventh) and Portage’s Brock Peele (11th).

Good wrestlers, but then Petro faces outstanding competition every day.

The quality of practice partners frequently plays a role in how far a wrestler can go once the postseason arrives, and Petro is one such beneficiary.

Said Hoover: “The kids Alex is wrestling in practice have forced him to up his game.”

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Name: Alex Petro

Age: 16

Born: Indianapolis

Family: Parents Joe and Karen; brother Shawn; sister Shannon

Favorite TV show: “Family Guy”

Favorite food: Steak

Favorite movie: “Step Brothers”

Favorite athlete: Bo Nickal

Favorite team: Indiana Pacers

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IHSAA Wrestling State Finals

When: 6 p.m. Friday (first round); 9:30 a.m. Saturday (quarterfinals), 5 p.m. Saturday (consolations) and 7:30 p.m. Saturday (finals)

Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis

Admission: $8 per session or $20 both days

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