Franklin to host U14 wrestling nationals

Owen Trimpe is no stranger to out-of-state wrestling tournaments, including the one he’ll compete in later this month in Florida.

As for this week, however, Trimpe hopes to benefit from the home-mat advantage — if such a thing exists.

Trimpe is one of the local wrestlers representing Indiana at the USA Wrestling 14U National Duals, a four-day event being hosted by Franklin Community High School. Greco-Roman wrestling competitions will be Thursday and Friday, with the weekend devoted to freestyle matches.

“I like going on the road, but I feel this gives me an advantage because I’ll be wrestling in my own gym and it will make me less nervous,” said Trimpe, a 136-pounder who’ll be a freshman for the Grizzly Cubs next season. “This is important to me because I won freestyle state, so I get to wrestle in this tournament.

“It’s pretty cool that it’s right here in Franklin.”

Central Indiana is the undisputed hot spot of youth wrestling competition this week. The 16U National Duals are being held the same days at Grand Park in Westfield.

“To have a national tournament here is great,” Franklin coach Jim Tonte said. “Indiana is getting a lot of notoriety because we’re hosting the 16Us and 14Us at the same time. It says a lot about our state to be a front-runner.”

According to Tonte, the Greco-Roman tournament is attracting teams from 33 different states; in freestyle, the number bumps up to 36.

Besides Trimpe, others representing Franklin will be Cory Fuller, Corinthian Tonte, Jakobe Hunt, Brian Leap, Joey Taylor and Jonah Strain. Two wrestlers in the Indian Creek school system, Carson Volz and Oliver Hallet, are also taking part.

Each qualified by placing at the Greco-Roman and freestyle state meets at Avon in early March.

“It’s a great tournament,” coach Tonte said of this week’s meet. “We’ve got teams all the way from California to Delaware coming in. It’s a really neat thing for this community as well.”

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USA Wrestling 14U National Duals

Where: Franklin Community High School

Thursday

Doors open at 7 a.m.; Greco-Roman Session 1 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Greco-Roman Session 2 from 3 to 10 p.m.

Friday

Doors open at 7 a.m.; Greco-Roman Session 3 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Greco-Roman finals and awards from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Saturday

Doors open at 7 a.m.; Freestyle Session 1 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Freestyle Session 2 from 3 to 9 p.m.

Sunday

Doors open at 7 a.m.; Freestyle Session 3 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Freestyle finals and awards from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

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