By KEVIN HARRIS
The USA Wrestling Central Junior Regional Championships are returning to Jeffersonville this weekend. It is the sixth consecutive year the meet will be at Jeff High School.
Three hundred and fifty wrestlers are expected to compete in the Greco-Roman and freestyle divisions.
According to event director Louis Rosbottom, several wrestlers from southern Indiana will be wrestling in the tourney. One of them will be Floyd Central sophomore Cooper Samuels, who finished second in the 145-pound division at last February’s IHSAA State Finals.
The Central Region is comprised of wrestlers from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and West Virginia. Event director Louis Rosbottom is also expecting grapplers from Illinois, Iowa and Pennsylvania.
“It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy it,” Rosbottom said. “A lot of our juniors like the regional because it doesn’t interfere with prom and other things.”
The freestyle divisions will compete on Saturday with the preliminary matches starting at 10 a.m. The Greco-Roman classes will take place on Sunday with preliminaries starting at 9:30 a.m.
The top three finishers in each division will qualify for their respective state’s USA Wrestling Junior Nationals team. The Junior Nationals will be July 21-29 in Fargo, N.D.
The tournament will also have one of the top referees in the country.
Noblesville resident Tom Clark is the head clinician (or official) at the Junior Regionals. Clark has a Fila 1-E designation, which allows him to officiate at the Summer Olympics. Only five referees in the country have this designation.
“He’s the ultimate authority,” Rosbottom said.
Cost of admission is $5 per session and $15 for an all-session pass. Children ages 12 and under will be admitted free.
