Columbus North High School

February 12, 2023 - Sophomore Justice Thornton avenged his only regular-season defeat to Seth Syra of Avon in the second round of the Evansville Semi-State wrestling tournament after winning his first-round match with a second-period pin. The second-round victory punched Thornton’s ticket to the IHSAA State Finals on Saturday, February 18. Thornton then lost his final two matches of the Semi-State tournament, which will take place on February 18. The two losses for Thornton (39-3) will only impact his seeding for the State Finals. Nine other wrestlers from Columbus North competed at the Semi-State meet, but none other than Thornton advanced to the State Finals. These wrestlers, along with their season win-loss records, included Nolan Riley (18-18) at 106 pounds, Jason Shuey (29-10) at 138, Asher Ratliff (32-8) at 145, Josiah Green (30-14) at 152, Liam Phillips (33-6) at 160, Evan Saevre (13-11) at 170, Keller DeSpain (22-9) at 182, Jose Ramirez (26-10) at 195, and Cody Thurnall (22-17) at 285. Some of these wrestlers, as well as other Bull Dogs who did not qualify for Semi-State, will compete at the Freshmen-Sophomore State meet February 26-27. Photo: Justice Thornton qualified for the IHSAA State Finals after winning his first two matches at the Evansville Semi-State tournament held on February 11.