Rochester boys wrestling preview: State placers Gard, Horn, Beck return as team ‘100 percent’ on further success

Val T.
3 hours ago
6 min read

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Tristan Wilson starts his second season as Rochester boys wrestling coach tonight when the Zebras travel to Rensselaer.

It is an all-consuming job to maintain the success of the program, which sent four kids to state last year and returns three stats placers in Declan Gard, Brant Beck and Layne Horn.

“Last year was definitely a surprise on everything that happened and how it happened,” Wilson said. “I think I actually had a full offseason to think and make notes. I have been working on this current season since last season, marking what I do and do not like, different ways to challenge the guys. I feel much more confident in the position that I am now.

“I feel like the guys are responding to it a lot better than last year too. I just didn’t have much time to put my own style into what we were doing, but I feel like now I have everything planned. I know what we’re working on. I know when we’re working on it. I know when I need them to peak. I know what tournaments I need them to peak for. I always just watch wrestling. That’s all I do with my free time when it’s wrestling season. I’m 100 percent into wrestling. Not a lot of other things are going on in my life. After high school practice is over, I’m coaching the first-year kids in the youth program. I’m just trying to build the program up and keep turning out these really good wrestlers and people.”

Rochester is ranked No. 8 in the IndianaMat.com Preseason State Power Poll, and the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association has Rochester at No. 3 in their preseason Class 1A poll.

Gard, Beck and Horn might be the marquee names, but Rochester might also need a bigger marquee. After all, the Zebras will not be forfeiting three weight classes this year like they did last year.

Grant Holloway, who qualified for state in 2024 at 106 pounds, is back after taking a year off. He is wrestling at 126 this year and ranked No. 24.

Braddock Behling is back at 150. Behling is a reigning regional champion who got within one match of qualifying for state last year.

Wilson said Behling is currently out with “a little injury.” Wilson declined to specify further on the injury.

“He put in some work this summer,” Wilson said. “He is ready to go this year. It’s his senior year. He only got to wrestle two years in his high school career, so he’s very eager to go. … He was a much different wrestler at the end of the year (last year) – way more offensive, not afraid to get tired. I think it just took a little bit of time to knock the rust off.”

Derek Wortley, another semistate qualifier last year at 190, is also back and ranked No. 23.

Junior Jackson Robbins, a junior who did not wrestle after transferring last year, was a regional qualifier at Caston in 2024 and will start this season ranked No. 18 at 120, according to IndianaMat.

“He put in a lot of work this summer,” Wilson said. “He got second at freshman-sophomore state, which is an offseason tournament. And then when they put together a little 1A-2A state, he got second at that too. He’s now ranked in the top 20, I think, right now, and the only record that he has in the state tournament is just regional qualifier his freshman year, so that’s a good testament to the work he’s done.”

Mason Hisey, who won 30 matches and qualified for the regional last year, is back at 215.

Kale Shotts, a regional qualifier at 144 in 2024, is back at 175 after taking a year off wrestling.

“As soon as offseason came, he came right back to us and started practicing, and he’s been looking phenomenal lately,” Wilson said. “Really getting into his offense. He even went and wrestled at Fargo, which is the national freestyle tournament in North Dakota. He wrestled Greco(-Roman) there and had a really good tournament before he unfortunately injured his ankle, but the kid that he lost to ended up making the finals, and it was a real close match before he got injured with it. He’s going to surprise a lot of people this year because his freshman year, he had a great season but drew another tough opponent at regionals and ended up not making it to semistate, so a lot of people aren’t thinking of him right now, which is very nice for us.”

There are also promising freshmen in Braxton Hester (106), Tanner Horn (113), Aidan Smith (138) and Caden Biernacki (144).

Senior Clarence Garrett will move full-time into the varsity lineup at 157.

“Clarence started wrestling last year,” Wilson said. “He’s a very hard worker. A really athletic kid, and his offense is picking up a lot this summer. He is going to fit the 157 role for us really well this year.”

Biernacki is replacing Matthais Field, who is taking virtual classes and will not be on the team.

“He is very similar to Derek Wortley,” Wilson said of Biernacki. “He is a hard worker. Quiet. The guys like him because he just wants to work hard and improve, and he’s very sizable for 144. He’s a pretty strong kid coming in as a freshman.”

As for the big three returnees, Beck will move up a weight class and is ranked No. 2 at 165. Layne Horn is No. 3 at 132, and Gard is No. 5 at heavyweight.

Both Beck and Layne Horn will take aim at 2024 grad Brady Beck’s career wins record.

Brant Beck was slightly limited from a shoulder injury late in the football season.

“We nursed him a little bit and made sure that he was good to go,” Wilson said of Brant Beck. “After that first week, we really took it light with him. There were some days that he didn’t practice fully. We gave him a little bit of stuff to do, but his injuries are holding up now, and he’s back to normal.”

Wilson said Horn thought about going up in weight but decided to stay put at 132. He was a state qualifier at 106 in 2023 and at 126 in 2024 before taking seventh at 132 last year.

“After he started getting in some practices in, the weight was already down,” Wilson said. “So he certified at 132, and that’s where he wants to stay. He’ll be your (1)32, and he’s ranked No. 3 in the state right now. … We have to be careful about when our hard work days are and when our oft work days are. We challenge him by putting him with heavier guys. He’s really strong for a 132, but he spends a lot of time practicing with Derek Wortley. They’re best buddies, and they practice well together. That rubs off on Derek. That rubs off on Layne because Derek’s a 190-pounder.”

Gard returned to football this fall and made first-team All-Three Rivers Conference as an offensive left tackle after not playing his sophomore and junior years.

“I think it gave him a nice break,” Gard said. “I think he put in a ton of time this summer. He was always at the Unchained Wrestling Academy and every moment that they had it. He’s done a great job. He got a lot of matches in. Even in football season, he went and wrestled at the IHPO (Indiana Hoosier Preseason Open, a prestigious tournament in Fort Wayne) with Grant and Layne and all of them that competed there. He had a pretty decent tournament, but he wasn’t really wrestling much then. He was in football season. But that’s just how willing he is to go out and wrestle.”

Wilson also said Marshall Fishback and Eli Swango have spent more time as volunteer assistant coaches.

A new addition to the schedule is the Chris Traicoff Invitational at Calumet Dec. 13. It is a super duals that replaces the Elkhart tournament on the schedule.

Wilson said that the team has not been officially invited to the team state duals but said it is “100 percent possible” that the team could still receive an invitation.

The team opens the season with a road dual at Class 1A, No. 4 Rensselaer tonight.

Rochester boys wrestling schedule

Nov. 21 – at Rensselaer, 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 22 – at West Noble Invite, 9 a.m. (JV only)

Nov. 25 – vs. Winamac, 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 1 – at Logansport Invite, 6 p.m. (JV only)

Dec. 3 – vs. Plymouth, 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 5 – at TRC Super Duals, Day 1, 6 p.m. (at Maconaquah)

Dec. 6 – at TRC Super Duals, Day 2, 9:30 a.m. (at Maconaquah)

Dec. 13 – at Chris Traicoff Memorial Invite, 9:30 a.m. Eastern (at Calumet)

Dec. 13 – at Plymouth Invite, 9 a.m. (JV only)

Dec. 20 – vs. Rochester John McKee Memorial Invite, 8:45 a.m.