GREENFIELD — A common phrase stated when two rivals meet on an athletic stage is that there is “no love lost” between the two combatants.
That couldn’t be less true when wrestling programs from Pendleton Heights and Greenfield-Central meet for the annual Battle for the Box.
Greenfield-Central head coach Josh Holden opened Wednesday duals at Greenfield-Central High School — which for the first time included an IHSAA-sanctioned girls match — on the public address system talking to the crowd about the love and respect shared by both programs and what the evening’s competition was all about.
It was about honoring two great former coaches, one from each program.
Yearly, the teams meet for a toolbox with the initials K&H on the side. It’s in memory of two longtime assistant coaches, Greenfield-Central’s Ed Hamant, who passed away in 2021, and Pendleton Heights’ Eric Kriebel, who died in 2013.
Hamant was a coach in the Cougars program for 40 years. He was 75 when he passed away.
Kriebel was only 55 when he died. He was an assisted for 20 years at PHHS.
Both are members of the Indiana High School Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
“With Thanksgiving, this is kind of a perfect moment to talk about the things we’re thankful for,” Holden said. “For some reason this year, there have been so many positive comments and compliments from teachers talking about how great the kids are doing in class. Parents are coming in talking about how great the coaching staff has been with their kid. It’s been overwhelming.”
Holden said on his drive over to school for Wednesday night’s match he got to thinking about those kind of things and how he appreciates hearing people tell him how his program is making a difference.
It led him right to why the Arabians-Cougars match honors the two men that gave so much to their respective programs and the sport.
“To have people come out and point out good things about our kids and the parents, our program, and coaches, it means a lot to me,” Holden continued. “That was who coach Kriebel and coach Hamant were. They were the positive people. They believed in the kids and believed in the program. They would have never left. Ed would have never left, he would have died in the wrestling room. To have that much confidence and love for the program, it’s overwhelming still all these years later not having him around. I know coach Kriebel was the same with Pendleton.
“For me [this match] is about being thankful. For them, [Pendleton Heights coach] Dave Cloud has been my friend for a long time. We’ve been at each other’s throats on the mat and when it’s over, he wins, I win, it doesn’t matter, we hug each other. When we’re on the phone when we hang up it’s, ‘I love you, coach.’ I’m just thankful for being here right now. It’s a really special time.”
Wednesday’s boys match was a decisive win for the Cougars, who retained the toolbox with a 73-6 victory.
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Four of the wins were by forfeit, while Kellen Zuber (126), JJ Harlow (144), Camden Gardner (150), Aiden Briles (157), Mason Thompson (165), Jackson Burgin (175) and Tristen Lanum (215) all won by pin.
At 106, Greenfield-Central’s Kainen Shores won by major decision, 10-2, over Truitt Wolf. At 138, G-C’s Cade Zuber won the most competitive match of the night, an 8-4 decision over Alex Heineman.
Pendleton Heights picked up a win at 132, a victory by pin for Max Bowers.
“We wrestled 100 times better than we wrestled over the weekend (at the Rossville Invitational),” Holden said. “We wrestled tentative at Rossville. I thought we came out and we looked like we knew we were going to win. You can’t wrestle tentative.”
G-C won the girls match 36-12.
It was the first official IHSAA girls dual victory in school history.
“That was the first girls school meet win in history as a sanctioned IHSAA sport,” Holden added. “That group just won the first meet ever … It is special and it is important. It’s a program changer. It really is, what those girls are doing.”
There were five competitive matches and Greenfield-Central won three to go with three more victories by forfeit.
For the Cougars, Annie Johnson (125), Maddy Reed (190) and Keely Allen (235) won by fall.
Claire Bowman (140) and Maddy Marsh (145) had victories by pin for the Arabians.
In one of the more anticipated matches of the night, the lone contest between two state-ranked wrestlers, Marsh, who won last year’s 135-pound state title in the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling Association tournament, took on Greenfield-Central’s Jasmine Camacho.
Marsh is ranked No. 1 in the state this season in the 140 class. Camacho is No. 4 in the 145 division.
Camacho got an early takedown to take a 3-0 lead, but Marsh battled back to get within one, 3-2, heading into the second period.
Marsh was able to record a second-period pin to win the match.
Holden said, even though Camacho was on the short end of the final result, he believes she got some positives from the competition.
“We know Maddy Marsh and she’s pretty good and Jasmine Camacho is pretty good too,” Holden said. “I think sometimes Jasmine Camacho sells herself a little short. I don’t think she did today. She went out got the first takedown … Maddy turned it up and that’s going to happen. I think getting that first takedown you have that, ‘I can wrestle with the top kids in the state.’ If she got that out of it, it’s good. Maddy’s good and we wanted to wrestle her.”
Greenfield-Central’s wrestling teams are back in action Thursday, Dec. 5 with a home match with Franklin Central.
