Focused on finals

Katie Rowles has been to state twice before, but she’s never made the trip alone.

Despite being alone, the senior has her sights set high. The Patriots have had a state champion for four straight years and she intends to make it five.

No. 7 Rowles will make the trip to Indianapolis to represent the Jay County High School girls wrestling team at the IHSAA State Tournament at Corteva Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Friday.

Rowles (28-4) previously made it to the state tournament as a freshman, back when she competed in the 98-pound weight class, but didn’t make the podium. She made it back last season, finishing fourth in the 100-pound bracket.

In her third trip to state, she will aim high to try and bring a state championship back home to Portland for a fifth consecutive year after Mallory Winner claimed a title the past four seasons.

“I’m not planning on changing anything this week,” Rowles said. “I’ve been working hard all season and I’m just going to keep that going. And the game plan is to take it all.

“I want to make it to the finals and I want to win.”

While claiming a state title is no small task, Rowles has some of the major keys necessary to bring home the gold, primarily, the proper mindset.

“Katie puts a lot of time into her craft and she’s never satisfied with not being the champion,” said JCHS coach Troy Jacks. “She constantly watches film. She’s constantly practicing, she journals, she does a lot of mind training along with her physical training and does a lot of things in the offseason like national events.

“That’s just where she’s at and where her space is. She’s trying to be the champion and on a mission to do that.”

To secure a spot on the podium, Rowles needs to beat Annalise Sanchez (20-6) of New Haven. Rowles has already beat the NHHS junior this year via pin in 1 minute, 9 seconds  to claim the title at the East Noble Invite.

“You can’t overlook anybody, but it definitely does help give a little bit of peace of mind,” Rowles said of having already beat her first-round matchup. “It’s a wrestler I’m familiar with and I know I can get the job done.”

The quarterfinal will be tougher for the Patriot.

She will either face No. 4 Joanna Cantu (33-4) of Hobart or No. 15 Ella Keller (26-11) out of Franklin Community. Cantu can pose a unique challenge as a wrestler with more strength as she finished seventh at the state tournament in 2025 in the next weight class up at 105 pounds.

“I don’t know a ton about Cantu because she’s never been at 100 before,” Rowles said. “She’s always been heavier, so she’s going to be a bigger girl cutting down. 

There’s probably going to be a strength difference there with her being bigger, but there’s also a bigger weight cut which takes a toll on a wrestler. So I’m not really worried about anything there. I’m just going to wrestle, be me and then there isn’t anybody I can’t beat.”

The rest of the tournament won’t be a cake walk either as all four of the potential semifinal opponents are ranked wrestlers.

The most likely matchups would be against either No. 1 Kaitlynn Fouty (23-0) of Whiteland Community or No. 2 Claire May (29-1) of Roncali, whose sole loss came to Rowles in the regional semifinal. (Fouty finished third at state in the 105 weight class last year, while May beat Rowles in the third-place match.) Rowles could also potentially face Twin Lakes’ Kerris Funkhouser (28-3), who is ranked 14th, or No. 16 Khloie Smith (21-8) of Jimtown.

“Anybody can beat anybody at that level on any given day,” Jacks said. “I know that she’s going to podium and be a multiple-time medalist and she knows that as well. It’s just a matter of what our game plan is for this week, identifying the potential wrestlers we’ll face along the way. Each has a different style and we’re preparing her this week for that. So we’ll put her in the best possible situation for herself to go out and deliver.”

Seven of the eight potential championship foes for Rowles are ranked as well. The favorites to come out of the bottom half of the bracket are No. 3 Aaliyah Brown (12-9) of Center Grove, – she beat Rowles in the regional title match – No. 5 Jalia Powers (28-2) of Crown Point or No. 6 Aniah Delgado (20-6) out of Perry Meridian.

This will be the first time since 2018 that Jay County has only sent one wrestler to the state tournament. While Rowles won’t have her team surrounding her, it’s nothing that she isn’t used to as she’s competed for Team Indiana during the past two offseasons in national tournaments.

Despite any adversity Rowles may face, she’s looking to end her time as a Patriot strong.

“I’m very thankful for this opportunity that God has given me,” Rowles said. “It’s a bit of a bummer that I’m not going to have my team there with me, but it’s gonna be fun, I’ll have my coaches and it will be a good time. …

“I plan on making the most of it, taking it all in. This is an amazing opportunity at an awesome venue.”