Wawasee’s Cavan Tom, left, and Derek Morrison relax before the start of the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals. (Photo courtesy Jamie Salazar)

It was a new life experience for both Cavan Tom and Derek Morrison, making their first appearances at the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals.

Tom earned a place among the 16 state finalists at 144 pounds and Morrison among the 215-pound competitors. Each, however, found their final matches coming under the main stage lights at Gainbridge Fieldhouse after first-round losses in Friday’s contests.

Cavan Tom vs Peyton Hornsby of Center Grove

Hornsby come into the finals with quite a résumé to his credit, including a third-place finish at the Al Smith Invite, where Tom would have seen him on adjoining mats. While the two did not meet in the regular season, Hornsby wrestled Tom as if he knew everything the Wawasee sophomore would try to throw, scoring a takedown and two-point nearfall right out of the gate, and only after Tom scored his only point of the match on an escape, Hornsby immediately went back on offense with a takedown and six points worth of nearfalls to close out a 14-1 first period. Hornsby chose neutral to start the second and got a takedown at 19 seconds to end the match at 17-1 in favor of the Center Grove stud.

Tom, who was a sectional champion for the first time and third at the semi-state, concludes his standout sophomore season 33-11 overall.

Derek Morrison vs Malachi Evans of Penn

For over three minutes of the matchup between the two area brawlers, Evans held a 12-5 lead and was in fairly secure control of the match. But with 30 seconds left in the second period, Morrison managed to find a gear he had done numerous times this season, going from neutral to fourth gear in a split second. A takedown and nearfall four with 24 seconds left in the second had Morrison nearly in position to advance. But Evans figured out a way to release Morrison’s grip and scored a reversal to get two points and a 14-12 lead heading to a suddenly air tight third period.

Morrison’s big shot in the second period was his last, unfortunately, as Evans worked off bottom and got and escape into an offensive stance, got a takedown and closed out Morrison with a pin at 4:46, advancing the Kingsman senior and ending the Warrior junior’s remarkable season.

Morrison didn’t win a single tournament title this season, but set his own bar sky high with a career-high 35 wins to just seven losses, six of those seven losses coming to state finalists, the seventh in the championship at the Al Smith Invite to the No. 6-ranked wrestler in the state.