‘I have to trust myself’: Central Crossing’s Rudolph seeks 1st state wrestling title
Monday, February 19, 2024
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com
Central Crossing senior Addison Rudolph hopes to reach her fourth consecutive state wrestling tournament next month. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Rudolph enters the postseason 34-10, but is not worried about losses as much as in the past. She takes what she can from the tough competition to help improve her performances.
Addison Rudolph is familiar with what lies ahead, and the Central Crossing senior is ready to get the postseason underway.
Rudolph placed at the girls wrestling state tournament in her first three seasons with the Comets, working toward improving on her third-place efforts at 105 and 115 pounds, respectively, in her sophomore and junior seasons. She placed fifth at 101 as a freshman.
“It feels different (being a senior),” said Rudolph, who prepares for the pre-regional tournament Feb. 25 at Teays Valley. “Just being in the room with everyone else, every practice and every tournament, I know it’s my last go-around.
“I think competing at state the last three years shows how much mentality means (in wrestling). (Competing at) state is a big deal and I have to trust myself and work I have put in. I’m there for a reason, and I just need to do what I know how to do.”
Rudolph finished 34-8 last season, but has pushed herself against not only the top competitors in Ohio but from throughout the midwest. Starting the season at 125, she was fifth in the inaugural Walsh Women’s Ironman Dec. 9 and 10 in Cuyahoga Falls. Wrestlers from Blairstown (New Jersey) Blair Academy, Rockton (Illinois) Hononegah and Tulsa (Oklahoma) Union placed above the Comets’s standout. Out of Ohio competitors, only runner-up Lacie Knick of in-state Clayton Northmont placed better.
“It was amazing to be able to compete with the best (wrestlers) in the country,” Rudolph said. “Knowing I deserved to be there lifted me up a little bit.
“I think it was a little tougher than (our) state (tournament). I wrestled a nationally ranked girl from Illinois (5-0 consolation loss to Hononegah’s Angelina Cassioppi). It was good to get a different feel of how they wrestle (from out-of-state).”
Central Crossing’s Addison Rudolph (right) wrestles in December at the CDWCA All-Star Meet at Dublin Jerome. Photo: Kevin Lam
“I definitely feel I learn a lot more from the losses than the wins,” said Rudolph, who has 120 career victories. “I come off the mat and immediately start thinking about what I did wrong. I used to take a loss and be super-frustrated. Now I like to work on those things to be the best I can be.”
Jackson Lakso leads the Comets’ girls program for a second consecutive year. The 2016 Central Crossing graduate and former Otterbein wrestler is impressed with Rudolph’s drive.
“Addi is tough,” said Lakso, who was fourth at state at 113 for the Comets as a senior. “She has been wrestling with the boys every day in practice since she was a freshman. She fights with them and gets after it. She has that determination and I think she is one of the best in the state.”
In preparation for the postseason, Rudolph dropped five pounds to 120. Both she and her coach believe it’s her best weight to make the most of what lies ahead.
“This whole (season) I have been light at 125,” Rudolph said. “The girls I wrestle are at 125 and I have been 122 or 123. I’m a natural 120 and wrestling girls cut weight to get to 125.”
The results speak for themselves since dropping weight. Rudolph went 4-0 to win the Triad Girls Invitational Feb. 11 at North Lewisburg. On Feb. 17, she was 3-1 in finishing runner-up in the Delaware Hayes Girls Invitational, losing 5-0 to Anna Madi of Brecksville-Broadview Heights in the final. In the two tournaments, she combined to go 7-1 with five pins.
Central Crossing’s Addison Rudolph (right) competes in December at the CDWCA All-Star Meet at Dublin Jerome. Photo: Kevin Lam
“Addi had a tough final match against a girl (Madi) who was state runner-up (at 125) last year,” Lakso said. “I’m glad she got to wrestle her now in case she meets (Madi) later in the postseason.
“Her movement is better (since going down to 120) and she’s finishing her shots better. Overall, it’s the right move.”
Rudolph has another first for her senior year — teammates. She is a role model for first-year wrestlers in senior Gabryella Saul and freshman Alicia Vazquez. At Delaware, Saul was runner-up at 110 and Vazquez was fourth at 190.
“It’s different having two girls on the team,” Rudolph said. “I love to teach them new moves. It’s different than having boys on the team because we’re so close. I have always been the only girl so having them there is super-important.”
The top four from the Teays Valley pre-regional advance to regional March 3 at Olentangy Orange. The top four at regional advance to state March 8-10 at Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center.
“She hasn’t been about learning anything new,” Lakso said. “I have been working out with her. It’s a grind and she’s just trying to get ready for the postseason. I see it in her, and I told her this is it. I would give it all to have a chance to go back and do it again myself.”
Rudolph started wrestling in the fifth grade when she attended Grove City before moving over to Central Crossing as a sixth-grader.
She was in awe coming out of the tunnel at the Schottenstein Center last season in the first appearance for the girls state in that venue. This time, the wonderment will have dissipated and she will be ready to make the most of her final performance.
“Before my first match at the ‘Schott,’ I was walking out of the tunnel, taking it all in,” she said. “I would have never thought that my middle school self would be down there wrestling along with the boys state tournament. It was pretty amazing.”
Photo: John Hulkenberg