Erp sets freshman record

What do you do when you are in a family who has had a wrestler for three generations? If you are Johnathon Erp, you wrestle. And you wrestle big.
Erp’s grandfather, father, and two older brothers have wrestled. There are also two more brothers on the way to high school who are involved in wrestling.
“At first I didn’t know anything about wrestling,” Erp said. “In fourth grade my dad got me into it. At first, I thought it was weird, but I wrestled the next year, and I liked it more.”
He is the first in the family to be a sectional champion as a freshman. As of last Tuesday, Erp holds the record for most freshman wins at 40.
Erp wrestled at 106, and finished his year with a 40-10 record on Saturday at the district tournament.
“I thought the brick run was interesting,” Erp said. “I’d never done that before.”
Erp was referring to a three-mile run with a brick in each hand, one of coach Tiegen Podliska’s training exercises. “I ran four miles. Coach said if you wanted to get better, just keep going. So I did.
“Wrestling is 99 percent mental,” Erp continued. “When you’re getting warmed up and the other guy is trying to get into your head by giving you eye contact and staring you down, you’ve got to know how to let it go.”
Erp began the year with the goal of making it to state. Although he didn’t reach that goal, he continued a family tradition, and reached higher than other family members had at his age.
With a year under his belt, and his desire and drive to get stronger, Erp just may reach that state goal next year.