Landon Vaught knew he had to try.
He had to give his best effort. He had to put it all on the line for a state run his senior season. Failing to put in the work and still coming up short would be much worse than not trying at all.
After a successful junior season, the idea of a deep state tournament run was coming into view for the Athenian grappler.
“After my junior year I knew I really had a chance to place at state,” Vaught said. “It gave me a good confidence boost that I needed, it helped motivate me to come back and work harder and diet better to win those state matches.”
From the moment his junior campaign ended to the start of the 2024-25 season, Vaught was all business in preparing for a chance at a one of a kind senior year.
And it paid off.
Vaught posted a 30-2 record earning a county, conference, and sectional championships at 144 pounds. The Crawfordsville senior is the 2025 Journal Review Wrestler of the Year.
“I really wanted to make the most of my senior year, with my teammates and with wrestling,” Vaught said. “I’m happy with how it all turned out, it was a great experience.”
While Vaught was successful as a junior, all the right things started to click his senior season, and Athenian coach Aaron Keller could see the changes his senior leader had made.
“One area that I could tell Landon’s dedication grew was in his conditioning,” Keller said. “His ability to push himself past the point of exhaustion was a great thing to witness for me because conditioning is a huge part when it comes to being able to win a tough match.”
Vaught started the season on a tear — undefeated until the semi-final round of the regional — a match he lost after leading.
“Landon’s improvement from last year to this year was knowing how to put himself in better positions and learning how to create opportunities so he could be successful,” Keller added. “Landon has always been very talented and it was really a joy for me to watch him mature over the last couple years.”
In the end, Vaught was just short of his state goal. After winning his opening round match against Cathedral’s Caden Rogers, he fell 11-0 to eventual semi-state champion in New Palestine’s Bryce Doss in the state ticket round.
The success and reward wasn’t just limited to this season though. It’s been a four-year build for Vaught — helping restore glory for the Athenian wrestling program.
“I wouldn’t want to take full responsibility but I think the group of guys who just went through CHS wrestling started something great,” he said. “More people than ever are coming out and making each other better and they are having a lot of fun doing it. I will definitely miss it, especially the team.”
