This wasn’t an easy season. Not even close. The 2024-2025 season instead was about perseverance and achievement for Cathedral High School wrestling, with one of the state’s most-tradition-rich programs again making a major impact throughout the postseason. For that, ’25 Irish wrestling will be remembered. “This year was just crazy,” Irish wrestling coach Sean McGinley said. McGinley said what made ’25 particularly crazy was a series of injuries that hampered the Irish throughout the season, which ended with a 31st place finish at the 2025 Indiana High School Athletic Association State Finals. The Irish qualified five wrestlers for the state finals, with junior Kyle Harden advancing to the state semifinals. “It's always your goal; that’s every year,” McGinley said. “To get down to the state tournament is a huge accomplishment for the kids. The goal is always to try to put as many as you can, then put yourself in the best position possible where you can get some guys on the podium.” Harden made the state semifinal at 190 pounds, with four other Irish wrestlers – freshman Tate St. Laurent (106), senior John Bissmeyer (120), junior Cullen Crowley (132 pounds) and junior Tyler Lavin (150) – also qualifying. Harden, who had wrestled through injuries as a freshman and sophomore, moved up in weight class as a junior. “He had a nice little run,” McGinley said. “In the end, we just came up a little short so I think he's going to be hungry for next year to get one more chance at it.” The Irish won the regional title at Pendleton Heights with 204 points ahead of second-place Noblesville (204.0), with eight wrestler winning individual titles. The Irish won the sectional title at Indianapolis Arsenal Tech with 318.0 points ahead of second-place Bishop Chatard (266.0), with eight wrestlers winning individual titles. “Getting five to state was great but I sure would've like to get a couple more people on that podium,” McGinley said. The Irish, who finished third in the semi-state with 87.5 points, were led in 2025 by: *St. Laurent (36-6): Won sectional and regional titles and finished second in semi-state. He lost in the first round of the state finals to eventual state runner-up, Center Grove freshman Jr. Daniel Brown, in a 4-3 decision. “He’s a gamer,” McGinley said. “We’re going to be riding him for the next three years. He’s going to be a leader for this team.” *Nathan Reyes (33-7), senior, 113 pounds: Won sectional and regional titles, then lost in the second round at semi-state. *Bissmeyer (25-10): Won the sectional title, finished second in the regional and finished third in semi-state. He lost in the first round of the state finals to Delta senior Ayden Bollinger in a fall in 1:55 after wrestling through shoulder and knee issues during the season. “Him making a run was a huge accomplishment,” McGinley said. *Connor Bayliss (27-13), senior, 126 pounds: Won the sectional title and finished second in the regional, then lost in the first round of semi-state. *Crowley (25-13): Finished second in the sectional and won the regional title, then finished fourth in the semistate. He lost in the first round of the state finals to eventual state champion Brownsburg senior Jake Hockaday in a technical fall. *Luke McGinley (15-21), senior, 138 pounds: Finished second in the sectional and fourth in the regional, then lost in the first round in the semi-state. *Caden Rodgers (14-16), sophomore, 144 pounds: Finished second in the sectional and regional, then lost in the first round at semi-state. *Lavin (25-11): Won sectional and regional titles, then finished fourth in the semi-state. He lost in the first round of the state finals 9-0 to Avon senior Seth Syra. *James Grimme (19-16), junior, 157 pounds: Finished second in the sectional and regional, then lost in the second round at semi-state. *Jimmy Pappas (14-17), junior, 165 pounds: Won the sectional title and third in regional, then lost in the first round in semi-state. *Austin Wright (4-12), senior, 175 pounds: Finished second in the sectional. *Harden (39-4): Won sectional, regional and semistate titles. He lost to eventual state champion Brownsburg senior Gunner Henry, 11-3 in the state semifinal. *Jeremiah Jefferson (2-6), freshman, 215 pounds: Won the sectional title and lost in the first round of the regional meet. *Phillip Brown (11-18), sophomore, 265 pounds: Finished third in the sectional and lost in the first round of the regional meet. “All in all, it was just a rough year with the injuries.” McGinley said. “The injuries were just brutal. To be able to piece it together and do what we did was gratifying. We were able to put something together. “We return a significant amount of kids. We have four state qualifiers coming back, so we have a nice little base. The guys have to put the time in in the offseason and come in ready to go next year and make an impact.”