Varsity Wrestling
Youth and Experience Build Winning Team
W
Junior Trey O’Bannon
ith only five seniors on the varsity wrestling squad, Head Coach Steve Hendricks knew at the start of the season that his younger wrestlers would be vital to the success of the Owls. Overall, he hoped to see improvement in technique, consistency, and team loyalty. He was not disappointed. Despite its youth, the squad made great advances and completed the season with a 15-4 record, along with several notable individual performances in postseason competition. Hendricks put together a competitive tournament schedule that included the Blackhorse Invitational at Houston, the Trojan Wars at Millington Central, the Father Ryan Invitational in Nashville, and the Briarcrest Dog Fight Duals. Highlights included going 3-0 as a team in the dual matches at the Father Ryan tournament and finishing second in the Trojan Wars, just three points shy of first place. Before heading into postseason, they also competed against strong local teams from Bartlett, Briarcrest, Christian Brothers, Fayette Academy, Kingsbury, Millington, Ridgeway, St. Benedict, and St. George’s. Captains Eli Goldstein and
Carson House, along with fellow seniors Townes Buford, John David Christman, and Sadler McLendon, provided leadership, helping the younger team members hone their skills. The up-and-coming wrestlers included juniors Srujan Jampana Raju, Caleb McCoy, Trey O’Bannon, Andrew Raves, Matthew Reid, Andrew Renshaw, and Alexander Taylor; sophomores B.J. Lewis, Kyle Naes, and Reynolds Raiford; freshmen Darien Bradburn, Mitchell Clark, Austin Darr, Samuel Gordon, Wesley Grace, Jack Gray, Xavier Greer, Jack Hirschman, Hayden Hunt, Geoffrey Knowlton, Luke Parker, Connor Stewart, and Gaines Whitington; and eighth graders David Dabov, Jackson Dickinson, Tom Fowlkes, Tim Hart, Gil Humphreys, Trammel Robinson, and David Watkins. At the Division II-AA State Duals, held in early February in Franklin, the Owls competed against some of the best teams in the state. Unfortunately, they dropped both of their matches. At the state individual tournament, held two weeks later in Franklin, four MUS
Freshman Gaines Whitington
wrestlers won at least one match and advanced in their respective weight divisions. At 106 pounds, Greer won his first and third matches before ultimately falling in his fourth. At 113 pounds, Stewart also won his first match but lost his final two matches. And in the 138-pound division, House won two matches and came within one win of competing for a top-six finish. Goldstein, who claimed fifth last season at state, posted the best MUS result. In the 152-pound division, the senior won his first-round match, 4-1, and his quarterfinal match, 6-3, to advance to the semifinals. He dropped his next match to the eventual state champion from Baylor School, moving him into the consolation bracket. Goldstein rebounded to win his next match, 7-0, and in the third-place match he defeated his Christian Brothers opponent, 4-3, to win the consolation bracket – an outstanding finish for the team’s senior leader. Hendricks continued to stress a common theme that he considers a motto for his team: Overcome adversity. The goal of the coaching staff, which includes assistants Coach John Knaff and Coach James Walker, is to make the MUS wrestling program an annual state contender. “Next year we will be better still with the continued improvement in our schedule,” Coach Hendricks said. “We are not of the caliber of the top teams in the state yet, but give us a few years.”
Inside MUS Summer 2012
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