Eleven Bob Jones Wrestlers qualify for State Tournament
All the hard work and hours of practice have paid off for the Bob Jones wrestling team. The team came in second at the Class 6A Section 4 qualifying matches this past weekend at Grissom High School. Coach Jason Edwards was unsure how this year’s team would perform after losing seven seniors who qualified for the state tournament last year.
He knew he had several first year wrestlers and some kids still learning the sport. He also knew the team would be young and this would be a bit of a rebuilding year.
“It’s still a young inexperienced team but from where they were at the beginning of the year, much, much better,” Edwards said during a break in the action as the matches were wrapping up. “I’m pleased with that number. The last several years we have had 13 qualify for state. But this is a new team. They have to learn and I couldn’t be more pleased with them. As a team they have come together.”
Grissom came in first and is a heavy favorite to take team honors at the state wrestling tournament which starts Thursday Feb 16 and runs through Saturday at the Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center.
Wrestling is unique in that the state recognizes individual championships as well as team championships.
Two Bob Jones wrestlers took first place in their weight divisions; junior Ryan Stenger at 220 pounds and junior Austin Clark at 113. That finish will give them a better seeding to win an individual title at the state tournament. Both Clark and Stenger qualified for state last year.
Five other wrestlers who have experience at the state tournament and are going again this year are eighth grader Griffin Ridgeway at 126 pounds, freshman Collin Olivier at 106 pounds, junior Jessie Webster at 132 pounds, junior Micah Hatley at 182 pounds, and sophomore Melvin Gibbons at 285 pounds.
Among the first time qualifiers are senior Michael Delano at 145, junior Blake Rogers at 120 pounds, senior Sean McFetridge at 195, and sophomore Landon Edwards at 160 pounds.
One of the storylines of this team is the emergence of senior Michael Delano who is in his first year at Bob Jones.
“I moved here with my family about 4 years ago and went to a private school where they didn’t have wrestling,” said Delano who had some wrestling experience when he lived in Wisconsin.
“I moved to Bob Jones this year and started wrestling again. I’m just trying to make the most of it. I really didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of the year but I continued to improve. Hopefully I can make the most of it when I get to state. It will be exciting just to be there.”
Delano had an impressive showing at the sectional. He won two matches to ensure at least second place then lost to one of the state’s top ranked wrestlers David Baumohl of Grissom. The top four finishers in each weight class qualify for state.
Sparkman qualified three wrestlers for state; Micah McGlathery, T.J. Edwards, and Cody Watson.
