Although none of the four Redhawk wrestlers that advanced to state in Houston over the weekend – senior Taylor Clapp, junior William Randolph, sophomore Dani Banks, and freshman alternate Angel Machiri – ended up on the podium, head coach Justin Koons still feels there were still some bright spots for the teams, including all of them getting their first state wins and Banks defeating a regional champion. Randolph and Banks also ended up in the top 16.
“They all wrestled really well,” head coach Justin Koons said. “It was a very tough tournament and to be top 16 in the state is pretty cool and a heck of an accomplishment. When you look at the caliber of competition, seeing that we lost to tough people, that sets us up for success.”
Even though state marks the end of this season, Koons is already looking forward to next year.
“I’m excited for what they’ll do next year and to see which of their teammates can join them,” he said. “I think when you look at our roster, you’ll see the next two years are going to have a lot of talent and we’re going to make some moves in region and district to hopefully put some kids back on the podium at state. Today’s day one of the new season. We are 360 days away from the state tournament, and so it’s time to get back to work. We need to do strength and conditioning training and recruit kids from campus and incoming freshmen who want to be a part of something special.”
