With the dual state and regional tournaments behind them, the Greenwood High School girls and boys wrestling teams are gearing up for what they hope is a successful postseason run in their respective state tournaments. For both the GHS girls and boys, the 2023-24 wrestling postseason will culminate at the Jack Stephens Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas in Little Rock this coming Friday and Saturday. Despite the tough competition, based on their season so far, the GHS boys are in the mix for a state championship if things go right for them.
“Our boys are really wrestling tough,” said Head Coach John Kincade in a recent interview. “We had a good regional. We had 10 wrestlers seeded and got 11 in. We had a couple weights where we won [regional] championships that we weren’t supposed to. We are peaking at the right time. We have some guys who’ve wrestled over 40 matches against some tough competition. We’ve definitely been battled tested. I’m looking forward to the [state tournament] to see what these wrestlers can accomplish.”
Regional qualifying tournaments
The Lady Bulldogs had their regional qualifying tournament 10 days ago, and the boys did the same last Saturday, according to Coach Kincade, who founded the GHS wrestling program in 2012. Now in his eleventh season at the helm, Kincade and his Bulldogs have already won multiple state championships. He also helped to pioneer the expansion of wrestling in Arkansas to include girls, and in just a few short years his Lady Bulldogs have made great strides.
“Our girls had a really good regionals at Searcy on February 10th,” said the coach. “We had six out of nine girls place, and they are headed to the state tournament. Those who placed are sophomore Farah Crossno (2nd), junior Jocelyn Martinez (2nd), freshman Emily Daggett-4th, junior Kaylea Brooks (3rd), freshman Afton Bridges (2nd), and freshman Verolina Kira (3rd).”
The Bulldogs headed to their regional tournament last Saturday and had 10 wrestlers seeded in the top four among the 14 weight classes. The GHS boys were trying to punch their ticket to the state tournament by finishing among the top four teams at the regional tournament, and they succeeded. Along with the girls, the 5A boy’s state tournament will be held this coming weekend at UALR.
Also like the girl’s regional, the 5A North boy’s regional tournament was also held in Searcy and the Bulldogs were among the favorites going into the competition featuring 11 teams from Greenwood, Van Buren, Mountain Home, Beebe, Searcy, Russellville, Greenbrier, Batesville, Vilonia, Valley View, and Maumelle. The top four teams from the North regional will join the top four teams from the South regional in the state tournament.
The Bulldogs had four first place winners, three second place finishers, four third place wrestlers, and two competitors earned fifth place points. Overall, Greenwood scored 236 team points to finish second behind Van Buren with 266 points. The next closest team was Mountain Home (148.5) followed by Beebe (139.5). Those four schools will join Hot Springs Lakeside, Sylvan Hills, Lake Hamilton, and Pulaski Academy in competing for a state title.
At the regional tournament, GHS freshman Rhett Holloway (126 pounds) placed first and earned 24 points for his team by winning two matches by fall over wrestlers from Beebe and Van Buren. Senior Jerod Pace (132 pounds) also placed first (24 points) with victories over opponents from Greenbrier (fall), Beebe (fall), and Van Buren (decision). Fellow seniors Eli Whitaker (26 points) and Bryce Williams (21 points) also added to their team’s point total with first place victories. Whitaker (215 pounds) defeated wrestlers from Searcy (fall), Russellville (fall), and Mountain Home (fall). In the heavyweight division, Williams won a major decision over a Valley View opponent, won a tiebreaker over a Van Buren foe, and won by decision over a Mountain Home wrestler for first place. Williams, who actually weighs less than 220 pounds, nonetheless won the 285-pound weight class.
Greenwood junior Jonathan Martinez (106 pounds) finished second for 20 points, defeating two foes from Greenbrier (fall) and Vilonia (fall) before losing by decision in the championship match to a Van Buren wrestler. At 138 pounds, GHS senior Jackson Witherington also earned 17 second place points with wins over foes from Batesville and Searcy, both by decision, before losing by fall to a Van Buren opponent. Junior Jeremy (Cade) Johnson (157 pounds) placed second (18 points) with wins over wrestlers from Greenbrier (fall) and Van Buren (decision) before dropping the title match by decision to a Searcy foe.
At 120 pounds, freshman Brayden Stockton earned 18 points for third place with wins (by fall) over opponents from Russellville, Valley View, and Batesville before dropping the championship match by fall to a Mountain Home wrestler. At 144 pounds, Greenwood junior Pablo Ambriz also won third place and earned 15 points. After losing to his opening round opponent from Greenbrier (by fall), Ambriz rallied by winning three matches in the consolation round over foes from Mountain Home (fall), Russellville (fall), and Beebe (decision).
The next GHS third place finish was by junior Landon Rofkahr at 150 pounds, earning 16 team points. He defeated a Van Buren opponent (decision) in the quarterfinals, lost (by fall) in the semifinals to a Beebe wrestler, then won two matches in the consolation bracket over foes from Vilonia and Mountain Home, both by fall. Junior Zach Edwards also placed third for Greenwood at 190 pounds, earning 19 points the hard way, winning four matches in the consolation bracket. After losing his opener to a Van Buren opponent, he defeated foes from Valley View, Beebe, Batesville, and Mountain Home, all by fall.
Greenwood’s two fifth place finishers included juniors Wyatt Thornsberry (165 pounds) and Keagan Dust (175 pounds). Both competitors lost their opening matches but worked their way back through the consolation bracket to earn eight and ten points, respectively. Thornsberry fell to a Greenbrier foe in the quarterfinals (fall) then won by fall over a Searcy opponent. He then lost by decision to a Beebe wrestler before winning his final match by decision over a Mountain Home rival. Likewise, Dust lost his opening match to a Van Buren opponent, then won two of his three consolation matches. His two wins came against wrestlers from Batesville and Searcy, both by fall, and his consolation loss was to a Russellville foe, also by fall.
Dual state competition
The Lady Bulldogs did not place among the top four teams but did have some notable individual performances at the 5A dual state competition held at Sylvan Hills High School earlier this month, an annual event still not sanctioned by the Arkansas Activities Association. Sophomore Farah Crossno (105 pounds) won her championship bracket match by fall over a girl from Mountain Home. The GHS girls were matched up against the Mountain Home girls. At 125 pounds, Greenwood junior Baylee Kaestner also won by fall in the same bracket. Junior Kaylea Brooks won her match by decision in the 155-pound weight class. Freshman Afton Bridges won by decision at 170 pounds and freshman Veroline Kira was victorious at 235 pounds.
In the #2 consolation bracket, Greenwood defeated Texarkana’s Arkansas High, 42-24. Baylee Kaestner won her match over a Texarkana girl by fall. Kaylea Brooks, Afton Bridges, and senior Fallon Van Lare (190 pounds) also won their matches over Arkansas High opponents, each by a fall. In the #3 consolation bracket, Van Buren defeated Greenwood, 45-24. Farah Crossno won her match by fall. At 140 pounds, senior Jorja Betts also won her match by fall.
The Greenwood boys, who won three consecutive dual state championships between 2019-21, were near the top of their game for this season’s duals, finishing behind state wrestling powers Van Buren and Hot Springs Lakeside for third place. Van Buren defeated Lakeside, 39-30, to earn first place, while Greenwood downed Mountain Home, 54-23, for third place.
Individually, Rhett Holloway, Jackson Witherington, Pablo Abriz, Landon Rofkahr, Jeremy Johnson, Wyatt Thornsberry, Zach Edwards, and Eli Whitaker all won their matches over Sylvan Hills in the #1 championship bracket. Several other GHS wrestlers were credited with forfeit victories in that round. In the #2 championship bracket the Bulldogs lost to Lakeside, 43-30, but had three wrestlers win by forfeit and three others win on the mat – Brayden Stockton, Rhett Holloway, and Pablo Abriz.
In the #3 consolation bracket the Bulldogs topped the Searcy Lions, 46-27, winning two matches by forfeit and the rest on the floor. GHS winners included Eli Whitaker, Bryce Williams, Jonathan Martinez, Jarod Pace, Jackson Witherington, Pablo Abriz, and Wyatt Thornsberry. Finally, in the #4 match for third place, Greenwood defeated Mountain Home, 54-23, earning one victory by forfeit. Bulldogs who won their matches on the mat included Brayden Stockton, Rhett Holloway, Jarod Pace, Jackson Witherington, Landon Rofkahr, junior Parker Branton, Wyatt Thornsberry, Eli Whitaker, and Jonathan Martinez.