The Greenwood High School wrestling team has accomplished so much since its inception in 2012 under founder and Head Coach John Kincade. Their success reached a pinnacle over the past couple years, winning three consecutive dual state championships (2019-21) and back-to-back Class 5A titles (2020, 2021). They had hoped to continue that streak of state titles into 2022, but their luck ran out last month, but not for the lack of trying. An unfortunate illness at a key position cost them needed points and kept them from winning another championship on the state level.
Yet despite the disappointing finish, the Bulldogs have nothing to hang their heads about. They finished second behind Van Buren in the state duals competition, second in their conference meet behind Lake Hamilton, and fourth overall in the 5A state tournament, just nine points out of first place. But Greenwood and Coach Kincade have very high standards, so anything less than a state championship is unsettling. Next season can’t come soon enough.
Dual state championship
The dual state tournament was originally slated for Saturday, February 5th, at Russellville High School, but was pushed back to the following Tuesday due to weather and road conditions. Eight teams qualified for the event including Greenwood, Van Buren, Mountain Home, Russellville, Searcy, Benton, Sylvan Hills, and Lake Hamilton, with Greenwood and Van Buren reaching the finals.
The Bulldogs took down highly regarded Sylvan Hills in the first round, winning 34-31, then slipped by Mountain Home in the semifinals, 39-34, before falling to the Pointers in the finals, 39-31. The loss snapped Greenwood’s three-year reign as dual state champions, though the title is not yet officially sanctioned by the Arkansas Activities Association.
“We beat Sylvan Hills in our first match,” said Coach Kincade during a recent interview. “I thought they were the number one team in their district, and we just beat them by three points. Then we beat Mountain Home in the semifinals, then got beat by Van Buren in the finals. But the kids wrestled well. They wrestled hard. I was very pleased with the way they handled themselves. It says a lot about their character.”
The dual state tournament was the first opportunity for Greenwood’s Bryce Williams to wrestle at 195 pounds, after dropping 30 pounds to qualify at that weight. The Bulldogs had not competed in that weight division all season but were still winning most of their regular season matches. Williams’ commitment to drop the weight was Coach Kincade’s answer to that chink in his team’s armor heading into the postseason, or so it was hoped.
5A West Conference tournament
The GHS sophomore competed well at the duals, though he did not win. “It was the first time he got to wrestle at that weight,” explained his coach. “He was dominating, but got reversed, rolled over and pinned. But I felt really good going into the [conference and] state tournaments because there were only a couple of minor things to fix.”
But then the unexpected happened when Williams came down with a respiratory illness (not Covid) and was sidelined for the remainder of the postseason including the conference tournament and the 5A state tournament. His absence left a big hole in Greenwood’s lineup and cost the Bulldogs valuable points. The decision to withhold him from competition was made by Coach Kincade after consulting team doctor Lee Johnson.
“We go that [next] Saturday to [Hot Springs] Lakeside and Lake Hamilton beat us by 2½ points for the conference championship,” said Coach K. “If [Bryce] had been in the lineup and won just one match, we win the conference. [But] it was just part of our year. Sometimes you face adversity like that. We erred on the safe side. We didn’t have anybody at 195 pounds and didn’t score a point at that weight in the conference or state championships.
“It was a real tight conference with a lot of people fighting it out,” continued Kincade. “We wrestled all day long and it came down to the very last heavyweight match between Lakeside and Lake Hamilton. Lake Hamilton had to win that match to beat us, and they won 2-1 in the last match of the tournament. We had the lead, but it wasn’t in our hands.”
5A state tournament
The 2021-22 5A state wrestling tournament was held at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock the third weekend in February and the competition was extremely close in contrast to Greenwood’s win last season by over 120 points. This year’s top four finishers were separated by less than 10 points.
“Going into the state tournament we knew there was a possibility that six teams had a chance to win it, and between the top four places there was a difference of nine points,” revealed the coach. “First place was Van Buren, second place was Lake Hamilton, third place was Mountain Home, and fourth place was [Greenwood].
For the Bulldogs, seniors Tyler Crossno and Antonio Martinez earned individual state titles, the third in succession for Crossno and the second in three years for Martinez. As a team, Greenwood finished with 182 points, nine points behind first place Van Buren (191) with Lake Hamilton (187.5) and Mountain Home (185) coming in second and third place.
“Tyler won again,” said Kincade of Crossno’s victory. “He’s a four-time [state] finalist. He got beat his freshman year and since then he’s won three state titles and finished the year undefeated. He was also voted by the other coaches in the upper weights as the outstanding wrestler of the state tournament.
“The other repeater was Antonio,” he continued. “He finished third last year at 120 [pounds], but moved back to 113 and won state as a sophomore and this year as a senior. He also won outstanding wrestler of the tournament in the lower weights. They give three outstanding wrestler awards and we won two of the three. It was a good showing by the Bulldogs.”
Here are the official results for the Bulldogs: Jonathan Martinez, 106 pounds, fifth place; Antonio Martinez, 113, first; Jarod Pace, 120, fourth; Landon Rofkahr, 126, fifth; Hayden Rofkahr, 138, second; Pablo Ambriz, 145, sixth; Lucas Honkala, 182, second; Tyler Crossno, 220, first; and Jeremiah Presson, 285, third. “We ended up with nine placers, which was a good showing,” said their coach. All wrestlers placing third or above were named All-state, giving the Bulldogs five all-staters.
What’s ahead?
“I lose a good crop,” said Coach Kincade when asked about the future of his program. “In my starting lineup I had five seniors, and two were state champs, two were runners-up, and one finished in third place. We would have had six [seniors] with Garrett there. We would have been very tough. We had one junior in the lineup and the rest were freshman and sophomores.”
Bryce Williams’ untimely illness was not the only adversity faced by GHS wrestling this season. Kincade’s reference to Garrett Harrelson was a sad reminder of the tragedy that scarred this season for the Bulldogs and their head coach. Harrelson was killed in an auto accident last December, not only depriving the Bulldogs of his wrestling prowess, but robbing the world of a promising young life. His coaches and teammates dedicated the rest of the season to their fallen comrade.
But despite the obstacles they faced, the Bulldogs finished strong this season even though they are in the early stages of a rebuilding process. “We are in a rebuilding [phase],” admitted Kincade. “At every weight that I’m going to graduate someone, I have a younger kid behind them, and that’s going to be nice. Those kids are going to grow up and continue to mature and get better. I’m excited about that. They are excited about wrestling and want to do well, so I think they are going to commit to the sport.”
The coach also talked about his rapidly growing girls’ program. “I had six girls who wrestled in the state tournament and [sophomore] Jorja Betts was one match away from placing.” Currently in Arkansas, girls from all classifications wrestle in one state tournament.
“There were 190 girls who wrestled this year, and it’s going to keep growing,” said Kincade. “Luckily, the eight girls I had were all freshmen and sophomores. We had four runners-up at conference, which was nice.” The coach also revealed that he has some younger girls interested in wrestling, including the sister of Tyler Crossno. In fact, Kincade plans to put special emphasis on recruiting junior high kids into his program.
“I’m really excited about the kids I’ve got coming back,” said the coach. “Next year may be a rebuilding year, but we’ve been spoiled the last two or three years. We’ve had some great athletes who have been in the program for a long time. But I’ve got some really good kids in my youth program who are on the horizon in a couple years. Our youth team (Warthogs) won the state championship again this year. I’d also love to have more kids from the junior high level, seventh and eighth graders. That’s my target now, to close that gap, and that will help tremendously. That’s the push right now across the state.
“I’ll give the kids a couple weeks off to kind of rebound,” he continued. “We have a national tournament in Independence, MO, in April, and I like to see a lot of my kids go to that. Kids from all over the country come to wrestle in that tournament. It’s a bigger venue than our state tournament.”
The coach also revealed that he plans to incorporate aspects of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling into his program going forward. American high schools and colleges use the Folkstyle form of wrestling. Freestyle wrestling emphasizes footwork and throws while the Greco-Roman style of wrestling focuses on the upper body.
“We’ll do that in the spring,” he said, “then the second week of June we’ll have a kid’s (K-8th grade) camp and plan on taking our other [older] kids to a team camp somewhere. But when June is over, I try not to touch my athletes until about October. They need down time. They need a mental break. I know they are busy. I lived that life. We share our athletes with other sports. Here in Greenwood we need to do that, and it helps everybody.”
As for the distant future, after he retires, Kincade has high hopes for the program he founded back in 2012. “I think Greenwood could be successful for years and years to come. We’ve got good kids here. They don’t question hard work. Some places may not be that way, but this is a special place. When I get finished here, I want to bring the right person in here and have them keep doing this for years to come. That’s my plan anyway.”
Kincade also revealed that he is heavily involved in the wrestling landscape statewide. “I am the new liaison between the Arkansas Activities Association and the coaches and officials. I’m also the treasurer of our Hall of Fame committee. Two things I want to see is for the AAA to sanction the dual state [championship] and to have a qualifier for the state tournament.” Knowing Coach K, it won’t be long before those things become reality.