Rolling out the mats
Wrestlers ramp up for new campaign
There are plenty of top performers and notable changes across the farragutpress coverage area, so let’s take a look.
At Farragut High School, the Admirals begin their third season under Charlie Rohn. Last season, he led the Ads to their first region semifinals appearance in more than 25 years.
“Practice has been much better because we have a lot of kids in their third year instead of being brand-new, so we are looking more like a wrestling team,” Rohn said. “We’re looking for less beginner mistakes and more experienced wrestlers.”
New assistant coach Timothy Blake, a Farragut resident, joins a staff that also includes longtime assistant coach Dalton Pearl.
The Ads return one state qualifier in Isaac Koga, who made the final weekend of the season in the 175-pound bracket.
“We have a lot of kids that I hope will make state this year,” Rohn said, detailing wrestlers such as Isaac Maine, Cooper Gentry, Zach Gonzalez, Luke Brown, Jaucetin Wiberley, Declan Crecy and Luke Evans, as well as a 6-foot-5 freshman in 285-pound newcomer Breck Ellison.
“He is going to be really good,” Rohn said. “He’s a gentle giant, and we can teach him how to use his technique.”
At Hardin Valley, the Hawks produced three qualifiers last year — Mikael Arce (285), William Wimer (157) and Adriel Roland (106), who is their sole returner.
HVA is under new leadership in Stephen Wilkinson, who noted where his team stands at the moment.
“We have one returning state qualifier in Adriel Roland, and we’re looking for him to go,” Wilkinson said. “Zae Arce, he lost last year in the blood round and we have a transfer in from Texas that’s looking good. Our lower weights, we have a number of guys that were really close last year that I think will step up. We did lose some guys in the higher weights, so that’s a bit of a question mark right now, to be honest.”
Bearden also has a new coach in John Gipson, who takes over for Daniel Harvey.
Meanwhile, Webb will look to head coach Blake Herrin to lead the Spartans. On the mat, Webb will look to replicate performances like that of Jack Quigley, a third-place finisher in the 144-pound class, who has moved on to wrestle for Bellarmine.
In the 215-pound class, Connor Garmer returns as a junior this year while Christopher Kurzak is in the same class as a 150-pounder, per FloWrestling.org. Richard Melton enters as a senior this season for Webb, rounding out last season’s state qualifiers.
Under head coach Mason Keel, Concord Christian returns Matthew Franklin, who placed sixth in the Division II 190-pound division at state last year with a 3-2 record. In the process, he became Concord’s first state medalist in program history.
CAK is coming off a year that produced three state finalists, including Jack Evers in the 106-pound class. He will be a crucial piece returning this year, as the Warriors will be looking to fill holes left by guys such as Tucker Darga and Kyler Cook, who placed fourth in the state in the 165-pound class.
At Catholic, second-year coach Stephen Jackson will look to a new crop of performers with just one returner out of five state qualifiers in the 2025-26 campaign. Connor Bishop, a sophomore, will look to make his return to the final weekend of the season after doing so as a freshman a few months ago.
