CHS brothers are state bound
Lucas Kendall gets ready to put his opponent on the mat during sectional play at Hall High School. (photo:Matt Hagan )
Lucas came into this weekend with an unofficial record of 41-2 and won his first two matches by pin-fall before getting pinned and finishing second in the 170-pound weight class.
Dalton entered the tournament 19-18, had a tougher time in the first round, coming from 5-0 down in the second round to tie and pin his opponent.
In the second round, Dalton fell by pin to his opponent before winning the consolation semi, finishing third in the 182-pound weight class.
“For me, it has been an outstanding first year with this Dragon program,” said CHS Coach Roger McDonald.
“Before, it was a team that I feel was being overlooked and defined by numbers, and my goal when I took this job was to recruit and bring a full competitive team from Clinton High School.
“The administration and staff have been supportive and active in all the ways a first-year coach needs, and to qualify 11 kids to sectionals is a huge stepping stone,” McDonald said.
He noted that sectionals were added this year to cut down the size of normal state tournaments from 32 men to 16.
“So making sectionals is no small feat, and moving on to state just solidifies that you’re a part of the top 16 wrestlers in the state at your weight class,” McDonald said.
Riley Silk, Justice Snyder, Parker Sanchez and Colby Bolen all made appearances in the consolation semi-finals for CHS, just missing trips to the state tournament.
Caleb Kendall, Logan Ornellas, Riley Webb, Carl Bunch, and Tailen Scott also qualified for sectionals, finishing Top 4 in the region tournament. The state tournament begins Feb. 24 at Williamson County Fairgrounds.