Stewart Johnson
The upside to having youth and inexperience on a high school sports team is there’s a chance for vast program-wide improvement. The downside is that improvement takes time — like next season.
That’s not the outlook and expectation for this year’s Carroll wrestling program. Despite carrying a roster where underclassmen outnumber upperclassmen three-to-one, Dragons coach Joe Hathaway still has high hopes for postseason representation among his veterans and some of his less-experienced varsity wrestlers.
“Of our roughly 80 kids, 60 are freshman and sophomores, and 20 are juniors and seniors,” Hathaway says, who is now in his 15th season leading the Carroll wrestling program. “I think by the time we hit the postseason, we're going to have grown up a whole lot.”
Hathaway has seen that growth at some challenging meets this season. The Carroll boys took third at the Rockwall Heath Tournament, sixth at both the Cy-Fair Invitational in Houston and the Bobby Lyons Invitational in Oklahoma, and 11th at a talent-heavy Mid-American Nationals in December. The boys are also 12-2 in duels this season.
The Lady Dragons also took third at the Heath tournament, while members of the girls team placed or won matches at other big events like the Texas Women’s Classic and Cy-Fair.
Carroll’s boys return three of the six wrestlers that advanced to the UIL 6A state wrestling meet in 2023, including sophomore Dylan Ota (106-pound weight class, ranked No. 2 in state this season), as well as seniors Boede Gibson (165) and Xavier Flanagan (126). The athletes received priceless experience at state, where the Dragons finished 18th. The Carroll girls sent two representatives to Austin in 2023 — KK Bucher and Bayley Trang — both of whom have since graduated after last year’s 22nd-place finish at state.
Although there are fewer wrestlers with state experience this season, that’s not a concern to Hathaway, who notes that several who came close to advancing last year look poised to make strides this season. The boys’ efforts have already been noticed in polls, and the girls could advance with strong showings at postseason tournaments.
Senior Valerie Gonzalez (100-pound weight class) was a state alternate two years ago, while senior Brenna Trang (107) finished fifth at state in 2022 as well. Gonzalez won her weight class at the Texas Women’s Classic this season, and Trang placed at Cy-Fair in early January. Senior Haley Maxwell (132) and sophomore Cora Hayes (120) have also helped pace the 10-member Carroll girls team.
As reported on Feb. 15, 2024.