Neither Gentry nor Shiloh Christian will be pushing for any team championships at this weekend’s Arkansas High School Wrestling Championships, but both will send some individuals with high hopes.
The Saints are in their first year participating in wrestling and don’t have enough to enter as a team. But coach Jerry Hanlin will take half a dozen wrestlers to compete in the 1A-5A championships. Three Shiloh Christian wrestlers appear favorites to earn medals.
Brothers Michael and Samuel Taylor each earned No. 3 seeds at 152 and 170 points, respectively.
Michael Taylor, who is 15-5 this season and a junior, is coming off a third-place finish at the Big West Tournament, competing against wrestlers from mainly Class 6A and 7A schools. Samuel Taylor, a sophomore who is 20-5, took fourth.
Freshman C.J. Bottorff is seeded sixth at 132, but also stands a chance at bringing home a medal, Hanlin said.
Hanlin said it would be a new environment for all his wrestlers except Bottorff, who has competed in many youth tournaments.
“I told these guys they’ll be laying the foundation for our team next season and all these guys will be back,” Hanlin said. “I told them the Big West Tournament could be tougher than our state tournament.”
Gentry has more of a wrestling tradition with a 1A-5A team title to its credit, but the Pioneers are young this season, losing several to graduation a year ago.
The Pioneers will pin their hopes on senior Cody Watson, who is seeded third at 160. Watson, who finished sixth at the state tournament last year, is 30-8 this season and took second at the Big West Tournament.
Tyler Easter (126) and Jonathan Xiong (120) of Gentry are also seeded third in their weight classes. Both also finished sixth a year ago.