By Peyton Capellen Posted March 07, 2017
The highly decorated Lowry wrestling team had another strong season this year, wrapping up the season at the state tournament in Spanish Springs on February 10-11. Although a first-place finish is what the team and its coaches strive for each year, the wrestling team is in good hands, looking forward to the future seasons to come. They were faced with the challenge of having a much younger but talented team.
According to assistant coach Brant Corak, the goal of the program is to still win a state championship each year.
“Our team’s goal is always the same, which is to win a state championship. Never second, never third, never fourth,” said Corak. “We came out short of that, and so at the end of the year, we reflect on what we need to do better next year. Now, does that mean we consider it a failure? No. We were young, we improved, which is always a good thing.”
Although the boys came up short of state, Brant was very pleased with how much his team improved.
“The kids worked hard, they had a positive attitude, but our goal is never any different, it is to win the state title, so the year was a success as far as improvement and getting the most out of our kids,” said Corak.
Corak also recognized junior Quint Bell and the team’s only senior, Connor Starkey, as the leaders of the team.
“It’s hard to single them out, but I think our unquestioned leader was probably Quint Bell,” said Corak. “I think if you asked any kid who the hardest worker on the team was, they would probably point to Quint, and that plays out in wins and losses, too, and Quint had the most wins on the team. I would also like to recognize Connor Starkey because he was the only senior on the entire team, and sometimes when your classmates decide not to participate, it makes it that much harder to do it, but he was a great leader for us all year long, and his contribution is very much appreciated
Quint described what he did that gave him the role of the leader of his team.”
“For our young team, I wanted them to establish a strong work ethic and have a positive attitude that would put Lowry onto the next level. I pushed myself as hard as I could every single day and tried to encourage others to do the same,” said Bell.
Seven of Lowry’s wrestlers placed in the state tournament: Quint Bell, 152lbs, placed 2nd, Ryan Johnson, 145lbs, placed 3rd, Cade Billingsley, 170lbs, placed 4th, Seth Hornbarge,r 160 lbs, placed 4th, Bryan Day, 132lbs, placed 3rd, Matthew Souza, 120lbs, placed 3rd, and Isaiah Blanco, 106lbs, placed 3rd.
