By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
State placewinner Bradley Hiteshaw and state qualifiers Ethan Kelly and Chance Hensley figure to be a formidable threesome for Glendale at 120, 126 and 132 pounds this season.
Hiteshaw is a senior who will jump from 113 to 120. He was 28-8 and claimed championships at the Kinloch Classic and Ozark Conference Tournament while at 113 last season. He fell short of a third trip to state by being ousted in the fourth round of wrestlebacks in Class 4 District 3.
Hiteshaw qualified for state as a freshman and sophomore, taking sixth at state as a sophomore.
Kelly returns for his junior season after an injury wiped out his sophomore campaign. As a 113-pound freshman, he was 32-7 and won one match at state.
Hensley was 32-7 and made state as a freshman at Bolivar two years ago, before transferring to Glendale a year ago. He’s fresh from competing at the Fargo National Championships, the Super 32 Early Entry Tournament and the Fall Brawl Tournament.
“We have a tough lower-weights group,” Falcons coach Bud Donnell said.
Glendale also has high hopes at the lower weights for 106 senior Arthur Pille and 113 freshman Caleb Herring.
Pille was 20-17 and a champion at the Bolivar Tournament last winter, in addition to medaling at the Kinloch, Truman, OC tournaments. Herring was a runner-up in the city championship as an eighth-grader at Hickory Hills last winter.
The Falcons are led in the upper weights by junior Deric Washington at 190 and junior Reed Jackson at heavyweight.
Washington was 31-10 at 215 and won an OC Tournament title, while falling one win short of going to state last season. Jackson was also one win shy of making state.
Washington emerged as a standout linebacker for the Falcons’ football team this fall.
Elsewhere, Glendale will feature sophomore Dylan Eubanks at 137, sophomore Thomas Delong at 144, sophomore Cash Dunn at 150, junior Jamadre Williams at 157, sophomore Treyvon Floyd at 165, junior Wesley Strand at 175 and senior Brett Osborn at 215.
Eubanks prepared for this season by picking up mixed martial arts training over the off-season, while Dunn competes in jujitsu. Strand is entering his third year as a starter. Osborn was a Republic Tournament finalist last season.
On the girls side, Lili Hiteshew is back after winning 20-plus matches last season. Also returning is Lyla Smith, who was a Republic Tournament champion last winter. Another veteran is Lydia Renkoski.
“We have a small girls team, but they are bringing years of experience,” Donnell said.
Donnell is looking forward to Glendale’s new adventures as a first-year member of the COC.
“I like the challenge of the COC,” he said. “I feel like we have the toughest or one of the toughest conferences in the state.”
Donnell has added a couple familiar names to his coaching staff that Glendale fans are sure to recognize. New assistants include former Falcons head coach Kirk Slater and Glendale grad Colman Ebisch.
Slater coached at Glendale 20 years ago, while Ebisch was a two-time state qualifier and is on the Falcons’ top ten career wins list.
Glendale’s tourneys will include trips to Bolivar, Truman, the KC Stampede, the Kinloch Classic, Republic and the COC Tournament.
