BOYS TEAM
El Dorado Springs boys wrestling returns a pair of state qualifiers in Emory Crawford and Blake Esparza.
Crawford placed fourth at 150 pounds as a freshman.
“Emory works extremely hard at his skill development and is very fast. He has the ability to scramble and likes being in those situations,” El Dorado Springs head coach Bill Gray said. “His skill development and his willingness to listen and try different things has improved and allows him to grow as a wrestler. He has no fear of trying different skills and has a very large repertoire in his tool box.”
Crawford will be 144-150 this season.
Esparza qualified at 175 pounds last season and will be at 190 this year.
“Blake was a placer as a sophomore and experienced several injuries as a junior. He got to state, but did not have the tournament he wanted to as a junior. He is using that as motivation this season and we are looking forward to a good year,” Gray said.
Sylas Fletcher (junior, 113-120), Donavan Kirkham (sophomore. 165-175) and Samuel Kohler (senior. 175-190) also return.
“Sylas has been motivated all summer. He missed the state tournament last season by one round and he is on a mission to not only get there but to place. He worked hard at camp to improve his skills and will be in top shape when we get the season started,” Gray said. “Donavan has gotten stronger and looks to be a strong contender to qualify for Columbia this season. He is motivated and with continued skill development he can make it.”
Dylan Whitesell (senior, 215), Brogan Crawford (freshman, 132-138), Nolan Moore (freshman, 120-126), Brandon Tait (freshman, 190-215) and Michael Delk (175-190) will be newcomers.
“Depending on the growth of our freshmen their impact could help the growth and the future of the program,” Gray said. “They will need to pick things up quick and be able to adjust to the speed of high school wrestling.”
El Dorado Springs won’t have big numbers on the roster, but that will allow for quality training time.
“Small numbers will allow us to spend a lot of time on skill development and chain wrestling so we can wrestle with a plan for every situation,” Gray said. “We will have time to hammer out the details.”
GIRLS TEAM
Three state qualifiers return on the girls side led by two-time placer Aleah Conrad. Conrad is a junior with two third-place finishes on her resume.
“Aleah is a hard worker and spends a lot of time on the mat in the off-season. We are working to diversify her skillset allowing her to attack her opponents in different ways. She is improving her neutral position wrestling and is getting better on top every day,” Gray said. “She is a great thrower, and we are working on making her even stronger, but she has improved greatly wrestling from distance and is becoming a better chain wrestler to set up her throws.”
Conrad will wrestle in the 100-105 pound range.
Haylee Esparza qualified for state at 145 pounds as a freshman.
“Haylee is the fourth family member to be part of the and being around the sport she has developed a skillset that works to her strengths. She works fast and is strong,” Gray said.
Kaiden Conrad qualified at 110 pounds as a junior.
“Being a three-time qualifier, she (Kaiden Conrad) expects to get back to Columbia, but this year we want to get to the podium,” Gray said.
Olivia Graves (senior, 120-130), Lily George (senior, 130-135), Kayla Nelson (sophomore, 135-140), Lily Corbin (junior, 170-190), Isabella Reddick (senior, 170-190) and Emma Corbin (junior, 190-235) also return.
“Our girls worked hard in the offseason to get stronger spending a lot of time in the weight room,” Gray said. “Aleah, Nelson and the Corbins saw gains in the weight room this summer and will hopefully transfer that on to the mat.”
Freshman Serenity Witt will look to make an immediate impact at 100 pounds.
“Serenity is a fighter,” Gray said. “She will make you work on the mat and is strong making her a threat any time she steps on the mat.”
Gray wants to see the girls team build off a successful 2023-24 season.
“We had a lot of success last year finishing second at three different tournaments and winning the Ozark Highland Conference, and we had several girls win individual championships throughout the season. We hope that translate to the district and state tournament this year,” Gray said. “We want to place at the district tournament qualifying six to eight for the state tournament, and then place as many of our seniors as possible and place at state as well. Several of the girls want to complete their careers on the podium and we are working for that as well, but the continued growth of the program is what we are ultimately looking for this season.”
