It seems like just yesterday that John Kincade founded the wrestling program at Greenwood High School, which is now entering its 14th year. A former prep and college wrestler and coach from Oklahoma, Kincade was among the first to bring the mat sport to Arkansas in 2012. Two 5A state titles and three dual state championships later, Kincade and his Bulldogs remain one of the flagship wrestling programs in the state. More recently, Kincade has begun developing a girls’ program that has produced some promising results. Before the holidays the GHS head coach talked with the Dog Pound about his program and the start of the 2025-26 wrestling season.
The soft-spoken Kincade is a popular figure on the GHS campus after many years of coaching junior high football and wrestling. The coach is also a devout Christian and openly lives his faith. But don’t mistake his mild exterior and gentle spirit for weakness or a lack of drive or competitiveness when it comes to his coaching duties. He loves his wrestlers, and they love him, and he pushes them to get better and be disciplined on and off the mat. Like all good coaches, he is a molder of character for those athletes under his charge.
As for his 2025-26 squad, Kincade remains bullish on a very young group that has just one senior on its boys’ roster – Ashton Neece at 132 pounds. There are four seniors on the girls’ roster, including two-time state champion Farah Crossno at 105 pounds, Mariah Bartok at 115 pounds, Marin Youngblood at 145 pounds, and Brianne Mancini at 190 pounds. The rest of the ladies’ lineup includes promising sophomore AddiBell Holloway (100 lbs.), junior Isabella Thomas (120), and juniors Afton Bridges (170) and Myrose Rodgers (170).
There are nine juniors on Greenwood’s male roster – Landan Ward (138 lbs.), Brayden Stockton (144), Rhett Holloway (150), Logan Kehler (150), Ryder Stephens (150), Logan Gunderson (157), Cody Honkala (165), Thomas Newcity (175), and Tyler Brown (215). The sophomore class is short on numbers with just three wrestlers, but they are led by Dylan Friend at 126 pounds, a state runner-up last season as a freshman. The other two sophomores are Maddox Adams at 132 pounds and heavyweight Matthew Cravens at 285 pounds.
But the group that has sugarplums dancing in their coach’s eyes this holiday season are the freshmen – at least nine of them, full of promise and potential for the future. They are Ty Kennedy (106 lbs.), Timothy Kaiser (113), Cooper Holland (113), Kimothy Rodgers (126), Beau Christenson (126), Jaxon Payton (138), Wesley Martin (150), Avery Shavalier (175), and Brandon Jarrels (175). Some of those ninth graders have already demonstrated their potential in the early going this season, wrestlers like Kennedy, Kaiser, Shavalier, and Jarrels, but the best is yet to come for this group as they gain experience.
Asked for his honest assessment of what to expect from his Bulldogs this season, Coach Kincade did not hesitate, saying he believes them to be a top five team in Class 5A. That’s a bold prediction for a young team, but the longtime wrestling coach knows talent and potential when he sees it, and he does in this current group of GHS mat warriors. Now they must go out and prove it against live competition every week now that the calendar has flipped over to 2026.
At 132 pounds, senior Ashton Neece was a state runner-up last season and returns this season with hopes of taking the next step and winning a state title in his weight class. “He hasn’t wrestled that long,” said his coach. “He just got really dedicated and loves the sport and wanted to learn to do it and got after it.” Every head wrestling coach would love to have a dozen just like Neece, but that’s not the case with this very young GHS squad.
“We do,” the coach admitted when asked about the youthful nature of his roster. “We’ve got a bunch of freshmen, which is a good thing to have. We’ve got [nine] of those guys, so we’ve got a good nucleus of younger guys and a good group of juniors and sophomores. My sophomores are pretty tough. But my 106-pounder and 113-pounder are both freshmen, Ty Kennedy and Tim Kaiser, and they both have experience. They’ve wrestled with me [for years].” Kincade doesn’t have anyone at 120 pounds right now but plans to change that in the near future.
“At 126 pounds is a sophomore, Dylan Friend. He was a state runner-up last season as a freshman. He also has a lot of experience and has wrestled all the way through my youth program. At 132 pounds is Ashton Neece, the senior, but 138 pounds is going to be a tough one. I’ve got a couple of good ones there. Landon Ward, a junior, and Rhett Holloway, also a junior, and they are probably going to have to wrestle it off.”
“At 144 pounds, Brayden Stockton was a state runner-up last season too,” said Kincaid. “He’s a junior. So I have a junior, senior, and sophomore who are returning state finalists,” referring to Stockton, Neece, and Friend. “At 150 pounds is Logan Kehler, a junior, and at 157 is Logan Gunderson, also a junior, and he’s pretty good. At 165 is Cody Honkala, a junior, and at 175 I’ve got Avery Shavalier, a sophomore. Also at 175 pounds I have Brandon Jarrels who just came out. It’s the first time he’s ever wrestled and he’s very aggressive,” said the coach of the freshman football player.
Another football player who offers the team some flexibility is junior Thomas Newcity, who may wrestle at 175 pounds, allowing Shavalier or Jarrels to bump up to the 190-pound weight class, which is currently vacant. “At 215 I have Tyler Brown. He’s a junior but credit-wise this will probably be his last year. I think he wants to go military. And my heavyweight will be Matthew Cravens, a football player who weighs 265 pounds but will wrestle at 285. He’s a good-looking kid who can move and is very athletic. He’s going to help us.”
Kincaid hopes to have every weight class covered, which avoids any automatic forfeits and helps with team scoring. Not every wrestling coach has that luxury, but Kincaid has built an attractive program at Greenwood, drawing kids to him, not to mention his active recruitment of athletes when the need or opportunity arises.
The Bulldogs finished last season as the third best team in Class 5A, not an insignificant achievement. But Coach Kincaid takes even greater pride in winning the state’s highest academic award for wrestlers. “We won the academic state championship for both boys and girls. That was pretty cool because that’s all classifications put together.”
The 2024-25 season produced two senior state champions and three state-runners-up, plus the academic award. Not bad! “I’m anxious to see what this group does as they mature,” said the coach. “The longer the season goes each kid is going to get better because they haven’t reached their potential at all. So it’s pretty exciting.”
As for his ladies’ program, the numbers remain light with just eight girls on the roster, but there is quality with a returning state champion and a state runner-up. Senior Farah Crossno is a two-time state champ, and Brianne Mancini was a state finalist last season. “We’ve got a couple junior high girls coming up who will help a little bit,” said the coach. “But it’s a battle. The biggest thing for me – and it’s a good problem to have – is we are good at so many other [girls] sports. We’re good at volleyball, cheer, softball, basketball, and dance. Addi [Holloway] is a cheerleader, but she’s a heck of a wrestler too. She’s beaten a lot of good girls.
“One of the things we were able to do this year is hosting the girls regional on January 31st. Twenty-one other teams will come to Greenwood and I’m hoping to expose [girls wrestling] so they can come watch it for themselves and see what it’s all about,” he explained. Kincade teaches alternative learning students, so he is separated from the general student population, making it harder for him to recruit girl wrestlers. “I know there’s a lot of girls walking the halls, but it hurts that I’m not [there] where I can recruit. [Female wrestling] is the fastest growing sport in the United States.”
So as year 14 continues to unfold, Coach Kincaid and his Bulldogs are looking forward to a year of growth as younger wrestlers earn their chops and gain much-needed experience that will pay off over the next few years. “Realistically, our boys’ team is in the top five,” said Kincaid. “The playing field is a lot more even this year, not like in the past when Van Buren had three three-time state champions that graduated last year. But Beebe is pretty good and Hot Springs Lakeside has some good guys. But if we can finish in the top five, that’s a good expectation for us with our youth. But with everybody coming back, we’ll be [state] contenders again before long.”
Greenwood @ Shiloh Christian
On Tuesday, December 9th the Bulldogs traveled to Springdale to take on the Shiloh Christian Saints in varsity wrestling action. It’s worth noting that the match occurred three days after the two schools faced off in the 6A state championship football game, won by the Saints, so Greenwood’s dual sport athletes (football/wrestling), and perhaps Shiloh’s as well, were not yet able to compete. The competition was held at Springdale Har-Ber High School, the home floor for the Saints, and despite being shorthanded, the Bulldogs acquitted themselves well against the private Christian school, led by a handful of experienced veterans and promising youngsters.
It was one of those youngsters, GHS freshman Ty Kennedy at 106 pounds, who won his match by fall at the 1:08 mark, earning solid points for the Bulldogs. Fellow ninth grader Timothy Kaiser followed suit at 113 pounds, pinning his opponent with just 19 seconds left on the clock, garnering still more points for the visitors. After the Bulldogs forfeited in the 120-pound weight category, Kimothy Rodgers, another GHS freshman, lost his match by fall at 126 pounds.
Senior Ashton Neece won his match by forfeit at 132 pounds and GHS junior Logan Kehler defeated his opponent by fall at the 3:12 mark of his match at 138 pounds. The Saints won in both the 144-pound and 150-pound weight classes before the Bulldogs picked up max points with a forfeit at 157 pounds with junior Logan Gunderson. Shiloh Christian won by fall at 165 pounds and at 175 pounds. Greenwood didn’t have anyone at 190 pounds, giving the Saints another forfeit, but did win by fall (:52) at 215 pounds with junior Tyler Brown. Finally, Shiloh won by forfeit at 285 pounds.
Greenwood/Talequah (OK) Triangular
Two days later, on December 11th, the Bulldogs returned to Springdale Har-Ber High School to compete against both Har-Ber and Talequah, Oklahoma. Starting with the lowest weight classes, Greenwood’s Ty Kennedy split his two matches at 106 pounds, winning by fall (2:29) over his Talequah opponent and dropping his match by fall (:31) against Har-Ber. At 113 pounds, Timmy Kaiser dropped both of his matches by fall. Likewise, Greenwood’s Kimothy Rodgers lost both of his matches by fall at 126 pounds. Ashton Neece split his two outings at 132 pounds, losing to his Har-Ber opponent by technical fall (4:27) and winning by decision over his Oklahoma foe.
At 138 pounds, Greenwood’s Landan Ward won both his matches by fall, while teammates Brayden Stockton and Logan Kehler were victorious in both of their matches at 144 pounds. A junior, Stockton won by fall (:43) against a Talequah wrestler and Kehler won by forfeit in his match against Har-Ber. Kehler also wrestled twice at 150 pounds, dropping both matches, one by fall and the other by decision. At 157 pounds, Logan Gunderson split his two matches, winning by fall (5:36) against Talequah and losing by fall to Springdale Har-Ber. At 165 pounds, Greenwood junior Cody Honkala took out both of his opponents, winning by fall (3:08) over his Har-Ber mat foe and beating his Talequah counterpart by decision.
In the higher weight categories, freshman Avery Shavalier dropped both of his matches at 175 pounds, one by fall and the other by decision. Finally, at 215 pounds, Greenwood’s Tyler Brown split his matches, winning by technical fall (2:50) over his Har-Ber opponent and losing by fall against Talequah. The Bulldogs did not have a wrestler in the heavyweight division at 285 pounds.
Greenwood Quadrangular
The Bulldogs hosted their first home meet of the season on Tuesday, December 16th, competing against Farmington and Heavener (OK), a three-way match totally dominated by Greenwood across all weight divisions. At 106 pounds, Ty Kennedy won his two matches, one by fall (:44) over Farmington and by forfeit over Heavener. Timmy Kaiser won his two matches in similar fashion at 113 pounds, with a fall (1:09) against Heavener and by forfeit over Farmington. Greenwood did not compete in the 120-weight class, resulting in a forfeit, but GHS senior Dylan Friend took both of his matches, one by fall (:45) against Heavener and by forfeit over Farmington at 126 pounds.
At 132 pounds, Ashton Neece won both of his contests by fall (2:40) over Farmington and by forfeit over Heavener. At 138 pounds, Greenwood’s Landan Ward won by forfeit over Farmington and by technical fall (4:33) over Heavener. In the 144-pound division, Brayden Stockton won by fall (:25) over Farmington and by technical fall (2:09) over Heavener. Logan Kehler won both of his outings at 150 pounds, earning a victory by forfeit over Farmington and by fall (1:54) over Heavener.
At 157 pounds, Greenwood’s Logan Gunderson won his lone match over a Heavener opponent, taking him down in a fall at the 1:22 mark. At 165 pounds, Cody Honkala won both of his matches by forfeit, while Avery Shavalier won twice by fall over Farmington (1:10) and Heavener (1:22) in the 175-pound weight class. Promising freshman Brandon Jarrels won his first match of the season by fall over Farmington (:33) at 175 pounds. GHS junior Tyler Brown had the best day of any Bulldog with a trio of wins at 215 pounds – all by falls over Farmington (1:49/1:28) and Heavener (:24). Finally, heavyweight Matthew Cravens, a sophomore, was credited with a pair of forfeiture victories at 285 pounds.
For the Lady Bulldogs, Farah Crossno won her match by fall (:25) over a Farmington Lady Cardinal to lead the way as usual for the two-time state champion in the 105-pound weight class. Teammates AddiBelle Holloway and Afton Bridges also won their matches by fall. Holloway wrestles at 110 pounds and won her match at the :39 mark. At 170 pounds, Bridges ended her contest with a fall at the :47 mark.