Nine years may seem like a long time to some people, depending on your perspective. But it’s not much time at all if you are trying to build a high school athletic program into a consistent winner and doing so from the ground up. Yet that’s just what Greenwood’s John Kincade has done with his super-successful GHS wrestling program.
The highly respected and beloved head coach and his Bulldogs have just earned their second consecutive state title in Class 5A. Even better, the GHS wrestling program has won three straight dual state championships as well. That’s five state titles in the past three years to go along with three consecutive conference crowns. Those are serious accomplishments for a program that didn’t even exist 10 years ago.
“I am so very proud of our wrestlers and our coaching staff,” said Kincade in a recent post on his Facebook page. “We were able to go back-to-back as a team! Thank you to all the wrestlers that believed in our journey!”
As always, the 4A, 5A, and 6A state wrestling tournaments were held at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock last Friday and Saturday and the Bulldogs were expected to do well given their high number of experienced wrestlers coming back from last season’s championship run, and they did not disappoint.
Kincade had five returning state champions among his stable of athletes, including juniors Antonio Martinez, Tyler Crossno, and Hayden Rofkahr, along with seniors Ty Moose and Jason Arnold. Four of the five were able to repeat as individual state champs last weekend, leading the Bulldogs to an overwhelming victory. Two others – Jordan Hanna and Hayden Allen – also finished first in their weight categories to claim state titles.
Altogether, Greenwood had six individual state champions, three state runners-up, four other wrestlers who placed, and Kincade won the Coach of the Year award in Class 5A. The Bulldogs trailed in the team standings after the early matches on Friday, then surpassed the competition later in the day before cementing their grip on first place with an outstanding performance on Saturday. Greenwood won the 5A title with 293 total points, far ahead of Mountain Home (172), Lake Hamilton (139.5), Russellville (139), and Searcy (138.5).
On the girls’ side, Greenwood’s Skyler Belin far exceeded expectations and finished as state runner-up at 100 pounds. Unseeded to start the tournament, she defeated the #6, #3, and #2 seeded wrestlers to reach the finals before losing to Lillian Jones from Van Buren. Belin and fellow junior Lola Culverson, who went 2-2 at state, will both return next season and will be joined by several younger female wrestlers as Kincade continues to recruit and build his girls’ program.
A major contributor to Greenwood’s success on the mat in recent years has been Coach Kincade’s ability to field a full slate of wrestlers in nearly every weight category, a luxury many teams don’t have. The Bulldogs did just that this season, and in the boy’s state tournament all but one GHS wrestler placed at their weight level and earned points. “It does make a difference. You want to score points in every weight class. It’s important,” said Kincade.
The coach was also grateful to have largely escaped the clutches of the coronavirus, the scourge of 2020. “We stayed healthy this year with everything going on with Covid-19,” he said. “We were just very fortunate, because any one of our kids could have been quarantined. We were fortunate to get through the season and to win it [all].”
At UALR last weekend, Greenwood’s Jackson Witherington finished second as state runner-up at 106 pounds, falling in the finals to Shiloh Summers of Van Buren. At 113 pounds the Bulldogs’ Hayden Allen earned a state championship defeating Drue Lindsey of Mountain Home. At 120 pounds Antonio Martinez finished third for Greenwood.
Hayden Rofkahr earned his second career state title, this time at 126 pounds, defeating Ethan Bittle of Little Rock Christian Academy. A junior this season, Rofkahr won a state championship as a freshman, but was injured and did not compete during his sophomore year. As a senior he will be a returning state champion next season.
At 132 pounds senior Gustavo Martinez earned sixth place points for the Bulldogs, despite competing after an injury. “Gustavo was a warrior in finishing in sixth place after having a bad ankle. I loved the fight in [him],” said his coach.
Teammate Ty Moose, another senior, won his third individual state championship at 138 pounds, defeating Gage McCartney of Russellville in the finals. Moose also won a state title with the Bulldogs on the gridiron last fall. He is one of several football players to also compete in wrestling.
“Ty Moose is the winningest wrestler in Greenwood history,” said Coach Kincade. “He finished his freshman year with a runner-up in class 6A and then won three state championships in class 5A. He has been a tremendous leader. I will miss him and his dad (Mark), who has been my booster club president. I owe Mark a bunch for keeping me in line.”
Garrett Haralson earned fourth place points at 145 pounds, and Greenwood did not place in the 152-pound weight class. But at 160 pounds senior Tatum Sadler finished in fifth place. Sadler was also a defensive starter on the football team. Austin Moreton is the offensive line coach for the Bulldogs and the assistant coach for the wrestling team.
The Bulldogs also did very well in the upper weight classifications, including three state champions and two runners-up, starting with Jason Arnold defeating Carlos Gibson of Russellville at 170 pounds for the state crown. It was Arnold’s second consecutive championship, also winning last season.
Of Arnold, Coach Kincade called him, “Another one of our great seniors. He has been a tremendous leader. He’s been selected to go to the Air Force Academy, [and] I am so proud of him. He’s a two-time state champion.”
At 182 pounds, Greenwood’s Lucas Honkala finished as state runner-up, losing in the finals to Austin Brooks of Lakeside High School. But at 195 pounds Jordan Hanna earned a state title and completed an unbeaten season (21-0), winning in the finals over Tyler Cochrane of Benton. Jordan also plays football and will join the Arkansas Razorbacks next fall as an invited walk-on, following in the footsteps of his older brother.
“Who would have believed that?” asked the coach, referring to Hanna’s unbeaten record this season. “He missed a whole year [due to injury] then comes back and goes 21-0. Jordan has been around me for [about] 11 years, including FASDOGS in the summer and youth wrestling. I look forward in him playing for the Razorbacks in football this fall with his brother Morgan and another Greenwood Bulldog, Grant Morgan.”
Two more GHS football players competed at the highest weight classes. Junior Tyler Crossno won his second consecutive state crown at 220 pounds, defeating Aiden Richey of Mountain Home. At 285 pounds Greenwood junior Jeremiah Presson finished as state runner-up to Nathan Juhl of Maumelle.
“I think Tyler went like 32-1. He was beaten by a kid from Missouri in overtime,” said Kincade. “And Jeremiah was such a pleasant surprise,” said Coach Kincade. “After being sick, he came on like no other. He won all three matches in dual state, to becoming the conference champion, [and] he was so close to becoming a state champion. His hard work has really paid off. He just did a tremendous job.”
Crossno is the team’s starting nose guard on defense while Presson is an offensive lineman for the Bulldogs’ football team. “Wrestling and football go hand-in-hand,” added the coach. “Greenwood is so fortunate to hire [someone] the caliber of Coach Moreton. I have to give him credit [for] getting Jeremiah where he needed to [go].”
At last week’s state tournament, held at the Jack Stephens Center at UALR, the Bulldogs led all classifications (4A, 5A, 6A) in matches that ended by pinning the opponent. Greenwood finished with 29 pins. Number two was Class 6A Rogers-Heritage (26), followed by Bentonville with 23.
“That’s 58 bonus points we scored,” explained the coach, points added to his team’s total. “That’s one thing we focus on a lot. When we get somebody on their back, we want to pin them. We don’t want to let them off the mat,” he said.
The dual state tournament was held on Saturday, February 6th, at Russellville High School, and again the Bulldogs absolutely dominated the competition to win their third consecutive dual state title. The original plan was for the Arkansas Activities Association to sanction the event for the first time, but like with so many other things, 2020 took its toll.
“They (AAA) were going to [sanction it], and then they backed out because of Covid-19,” explained the coach. In dual events, specific schools are paired against each another and individual wrestlers score team points depending on the outcome of their matches, and Greenwood did very well.
“We wrestled Jonesboro in our first dual and beat them 72-6,” recalled Kincade. “We then wrestled Searcy in the semi-finals and we beat them 66-6. Then in the finals we wrestled Mountain Home. They were up on us 13-6 [but] after that we didn’t lose a match and ended up beating them 63-13.
“In between the dual state and the (5A) state tournament we had the conference tournament in Greenwood, and we won the championship,” he continued. “We were first with 279.5 points and Van Buren was second with 171. “We had an unbelievable showing at the conference tournament.
“At 106 [pounds] Jackson Witherington won second [place],” he continued. “At 113 Hayden Allen took first. At 120 Antonio Martinez was third. At 126 Hayden Rofkahr won first. At 132 Gustavo Martinez was injured and did not place. At 138 [pounds] Ty Moose was first. At 145 Garrett Harrelson was also first. We did not place at 152 [pounds], but at 160 Tatum Sadler [finished] third. At 170 Jason Arnold took first. At 182 Lucas Honkala was first. At 195 Jordan Hanna finished first. At 220 [pounds] Tyler Crossno was first, and at 285 Jeremiah Presson took first.”
Asked to analyze the rapid success of his program, the humble coach said, “I don’t know why things happen the way they happen, for whatever purpose. But never in my wildest dreams would I have dreamed anything like this would happen. I dreamed of winning a state championship here, but it takes years [of work].
“Before I started [the varsity program] I had my own youth academy. [Some of] these kids have been with me for eight or nine years. [But] a lot of people aren’t willing to put in the time to develop a program. If you had told me we were going to win two state championships, three dual championships, and three conference championships, I would have called you a liar. I just wouldn’t have thought that to be possible.”
A deeply religious man, Kincade hinted at the possibility of divine intervention at work, but was also quick to give generous credit to his assistant coaches and thank the administration and community at large for their overwhelming support.
“My assistants are the best of the best. They do such a great job,” said the coach, referring to Coach Moreton and several volunteer coaches including Caleb and Ashley Erskine, Robert Moore, newcomer Matthew Gibson, and former assistant David Tuck. “I give them a lot of credit. I just kind of oversee things.
“On top of that, the administration is unbelievable,” added Kincade. “It allows us to be successful. For everything to fall in place the way it has, it’s just been a tremendous blessing. I’m very thankful [to be] where I’m at, not because of the victories, but because of the people in our community. Everybody is pulling on the rope in the same [direction]. We’ve got a pretty good deal here. We’re supportive of our kids to be successful, and that’s what makes Greenwood special.”
Asked about the overall health and direction of the program, Coach Kincade remains optimistic regarding the future and is seeing success in his efforts to recruit local athletes to give wrestling a try. “I’ve got some younger kids coming up that are going to be tough. In a few years when I decide to call it quits, we will leave [the program] in good [shape], for sure. We’ve got some great younger kids coming up and I’m excited about that.”