Glen Este head coach Chris Redmond is carried off on the shoulders of two of his wrestlers after being named the ECC Coach of the Year on Feb. 5.

Glen Este head coach Chris Redmond is carried off on the shoulders of two of his wrestlers after being named the ECC Coach of the Year on Feb. 5.
By Chris Chaney
Sports Editor

A strong season for the Glen Este High School wrestling team had another accolade added to its collective résumé on Saturday, Feb. 5 when the Trojans dominated the Eastern Cincinnati Conference Tournament on their home mats.

Glen Este bested second-place Anderson by 109.5 points and third-place Loveland by 119.5. The Trojans had six conference champions and six other placers.

“Going into (Saturday), I knew we had a strong team to compete,” GE head coach Chris Redmond said. “We lost to Loveland in a dual at Oak Hills (earlier in the season), so I knew they had a solid line up and Anderson had just beaten Loveland in the state duals, so I knew they were ready to compete.

“You try to prepare the boys, but you never know what’s going to happen out there. We’ve wrestled really, really well at home — there’s something really special about wrestling at home — but I just wanted them to go out and wrestle their best and they did.

“There was a lot of good, tough competition throughout each weight class and the boys brought it.”

The Trojans league champions were Oscar Santana (106 pounds), Brandon Hertel (120 pounds), Matt Lewis (126 pounds), Tristin McGrath (138 pounds), Brandon Smith (145 pounds) and Nate Stone (195 pounds).

Glen Este’s regular season is finished and the Trojans will try to use their week off between the ECC Tournament and the sectional as a time to recover from the wear and tear of a full season slate.

“We’re happy to have this week off,” Redmond said. “We’ve had a few injuries earlier in the season — rolled ankles and minor stuff that has put kids out for a few weeks — so we’re just trying to get healthy. We’re trying to stay on the grind, but we want to nurse some of those bumps and bruises so that we’re healthy going into sectionals, districts and state.”

With expectations high coming off of such a dominant performance at the league tournament, Redmond has been adamant in his assertion that qualifying to the next round of the state tournament isn’t enough.

“We’re trying to keep the kids’ heads right and keep them focused,” he said. “We had a good amount of district qualifiers — I think we had nine — two state qualifiers and a state alternate last year, but we haven’t had a state placer in years. That’s our goal.

“The kids have been kind of content with just making it to state and I’m trying to change that focus. It’s expected that you’ll make it to state, but your goal is to place at state.”

Redmond said that because this team has been so dedicated through the years and come up through the middle school ranks together, their expectations have risen as they’ve seen more success. As a result, there aren’t just a few guys who he’s expecting to compete for that state podium; it’s the majority of his guys.

“I have high standards for all of my wrestlers,” he said. “Obviously, I want Nate Stone to get back to state and place. He was a point away from placing last year, so we want to get him there and get him up on the podium this year.

“Same thing with Brandon Hertel. He was our state alternate last year and he was bummed that he didn’t get in. He’s put a lot of time in and is looking really, really good this season.

“Pretty much all of my seniors. Brandon Smith was in a tough sectional weight class last year and he was a two-time district qualifier, so I want to get him on the podium.”

Redmond continued, saying he hopes Avery Jones can take that next step this year. Some of the younger guys on the team — Lewis, in particular — has shown the ability to compete with the best in the state as well.

“It just comes down to winning those close matches and working a little bit harder than the other guys at this time of year,” he said.

The Trojans’ march to Columbus begins with the sectional tournament on Friday, Feb. 19 and continues the following week at the sectional tournament.

More information about Glen Este’s and other area teams’ road to the state tournament can be found on the district website at swdab.org.