The Bulldog wrestling team wrapped up their season earlier this month as they went into the state tournament with high hopes of finishing well. The team did just that; they finished 5th overall in class B. “Overall, it only matters where you end up,” Said head coach Travis Peak. “We try to stress that during the season, that it’s important to peak at the right time, and get most out of ourselves at the end of the season.”
The Bulldogs knew that they had the potential to place well at the tournament, “We set a team goal to place in the top 5 at State,” said Peak, “all of us thought that it was a possible goal, and I was surprised to see them do that well.” Despite his surprise, Peak knew that the experienced Alliance squad had the potential to do well, “I knew that they were capable, and I’m happy that they performed like they were supposed to.”
Alliance sent eight grapplers to the State Tournament, coming off of a third place finish at the B-4 district tournament: freshmen Kyson Schnell and Manny Cabello; sophomore Walker Johnson; junior Devin Ushio, and seniors Freddy Lopez, Tyson Dowler, Tyler Smith, and Dawson Johnson.
Out of the eight qualifiers, five wrestlers medaled. Tyler Smith finished sixth place, earning his first medal at state. Dawson Johnson finished in fourth place, while his brother Walker grabbed the third place. Devin Ushio also placed third. Tyson Dowler finished an impressive undefeated season and won the State Championship at 152 pounds.
“All of the matches at State were cool,” said Peak, “we beat a lot of guys that we weren’t supposed to beat.” Coach Peak also mentioned how well Johnson and Schnell wrestled, “Walker had the tournament of his life,” said Peak. Johnson Commented on how his tournament went saying, “I wrestled pretty well overall.” “Kyson wrestled well, he beat guys that we would have never thought of him beating.” Peak also highlighted the performance of Ushio, “Devin preformed as well as he could have hoped,” said Peak. “He got unlucky, being on the same side of the bracket as Velasquez from Bennignton, who had already won State his freshman and sophomore year, otherwise, Devin would have been wrestling in the State Championship.” Peak also highlighted Smith and Lopez’s performance. “The fact that Freddy even wrestled this year was an accomplishment. He blew out his knee this summer, and to make it to State was a huge accomplishment.”
The most exciting part for Peak, and most of Alliance, however, was the performance of Tyson Dowler who completed an undefeated season by winning the Class B State Championship at 152 lbs. “Tyson kept his composure and did what he needed to do.”
The Bulldogs had to fight injuries as well as sickness all season, “There were some tournaments where we didn’t do as well as we could have,” said Peak. “There were a lot of guys out at different spots throughout the season, whether it was from an injury or sickness.”
Coach Peak looks hopeful for next year. “You’re always nervous about next season,” Peak said, “It’s about impossible to replace some people, all of these seniors are going to be hard to replace.” Peak also likes the talent that is up and coming at AHS. “There are some very talented JV kids, as well as some good freshmen coming into next year.” Peak added “We’re not going to replace these guys with State Champions right away, but we’ll be alright.”
