State of the Program ... North Murray (GA)
North Murray (GA)
Head Coach: David Thornbury (3 years head coach at Kell, first year at North Murray, 9th year coaching high school wrestling)
Staff: Jeremy Norman Jason Wheat Ryan Locke Michael Kimsey
What will we see from a new look North Murray squad in 2022-23? State Placers Hernan Hernandez and Tyler Wheat have graduated as well as Devin Hunte. Coach Thornbury takes over the squad after leading Kell the last few seasons - so North Murray has a change up top as well. This is a team that will likely have several new starters that will look to compliment the core of returners the Mountaineers have coming back.
Brock Bennett qualified for the state tournament a season ago as a freshman and this squad may not have a single senior on the team in 2022-23. Meaning they will be young, but not necessarily inexperienced. Joining Bennett with post-season experience are Elijah Hardin, Cody Wheat, and Ashton Head. Add in Eli Young, Camryn Shaver, Leo Gonzalez, Jacob Debord, and Hunter Walkey and you have a heavy Sophomore and Junior class that will be called upon to lead a solid group of incoming freshmen. If Brandon Locke, Jonathan Vicente, Easton Foster, and Michael Bejarano can make an impact and if the returners continue to get better you should see a North Murray team that grows by leaps and bounds from the beginning of the season to the end. Where they end up will be up to how well they progress.
“North Murray qualified for state duals for the first time in school history last season. The Mountaineers also had back to back seasons with two state placers for the first time in school history. The historic class of 2022 had seven starters graduate, Including state placers Devin Hunte, Tyler Wheat and the school’s first two time state placer Hernan Hernandez. The Mountaineers return six sectional qualifiers, and have a roster full of freshman and sophomores who look to step up on the varsity stage.”
NOTE: All mentions of placers and qualifiers in the body are based on the 2021-22 season. If a wrestler placed higher or lower in a previous year it is not captured above.