State of the Program ... John Carroll Catholic (AL)
John Carroll Catholic (AL)
Head Coach: TJ Zito (4th season)
Coach Zito continues to build at John Carroll - now entering their 4th season. The Cavaliers return four wrestlers with post-season experience in Jay Zito, Sequoah Hicks, Jimmy McMillan, and Bobby O’Farrell. Add in Jackson Beals and the Cavs should be solid from 120-152. How high the Cavaliers climb in the new look 5A might come down to how well a few newcomers develop this season. Liam Aguirre and Frank Bradford should handle two of the weight classes up top and Drew Helton and freshman Alex Plaia will fit into the middle of the lineup with Zito, Hicks, McMillan, and O’Farrell.
There is no doubt John Carroll has made gains in each of the last 3 seasons … this is still a fairly young squad that will continue to get better. Coach Zito has to be excited about the possibilities this season.
“In its fourth season since starting in 2019, John Carroll will have its most robust and experienced roster. Not only are five key starters returning, but a handful of new students with past wrestling experience will join the team at the upper weights. JC will likely fill out the roster for the first time and will be wrestling hard through the new 5a division. Jay Zito and Jimmy Mcmillan have consistently wrested with Warrior Wrestling Club during off-season. Zito took 2nd at the Battle of Bama 126lbs, 2nd in folkstyle, freestyle, and greco at Clash over the Mountain 126lbs, and won the Panama City Freedom Fest 126lbs. Many new team members wrestled their first matches ever at the Spain Park referee training tournament over the summer, picking up much-needed experience and sneaking in some wins. The program is growing and on an upswing heading into year four.”
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.