State of the Program ... Christian Brothers (TN)
Christian Brothers (TN)
Head Coach: Derrick Harrison (entering 5th season)
Staff: Mike Letts, Jimmy Ballantyne, John Anthony, Ben Bowers, Jarrod Maynes
Christian Brothers is one of the top programs in Tennessee, regardless of class, year in and year out. In 2021 they finished 2nd to Baylor for the Division 2 traditional title and (like many years) graduated a ton of hammers. Gone are State Champ Dayne Dalrymple as well as State Runner-up Theo Sewell and Evan Anthony and State Placers Conner Billingsley, Foster Salvaggio, and Sam Lee. For most programs that would be take years to recover from. For Christian Brothers it will impact them as they look for some new faces to step into more important roles, but it won’t take long for the next group to ready to go and back challenging for a state title.
Christian Brothers still return 6 State Placers from 2021 including State Champ Aidan Bowers and State Runners-up Gervacio Gonzalez, Alex Ropski, and Wills Bronson. Add in Placer Drake Bowers and Nicholas Commons and this team will look to once again me in the hunt for the title along with Baylor, McCallie, MBA, Father Ryan, and the other top programs in D2. The key will be the continued development of Gabriel Croom and Ikey Levey and how quickly wrestlers like Ben Hackney, Iggy Smout, Luis Ramos, and others step in (and step up) when called on.
“We have more new faces in the line-up than we are accustomed to after graduating a big class, but these guys are as consistent as it comes and have had a great summer cycle heading into our pre-season training. We look to be as competitive as we have been. The positive thing about a program with depth is that the “new” starters have 2-3 years of high school experience under their belts.”