Chiefs bring back group of state placers
Ronan wrestlers Koda King, August Courville and Ridge Cote, shown here at last year's Divisional Wrestling Tournment in Hamilton, return to the mat this season. (Courtesy photo)
Ronan finished seventh as a team at the Class A State Wrestling Tournament last year, and this year looks like another strong year for the Chiefs.
“We are going to rely heavily on our seniors for their leadership and experience,” said Head Coach Dylan Kramer. “We have a bunch of young and excited kids who will need to absorb as much of their knowledge as possible.”
Ronan returns seniors August Courville, who has taken sixth at state the past two years, and three-year state placer Ridge Cote, who took second in 2022 and 2023. Koda King returns after taking second in 2024 and fourth in 2023.
The Chiefs also have Tyson Lake, Jairyn Krause, Dominique McKay, Brady Hout, Isaac Rodriguez, Jackson Davis, JJ Beh, and Andrew Cook.
“Our younger group and newcomers have jumped right into the program and are working really hard to develop themselves as wrestlers,” Kramer said. “We have taken the time to fully develop our fundamentals for a really strong base of wrestling.”
Kramer said the Western A will be interesting this year with new rule changes to encourage aggressive wrestling and more weight classes.
“Ronan wrestling has been on a steady line of improvement for the past several years, and we hope to continue the momentum into this season,” Kramer said. “The community has been backing and supporting these kids for a long time, and we are excited to watch them compete.”
He also reflected on last year’s successful divisional tournament, describing it as “a highlight of the season.”
“Still, we want to continue to improve to peak at the state tournament and help this group of kids – seniors in particular – wrestle their best tournament at state.”