"They are all special," Petree said. "To win one state championship is a coach's dream. To win four, it's unbelievable."
Petree is the River Valley Democrat-Gazette Wrestling Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
"It's a testament to these seniors that I have and the work they've put in. It's almost unmatched," Petree said. "This senior group that's been part of all four makes it that much more special."
All four championships have been totally different.
The first one, in 2022, Van Buren won basically because a wrestler from another school defeated a wrestler from another school that allowed Van Buren to edge Lake Hamilton 191-187.5 for the Class 5A title.
"It really is hard to believe," Petree said. "We won the first one by the hair on my chin. It really came down to another wrestler beating another wrestler that didn't have anything to do with us. It's still a championship. That was the first one."
In 2023, Van Buren eased past Mountain Home 164-135.5 for the Class 5A title.
"The second one, we had a really good team, really good leadership in that group," Petree said. "They were all returning the next year, so the third one we had a really good team and put eight in the finals, winning five of them."
The 2024 championship team cruised past Hot Springs Lakeside 173-130 for the Class 5A crown with eight wrestlers in the finals.
That set the stage for this year with a loaded team.
"All of those kids that are freshmen going into the fourth one," Petree said. "I'm thinking I can relax a little bit. I think we've got it wrapped up, but you don't want to think that."
The fourth one was anything but a foregone conclusion.
"The year played out, and we had significant injuries," Petree said. "It turned out to be anything but the easiest one to win."
Van Buren lost Jadin Purdy to a knee injury, and Braedyn Stewart broke his hand in December.
"Jadin was wrestling really good and tore his knee up," Petree said. "A guy that he had pinned won the state championship. Braedyn was wrestling phenomenal and broke his hand. We lost him for two months. We got him back the week of regionals, and he gave it a go and ended up getting fourth in the state with two weeks of practice."
Alex Reed, a two-time state champion, moved to Oklahoma.
"He wrestled one tournament for us and moved away," Petree said. "Losing all of them in the easy year, it makes the fourth one that much sweeter to win it the way we did."
Van Buren edged Lakeside for the championship this season 149-124.5 -- with contributions from 10 wrestlers that made it at least to the semifinals.
Don O'Kelley won the 126-pound division this season. Dakota Fenwick won the 132-pound division and finished undefeated with his third straight title. Alex Lopez won the 157-pound division.
Colton Purdy in the 120-pound division and Bryan Ramos in the 165-pound class each made it to the championship round.
The Pointers placed Danzel Arce in the 106-pound division, Stewart in the 144-pound class, Jalen Brown in the 150-pound division, Caden Webb in the 175-pound class and Ethan Hurst in the 285-pound division into the semifinals of the ... Click here to read full article
ARTICLE SOURCE:
