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SM wrestling coach named; season to start on Tuesday
Smoky Mountain’s wrestling team, which was slated to open practice on Oct. 31, finally got practice under way last week after a coach was named.
Chuck Beane, a Waynesville business owner, is the Mustangs’ coach.
“We’re about a month behind so we’re playing catch-up,” Beane said. “We’re putting together a roster this week. We’ve got a lot of interest with the younger people. We have two seniors, but the rest of the team is very young.”
The Mustangs will open the season Tuesday with a 6 p.m. match at Robbinsville.
Team leaders are seniors T.J. Bradley and George Neslen, according to Beane. Bradley qualified for last year’s state 3-A tournament.
“The kids are excited and fired up about it,” the coach said “They’re very willing to learn.”
Beane was a high school wrestler in Winston-Salem and wrestling on the club level at UNC-Charlotte. He was an assistant coach at Mount Tabor and Reynolds high schools in Winston-Salem. He has been involved with several camps.
“We’ve got some great support from the parents,” Beane said. “That’s the first part of building a successful program.”
Tony Quinn will be an assistant coach, and Beane plans to bring in another assistant with college wrestling experience.
“I plan to surround myself with people smarter than I am,” Beane said. “I know enough about it to build a good high school team. I know there are wrestlers who will be able to wrestle at the college level so we’re going to spend a lot of time on technique.”
The only three home matches will be in a span of eight days during January.
The schedule is as follows:
Nov. 22 – at Robbinsville.
Dec. 1 – at Franklin; 3 – at Mitchell; 6 – at Asheville School; 8 – at Cherokee; 10 – at Tuscola Tournament; 13 – at Andrews – 17 – at Reynolds; 29-30 – at Cherokee Tournament.
Jan. 10 – Asheville School; 13 – North Henderson; 17 – West Henderson; 20 – at Pisgah; 21 – at Robbinsville Tournament; 27 – at Brevard; 31 – at East Henderson.
Feb. 3-4 – Western Athletic Conference Tournament (site to be announced).
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