New season brings new head coaches

Every sports season brings its share of new head coaches, but high school wrestling has resulted in an especially interesting shift.

As I wrote in a previous blog, Greg Buckbee left his alma mater – Emporia – and then Dennis Charbonneau left his alma mater, Clay Center. Both teams had been impressive at the state tournament in February.

Buckbee left his hometown Spartans for Arkansas City, while Charbonneau resigned at Clay Center to take the newly vacant Emporia job. The loss for Clay Center was compounded by the fact that Charbonneau’s son, Brandon, is a talented sophomore wrestler.

Now that the dust has settled, Kansas wrestling coaches have released their preseason rankings. Buckbee’s Arkansas City wrestlers, who placed seventh at the Class 5A state tournament last year, are ranked No. 6 this season.

Charbonneau’s Emporia squad, the defending state champion, is the top-ranked team in 5A. Brandon Charbonneau is ranked No. 1 at 130 pounds.

Clay Center, the second-place team in 4A last year, is now ranked No. 3 in its class.

Another coaching change occurred at Bishop Carroll, which earned its 105th consecutive dual win last year (before Heights snapped the streak) and then placed third at the state tournament. Head coach Darian Eshelman is listed on the school’s site as an assistant coach for 2009-10, while Jared Vogel has taken the helm. In addition, Carroll – which won 5A team titles in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2008 – is unranked on the coaches’ list.

Incidentally, a former City League coach who put together his own impressive streak – in basketball, that is – has made a significant move. Steve Eck, who led a powerhouse boys basketball program at Wichita South, most recently coached at Cowley College. He will start this season as head coach at Hutchinson Community College.

The Hutchinson men finished last season 20-12. Eck, who helped Cowley set the school record for wins in a season with 31 in 2007-08, led the Tigers to a 29-5 record last year.