Trinity wrestling coach Brandon Coggins reacts during a key moment in last year’s dual team state final against Seaforth. (PJ Ward-Brown / Randolph Record)
TRINITY — Trinity’s wrestling team has a hard act to follow after what the Bulldogs did last winter.
But they say they’re up for the challenge as they’ll try to repeat as Class 2A dual team state champions.
“It was a surreal moment,” junior heavyweight Joseph Trahan said of last year’s title. “It definitely will be a lot of pressure. We have the ability to do it again.”
That’s the mindset for the Bulldogs when the state duals begin with the first and second rounds Saturday. Those pairings coming out Thursday.
The goal will be to win two meets this weekend, then capture two more next Wednesday to reach the state finals Feb. 8 in Greensboro.
Senior 138-pounder Jaden Allred said it’s difficult staying at the top now that Trinity reached that level.
“We’ve just got to up the practice a little harder,” he said.
Last year, the Bulldogs won the West Region and then topped Seaforth in the state final.
“We flew under the radar for a long time,” coach Brandon Coggins said.
That’s no longer the case. And despite losing six of the 14 starters from last season’s team, the Bulldogs appear well-stocked again.
“It’s good to have guys behind them,” Coggins said of some of last year’s backups. “We have some young guys who’ve done better than we expected.”
There’s also a core that’s still in place. The Bulldogs have been led by sophomore 106-pounder Aiden Burkholder, a pair of middleweights in Allred and senior Lawson Coltrane and junior heavyweight Joseph Trahan.
They like what they see.
“Just being with the team, watching them grow,” Coltrane said. “Of course, we have a young team now. Because we had a bunch of older guys last year, they knew what they were doing. But it’s cool to kind of be in their spot now and show people other stuff.”
Burkholder said the seriousness of last year’s team was motivating.
“The seniors we had in the practice room wanted it so bad,” he said. “They pushed us every day.”
There’s no backing off from the Bulldogs. They know what’s at stake coming up.
“They’re pushing us hard every day,” Burkholder said. “We’ve been putting in the work.”
Allred said the Bulldogs have been on a good recent path. They captured an invitational team title Jan. 18 at Eden Morehead.
“We’ve been building,” Allred said. “We just do what we know we can do. … The people we have now is a really good group. They step up when they need to.”
So rekindling those feelings as a state championship team is something the Bulldogs want to re-enact.
“It was just ecstatic,” Trahan said. “It didn’t feel real. It would be great if we could do it again.”
