LONOKE, Ark. — Jackrabbits are certainly known for their speed, but what about their strength? Soon they will be.
After years of wishing and hoping, Lonoke High School is set to debut their new wrestling program.
“There’s a large wrestling presence in Little Rock, with some really good programs — Pulaski Academy, Episcopal, down into Bauxite and all across the state, wrestling is growing at a pretty fast clip,” Lonoke Coach Chris Norton said.
Norton said male and female student athletes will begin competing in December and will conclude their first season with the AAA state wrestling tournament in February 2023.
“Get some of those young people that may not necessarily physically be able to help a lot in basketball or that may not be big enough or strong enough yet, but as a smaller freshman they can get out and compete,” Norton said.
For the past four years, Lonoke Elementary Librarian and Wrestling Director Stephanie Price has been pushing for the school to get a wrestling program.
“If they want to keep the kids here at Lonoke, and not have them school choice because they want and have fallen in love with wrestling and want to compete, they’re gonna have to add it,” Price said.
The program will work in conjunction with Lonoke Youth Wrestling, a community program led by Price, which has helped develop a solid foundation of wrestling among Lonoke youth.
“My husband started coaching wrestling 8 years ago at Beebe High School," Price said. "I was attending a lot of the meets and practices and just kind of fell in love with it.”
One wrestler who is excited to see the program grow is 3rd grader Zuri Gooden, who was Lonoke Youth Wrestling’s first state champion.
“I’m so excited to have the opportunity to wrestle in high school,” Gooden said.
A sport that can help a little one like Zuri gain a lot of confidence in their craft.
“When I started and went into tournaments, I was nervous and scared I would lose, and then I didn’t and I won,” Gooden said.
High School Wrestling is divided into weight classes for boys and girls, opening numerous opportunities for competition among our young people.
“I think any opportunity that you can present to kids to go out an participate and compete is a good thing,” Norton said.
Including giving student athletes a boost in their mental toughness.
“You’ve got a factor of mental toughness that I think benefits kids regardless of what you’re doing, whether you want to patriciate in wrestling in at the college level or just in high school, I think it goes a long way to helping kids.”