Lisbon varsity wrestling coach Brad Smith is already thinking about next season, with the dust not even fully settled on the 2021-22 season.
“I’ve been doing this a while,” he said, laughing.
“Forty-four years and counting. I’ll be back next year. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be coaching. I still love what I’m doing, and I enjoy working with the kids.
“So, if you still like what you’re doing,” said Smith, “why retire?”
Smith’s famously-strong 1A program finished the season with an 18-2 overall record, with both losses coming to longtime rivals Don Bosco, and Smith said, “pretty close duals.”
One loss came during the regular season, with the other in the state dual finals.
In the end, said Smith, “We wrestled about as well as we could have.”
“Don Bosco’s got a lot of respect for our program, and vice versa. They make us better, and we make them better,” the coach said.
Brandon Paez and Cade Siebrecht (at 120 and 138 pounds, respectively) became the eighth and ninth two-time state champions in Lisbon history.
Ten of the team’s wrestlers ended the season with over 30 wins. Six of the 10 had more than 40 wins.
“That’s pretty impressive,” Smith said.
Looking ahead, the Lions will lose four seniors — Max Kohl, Cade Siebrecht, Lincoln Holub, and Quincy Happel — but will return five wrestlers with state experience.
“The cupboards aren’t bare,” said Smith.
Lisbon wrestling coach looks back, ahead
March 10, 2022
Trent Bowman
Lisbon’s Brandon Paez grapples with an opponent at the Tri-Rivers Conference tournament at Lisbon Saturday.
