“I love athletics and my job as a coach is to help motivate and prepare them for life beyond wrestling and I think that’s so important that we give them the skills to help them gain like perseverance.” – Coach Menard
Physically Fit is one of the six tenants of Jesuit Dallas’ Profile of the Graduate. Jesuit ensures that every student who walks these halls will be set for life physically through a variety of ways, one of which offers over 21 sports. One such sport, wrestling, offers many Jesuit students a way to develop physically, mentally, and emotionally for more significant challenges in life, while having fun and developing their skills, many of whom have not had previous wrestling experience before coming to Jesuit. Recently, I was lucky enough to sit down with Coach Menard and have the opportunity to get his insight on the 2022-2023 Jesuit Wrestling season, as well as the future of the program and how he develops these young men for life.
Interview
How do you feel the season went?
“We had a really successful season. I always get excited when our numbers are up, this season we had a lot more boys who participated. We had the largest group of seniors that finished all four years of wrestling that we’ve had in a long time, which I think is a good measurement of success. We had some who found success on the mat wrestling that qualified for the region tournament, some younger guys that are coming back accomplished that, so hopefully they will grow and set some goals from there to get better and make it to the state tournament next year.”
How are you planning on developing the younger guys?
“There are several ways to do this. This summer, we are planning to attend team camp at the University of Oklahoma. They go up there and have one of the college wrestlers leading our team. We also offer off-season wrestling. Like many sports, if you are going to get good doing it you are going to have to do it year-round. There are opportunities now to come in a couple of days a week on the mat and a couple of days a week up in the weight room with the coaches working to get stronger physically. And then wrestling is a little bit like a fraternity I guess, like a lot of sports, there are several wrestling club teams that I highly encourage the boys to get outside our little pond and get into a bigger pool of kids and see different competition and this helps to definitely raise their ability to move on to the next phase beyond the regions and hopefully into the state tournament. At the banquet the other night, I asked how many of our freshmen wrestled before high school. There was only one out of the fourteen boys who raised their hand, so it is a fresh start for most of them. None of our DPL schools have wrestling programs and so unless they have been in public school with wrestling or went to a club their wrestling experience has been limited. These young guys seem very eager and so I’m hoping with a little encouragement they will compete this spring.”
Why do you like coaching at Jesuit? What makes it different or unique from your past coaching experiences?Â
“I grew up in the Midwest and there they wrestle like they play basketball. It’s just more common that they have done those things before. I think that’s unique and a benefit because you give them their first experience. For Jesuit in particular, the kids are smart. The ones that buy-in and want to work hard are a joy to be around not only on the mat but also off the mat. For the most part, there are not a lot of discipline issues outside whether it be fighting or getting in trouble. I like the atmosphere and it gives me an opportunity to work with a unique group of kids.”
What are some goals for your next season?
“One thing, if you didn’t know we are moving out of the existing room here in the Terry Center and into the new facility across Willow. That is going to be a big change because of my connection to the current room, it has been my home away from home over the past 19 years. We are going to have a fresh new facility and I look forward to that and continuing to build the program. I would like to keep seeing more boys getting involved with wrestling and continue to improve overall as a team.
Coach Menard helped Jesuit achieve a great end to their campaign this year.
Cougar Classic
Jesuit finished 7th in the Cougar Classic held by The Colony. Dolen Hedrick ’24 finished second in the 165-pound division and Oliver Collins ’24 finished third in the 157-pound division. Jackson Chesney ’23 finished third in his division and Timmy Keyes ’24 scored four wins of his own.
Frank Halloran Ranger Classic
The Rangers went back to Jesuit to host the Frank Halloran Ranger Classic from January 20-21, which featured many high-profile teams from across the metroplex. Junior Dolen Hedrick was Jesuit’s top performer, earning third place and a bronze medal after winning his final four matches in the consolation bracket. Jackson Chesney scored two pinfall victories of his own in the 285-pound division while senior Matt Dietsch ’23 earned a first-period win as well. Jesuit boasted very well in the Junior Varsity division as well with Jake Daboub ’25 being crowned the champion of the 157-pound division and Alex Shomin ’26 earning second in the 113-pound division.
The wrestlers also had the great opportunity to get fueled up by the Jesuit Dallas BBQ Smokies.
Bishop Lynch (Senior Night)
Jesuit finished their regular season at home on January 25, 2023, by recognizing five seniors who put in blood, sweat, and tears into the wrestling program and gave back more than they gained from the program. The seniors were: Jackson Chesney, Matt Dietsch, Michael Geary, Alex Lizardi, and Alexander Menard.
Chesney started the matchup strong, with a second-period win. Michael Geary had a very impressive 38-second victory of his own in the 190-pound division. Dietsch earned yet another victory for the Jesuit seniors. Oliver Collins ’24 and Dolen Hedrick ’24 were both able to pick up wins of their own, however, this was not enough as Jesuit lost 42-36 to Bishop Lynch.
Thank you to the Class of 2023 seniors!
Districts
Jesuit represented well at the UIL District 5-6A district championships. Overall, Jesuit earned a fifth place as a team. Oliver Collins posted Jesuit’s best performance of the tournament, securing third in the 157-pound division with multiple wins including one that was a 23-second pin in the third place round. Collins, Hendrick, and freshman Kingston Stevens ’26 were able to compete well enough to earn a spot at the UIL Region II- 6A championships.
Regionals
On February 10, four Rangers competed at the UIL Region II-6A Championship. The freshman phenom Kingston Stevens earned his first-ever region victory with a 7-5 win in the consolation round. Oliver Collins also picked up a win in the 157-pound division. Dolen Hedrick earned a win himself in the second period. Lastly, Alex Lizardi was a late addition regional qualifier after an injury withdrawal from another competitor, and the senior got to compete in the regional championships in his final season for the Rangers.
“I love athletics and my job as a coach is to help motivate and prepare them for life beyond wrestling and I think that’s so important that we give them the skills to help them gain like perseverance.” – Coach Mernard
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more wrestling and sports news!
