ALL-AREA WRESTLING: Ethan Kyle has lofty goals for Pioneer program
Jun. 25—Ethan Kyle has lofty goals for the Stillwater High wrestling program that haven't been witnessed since the Roaring Twenties.
And after just two years at the helm of the program, he's almost there already.
Stillwater High won the first three state wrestling tournaments held in the state of Oklahoma from 1922-24, but it was the lone three-peat for the Pioneer program in the 100 years since.
But the prospects of accomplishing that feat once again are a real possibility after Stillwater won back-to-back state titles for the first time since 1969-70, and the third time in program history this past school year.
"When you talk about marketing your program or creating a narrative, how about bringing back the Roaring Twenties?" Kyle said after winning the state title. "We've got a couple in a row here, which is very competitive, but if you sleep on that, you are gonna wake up with a loss."
The former University of Wyoming assistant wrestling coach — who wrestled for John Smith at Oklahoma State — brought a similar approach to the wrestling room when he took over the program.
According to three-time state champion Cael Hughes, the atmosphere in the room has been built to win. and with seven state finalists, four state champions and two other state medalists, it appears to be working.
"I know it's high school, but our room feels like a college room the way he runs practice, the way it's structured," Hughes said. "He's improved a lot of our wrestling. I know everyone in Stillwater is pretty grateful to have him."
While Kyle, the News Press All-Area Wrestling Coach of the Year, may have brought a new approach to the wrestling room, he hasn't been alone in getting the program to national relevance in such a short timespan.
The assistant coaching staff from previous head coach Doug Chesbro are all holdovers, with plenty of wrestling background and a feel for the state of wrestling in Oklahoma.
"Almost all of the success I've experienced has very little to do with me — I don't have much ownership over this success," Kyle said. "What I mean by that is, when I decided to take the job ... I had no idea what I was going to step into. ... I had zero to do with where they were before two years ago.
"... The little bit that I could do to pull the strings was based on the input from out coaching staff, which is outstanding for the high school level — the amount of experience and wrestling wisdom is just incredible. So when you get our heads together, we usually come up with a pretty good plan."
Though Kyle has his sights on state dominance, it's understandable as to why.
The program returns seven of its nine state medalists from last year — including all four individual state champions — and there are also two other state qualifiers who fell short of the podium expected to be back, all of which will create a nucleus to push for a third-straight state title.
"I'm already like, 'What's next? How do we win again next year?'" Kyle said. "We have a lot of horses on the team still, and we had some guys that didn't quite make it into the lineup this year that will be back.
"So hate to sidestep as far as comparing ourselves in the history (of the program), because we're not done. I'll do that when my career is done."
Follow News Press sports editor Jason Elmquist on Twitter @jelmquistSW for updates on Oklahoma State and high school athletics.
