We resume our top ten moments countdown for Knoxville with #5 today. It had been three seasons without a Panther wrestler qualifying for the State Meet, and this past season on February 12th in front of the home fans, three Panther grapplers clinched a State bid in the class 2A district. Marco Alejo at 113 pounds, Luke Spaur at 132 pounds, and Wayne Johnston at 182 pounds all qualified for the State Meet. All three had to go to the wrestle backs to ensure their runner up qualification with Johnston taking the longest road to get there losing in the first round but coming back to defeat his opponent in the consolation round, then beat an opponent he had not defeated in two previous matches during the season. All three told KNIA/KRLS Sports the hard work paid off and they did not panic when things did not go as planned.

Alejo: “Feels pretty good and we;ve been working hard since our freshman year, and all that work finally paid off.”
Spaur: “Short term memory that’s all I have to do just refocus. I need to go up there and let my wrestling do the talking.”
Johnston: “I knew I had to win, I just didn’t know how, but it all worked out in the end.”

Alejo would go 1-2 at State, Spaur also recorded a 1-2 record, and Johnston was eliminated after losing two matches.