Arkansas Wrestle (All images via obutigers.com)
ARKADELPHIA – Ouachita wrestling coach Kevin Crutchmer has finalized the 2024-25 roster with the addition of nine student-athletes, including two with NCAA experience.
“The 2024 recruiting season was one of the best we’ve had,” said Crutchmer, who enters his eighth season as the head coach of the Tigers.
The two featured transfers include Jack Golowenski from Tuttle, Oklahoma, who transferred with four years of eligibility after red-shirting last season at Colorado School of Mines, and BK Seago from Collinsville, Oklahoma, who has three years left transferring from Drury University. Both were high school state champions. Seago placed sixth this past season at the NCAA Super Regional for Drury.
Also new to the program are seven incoming freshman – Abdul Hashimi, Cayden Byrd, Seth Cano, Cruz Cotton, Brayden Cash, Hunter Baber, and Seth Shouse.
Hashimi and Byrd are out of Lake Highlands High School. Byrd was a 2024 5A/6A district champion, third place finisher at the 6A regional tournament, and a 6A state qualifier. Cano, out of Sunset High School, joins brother Shad on the team. Shad transferred in prior to the spring 2024 semester from Minnesota State-Moorehead.
Cotton joins the Tigers from Cabot, where he was a 6A state placer. Cash and Baber both come from Lake Hamilton, which was the 5A West conference championship and finished as state runners up at the 5A level.
Shouse hails from Moore, Oklahoma, and will be joining the team in the spring of 2024 after attending the Army National Guard basic training in Georgia. Shouse posted a 34-12 record in his senior season.
Highlighting the returning lettermen is junior Jimmy Anderson, who finished third at super regionals last year and qualified for nationals at 133. Anderson is ranked No. 11 by WrestleStat heading into the 2024 season. Senior Jaylon Otero starts the year ranked No. 22 at 157. Brooks Schrimsher, William Martin, and Sam Schmidt are all ranked in the top 100 of their respective weight classes.
The 2024-25 season will get underway in November. The schedule will be released soon at OBUtigers.com.
