TW’s Hensley Continuing To Make Wrestling History

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Thomas Walker fielded the first wrestling team in the school’s history back in late November with a member of the inaugural squad advancing to the VHSL state wrestling championships this weekend in Salem.  Senior Brennan Hensley placed third in the 190 pound weight class at the Region 1D wrestling tournament held Thursday at Rural Retreat High School.  Hensley pinned Grayson Irvin of Rural Retreat to garner third place and qualify for state, a goal that Hensley had set for himself earlier in the season.  An opening round loss to Holston’s Daniel Hutton required Hensley to battle his way through the 190 pound bracket with a second period pin of Eastside’s Clay Ward sending him to the consolation finals where he stuck Irvin, also in the second.  Hensley had also pinned the Rural Retreat wrestler in the finals of the Holiday Hammer in Abingdon during a post-Christmas tournament.  Hensley upped his seasonal record to 25-10 en route to his bronze finish with Thomas Walker wrestling coach Shade Hosapple explaining that Hensley gained momentum with each regional match.  “When I wrestled in high school, and it is the same for him (Hensley), the first match is hard because you are just getting warmed up,” said Hosapple.  Hensley said that the region tournament raised the competitive level because “if you lose you are done for.”  “It was a lot more intense,” he stated. “My first match I feel that I was thinking too much about it. From then on I just wrestled.”  He knows the stakes are even higher this weekend at Salem with 12 wrestlers in each weight division from Class 1 schools across the state seeking to battle their way through Friday’s qualifying rounds for a chance to collect a spot on the podium on Saturday night.  “It would be so big to place at state,” said Hensley who has roughly three months of experience in the sport while at the same time going up against wrestlers who have 10 or more years under their belts.  “I wish I could have had four years of varsity wrestling,” said Hensley. “It’s crazy what I’ve learned since we began and it has changed everything for me.”  He agrees that wrestling has made him a much better athlete which is something Hensley expects will be noticeable this spring in the throwing circles in outdoor track.  A standout for the Pioneers football team, Hensley can only imagine the difference that wrestling training would have made in his performances on the gridiron.  Holsapple said that Hensley’s commitment to the sport has been from the start with the senior dropping from his football playing weight of 215 down to 190.  The Coach said that the arm bar has become a bit of a signature move for Hensley with the maneuver often resulting in back points or a pin.  Holsapple said the Pioneers had eight wrestlers competing at region with Adrienne Grabeel (165) and Dusan Grbin (175) reaching the semifinals and just missing a chance to join Hensley at state.  “Our goal from the beginning was to have at least one state qualifier,” said Holsapple. “But I think we’re going to exceed that because I feel “Tater” (Hensley) has a really good shot at placing at state.”  The Coach said that Hensley has put in the hard work to achieve his trip to state with Hosapple and Assistant coach Bryce Guerrant regularly “rolling around on the mat with him,”  “He has had to have somebody push him, to help get him ready,” said Hosapple with the daily tag-team sessions between the coaches and Hensley continuing this week. “We’re trying to pour as much into him as we can to prepare him,” added Hosapple.  Hensley knows that his success will benefit the TW wrestling program and he is an ambassador of the sport.  Not having anyone else to share in the success or failure of your performance is one of the attributes that Hensley appreciates about wrestling.  “This is a really high point in my high school career,” said Hensley. “There’s been a lot of attention my way and lots of praise from people.”  He hasn’t ever competed at a state competition with the intense atmosphere of the fanatic supporters who attend the state event soon to be on full display to him.  While Hensley was making history at the Region 1D tourney for Thomas Walker, the behemoth that is Grundy was continuing their dominance in the sport by winning the regional title with the Golden Wave crowning 10 champions for 303.5 points with Rural Retreat (166) and Holston (135) finishing well behind them for second and third.  Thomas Walker scored 22 points to finish in tenth place in the team standings.  Hensley won’t be the only Thomas Walker athlete competing at a state wrestling tournament with Gabby Dixon, the lone female grappler on the team, set to compete in the VHSL girls open tournament on February 23 and 24 at Garfield High School in Woodbridge with all six classifications coming together for the competition.  


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