City League wrestling: Stovall returns to coach Carroll

The four team state titles listed on the wall of Bishop Carroll’s wrestling room reflect a time of domination. Much of that success can be attributed to Mark Stovall, who led Bishop Carroll to its first state title in 2002.

Stovall returned to Carroll this season, bringing with him the hope to regain prominence.

“We talk about tradition and building a program, when people look at Bishop Carroll wrestling and where that program has been with the ups and downs, and having (Stovall) be here for the ups, people can kind of look at that and see that he knows what he’s talking about,” assistant coach Kevin Knapp said.

Stovall believes that this year’s team has the potential to regain it reputation in the state.

“I think we have the skill set and the talent that if they keep working hard they can get up there,” Stovall said.

Stovall coached at Bishop Carroll from 1998 until 2004, going 116-8 in duals, and undefeated in duals for three years. Stovall left Carroll to start the Newman University wrestling team.

Darian Eshelman, who coached Carroll to a 5A championship in 2008, is part of Stovall’s coaching staff.

“We’re definitely hoping that the kids see us and believe in us, if nothing else because of our track record, and if they believe in us maybe they’ll give us more,” Eshelman said. “They’ll work real hard not to disappoint us, to gain our respect as coaches, because they know we’ve been blessed to coach great wrestlers in the past.”

According to senior Luke Weber, the biggest difference from last season is Stovall’s practice structure. The agenda for practice is written on a board in the wrestling room. When Stovall walks in, the team comes together to talk about the agenda, and then practice starts with very little conversation between the wrestlers.

“It’s a structured practice without having to manage every minute of the practice,” Knapp said. “He can focus more on working with individuals rather than having to stay there with a stopwatch making sure we don’t go over time.”

Since Bishop Carroll has a young team this season, creating a winning mindset will be vital.

“Winning teams have an atmosphere in the room that maybe other teams do not,” Eshelman said. “What we want to do as coaches is develop that atmosphere, but when we get to that point where these kids believe it, they believe in themselves, and they know that because of their hard work they do that it’s going to pay off and BC will be back where they’ve been in the past.”

Bishop Carroll returns five state qualifiers from last season including juniors Jay Pacha at 120, and Devin Moore at 152, along with sophomores Joel Sponsel at 138, Nick Nolting at 182 and Tommy Marquez at 195.

“I’m not missing any leadership, all the young men are leading. I think that’s one of the things I bring to this program is I teach them how to lead,” Stovall said. “I think with them being young they’re able to adapt to my style and the structure that I’m bringing, they’re able to adapt to that fairly easy.”

This story was originally published November 21, 2012 at 6:42 PM with the headline "City League wrestling: Stovall returns to coach Carroll."