Trenton has its assistant wrestling coach.
The only high school winter sports coaching position still vacant was filled on Tuesday night at the Trenton R-9 Board of Education meeting and it is a familiar face. Clay Oneal is returning to the role he filled last season for a second year.
Oneal hesitated to immediately re-up as the assistant coach, waiting to see what he would be doing. When he decided to stay in Trenton, continuing his apprenticeship with his father’s business, he knew he wanted to be a part of the wrestling program in Trenton again.
“I didn’t know what the future held,” Oneal said. “I didn’t know where I was going to be at physically, like where was I going to be living and what not. When I knew I was going to be in Trenton I figured I might as well be here (with the wrestling team). I was probably going to be in here whether it was volunteering or whatever anyway, so them offering me the position was just icing on the cake. It is a pretty cool opportunity.”
Oneal spent his first year in a coaching capacity, learning on the job under Head Coach Charlie Bacon. Oneal said there was a lot he will take from that first year as he moves into his second season with the program.
“Last season was kind of humbling because I came back with a higher expectation than I probably should have,” Oneal said. “I shouldn’t have put that expectation on the kids like that because we are here for them, not for the sake of winning. We are here to make them better and build their character and what not. That helped me grow in character and, hopefully, I can share that with these guys.”
The other big coaching moves made at the meeting involved replacing Scott Stevens, who was Trenton’s head boys track and field coach and an assistant coach with the football team. Stevens is moving on this year, taking the head coaching position with the Brookfield Bulldogs’ football program.
Trenton named Lysander Overstreet as the new boys track and field head coach. Stevens’ position on the football coaching staff, meanwhile, will be filled by Chris Parks, who moves back to the high school staff after spending the past two years as the head coach for the middle school program. In a corresponding move, Jon Guthrie moves up from an assistant position with the middle school team to the head coach.
Other moves at the high school level saw Travis Mullenix and Dave Sager retained as Trenton’s boys’ golf and tennis coaches respectively. Baseball head coach Andy Hight and assistant coach Joel Hultman were also both retained as were girls head track and field coach Parks and track and field assistant coach Tad Trombley.
On the middle school level, Amos Dickson was named the wrestling coach with Overstreet and Brad Ewald being named the girls’ basketball head and assistant coaches respectively. Abi Bailey will take over the middle school volleyball program. Brandon Boswell returns to the boys track and field head coach position while Jennifer Dickson will take over the girls track and field head coaching duties. Guthrie will become an assistant coach for the middle school programs and has also been named the middle school weights coordinator.
Dave Burkeybile was retained as the mascots coach at all levels.