Sophomore Trenton Byers placed sixth in the 3A Boys State Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21. His coaches have spoken very highly of him after his elite performance. Byers strives to place top three in next year’s State Tournament, and coach Adam Manz believes it is possible.
“It will take more, but getting him to understand that becomes my job to a degree,” Manz said. “I do believe the way he listens he will continue to put more into wrestling.”
Byers is AL’s first back to back state medalist since Manz in 2005. Manz sees a lot of similarities between himself and the sophomore.
“Trenton knows when to put the clamps down and get the job done,” Manz said. “We had very similar styles with the way we attacked in a neutral position.”
Manz wants more for his athlete. “As a coach I want nothing more than a guy like Trenton to surpass everything that I have done or anybody else has done at AL and he has been on pace to do just that.”
One of Byers most iconic moments during State happened this year. Last year, after falling short to Cam Bennett of Valley, Byers made sure to get his revenge in round one of State this year. This did not surprise Manz.
“When he is mentally ready, he becomes a different person out on that mat,” Manz said. “He is one of the strongest high school wrestlers on the mat at all times, pound for pound.”
His other coach, tradewords teacher Nathan Harm is also all in on riding the Byers’ wave.
“The people at the school love him, all the articles written about him talk nothing but highly of him,” he said. “Byers gets nothing but love from everyone around him, he is definitely a fan favorite here at AL.”
Byers has enjoyed his newfound break from constant practice and wrestling, but he is also focused on next season.
“I’m training all summer,” Byers said. “I hope everyone can expect a state title from me soon in February.”
