Pat Simpson

Pat Simpson

Why chosen: Simpson put a school-record nine wrestlers in the state finals and helped seven of his boys bring home state championships, including his son Kirby and his nephew Christian, to take home his second straight Coach of the Year honor. He also helped Father Ryan capture the Division II team title at the individual tournament, topping wrestling powerhouse and state duals champion Baylor by 10.5 points.

Quote: “Looking back on the state tournament, we really only lost one match that we look back on and say, ‘I wish we could do over,’ and that was the 152 match that we lost in overtime. We won every match that we were supposed to win and then some that we weren’t supposed to win. That usually doesn’t happen in the state championship. Usually there’s a lot of upsets, but for some reason this year, we were able to stay away from them.”