MADISON- Two days before the AHSAA Wrestling Championships, Bob Jones finds itself without their coach and missing a number of wrestlers who were counted on this season.

Last week at the 7A North Sectional, the Patriots wrestling team competed for spots at the state tournament. Five qualified to go. That is down from 13 two years ago when the team had 51 members. Of the five, none have experience at the state tournament.

The most prominent missing wrestler is Griffin Ridgeway who won a state title last year at 145 pounds. Ridgeway had been in the program since the eighth grade and is a junior.

The five going and their weight class are: Ben Rogers 285, Dominic Davis 220, Marshall Hildreth 170, Chase Henderson 126, and Seth Dupree 195.

Collin Olivier, a senior, said the team was devastated when their longtime coach Jason Edwards was suspended back in late January.

“The same day that Coach Edwards found out about it, Mr. Parker came down here at our practice and we were out on the mat. Mr. Parker came out and told us the news and answered any questions he could legally.

Everybody took it pretty hard, it was devastating,” Olivier said. “He knew us individually, our strengths and weaknesses.”

“I don’t think he is allowed to be on campus as he is suspended from school also. He’s supposed to have a hearing and a decision will be made on his future here as a coach and teacher.”

The loss of Edwards with nearly a month left in the season caused some wrestlers to struggle. Others left the program.

“Towards the end of the year our numbers were down because a lot of us like myself made bad decisions on what weight to wrestle at,” Olivier said.

Mike Bruno, who has served as a volunteer coach for several years has tried his best to fill in. Bruno’s son Anthony was a state champion wrestler during his time at Bob Jones. Bruno works a full time job at Redstone Arsenal.

The loss of Edwards came at a critical time, before key meets such as the Grissom Duals and the Clem Invitational.

Edwards has worked extensively with youth wrestling to build interest in the sport.

Edwards was largely responsible for the state of the art, 9,000 square foot wrestling training facility, complete with mats, equipment and heaters.

Olivier appears to be the first victim of losing his coach as his season ended last weekend losing in the sectional.

“I made some bad decisions as to which weight category to go to,” Olivier said as to why he failed to qualify for state. “I would have been a lot more competitive at another weight class. Coach Edwards probably would have made better decisions. It has impacted the team performance.”