Carroll wrestlers earn spots on Texas National team

The Texas National team is now represented by two Carroll wrestlers.

Cameron Haddock and Ryan Dooley, sophomores this season, earned their way onto the Texas National team by winning the dual team qualifier tournament recently.

Haddock won both the Cadet Freestyle and Greco-Roman 145-pound divisions at the qualifying tournament at The Colony recently.

Dooley won the Freestyle division at 160 pounds and fellow sophomore Andrei Steinjann placed third.

At a time when many wrestlers are enjoying their off season, Haddock and other Dragons wrestlers such as Dooley and Steinjann are picking up valuable mat time and skills from competing in the Olympic-style wrestling divisions.

Haddock, a district champion at 138 for Carroll last season and sixth-place finisher at the regional meet, knows the benefit of continuing to learn new techniques and maintain his conditioning.

“It gets you better at Folkstyle, so if it makes you better, I better do it,” Haddock said of the advantages of competing in Freestyle and Greco.

Haddock said the mix of the other styles has aided him on his feet in racking up takedowns. He said the mental transition from one style to the next hasn’t been an issue for him.

“It’s not much different. It’s just different scoring,” he said, although Greco presents a bit of a dilemma for Haddock. His favorite takedown – a sweep single leg – is forbidden in Greco, as there is no attacking the lower body in that style.

After competing in the Southlake Slam tournament hosted by Carroll last weekend, Haddock and Dooley will prepare for one of the biggest high school wrestling events in the country.

The Cadet Nationals will take place in York, Penn., June 14-18. The Cadet division is for wrestlers born in the years 2000 and 2001 (ages 16-17) and there is an 18-plus division as well.

The dual tournament will start the trek for Haddock to achieve his goals: becoming an All-American at Cadet Nationals and then earning a state championship next winter.

It hasn’t been an immediate rise for Haddock, though. He said he started wrestling when he was in fourth grade.

“My mom asked me if I wanted to wrestle,” Haddock said of how he got started. “She probably had seen me beating on all my little brothers,” he joked.

While some of his brothers excelled in other sports, Haddock said baseball and basketball just weren’t right for him.

“In baseball, I was in right field and batted last in the order,” he said.

“Wrestling gives you the opportunity to show other people that you can be a dominant figure. I’ve done well and it’s pushed me to stay there,” he said.

Pushing wrestlers to be their best has become a standard at Carroll under head coach Joe Hathaway, who Haddock credits with his ability to excel on the mat.

Carroll is building a tradition in wrestling, having just won another district title this year before traveling to El Paso and taking second place at the regional tournament.

Wrestlers such as Haddock, Dooley and Steinjann will continue to work out almost all year in order to continue to build on that tradition. Participating in Freestyle and Greco will be a part of that.

In addition to preparing for the Cadet Nationals, Haddock said he will also attend summer camps at Utah Valley University and Colorado State.

Even though he didn’t make the Texas National team, Hathaway said Steinjann likely had the better outing at the qualifying tournament.

Steinjann, en route to his third-place finish, defeated state placers from Arlington Martin and Trinity.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Carroll wrestlers earn spots on Texas National team."