Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
IN 1A-4A, Saints complete fallen coach’s vision.
Chad Bottorff was a man of few words. That much never changed during his six years at the helm of a Shiloh Christian wrestling program he helped establish.
Had he witnessed Friday’s events, perhaps he would’ve celebrated the Saints’ landmark victory with jubilation. Or perhaps he would’ve reveled with the same humility as his son, C.J.
No one will ever know for sure. Bottorff, 50, died Dec. 24 from complications related to covid-19.
But as Shiloh Christian — which topped three-time reigning champion Pulaski Academy 190-187 for the 1A4A state wrestling title — celebrated Friday inside the Jack Stephens Center, Bottorff’s legacy was ever-present.
“Everything [Coach Bottorff] wanted for this program is happening, but he didn’t get to see it,” Saints Coach Brad Widger said. “He’s looking down on us from above and everything he built is coming to fruition.”
Senior Gavin Goddard, capturing his third consecutive individual title, set the tone for Shiloh Christian, winning an 11-3 major decision against Pulaski Academy’s Joseph Osment at 170 pounds. The Saints won two more individual crowns thanks to pins from freshmen Preston Katzer (113 pounds) and Cameron Arellano (182 pounds), and sent five of their other 11 wrestlers to the semifinals.
Shiloh Christian assistant coach C.J. Bottorff, Chad’s only son, took home coach of the year honors to cap a banner day for the Saints in Little Rock.
“It’s a long time coming from the last few years being so close,” C.J. Bottorff said. “I knew my dad was with me the whole time. Even though we had another coach with us, I knew he was behind me. He was with us every match and our guys were wrestling for him.
“We just wrestled our hearts out and when we realized we were going to be close … he just gave us a little more motivation.”
Coming into the day, Shiloh Christian trailed both Arkadelphia and Pulaski Academy 4238 and then entered the finals down 13 points to the Bruins. By the time Goddard finished off his final, the Saints had pulled to within 181-180 with four weight classes remaining.
Arellano vaulted Shiloh Christian into the lead with a victory in the next championship bout.
But it was senior Wyatt Graves’ fall in the third-place match at 195 pounds that gave the Saints an insurmountable advantage as they ended the third-to-last round of bouts up 190-187 with no Pulaski Academy wrestlers remaining.
“I had no clue [where we stood], but I knew we needed points because PA was right there with us,” said Graves, who admitted he was “bored” and thus decided to join the team just a month ago. “I didn’t want to lose.”
Pulaski Academy, which finished in the top two for the seventh consecutive season, set the bar high for Shiloh Christian. And the Bruins showed why they remain a force as senior Bauer Stafford, junior Josh Cady and senior Josiah Johnson won at 132, 145 and 195 pounds, respectively, tying Pulaski Academy with the Saints at three individual titles.
It wasn’t enough to extend the Bruins’ run of team titles to four.
“It just broke my heart when [Chad] passed,” Pulaski Academy Coach Bruce Dickey said. “And to be honest, it’s kind of poetic justice that his son could take over with those kids and come here and win. It probably sounds ridiculous for a coach to say that, but it pleases me that they have risen to the occasion.”
Dickey, 70, added that this may be the last of his 49 seasons coaching wrestling, but he has yet to officially decide whether he’ll return for another go-round with the Bruins.
“The last six years we had it pretty good,” Dickey said. “We had a couple of kids [this year] that would’ve been state champions but they decided not to wrestle, so that really hurt us. So we had to suck it up and get after it, and we still had opportunities to win.”
One of those opportunities was the critical 170-pound final that went the way of Goddard and Shiloh Christian. Goddard, with the chance to join the rare club of three-time winners, controlled things the whole way.
“It’s something I never expected,” Goddard said. “The work pays off, and just to do it for Coach was amazing.”
As a senior, Goddard had spent as much time around Bottorff as any Saint.
“I miss him so much,” Goddard said. “Obviously, it’s awful not having him in the room every day. He always gave the message about being tough and that definitely came back with the team this year.”
Walking off the arena floor, C.J. Bottorff did his best to soak in the moment. He was quiet, much like his father, yet managed a smile when asked what Chad would’ve thought about it all.
“He wouldn’t say much,” C.J. Bottorff said, his words trailing off.
“He’d take this with a grain of salt and just enjoy a state championship.”