Ralph Stevens has resigned as Trigg County’s wrestling coach with the team expected to compete at Friday’s Christian County Invitational.
Stevens told YSE Saturday that he agreed to resign. Trigg County High School Athletic Director Matt Wilder confirmed Stevens’ intentions to resign and said football coach Chris Ezell will serve as the interim coach for the remainder of this season.
The team was informed they would not compete at the Armstrong Duals hosted by Caldwell County over the weekend.
Stevens said one of his wrestlers was told by the school’s athletic trainer not to wrestle at the Dec. 10 tournament at Henderson County. He added the wrestler felt like they could wrestle and got clearance from their parents to do so.
When the wrestler went back to the trainer during the week and said they wrestled, Wilder was notified.
“I did something wrong and deserved to be punished,” said Stevens, who was expecting a suspension. He said he was informed there would be an investigation by the school that would recommend his termination as head coach.
“I just want these kids to finish the year. We have a couple of guys who can make it to the state tournament and I want them to get that chance,” Stevens said.
Wilder did not go into specifics about Stevens’ resignation.
“We want to thank Coach Stevens for his dedication to the wrestling program, from being a championship wrestler as a student-athlete and through all of his years of leading the program as a coach,” Wilder said.
Stevens reincarnated the wrestling program in the 2000s, starting a youth league and a middle school wrestling program that morphed into the high school program in 2009. Stevens has coached several wrestlers to state tournament podium finishes, including his sons Aaron and Collin.
However, Stevens isn’t sure what the future of the wrestling program holds at Trigg County and feels like there is an undercurrent in the athletic department to drop the program after this year.
“The program will not be shut down this year,” Wilder said. “We are trying to get the team through this season and look for a permanent replacement as head coach after the season.”
Stevens is the only Trigg County wrestler to win a state championship and has been a wrestling fixture in the county for over two decades. However, he said this was likely going to be his last season regardless of the events of the past two weeks.
“My goal is to keep the wrestling program (at Trigg County) going, and I hope they do that,” he said.
The move comes at a crucial time. The KHSAA is expected to sanction girls’ wrestling early next year which will mean an increase in participation. Locally, the school district is building a new co-curricular building that is expected to house wrestling practices along with other sports.
