When Joe Hathaway arrived at Southlake Carroll via San Antonio, the Dragons’ wrestling program was nothing more than a club team.
Now in his 10th season as head coach in Southlake, Hathaway has seen his squad develop into one of the area’s premier programs, with the Dragons gearing up for what could be a fifth-consecutive district championship in 2018-19.
Hathaway’s wrestling roots came about during his formative years growing up in the Northwest. There, he competed at an all-state level at a Washington high school before taking his skills to the college ranks at the University of Southern Oregon.
“I dealt with a lot of injuries while I was in college,” Hathaway says. “We had a very good team, and I was able to stick with it despite those issues, and I was able even able to qualify for nationals, but I didn’t really receive any big awards or accolades outside of that.”
Still, his love for the sport remained. Upon graduation, Hathaway found himself volunteering as an assistant college wrestling coach back in Washington. A previous romantic interest then brought Hathaway south to San Antonio. After a while in Texas, Hathaway discovered a job opening at Carroll to coach wrestling. A move to Southlake was next on his horizon.
“Coming from Washington and living in San Antonio ... I had no idea where Southlake was or what it was all about,” Hathaway admits. “I remember talking to a friend and him mentioning there was an opening. He told me, ‘That’s a pretty good school, man. I think you should apply for that.’ So I did, and here I am.”
Hathaway recalls where the program was when he arrived and just how far the program has come during his tenure.
“When I first got here, it wasn’t much of a program at all” he reminisces. “It was just a club team and there weren’t a lot of coaching resources. But we had some individual success and started to get more and more kids involved. From there, it just grew. The kids really bought in, and we’ve always had that next-guy-up mentality and began to be more consistent.”
With four consecutive district championship trophies in the case, Carroll has reached the level of one of Dallas-Fort Worth’s most consistent squads.
The Dragons haven’t lacked for team or individual successes outside of the Metroplex, either.
Two years ago, Carroll finished second, a program best, at the state tournament after placing fourth two years previously to that. Individually, Carroll has produced a pair of state champions over the past five years in Michael Basler and Cameron Haddock.
“It’s been incredible to see, and now the goal is just to be where we do that consistently,” says Hathaway, who was named to region’s Coach of the Year two seasons ago. “We want it to be the norm where we compete for state hardware and are finishing in the top five or 10 of the state duals every year.”
Hathaway notes the second-place finish at state as one of his career highlights, but may actually be more proud in simply the overall development of the program.
“That year was very cool how it all just came together that year,” he explains. “We had wrestlers in seven of the 14 weight classes and just had some incredible individual performances.
But the coolest part to me about this whole thing is how the program has developed. A lot of the kids in the program we’ve known since they were younger at the grassroots level. To see them mature and come through the system well before high school and then to see their hard work rewarded, with a lot of them even going off to wrestle in college, it’s an incredible feeling and it is very gratifying.”
Hathaway is hopeful for more college signees, though not necessarily in 2019 with a roster that features only three seniors.
But that hasn’t stopped Carroll from earning a state-ranking in the top 10 and producing a record in duals of 19-3 with the Dragons mere weeks away from the postseason.
“We have some guys who definitely have the talent to compete at the next level,” Hathaway says. “I imagine after the postseason and competing in these big tournaments against top competition, they’ll start getting even more looks and attention from the colleges.”
Both on the mat and in the classroom, the 2018-19 Dragons resemble exactly what Hathaway hopes to see in his teams.
“Our motto this year is ‘everyday changes,’” he says. “That kinds of sums up what we do and what we’re all about. Just instill that consistency and strong work ethic and attention to detail. Just show up and grind it out and those little things will lead to big changes and success.”
As noted, Carroll has posted a 19-3 record thus far, and is hopeful to find similar success in the postseason. Senior Ben De Lemos has previously placed at the regional tournament, but many of Carroll’s underclassmen will be making their debut postseason appearances. Hathaway has high hopes, however, and believes Carroll could advance a competitor out of district in potentially every weight class.
Junior Quinn Wilkinson may have the best hopes of advancing all the way to state, and leads the Dragons with 30 wins on the season.
Blake Gaskill is on his heels with 28 wins, with Cole Bennett (27), Owen Hollaway (25), Nate Harkins (24) and Brendan Noetzel (24) also passing the 20-win threshold.
“Our strength is that we are tough from top to bottom,” Hathaway says. “I’ll take our 14 against anyone else’s 14.”
Carroll’s top competition could likely come from Flower Mound, who is riding a lengthy streak of district titles of their own.
“They’re very solid, we know about Trinity and Hebron. Marcus and Lewisville have some very tough individuals,” Hathaway says. “I definitely think we have a team that can win it though.”
The Dragons will soon find out if they have what it takes to claim yet another district title and find subsequent postseason success.
Then it’s the offseason for Hathaway, who is happily married to his wife of six years, Shannon, with whom he has twin daughters (Ella and Laney) soon to be 3-years-old.
“They keep me pretty busy,” Hathaway says. “The little time I have not with my family or coaching, I’m usually out fishing. I love to go up Colorado and be outdoors, and I still go up to Washington to see my dad and fish up there. Around here, I’d have to say my favorite spot is Broken Bow in Oklahoma.”