Nearly two weeks of practice and the Knoxville Girls Wrestling Squad will make their program debut next week. For a few of the girls, they wrestled in a sharing agreement with Pella. Now competing under the Knoxville banner, 18 girls are out this season. Coach Doug Hatch, who has been a wrestling coach for most of the past 30 years including a stint at the Panthers boys coach, tells KNIA/KRLS Sports he is pleased with the numbers and how the preseason workouts are going.

Hatch: “One of the last things I wanted to do is start a program. I set that goal 30 years ago and I never knew it would be a girls program. These girls are just going and going and they’re tougher than some boys teams I’ve had.”

His captains this season are Serenity Turner, who made the State Meet last season and returns as a junior. Also Andie Branson, also a junior is another Hatch will count on. A move in from Dallas Center-Grimes, Laila Pedicini, plus several others are vying for varsity spots. The Panthers will debut the program at the Cardinal Duals on Monday.