The 2023 Prep State Tournament was an entertaining event to spectate. The tournament qualified the top three wrestlers at each weight class to wrestle at Prep Nationals, which is held in Maryland. All Saints’ Episcopal School finished in seventh place out twenty teams. There is a total of fifteen titles to be awarded at the end of the tournament. Out of the fifteen weight classes, All Saints’ Episcopal School was able come home with two state titles. Kody Tanimoto brought home the 113 lb title and Larry Layman brought home the 132 lb title.
Larry Layman is a junior at All Saints’ Episcopal School. Layman said, “My Grandpa is my biggest influence in my life and is the reason I got to where I am.” When Layman was a youth wrestler his Grandpa would drop him off two miles away from practice and make him jog to practice. Once Layman arrived to practice his Grandpa would than put him through a grueling workout before actually getting on the mat for wrestling practice.
Going into the State Tournament, Layman was confident on bringing the title home for the Saints. Layman was confident in his preparation leading up to the tournament, having wrestled in practice twice a day. Layman was also able to challenge himself with his drilling partner Kody Tanimoto. They would have brutal wrestling practices but Layman states, “The hard wrestling practices are what made us tough and champions.” Layman was able to dominate in the State Tournament with winning all three of his matches by pins.
Tanimoto is junior at All Saints’ Episcopal School. Tanimoto started wrestling when he was in eighth grade and says none of his success could have been possible without his wrestling coach, Ray Bedford by his side. Bedford is Tanimoto’s wrestling club coach at Spartan Mat Club in Keller, Texas. Going into the State Tournament Tanimoto said, “I was very nervous going into the tournament because I know that I am supposed to win, it was just a matter of if I was going to do it.” Tanimoto, like Layman, has a tough training schedule that consisted of having two practices a day.
Tanimoto gives credit to his training partners Brodie Bedford and Larry Layman. Tanimoto said, “I remember the days that we would be drilling so hard that we were almost fighting and the coaches would have to stop us.” That shows how intense wrestling practices can get. Tanimoto was able to dominate his first match pinning his opponent in the first period. Then Tanimoto put on a takedown clinic with his next opponent, putting up 10 takedowns before Tanimoto got the pin in the second period. The final match was a different story Tanimoto wrestled a experienced wrestler, Maddox Preskitt from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas. The match was tight, but Tanimoto was able to score a 6-4 win over Preskitt.
