Chesapeake Wrestlers Quit in Protest of Removed Coach

On Tuesday,  since coach Paul Tolle was removed from his position. It turns out several wrestlers have not participated in matches since the coach was let go.

Chesapeake junior Austin Karls, who has been wrestling on the varsity team for three years, has quit the team due to the recent investigation into coach Tolle and , regarding unsafe student behavior at a wrestling tournament in December.

“I think they made a huge mistake [removing coach Tolle],” Karls said at . “He doesn’t deserve what they did to him. I am done wrestling for now. If they bring coach back, I’ll come back.”

Karls said about six or seven wrestlers have quit the team since the investigation started, but he believes they will all come back once Tolle has been reinstated.

Before Tolle’s removal, the Cougars had won seven of their last eight matches, before dropping two in a row. The first loss came last , 52-18, and the second came to Harford Tech last Friday, 51-29.

In a text message, Karls said he was “embarrassed” by the losses and thinks removing Tolle “was the biggest mistake.”