Dallas ISD is home to championship coaches.
In 1997, Coach Devon Fortson arrived at Kimball High School and started a wrestling program at a time when most inner-city schools didn’t have many students interested in wrestling. At the time, there was no funding for a wrestling team, so Fortson, affectionately known as “Coach Buck,” had to depend on the benevolence of friends and other area coaches who donated uniforms and equipment. Twenty-four years later, Kimball’s wrestling program has grown into a championship program.
The story really began in 1979 when Coach Buck was a student athlete who wrestled for Kimball. He learned a lot, and the experience motivated him to inspire other student athletes in the same way that coaches inspired him. The results speak for themselves.
The Kimball wrestling team added more championships to the trophy case with superb showings at the UIL Boys and Girls District 7-5A Championships held April 9-10. The following Kimball students walked away victorious:
- Kirby Lewis – 1st place, 138 weight class (boys)
- Donald Miles – 1st place, 195 weight class (boys)
- Deonte Davis – 2nd place, 220 weight class (boys)
- Zakyah Roberts – 3rd place, 148 weight class (girls)
- Kavel Marzouca – 1st place, 165 weight class (girls)
- Ki’Aundra Green – 1st place, 185 weight class (girls)
Kimball’s winning ways continued at the UIL Boys & Girls Region 2 – 5A Championships held April 16 – 17. The following students had great showings:
- Donald Miles – 3rd place, 195 weight class (boys)
- Deonte Davis – 3rd place, 220 weight class (boys)
- Ki’Aundra Green – 1st place, 185 weight class (girls)
Three Kimball students will compete in the UIL State Wrestling Championships.
Coach Buck is quick to point out that the success of the Kimball wrestling program is not his alone, but that of the awesome coaching staff which includes Coach Nicholet Singh, Coach Jamikal Edwards, and Kimball Athletic Coordinator Henry Cofer. The students are appreciative of their efforts.
“Coach Buck is not ‘Coach Buck.’ He has become ‘Uncle Buck,’” said senior Ki’Aundra Green. “The coaches and team have become family who teach us about more than wrestling; they teach us about life.”
