by Macy McKeegan
Mira Costa wrestling coach Kenny Johnson’s vision for his team, is “to be the Iowa/Oklahoma State of the South Bay.”
“I’m running this program like it’s a Division 1 college team,” the first year coach said in a recent interview. Johnson joins a program where the bar is already high. He replaces Jimmy Chaney, who led the Mustangs to seven consecutive league championships in the 1990s. Then, after being away for over a decade, Chaney returned to Mira Costa, and was named The Daily Breeze Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017.
Chaney left Johnson with nine returning seniors, whom Johnson described as “talented, willing to learn, and committed.”
Johnson also coaches at Black House, a mixed martial arts gym in Redondo, where he invited his wrestlers to train.
The Mira Costa wrestling program has 35 boy and girl wrestlers. The boys’ first match since the start of the pandemic will be at the South Torrance Tournament, on Saturday, Nov. 20. That same day, the girls team, led by coach Travis Moore, will compete in the Queen of the Beach tournament at Santa Monica High. Duel meets begin in December. ER
