Final Four Interveiws TN Youth 4 Wheeler Challenge

[Amy Kovac-Thomas]

The TN Youth 4 Wheeler Challenge Final Four

Wyatt Goodman with Butcher

Seventeen year old Wyatt Goodman made the journey to Lexington, Tennessee from Johnstown, Ohio. Wyatt started out coon hunting with his dad and grandfather with Walkers. Now the young man is hunting Blueticks. This is his first major PKC hunt.

Wyatt wanted to attend the 4 Wheeler Challenge because his father’s friend Jim Aronhalt let him hunt his dog Butcher. Wyatt has been hunting him a lot to get ready. Wyatt is new to PKC and to help him get some practice in, he went to one $30 hunt to go out on a cast. After that his father drove him down here for this event and now Wyatt is in the Final Four.

Wyatt is handling Butcher a Walker. He talked about what he likes about him, “When I cut him, he is always going to get treed, no matter how far he has to go to get one. He has a lot of heart. He goes, goes, goes and never slows down.”

Wyatt talked about how his first two hunts went, “They went great. In the early round, Butcher split up from the other dogs. I had 25 plus and another handler was called in for 100 and 100. If he had a coon, he would have won, but it was slick. In the late round, at the beginning, three dogs treed on the same tree and one was split. The first tree had a coon and the other was circle. I had 75 strike and 25 tree on that coon. The other youth took 100 and 100 on that coon. Another had his points deleted for striking and treeing after the time. Walked a ways and recut. Three of the dogs got hung up on a slick and mine went out. After scoring there tree, my dog got treed and I called him. Then the others got treed in one with my dog and two split. All of them were slick.”

Wyatt talked about how he feels about being in the Final Four, “Very excited and stoked about it. I am very thankful for it. I hope I win the four wheeler. I really want to thank Jim Aronhalt for letting me hunt his dog and my dad for bringing me down there.”


Eli Ford with Zeus

Ten year old Eli Ford lives in Lincoln Alabama. Eli started coon hunting with his father when he was small and they have been at it ever since. The two of them enjoy hunting Redbones and Blueticks. This is Eli’s first competition hunt ever and now he is in the Final Four!

Eli wanted to come to the 4 Wheeler Challenge because he thought that it would be “fun”. He and his dad saw it on Facebook. They tried to call that day to get an entry, but it was sold out. Luckily an entry fee came open and his dad Michael got it for him. Eli’s birthday is December 19th and his dad wanted a special trip for the two of them to take to celebrate it and now Eli is in the Final Four.

Eli is handling Zeus, a Bluetick. Eli has been hunting with Zeus for the past four years. Eli talked about what he liked about Zeus, “90% of the time he has a coon. He is super friendly. He is a pet and a coonhound”

Eli talked about his first two ever competition casts, “On the first round, Zeus treed the only coon. We could not get it to look again and we had to circle. We won that cast. In the second round, we got into knee deep water. Zeus made a den tree at the end.”

When asked how he felt being in the Final Four, Eli said, “I have confidence in my dog. If he does good, I do good. I do not have a four wheeler and am excited about maybe winning one. I want to thank the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for being here in this moment. I want to thank my dad and my great-Uncle Stanley who we coon hunt with.

Ryker Wallace with Hann

Eleven year old Ryker Wallace lives in Lexington, Tennessee. He has been coon hunting since he was smaller and got his start by going with his dad Justin. He just started being interested in competition hunting and this is his first event. His sister was in the Final Four of this event last year, but this time it is Ryker’s time to shine.

Ryker wanted to be a part of the TN 4 Wheeler Challenge because he wanted to “just have fun” as he put it. He has been watching his siblings hunt, but this year he wanted his chance to do it himself. Tonight Ryker is handling Hann owned by William Wood. Ryker talked about what he likes about Hann, “He is a really good dog. I only hunted with him two days before I came here.”

Making it to the Final Four is a pretty big deal for a first time competition hunter. Ryker talked about the two casts that got him to this point, “At first in the early round, I did not think I was going to win. All the dogs took minus. Then my dog treed at the end and I got plus point. In the late round, it was pretty good. I think Hann got first strike and later on I got treed first. We found my coon up in the tree.”

Now that he is one of four youth in the running for the four wheeler, Ryker talked about how he feels, “I feel nervous. I just want to go out and have fun. I know I am guaranteed some prize no matter what. I want to thank Cole and William for letting me hunt their dog. I want to thank my dad for getting me into coon hunting.”

Jake Grissom with Little Man

Sixteen year old Jake Grissom lives in Burnsville, Mississippi. He has been coon hunting for about four years and got his start by meeting up with Brian Johnson by where he lives and just started going with him.

Jake wanted to come to the TN Youth 4 Wheeler Challenge because he wanted to “try his luck and see what would happen”. He was also part of the event last year, but got put out in the late round on the first night. Now Jake is one step closer this year to winning the four wheeler.

Tonight, Jake is handling Little Man, a Walker. He has been hunting with Little Man off and on for the past couple of years, but has never competition hunted with him. This is their first time at a major event and it has been a success for them. Jake talked about what it is that he likes about the hound, “He is not going to make a whole lot of trees unless he is going to have the coon.”

Jake described about how his first two casts went last night to get him to this point, “On the Early Round, I struck in for 100 and treed for 75 points with a coon. He did not do much else after I cut back loose until after the hunt when he had a coon treed. On the late round, it was something else. He never even barked until he came treed. None of the dogs were really barking much. He swam a swamp and got a coon treed."

When asked about how he feels about going out tonight, Jake replied, “I feel real good, maybe he will do like he did last night. If so, we have a good chance. I want to thank Brian and Heath Johnson and Doug Heavener for their support. I want to thank my parents for always letting me come. I also want to thank God. “

[Dennis Montgomery]

Sounds like 4 outstanding young men. Good Luck to all,,