In watching our local high school wrestlers compete this season, it constantly amazes me how much dedication it takes from these athletes to excel, or even survive, in their sport.
High school wrestling, I’ve always thought, has to be one of the most grueling sports to compete in. “Six minutes of hell,” is the way I’ve described a match. So much energy is given by wrestlers during matches, I’m amazed they even have the ability to walk off the mat. Sure, some matches don’t go the entire time length, but even so, it’s amazing to see what goes into a match.
Six wrestlers from Barrow County will compete at this week’s Class AAAA state tournament. The state sectionals have been canceled because of weather delays and quite frankly each of our local athletes deserve the chance to be on the big stage.
Apalachee High School’s Austin Sheppard and Aaron Segars along with Winder-Barrow High School’s Tristan Yaptengo, Zach Gutierrez, Will Whisenant and Jake Bergen are each set to be in the wrestling spotlight this week. All six have put in untold hours to reach this point. The competition at this level is unmatched and truly something to see. With mats covering the Gwinnett Arena, it can be somewhat intimidating, even for experienced high school wrestlers.
However, I believe AHS coach Jim Stoudenmire and WBHS coach Chad Horne will have their athletes ready for this week. The extra time to rest, heal and prepare without state sectionals should benefit the wrestlers and each should be at top form when the state tournament begins later this week. Don’t be shocked to see some of the local grapplers do well at the big event.
Credit also has to go to Stoudenmire and Horne who have both done a solid job in building their respective programs in a relatively short amount of time.
These two coaches know the wrestling game inside and out and Barrow County is fortunate to have both of them. Look for both programs to get even better in coming seasons.
So, we have reached the big dance for the 2009-2010 high school wrestling season. Six local athletes will test their abilities against the best from across the state.
Any athlete, in any sport, simply wants an opportunity to match skills with the best.
Don’t be surprised to see some positive results come out of the state tournament for our local athletes.
I know they have the work ethic, desire, dedication and coaching to get the job done this week.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. You can reach him at cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
