ITG Next’s March 2026 Georgia Male Athlete of the Month is Brunswick High School wrestler Semaj Dobbins, who will be leaving high school as a state champion when he graduates in May.
That is not bad for a wrestler who only began competing in his first season of high school. It is also very rare for a wrestler with that level of inexperience to win a state championship, according to Brunswick High School wrestling head coach Tom Bartolotta.
“I have never coached a state champion that did not learn to wrestle in middle school,” Bartolotta said of Dobbins.
That now makes Dobbins the first to have accomplished the feat.
Dobbins won the GHSA Class 5A individual state championship this past season in the 150-pound class, completing a high school career that began at 126 pounds as a freshman who had never wrestled before. He will now move on to wrestle collegiately.
“Semaj has earned a full scholarship to Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon,” Bartolotta said.
It is a remarkable finish to a wrestling career that began when Dobbins decided to try out for the Brunswick wrestling team with no prior experience.
Bartolotta said Dobbins approached him about wanting to wrestle.
“He came out for the team in November of 2023,” Bartolotta said. “He had played football but wanted to give wrestling a try. Although he had not wrestled before, he was a good athlete and turned out to be the only kid that came out and stuck it out.”
That first year was very much a learning year for Dobbins, who wrestled with the junior varsity squad to learn the fundamentals of the sport. Bartolotta said Dobbins made great strides that first year and got progressively better.
That led to Dobbins being elevated to the varsity squad for his sophomore season, where he continued to improve, missing the state tournament by one match.
When his junior season arrived, Dobbins was ready to make a serious run at the state tournament, but he suffered an upset in the quarterfinals and lost in the next round.
But all of the hard work and the setbacks he faced along the way led to Dobbins putting it all together for a strong senior year.
He finished with a 45-3 record, winning the region title, sectionals, and the state championship at 150 pounds.
“Semaj got progressively better and better every year, and it finally all came together for him this past year,” Bartolotta said.
Bartolotta said he expects Dobbins’ commitment to the sport to continue as he heads to college.
“He’s got a high ceiling, and he’ll continue to get better, just as he has done since he started four years ago,” Bartolotta said.
Dobbins finished his high school career with a 115-31 record. In addition to his individual state championship, Dobbins also helped the Pirates to a fourth-place finish in the Class 5A state duals.
Congratulations to Brunswick High School wrestler Semaj Dobbins, ITG Next’s March 2026 Georgia Male Athlete of the Month.
