Camden County High School senior Jay Sheppard is a studious young man. He has a 4.3 grade point average and has even received a varsity letter for academics. But don’t underestimate the 138-pound nice guy with the friendly smile. He is also the state wrestling champion.
After finishing fourth last year, Sheppard brought home the gold at the GHSA State Traditional Wrestling Championships in February.
“My most memorable match is the state finals, where I pinned the opponent to win a state championship,” he said, recalling his final match against a wrestler from Woodland High last month.
It was one of three state championships Sheppard was part of this year. He was also a member of Jess Wilder’s Wildcats’ wrestling team that won the Class AAAAA state team duals championship in January.
“I went 4-0 with three pins and a major in the state dual finals,” Sheppard said.
The following month, he won the individual title at the Class AAAAA traditional championship, where Camden also took home the team traditional crown.
Sheppard started wrestling at the end of his eighth-grade year after being confronted by Coach Ryan Durham who convinced him to try out. As he began winning more matches, and then tournaments, he started to enjoy the sport. He has wrestled throughout high school, finally getting a taste of the big prize last year when he finished fourth in the state at 132-pounds in Class AAAAAA.
“My first big match was when I pinned a kid from Hillgrove in order to place in state as a junior,” he said.
Driven to win a state championship this year, Sheppard trained harder and took the season more seriously. The 
results began to show, and he was nearly unbeatable his senior year, going 51-3. He dominated a competitive field at the Knockout Tournament in Kissimmee, Florida, over the Christmas break; that is when everyone started to realize that he had a good chance of winning state.
Sheppard is known in wrestling circles as a “pinner,” someone who wins matches by pinning an opponent rather than by decision. Winning by pin also means more points for the team.
“He is a great kid who does the right things off the mat and on the mat,” Coach Wilder said. Sheppard is deceptively strong and executes high level techniques that most high school wrestlers either are not capable of executing or are not willing to put the time in to master. His preparations for a match are similar to those for a big test. He keeps his mind focused and clear before either. He maps out his match against an opponent by visualizing his next move and staying one step ahead of his adversary.
“If your mind is going one move at a time, the opponent could think faster and have the advantage over you,” he said.
While a triple state champion on the mat, he is also among the top students at Camden County High School; his grade point average sits above the perfect 4.0 because it is weighted for students that complete Advanced Placement courses. The son of an educator mother and retired military father has made Sheppard a good combination of smart and disciplined, according to his coaches. He is a leader in the classroom and on the mat. He shows up, works hard, and leads by example. He has been on the Honor Roll all four years, and his plans are to wrestle in college, although he is undecided where, but knows he would like to major in biology. Eventually he sees himself becoming a nurse practitioner or a dentist/orthodontist in the health care system. Several schools have shown interest in recruiting Sheppard, and he is in the process of taking trips and making a decision on his college plans.
Sheppard’s individual state title was the crowning jewel on Camden’s season, which was stellar in its own right. After tearing through the regular season, the Wildcats’ wrestling team dominated the area duals, winning their 17th consecutive area title and second state duals title in three years. They qualified nine sectional champions and five runner-ups for the state AAAAA traditional tournament, finishing with Sheppard’s first place, six runner-ups, and one third place winner to claim the overall team traditional championship for the first time in the school’s history.
For the record, Sheppard plans to combine his team and individual championship rings into one, although Coach Wilder sees him having more than one ring.
“I don’t know if he wants two rings but he’s surely earned the right to have two,” Coach Wilder said.
SE-AA-0315-Jay Sheppard
Camden County Wrestling
Camden’s Triple State Champion
