Carrollton High School Wrestler Hailey Lussier Named ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month for February 2024
Congratulations to Carrollton High School wrestler Hailey Lussier, who has been named our February 2024 ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance.
Lussier, a sophomore, was one of four nominees chosen for their outstanding performances over the past month. The other nominees were Grayson girls basketball player Danielle Carnegie, Wesleyan girls basketball player Chit-Chat Wright, and Campbell girls basketball player Brooke Suttle.
Followers of ITG Next vote each month for the athlete they think is most deserving of the award, and Lussier received the largest percentage of votes to take home the honor for February 2024.
Wrestling in the heavyweight class, which includes wrestlers from 190 pounds to 235 pounds, Lussier was one of a group of Carrollton wrestlers who played a major role in leading the Trojans to their second straight GHSA Girls Team Dual Wrestling State Championship.
The 2024 girls dual championships were held on Jan. 26-27 at the University of West Georgia. Carrollton came out strong on the opening day of matches against Meadowcreek and then Gainesville, with Lussier securing a win in her quarterfinals match in the 235-pound class.
Carrollton faced Greenbriar in the finals, and Lussier secured an opening-match win over her opponent to help her team get the upper hand and win the state title once again. She opened up the match with a quick pin against her Wolfpack opponent to put the Trojans out front 6-0. Her teammates then did their part the rest of the match to win the state title 49-27.
“It was so exciting to be part of the first state duals championship, and to follow that up with another back-to-back win was just amazing,” Lussier said.
“Hailey is a great kid, and we love her being a part of our program,” said Allen Newton, who has just wrapped up his fourth season as the Carrollton girls wrestling head coach.
Newton said that Lussier also did well earlier this season in two separate invitational tournaments.
“Hailey won her first tournament earlier this year at the Gilmer Invitational, and then she finished second in the Greenbrier Invitational,” he said.
Lussier began her wrestling journey in 2019 when she was in seventh grade. She attended a four-day introduction mini-camp that really piqued her interest in wrestling, and she decided to join the wrestling team as an eighth-grader in 2020. She wrestled boys that season.
“It was quite a humbling experience,” Lussier said.
Congratulations again to our February 2024 ITG Next Georgia Female Athlete of the Month, presented by Georgia Farm Bureau Insurance, Carrollton wrestler Hailey Lussier.
