Appling County senior wrestler Damarko Dixon knows what it’s like to wear a championship ring. Finishing his junior year 39-6, he won the 3A state championship in the 152-pound weight class. His journey to the championship certainly wasn’t easy after battling a shoulder injury and a broken ring finger his sophomore season. Dixon received his state championship ring in a ceremony at a Pirates football game last fall during a halftime ceremony.
“Wrestling in itself is a very tough sport but the part that challenges your mind the most is cutting weight. I won state at 152 pounds but my natural weight was 165 pounds. It takes a lot of willpower to lose 13 pounds, eat healthily, and practice hard every day for four months. Cutting weight is what made me so mentally tough because sometimes you want a doughnut or soda but you know you can’t. When they presented me with my ring at a home football game, [I] felt like people finally realized all the work I put in to reach my goals,” Dixon says.
Son of Gerald Dixon and Clifton and Kuytonya King, Dixon credits his family and his faith for his success on and off the mat.
Willpower is not something Dixon practices only on the mat. It’s visible in the classroom and his life. Willpower and discipline have helped him earn a 3.52 GPA and a 27 ACT score. Through his academic performance coupled with his wrestling talent, Dixon earned an appointment to the Air Force Academy’s Class of 2018.
“I chose the Air Force Academy because of the great academics and because something about the wrestling program attracted me. After my graduation from the AFA, I want to be part of the World Class Athletic Program and be a Combat Rescue Officer,” Dixon says.
Dixon was attracted to wrestling when he went to a mini clinic but it was a one-time deal. Originally, he played baseball but ended up trying wrestling since middle school coach Ricky Barnes asked him to wrestle every time he saw him
“Every year that I’ve wrestled I have fallen in love with it more and more. That love of the sport is what got me to this point. I’ve been most influenced wrestlingwise by my middle/high school coaches Mark Green and (former coach) Ricky Barnes, my club coach David Mathews, and the various clinicians of camps that I’ve been too,” Dixon says.
As Dixon’s wrestling career started to take off in his sophomore year, he broke his finger. When he tried locking up a move, an opponent peeled his hands back and his finger snapped. Though it ended his season, it forced him to learn to use his left side, which allowed him to become a much better wrestler.
“If not for that injury I don’t know if I’d be the mat wrestler that I am today. My junior year I sprained my elbow in mid December, but the injury wasn’t very severe. Two hours before my state finals match, [I] was nervous out of my mind but I never let it show,” Dixon says.
Dixon had trained, endured tough cardio workouts, withstood a season-ending injury a year earlier, and thirty minutes before the state final match, he knew he was ready and he would win.
“Only about 30 minutes before my match did I find my peak mental state and I knew that I could and would win a state title that night. I remember when the referee called the pin and I jumped up into the air. I was beyond happy. The joy I felt is comparable to being a child and receiving what was at the top of your Christmas list as a child,” Dixon says.
Winning the state title has made Dixon even more driven for in his senior year. His record stands at 51-2, and he is hoping to win another state title before graduating and heading to the Air Force Academy to wrestle for the Falcons.
“Damarko is one of those few student athletes that programs are blessed to have on rare occasions. Besides his wrestling ability, he possesses other attributes that are not seen during his three periods of competition. He is a good leader during practice and during a match. Just the other night I had a coach’s wife come to me and say that Damarko was a tremendous athlete and she was not talking about how good he was on the mat, she was referring to the way he carried himself and the way he lead the team. I am very proud of his achievements and know there will be many more in his bright future on and off the mat,” Appling County head wrestling coach Mark Green says.
Dixon will attempt to add a second state championship ring this season. His next goals are a Class of 2018 Air Force Academy ring and a second lieutenant’s commission in the United States Air Force.
“I’m a really goal oriented person and those goals are what drive me to be better than I was the day before. I refuse to tolerate failure in my life, and not improving is, to me, the same as failing,” Dixon says.
SE-AA-2.14-DamarkoDixon
Failure is not an option, when the sky is the limit
By John Wood
