When Lowndes High senior Blake Hedgecock began wrestling in the eighth grade, he had no idea the sport would one day take him to the other side of the world. His father, Ray Hedgecock, had wrestled in high school, and he wanted his son to give the sport a try. So the younger Hedgecock joined Lowndes’s local wrestling club, the Devil Dogs. With instruction he received with the Devil Dogs, and a little help from his father, Hedgecock started winning matches.
“I just kept winning, getting better, and I realized I really enjoyed the sport,” he says.
When Hedgecock reached high school, he joined the Vikings’ wrestling team and has done well over the last three years. Last season, Hedgecock qualified for the state meet but saw his meet end a little earlier than he wanted it to.
“I almost placed, but I came up a little short,” he says.
Earlier this year, Hedgecock received a letter saying that he was one of 108 American wrestlers who were being invited to the Down Under International Games in New Zealand. The international competition features athletes in a variety of sports from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Samoa. All the American wrestlers who received invitations were state qualifiers, and only three were from Georgia.
“I was surprised,” he says. “But it made me realize that all the hard work over the years has been worth it.”
The trip consisted of three and half days of training in Australia, another three and a half days in New Zealand (competing in two different tournaments), and three days of unwinding in Hawaii. The first day of wrestling in New Zealand featured an individual tournament. Hedgecock, wrestling in the 138-pound class, squared off against James Scanlan of American Samoa in his first match. He won, and then he proceeded through the bracket to the championship match, defeating David Maldonado of Kentucky, and Dillon Muchmore of Nebraska. Finally, he faced Zack Hanson of Washington in the gold medal match. Hedgecock lost the match to Hanson and came away with a silver medal.
“The American wrestlers were more talented,” he says. “In the later rounds, all the wrestlers left were Americans.”
The second day was a team competition. Hedgecock’s team featured eight wrestlers. There were, however, 14 weight classes; with only eight wrestlers, Hedgecock’s team had to forfeit six matches.
“In the matches we wrestled, we won more than we lost,” he says.
After competing, the team stopped off for a few days in Hawaii, where Hedgecock spent a little time surfing Hawaii’s legendary waves (he also surfed and went skydiving in Australia). “I’ve always wakeboarded and I’ve done some snowboarding,” he says. “I just picked up surfing along the way. My family is really into watersports and things like that.”
“This whole experience was a real confidence booster,” he says of his trip. “I now know I can wrestle with the best in the nation. The extra mat time this summer was something that you really can’t measure. I was able to spend a lot of time wrestling this summer that I wouldn’t have had if I had been back home.”
As for the upcoming season, Hedgecock would like to return to state and bring home a championship. He also has some interest from college wrestling programs. “I don’t know if I will wrestle in college,” he says. “It would have to be a full scholarship offer. When I get to school, I think I want to focus on my education and getting my degree.”
South Georgia / November 2015
Blake Hedgecock
Lowndes High School
Valdosta, Georgia
Lowndes senior wrestles in New Zealand, brings home silver medal
By Robert Preston Jr.
Photography by Micki K Photography
