Rockmart Wrestling Wins Multiple Titles
In the sport of wrestling, there are many chances to win a state championship. Sure, there’s the way other sports win – a traditional tournament in each classification where an entire team takes home the title. Wrestling is unique in the fact that it offers individual titles as well – one in each qualifying weight class. The Rockmart wrestling team took advantage of the unique opportunity and took home three state championship wins at the conclusion of the tournaments held at the Centreplex in Macon.
The Yellow Jackets arrived in Macon with 13 of 14 wrestlers qualified to compete in the GHSA Traditional State Championships.
After an 18-year title drought, head coach Drew Lindsey’s squad finally broke through.
“They did everything we asked of them,” Lindsey told the Northwest Georgia News. “And in the end it proved to be enough to win a state championship.”
Garrett Pace and Dalvin Millhollan were the two wrestlers to take home the individual state crowns.
Five of their teammates finished in the top four of their weight class, which pushed the Jackets to the top of the podium in Class 3A.
The win was especially sweet, as it broke fellow Area 4-3A opponent Sonoraville’s stronghold on Class 3A. The Phoenix had won three titles in a row before this season. Rockmart finished a few points ahead of Sonoraville, with a score of 202.5. The Phoenix finished with 197, and third place North Hall had 194.
The title secured the Yellow Jackets’ tenth wrestling championship in program history.
“Not to say people had forgotten about us, we just weren’t as relevant,” Lindsey said. “I don’t think we snuck up on anybody, but being a young team maybe we were not given the respect that we thought we should get.”
Millholan, the team’s only senior, fought through the 160-pound weight class bracket to set up a finals match with North Hall’s Nolan Sorrow. However, the Georgia High School Association disqualified Sorrow after his semifinal match, and Millholan was awarded the title via forfeit.
Pace, for his part, overtook Gilmer County’s Arturo Gonzalez to capture the title as a freshman in the 113-pound division.
The fate of the team title came down to two Rockmart wrestlers’ third-place contests. To secure a Yellow Jacket victory, one of the matches had to be won.
Jakamron Ammons went first, and pinned his opponent clinching the team title for Rockmart. Although the championship was secured, Jase Davis won his match as well.
“The bar has been set high for next year, and the ones who came up short of their goals this year, hopefully it will motivate them to come back, work harder and take it to the next level,” said Lindsey.
Written by:Reagan Cofield
