The Thomas County Central High School Wrestling team has made positive improvement this wrestling season.
This season, team members agree they have improved from last year. This year, in almost every match the team was close to being tied or won.
At the beginning of the season, the team struggled with finding wrestlers for the lower weight classes of 106 and 113, but Head Coach Bill Wilhelm recruited two football players to help out the team.
“I’m just putting them through the basics, trying to teach them good base moves and techniques,” Wilhelm said.
In wrestling, two wrestlers are on the mat going head-to-head trying to win the match by a pin. They can score points throughout the match by having a takedown, reversal, escape, or technical violation.
The match consists of three periods that are each two minutes long, but if the two wrestlers have a tied score at the end of the third period they can go into sudden death overtime. The first wrestler to score points is the winner of the match.
This wrestling season, certain wrestlers stood out to Wilhelm: Noah Harnevious, Conley Wilhelm, and Hudson Prevatt.
“All three have great records and have been wrestling well,” Wilhelm said. “Logan Prince has been a freshman surprise. He is a natural wrestler.”
Freshmen Logan Prince is one of the wrestlers that Wilhelm recruited to wrestle at the 106 weight class. In the beginning of the season Prince had already set goals for himself. One main goal he wanted to reach was to place in the regional tournament his first year wrestling. This past Friday, Jan. 29, he fulfilled this goal as he took fourth place in the 106 weight class.
Team members have had some exciting moments on the mat this season.
“My favorite moment of my wrestling career, so far, was my very first match against Tifton,” Prince said. “I won by pinning the guy when I only had two days of practice.”
Senior Conley Wilhelm, who has wrestled all of high school and before, believes the best thing about wrestling is the individuality of the sport, but likes that it is also very team-based.
Conley’s season goal was to get his 100th win in his high school wrestling career. He, too, fulfilled his goal during region competition when he wrestled against Bainbridge and place third in the 132 weight class.
After competing in the area tournament on Jan. 29, there are eight TCCHS wrestlers who are being advanced to the sectionals tournament held in Elijay this weekend, Feb. 5-6. They are: Logan Prince, Eric Goodson, Conley Wilhelm, Brooks Bradley, Hudson Prevatt, Will Hopkins, Noah Harnevious, and X’Zontae Green.
If the wrestlers place eighth or higher at the sectionals tournament they will advance to the state tournament that will be held the following weekend, Feb. 12-14.