Wrestle: Challenges met with strength
Two particular wrestling matches exemplified the spirit of Fannin’s boys and girls wrestling teams this year, wrestling coach David Henson said.
In the match that would decide whether he would make the podium, senior wrestler Landon Poole faced an opponent who had beaten him just weeks before.
But it was exactly what he had trained for, Henson said.
“We had practiced, in case we got to face him again, a specific technique,” he said. “And in that moment when it required it, he trusted his training.”
Since their last match, Poole had studied an underhook that would counter his opponent’s favored leg sweep technique and allow him to go on the offense.
The move depended on perfect timing, Henson said. Poole had it.
“That was a culmination of everything that he had worked for,” he said.
On the girls team, senior Mikayla Holloway also faced a stronger opponent with better technique, Henson said.
Holloway won by using a “Wayne’s Roll.” This move spins an opponent behind a wrestler onto their back.
The move requires precise timing and grip to succeed too, he said.
After she executed the move and sealed her victory, Holloway had a surprised look on her face.
“I wasn’t even sure what I was doing, but it was a reaction that we practiced,” Henson recalled her saying.
Putting practice into execution has been essential to the success of Fannin’s wrestling team, this year, he said.
The individual nature of wrestling means athletes must be at their best.
“If you’ve got a weak point, there is no hiding it,” Henson said of wrestling.
This year, the Rebels teams have met the challenge with strength.
That, combined with teamwork, has helped both boys and girls teams prevail against tough competition.
“Our girls and our guys have been so supportive of each other,” he said.
The boys team just finished a stellar season, placing 10 of its top 14 wrestlers in life for the top six area wrestlers, he said.
At state traditionals, the boys Rebels team won 11th place. They finished seventh in the area as a team.
This success stands out all the more, given that the majority of the boys team are freshmen and sophomores, Henson said.
In sports like basketball and soccer, many skills can translate. But athletes can learn many wrestling skills only on the mat.
These facts mean that the inexperienced freshman boys wrestling team faces a very difficult challenge.
“Our senior wrestlers helped fuel their desire to be better,” Henson said. “Instead of that lack of success causing them to draw back, they continued.”
Poole helped provide this example, he said.
Early in the season, Poole broke his hand during practice. After this injury, he was out for six weeks while the bone healed.
Not only did he return, he also went on to a 24-9 season, finishing sixth in state in the 126 pound weight class, second in area and fifth in sectionals.
The rest of the team followed his lead in achieving excellence.
The girls team faced its own challenges, Henson said. This season, it had only five wrestlers.
Low numbers automatically disqualified the team from competition in team-on-team match ups, or “duels.”
Furthermore, many of the girls team members were engaged in other sports for the first part of the season.
“I got them a little bit late, but our girls demonstrated a desire to be better,” Henson said.
But perseverance and leadership from leaders on the team got them through.
The team also benefited from new Georgia state rules that said male wrestlers can no longer wrestle female wrestlers, he said.
These new rules give girls more confidence and more ownership.
“I’d hate for our basketball girls to say, ‘In order for us to be good, we’ve gotta go beat guys’ teams,” Henson said.
On the girls team, this year’s wrestlers went through an “outstanding season” that brought many improvements, Henson said.
“Our girls did a great job,” he said.
The girls finished 14th in the area.
Holloway placed fifth at state sectionals in the 100 pound weight class, a first for Fannin wrestling.
After these performances from both teams, the wrestling program has a lot of potential.
“I’m looking forward to this next year,” Henson said.