2024 Wrestling State Placers

On Thursday, 2/15 through Saturday, 2/17, GHSA hosted their wrestling state championship tournament. Seven of the wrestlers from Walnut Grove competed, and four of them placed top five or higher.​
​by Noah Van Name

On Thursday, 2/15 through Saturday, 2/17, GHSA hosted their wrestling state championship tournament. Seven of the wrestlers from Walnut Grove competed, and four of them placed top five or higher.

Graham Dawkins
Graham, a sophomore, took third at state. He had a bye the first round. During his first match, he wrestled against Jake Hall from North Oconee. Graham had wrestled him twice before this. Their record was 1-1. Graham was hit with many stalling calls, and that caused him to lose the match 2-1. This was upsetting, and it put him in the consolation bracket. Fortunately, he was still able to wrestle for third. Graham then won his next match 11-1, and the next one 8-0. Finally, he was in the consolation finals for third and fourth. Graham was against Tristen Martin, who he had already wrestled before and lost to. Graham persevered and won the match 4-2. This got him third. “I put all my trust in Roundtree (Wrestling Academy) to get me where I need to be in terms of skill,” Graham said.

Zeke Adams
Zeke is a junior and a second-year wrestler. He took fifth in the coliseum. Zeke also had a bye the first round for placing top two in sectionals. After the first round, he was against Aaron Davis, who he had wrestled three times before this. Zeke dominated this match, ending it 12-3 in his favor. In the semifinals, he had to wrestle the soon-to-be state champ. Zeke lost, bumping him back to the consolation bracket to wrestle for third. Finally, he wrestled his last match in the consolation semi finals. Zeke lost 8-5, but still secured his spot for fifth. “I can further improve my skills by just grinding the whole off-season,” Zeke claimed.

Justice Vlahos
Justice, a senior, wrestled his last match this past month. He placed fifth at state. Justice had bye the first round, and wrestled his first match in the second round. He pinned his opponent from Heritage in four minutes, securing his placement of top five or higher. Then, Justice lost his next match in the semifinals to the soon-to-be state champ. This bumped Justice back to the consolation bracket. Unfortunately, Justice had hurt his knee prior to the match, and made the decision to forfeit his last match in order to not further injure his knee. “I’m proud that I placed, it sucks because I could’ve tried a little harder with my knee. Everybody goes through things, some of our teammates got sold (hit with bad referee calls) and I’m just happy I was able to place,” Justice stated.

Zeb Dawkins
Zeb is a junior and has been wrestling for his entire life. He took second during that weekend. Zeb did not have a bye the first round, so he wrestled the first round. He pinned his opponent from Central Carroll in one minute. Zeb then wrestled a kid from Chestatee, in which Zeb won 5-4. He was now in the semifinals, pinning his opponent in two minutes. Zeb was on his way to a state title. However, he was now up against JT Bowers, the state champ from last year. Zeb and JT have wrestled together many times, but this was where it counted. Zeb was winning and dominating the start of the match, but when he threw JT, he was put on his back and got pinned. However, taking second place in a tough weight class is a huge accomplishment.

Although it did not go as planned for most of our wrestlers, they are all at peace with how they ended their season. The seniors have given thanks to the program for all it has taught them, and the returning wrestlers are already at work training and practicing.