Walnut Grove Wrestling Reigns Supreme, Takes Home Region Title Back-to-Back Years

On Saturday, January 10th, 2026, the Walnut Grove Warrior Wrestling team traveled to Eastside High School for the region tournament. The Warriors prevailed, defeating North Oconee and Madison County to win the region championship. 
​by Drew Caraway, Justin Andrio, Ty Cameron, Elly Croft, Gracie Edwards, Peyton Satchwell, and Harrison Smith

Walnut Grove Warriors vs. North Oconee Titans
The Warriors defeated the Titans 44-38 in a close matchup. For most of the kids on the team, this isn't anything new, beating North Oconee back-to-back years. What makes this year special is clinching the back-to-back region titles. 

For the final time in his high school career, Graham Dawkins (12) took the mat against region opponents before the state tournament. He mentioned his feelings about winning his match, “It feels really good. [I’ve] got a lot of momentum going to state, so that's good.” He compared last year’s region championship and this year’s region championship as “about the same… both were fun and a lot of energy.”

Walnut Grove Warriors vs. Madison County Red Raiders
The Warriors defeated the Red Raiders 65-15 in blowout fashion. Eli Schular (12) states his feelings about going back-to-back, “It feels great. We put a lot of work in, and we deserve every bit of it.”
 He also described the move he used to win his match, “I ankle picked my kid right to his back and put him in a blair ride and pinned him in a minute and 27 seconds.”

Like Graham, he also reflected on regional matches from last year and this year, “I feel like they were both about the same; this year meant a little more to me just because I went out there and pinned my kid and contributed a lot more to the team.”

The Warriors finished the regular season 22-5, as well as finishing 8th out of 24 in the Archer Invitational on November 8th, 2025 (via MaxPreps). 

Congratulations to the Warrior Wrestling Team for Winning Region

• Head Coach: Paul Vanstone
• Assistant Coach: David Matthews
• Graham Dawkins (12)
• Gavin Prater (12)
• Gavin White (12)
• Noah Van Name (12)
• Ian Watson (12)
• Matthew Adams (11)
• Mason Bender (11)
• Gavin Dunbar (11)
• Eli Schuler (11)
• Nicholas Stephens (11)
• Sebastian Tilghman (11)
• Thomas Wolfe (11)
• Skylar Harris (11)
• Clinton (Clay) Layfield (11)
• Keegan Dawkins (11)
• Evan Joiner (10)
• Parker Steketee (10)
• Noah Welch (10)
• Rylan Williams (10)
• Jasmin Numanovic (10)
• William White (10)
• Lucian Romero (9)

The Warriors advanced to State, also called Sectionals, after the region championship win. They will travel to Ola High School on Friday and Saturday, January 16th and 17th, and fight to conquer the state wrestling championship. Go Warriors!