To say the high school wrestling season is complex is an understatement.
Putnam County head coach Joe Hutsell recently expressed his gratitude to members of the local school board and school leadership for allowing and helping him to assemble “a great staff” and providing the resources required to field a top-level program.
“Wrestling has so many moving parts and one coach can’t do it all. They have allowed our coaching staff to grow as the participants have grown,” Hutsell stressed. “On any given Saturday our program is often spread across the state. We have a varsity team, a girls’ team, a JV team, and a middle school team. Our coaching staff could be at four different locations on any given weekend.
“That is stressful and to get our student-athletes the competition they need (and deserve) we are always on the road,” Hutsell continued. “Coupled with film study of 14 weight classes (per level) and up to six matches a day, we are always doing something with wrestling. It’s a full-time job and I am thankful to all of my coaches who take time away from their families and friends to make Putnam the best they can be.”
Hutsell explained current Putnam County wrestlers bear the fruit of hard work and dedication shown by athletes and coaches alike over a long period. He explained success at least partly depends on student-athletes sticking with the program over the long haul.
Hutsell said he needs to have “at least 15 to 20 ninth graders” competing each year to maintain a certain level of performance on the mat.
“You are always going to lose athletes as they progress through high school, but if you can keep those underclass numbers high, you will never have a drop-off,” he pointed out. “Most of our seniors started in 8th grade and they are instrumental in passing on information, work ethic, and study skills.”
This formula seems to be working, as Putnam County High School had earned a preseason ranking of 8th.
Last week alone, Putnam County wrestling traveled north, south, east, and west in holding strong and making the program proud. Hutsell said he feels the War Eagles are becoming more and more complete with each tournament in which they compete.
First up was the Atlanta Invitational, a 25-team tournament on Dec. 2 that featured all three levels (varsity, JV, and girls) under one roof. Putnam County managed to bring home multiple medals at each level, headed up by Mark Winslette winning the 175-pound varsity division, while Noah Long captured third in the heavyweight division.
Meanwhile, Zaccaria Long placed second in the JV portion of the heavyweight event and five Lady War Eagles earned hardware, including Rhyionna Johnson (1st), Natalie Hinson (2nd), Lily Armistead (2nd), Isabella Hinson (3rd) and Michelle Hernandez (3rd) to close out the day.
Four days later (Dec. 6) was a girls-only event at the Woodward Scramble, which brought together female wrestlers from all across the Southeast. The Lady War Eagles did well, winning 11 of their 24 matchups, led by Putnam senior Lily Frisch in the highlight of the night when she won by pinfall over state-ranked Autumn Freeman from Locust Grove.
On Dec. 7, the War Eagle program, minus a few due to illness and injury, traveled to Oglethorpe County to take on the Patriots and the Bulldogs of Morgan County where the varsity team came up short versus Oglethorpe (60-18) and Morgan (48-25).
“We are in the middle of the season, trying to get healthy, pass our classes and prepare for a postseason run. We can’t focus on only wins and losses,” Hutsell pointed out. “I’m more impressed with the fact that we brought 37 middle school kids with us. That shows the program is still growing and Coach Beasley and Coach Jaggie are doing a great job recruiting.”
The South Metro Invitational is the longest-running, in-season tournament in the Southeast and once was considered to be among the toughest tournaments in the state. The old saying was, “If you could place in South Metro, you could place in state.” Tournament directors are now trying to bring that toughness back and having 25 teams and more than 100 wrestlers participating is a great way to make it happen.
During the tournament, Senior Jonquail “Johnnie” Coats won his 100th career match in double overtime 7-6 over Luca Tolusso of St Pius X.
“It was a great accomplishment for such a well-rounded young man,” PCHS assistant coach Brad Snowden said. “Winning 100 matches in high school is quite the feat in the sport, not only demonstrating your skill but also your work ethic and dedication to the sport.”
The War Eagles’ Winslette secured third place at 175, with Long earning fifth-place honors at heavyweight. Bryson Brown (165) won the JV portion, while Kannericka Nelson and Armistead brought home first place in each of their respective lady weight classes.
On her way to earning third place in her weight class, Hinson had two quick pins at 0:41 and 0:42 and Frisch took second in a hard-fought final match. A few more Lady Eagles put the pressure on the competition with top-four finishes, including Natalie Hinson (4th), Addison Hutsell (4th), and Cameron Grayham (4th).
Senior Tristan Williams is approaching his 100th career win, which could come as soon as this week and would make him the fourth wrestler to join the exclusive club for the Putnam County program.
Regardless, there’s no rest for the War Eagles and Lady Eagles as they prepare for these goals. After hosting Monticello and Newton County this week on all four levels, there will be the Tommy Warren Duals beginning Dec. 17 at Oconee County High School.
The region duals will commence Jan 11, 2024, for the boys at Westside Augusta and Jan 12 for girls at Woodward Academy.