The intensity of the 2013 state championship wrestling match was nothing compared to the roar that erupted from the student section at the Macon Coliseum as junior Alex Ashley defeated Whitewater’s George Harris, 5-2, to claim the heavyweight title Feb. 15.
Wrestling in the 285 lbs. weight class, Ashley created some personal history that was three years in the making.
“I knew [winning] was a possibility, but I viewed us as equally matched,” said Ashley, who has been wrestling since seventh grade.
According to wrestling coach Dennis Bogumill, Ashley has always shown promise. During Ashley’s freshman year, he missed qualifying for state by one match. In his sophomore year he began inching closer to victory when he became one of the top four to qualify for sectionals.
However, that old adage “the third time’s a charm” turned out to be true this year when Ashley was one defeat away from not going to state. “Big Red”, as he is known to his teammates, wasn’t going to let his dreams of victory slip away. In order to advance to state, Ashley was determined to beat his North Paulding opponent, who beat him in sectionals last year.
It seems Ashley and Harris have a bit of history. The pair competed against each other 10 times over the last few years, and up until this match Ashley had never defeated Harris.
“I made sure to wrestle carefully since I knew the match could have gone either way,” Ashley said.
In his first trip to state, Ashley walked away with the heavyweight title, and his coach and teammates are already thinking about next year.
“We hope to make some noise next year on the mat,” Bogumill said. “We are also excited to see this spike in Alex’s performance carry over into the football season in the fall.” Ashley plays defensive tackle for the Panthers.