Quick Poll

Did you agree with President Obama's decision on Thursday to waive the No Child Left Behind requirements in 10 states, including Georgia?

Blogs

Angela McRae

Tea with friends

Deberah Williams

Everyday Finesse

Lorrie Lynch

Who's News

Published Friday, February 05, 2010 in Sports

Senior wrestlers mature into leadership roles for Vikings

By Chris Goltermann

The Newnan Times-Herald

Even before they stepped foot in the hallways of Northgate High School, wrestlers Kyle Hennen and Jeffrey Higgins may have never expected to reach their senior season on the mat.

As early as their eighth-grade year, after attending practices for Adrian Anderson's Viking program, the pair admitted they weren't even sure they wanted to wrestle at all.

"When I first started wrestling, especially as an eighth grader, I was like 'there's no way I want to do this,' The practices were hard. For me. I didn't think it was what I was going to do for four years. (But) It's definitely much more than that." said Higgins. "I can say I'm truly going to miss it when it's all over."

Not only did the pair stick around, but so did four other current Northgate wrestling seniors, all of whom started their first practice as either eighth or ninth graders.

Today, the class -- which Anderson called "the best seniors I've had collectively since I've been here" -- leads the Vikings into the Area 5-AAAA individual wrestling tournament, to be held today and Saturday at Fayette County High School.

They will make up almost half of the Northgate's 13 entries this weekend. In addition to Hennen and Higgins, who have now settled into respective 145 and 152 pound weight classes, this year's senior class includes Chris Schenk (160), Aric Anderson (189), Justin Alderman (135) and Tre Robinson all have been major contributors to the Vikings' success.

Five of the six seniors earned county titles. The other, who was Alderman, hadn't yet received his two-pound allowance after rejoining the program in November following a year's absence. Together the group runs much of the team's daily practices to the Viking coach's admission.

"Everybody gets along real well," said Aric Anderson.

A deep pool of 13 teams led by 5-AAAA Duals champion Alexander will be battling for berths in next week's Class AAAA state sectionals. The top-four finishers in each weight class will move on to the West sectionals at Upson Lee High School. Both area host Fayette County and Northgate expect to be among the pack chasing the Cougars.

The Vikings' senior leadership is also as much a reason why Northgate stands a good chance of qualifying a majority of its wrestlers following last weekend's second place finish at the Bowdon Invitational. High school wrestling's 'playoffs' -- a much different atmosphere -- begin now, leaving little room for error.

"The thing you're working toward all year is area," said Anderson. "That's when it counts. Right now we're trying to get where we're going to peak out at the right time."

These final three weeks of respective high school wrestling careers hope to pay off after years of hard work. So far this season, Viking seniors haven't disappointed.

Senior Chris Schenk, at 160 pounds, has arguably been Northgate's most consistent wrestler outside of unbeaten Viking freshman Tyler Askey (140).

Schenk's season started strong with titles at the Coweta County Championships, the Chattahoochee River Wrestling event and the Callaway Invitational -- all held in December. By the time Schenk won his weight class at the prestigious Fayette County Championships during the week after Christmas, the Northgate senior had plenty of momentum heading into the 2010 portion of the schedule.

"I didn't expect to do this well, really. My number one goal at the beginning of the year was to place at Fayette, because I knew how strong that tournament is," said Schenk, who has wrestled all four years of his high-school career. "Coach always tells us, if you can do well there, you're probably in for a pretty good season."

Aric Anderson is well rested at 189 pounds after sitting out the Bowdon tournament and has . Wrestling has provided a unique bond at Northgate for Aric, one that's not just between athlete and coach, but father and son, after being around the mats throughout most of his life.

"For me it was just being able to do something with my dad," said Aric. "Just being able to watch it and be around it. It was something that I definitely wanted to try. He never pushed me about it."

Aric admitted that even having seen as much wrestling as he did growing up, it was a much different story when he finally started practicing as an eighth grader.

"I found out real quick that it wasn't like wrestling around at home on the floor with my brother," said Aric one of Northgate's seven county champions this year while helping the Vikings to its sixth-straight team crown. "He pretty much let me figure it out for myself."

Hennen and Higgins equally found a home on the Northgate mats, though, it wasn't always easy. Hennen, who will be among the favorites at 145 pounds in 5-AAAA this weekend, admitted that he had thoughts about giving up wrestling not long after he started as an eighth grader.

"I don't think I won a single match that first year," said Hennen. "I really thought about giving up. But I kept working at it. It's a chance to really challenge yourself. That's what really drove me to the sport. Being told you can't do something and then striving to beat somebody. In the end, it's the only sport where you use your hands to somebody else do something they don't want to do."

Namely getting pinned on their back.

Wrestling doesn't have the same feeder system for its varsity teams as other sports do through the Coweta County Middle School Athletic League. At the youth level, though, the sport is making a rise both through the Coweta Cobras and the first-year EC Elite program.

"There's a lot of support in this area, and our school, for wrestling," said Hennen. "We've had some great crowds at our matches this year."

Georgia equally doesn't have the scholarship offers for standout wrestlers as it does with other sports. Club teams exist at 11 state schools and it wasn't until last November, however, that Shorter College became Georgia's first intercollegiate program.

Some of the current Northgate seniors, like Higgins, are looking at schools that have no scholarship opportunities.

"I'm looking at either Georgia or Georgia Tech, so wrestling's not an option," he said. "I'm ok with it, but I'm obviously going to miss it."

Each of the seniors has spent four years earning a reputation on the mat, one that's not taken lightly. Higgins, who has wrestled at both 152 and 160 pounds in the lineup, won the county title at 160 in a solid senior year so far.

"In our four years, you are what you've made yourself," said Higgins, who also played football. "This is a sport for everybody, no matter your size."

There's been bumps along the road for some. Alderman, who took eight stitches in his mouth following a freak accident during Monday's practice, wrestled from eighth grade through his sophomore year and then decided not to return as a junior.

By the time cooler temperatures rolled around in the fall, he missed it too much.

"I took the year off, but by the beginning of November I could tell I wanted to try and come back," said Alderman. The 135-pounder has come on strong since getting regular outings at 135 pounds since January.

Then there's Tre Robinson, who despite being an odd-man out at times, has accepted his role in stride. At 140-pounds, the senior knew he would probably be pushed out of a starting role by Askey, a nationally ranked youth wrestler, and there was little room to move up with Hennen and Higgins above him.

"It's the only sport I've ever tried," said Robinson, a four-year wrestler who began as a freshman under Coach Anderson. "It was just something I wanted to do. The first couple of practices I can remember (as a freshman) we're real rough."

But with Askey now settled into the Vikings 140-pound slot, Robinson stepped to the plate. The dinner plate, exactly.

With Schenk and Anderson, who shuffled between 160, 171 and 189 pounds throughout the year, settling in at respective 160 and 189 weight classes, Robinson brought up the option of beefing up to 171 pounds.

Wrestlers, among the most disciplined of eaters, rarely if ever get such an opportunity to pack on the pounds. Robinson truly seemed to be enjoying the chance, saying he had enjoyed eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and leftover meatballs.

"It was completely my idea," said Robinson, who weighed in on Tuesday at nearly 155 pounds. "I knew we someone like Tyler at 140. We had a spot open (at 171). So why not try?"

Comment On This Story

Times-Herald.com does not necessarily agree with the comments posted below. Responsibility of comments rests solely with the writer. Comments posted in ALL CAPS will be deleted.

Submission of a comment does not guarantee publication. Comments will be posted by a moderator after being scanned for abusive language, relevance, etc. See our Comments FAQ for more details.