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Published Tuesday, February 07, 2012 in Sports

Photo by Bob Fraley

Northgate junior Tyler Askey continues his pursuit of a third consecutive GHSA wrestling championship this week at the Class AAAA East Sectionals in Loganville. Askey improved his overall record to 144-0 after last weekend's Area 3-AAAA tournament.

Perfect two-time state wrestling champ Tyler Askey stays on pace for two of wrestling's rare feats

By Doug Gorman

The Newnan Times-Herald

Tyler Askey's record speaks for itself.

Since stepping on the mat as a talented freshman a little more than two years ago, the Northgate junior Tyler Askey has dominated every opponent who has tried to take him down on the wrestling mat.

Carrying a perfect 144-0 record into Saturday's Class AAAA East Sectionals, not many have even managed to score against the Viking -- at least points Askey hasn't intentionally given up in order to make his next move toward a potential pin.

Askey captured an Area 3-AAAA title on Saturday even after battling illness the previous week.

The list of national accolades runs even longer for Askey, who by the time he had reached middle school had become a five-time national champion and a two-time All-American at the youth level.

"He has character and intangibles," Northgate head coach Adrian Anderson said. "Those things you really can't teach. There's nothing to say about Tyler that has not already been said. He is the best around."

Barring a gargantuan upset the likes of Rulon Gardner's gold-medal victory over Russian Aleksandr Karelin, Askey will be back at the Gwinnett Center a week from Saturday looking for GHSA state title No. 3.

The state finals will be televised on WSB on Feb. 18 from 4-6 p.m., while also available live via Internet streaming.

Askey's opponents haven't even come close to breaking the string, let alone knocking the Viking off course in his pursuit of perfection. He hopes to become one of just 23 varsity wrestlers from Georgia to end respective careers as a four-time state champion.

There hasn't been one since McEachern's Brandon Westerman and Toombs County's Bryan Benton both achieved the feat in 2009.

Should Askey continue his pace, he'll also accomplish another near impossible feat -- which is, never losing a single match in his varsity career.

So far, both seem more than possible.

The last time someone even came close to giving Askey trouble in the state tournament was during the finals of his freshman year. South Effingham senior Robbie Collum scored a first-period takedown and didn't earn another point outside of an allowed escape by Askey in a 7-3 loss.

Last year, Askey had his way with Alcovy standout Boimah Karmo in the 152-pound finals, dominating the senior 14-0 before finally finishing him off with a third-round pin.

Still, the success has been well earned through years of dedication and commitment to the sport since he was in elementary school.

Parents Dan and Missy exposed Tyler to multiple sports growing up including soccer and baseball. Wrestling was the one that stuck.

Perfection, however, may run in the family genes. Arguably Askey's biggest inspiration is his dad, Dan, a former college football player at Michigan State who also wrestled in high school while growing up in a hotbed for talent in Pennsylvania.

"My dad had been a huge inspiration to me," Tyler told the newspaper last year. "He's a bit of a perfectionist too. I probably get some of that from him. He was probably a better football player than I ever will be a wrestler."

As for wrestling, "it just grew on me," said Askey.

The county has produced its share of state champions over the past decade, including three other Vikings as well as East Coweta standout Christian Flavin. He's the first, however, to have a chance at sweeping titles in all four years of high school.

"He has helped raise the bar for wrestling in Coweta County," said East Coweta head coach Josh Herring, who grew up wrestling for his father, a well-respected coach at Oconee County High. "He is the type of wrestler everyone around here wants to be like."

Long before stepping on the mat as a freshman, Askey was confident he was going to have a bright future in the sport.

"Coming into high school, I had a good track record," he said about his success at national events. "I thought I could win a state title, but I wasn't thinking about being a four-time state champion."

Competing at a national level has helped Askey's confidence grow.

Despite attempting to win again at a new weight class, Askey says it's been a smooth transition.

"I am just a little undersized for 170 (pounds)," he said. "I have grown into the weight. I will probably be back down nationally."

It's a weight class that has suited him well. Last year, Askey won matches among three weight classes before settling into 152 pounds by tournament time. Making weight this year hasn't at all been a struggle, allowing him to push himself and eat accordingly without worrying about making weight.

"I can work harder," said Askey. "I can eat what I want."

Before he began high school, Askey had already been training with Arturo Holmes at The Wrestling Center in Smyrna.

Among a list of well over 50 state placers who have gone on to college, Holmes' students have included four-time champions Chris Rodriques, who finished his career at the University of North Carolina, and Paul Stansbury, who attended West Point.

At the Fayette County Christmas Classic. Askey wrestled his way into the tournament championship against an out of state opponent, defeating Brandon Elkins of Alabama in a 12-3 decision.

"I never really change my approach to a match," he said. "I just go out there and try to stay focused."

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