Wrestling State Champions!!!

- J. Andrew Lockwood -
Senior Editor / Sports Columnist
james.andrew.lockwood@student.mercer.edu

            You read the headline correctly, Mercer brought home the Georgia State Championship in wrestling for the first time in five years.  Defeating much larger schools such as University of Georgia, Georgia Southern, and Kennesaw State, the Mercer grapplers made history with four individual state champions. 

            “This was a total team effort to win this Championship, I was proud of how the team wrestled,”  said head coach Kevin Andres.  “By adding three new wrestlers this semester in Mike Ferson, Nic Harford and Jerod Northcott, it really strengthened the team. This is our first State Championship in five years and after taking second last year it was nice to finally take the top honors,” added the exuberant top man.

 As a team, Mercer had a combined 60 points, 13 more than second place Georgia.  Georgia Southern and Kennesaw State rounded out the field finishing third and fourth with 42 points and 24 points respectively.  On an individual level, Mercer’s Kyle Eastis (125 lb), Mike Ferson (133 lb), Jerod Northcott (184 lb), and Nic Barker (235 lb) were all crowed as individual weight class champions.  In addition to a championship, Kyle Eastis was also voted ‘Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament.’

Not to be forgotten were six other wrestlers that tallied points for Mercer.  Shaun Walker (149 lb) and Dominique Billingsely (285 lb) were runner-ups while Parker Reed (125 lb), Nic Harford (141 lb), and Ben Mercier (285 lb) were third place finishers.  Allan Stokes (174 lb) would finished in fourth place for the Bears. 

“I was very proud that the coaches also voted Kyle Eastis 125lbs as Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament,” Andres went on to say.  Andres pointed out that the title gives them momentum going into the first-ever National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) Duals Championship Tournament at Middle Tennessee State University where twenty teams from across the nation will vie for the dual championship title.

With such a competitive club squad, it seems like only a matter of time until Mercer promotes wrestling to the varsity level.  More information about the club can be found online at: www.mercerwrestling.com.