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Coach Tim Stoudenmire (right) demonstrates a move with Tanner Mask to the rest of the Oglethorpe County wrestling team in a previous season. The Patriots are preparing for the Region Dual tournament on Jan. 13. (De Turner/The Oglethorpe Echo)
Oglethorpe County’s wrestling team hasn’t had the easiest of paths this season. The Patriots, despite a 27-3 record in dual meets, have dealt with several injuries to their starting lineup.
Head coach Tim Stoudenmire said the Patriots have been fortunate to stay injury free the past few seasons. However, Stoudenmire said he feels like the team has more room to grow with several starters returning from injury.
“This year, we have had three or four injuries that have resulted in us having to make some lineup changes, some adjustments and do a few things that we’re not accustomed to,” Stoudenmire said. “I feel we’ve almost navigated all the way through that process and we’re starting to get those guys back in the lineup, so we have not wrestled our best lineup yet.”
In addition to injury issues, OCHS has had to face a difficult schedule, including Commerce and Elbert County in its class and other tough opponents.
The Patriots even faced and defeated East Hall and West Hall in the annual Stoudenmire Brawl, which saw Tim Stoudenmire’s team defeat teams coached by his brother Ken Stoudenmire and nephew James Stoudenmire in a match put together in honor of the former OCHS football coach who died Jan. 21, 2000.
However, despite tough competition, Stoudenmire has been impressed in the way his team has adapted, adjusted and overcome throughout the season.
“Through the process of wrestling tough teams earlier in the year, we’ve been able to see what we’re good at, what we were missing, things we need to improve, timing that needed to change,” Stoudenmire said. “I feel like we’ve made really good adjustments.”
Stoudenmire said this year’s team isn’t the most athletic or experienced he’s coached, but added that the Patriots’ progression and adjustments have been impressive. Stoudenmire said he feels that “this team hasn’t hit their ceiling yet,” and that the group is “heading and trending in the right direction.”
Assistant coach Steve Mason echoed these sentiments.
Mason coached the middle school wrestlers for several seasons and knew top wrestlers like Tanner Mask when they were in the seventh grade. Mason said he appreciated not just the growth, but a newfound maturity.
“That’s been really neat, because something changes when kids get to high school and they get around the older kids,” Mason said. “They just start maturing faster. But to see some of our freshmen grow like they have this year. I appreciate now that they’re with not just me, but with Coach Stoudenmire. They get a different voice, maybe a different perspective on a few things and it really aids in their growth.”
The Patriots are preparing for the Region Dual tournament on Jan. 13.
“The one thing I love about our team is they really do care about each other,” Mason said. “They come to practice every day with smiles on their faces and they love being around each other. We have 34 on the team, and over Christmas break, we averaged 33 kids coming to practice every day and that’s unbelievable. They’re bought in, they love each other and they’re on a mission as well.”