GAINESVILLE — Winning wrestling state championships has become the norm at North Hall High School.
But facing six-time state champion Gilmer made it more difficult than coach David Nichols and his team would have liked. As a matter of fact, the Bobcats led North Hall 27-19 late in the state title dual match at Cherokee Bluff on Saturday.
Freshman Connor Free, perhaps, was the hero, getting an unexpected pin over Gilmer’s Kellen Watts, which was dubbed as a toss-up match. He pinned Watts midway through the second period, setting up Jacob Pedraza to seal the win one match later, and the rest is history.
Free, in the biggest battle of the season, said he didn't think he was going to pin Watts.
"I was thinking I had to win the match for my team," Free said. "I wasn't thinking I was going to pin the kid or do anything like that. But we were down and I knew that my teammates were counting on me."
Nichols said he was extremely proud of Free and also said the pin "kind of ignited them team the rest of the way."
"It's always great to see a kid, that deserves it, have that kind of moment," Nichols said about the win. "It gave us a little bit of cushion that we were glad to have at the time."
Gaining the Edge is a presentation of Conditioned Air Systems.
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