A historical look at Georgia 2A Traditional State Champions

For those of you that know wrestling in Georgia … can you take a guess about who won the first 2A traditional title? If you said Woodward Academy (without looking it up) then be sure to find me in Macon this week and I’ll buy you a drink. Woodward Academy, last year’s 6A Traditional Champs, was the first program to win a 2A title and did it in back to back years in 1971 and 1972. If you are a fan of Chick-Fil-A, you might even know some of the champs/placers from those teams (Dan and Don Cathy). Over the years, a handful of programs have dominated the 2A landscape. Lovett has 8 2A traditional titles and had a 5 year streak from 1990-1994. Jefferson has 6 2A traditional titles and they won all 6 in consecutive years from 2009-2014, Social Circle had a run of 5 titles from 2015-2019 and our current 2A Champions - Rockmart have 7 traditional titles (their titles range from the early 1980’s to 2023). In all, 20 different programs have won a 2A Traditional title. Below are the most recent state champions of the current 2A programs (keep in mind that the individuals were not necessarily individual 2A State Champions … this is a look at the current 2A programs and their last champion).

Let’s take a closer look at just a few of these names (no time to delve into all of them):

Forty years. That’s how long it took Model to crown another state champion. After crowning 4 champs in 6 years from 1977 to 1983, Model had a champion drought. Noah Allmon ended that drought in 2023 by claiming the 2A 190 lb. title over Tank Morris of Toombs County. Model had state placers throughout the years during that time including 2x placers Joe Wallace, Riley Davis and 3x placer Walker Byrd (who finished 2nd twice in 2017 and 2018), but it was Allmon that finally got Model over the hump in 2023.

Cook has assembled quite a squad in 2023-2024 and Destry Walker’s reign on this graphic could come to an end. Cook had their first placer in 1982 and had 4 a year ago, but it has been more than a decade since anyone has ascended to the top step for the Hornets. Cook 21 champs over the years, but none since Destry Walker claimed the 285 lb. 2A title with a win over Ben Lanier of Dublin in 2012. Will a 2023-2024 Hornet be replacing Walker’s name this year?

Demarko Dixon placed twice at the state tournament - both times climbing the top step. Dixon was your 3A 152 lb. State Champion in 2013 and the 3A 170 lb. State Champion in 2014. Dixon is just the second Appling County wrestler to win a state title (the first being Thomas Johnson in 1992) and the only one to win two titles. Dixon was part of the Air Force Academy’s 2014 signing class. Check out this article on Dixon from ITGNext.