A historical look at Georgia 3A Traditional State Champions

The 3A classification takes us back to nearly the beginning. The 1970-1971 year marks the first time that the sport was separated into the different A classifications with 1A, 2A, and 3A (although 1A was still a combined A, B and C - not sure what that means). Prior to 1970 we had Division I, II, and III much like they do to this day in Tennessee. 3A began with Walker taking the first title (they were the reigning Division I champs in 1969 and 1970 - so no surprise) and over the years we have seen Columbia rise to be a 3A power (winning traditional titles in 1972, 1973, 1976, and 1977), Troup won multiple titles, but it was the Westminster teams of the early 1990’s that 3A might be remembered for. Westminster won 3A titles in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, and 1996 (they won 2A titles in other years). Gilmer, Jefferson, Sonoraville, and others have all taken a turn on top of the podium. 3A, like 6A, might be the most chaotic of the classes over the years. In 53 years, 28 different schools have won a traditional state title. Probably the biggest reason for that is that for 20 years it was the largest classification and as things have changed we have seen different powerhouse programs come through 3A (Troup and Gilmer have the most 3A titles with 6 followed by Westminster). Below are the most recent state champions of the current 3A programs (keep in mind that the individuals were not necessarily individual 3A State Champions … this is a look at the current 3A 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):

We begin back in 1992 with Hart County’s Johnny Fuller. Hart County has had 11 different placers from 1987 to 2023, but just one champion. Fuller claimed the 145 lb. 3A title over Douglas Bailey of North Gwinnett. We couldn’t track down any more information on Fuller - only that he is Hart County’s only State Champion.

It is hard to be around Georgia wrestling and not run across the name Pete Yates. Yates is considered by many to be amongst the best high school wrestlers to ever come out of the state. He was a 3x State Champion for Salem High School and a 2x D1 All American at Virginia Tech. Yates finished his high school career 161-1 (or is it 163-1 - according to this article) with his only loss coming in the state finals to Garrison Goins of Ringgold in his sophomore season. Yates is the only State Champion from Salem High School.

We continue the theme with being the only wrestler from their high school to ever win a state title as we pivot to Logan Winkles of Upson Lee. Winkles, the current coach of Upson Lee, is one of four individuals to have the podium for the Knights. He was a two state placer in 2009 and 2010 at 285 - winning the title in 2010 after taking second the previous year (Macon Telegraph article on Sweet Redemption). Winkles is the current head coach at Upson Lee and will be looking to gt one of his wrestlers on the top step (and remove him from the graphic above). And just for everyone to be aware - the official record has it as Logan Wrinkles.

Gordon Lee has a long and storied history and unlike the three schools mentioned above have had numerous state champions over the years. Jonathan Ragsdale won 4 titles from 2012-2015, Alex Spires was a 3x Champ in 2010, 2011, and 2013, as well as a couple of 2xers, but it is Braden Jarvis who sits on this list as Gordon Lee’s most recent State Champion. Jarvis was a 2A State Runner-up at 152 in 2016 and the 1A State Runner-up at 170 in 2017 before finally breaking through and claiming the 1A 170 lb. title in 2018. Grodon Lee has had state placers since, but none that have made the top step. Will that change in 2024?