State of the Program ... Athens (AL)
Athens (AL)
Head Coach: Andrew Campbell (entering 17th year)
Staff: Chris Mitchell, Lee Schwann, Taylor Dill
Athens finished 16th in a combined 5A-6A a year ago … and with the split of the two classifications - Athens should be in the hunt for a top 10 finish in 6A in 2023. The Golden Eagles lose 2022 State Placer Andrew Maxwell and State Qualifier Omari Clay, but return a solid group that features State Champion Will Anderson and State Qualifier Jaxon Unger. Anderson and Unger are both still very young, but provide a really good 1-2 punch for the Golden Eagles at 120 and 126. Anderson and Unger should lead the way, but Athens is far from a two-man team. Look for Gunner Birdsong to push his way onto the podium as well in 2023.
If the Golden Eagles are going to climb into the top 10 they will look to Isaiah Unger, Zack Mitchell, Spencer Dowland, Drake Craig, Seth Henry, and Ethan Graham to make some noise. Unger and company will be the difference between Athens challenging the big dogs in 6A or not. Two others that will look to break into the lineup and make a run are Kentucky transfer Dylan Miller and upcoming 8th grader Austin Campbell. Lakin Poff and Cam Fletcher will look to join Craig, Unger, and Anderson is locking down the bottom part of the Golden Eagle lineup. Jake Navarro will look to step in at 220. The strength of the Golden Eagles is down low … especially from 120-145/152 - how well they do in the end might come down to how well they wrestle up top.
“We are very excited about this upcoming season. We still have some young guys, but with that we have more years total experience on this team than we have had in the past 4 yrs. We are returning 5 state qualifiers and 2 state placers.”
NOTE: All mentions of placers and qualifiers in the body are based on the 2021-22 season. If a wrestler placed higher or lower in a previous year it is not captured above.