State of the Program ... Harlem (GA)
Harlem (GA)
Head Coach: Kevin Waters (8th year at Harlem; 20 years total)
Staff: Gary Perez, Joel Gross, Corey Rector, Jean Jordan
Harlem finished 13th in 3A in 2022 … they lose their top two hammers with the graduation of Donovan Miller and Luke Rhodes (both State Placers), but return a ton of others that will look to make some noise in 2023. Harlem returns nearly their entire lineup from a year ago except for Miller and Rhodes who both made the podium. Mason Linkous and Orlando Santiago both claimed Area 4 titles last season and will be looked upon to lead the way this year. Dylan Hiller, Chance Diles, and David Stanton also return for their season seasons and that should make the middle of the Harlem lineup very tough.
Keep an eye on Braxton ross, Ryan Rector, Tahki Hale, and James Frazier down low and Cainan Thomas, Braden Wall, Marcus Wheeler, Chase Bisel, Conner McCuistian, and DaOne West up top. If Harlem is going to break into the top 10 they must have Linkous, Santiago, Hiller, Diles, and Stanton lead the way and make some noise. Harlem also boasts a quartet of freshmen that could make an impact as well. Watch for Max Maya, Josiah Steadman, and Landon Moore down low and Andrew Collins in the middle of the Harlem lineup this season.
“We have a great mix of every grade that should round out our lineup. We had a very tough, but exciting off season and the wrestlers have bought into the program and what we are trying to accomplish this season. We will be led by Dylan Hiller (12th) 165, Chance Diles (12th) 138, David Stanton (12th) 144, Orlando Santiago (12th) 156, Mason Linkous (12th) 150. They have all been in the program for at least 3 years and expect them to be great leaders on and off the mat for our team. We lost our state placers from last year, Donovan Miller (4th 126) and Luke Rhodes (5th 195), but we return 12 wrestlers from sectionals. We will be competing all over the state this year and looking to crack the top 10 in 3A.”
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.