‘A long way to go.’ After its best-ever finish, Harris Co. wrestling has more work to do.
A cold chill filled the air inside the gym as Harris County’s wrestling team began final preparations for the weekend’s championships. There was not much insulation inside the worn-down gym at Harris County’s Community Learning Center, which was covered entirely in black and blue mats.
Head wrestling coach Alex Moore, the Ledger-Enquirer’s All-Bi-City wrestling Coach of the Year, barked a few last-minute instructions to the team before practice started and the team of more than 20 boys and girls started jogging across floor.
Harris County wrestling is on the upswing. Its fifth-place in the Georgia High School Association team wrestling duals last week was its best finish in program history. But his team still has improvements to make, Moore said.
“We’ve gotten better every year. We’ve qualified for state duals the past four years,” Moore said. “We’re trying to continue our program into the next level, and we hope to continue that in the years to come.”
Harris County wrestling puts in a ‘crazy amount of work’
Moore took over as Harris County’s wrestling coach six years ago and was tasked with rebuilding the program, which had never made state duals before.
The improvement since has been fast. Tigers junior Tucker Kinsaul credits much of the team’s success to the coaching. He said Moore, who also serves as the defensive coordinator for Harris County’s football team, always tries to get the right wrestlers in the most suitable weight classes, in order to create the most favorable matchups.
That might require an individual losing two pounds or gaining as much as 10 pounds.
“Stuff like that really helps our team as a whole,” Kinsaul said.
The Tigers made state duals for the first time in 2016 and have made the championship tournament every year since. They have improved each year — first winning one match in each of its first two appearances, then two matches, and finally three in 2020.
Moore said he encourages his athletes to play a second sport. Most individuals on the team, especially those in the starting lineup, wrestle year-round, competing in various off-season events.
“It takes a crazy amount of work,” Kinsaul said. “Coming in here and practicing every day. All of us practice on our own, outside of just in here. As a team, we really have to believe in one another and help each other get better.”
Making strides
The city wrestling championships, which begin Saturday at 9 a.m. at Columbus High, will give the Tigers another chance to make strides.
Moore helped seven Harris County wrestlers qualify for the individual state tournament last year. Harris County was the local team with the most wrestlers who finished in their weight class’ top four at last year’s state tournament. Since Moore took over as coach, the program has grown from six wrestlers to more than 50.
Kinsaul and sophomores Oran Decker and Garrett Wood each went undefeated (5-0) in state duals.
Harris County won the team title during the 2019 city wrestling championships. It was only the second time in the event’s 24-year history that the Tigers finished first. The other time was in 2013.
Moore told the Ledger-Enquirer during 2019 All-Bi-City selections that the Tigers’ goals for 2020 included winning their area championship (different from the city wrestling championships) and place as a team at state duals. They finished as runners-up in area 1-5A.
“We still have a long way to go,” Moore said. “We’ve got to catch the Woodlands, the Cartersvilles and the Bufords,” Moore said. “Those schools are doing the exact same thing we’re doing: Their kids train year-round. In order to grow, we’ve got to get more kids involved. ... We’ve got to continue to have dedicated kids like we have right now.”
