Benedictine's Nick Wright Finishes on Top

Cadet wrestler brings home state title A year ago, Nick Wright finished on his back - the last place a wrestler wants to be. Last weekend, Benedictine's 112-pounder got his reversal - and not just the two points given for a turnabout in position on the mat. Wright won his weight class and captured an individual championship by defeating Lovett's Austin Davis 6-0 in the Class AA Traditional Wrestling Tournament at the Gwinnett Arena on Saturday afternoon. As a team, Benedictine placed 10th. Cadet Jeffrey Holmes was a runner-up in the 160-pound division. Wright knows the feeling. His victory Saturday avenged a loss by pin in the 103-pound class in the title match last season. In just three years, Wright had gone from a learner to a state champion. And that's why he likes the sport. "It doesn't require you to win the genetic lottery to be good at it," Wright said. "It's on you. You work hard and you'll be rewarded by the sport." Wright's rewards came quickly. During his first year at Benedictine, he went out for the freshman football team. It didn't take long to learn that a 5-foot-5, 100-pound wide receiver wasn't going to be an impact player. Some of the upper classmen talked him into joining the wrestling team. Within two weeks, he beat out a senior starter, according to Cadets wrestling coach Joe Tvrdy. "He's natural strong and he's wiry and extremely quick," Tvrdy said. "But mostly, it's attitude with him. He just refuses to give up anything... When he's wrestling, what he wants to happen, he makes happen... He saw some of our more successful wrestlers who were state placers and decided he wanted to be more like them, and he's done everything to get there." Wright's meteoric climb stopped at the state championship match as a sophomore. He faced disappointment in his final step. "I messed up early in the match and couldn't recover from it," Wright said. Of course, he had two more years, but needed just one year to recover. His 46-4 record with 26 pins this season was punctuated with a successful weekend at the state's highest stage. "You could tell initially (losing the title as a sophomore) was devastating, but he handled it well," Tvrdy said. "He didn't sit and feel sorry for himself. He came out and worked harder... "He's quiet, but he's a leader. He was a captain as a junior, which says a lot. He has a natural ability to wrestle." Nick Wright School: Benedictine Weight class: 112 pounds Record: 46-4, 26 pins