Optimist-Outlook 2/12/09

By Don Jones
Marianna Optimist Club Activities
"Why Are Bull Pups Not Becoming Bulldogs!"

Adam Gray, Marianna High School’s Head Coach, and Nicole Thoreson, a Member of Florida’s Amateur Wrestling Association’s, "Team Dynamic," are doing their best to promote amateur wrestling in Jackson County Schools. Coach Gray was last week’s Optimist breakfast meeting guest speaker.
Coach Gray hails from Madison, Florida, where he coached high school football for a number of years. He recently accepted the head coach position at Marianna High School; and shortly afterwards, the wrestling coach position, although, he had no wrestling experience. Fortunately, his assistant wrestling coach, Ron Thoreson, has enough wrestling experience for them both. By working together, Coach Gray and Coach Thoreson have quickly begun to rebuild Marianna High School’s wrestling team from a three member team, last year, to a seven member team this year, including one female wrestler.
On December 6th, of this season, M.H.S. managed to hold their own at the Wakulla High School’s Wrestling Meet, and Sports Editor, Clint Cox, of the Jackson County Times, had this to say [The wrestlers experienced some landmark moments for the season, even with two wrestlers, Josh Kornegay and Jacob Kornegay, sidelined with illnesses and injuries. In a never-before-seen match in the panhandle, Junior Allison Hutton wrestled another female wrestler from Lincoln High School at 112 lbs. The match had the entire crowd’s attention. "No one can remember another match in our area that had two female wrestlers," commented volunteer coach Ron Thoreson. "It really shows how wrestling is growing in popularity.]
Coach Gray pointed out that Allison is second year varsity, and the only female on the team. As the only girl, she must practice against male wrestlers in her weight class in order to compete. When the coach asked where she got the courage to stay another year? She said, "I love the sport, and I just want to prove that girls can wrestle, too!" Coach Gray said, "Not only are their too few girls going out for the sport of wrestling, there are too few boys, as well.
Out of more than 800 students at Marianna High, there are only seven participating students on the varsity wrestling team this year. It’s not, just, the wrestling team that’s suffering for lack of participation; this year, the varsity football team has six players who’ve never played the sport before." Also, he wondered, "Why didn’t many of the Marianna Middle School students, who participated in football last year, go out for football when they got to Marianna High School, this year? Overall, there are not enough students going out for sports of any kind. We need to get kids more interested in sports at the Middle Schools; it’s too late by the time they get to high school," he said.