All-American Tony Olea is one of three Gilmer High School alumni who is set to continue their academic and wrestling careers at the next level.
Olea graduated from GHS last month, and he selected Emmanuel College as his next destination earlier in the spring. He also fielded interest from Luther College in Iowa and Virginia’s Roanoke College.
EC met the right criteria for Olea, as he noted, “Emmanuel is close to home, and I went and met with the coaches, and they seemed like they were really nice guys. I liked their wrestling facility and the wrestlers I met on my visit. They all seemed accepting, and it felt like a good atmosphere.
“I also visited some of the exercise and life science classrooms. I spoke to some of the athletic trainers and they talked about how good the physical therapy program is. With the size of the school, I feel like I’ll have more one-on-one time with professors, and that will help me out a lot.”
Physical therapy will be Olea’s area of study. He discussed what appeals to him about it and who helped him along the way to this point of his journey.
“Being injured a good bit during my high school career, I got to be in that environment with (physical therapist) Larry (Bryant) and (athletic trainer Justin) Poff. I liked it and find it interesting.
“Coach Ghobadpoor told me back during my sophomore year I had to step up and be the guy the next two years. He kept bragging on me about how I’ve made physical changes, and he’s kind of been like a father. I’ve been around him a lot and he’s influenced me.”
Wrestling was not Olea’s first sport, and he initially took the mat once he was in seventh grade at Clear Creek Middle School. His wrestling experience started the way many did at the prodding of a former coach.
“I was playing football, and coach Walt Monroe said, ‘Hey, you’re big, you should come out and wrestle.’ Ever since then, I tried it out, liked it and fell in love with it.
“Back then, I was very unathletic. Coach Monroe pushed me and worked with me a lot. I was new to sports and he really motivated me. After each match, he’d tell me what I did right and how I could keep on improving. He was very supportive all the way through.”
While Olea was still perfecting his craft in those early years, wrestling beyond high school was always on his mind. Following Monroe’s tutelage, he wrestled for Ghobadpoor at GHS.
“During my freshman year, I got to wrestle some varsity,” Olea said. “I wasn’t the best and lost a lot of matches, but I realized that it was something I wanted to continue to do throughout my life. Plus, I’ve always thought playing a sport in college would be pretty cool.”
His college wrestling aspirations were reaffirmed during national tournaments outside of the high school season. As a junior, Olea placed 2nd at the Nuway Nationals Winter Throne in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to earn his All-American distinction.
He attended the National High School Coaches Association’s Senior Nationals the next year, and while he fell just shy of becoming an All-American for a second time, he posted a 2-2 record and faced some upper-echelon competition.
“I went to the NHSCA tournament in Virginia and wrestled the No. 17 kid in the country,” he said. “I lost 8-1, and that really boosted my confidence to let me know I could be pretty good at the next level.
“I got to wrestle some of the toughest kids in the country. It wasn’t easy, and I didn’t win every match. It was challenging and definitely made me a lot better.”
Olea was part of plenty of success during his time at GHS. The Bobcats captured four area traditional and four area duals championships. At the state level, Gilmer was dual runners-up four consecutive times.
The Bobcats also turned in a trio of top-three placements at the traditional state tournament. However, GHS added its 18 state title when it won the traditional tournament Olea’s senior year.
Individually, Olea won area championships at heavyweight as a junior and senior. He missed placing at state as a junior, which fueled him to rededicate himself in the weight room. He secured third place to conclude his GHS career.
“What pushed me to strive for success my senior year was my junior year. I thought I was going to place and came up short by a lot. That upset me and drove me to be better and work hard,” he said.
“Winning the team traditional title felt great. I wish we could’ve come through at duals. I lost a tough match to Jace (Davis of Rockmart). It definitely felt amazing to finally get one.”
Olea noted he will probably take the mat at either heavyweight or 197 pounds at Emmanuel. His weight was around 220 in May, and he discussed his thoughts on those projections.
“With either or, I’ll have to gain or lose weight,” Olea said. “I’m willing to do whatever will help the team out. They’re losing their 197 and of course are getting (Olea’s former GHS teammate) Owen (Moss), and they had two heavyweights who were freshmen this past year.
“Getting to continue to wrestle with Owen is a great thing because we’re really close.”
Olea will make his way to Emmanuel’s Franklin Springs campus to enroll in the fall. The Lions compete in the NCAA’s Division II as members of Conference Carolinas.