Gilmer High’s girls wrestling program has continued to flourish as the sport grows in Georgia.
GHS made plenty of noise last season and finished among the state’s best.
Competing against teams from all classifications, GHS placed third in the first-ever duals state tournament. At traditional state, Gilmer’s grapplers finished tied for second, and Taylor Schiesser became the school’s second individual girls state champion.
The boys and girls teams will operate independently this season, and Stacy Galloway will continue to lead the program.
“I’m really excited to officially take over as head coach for the girls team this year,” Galloway said. “We have recruited hard and have about 30 girls on the team. I would love to add one or two more at a couple different weight classes, but the group we have is working really hard and improving every day.
“It is going to be an amazing year for Gilmer girls wrestling.”
Gilmer has lofty goals this season, and Galloway hopes that a growing roster will allow them to make up for lost ground last season.
“Our ultimate goal is to win state in both duals and traditional,” he said. “At state duals last year, we were giving up 18 points in forfeits. We lost by four points in the semifinals, so just being able to field a full roster this year will greatly increase our chances of success in the postseason.
“At traditional state, we finished tied for second with Carrollton, who graduated two of their state placers, while we return all of ours.”
Galloway noted that Schiesser is recovering from an injury and will be ready to take the mat in the coming weeks. Joining her as returning state placers are Leticia Tercero (fourth), and fifth-place finishers Sarai Solis and Linda Tercero. Josephine Royer also qualified for state but fell shy of placing.
Veteran wrestlers Carmelina Tercero and Felisha Yarbourgh return as well and are expected to push for state qualifying berths. Galloway said first-year wrestlers Salma Gonzalez, Amayah Jones and Abelinda Tercero are making plenty of headway.
“Gonzalez and Jones are both looking great thus far. They are very athletic and strong,” Galloway said. “I can see both of them continuing to progress and make a run at state. Freshman Abelinda Tercero (sister to Linda and Leticia) is another one that could make a run to qualify for state. She can go toe-to-toe with her sisters already. I definitely see her making an impact for our team this season.”
If Galloway is accurate with his projections and predictions, their remaining seasonal goal will take care of itself.
“We want to qualify more girls for state this year, and then ultimately have more state placers as well,” Galloway said. “We have a lot of new wrestlers that are working really hard every day along with the core group from last year. If we can stay healthy and keep working hard then we can achieve our goals.
“Of course, Carrollton, Greenbrier, Lumpkin County, Woodward Academy and many others are all working equally as hard.”
GHS takes second
Gilmer began its season with a runner-up finish.
GHS was in Jefferson for the Girls Kickoff Scuffle and came away with seven placers including champion Josephine Royer.
“We were missing two of our returning state placers, but we still were able to place second out of 15 teams,” Galloway explained. “All of our first-year wrestlers did well in their first tournament of the year. Each of them did a lot of great things during their matches, and most could identify areas in which they needed to improve.”
Gilmer’s Leticia Tercero and Carmelina Tercero advanced to the finals as well and placed second. Both Abelinda Tercero and Amayah Jones finished third, while Salma Gonzalez and Felisha Yarborough claimed fourth.
“I’m really excited about the wrestling I saw out of this group this weekend. They are tough and determined. We will keep working hard every week in practice and the goal is for everyone to show improvement from week to week and to have everyone ready to battle in the post season,” said Galloway.
GHS travels to Campbell High School Saturday and will be at Putnam High, Tuesday, Nov. 22.