John Gaines will make the short trek to Cleveland this fall to continue his athletic and academic exploits.
The 2020 Gilmer High School graduate fielded three scholarship offers. Gaines selected Truett McConnell University over Brewton Parker University and the University of the Ozarks (Ark.) and will wrestle for the Bears.
For Gaines, Truett appears to be the perfect fit.
“What stuck out the most was how close Truett is to home and how they treated me when I visited,” he said.
“It being faith-based around the Christian faith just really poked at me and made me really want to go there because I’m a big Christian myself. Seeing them praise the Lord the few hours I was there, I just thought, ‘this is the one.’”
Gaines visited Truett and got to check out the wrestling facilities, locker room and dorms. He was unable to visit any academic buildings as class was in session during his tour.
Unlike most student athletes who continue to play sports at the collegiate level, Gaines did not make his mark wrestling for GHS. His Gilmer career was brief and he instead opted for the USA Wrestling route and joined local clubs.
“I wrestled at Gilmer High as a freshman for the Sniders (Sam and Josh),” Gaines said. “I wrestled a portion of my 10th grade year, but didn’t wrestle any at Gilmer High my 11th grade year. I started to wrestle my 12th grade year but then got a patella injury that set me back. Other than that, I’ve been doing USA Wrestling since eighth grade.”
USA Wrestling holds freestyle and Greco-Roman tournaments while sanctioned high school and collegiate events are folkstyle. Gaines believes the exposure served him well.
“USA Wrestling helped me tremendously because I got to meet new coaches and work with a lot of new people including Atlanta Wrestling Academy and 706 Wrestling up in Dawsonville,” he said. “I got to work with them, and they treated me really well and we got along.
“They helped me with my wrestling because freestyle and Greco are different than folkstyle. In freestyle, you can throw and touch the legs, but in Greco you can’t touch the legs. It taught me a lot about my awareness and my elusiveness on the mat and where I should be.”
Between the three disciplines, Gaines prefers freestyle.
“I really like freestyle because you get to really work on yourself and do a lot of different things you can’t with Greco and folkstyle,” he said. “You can pick guys up and slam them and it just helps tremendously.”
Over the last five seasons, Gaines secured numerous top-eight placements and finished as high as third at multiple tournaments. He pointed to an event from March of last year when asked about one of his best matches.
“One moment that really stuck out to me was a tournament where I was having a bad day,” he said. “I was 0-2 in the round robin bracket. I prayed to the Lord and asked for strength just this one time.
“I got out on the mat and I picked up the guy and slammed him. Then I slammed him again and rolled him and won that match, 10-0. I was so blessed. I thank the Lord for that, and without him I wouldn’t have had that opportunity.”
Over the course of his USA Wrestling career, Gaines met two wrestlers who are currently on Truett’s roster. He believes that will ease the transition to a new team.
“The bonding is really important,” he said. “If you can’t bond with your teammates and coaches, and can’t get along, it really takes a toll and makes it a struggle. At Truett, I get along with the coaches and the wrestlers and that bonding experience is really important in the process.”
At Truett, Gaines said he will wrestle “somewhere between 141 and 149” pounds. He is currently in that range and pleased with that projection. In the classroom, Gaines plans to study education.
“I picked middle-grade education as my major,” he said. “I really like being in the classroom and helping young students because they are our future. I also want to be a wrestling coach, so working at a middle school will give me that opportunity. I want to do what I can for everybody.”
When asked who has influenced and encouraged him over the years, Gaines said, “My sister Anna Gentry has helped me a lot. She’s brought me to tournaments when I couldn’t make it and helped me pay to get in some of them. Mike Owens and Mikey Owens, the father and son duo, have helped me out a lot. The Lord has taught me a lot as well. When other people weren’t there for me, he always was.”
Gaines will report to campus in late summer and the wrestling season will begin in October.
“I’m really looking forward to getting my degree and taking my time instead of trying to rush through it,” he said. “I’m looking forward to traveling and going to tournaments and wrestling for new coaches with new teammates. I’m looking into buying in and praising the Lord along the way.”
Truett is a private Baptist university and competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as a members of the Appalachian Athletic Conference.