Thomas Glanton is the new man in charge of the Clear Creek Middle School wrestling program.
Glanton, 38, is a 14-year educator and has also spent that time coaching football and wrestling in various districts.
‘“I’ve coached football and wrestling at the youth, middle school and high school levels and taught at the elementary, middle school and high school levels,” he said. “Growing up, I wrestled and played football and baseball. My favorite sport was wrestling.”
Glanton graduated from Monroe Area High School in 2001. He started teaching and coaching in Barrow County where he spent seven years. He moved on to Hart County High School where he was the wresting head coach for five years and also started its youth program.
His latest stop and position before arriving in Ellijay was at Franklin County High School as an assistant.
He discussed his reasons for coming to CCMS to lead the Bobcats.
“I grew up wrestling against Gilmer and have coached against Gilmer,” Glanton said. “It’s a strong tradition with a supportive administration and supportive community. There is a long-standing tradition here of kids buying in, coming to practice every day and working hard. In the wrestling world, everyone knows Gilmer County.
“Nobody is (former CCMS) coach (Walt) Monroe and there is going to be a learning process. But I feel like I can jump in and keep the train moving forward, keep the numbers up and send (GHS) coach (Josh) Ghobadpoor some hardworking, tough wrestlers.”
Clear Creek has 40 wrestles on its roster, which include 32 boys and eight girls. COVID-19 kept them off the mat over the summer, but they were able to meet for preseason conditioning as the season approached.
“We conditioned twice a week and worked on their cardio,” Glanton said. “We ran a mile every Tuesday and worked on some strength and conditioning in the weight room. We did a lot of footwork and stuff we could do to get these guys ready for the season. We have a lot of first-year guys, but they’ve been working hard.
“We have a herd of kids around 105 and 115 pounds. We have a lot of smaller guys but not as many bigger guys as I’d like to have. One of our goals for next season is to get some bigger kids.”
Glanton will be assisted by Cole Farist.
Season opens
Clear Creek kicked off its league schedule last Tuesday in Union County.
The Bobcats earned bonus points in all 10 wins via pin and rolled through the Panthers, 60-36.
CCMS winners included Carter Ortiz (86 pounds), Chester Harrison (110), Kade Miller (125), Letticia Tercero (139), Issac Shorter (147), Trace Morton (165), Chris Madden (180), Tomas Tecero (210) and Attalin Chastain (275).
“It was good to get out and wrestle,” Glanton said. “The kids worked hard, and our first-year kids made some first-year mistakes. The guys who have been out for awhile wrestled tough.
“We didn’t make mistakes across the board, and hopefully we can fine-tune those. If we can avoid making some of those mistakes, we’ll do a whole lot better.”