Wewa grapplers tough it out
This isn’t the gimmickry and theatrics and flamboyance of World Wrestling Entertainment.
This is the real thing, the nitty gritty of one of the most strenuous of all high school sports, and there’s no better example of it than at Wewahitchka High School, where coach Tracy Malcolm oversees a wrestling program that has enabled both young ladies and gents to burnish a statewide reputation.
That reputation will be on full display this weekend when 24 boys teams from as far as Coral Springs, Jacksonville and Alabama and Georgia will be grappling on the mats in Wewa.
Slated to attend are Arnold, Bay, Bozeman, Choctawhatchee, Crestview, Liberty County, Marianna, Middleburg, Milton, Mosley, North Bay Haven, Ridgeview, Rocky Bayou, Rutherford, South Walton, Tate, Wakulla, plus Dothan, Alabama, Episcopal of Jacksonville, Coral Springs Charter School and Piedmont Academy in Georgia.
The Wewa team has a solid chance of doing well, after posting some impressive numbers so far this year.
Senior Jake Parker, who wrestles in the 132-pound class, has so far this season posted a record of 38-7, and over the last two years has tallied a record of 75-27, with 39 pins and 12 by technical falls.
His record has been impressive, with all eyes this weekend on what could be a rematch against Liberty County’s Jay Brown, who won a 4-3 decision last month over Parker.
Also standing out is junior Tyler Johnson, who has posted a record of 32-7 while wrestling either at 133 or 120. He could be facing a rematch against North Bay Haven’s Koa DeLoach, who won by a technical fall in their first meeting last month.
If you want to see some massive talent, keep your eyes on sophomore Calvin Ross, who wrestles at 285 pounds. Ross is 38-6 so far this season and could sail through the competition barring any surprises.
Junior Chris Johnson, who wrestles at 144, is 23-13 so far this season. He’ll be facing some new faces on some of these distant squads and plans to show what he can do.
Junior James Hardy, 14-10 at 215 pounds so far, and sophomore Luke Bryan, at 16-18 wrestling 175. He’ll be looking to show his stuff against South Walton’s Gibson Moore, North Bay Haven’s William Lundgren, Choctawhatchee’s Tegan Jeter and Marianna’s Roy Hughes, who have downed him this season as he comes into his own.
The wrestlers
The following is a list of wrestlers, and their weight classes, with the Wewahitchka High School team, under the direction of coach Tracy Malcom.
Girls
00 seventh grader Adalynn Knowles
125 sophomore Kameron Easter
140 junior Avery Forehand
145 eighth grade Layla Everett
235 sophomore Kyndall Patterson
Boys
106 PSJ seventh grader Reef Davis
106 sixth grader Tucker Easter (JV)
113 junior Tyler Johnson
126 freshman Xavier Devine
132 senior Jake Parker
138 PSJ eight grader Jonathan Lindsey
144 junior Chris Johnson
150 sophomore Wesley Spencer
157 freshman Levi Adkison
175 sophomore Luke Bryan
190/215 junior James Hardy
215/285 sophomore Calvin Ross
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.