Sonoraville’s Hunt has busy summer competing, improving
While many of his classmates were probably on vacation, having fun or relaxing during their summer vacation, Sonoraville junior Tyler Hunt was most likely either on a mat, in a gym or working out and grinding to become a better wrestler. But that’s just a lifestyle to him.
Hunt, who has won back-to-back state titles in his weight class during his first two seasons of high school wrestling, isn’t one to rest on his accomplishments or feel as if he’s good enough to slack off. Instead, he used much of his summer break wrestling all over the country in hopes of getting even better and help him reach his dream of one day wrestling on the international level. He said wrestling has been one of the biggest parts of his life for almost 10 years now and he has no ideas of stopping any time soon.
“I’ve been wrestling since I was seven years old,” said Hunt. “After God, family and school, it’s right below that on my priorities. It really is a lifestyle. And that doesn’t mean I can’t have a life outside of that or go have fun doing other things when I want to sometimes. But I’m always thinking about it and how I can get better. Whether I’m at practice with the team or doing footwork at home or running two miles every day or climbing up and down a 20-foot rope, I’m working at it every day.”
That work was evident over the summer as Hunt competed in several different tournaments all over the country either individually or as part of Team Georgia. He began his summer wrestling tour by competing in the UWW Cadet Nationals in Akron, Ohio the first week of June where he wrestled against some of the top competitors in his weight class in the U.S., many of which were older and more experienced.
Hunt followed that up by traveling to Tulsa, Okla. In mid-June to compete as part of Team Georgia in the Junior National Duals. The team finished in third place in the Bronze Pool, and Hunt lost just four matches in the tournament.
The summer wrapped up for him with a trip to Fargo, N.D. to wrestle in the U.S. Marine Corps Cadet and Junior Nationals from July 14-22.
“It’s really fun and a blessing that I get to go out and compete and get better by wrestling in these tournaments all over the place,” said Hunt. “I know a lot of the kids and have grown up with them wrestling in these big tournaments. It was an awesome experience. It teaches you a lot about wrestling but also life lessons.
“As far as wrestling, it really showed me what I need to get better at. I definitely need to work on my speed, timing and footwork. It also showed me that I need to keep my head no matter what. You’ve got to stay focused no matter what happens. And you have to do all that extra stuff to compete on that level. It really is a lifestyle. You’ve got to be thinking every day how to get better.”
Hunt and his younger brother, Cole, an eighth-grader at Red Bud Middle, have known wrestling almost their entire lives and much of that passion for the sport comes from their father Greg, who was a former wrestler and helps coach and train both of his sons. Tyler said their household is very competitive, including he and his brother always trying to show who the best is.
“We’re every day trying to prove who is better,” said Hunt. “That just pushes both of us. We’re very competitive. Just the other day, Cole was talking about how he was going to run two miles faster than me, and I beat him. I’m a little older and bigger, but I still like to compete with him.”
Tyler is now beginning his junior year at Sonoraville and his goal is to finish out his high school career with four individual state titles in four years, a very exclusive club in Georgia high school wrestling history. He said he has already been to camps at colleges and has talked to some colleges about wrestling on the next level. He expects the recruiting process to pick up now that he is a junior.
Hunt also said he wanted to thank his local sponsors that help him travel and compete in the different tournaments he does. Those include: Mathews and Parlo, Gravitt Farm Supply, Brown Industries, Starr-Matthews, Kids World Carpet and Jimmy Frazier.