Macon is twice as nice for Ridgeland
Henderson wins second championship, Mariakis collects first at state finals
Not many wrestlers wouldn’t blink when faced with the prospect of having to face a defending state champion from a powerhouse program like Jefferson.
However, Chris Henderson isn’t like many wrestlers.
And on Saturday night in the Macon Coliseum, he proved there was no other wrestler like him in the 220-pound division of Class AAAA.
The Ridgeland senior wrapped up a stellar prep wrestling career with a second straight state championship after beating Nick Holman, 5-3, in the finals. Holman won the 285-pound title for the Dragons last season when they were still a member of Class AAA.
“We’ve been preparing for this since the beginning of the season, ever since we knew Jefferson was moving up to Class AAAA,” said Henderson, who placed fifth at 285 as a freshman and was state runner-up at 220 as a sophomore. “It’s not a bad way to end (a high school career). It took a lot of hard work and dedication.
“I’m just so happy God gave me another chance to come back out here and glorify Him a second time. It’s amazing. I’m just glad to be able to serve him in each and every way.”
Henderson opening the state tournament with a pin of Hephzibah’s Eddie Mays in his first bout, he decisioned DeShaun Baker of Druid Hills in the quarterfinals, 9-5, before a 6-4 win in Friday’s semifinals against last year’s state runner-up, Lazavier Moore of Upson-Lee.
After a scoreless opening period Saturday night,
Henderson got an escape early in the second and carried the 1-0 lead into the final two-minute session.
However, Henderson chose to start the third period in the neutral position, voluntarily giving Holman the escape point. The Panther standout scored an early takedown, but immediately let Holman get back to his feet as the escape cut Henderson’s lead to 3-2.
But the defending champ took down Holman one final time with 37 seconds to go and rode out most of the rest of the period before letting Holman back up in the final seconds.
Head coach Keith Mariakis said the strategy was by design.
“We had seen that kid a couple of times before at different places and Chris even told us a week ago that if he was lucky enough to wrestle (Holman) in the finals, that he didn’t want to be on top. He’s too good and he could catch Chris on bottom with a roll.
“(Jefferson) had a good game plan. They tied us up whenever we got in close. But as the match went on, we felt like something would open up and that turned out to be Chris’s snaps. People just don’t realize how strong he is. He can snap you down and then he’s so quick he can get behind you for takedowns, which is what he did.”
Henderson, who finished the year with a 59-1 record, is believed to be only the second multi-time state champion at Ridgeland, behind former threetime state champion Jacob Harris.
“(Assistant coach) Josh (Mariakis) does a lot of the work with Chris in practice,” the coach added. “I have to give credit to him because I certainly don’t want any part of Chris in the practice room.”