Macon thrice as nice for Mariakis

The past three years have seen Jacob Mariakis’ final wrestling match come down to the wire.

As a freshman, he dropped a narrow one-point decision in the state finals, but rebounded with close victories as both a sophomore and as a junior.

Saturday, back at the Macon Coliseum, Mariakis went out in style.

Free of the shoulder issues that had hampered him during his previous two championship runs, Mariakis became just the second wrestler in Ridgeland High School history the win three state titles as he dominated Woodward Academy’s Malachi Wylie, 13-1, in the Class 4A 152-pound final.

“This is awesome and amazing and God has really blessed me,” Mariakis said. “It was a lot less stressful this year without having an injury to worry about. It was nice just to be able to wrestle instead of worrying about something that was beyond my control.”

Mariakis finally got rolling late in the first period as a takedown and a two-point nearfall allowed him to enjoy a 4-0 advantage after the first two minutes.

“We knew (Woodward Academy) would try to have a good game plan against Jacob,” Ridgeland head coach Keith Mariakis said. “We figured they would come after him early and they did. Jacob got a good toss in on the kid, but they ended up out of bounds. Still, it kind of slowed (Wiley) down and Jacob used it to set up a shot. He was able to get the takedown and the two back points on a tilt and things just opened up from there.”

Another takedown early in the second period would add to the lead and another nearfall late in the period would increase his lead to 9-1. Mariakis would score another three-point nearfall 45 seconds into the final period and added one final point late as Wiley was penalized for his second stalling call of the match.

Wiley’s only point came midway through the second period after a second stalling call against Mariakis. It was the only point he allowed in four matches in the tournament as he also recorded two first-period pins and a 15-0 technical fall in his four bouts.

The victory gave Mariakis a 50-1 record on the season and a 149-5 mark for his stellar career. He also tied former Panther great Jacob Harris as the only three-time Ridgeland state champion. Harris currently coaches at nearby Saddle Ridge Middle School.

“I’ve always known about Coach Harris,” Mariakis said. “I knew he was the only three-time champion at Ridgeland and I really wanted to

get my name up there with his. It’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a long time and it was a great way to go out.”

Mariakis added that he wanted to thank his entire family for their support, especially his mother, Angie.

Overall, Ridgeland put four kids on the podium, all of whom are seniors.

Dylan Swanson (160) scored three takedowns in the first period against West Laurens’ Dre Bonner in the finals, but Bonner would come storming back with three twopoint nearfalls in the second period before going on to score a 14-11 victory. Swanson’s second-place finish was his best-ever showing at state.

Chris Prescott (120), who lost his only match of the week in the championship semifinals, came charging back to get third place in his weight class, while Jordan Hughley (138), who also fell in the championship semis on Friday, ended up fourth at 138 pounds. Aiden Raymer (132) and Tommy Lamb (220) also competed and scored points for Ridgeland, who finished in sixth place in the Class 4A team standings.

“It was a real team effort,” Coach Mariakis said. “Everybody scored for us and sixth place isn’t bad at all. Plus, it was a really good way for these seniors to go out. This class finished higher in the state duals than any other Ridgeland team in history and now they have finished higher in the state traditional tournament than any other Ridgeland team in history. They also had more kids on the podium than any Ridgeland team in history.

“The entire team did well all year, but I’m especially proud of all four of those seniors. They did a lot of good things while they were here and they set the bar very high. They meant a lot to us as a coaching staff.”