The Yellow Jackets had wrestling at two different times during the history of their athletics. They began wrestling in the 1947-1948 season & then dropped it for a period of time before reinstating the program in the 1963-1964 season. Georgia Tech would then drop wrestling again after the 1988-1989 season.
As to who the Yellow Jackets best wrestler was? Most agree on one name
 |
| James Pond |
A native of Atlanta, James Pond won Georgia state titles wrestling for the now defunct North Fulton High school. He originally went to Oklahoma to wrestle for the Sooners but came back to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech for a number of reasons. One, because of Georgia Tech's phenomenal engineering program. Two, to be closer to home. Three, because the Yellow Jackets had recently reinstated their wrestling program.
Pond would win multiple SEIWA titles & help the Yellow Jackets to their only team SEIWA championship in 1966. In the same season, Pond became Georgia Tech's only All American with a sixth place finish at the NCAA championships.
Later Pond taught at both Simon Fraser in Canada and Oregon State. He became the head of the Oregon chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & as the Director of Mentor Graphics a multi-million dollar company, Pond to this day is a huge supporter of Oregon State Beaver wrestling.
No comments:
Post a Comment