Tallassee wrestler Thomas Patterson came home as a Greco All-American national champion last weekend, going 8-0 throughout the tournament. Wrestling takes major grit, time, effort and passion so this win means a lot for Tallassee wrestling and Patterson.
Patterson has been wrestling since he was 5 or 6 years old. When he started, something just clicked for him. Now, he’s an Alabama state champion, a national All-American and only a junior in high school.
“I think the grit you have to have is one thing (about wrestling),” Patterson said. “Like if you’re not in the gym constantly working, and if you’re not putting in the work outside of wrestling, like eating right, you’re not going to be able to perform at the high level that you want to.”
Patterson’s made lots of memories wrestling for about 10 years now, but his favorite one is still that state championship.
“I think it was a long, long time coming,” he said. “I definitely worked for it. A team memory that I really enjoyed was winning Dual team state and traditional state with (Tallassee) this year. I think that our team, as hard as we worked this year, we deserved it and it was really a memorable moment for me.”
According to Patterson, there is no other feeling like getting up off the wrestling mat, knowing that you just won an individual state championship.
“Getting up off the mat and celebrating, looking over and seeing my whole team on the side of the wall just cheering me on,” he said. “The celebration hit me and I hugged Coach Mask. I remember how loud it got in there from everybody cheering.”
This weekend, Patterson brought home another All-American title at the AAU Scholastic Duals, going 9-2 in that tournament.
“(The last match) was probably the best match I wrestled the whole entire tournament,” he said. “It was a kid from Ohio, a state champion, really good wrestler. I just went out there (and my coaches) were like, ‘You deserve this, you need this. Let’s go get your name on the board.’ And I went out there and completely demolished them. Destroyed them.”
Patterson is on track to be one of the best wrestlers to come out of Tallassee’s program, coached by John Mask. Only time will tell, but Patterson has the grit and the passion to do it without a doubt.