Moore wins state wrestling title

Perhaps Jim Stoudenmire’s comments about Matt Moore’s performance summed it up best.

“He looked like a million bucks,” the AHS coach said of his state championship wrestler. “He was on top of his game. I’m not sure anyone in the building Saturday could have beaten him in his weight class. The way he was wrestling, it would have been hard pressed for anyone to beat him.”

Moore was clearly the class of Class AAAA at 220 pounds Thursday through Saturday, and for most of the season for that matter. Moore steamrolled through any competition thrown in front of him and cruised to the state championship Saturday at the Gwinnett Arena.

“He was simply so much faster than everyone else,” Stoudenmire said. “That’s what made him so tough. You don’t normally see that type of speed at his size. He made a foot sweep twice in the semifinals and his opponent didn’t know what to do. No one had a response for him. He had them on the mat before they could do anything.”

In fact, going back to area, only one opponent was not pinned by Moore. He earned a technical fall (18-2 decision) in the second round of state Friday.

His opening state tournament opponent lasted just 23 seconds before being pinned. After winning his second state match by technical fall, he pinned his semifinal opponent at the 3:22 mark.

In the finals against Miller Grove’s Jacob Mitchell, Moore took the pin and the state title at 2:39.

Going into state, Moore said he felt confident he could perform well, but received some wise advice.

“My dad told me to always stay calm,” Moore said. “I felt like I had a chance to do well, but you can’t overlook anyone at this level. The place was packed. I’ve never wrestled in front of that many people. My goal was to always stay calm.”

Neither the crowd size or the skill of any opponent could stop Moore, however.

“My goal was to simply wrestle like I always do and see what happened,” the sophomore said. “I am still excited about it. You know going into state you will always face great opponents.”

Having already earned two state medals in his first two years of high school, Moore has a chance to do something few wrestlers do — medal all four years.

“He’s one of those who has a real shot at doing it,” Stoudenmire said. “It’s something you often don’t see with bigger wrestlers. Normally it happens in the smaller weight classes because they can outskill you. However, sometimes you get real monsters who do well. Matt has the strength of both smaller and larger wrestlers. He has the skill, size and speed. He is just a great athlete. He knows wrestling and is a warrior on the mat.”

Moore is the second Mat Wildcat state champion Stoudenmire has coached joining Eric Sheppard from 2010. The sophomore said he is already looking forward to next season when he will attempt to win a second state championship in as many seasons.