MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. - The University of Mount Olive wrestling program and head coach Jake Patacsil are excited to begin unveiling the inaugural class for the new Trojan wrestling team. Over the next couple of weeks, Coach Patacsil and the Athletics Communications office will introduce the incoming grapplers who will begin competing in the 2019-20 school year.
The first edition of Meet the Trojans introduces the following group of young men; Jeffery Thomas, Easton Griffin, Micah Dixon, and Nickolas Richardson.
The first grappler is Jeffery Thomas from Saint Paris, Ohio. Thomas wrestled at Saint Paris Graham high school where he was a three-time state placer in the 140-pound weight class. During his freshman season, Thomas was the Ohio State runner-up and he finished third as a sophomore. Thomas sustained an injury that kept him off the mat as a junior but he bounced back to stand atop the podium as the state champion as a senior this year.
Next is Easton Griffin, a 160-pound wrestler from West Caldwell high school in Lenior, N.C. During his high school career, Griffin was a two-time state qualifier, a regional runner-up, a three-time all-conference and all-county. Capping his senior year, Griffin placed fifth at the state championship meet. Additionally, Griffin is an honors graduate student at West Caldwell and he plans to major in agricultural education when he starts at UMO.
Our next wrestler comes to Mount Olive from Morehead City, N.C. Micah Dixon is a 180-pound grappler that competed at West Carteret high school. Dixon is a state placer, regional and conference champion was named wrestler of the year as well as the top wrestling athlete in his county. The honor roll student plans on majoring in exercise science when he begins at Mount Olive next semester.
Nickolas Richardson is the final grappler in this week's edition of Meet the Trojans. Richardson is a native of New Britain, Conn., where he attends New Britain high school. While competing for the Hurricanes, Richardson picked up four all-conference honors following each year of competition. Richardson plans to major in physical education while attending UMO and will wrestle in the 157/165 weight classes.
Check back weekly for updates concerning the new members of the UMO Wrestling team. Fans can also follow the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.