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Sudden Victory: Blue Ridge’s Amon Johnson wins 220-pound VISAA state title

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Blue Ridge junior Amon Johnson is an awfully good catcher during baseball season, but until Saturday, he was relatively unknown as a wrestler.

 

That’s over now.

 

“My mom was there, my grandparents were there,” Johnson said. “Everyone was cheering. It still hasn’t really hit me yet, it’s pretty unbelievable.”

 

Johnson pinned his way to a 220-pound VISAA state championship over the weekend, pinning the No. 1 and No. 2-seeded wrestlers in his weight class en route to the victory.

 

Johnson’s run started Friday when he pinned Woodberry’s Simon Taylor in the second period and things just snowballed from there. He pinned Fork Union’s Scott Goode in just 42 seconds in the quarterfinals. It got tougher when he stepped on the mat with Bishop Sullivan’s Alex Oates, the state’s top-ranked 220-pounder coming into the tournament. Johnson was on his back a few times but managed to roll out of it and got a pin late in the second period to earn a spot in the final.

 

“A couple of times I was almost getting pinned and everything was really slowing down and I just kept pushing,” Johnson said.

 

Johnson then pinned the No. 2 wrestler Max Meyer of Episcopal in the state championship match, putting him on his back late in the first period to complete an improbable run to the title. Johnson found wrestling not by choice really, but after being signed up by coaches at Blue Ridge. It proved to be some excellent guidance, as he caught on quickly.

 

“After the first practice, I was starting to get the hang of it and I really started enjoying it,” Johnson said.

 

That likely went to another level Saturday as he became a state champion, even if it’s still a little unbelievable for the Barons’ junior.

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