Gardner-Webb signed seven wrestlersBoiling Springs, N.C. -- The Gardner-Webb athletics department, in conjunction with the Gardner-Webb wrestling team, is pleased to announce the signing of seven student-athletes - Tyler Ziegler (Cincinnati, Ohio), Ryan Mosley (Stone Mountain, Ga.), Austin Trott (Kingsland, Ga.), Kyle Ash (Tulsa, Okla.), Hunter Gamble (Stockbridge, Ga.), Gray Jones (Kingsland, Ga.) and Boyce Cornwell, Jr. (Conyers, Ga.) -- to National Letters of Intent to continue both their academic and athletic careers at GWU.
"We are extremely excited about the group we have coming in this fall," stated new head coach Daniel Elliott. "On paper this is one of the best classes we have had sign here at GWU. We have signed some of the best kids out of the Southeast, as well as, some quality student-athletes from the Midwest and some of the best high school programs in the country as four of our signees are from top-40 nationally ranked high school teams."
Ziegler, who comes to GWU from Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, which finished the season ranked 18th in the nation overall among the team rankings, posted a 40-13 overall record and finished sixth in the state at 126 pounds last year as a senior. Ziegler, who recorded an overall career record of 85-37 on the mat at Moeller High School, is a two-time First-Team All-GCL selection and an Academic All-Ohio honoree. Last year during his senior season, Ziegler, who served as the Team Captain, was a District Champion. He was named to the First-Team All-District Team, was tabbed as a SWOWCA All-Star, and was awarded the Crusader Award which is given to the individual who best displays the qualities of the wrestler and individual which the program aspires to produce: honesty, loyalty, respect, unselfishness and class.
Off the mat, Ziegler is a member of the National Spanish Honor Society and a four-year member on the honor roll.
Mosely, a 141-pound grappler from Shiloh High School in Stone Mountain, Ga., posted a perfect 59-0 record during his senior campaign last season. The all-time record holder for wins at Shiloh H.S. with a career record of 198-18 completed a perfect season last year by winning the Class AAAAA 138-pound state championship. Mosely was also the Area 8-AAAAA Champion, the Sectional Champion, the Gwinnett County Coaches Wrestler of the Year and the Gwinnett Daily Post Wrestler of the Year. The four-time Team MVP, placed third in the state at 130-pounds and was an Area 8-AAAAA Champion in both his junior and sophomore seasons to earn him All-Gwinnett County recognition both years.
The four-year Five Star General Award Winner also lettered in football and baseball where he was the starting quarterback for two years and both a catcher and pitcher on the baseball team for three years.
Trott, who came in at the end of the season ranked #14 in the nation among high school wrestlers at 152-pounds by InterMat Wrestling and was named as an InterMat All-American, comes to GWU from Camden County High School in Kingsland, Ga., which finished the season ranked 40th in the nation among all high school teams. In his senior season, Trott went 47-1 overall at 152-pounds and was a NHSCA Senior Nationals Runner-Up as well as a Georgia State Champion. As a junior, Trott went 52-0, was a Georgia State Champion and took fifth-place at the NHSCA Junior Nationals event. The three-time Team Captain was a Georgia State Champion as a sophomore and both a Georgia State Runner-Up and a Fargo Greco-Roman All-American during his freshman season. Over his four-year high school career, Trott, who was a four-time State Finalist and a three-time State Champion, posted a record of 193-8 in which he competed at 103-pounds, 130-pounds, 140-pounds and 152-pounds.
Ash, who hails from Tulsa Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, posted a record of 42-6 last year during his senior season. Ash, who is a state champion, a two-time state placer and a two-time Geary Champion, won the Outstanding Senior Award last season and helped to lead his team to a top-20 national ranking by InterMat Wrestling. The Cadet All-American and Junior All-American in Fargo posted a career record of 158-24 over his four years at Union High. He is a four-time state placer who took second-place at the Reno Tournament of Champions in 2011 and fourth-place in 2010. Ash twice posted the most falls on his team and won both the Outstanding Junior and Outstanding Freshman Awards. DIcollegewrestling.net ranked the senior grappler the 97th overall recruit in the class of 2012.
Gamble, another grappler from the state of Georgia, comes to GWU from Union Grove High School in Stockbridge, Ga. The three-time state finalist posted an overall career record of 194-28 during his four seasons at Union Grove. Last year as a senior, Gamble went 49-1 overall and won the AAAA State Championship at 160-pounds. The two-time Team MVP and two-time Wolverine Award winner, was a AAAA State Runner-Up his junior season and a AAAAA State Runner-Up as a sophomore. The 2012 NWCA Dream Team selection was also a recipient of the 2012 Coca-Cola Scholar Athlete Award.
Jones, a high school teammate of Trott at the nationally ranked Camden County High School in Kingsland, Ga., is a two-time state champion and a state duals champion. Jones, who went 40-2 during his senior season at 182-pounds, won the Georgia State Championship in both his senior and junior seasons, after finishing as a state qualifier his sophomore year. Jones, who recorded 40 wins or more in each of his three years on the varsity team, also lettered in football for one year at Camden County.
In the classroom, Jones graduated 13th overall in his class, was on the A-Honor Roll all four years and has already accumulated college credits from the College of Coastal Georgia.
Cornwell, Jr., a 197-pound grappler from Heritage High School in Conyers, Ga., posted a record of 44-3 last year as a senior at 195-pounds. Last season, he was a State Champion, a East Sectional Champion, an Area Champion and a Flonationals All-American. Cornwell, Jr., who was also named to the GWCA Dream Team in 2012, is a three-time Team MVP and Team Captain. The two-time All-Area Honorable Mention, placed sixth at the state championships at 215-pounds and won the Area Championship, earning First-Team All-Area recognition as a junior.
Cornwell, Jr., who posted 117 wins overall during his four-year career at Heritage H.S., is a National Honor Society member and ranks in the top-10 percent of his senior class academically.
"We are looking forward to working with and helping to develop these athletes both in the classroom and on the mat," continued Coach Elliott. "While we are ecstatic about this class already, we still have some loose ends to tie up with recruiting and hope to add some more kids to this class."
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