BOILING SPRINGS, SC - When the Boiling Springs wrestling team picked up their second win of the day at the Indian Land tournament on Saturday, a 66-18 victory over Goose Creek, the victory was a nice way to the end the Bulldogs day but it also signified a larger accomplishment as it was head coach Lee Thomas's 200th career dual victory.
Thomas said that the milestone was never on his mind when he took over the job in 2012 but says it's a special accomplishment that numerous people have put a lot of work to make happen. "I never set out with the goal to reach this milestone when I took over as our only goal each year has been to win state championships," said Thomas. "When I reflect back on it, I think about all the kids that have been a part of those wins because I never wrestled a match in all of those wins. We've literally had doctors, lawyers, teachers, and people in public service that has wrestled for us which is cool when you see it come full circle and see all the good those guys are doing once they get finished wrestling." Thomas said seeing the accomplishments of his wrestlers after their careers shows that they take to heart the message they try to instill in them while they're competing for the Bulldogs. "The biggest thing we preach to our kids year in and year out is that you have to wake up each day and go to work," said Thomas. "I tell them that showing up each day is half the battle in sports, academics, and in the real world. We teach the old blue-collar mentality that you go to work and get paid on Friday, with our Friday being when we get our hands raised after the matches. I tell them after every practice there's no secret success to sports, it's all about the hard work you put in every day." Thomas, a Boiling Springs graduate, said that while this was never his goal when he took the job, after talking with retiring head football coach Rick Tate this season he has started to reflect on what this milestone means to himself. "It was never my goal when I started this job to reach this goal but after listening to Coach Tate reflect on his career this season, I started to look back on my own career," said Thomas. "After those conversations with him I realized this really was something to cherish and to be proud of reaching this milestone." While Thomas said that he is proud of the milestone he said that he was so caught up with how his team was doing early on Saturday he almost forgot about the accomplishment. "To be honest we wrestled so bad in our first two matches on Saturday after driving over two hours that when it happened, I was just happy to win something," said Thomas with a chuckle. "I obviously knew the numbers were there but during the match I just wanted to win something." Thomas said that while wrestling isn't the most followed sport at the school, he takes a lot of pride in the success of the program and the part he has played in that success. "As a graduate of the school at the end of the day it all goes back to school pride for me," said Thomas. "After being self-employed and doing some racing, I realized that I wanted to be a coach and it has always been a passion of mine. I've been blessed to get the opportunities to serve in the capacities I have here at this school and like I preach to the kids you wake up every day and try to make the best of each day." On Wednesday night the Bulldogs pushed Thomas' win total to 201 dual victories when they defeated district rival Chesnee 60-15, which Thomas said he was proud of because how the team has shown improvement as the season has gone along. "I think tonight we wrestled tough," said Thomas. "We are still a super young team as all our wrestlers from 195 lbs and up are all freshmen. We're currently wrestling with eight or nine guys who are either freshmen or sophomores and I told our guys after the match tonight they may have learned more in the last month than any team I've ever coached. They've gotten a lot tougher and learning what a fight is as they know if they can last six minutes in a match, they're going to outdo most people they face as not many people can go a whole six minutes in a match." Boiling Springs will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Crest for a dual match before traveling to Liberty on Saturday for the Liberty Dual matches. The Bulldogs next home match will be after the new year when they host Broome and Southside on January 6th. -James McBee Comments are closed.
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