Sulphur junior Justus Gilliam had been so close he could taste it.
Twice. But the third time was the charm, as Gilliam capped off an undefeated wrestling season with a state title, finally celebrating being the last man standing in the heavyweight division in Class 4A.
“It’s something I’ve been working towards for years so it’s an indescribable feeling,” Gilliam said.
The junior had dominated all year long and finally put the exclamation point on the season over the weekend.
Gilliam pinned Avry Nation of Weatherford in the opening round at the 5:26 mark, advancing to Friday’s semifinals.
He did the same to Stavro Vafeas of Fort Gibson on Friday at the 2:41 mark of the match, punching his ticket to a third straight state title match.
This time, Gilliam was the once with his hand raised by the referee, as he pinned Hayden Miller of Miami to bring home gold.
“After being runner up the last two years I was determined to make it happen this year,” Gilliam said.
Gilliam finished the year a perfect 35-0, something he credits to his competitiveness.
“I’m competitive. I hate losing so my mindset this year was to focus on one match at a time with the ultimate goal of being a state champion,” he said.
Gilliam credits the hard work put in by his teammates and coaches for helping him finally breakthrough and bring home a title.
“I attribute my improvement from last season to my coaches and my workout partners for pushing me all year,” he said.
Gilliam feels the support from the community he’s had all year, as well.
“It feels good having this community’s continual support for our team,” he said, He credits his success as a wrestler to his drive, composure, aggressiveness and being able to outlast his opponent on the mat.
“I think my aggressiveness is a big advantage, but still being able to keep my cool is important, as well,” he said. ‘I also feel like the gas tank I have is key by being able to extend the match into the third period if needed.”
After winning on Saturday night, Gilliam flexed and then ran over to his dad, assistant coach David Gilliam, giving a bear hug to the guy that has been there the entire way.
“It was a tremendous feeling and it meant the world to me to be able to celebrate that moment with him,” he said.
As Gilliam will likely be celebrating this one for a long time, there is still one more to get.
“It’s important to keep my head on straight and work twice as hard as I did this year,” he said. “This is a great feeling but I still have a lot left to prove.”
