CHICKAMAUGA, Ga. — Johnny Ragsdale is a prime example of the old saying, “You never know until you try it.”
Now the Gordon Lee High School sophomore can call himself a national champion. Already a state wrestling champion, Ragsdale parlayed a few weeks of training into a championship this past weekend at the National Youth Weightlifting Championships in Dearborn, Mich.
Competing in the 14-15 age group, 50-kilo weight class, Ragsdale won both the snatch (a best of 57 kilos) and clean-and-jerk (78 kilos) competitions and captured the overall title with a combined score of 135 kilos. A kilo is equal to 2.2 pounds.
“Johnny is a good wrestler, but he could be really special in weightlifting,” Gordon Lee wrestling coach Brent Raby said. “I mean, he weighs 110 pounds right now and just took 130 pounds and picked it up clean. That’s something.”
Ragsdale has been training to aid his wrestling at Tennessee Speed and Strength under owner Steve Fauer for three years. Mark Ragsdale noticed that his son had advanced in his lifting and talked to Fauer about the possibility of switching his training to the competition side.