MACON, Ga. – Of the dozens of stories filling the Macon Centreplex during the championship round of the GHSA traditional state wrestling tournament Saturday, none were more compelling than two northwest Georgia athletes as different as they could possibly be.
The one connecting link between Gordon Lee’s Alex Spires and Southeast Whitfield’s Carlos Fraire coming into Saturday was that each was a senior seeking one last moment of glory. When the final match had been completed, they also shared the distinction of going out state champions.
Spires’ story is one of a young man touched by tragedy who found the fortitude both to find his way as an individual and to pay tribute to the person who inspired him in his athletic endeavors.
Spires’ father died early in 2012, sending the then-two-time state champion into a spiral and causing him to quit the sport. After much soul-searching he decided to come back for his final season, but it wasn’t easy.
“I didn’t really want to come back, but my dad was the reason I started wrestling and I knew he would have wanted me to,” Spires said after a comeback championship-winning win at 138 pounds Saturday. “I wanted to win another state title for him, and today I knew he was watching and helped me pull it out.”