Early lessons fuel Gordon Lee wrestler Ragsdale

Jonathan Ragsdale

Sure, a fourth GHSA state wrestling individual title is likely in the very near future for the Gordon Lee High School senior. It's true the 120-pounder is riding a 134-match win streak and that he's never been beaten by a Georgia wrestler, and it's a fact next year he will be a part of the national power West Virginia University team.

However, there once was a time ...

"He didn't win a single match his first year or wrestling," says father Mark Ragsdale, almost laughing at the memory nearly 10 years ago. "The second year rolls around and he starts out again not winning. At that point his mother and I had a talk and we weren't sure if this sport was for him."

The talk -- and a more heart-to-heart conversation with the confused lad -- led to one more shot. Johnny was entered in an upcoming tournament and his dad told him that if he wanted to continue he was going to have to work harder. Faced with a decision, Johnny elected to go all in, and soon the first signs of what was to come came forth.

A kid that had not won a match in the first year-plus of his career finished third in the tournament. He soon started receiving top training with the UTC Kids' Club, where Israel Silver took him under his wings. The rest, as they say, is history in the making. A win in this weekend's Class AA tournament in Macon would make Johnny one of 30 four-time state champions in the state's history.

"He's had to work to get where he is," Gordon Lee coach Brent Raby said. "Johnny doesn't take anybody lightly, and nobody is going to out-work him."

There was, though, one more lesson Ragsdale had to learn before he became elite. He had shocked the state by winning the title as a freshman and followed that up with a strong offseason. When his sophomore season began he faced the No. 1-ranked kid in the country in his weight class in a tournament in Kentucky.

Nathan Boston won the match and left in indelible impression. Johnny realized he wasn't as good as he thought he was, which led to an even deeper dedication to getting stronger and learning all the technique he could master.

He hasn't lost a match since.

"Nathan Boston was a big influence after I figured out who he was," said Ragsdale, admitting he took the match lightly. "From that moment I've tried to learn something different from every match."

Adds Raby of that defining moment: "I'll never forget that match with Boston. He was ranked No. 1 in the country and Johnny learned that day he better be ready to go out and work and not believe he had anything won before it starts. He learned more from that match than any other, and it's no coincidence that's the last time he lost."

Ragsdale's mettle was tested most recently last Saturday when he faced Social Circle's Levi Leach in the Class AA East Sectional. Leach was a medalist in Class AAAA a year ago and had transferred this year to Social Circle, which is the class of double-A wrestling in Georgia. Chat rooms abounded with brazen talk that Leach would end Ragsdale's reign.

The match ended with a second-period pin. Long live the king.

"There was a lot of talk beforehand," Raby said with a wry grin, "but it got ugly early."

There aren't a lot of secrets to Ragsdale's success. He's not a fine technician who can turn any situation into a possible takedown. With Johnny you get what you get.

"I'm an aggressive, in-your-face wrestler, and I'm always attacking," he said when pressed to describe his style. "I do like to wear them out. There's a certain point when you know you've broken somebody and they're done wrestling -- it's really fun to do."

If there was a towel to be thrown in at a wrestling match to signal submission it's likely Ragsdale would lead the state in that category. In one of his title matches, which included 15 takedowns and ended with a technical fall, the opponent left the mat in tears.

"He never lets anybody get a second to recover," explains Raby. "Typically, in Johnny's matches, he'll have seven to 10 takedowns and the other guy will run out of bounds 10-to-20 times just because of that pressure. He's a nice kid ... just not on the wrestling mat."

He'll be a marked man again this weekend, but that fact only serves as extra motivation for the wrestler who can join Ringgold's Garrison Goins as the only Northwest Georgia wrestler to win win four GHSA titles. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe's Kenny Hill won three titles before winning a fourth in Tennessee at East Ridge as a senior.

Ragsdale also understands what it would mean to join the elite group of four-peaters.

"Knowing that everyone is coming after me has pushed me hard because I have to be prepared for anything," he said. "I would be part of that small group that has achieved it, and the only thing I can say is that it would be a great honor."

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.