Adam Dedmon has heard much about the excellence of Polk County’s athletic program since marrying former Wolverine softball standout Macy Gibbs.

Now Dedmon will have a chance himself to contribute to future Polk County success. 

Having built one of the top 2A wrestling programs in the state at Chase, Dedmon hopes to do the same in the 1A ranks at Polk County, joining the Wolverine program as its head wrestling coach.

The Polk County Board of Education recently approved the hiring of Dedmon as an EC teacher at Polk County High School as well as the 13th head wrestling coach in school history, replacing Ken Tackett, who guided the program for half of the 2017-18 season before resigning to take a job outside the school district.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity to come to Polk County,” Dedmon said. “I’m looking forward to getting Polk County back to its winning ways and building things back up.

“It’s a new transition for me, but I’m excited to meet the kids and get established. The challenge rejuvenates me a little bit.”

Dedmon served as the head coach at Chase for seven seasons, during which time he led the Trojans to five state dual team playoff appearances, including a run to the state 2A semifinals in both 2016 and 2017.

Dedmon coached five individual state champions, more than 20 state qualifiers and also led the Trojans to a second-place team finish in the 2017 individual state meet. Chase finished 21-5 in 2017-18.

Dedmon said the presence of Polk County principal Dr. Brandon Schweitzer — a standout wrestler in high school and college, and former head coach at the school — and athletic director Rex Wells — a Hall of Fame wrestling coach — helped factor in his decision.

“I know Dr. Schweitzer from when he was a high school coach and when he wrestled at Gardner-Webb,” he said. “I know I’m going to have a good support system with him there, plus having Coach Wells there.

“I’m also excited about working with coach [Bruce] Ollis, who had three sons who were all excellent wrestlers. There’s a good support system in place there.”

Dedmon wrestled collegiately at University of North Carolina  Pembroke, where he was a three-time academic All-American and qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships in 2007.

Dedmon said he expects his assistants at Chase, Mark Emory and former Gardner-Webb wrestler Sheldon Sisk, to work with Polk County’s program. He also hopes to have help from current Polk County coaches.

“It’s going to take a lot of hard work,” Dedmon said. “From day one, kids are going to have to put in hard work and believe in the system. We’ll teach them the right techniques for every position. We’re going to have an aggressive style of wrestling.

“It’s going to take extra work in the spring and summer. Summer wrestling is what makes winter champions.”

– Submitted by PolkSports.com