Cornersville’s Xavier Viazcan became the school’s first-ever medalist to reach the podium this year in the Class 1A state tournament with his sixth-place finish. (Submitted Photo)
By CHRIS SIERS
csiers@bedfordcountypost.com
Athletes can go their entire career and not leave the impact that Cornersville’s Xavier Viazcan left on the Bulldog wrestling program.
Viazcan forged an incredible run during his senior season that included being the Region 5A champion, Section 3A runner-up and a sixth-place finish in the TSSAA Class A state wrestling tournament, becoming the first-ever medalist to reach the podium.
While he had his sights set higher, and ultimately finished with a feeling of disappointment, his value to the program can’t be underlined enough.
“I truly wasn’t satisfied with my outcome, but I believe it is a stepping stone for my other brothers and sisters to use to prevail above me. I am confident they will surpass me in many ways and I am happy that I can give my name to something that hasn’t been done in my school’s history,” he said.
Viazcan’s run was built on a stellar work ethic and a drive to carry the program to new heights.
Being a solitary sport, the added feeling of success comes from being the only individual on the mat.
“I love the solitude of the sport. You definitely take pride in yourself when you win, but on the flip side the loss weighs a lot more than in team sports. There is a deep brotherhood that is created through the sport, however, the training, the meal prepping, weight watching, the making sure you get enough water and sleep, training different aspects of your body to prevent injury and to be flexible but also strong, but most of all the courage and wrestling mindset is a one-man show,” he said.
“It helps your pride to remember we can do all things through Christ and why it is important to do things that are hard.”
Though his career came to a close in the state tournament, his start with wrestling came from his mother, who was a wrestling manager at Marshall County High School.
“My mother was a wrestling manager for MCHS in high school and always loved the sport, so pushed me to wrestle when I was in second grade and it was a good investment of my time. I started off strong with my coaches Sok Ung and Jim Waggoner in Minneapolis as a youth wrestler. I unfortunately had to move from that team in Minnesota and find a team in Tennessee when my family moved back to my mom’s hometown. Wrestling isn’t as popular here in Tennessee as it was up there. I bounced around a little when I wished that I could have just jumped back in to the sport,” he said.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic affected several years of his chances to compete on the mat, Viazcan kept at it and after several years away from the mat, fell back into the sport.
“I missed fifth and sixth grade years, then my seventh grade year the state tournament was cancelled due to COVID. I met Coach Chris Posey and he continued to push me those middle school years, where I had a lot of success my eighth grade year. He taught me to wrestle more aggressively and pushed me to condition and lift more until high school,” Viazcan said.
“I was fortunate enough to start a team at my high school with the help of Coach Adcox and Coach Crabtree. There Jeff Gross, a three-time state champion from Forrest, Joey Cole, a Cornersville wrestler that graduated last year, and my mom, Katie Bullard, coached me to finish my wrestling journey,” he said.
With his competition on the mat complete, Viazcan’s goal now is to focus on a career in healthcare, with the focus of helping people maximize their potential.
“I love helping people be healthy and use their bodies to their maximum potential. I am unsure at the moment which area I want to work but my dream is to help young athletes in and out of season,” he said.
“For now I’m going to get some of my prerequisites done close to home and I have my paperwork in to be a referee for both USA wrestling, which is Greco and Freestyle as well as TSSAA for regular youth, middle and high school seasons. I want to continue to give back to the sport that gave me so much,” he added.
While the popularity of wrestling certainly has grown over the years, it’s still very much a niche sport.
Despite being a very focused sport Viazcan has a bit of advice for any prospective athlete looking for a solitary challenge.
He summed it up in one word, “Join!”
“It’s simple but it will be the best use of your time as it shows you things that many other activities will never show you or will not even come close to what wrestling teaches. When you wrestle: “you win or you learn,” he said.
