ROCKINGHAM — Sophomore wrestler Demonte Martin has been named the Official Richmond County Male Student-Athlete of the Week presented by Rockingham NC Self Storage.
Having one of the best seasons for the Richmond Raider wrestling team, Martin has racked up the wins recently.
Helping him earn his first career recognition, Martin won a round robin tournament and placed third third in an individual tournament over the weekend.
Athletic Profile
Year: Sophomore
Winter sport: Wrestling
Weight Class: Heavyweight
Varsity experience: 2 seasons
Other sports: Football
CLASSROOM CREDITS WITH DEMONTE MARTIN
In his first year at Richmond, Martin earned A/B honor roll during the first nine-week grading period. He’s preparing to take his finals next week.
This semester Martin has taken American History, Biology, English II and Honors Weight Training. Currently, Martin has a 3.125 GPA.
In the spring, Martin will take one core class, Math II, along with three electives — African American Studies, Spanish I and Honors Weight Training.
“My favorite class this semester has been weight training because it’s really helped me get stronger for wrestling and football,” Martin shared. “Coach (Kemp) McSween pushes me to my limit and encourages me to do better.
“This semester has gone really great. I really like all of my teachers because they empower me to focus, do well and earn A/B honor roll. I’m looking forward to taking Spanish I next semester because I’m interested in learning a foreign language.”
“WINNER’S CIRCLE” WITH DEMONTE MARTIN
Since the holiday break, Martin has been on a tear for the Raiders. He’s competed in two recent individual tournaments, winning one and placing third in another.
At a round robin tournament hosted by Union Pines High School, Martin went 4-1 in the 285-pound weight class to win the event.
After falling in his opening match by a major decision, Martin won his next four matches all by pinfall.
He earned pins against Jeremiah Covington (Richmond), Michael McPeak (Triton), TaZion Williams (Triton) and clinched it with a victory over Oscar Medina-Carrillo (Atkins).
This past weekend, Martin posted a 2-1 record at the PJ Smith Memorial tournament held at Purnell Swett High School and placed third in the heavyweight bracket.
He lost his first match in the first round, but rallied to defeat Randolph Sanders (Hoke County) by first-round pin and pinned Joshua Stone (Scotland) in the opening minute of the second round in the third-place match.
On the season, Martin has collected a 12-6 individual record, with all of his wins coming via pinfall. Richmond will wrestle at Union Pines on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
RAPID RESPONSE VIDEO WITH DEMONTE MARTIN
Martin participates in a video interview and talks about his recent success, describes his mindset while wrestling and shares what it means to be a student-athlete.
The Richmond Observer will publish two more Official Richmond County Student-Athletes of the Week next week.
