ROCKINGHAM - Joseph Nicholson, a junior on the Richmond Senior High School wrestling team, has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week.
In his third year as a member of the Raider wrestling team, Nicholson recently etched his name in the program’s history book. Coached by his father, Earl Nicholson, Joseph Nicholson has been a guiding force on a Raider team that is 29-26 on the season, and he currently holds the team’s best individual record. This is Nicholson’s second career Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week selection.
Athletic Profile
Age: 16
Birthday: Sept. 2, 2002
Year: Junior
Winter Sport: Wrestling
Weight Class: 113-pound
Years on Varsity: 3 years
Height & Weight: 5-6, 113-pounds
Experience: 11 years
“FACTS ON THE MAT” WITH JOSEPH NICHOLSON
RSHS Academics: Nicholson, along with the rest of Richmond’s students, will begin final exams for the first semester starting Thursday. He’s enrolled in the College Preparatory cluster, and completed Math 171 at Richmond Community College prior to the holiday break. He’s also in English III with Ms. Sarah Cobbs, Chemistry Honors with Mr. Matt Learn and Weight Training with Coach Mitch Hadinger.
“English is not usually my favorite class, but it is this semester,” Nicholson commented. “I’m doing really well and working at a faster pace than I have in the past. Reading ‘The Great Gatsby,’ watching the movie and writing an essay on it were all really entertaining.”
An A/B student, Nicholson currently has a 3.5 GPA.
RSHS Sports: Like many of the Official Athletes of the Week before him, Nicholson is a multi-sport athlete at Richmond. He participates year-round and is a member of four athletic teams.
In the fall, he runs cross country for head coach Reggie Miller, something he’s done the past three seasons. This year he was the Raiders’ No. 1 runner. He also has spent the past two seasons as a left midfielder on the varsity soccer team, and played a role in helping Chris Larsen’s team get back to the playoffs in 2018.
Nicholson also runs track in the spring, competing in two middle-distance events, the 800-meter race and the 4x800-meter relay. On the relay team, he explained, he “switches between the first and second leg.” But his favorite sport to compete in is wrestling.
“I grew up around wrestling and I want to go to college for it,” he shared. “Most of the sports I play, I do pretty good at them, but I do way better at wrestling. I’ve been a captain the last two years, and I’ve been ranked in the state as a sophomore and junior.
“I treat wrestling for my dad like he’s any other coach,” he added. “We train at the house and learn more moves at home. I like when we work on getting better together.”
Outside of wrestling for Richmond, Nicholson is a member of the School of Hard Knocks, a travel wrestling organization based in High Point, N.C. Coached by Bobby Lloyd, Nicholson has been with the program a “little more than a year,” and he’s placed near the top of two national tournaments in the 113-pound weight class, earning All-American honors in Pennsylvania last April.
“I’ve been wrestling with better wrestlers who are more skilled,” he shared of attending the weekly Sunday practices. “And I’ve been able to go to national tournaments and get better. If I mess up, Coach Lloyd forces me to keep doing it until I get it right.”
College Aspirations: With still a year and a half to go before he graduates in 2020, Nicholson isn’t wasting time on deciding what he wants to do. His primary goal is to attend North Carolina State University on a wrestling scholarship.
“I want to go to N.C. State to wrestle because they have a really good program,” Nicholson said. “They’ve been ranked and in the top five this year – it’s always been my favorite college to root for, too.”
Nicholson’s father wrestled for the Wolfpack when he was in college, and has really upped the program’s attention to wrestling scholarships available. In December, the Raiders took a trip to see N.C. State wrestle Nebraska, an experience that the high school junior said reinforced his wanting to go there.
He added that he’d like to “work with computers or study sports medicine.”
Joseph Nicholson (yellow) in action earlier this season.
Athlete of the Week Stats: Over the weekend at the Joel McCanna Invitational hosted by Scotland High School, Nicholson was one of six Raider wrestlers to post a perfect 3-0 record. As a team, Richmond went undefeated, beating North Moore, Southern Lee and St. Pauls high schools.
But perhaps more impressive was Nicholson’s pin against North Moore’s Landon Hussey. The first-round pin, one of Nicholson’s two on the day, was his 100th career win, and made him the fastest Raider to achieve that feat. According to Coach Nicholson, his son is the only Raider to reach the century mark before his senior year.
His three wins also pushed Nicholson’s individual record to 33-2, which is best on the team.
RAPID FIRE – FAST RESPONSES
1) How does it feel to be the youngest and fastest Raider wrestler to reach 100 career wins?
“It’s pretty exciting,” Nicholson smiled. “And the good this is that I should be able to break the (program) wins record during my senior year. I didn’t know I was close to 100 wins until my dad told me after I got it.”
2) What are your personal goals for this season? What do you need to do to achieve them?
“I really want to make it to the state tournament this year,” he said. “Our region has the top 10 wrestlers in the 113-pound class. My first goal is to make it to regionals, and then I want to go to the finals and win it.
“I think I need to keep pushing myself each match and not give up,” he continued. “I need to keep coming from different angles. I’m always focused on what I think my opponents will do and I try to beat them before they do it to me.”
3) Who is someone who has impacted your life positively such as a mentor, teacher or coach?
“My dad,” Nicholson said. “He’s been pushing me since I was little to get better and has taken me to a lot of tournaments. I’d also say Coach Lloyd because he’s been helping me learn better moves, and he always works with me after practices.”
4) List a couple of reasons why you have been so successful over your wrestling career.
“I’ve been practicing hard and I’m always focused,” he said. “I never give up during matches. My family also keeps pushing me and they tell me I can do this and I’ll be great.”
5) Name an interesting fact about yourself that many people may not know about you.
“At an N.C. State wrestling camp two years ago, Steven (Morales) and I took a shirt that belonged to Jamal Morris,” Nicholson said of the Wolfpack wrestler. “When we went to the match (last month), he said he remembered us doing it. It’s become a joke between us.”
The Raiders will get back to SAC action when they host Jack Britt and Seventy-First high schools on Wednesday, Jan. 9, at 6 p.m.
