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Phil Buchheit, Hometown News Akierrian Gilliam finds himself in a familiar place as his opponent tries to squirm free. The referee drops to the mat looking for space between the shoulders of Gilliam’s ‘ opponent and the mat. Three seconds later he slaps the mat and the crowd erupts. Gilliam jumps up to shake his victim’s hand barely showing any emotion. Another match, another win, another step taken to become 46-0 and possibly the most dominant wrestler in the history of Woodruff High School.
When Akierrian Gilliam was 14 he found something that he not only loved but also something he was great at—wrestling. The 5ft 4”, calm - mannered and incredibly athletic Gilliam always loved basketball, but his cousin Derek Royster made a suggestion.
“I was about to try out for the basketball team and my cousin Derrick was like, ‘man you are too small to play basketball, you need to get into wrestling,’” says Gilliam.
Gilliam decided to take his cousin’s advice and as they say, the rest is history.
Only weighing 90 pounds as a freshman, Akierrian went 16 - 6 in the 103 lb. weight class.
“It was the first year that Coach Westmoreland came to Woodruff and he started teaching me everything about the sport. I just loved it,” says Gilliam.
The next year as a sophomore, Gilliam went 37 - 4 and it became apparent that greatness was on the horizon for the 103 lb wrestling phenom.
For the rest of the story, see the Woodruff News.
Woodruff’s Akierrian Gilliam prepares to take down Dorman’s Patrick Vonxay in the Spartanburg County Championship match.
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