Jasper High School Multi-Sport Athlete

Words by Justin Hunter | Images by Al Blanton

Enshrined in a shadowbox at his parents’ Jasper home are Preston Reed’s 2020 1A-5A AHSAA State Wrestling Championship bracket and gold medal for the 152-pound division. Preston, who was then a sophomore, finished with a 51-4 record, taking home Jasper High School’s first individual title in over a decade.

“After I won, I looked up and pointed at my parents,” Preston says. “It was a great feeling and such a relief. I ran over, hugged both my coaches, Coach Morgan and Coach Otis, then did a little toe touch for my mom.”

For Preston, the bracket and medal encapsulate more than the rising senior’s 2-1 championship victory over Southside High School’s Dathan Finley at Huntsville’s Von Braun Center. They are touchpoints of reflection, embodying all the highs and lows of his journey to an individual state title. 

“The advice I give to younger wrestlers is to develop the ability to self-reflect,” Preston says. “You will lose a lot in the beginning because you just don’t have experience. You need to be able to see past those losses and see growth. You aren’t going to learn a lot from a win. Either you win, or you learn. If you can self-reflect, you’ll be a phenomenal wrestler.”

Preston is now putting his own advice into practice and seeking wrestling redemption this upcoming season after a “disappointing outing” last year in which he placed 3rd in the state in the 1A-5A tournament’s 170-pound division. It would be his second in three years. “I want to win a state title and walk off of the mat my senior year,” Preston says.

An impressive feat for a young man who runs the 4 x 400 for the track team, plays right-back on the soccer team, and holds down multiple positions of kicker, punter, and defensive back on the football field for the Jasper Vikings. 

“Of all the sports I compete in, wrestling is my favorite,” Preston says. “It’s a physical chess match—it’s simply you and another guy on the mat. You have to get into the opponent’s head to break their will.” 

After Reed graduates from Jasper, he is considering majoring in dermatology or orthopedics at one of his five favorite universities: UAB, Georgia, UNC, West Point, and Samford. 

“I am thinking about dermatology and orthopedics because you help patients overcome being self-conscious about their appearance,” he says. “Or I can help athletes who have suffered an injury get back on the field.”

Whether or not Preston continues his wrestling career at the collegiate level is still up for debate. However, his years on the mat have taught him the lifelong skills of hard work, honest self-reflection, and the tenacity to overcome adversity. 78