EVANSVILLE — From day one of Marlin Williams freshman season with Southmont wrestling he’s made an impact. Friday night at the IHSAA Wrestling State Finals Williams got to live out his dream of wrestling against the state’s best at 144 pounds. In his opening match he squared off against Mishawaka senior Zar Walker who was ranked 6th at 144 with a 43-1 record.. Walker got off to a quick start over Williams and it was just too much for the Mountie senior. Walker won a 12-4 decision and Williams season and career came to and end.
“It’s obviously not the way I wanted things to end,” Williams said with tears in his eyes. “I’m happy though that I got to be here but I wanted just a little more.”
Williams has plenty of accolades to be proud of in his career. He’s won 100-plus matches for the Mounties along with being a four-time Sagamore Conference champion, along with sectional championships and a regional title this season. Southmont coach Jamie Welliever, as he has all season had the highest praise for all that his stellar senior has accomplished.
“Marlin wrestled his style and like he always does, battled until the very end,” Welliever said. “That rough start is hard to come back from but he continued to stay in it mentally and despite what the score says, wrestled very well. Marlin is what I want every Southmont wrestler to wrestle like. He continued to attack and I couldn’t be more proud of his effort.”
While the loss stings for Williams, he put his career into perspective and more importantly spoke on he’s had an impact on the next generation of Mountie wrestlers.
“I accomplished a lot and this season is something I’m going to look back and be proud of,” he said. “More than anything however I hope that I inspired someone. I love getting to work with our youth kids. I hope they see what I’ve done and puts it into what they do.”
Welliever summed his seniors career one final time.
“He’s in the elite of the elite to every come through our program,” he said. “His style of wrestling is exactly what we teach. He’s been such a great teammate and leader for us over the years. He’s always had a great demeanor about him and guys like him don’t come around every day.”
