Since its reincarnation in January 2024, finding space and equipment has been the biggest challenge for Mercer’s wrestling club. However, an "open mat" event the club held on Aug. 28 using borrowed equipment showed just how far the team has come since reforming.
Huy Lam ’26, the club’s president, rebuilt the organization from the ground up after discovering Mercer’s former wrestling club had been disbanded.
“We thought, 'If no one is going to do it, let’s do it,” Lam said. “And we did it.”
He and his friends had a deep passion for the sport but no outlet for their energy.
“It got to a point where we tried wrestling on the bottom floor of Tarver Library,” Lam said. It all came from a love for wrestling.
The mats the original club had were dispersed to Macon schools, according to Lam.
“Mats are as important to us as a volleyball to a volleyball player. Without mats we can’t wrestle,” Lam said. “We spent the first year reaching out and trying to get those mats back, but we couldn’t.”
Rush MMA Owner Bubby Mitchell has provided a space for the club to practice for free since 2023. Michell, who works with a local private school's wrestling team, collaborated with Mercer's club to fill the gap. Today, Mount de Sales Academy is lending the club mats until their wrestling season begins in October. For the first time in two years, the wrestling club has a space on campus to do their practices.
With support from Rush MMA and Mount de Sales Academy, the Mercer Wrestling Club has grown from a handful of passionate students into a community of young wrestlers.
