God has blessed a number of professional athletes with great gifts to do some of the most awesome, jaw-dropping things on the court, on the field, on the ice, or in the water. Some are so breathtaking they leave you to wonder, ‘how did they do that?’

Whether you view the images of famous sports photographers like Neil Leifer, Dave Black and Simon Bruty, or you see a sports feat played out in real time on television, sometimes they take the form of art.

In this 152-pound weight class match, January 17, between Blessed Trinity sophomore Vincent Baker, top, and Pinecrest Academy’s Robert Redecker, my eye is drawn to the circular motion of Baker’s arms and shoulders and Redecker’s right leg. Photo By Michael Alexander

Even at the amateur level there are images that take on the appearance of art, and nowhere is this more evident in the high school winter sport of wrestling. Last year I covered the Catholic Duals, which showcased an inter-squad match between Blessed Trinity High School, Roswell, and Atlanta schools Marist and St. Pius X. I also noticed it again this year when I was covering the Jan. 17 match between Blessed Trinity and Pinecrest Academy, Cumming. Once I started looking at some of the photos, that’s when I saw moments that could be interpreted as a sports sculpture or statue.

If this 2016 Catholic Duals match between Jake Boyd of Marist, top, and Nick Cover of Blessed Trinity was a work of art, it might be called the “Headless Wrestlers.” Photo By Michael Alexander

Wrestling is a combat sport, but there is a sinuous element to wrestling movements, in which body parts bend and move and twist and turn in a variety of ways.

See more photos and read the latest wrestling report, “Blessed Trinity goes to the mat against Westminster, Pinecrest,” in the Jan. 26 issue of The Georgia Bulletin.

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