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For generations, wrestling has been a male-dominated sport. While it is still largely a testosterone-driven sport, women are gradually entering the sport as it becomes a more inclusive space for all. One of those young women making waves in the sport of wrestling is located right here in Troup County. Troup High’s Evey Hill is just a rising sophomore, but she is well on her way to the top.

“Placing fifth at state and pushing through so much pain was a big deal,” Hill said. “I feel like I could have done better.”

Hill believes she had top-3 talent last season but fell just a bit short of where she wanted to be. As a sophomore, she is expecting to take another big leap and potentially challenge for the state championship in 2024.
She was on her way to a historic freshman season at Troup last year and possibly an even higher finish at state, but a knee injury left her limited late in the season. Hill was still able to fight through it and finish fifth in the 115 lb. AAAA classification in the state of Georgia.

Hill put together a remarkable freshman year despite being limited by a knee injury. She finished runner-up in sectionals and regularly had to compete against girls and guys that are years older than her and have a wealth of experience that she does not yet possess.

In the wrestling world, Hill is relatively inexperienced compared to a lot of the competitors she lines up across from. She did not find her way to the wrestling mats until her eighth grade year while most of her elite peers and competition have been on the mat since they were learning to walk. It has been a meteoric rise for Hill, who shows no signs of slowing down.

“I want to finish at least third in state and win sectionals this year,” Hill said. “Those are my main goals, but I have to get back on the mat first, so I can start working toward these goals.”

The only reason she has been slowed at all is the knee injury she has been battling through. The injury has kept her away from the mat for over a month now, and she is antsy to get back out there. 

“I had to push through it last year because I knew I wanted to be on the mat as much as I could,” Hill said. 

Hill does not come from a wrestling family, per say, but her brother, Emerson, was one of the main reasons she got into wrestling.

“My brother had been wrestling for a couple of years, and I had been going to his tournaments and practices and I kind of just got into it through him,” Hill said. “The coaches said I had potential and helped push me into it.”

Hill’s parents did not know what they were getting into with wrestling as it was not a part of their upbringing in Villa Rica. Now, her parents have been indoctrinated into the Troup wrestling programs and would have it no other way.

“She thinks she can wrestle now,” Hill said, laughing. “She likes to joke that she will get a moms group together to take part in an adult wrestling bracket.”

Hill has always been a ferocious competitor. She is ever so humble in defeat and victory, but when she is locking horns with somebody on the mat, she is focused only on winning.

This competitive and fiery nature when in the heat of battle naturally translated over from the gymnastics mat to the wrestling mat. Hill grew up as a gymnast but transitioned to wrestling during her eighth grade year. Her gymnastics background gives her attributes that help when she is wrestling.

“I am very strong and flexible from gymnastics, which really helps me out,” Hill said. “I can get out of tricky positions easier as well. My gymnastics work really helped me adjust to wrestling.”

Line up a boy across from her and you will get an even more competitive version of Hill. The rising-sophomore relishes a chance to demolish a member of the opposite gender, often because she feels they underestimate her.

“Wrestling the boys is always really fun,” Hill said, flashing a grin. “Beating the guys make me feel really good about myself. When I beat the girls, it’s like ‘oh OK, it’s just the girls’, but when you’re one of the girls and you beat one of the guys its a big accomplishment.”