Wrestling on the “Georgetown Divide” has been a tradition dating back to the early 1960’s.

Paul Mello was the Superintendent of the Georgetown Union School District and Principal of Georgetown School for over 25 years. In 1968, he approached the Georgetown Rotary club with an idea of sponsoring an 8th grade and younger wrestling tournament comprised of the best young wrestlers in Northern California. He and Dick Harrah, then the 8th grade teacher and wrestling coach at Georgetown School, organized a group of parents and the Rotarians to produce the classiest tournament they could for young wrestlers. The Northern California Tournament of Champions was born. This tournament (now hosted in Del Oro High School in Loomis, CA) has been widely regarded as one of the most competitive, most prestigious, and best run middle school wrestling tournaments in the state of California.

By 1973 Rod Hedlund took over leadership of the local middle and high school wrestling programs and the now famous tournament. Mr. Hedlund lead high school team after team of League and Section Championships throughout the 1990s and early 2000’s. With help from countless fellow teachers, community members, and parents he built a wildly successful wrestling program from this tiny little community. After his eventual retirement, the Golden Sierra High School gymnasium was put in his name, and in 2010 Rod was inaugurated into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Former wrestlers from those championship teams are now carrying our program forward for our next generation of Grizzly wrestlers.