Ariston Bowers is an inductee of the third Starr’s Mill Hall of Fame class.

As a 2001 graduate, Bowers was part of the first class to complete four years at Starr’s Mill. He won state during his senior year for wrestling and has now returned to continue giving back to the Starr’s Mill community by coaching.

“I love being back [at Starr’s Mill],” Bowers said. “I just get so much nostalgia, because it’s the same gym we were in. You can see our pictures there and even my individual picture is up.”

Some other accolades that Bowers had during his time with Starr’s Mill wrestling include winning the county and region championship three times and placing twice at state along with winning state his senior year. He took third in the Southeast Regional and seventh in Nationals while also being a member of Georgia’s national duals teams that took first in 2000. 

Bowers had a 61-1 record as a senior, which at the time was in the US record books as the 10th most in the history of high school wrestling. He was also three-time NHSCA All-American and named pound-for-pound fifth best wrestler in the state of Georgia as a senior.

He started wrestling in middle school as a sixth grader as part of a physical education class and later on as part of the eighth grade team.

“In sixth grade we had to wrestle as part of the curriculum and I did it,” Bowers said. “[That class] was why I started wrestling, and I was like ‘I think I could actually be good at this sport’.”

During his time at Starr’s Mill, he participated in activities like morning announcements. He also played football his first two years and tennis his freshman year before ultimately deciding to focus on wrestling full time.

“My dad moved to England [fall of sophomore year], and I was going to move to England after my wrestling season,” Bowers said. “That’s essentially when my goals shifted from being a state placer to being a state champion.”

Ultimately, Bowers ended up coming back his junior year and continued as part of the Starr’s Mill wrestling team.

Bowers coached wrestling for one season at Bloomington North in Indiana, three seasons at Blacksburg High School in Virginia, and three more years at Trinity in nearby Sharpsburg, Georgia. He is now a community coach for the wrestling team at Starr’s Mill.

“To be successful at any sport you’ve got to make the decision yourself to be committed. A coach or parent can’t make that decision for you,” Bowers said. “You have to make that decision yourself, and that’s what I did. I think that helped a lot with my mentality.”

After high school, Bowers attended Virginia Tech, where he wrestled for the Division 1 collegiate program his freshman year, but had to quit due to an injury. He studied business management and later earned a master’s degree at Indiana University. He now owns Atlanta-based Leader Industries Inc. that manufactures adhesive products. 

In his free time, he and his wife enjoy going to Lake Burton to fish and hike, and spend time with extended family members.

“Peachtree City is a special place,” Bowers said. “You need to embrace where you’re from, because the people you’re around are unique. It’s not the same anywhere else.”