Pulaski Academy football standout Josh Cady ends prep sports career searching for third individual state wrestling championship

“A takedown in wrestling is pretty much the exact same thing as a tackle in football.”

By Kyle Sutherland | Photo submitted

A highly decorated prep sports career for Pulaski Academy senior Josh Cady will end at the Jack Stephens Center in this weekend’s 14th annual Arkansas boys wrestling state tournament.

Cady, who is 28-2 this season and ranked the 33rdsenior in the country at 145 pounds by USA Wrestling, will compete with hopes of capping his career by winning a third straight individual state championship.

After finishing third as a freshman, Cady won individual titles his sophomore and junior seasons. The Bruins won the team title his freshman and sophomore year before coming up two points shy last season. 

High school wrestling was first sanctioned by the Arkansas Activities Association for the 2008-09 school year. It was not too long after that Cady began wrestling in kindergarten and it has stuck ever since. 

Cady also began playing football in fifth grade, and from then on found the two sports he would stick with through junior high and high school. On the gridiron, he played defensive back for Hall of Fame coach Kevin Kelley, winning two state championships, before finishing his senior year under Anthony Lucas, when the Bruins completed the three-peat. Cady finished the season with seven interceptions, which tied for first in the state, and earned a spot on the SBLive all-state team.

Pulaski Academy has built on a reputation of ‘doing more with less’ in terms of frequently being undersized at multiple positions but still achieving immense success. Cady is a prime example, often lining up against opponents who have a size advantage, but many of the techniques he learned in wrestling he utilized on the football field and vice versa. 

“A takedown in wrestling is pretty much the exact same thing as a tackle in football,” Cady said. “It helps a ton, especially with leverage and moving with your hips. It also teaches you that when you think you can’t go anymore, you can always go a little harder.”

Head coach Jerrod Barnhill, who also coaches the offensive line on the football team, is in his first year with Pulaski Academy and had previous experience on the mat during his tenure at Maumelle from 2017-21. Barnhill mentioned that he had to have some help along the way but has been fortunate to work with people who are highly knowledgeable about the sport.

“When Maumelle told me I was going to be wrestling coach, I was like, ‘Hold up, I have never coached it; I don’t know anything about it!,’” Barnhill said. “I liked it and everything, but I just did not know where to start.”

Luckily for Barnhill, there just so happened to be two experienced, and very successful, wrestlers in Jakob Beene and Dregan Smith at Maumelle who would become state champions. They helped make his transition into the sport easier, and a pattern of having the opportunity to coach highly successful wrestlers has continued with Cady.

“I always use Josh as an example,” Barnhill said. “Wrestling is one of the toughest sports I have been around as far as the conditioning, the shape you have to be in and the toughness you have to carry.

“Josh, along with a couple of others, have just been special for us and tremendous leaders. I do not know where I would be or where this team would be without them.”

Cady received interest to wrestle in college but decided to focus on his academic career at the University of Arkansas, where he plans to enroll in the honors college and major in mechanical engineering. 

So, the state wrestling tournament provides Cady a chance to end his athletic career at PA where he and his Bruins teammates have been frequently — on top. 

“It has been awesome to have the opportunity to play sports for PA,” Cady said. “Success has been going on here for a long time, and we strive to be the best in everything we do. Anything less than that is not acceptable, and we always push to be the best.” 

The state tournament will be held Friday and Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. You can find the full schedule here.