DALTON, Ga. — Dalton High School senior wrestler Tyler Hunt’s college choice goes beyond his sport.

Hunt had some of the top academic schools in the country recruiting him including Stanford, Columbia and the Air Force Academy, but his reason for choosing the U.S. Naval Academy, and what excites him most about his future, goes well beyond the wrestling mat.

Hunt was appointed to the Naval Academy in October but chose the Naval Academy’s Preparatory School, which gives those who are deemed qualified an extra year to prepare for the Naval Academy itself. Hunt, who transferred to Dalton this year after attending Sonoraville for his first three years of high school, is a three-time state champion and will likely challenge for a fourth-consecutive individual title later this season. Once he reaches the Naval Academy, Hunt will be eligible to wrestle there as well. After graduating from the Naval Academy, Hunt plans to continue his service as a Marine.

“I’m most excited about what will come after,” Hunt said. “The education will be awesome and I love the people up there, but I want to fly. That’s what I’m really excited about. Flying F-35s (combat aircraft) in the Marine force.”

Hunt said he always had a passion for aeronautics but using his passion to serve his country is an idea that has grown over time. Hunt’s father, Greg Hunt, is a former Marine and has also been Hunt’s wrestling coach since he was a young boy. Greg Hunt said he never pushed Hunt one way or the other on college options. In fact, Greg Hunt said he always thought Hunt’s younger brother Cole — a freshman at Dalton and a wrestling standout himself — would be the one to gravitate toward the service. While attending the Marine Ball with his father, the annual celebration of the birth of the U.S. Marine Corps, Hunt was presented with a challenge.

“He went with me and some of my friends the year before last,” Greg Hunt said. “And one of my buddies said, ‘Yeah you can join the Air Force and have a nice life, but you’ll have to live the rest of your life knowing you were in the Air Force and not a Marine.’ So that kind of irked him.”

Hunt loved the challenge. Beyond wrestling, Hunt is a standout student who hasn’t made below an A since elementary school. He helped his father and brother with building the house they live in and he willingly helps around the family farm as well. On the mat with a career high school record of 97-5, Hunt finished sixth at last year’s Super 32 Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, the country’s premier high school wrestling tournament. The tournament performance earned Hunt All-American honors.

Dalton wrestling coach Michael Keefe said having Hunt this season is like having another coach.

“Tyler can run practice sometimes,” Keefe said. “He does warmups, he does techniques. He and his brother always do the extra work — sprints and technique, all the travel they do. And as far as technique, he’s one of the best wrestlers on top in the country.”

It isn’t unusual for high school seniors to be unsure about their future plans, but for Hunt it’s clear. He wants to fly airplanes and serve his country.

The parallels between wrestling and what he’ll be asked to do in the Marines hasn’t escaped him either.

“Wrestlers are some of the toughest people on the planet, and the Marines are definitely the toughest fighting force,” Hunt said. “It goes hand in hand, it’s the same mentality. The Marines are like brothers basically and that’s what we are here.”