Even after officiating 12 state wrestling championships, Ronnie Mendenhall still expects the typical butterflies as he makes his way inside the Joel Coliseum this weekend.

Yet, these championships will be a little bit different for the longtime referee, who is also the principal at North Stokes High School.

Roughly a year ago, Mendenhall suffered a massive heart attack the week of the NCHSAA dual team tournaments.

After having the artery cleaned out and a stint put in, Mendenhall began to work tirelessly to get close to full strength – and back to the wrestling mat.

“I was determined to get my health back,” Mendenhall said. “The first month was the toughest. I’d been so active all my life. You think, ‘How can I have a heart attack?’ I am a very determined person and I was not going to let it get me down.”

This was a nearfall, not a pin.

The principal returned to school and in the fall jumped back into the sport he’s loved since his teenager days, when he was a wrestling star at South Stokes High School and won two district championships and had a district runner-up finish his last three years under head coach Joe Via.

Wrestling was in his blood and it was there to stay.

Mendenhall wrestled for two years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill before a separated shoulder ended his wrestling career. After graduating from North Carolina in 1978, he took an interim teaching job at South Stokes and served as the assistant wrestling and baseball coach for a year before moving to Southeastern Middle School, where he was the assistant wrestling/baseball coach for 17 years.

He moved up to head wrestling coach at Southeastern where he went 82-12 in six seasons and won three conference championships.

It was then when Mendenhall shifted gears a bit and decided to go back to school at North Carolina A&T State University to get his Master’s Degree and push towards becoming an administrator.

But school administrators aren’t permitted to coach, so Mendenhall began officiating wrestling matches.

He did his first regional tournament in 1988, first state tournament in the early 90s and has now been an official for 24 years.

Mendenhall has done a regional tournament every year since ‘88 and has worked 12 state tournaments in his career.

The NCHSAA individual wrestling championships get underway for all classifications on Friday at the Joel Coliseum – and Mendenhall wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“It keeps me in contact with the sport. I love it,” said Mendenhall, who reffed three dual team matches at Orange High School in four days a couple of weeks ago and was on hand for two Vikings home basketball games in the same week. The week prior, Mendenhall officiated the North State 2-A Conference tournament at McMichael High School.

The on-the-go Mendenhall certainly has a big heart for North Stokes, where he has been since 2004, after assistant principal positions at Southeastern Middle School and North Stokes and principal positions at Sandy Ridge Elementary and Nancy Reynolds Elementary.

After the heart attack, Mendenhall was sorely missed and couldn’t wait to return to school.

“I got so many get-well cards from students and the wrestling family,” he said. “I couldn’t wait to get back. The students help keep you young. Being a high school principal is your life.”

Officiating has not only allowed Mendenhall to stay involved in wrestling but kept him maintain a healthy lifestyle.

His perspective on life has changed somewhat also.

“Some of the small things I thought were important aren’t so important after all,” he said. “I appreciate life more.”

Perhaps no one will appreciate the chance to step onto the mat at Joel Coliseum this weekend more than a very excited principal from Stokes County.

“The bigger the match when I wrestled the more nervous I was,” he said. “I still get butterflies.”

The Joel will be jam-packed with thousands of roaring fans watching the best wrestlers from the state compete on eight mats for championships.

It’s the time to shine for the wrestlers – and the officials as well.

“I want to make sure I do my job right,” he said. “When you are on that mat you have to make crucial decisions at the blink of an eye.”

Consistent decision-making has proven valuable not only on the mat but at North as well.

“I try to be very consistent. When you make consistent decisions the community realizes that and they will respect you for that,” Mendenhall said. “My job is to keep the kids safe and make sure they get a good education.”

Mendenhall, who has been an educator for 30 years, said he’d like to stay at the helm at North for at least three more years.

After a visit to the doctor in November, Mendenhall said he was about 85-90 percent – a credit to his dedication and a super active lifestyle. If he’s not at work or at an athletic event in any capacity, Mendenhall said he’s probably on a bike or treadmill.

He probably won’t have time the weekend of the state tournament – even after he hangs up the whistle, which may not be any time soon.

“When I get out of officiating, yeah, you’ll see me up in the stands,” he said.