Dahlonega wrestling twin sisters stand out in fast-growing sport

Girls’ wrestling is one of the fastest-growing high school sports in the country. And in Georgia, where girls once wrestled on boys’ team and against boys, they now have enough interest in girls wrestling to have their own teams where they only wrestle against other girls.

In that arena, there are two standouts: Greta Garbuzovas and Nora Garbuzovas.

Not only are they sisters, they are twins.

When they were freshmen at Lumpkin County High School they earned the nickname Hammer Twins from their aunt, who would marvel at the speed in which they would pin their opponents. In their final year, the sisters sought back-to-back championships — a second for Nora and a historic fourth for Greta, who, according to Sports Illustrated, is the highest nationally-ranked girls wrestler in the state.

Nora and Greta practice with each other at Lumpkin County High School in Dahlonega in January.

Recently, the Garbuzovas twins have been each others’ regular practice partners. But it wasn’t always this way. Nora explained that when they were younger and used to partner, it was fine, but as they got older, it became more difficult.

“I used to hate being her partner,” she said. “I [thought], ‘I cannot be Greta’s partner.’ She was beating me all of the time. And the only thing I was thinking in my head was mentally we’re equal, we’re supposed to be equal. We grew up together, we’re the same age, nothing about us is different, grown by the same parents, eating the same dinner. Sometimes we pushed each other’s buttons, which never ended up well. I didn’t practice with my sister for three or four years.”

Now that Nora has caught up to Greta’s level of wrestling, they are regular partners.

“She’s kinda caught up a little bit and we’re a little more head-to-head,” said Greta. “We can scrap, and it’s not certain who is going to get the point. Now that we’re older and we’re at a closer level, and we know how to respect each other’s boundaries, now we’re really good partners for each other. I can’t say we’re partners all of the time, but when we are we usually have a really good time.”

Posters of past individual state wrestling champions hang in the Lumpkin County gym to serve as motivation for current wresters, and Nora and Greta’s posters, second and third from right on the wall, respectively, count among them. The rest are all boys. The Garbuzovas twins were the first girls to win individual state championships at Lumpkin County.

“It feels like we’re making history with our school,” said Nora when asked how it feels to be the only girls on the champions wall. “It feels amazing.”

“I only won state last year,” she continued. “Seeing Greta up there, I was like, ‘I want to be up there next to my sister.’ That was one of the biggest things that encouraged me or motivated me throughout practices — I need to push myself, I need to get better, I want to be up there with my sister. That was a really big one.”

Nora, left, looks at Greta as they wait in a tunnel and stay loose before their matches against Long County during the GHSA Girls Division 2 Team Dual Wrestling Championships at Lumpkin County High School on Jan. 23, 2026. Lumpkin County won 66-17, with Nora wrestling in the 135-pound weight class and Greta in the 145-pound weight class.

The twins credit their success to their strong support of each other, coupled with good-natured competition. They don’t think they would have achieved as much as they have had they not had each other for encouragement and support.

“I didn’t really start getting good until Nora started wrestling,” said Greta.

“We don’t hate each other for our accolades.” Nora said. “I don’t think I would have done wrestling if Greta didn’t wrestle. If I’m being 100% honest with you, I didn’t know wrestling was a thing. I thought she was crazy for doing it when she was seven.”

Nora, left, and Greta stretch with their teammates before their team’s match against Long County.

Nora wins her match against Long County’s Evelyn Waters in the 135 lbs. weight class in the GHSA duals.

Girls’ wrestling is one of the fastest-growing high school sports in the country, and that is especially evident with the Lumpkin County girls team. When the Garbuzovas twins were freshman, during the 2022-23 wrestling season, there were eight girls. Four years later, there are 26. This year, the Lumpkin County high school girls wrestling team, including Greta, center, and Nora, fourth from left, celebrated their 66-17 win against Long County.

At home, Greta and Nora are equally competitive. One of the things they enjoy together outside of wrestling is hosting game night with family and friends. Above, they play the board game “Codenames” with family and friends, including younger brother Steven, 14, left, mother Trish (behind Steven), father Tadas and Nora’s boyfriend, Dylan Crane, far right, at their Dahlonega home in early February.

However, because the girls have so many shared life experiences they are not allowed to be on the same team in one board game in particular: Taboo.

“Our mom has banned us from playing Taboo with each other,” said Nora, of the game where one player tries to get teammates to guess a keyword without using five forbidden words listed on the card. The twins have an advantage. “We cannot be on the same team or we’re creaming everyone.”

Nora, left, and twin Greta, 8, right, pose in their wrestling gear with younger brother Steven, 5, center, during a wrestling meet in 2016. Greta started wrestling at seven and never stopped. Nora started a year later, took a brief hiatus, and then picked it up again in seventh grade. Steven only wrestled for a short time.

Nora and Greta hold their 2025 GHSA individual championship rings with “Hammer Twin” inscribed on the back of each of them. They’ve been known as the Hammer Twins ever since their aunt, Sarah Swann, gave them the nickname three years ago when the girls were beating their opponents by pinning them very quickly.

“When we were wrestling in high school our freshman year, we were winning a lot,” said Greta. “We both went into different weight classes and we would dominate, and people were like ‘these girls are really good!’ And my aunt Sarah was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I want to make a poster for you guys, I’m so proud of you. You guys are Hammer Twins!’ It kind of just stuck.”

“Because it’s so fast: you blink, you look away and our match is done,” Greta said.

Greta and Nora stand during the national anthem before the Girls GHSA Traditional Wrestling Championship at The Arena at Southlake on Feb. 13, 2026, in Morrow, Ga.

Greta, left, begins her final high school wrestling match against Villa Rica’s Jonae Smith in the finals of the 140-pound weight class.

Greta won the match, securing her fourth consecutive title win for her category and becoming one of the first ever four-time girls state champion.

She finished her GHSA career as a part of two Lumpkin County girls state championship teams in GHSA duals for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.

In the GHSA girls individual championships, Greta has won four state championships in a row in the 140-pound weight class division from 2023-26.

Greta, center, poses with the two other four-time girls state champions, North Forsyth’s Artemis Eaton, left, and Lovett’s Elle Kaufmann, right. The four consecutive championships were a first for GHSA.

At left, Nora wrestles Jefferson’s Ella Hughes during the finals of the 135-pound weight class. Hughes would defeat Nora for the state championship.

Even though she has not been as accomplished as Greta in wrestling, Nora has had a successful high school career. In the GHSA Girls individual championships she had two third-place finishes — in the 2023 and 2024 seasons — one first-place finish in 2025, and one second-place finish in 2026.

With Greta, she was part of two Lumpkin County girls state championship teams in GHSA duals, the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.

At left, Nora and Greta have a moment with each other after their matches. Greta consoles her sister after Nora lost in her final match.

“It was comforting to see her,” sayid Nora. “She still loves me. It’s not like anyone hates me for losing or anything. Crying with me, she obviously feels my pain with me. But I also feel her success.”

At right, Greta and Nora talk with Gilmer County’s Abelinda Tercero post-match. Nora said there will be much to remember about this day: “Warming up with each other, winning with each other, being in the finals with each other, being able to look at each other and know when it’s time to lock in, and when it’s time to be goofy.”

The twins’ mother, Trish Garbuzovas hugs her daughters after the championship event.

The Garbuzovas twins have had a huge impact on girls wrestling locally in Dahlonega and in the state. “Many people that I come across in public know my girls and how successful they have been with wrestling,” their mother, Trish Garbuzovas, said. “Several parents have reached out to me in person and on the internet because they want their girls to get involved and want to pick my brain. Greta and Nora have been very encouraging to all the little kids that ask them about it. I believe many girls joined the team just because of my girls being on the team and their success.”

Greta stands in the center of the 140 lb. weight class after winning the finals in the Girls GHSA Traditional Wrestling Championship.

Nora, left, and Greta walk in a tunnel just outside of the arena after competing in their matches in the finals of the Girls GHSA Traditional Wrestling Championship at The Arena at Southlake. It’s likely the last time the Garbuzovas twins will wrestle at the same event together.

Nora plans to attend a local college and stay close to home in Dahlonega.