Sonoraville firebirds claim second consecutive traditional state title
The Firebirds emerged victorious in a crowded field to raise the trophy for the second year in a row in Macon.
All year long Sonoraville head wrestling coach Randy Steward has prompted his grapplers to “Make Sonoraville Greater.” The group has taken the message to heart, responding in a resounding way this past weekend to etch their names in the history books.
After remaining one of the most dominant teams throughout any of the states areas and classifications during the course of this season, the Firebirds capped off a phenomenal 2018-2019 campaign by claiming the GHSA AAA State Championship at the Macon Coliseum this past weekend. It’s the team’s second-consecutive traditional state title.
As a team, the Firebirds posted a team score of 172, edging out North Hall’s 168.5 and Jefferson’s 168 to hoist the trophy. Individually, Sonoraville had 10 state placers, with one of the highlights including Trevor Burdick incredibly clinching his fourth straight state title in his weight class.
First place finishers, along with Burdick (145), included John Knight (195) and Allen Stone (138). Other placers included Hector Arbos (106) logging at thirdplace finish, Eli Knight (120) adding a second-place finish, Charlie
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Brown (182) pitching in a second-place finish, Brandon Bristol (285) chipping in a fourth-place finish, Rowan Burdick (126) notching a fifth-place finish, Jayce Derryberry (132) tacking on a sixth-place finish and Jebb Knight (170) contributing a sixthplace finish.
Also traveling down and competing for the Firebirds was Davin O’Neal (152) and Jaxx Knight (220), who narrowly missed placing.
Calhoun was also well represented in Macon, with four wrestlers earning a spot to compete. Jackets that took the mats included Jonathan Santana (106), Armando Monroy (113), Owen Mendez (132), and Reece Poe (145).
Although each of these wrestlers were competitive within their weight class, it was Reece Poe who shined for the Jackets, securing third place in an extremely tightly-contested weight class and earning a spot on the podium for the third consecutive year.