Phoenix grapplers off to 4-0 start
With wins in their first four matches, the Sonoraville High School wrestling team is off to a great start this year.
The team, led by head coach Randy Steward, is now enjoying some time off until after Christmas when the Phoenix have back-to-back matches the last two days of this year.
Sonoraville is back on the mat on Thursday, Dec. 30 when they head south to Douglasville to compete in the South Paulding Duals before the Phoenix complete the 2021 portion of their current schedule with a short trip the next day, Dec. 31 to Calhoun High School to compete in the Calhoun New Year’s Eve Duals. Both of those matches are slated for 9 a.m. starts.
The Phoenix, who were in the two-day Jefferson Invitational Meet over the weekend, have already clashed with Calhoun once and that came last Wednesday when the Phoenix took the 60-16 win over the Yellow Jackets at The Furnace.
In that triumph over Calhoun, Sonoraville won 11 of the 14 matches and eight of those victories came by pin.
The Firebirds had quite a few underclassmen step it up in the smaller weight classifications while the seniors really made hay in the higher weight divisions.
Freshman Noah Chastain in the 106-pound division won his weight class by a forfeit and was the only wrestler to take the gold medal by not having an opponent to go against.
After that, the Phoenix won the next two weight classes with pins in the finals.
Sophomore Thomas Young took the 113-pound division and sophomore Wade Parker took the 120-pound bracket with both pinning their opponent in their final match.
Calhoun’s first individual win in the match came in the 126-pound league, but Sonoraville took the next three classes to keep building on its lead.
Sophomore Logan Moore was first in the 132 with a pin in the finals. Sophomore Hunter Young was a 10-0 victor in the 138 finals and in the closest match of the day, junior Caden Blevins won the 145-pound championship with a 6-4 win in one of the few matchups to go the distance time-wise.
Calhoun took the next two weight divisions, taking first in the 152 via the pin and winning the 160 contest by a 14-4 score.
After that, however, it was all Sonoraville in the heaviest weight classes as they took all the 160 and up matches by pins.
Seniors Colt Weaver in the 170; Gavin Harper in the 182; Jebb Knight in the
195; Atticus Peppers in the 220; and Jaxx Knight in the 285 or heavyweight division all won by pins and most of them came pretty quickly.
The Red Bud Middle School also did very well in the junior high competition, defeating their Calhoun counterparts by a 63-22 count.
Before that meet, Sonoraville was the winner of the North Atlanta Invitational, finishing ahead of a few other teams.
The Phoenix racked up 195.5 points to come in ahead of Lumpkin County, which secured 160. Lovett High was right behind with 146 team tallies and Cartersville rounded out the top four with 137.5 points.
Again, Sonoraville had a lot of standouts and the Phoenix won three of the upper weight classes to seal it.
Weaver in the 170 along with Peppers at 220 and Jaxx Knight at 285 were the three Phoenix matmen that took home gold medals.
The Big Red also had three others come in second, putting six Sonoraville grapplers in the finals in their division.
Freshman Jack Burke in the 126 group, Moore in the 132, and Harper in the 182 were the runner-ups in their respective weight brackets.
Junior Cody Gowin in the 195 and Young in the 113 categories each won their third places matches to secure more points for the Phoenix.
Sophomore Dirk Junkins in the 160 and Parker at 120 were both fourth in their weight classes.