Generals’ senior wins third state crown Tigers’ freshman claims state title No. 1
One of the most highly-anticipated individual Class AAAA state finals matches on Saturday turned out to be something of a letdown for the fans in attendance at the Macon Coliseum.
And Heritage’s Chuckie Thurman is the one to thank for it.
The Generals’ senior became the school’s first-ever three-time state champion and did so with almost surprising ease as he pinned highlyregarded Ian Statia of powerhouse Jefferson in the finals.
“It feels amazing,” said Thurman, who added to his new national takedown record by finishing his senior year with 575. “This is what I’ve worked my whole life for. I wish I could have been a four-time state champion. I lost (in the state finals) in overtime my freshman year, but it happens to the best of everyone.”
The single-season takedown king pinned his way through the tournament with a second-period pin against Camden Aycock of Oconee County and first-period pins against Brady Smith of North Oconee and Andrew Pace of Marist.
But few in the packed Coliseum were expecting the same against Statia, who entered the finals sporting a lofty 50-1 mark on the year.
However, Thurman built a 5-0 lead in the first period before turning Statia on his back and sticking him in the second period. He ended his senior season with a 62-1 record.
“Chuckie has done an amazing job and he’s the example of what hard work can do,” Heritage head coach Mike Craft said. “He’s put in thousands of hours of wrestling and it has paid off for him. He’s a great example to his teammates of what you need to do to be successful. We’re superproud of him.”
Ryan Craft placed third for the Generals at 106 pounds, while Jeffery Curtis was third at 220. Blake Bryant (113) and Daniel Jernigan (132) were both
In last week’s Class AAA “B” sectionals at Bremen, Ringgold freshman Logan Skeen handled Lovett senior Robert Wilkes with a 6-0 victory.
A week later, a change of venue was not enough to make a difference in the outcome of the rematch.
The Tigers’ high school rookie performed like a seasoned vet, dominating Wilkes by a 7-1 count in the Class AAA 106-pound state final at the Macon Coliseum on Saturday.
Skeen led 4-0 after the first period and maintained the 4-0 lead going into the third before riding out the victory. Wilkes’ lone point came after Skeen allowed an escape.
He said beating Wilkes last week gave him confidence.
“It did, but I was trying to keep ‘on the low’,” he admitted. “I just tried to just go about my business.”
He opened the state tournament by pinning Brantley County’s Eddie Singletary before a 3-1 ultimate tiebreaker win over Allen Stone of Sonoraville in the semifinals on Friday. Skeen finished the season with a 37-4 record.
“This feels very good,” he said of his first state crown. “I’ve worked for the last nine years to get here. It’s been a great experience and I’d really like to win three more.”
Ringgold’s quest to bring two state titles back to Exit 348 fell short as defending state champion Griffin Green was denied a second championship in the 145-pound weight class.
Green ran into a buzzsaw in Morgan County’s Jody McAlister, who seemingly had an answer for each and every move Green tried en route to a 15-4 major decision win.
Heavyweight Enrique Maravilla finished third for the Tigers, while Tanner Stone placed fifth at 113 pounds.
Bremen (132.5) claimed the state title, beating out Sonoraville (105) for the top spot. Morgan County (86) was third, Lovett (80) was fourth and Jackson
fourth and Zaine Burton (195) took fifth.
Heritage went on to collect 111.5 points and
finish fourth in the Class AAAA team standings behind Jefferson (166.5), Gilmer (142.5) and West Laurens (133.5).
“(Fourth place) is something we wanted to do, especially this year with teams like
Jefferson, Gilmer and West Laurens,” Craft added. “We’re pretty proud of that, considering we were a little short-handed after losing some guys to the flu (at sectionals).”