Four Walker County grapplers claim state sectionals titles

Six Ridgeland Panthers will take to the mats at the Class AAAA state tournament next weekend, while LaFayette will bring three.

Ridgeland got first-place victories by Jacob Mariakis and Chris Henderson. Mariakis scored a 14-5 major decision over Gilmer’s Drew Dyer at 138 pounds, while Henderson, the defending state champion at 220, beat Heritage’s Jeffery Curtis, 3-2, in the finals at Woodward Academy.

Jordan Hughley (132) was second after getting pinned by Seals Chase of Troup. Meanwhile, Ryan McGill had to settle for second at 170 after losing a 2-1 overtime decision to LaFayette’s Cole Ingram, who won a second straight sectional crown.

Tyler Beard got second for the Ramblers at 160 as he was pinned by Eastside’s Matt Malcom, while Cody Deal took third for LaFayette at 220, giving Area 6 the top three places in the weight class.

Chris Prescott (126) finished third for Ridgeland. His only loss of the weekend came on an injury default. Dylan Swanson (152) was fifth for the Panthers.

The Gordon Lee Trojans will be represented by seven wrestlers at the Class A state tournament in Macon next weekend.

Trojans sending seven to state

Braden Jarvis, a state runner-up a year ago, will be one of the favorites in the 170-pound division after he won a state sectional title at the Darlington School in Rome on Saturday. Jarvis pinned Telfair County’s Ian Blankenship in overtime in the finals, handing Blankenship (47-1) his first loss of the year.

Four more Trojans finished second. Hunter Burnette (106) was pinned in the finals by Wright Walker of Irwin County, while Tucker Miller (113) lost an 8-2 decision to Dalton Blankenship of Darlington. Jarrett Lassetter (160) lost 8-2 to Cameo Blankenship of Telfair and Caleb Vines (195) was pinned by Logan Blevins of Trion.

Zach Murdock (152) battled back to finish third in his weight class, while Avery Geer (126) placed fourth to earn a spot in Macon. Jasper Wilson (120) finished fifth and will be a state alternate.

The state tournament for Class AAAA will begin Thursday at the Macon Coliseum, while the Class A tournament will get going on Friday.