Jackets, Dawgs sending wrestlers to Macon
♦ Rockmart has 13 wrestlers qualify for the Class AA state championships, which will be held this weekend.
There will be plenty of Polk County representation at the 2023 GHSA Traditional Wrestling State Championships this week in Macon as both Cedartown and Rockmart qualified numerous students for the tournament.
Wrestlers across Georgia competed in sectional tournaments on Friday and Saturday with the top six in each weight class earning a spot at this weekend’s championships at the Macon Centreplex.
Rockmart, the Area 7-AA champion and Class AA state duals champion, will have a shot at possibly capturing a traditional state team title after 13 out of 14 Jackets qualified for Macon.
TK Davis and Nahzir Turner won their divisions at the Class AA “A” Sectional at Jeff Davis High School on Saturday. Both won Class 3A individual state titles last season. Davis wrestles at 120 pounds, while Turner wrestles at 165 pounds.
Other Rockmart wrestlers who finished as sectional division champs were Hagen Sharp (113 pounds), Gunner Chambers (126), James Murray (132), Hunter Wilson (144) and Jase Davis (285).
Tyler Malone came in second at 190 pounds to still earn a spot in Macon, while Malachi Macedonio was third at 106 pounds. Bleu Winters (138) and Austin Wooten (175) each finished fourth in their weight classes, while Skylar Edwards (150) and Luke Clay (157) both came in fifth.
Meanwhile, Cedartown’s top wrestlers competed Saturday at the Class 4A “A” Sectional at Westminster School with four of the five Bulldogs earning berths in the state championship tournament.
Two-time Region 7-4A champion Adam Payton will be a favorite to repeat as a state champion after he won the 132-pound weight class at sectionals. He will be joined by teammate Gage
Mason, who finished third at 138 pounds and also won a state title last season.
Also qualifying for this weekend was Zack Gray, who came in third at 113 pounds, and Kooper Peek, who came in fifth at 120 pounds.
Adding to Cedartown’s roster of wrestlers for Macon is Kaitlyn Fields, who placed third in the 120-pound weight class at the GHSA Girls Sectional 1 at Upson Lee High School after coming back through the losers’ bracket after a tough first match defeat.
The state championship action starts Thursday with Cedartown’s boys up first in Class 4A during the morning session. Rockmart’s qualifiers and the girls’ bracket gets underway on Friday, with Class 4A finals scheduled for Friday evening.
The Class 2A and girls’ finals will wrap up the weekend Saturday afternoon.