Four teams headed to state prelims this weekend
Four local schools will send its wrestling teams to the firstever GHSA state preliminary duals this weekend, looking to earn spots in the state finals on Jan. 30.
Ringgold and LaFayette qualified third and fourth, respectively, out of Area 6-AAA following the Area Duals at LHS on Friday night.
As expected, heavily favorited Sonoraville won the area title with a pair of dominating wins, while Coahulla Creek bounced back for second place. LFO lost both of its matches and was eliminated from advancing.
The opening matches saw the Tigers take down the Warriors, 72-12, while the Ramblers were dealt a frustrating 42-41 loss to the Colts. The Phoenix would roll past the Tigers, 71-9 in the semifinals, while the Ramblers rebounded for a 72-0 win over the Warriors, ending LFO’s night.
While Sonoraville would roll past Coahulla Creek, 62-15, to win the area crown, Ringgold and LaFayette faced off in a consolation battle that saw the Ramblers suffer another one-point loss, 41-40.
Starting at 160 pounds, LaFayette took the early lead on a Hunter Deal pin, but Ringgold answered with a pins by Jordan Garnica (170), Levi Lowery (182) and forfeit wins by Kasier Cross (195) and Brentlee Raby (220) to go ahead 24-5. LaFayette’s score was adjusted after a one-point penalty.
The Ramblers, however, would respond with a pin by David Patterson (HWT) and a 17-2 technical fall by Jacob Hamilton (106), cutting the gap down to 24-16. But the Tigers got back-to-back pins by Gage Keener (113) and Hudson Moss (120), followed by a 16-0 technical fall by Nolan Rohrer (126), to go up 41-16 and essentially seal the victory.
LaFayette would go on to earn six-point victories in the final four bouts. Avery Sullivan (132) and Levi Ledford (138) both won by pin, Carson Lanier (145) won by forfeit, and Karson Ledford (152) closed out the match with a pin.
Not having faced Coahulla Creek earlier in the night, the Tigers were able to challenge for true second place. However, they weren’t able to corral the Colts, who posted a 52-24 win to take the area runner-up trophy.
With the match starting at 170, Cross (195) and Raby (220) won by pin to give the Tigers a brief 12-10 lead. But the Colts won the next three matches, two by pin, to go in front 25-12.
Moss (120) won by pin for Ringgold, cutting the deficit down to 25-18, but pins at 126 and 138, sandwiched around a minor decision at 132, gave
Coahulla Creek an insurmountable lead. The Colts would get a forfeit win at 145 and a pin at 160, while the Tigers’ final six points came on a pin by Landon Eaker at 152.
Heritage fourth in Area 7-AAAA
The Generals hosted the 7-AAAA Duals on Saturday and qualified as the No. 4 seed from the area.
The Navy-and-Red, who are currently down several starters due to injuries and who currently have underclassmen filling half of their lineup, still finished 2-2 on the day, opening with a 5424 win over Southeast before a 48-30 loss to CentralCarroll in the championship semifinals.
Then in the consolation semis, the Generals posted a 45-30 win over Cedartown before electing to forfeit the
third-place match to Pickens.
Northwest would claim the championship with a 37-27 come-from-behind win over Central. Pickens finished the day by challenging the Lions for true second place, but dropped a 45-33 decision. Southeast beat Cedartown, 45-24, in the fifth-place match, while Ridgeland did not participate in the tournament.
Individually for the Generals, Tate Thomas (106 pounds) went 3-0 with three pins on the day. Cayman Hughey (132) and Skylar Grant (145/152) were both 3-0 with two pins, while Evan Wingrove (138) went 3-0 with one pin.
Mike Stokes (152/160) finished 2-0, winning both his matches by pin. Austin Palmer (120) went 2-0 and Zach Brown was 2-1 with two pins. Enrique Rodriguez (113) and Logan Bea
sley (170) were both 1-0.
Landon Albright (120/126), Dax Akers (160/170) and Braeden Oliver (HWT) were both 1-2 with one pin each. Garrett Pennington (145) and Jamesen Shook (182) also wrestled for the Generals. Victor Bucio (126) had to default his match due to injury and Heritage forfeited at 195.
Gordon Lee third in Area 6-A
At Trion, the Trojans placed third to earn a spot in the Class A preliminaries.
Gordon Lee dropped a 4342 decision to Armuchee in a match that had to invoke a tiebreaker. The Indians would finally be declared the winner on the ninth criteria (most near falls) to earn the deciding point.
The Trojans went on to post a 48-30 win over Darlington.
Trion won the area title, followed by Armuchee, Gor
don Lee and Darlington.
The prelims will be comprised of area champions hosting three other squads in three-match, single-elimination mini tournaments.
The team that wins both of its matches will take one of the coveted eight spots at the state duals. The Class A State Duals will be held at Trion High School. Cherokee Bluff will host the Class AAA State Duals and Jefferson will be the site for the Class AAAA State Duals.
Brackets are available as GHSA.net. However, the brackets were not set as of press time.
LFO falls twice in Chatsworth
At North Murray last Tuesday, the Warriors fell to Coahulla Creek (60-16) and host North Murray (51-6).
Kendall Chummley (106), Logan Capps (138), Nick Kapher (145) and Taylor Frady (285) collected wins.