Catoosa County sending 20 wrestlers to state tournaments

RINGGOLD, Ga. - It's one of the smallest counties in the state where land mass is concerned, but when it comes to wrestling talent, Catoosa County is anything but small.

Twenty wrestlers from high schools within the Catoosa border will compete in the GHSA state traditional tournaments, which begin today in Duluth. Heritage and Ringgold are taking nine competitors each, while a rebuilding Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe squad is taking two.

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestlers set the mats — under the direction of coach Heath Eslinger — inside McKenzie Arena on Wednesday in preparation for the Southern Scuffle, the top national college wrestling tournament.

Heritage's Generals, the Region 7-AAAA duals and traditional tournament runners-up to perennial state power Gilmer, and Class AAA state duals third-place finisher Ringgold do not plan to return home empty-handed, and that concerns both team and individual honors.

"The guys have been wrestling well, and we've still been working to improve so we can have a good showing and get some hardware," said Heritage coach Mike Craft, who expects big things from returning state champion Chuckie Thurman at 126 pounds. "We're looking for Chuckie to have a deep run again and Daniel Jernagin (138) to improve on a sixth-place finish from last year. Hopefully we can get some other guys to medal as well.

"That's impressive for Catoosa County to have so much wrestling talent in it."

Heritage will have a tough time upsetting Gilmer, though. The Bobcats, fresh off another state duals title, have 12 of their 14 wrestlers in the state field, including returning individual champs Matthew Waddell (182), Lucas Patterson (132) and Levi Seabolt (285).

Coach David Moss's Ringgold Tigers also face a prohibitive favorite in Class AAA as Jefferson will attempt to keep its 15-year streak of state championships alive.

Moss believes the young Tigers - led by individual contenders Griffin Green (145), Jesse Wade (220) and Enrique Maravilla (285) - are peaking at the right time.

"The guys are wrestling hard and with a lot of confidence," Moss said. "I'm proud of what they've accomplished, and we hope to come home with some hardware."

The tournaments, held at the Infinite Energy Center (formerly the Gwinnett Arena), start today with action in Classes AAA through AAAAAA. Classes A and AA begin Friday morning, with semifinals for all six classifications that night and medal matches to determine first through sixth place on Saturday.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.