Sonoraville is one good day away from winning its first wrestling state championship after a strong Friday at the GHSA traditional tournament in Macon.
The Phoenix sent four wrestlers through Friday's semifinals and into today's Class AAA finals, and they lead pre-tournament favorite North Hall, 117 points to 101, with Region 6 rival Bremen in third with 96.
"We haven't won anything yet," second-year coach Randy Steward said. "They feel good, and tomorrow they plan on going out and doing what they are supposed to do. But I'm not going to relax until it's over. I'm approaching that with the kids the same way.
"We had a great first day, and while you always want to be perfect, we are very happy with the outcome so far."
Sonoraville, which qualified just eight of its 14 wrestlers from the area tournament, will be represented in the finals by 2017 state champions Tyler Hunt at 132 pounds and Trevor Burdick at 138, along with brothers Eli and John Knight at 106 and 195 pounds, respectively.
In addition, three Sonoraville wrestlers - Hector Arbos (113), Allen Stone (120) and Charlie Brown (182) - will wrestle for third place. North Hall also has four finalists but just one competitor alive for third place.
Also in Class AAA, Coahulla Creek has a pair of state finalists, Daniel Lopez (220) and Walter Richards (285), while Ringgold's Griffin Green (145) will try to earn his second state title.
In the Class AAAA field, prohibitive team favorite Jefferson has a 30-point lead over West Laurens. Gilmer, the runner-up a year ago, is fifth with 97.5 points, with Ridgeland seventh with 61.5 and two finalists - Jacob Mariakis (145) and Ryan McGill (170). Heritage, seventh in team points, will be represented by Ryan Craft (106) in the finals.
Dalton is a strong fourth among Class AAAAAA teams and sits just nine points from second place. The Catamounts have Hunter Noland (113) and Malik Coleman (152) in the finals. Ethan Carroll (120) and Joseph Reese (195) are in third-place matches, while Jaxon Wells (138) and Ethan Arnold (285) will try to get fifth.
Class AA's Chattooga has a pair of finalists - Griffin Jarrett (106) and Luis Medina (285), with Jarrett trying to repeat as champion - while Alex Mears will battle for third.
Trion sits second in Class A but trails Commerce 186.5 points to 95. The Bulldogs will send Bolen Stricklin (120), Lincoln Maddux (138), Cole Luallen (145) and Logan Blevins (195) into the title round. Gordon Lee is fourth with 63 points, led by finalists Hunter Burnette (106) and Braden Jarvis (170).
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.