Trion has ups and downs, but finishes third at GHSA state wrestling tournament

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.
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.

MACON, Ga. - There were a few more unpleasant moments than Trion wrestling coach Eric Brock would have wanted for his team, but after the Bulldogs finished third in Class A at the GHSA state traditional tournament Saturday, he wasn't complaining.

The Bulldogs won two of their four championship finals matches at the Centreplex, including a near-miraculous title from 138-pound sophomore Lincoln Maddux. Trailing Commerce's Tucker Flint and nearly pinned, Maddux got out of it and quickly found himself in control.

"Maddux was down 6-2, and he gets put to his back with a minute to go," Brock said. "But he hits a whizzer move, throws the kid to his back and pins him. That was very exciting."

Moments later, senior Cole Luallen capped his prep career with a pin to win the 145-pound title. Later, though, senior Logan Blevins lost 2-1 in double overtime when Commerce's Knox Allen prevented him from escaping in the final 30-second period.

"My heart breaks for Logan," said Brock, who also got a runner-up finish from Bolen Stricklin (120). "Logan gets kind of hooked up with his leg and couldn't get the escape. If he had, we felt good because of the choice (of position) in the ultimate tiebreaker.

"There have been some ups and downs, but it was mostly a great weekend. Sometimes the chips just don't fall your way, but it teaches these kids to stand up and be men."

Mariakis repeats

Ridgeland junior Jacob Mariakis fought a bit of fatigue Saturday during his Class AAAA 145-pound championship bout, but he hung on for his second consecutive individual title.

Mariakis, the son of Panthers coach Keith Mariakis, took a quick lead and held on despite some difficulty breathing while getting past Troup's Chase Seals, 14-6. For the second consecutive year, Mariakis was limited early in the season due to a shoulder injury.

"Jacob wanted to get a couple of takedowns in the first period, and he was able to take him to his back early and it got to 11-2," Coach Mariakis said. "After that, he just didn't want to get in a bad position. His lungs were getting to him at the end. He said he just wants to wrestle one full season so he can get his lungs strong."

The Panthers were seventh in team points, the second-best finish for Area 6 teams; Gilmer was fifth. Also scoring big for Ridgeland were 170-pound runner-up Ryan McGill and Jordan Hughley (138), who was fourth.

"It was a good tournament for us, and we did it without Chris Prescott, who probably would have been at least in the finals," Coach Mariakis said. "I will have them all back except for Ryan, who really laid all on the line this weekend."

Phoenix still rising

The cherry on top of Sonoraville's Class AAA team title was the fact coach Randy Steward expects to return each of his wrestlers for what he hopes will be an even stronger 2018-19 season.

"We have everybody back and a good eighth-grade group coming up, so this will generate even more enthusiasm moving forward," he said. "We felt we could build something big here, but, yes, this may be a year ahead of time. I hope it will make these guys - and everyone else - even hungrier."

One of those expected to return is two-time individual state champ Trevor Burdick, who earned a 13-2 major decision over Lumpkin County's Keller Brown to win the 138-pound title Saturday. Burdick believed the season, even after a disappointing third-place finish at state duals last month, could be special.

"It's huge to be on the first championship team at Sonoraville," he said. "It means so much to us and to Coach. I knew at the beginning of the year that we could do it. We got upset after losing at the duals, but we shook that off and got after it this week."

Big finish for Jarvis

Gordon Lee senior Braden Jarvis had a bit of history with Commerce's Braxton Legg, his opponent in the Class A 170-pound final - though it was ancient history by adolescent standards.

The two previously met in a middle school state championship match, with Legg coming out on top. On Saturday, it was Jarvis who controlled the action from the start to finish his prep career in style by winning 8-4.

"I came out strong," Jarvis said. "I knew Braxton was real good, so I wanted to stay away from the areas where he was strongest. Once I got a good lead, I just kept up a good pace on the mat and didn't let him get to me.

"It's amazing to go out with a state championship. It's what I've been working toward for four years."

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

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