TRENTON, Ga. — Dade County coach Billy Broom looked at the scores after 145-pounder Rhett Lusk pinned Chattooga’s Isiah Bagley and knew his Wolverine wrestling team had closed the gap between themselves and Sonoraville in the Area 7-AA traditional tournament.
Sonoraville coach Eric Elrod also knew the score was close, but his Phoenix had four finalists remaining. His team responded with championship wins in four of the final five weight classes to take their second consecutive area title, finishing with 265 points.
Dade County had five champions and placed second with 238.5. The Wolverines had eight qualify for next week’s sectional tournament at Sonoraville, while the Phoenix pushed 12 into the next round.
Area 7-AA tournament at Dade CountyTeam scores: 1. Sonoraville, 265. 2. Dade County, 238.5. 3. Model, 146.5. 4. Adairsville, 142.5. 5. Chattooga, 128. 6. Calhoun, 120. 7. Pepperell, 112. 8. Gordon Central, 78. 9. Rockmart, 70.5. 10. Armuchee, 63. 11. Coosa, 54. 12. Temple, 14.Championship Finals103–J.J. Blankenship (Chattooga) dec. Kaden Scoggins (Armuchee), 9-2; 112–Blake West (Dade) pinned Cody Kuhn (Sonoraville), 3:10; 119–Joey Tamburello (Dade) pinned Hunter Johnson (Calhoun), 0:59; 125–Matt Woodring (Adairsville) dec. Jordan Wurthey (Pepperell), 3-1, OT; 130–Brandon Siffles (Chattooga) dec. Branton Treglown (Model), 8-1; 135–Cody Siffles (Chattooga) dec. Caleb Massey (Dade), 9-3; 140–Michael Knight (Dade) def. Brandon McBee (Sonoraville), 4-1; 145–Rhett Lusk (Dade) pinned Isiah Bagley (Chattooga), 4:59; 152–Austin Burdick (Chattooga) dec. Hunter Knight (Calhoun), 9-7; 160–Ryan Bess (Sonoraville) dec. Brad Nickerson (Model), 3-2; 171–Andrew Bingiel (Sonoraville) dec. Steven Rushing (Armuchee), 2-0; 189–Zane Holder (Sonoraville) pinned Dalton Johnson (Adairsville), 1:05; 215–Aaron Hatch (Sonoraville) dec. Dylan Ingle (Pepperell), 3-2; 285–Jose Calderon (Dade) pinned Dylan Creamer (Adairsville), 3:36.Consolation Finals103–Tyrell Turner (Model) dec. Jesse James (Adairsville), 4-2, OT; 112–Michael Flynn (Model) dec. Zach Estes (Rockmart), 3-0; 119–Hayden Randalph (Adairsville) dec. Dylan Bowen (Sonoraville), 9-2; 125–Austin Williams (Sonoraville) won by injury default over Hunter Davis (Dade); 130–Richard Davis (Sonoraville) pinned Daniel Cook (Rockmart), 2:59; 135–Layson West (Sonoraville) dec. Drew Hardy (Model), 6-5; 140–Aaron Mansfield (Adairsville) dec. Austin Kirby (Calhoun), 9-2; 145–Alex Kanocz (Adairsville) dec. Dakota Culberson (Gordon Central), 8-2; 152–Jamie Phillips (Sonoraville) pinned Josh Gilbert (Dade), 5:48; 160–Zach Lansdell (Armuchee) pinned Levi Wood (Pepperell), 3:24; 171–Mann Daniels (Gordon Central) pinned Brandon Nickerson (Model), 5:27; 189–Clinton Bell (Gordon Central) pinned Oscar Valladaes (Calhoun), 3:49; 215–Rico Mann (Calhoun) dec. Lane Morris (Model), 10-9; 285–Tyler Smith (Sonoraville) won by injury default.
“We knew they were creeping up,” Elrod said. “We keep track of the points, and my team is a true team so they were keeping up, too. This was a full team effort and a dogfight, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Coach Broom does a good job and we don’t want it to be easy, but we know it won’t be easy to win with Dade County around.”
Model was third with 146.5 points and Adairsville fourth with 142.5. Chattooga rounded out the top five with 128.
Ryan Bess (160), Andrew Bingiel (171), Zane Holder (189) and Aaron Hatch (215) won titles for Sonoraville. Dade’s Blake West (112), Joey Tamburello (119), Michael Knight (140), Lusk (145) and Jose “Pepe” Calderon (285) won area titles for the Wolverines.
“That’s really exciting,” Broom said. “I’m very pleased by that, but I always think my guys are going to win. I’m surprised when they don’t, so I’m not surprised about the achievement.
“I was writing down our state qualifiers, and we only have two seniors on this team, so I’m looking forward to bring 12 wrestlers back next year.”
Chattooga matched Dade County with four titles: J.J. Blankenship (103), Brandon Siffles (130), Cody Siffles (135) and Austin Burdick (152). Adairsville’s Matt Woodring won at 125 pounds
“I don’t want to sound generic, but we’re happy, not content,” Elrod said. “It’s a three-step process and step one is over with. We’re going to celebrate, but only for the weekend.”
Said Broom: “I think we’re peaking. I believe that as the competition gets tougher, we’re going to perform better and better, and I’m looking forward to bringing home some medals over the next couple weeks.”