Heritage High School wrestler Chuckie Thurman.MACON, Ga. – There were two matches involving Chattanooga-area wrestlers during the GHSA traditional championships that caught the attention of everyone in the standing-room-only crowd Saturday at the Macon Centreplex.
In each case, a Class AAAA northwest Georgia senior went out in style by winning his third individual state title.
Heritage 126-pounder Chuckie Thurman, 57-1 this season before Saturday afternoon’s finals, faced off with Jefferson’s Ian Statia, who was 50-1. Thurman took control early, building a 5-0 lead after one period before pinning his opponent in the second.
Thurman, who set state and national takedown records this year with 575, pinned his way through the tournament.
“I was pretty confident coming into the match,” he said. “He came in here 50-1, but I wasn’t scared. I got the first two and went on from there. After I got my legs in, it was easy to turn him to his back and I stuck him.”
The other match featured a pair of nationally ranked wrestlers at 182 pounds, Gilmer’s Matthew Waddell and Jefferson’s Caleb Little. The latter, a three-time state champion, surprised Waddell with an early takedown, but the two-time champ tied it at 2 with a pair of escapes to send the bout into overtime.
Each of the other six finals at that weight had completed, so all eyes – even the officials and competitors – were tuned in to the drama.
“It was neat because everybody had stopped to watch that match,” Gilmer coach Sam Snider said. “Matthew wrestled the way he always does, which was aggressive, and it seemed like he was getting penalized for being the aggressor, which was sad. But as the match progressed and all the eyes were on it, it seemed the calls were consistent and Matthew’s continual attack won the match over a great, great opponent.”
Waddell nearly won in the first overtime but wasn’t awarded the takedown. However, he escaped early in the second OT period for a 3-2 win. It was a moment the future Oklahoma Sooner had been waiting for all year.
“We’ve had a lot of history and have wrestled against each other since we were 8 years old,” said Waddell, who cut weight this year so he could match up with Little this weekend.
“I had never beaten him until the Panther Invitational in December this year, where I won 3-1. We’re good competitors and it’s been a long time coming. To win my third title and to keep him from getting his fourth was special.”
Ridgeland’s best postseason
Ridgeland announced its arrival in Class AAAA with a pair of individual champions and an eighth-place finish.
Chris Henderson earned his second 220-pound title with a 5-2 win over Jefferson’s Nick Holman to complete a 55-1 season. A takedown 28 seconds into the second period broke a 1-1 tie, and Henderson held on from there.
“Every time I started doing my motion, he would start hitting me in the head, so he knew what I was doing,” he said. “I decided to wait on him to attack and took advantage of him. I’ve been looking forward to this matchup all year, and I’m just glad God gave me the opportunity to get another shot at a title.”
Sophomore Jacob Mariakis, who missed much of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery, won his first title with a grueling 9-8 win over Madison County’s Cody Bond, who entered with a 46-1 record. Mariakis started quickly, building an 8-3 lead after two periods, but a tweak of the troublesome shoulder just as the period ended had him worried.
“After the first period I had a good little lead, but I was getting pretty tired,” he said. “He started cranking on it, and that was the first time it had been put in that position since I had the surgery, so it kind of scared me. It held up well, and I was able to stay on top.”
Four more champs
The northwest Georgia area also had four other individual champions.
Gilmer’s Levi Seabolt joined teammate Waddell as three-time champions after pinning Area 6-AAAA rival Michael Robles of Northwest Whitfield in the second period. Northwest senior Jordan Lewis turned the tables at 195 by defeating Gilmer’s Ryan Crump 7-2 for his first title.
There were also a pair of 106-pound freshmen from northwest Georgia atop the medal stand – Ringgold’s Jeffery Skeen and Chattooga’s Griffin Jarrett, who could be on their way to four-title immortality. Skeen easily topped Bremen’s Brandon Wilkes 7-1 in Class AAA, while Jarrett improved to 69-3 with a dominating 21-12 win against Fitzgerald’s Kevin Martin in Class AA.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.