DULUTH, Ga. — It wasn’t the dominating performance of last year for Derrick Laney, but it may have been an even better one given the circumstances.
The Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe senior 215-pounder won his third consecutive state championship Saturday at the GHSA Traditional State Championships, capping a dominating career with what coach Donnie Welborn called his guttiest effort.
“It couldn’t happen to a better kid,” said Welborn, moments after Laney’s second-period pin of Jackson’s Charlie Ally. “He’s worked his tail off for four years and overcame a severe injury this year that cost him half the season. He still found a way to win a thrid state championship. You don’t get to coach kids like that often.”
Laney, whose only loss the last two seasons was an injury default two weeks into this season in a match where he tore cartiladge in his ribs, caught Ally off balance 30 seconds into the second period, put him on his back and easily finished his final prep opponent off.
“The pin’s nice, but I would have been happy to win by a point,” Laney said. “The goal was just to win it, and after what’s happened this year, this is more than I could hope for. I paced myself in the first period, then he gave me an opening in the second period and I took it.”