DULUTH, Ga. — Sam Forester enjoys going to the movies, but in his professional career he’s not a fan of late dramatic twists.
The LaFayette High School wrestling coach, however, will have to endure a season’s worth of drama today as his Ramblers attempt to overtake heavy Class AAA title favorite Gilmer County in the GHSA traditional state championships at the Gwinnett Arena. Gilmer holds a slight lead, but the Ramblers have eight wrestlers still alive to only seven for Gilmer.
“We’ve got one more than they do, but they’re up about 10 (points),” Forester said after Friday’s lengthy semifinal round. “We both have three in the finals, but it’s going to be won in the wrestlebacks. Man, I hate drama. I would love to have it wrapped up about now, but we’ll have to go to work tomorrow.”
Heading the Ramblers effort are the team’s three defending state champions: Preston McCalmon (130-pound class), Seth Taylor (125) and Justin Ownby (152), all going for repeats tonight (7:30 start of competition).
“Those guys have earned their spot and it would be nice to get three champions again,” Forester said. “No one really gave us much of a shot at this, but we’ve got one.”
Taylor said the experience of a year ago is making this title hunt easier.
“It helps quite a bit,” he said. “I beat the kid today I had in the quarterfinals last year, and it was tough. But getting used to the setting and the people helps.”
Two other team title contenders, however, didn’t fare as well Friday. In Class AA, Sonoraville lost three key members of its team this week and quickly fell out of contention for the championship. The Phoenix, who have 215-pound Aaron Hatch in today’s finals, still have a shot at top-four finish.
“We’ve had to battle some adversity, but the kids never quit,” coach Eric Elrod said. “This is all about building a base for the future, and we have the kids to do it.”
Gordon Lee had high hopes for a team title in Class A, but a dominating effort from defending champion Bremen and some unexpected Trojans losses left them fighting for the runner-up spot. The team, though, still has Mika Clark at 103 pounds, Alex Spires at 112, Trevor Jones at 130 and former champion Taylor Pace at 135 in today’s finals.
“If we could have swept the seven we had here, it would have been close,” Gordon Lee coach Steve McDaniel said. “We lost some close ones this morning that hurt, but the guys have done all they could. These are high school kids, and you never know what they’re going to do.”
Individually, 19 area wrestlers will compete for championships today. In Class AAAA, they are Northwest Whitfield’s Russell Royal (112) and Josh Lewis (152); Murray County’s Josh Webb (102) and Dalton Lane (145) and Dalton’s Henry Torees (119); in AAAA, joining LaFayette’s three are Heritage’s Cody Goins (130) and Cory Canada (145), Ridgeland’s Jacob Wallace (119) and two-time titlist Derrick Laney of LFO at 215; in AA, Dade County’s Joey Tamburello (119), Calhoun’s Hunter Knight (152) and Sonoraville’s Hatch are alive.