For the rest of Georgia, the state dual wrestling tournament takes place next Friday and Saturday in Macon. For Region 7-AAA, it’s effectively this weekend in Ellijay.
For one of three legitimate state contenders, Saturday will be the end of the road.
Region reclassification wasn’t kind to 7-AAA wrestling coaches. In addition to defending state dual champion Gilmer County and multiple title winner LaFayette, upstart Heritage joins what is without a doubt the top three teams in any region in Class AAA and possibly any classification.
“Honestly, I think the state champion will be decided Saturday,” said LaFayette coach Sam Forester, whose program has won five consecutive area dual tournaments. “It’s going to be tough. Everybody will be fighting for it, and there are definitely three teams that could win it all.”
The Ramblers, by virtue of early-season wins over both Gilmer and Heritage, are seeded No. 1 in the two-day tournament hosted by Gilmer. As a result, they wouldn’t face second-seeded Gilmer or third-seeded Heritage until the finals. The host Bobcats and the Generals, on the other hand, likely will meet in Saturday morning’s semfinals.
The tournament will have a true second-place finisher, meaning that if the team that loses in the championship finals hasn’t faced the consolation winner, those two teams will square off for the final state dual tournament berth.
Heritage coach Kenny Hill isn’t concerned with having to beat two title-worthy teams to win the area championship. In fact, he relishes the opportunity.
“Second or third seed doesn’t matter to us,” Hill said. “LaFayette earned the top seed. If we’re going to win a state championship, we have to find out if we can beat the Gilmers and LaFayettes in our region and in our state. There’s teams in other regions that couldn’t beat any of us. It’s unfortunate we were grouped together, but we’ll have to persevere and battle.
“I look forward to this weekend.”
Dalton coach Charles Mitchell has seen most of the teams that will be competing this weekend and agrees that the top three stand out from the rest.
“Gilmer, Heritage and LaFayette are clearly the top teams, and any of them could win the state,” he said. “All the rest of us — Murray County, Southeast, Ringgold … we’re not the complete packages. Somebody’s going to sit home next week, and that team would easily win any other area.”
* Northwest Whitfield will look to return to the Class AAAA duals after a year’s absence by claiming one of two spots at Rome High School. Defending champion Sonoraville is the top seed in the 7-AA tournament at Gordon Central, while Gordon Lee will compete for one of four available slots in the Class A tournament at Holy Innocents’.