MACON, Ga. - The preliminaries are over at the GHSA wrestling duals championships. It's time for the main course.
Today's championship round features many of the usual suspects, programs with trophy cases bulging at the seams. Thanks to reclassification, two of those titans will decide the Class AAAA title this afternoon when Jefferson and Gilmer square off in a match that's been talked about for weeks.
Gilmer reached the championship round with a 41-31 win over scrappy Luella, while Jefferson rolled to a 50-16 win over Woodward Academy.
"Luella is very good," Gilmer coach Sam Snider said. "We saw them early in the year and we beat them, but we could tell they had five or six really good kids. We were smart about getting our guys in the right places and, for the most part, we didn't give up the big points and we got all the wins we thought we would get."
Snider's Bobcats jumped out to a 17-0 lead after pins from heavyweight Levi Seabolt and Dan Puac and a technical fall from Domingo Reynoso, but Luella won four of the next six bouts - two of them pins - to close within 29-19. A pin at 170 closed the gap to seven, but Ryan Crump earned a hard-fought 5-3 decision at 182 and Matthew Waddell received a forfeit win to secure the team victory.
Ridgeland, in its first state tournament, was eliminated 30-25 by Troup County. The Panthers lost four consecutive decisions to start the match but tied it at 15 when Dylan Swanson earned a decision at 152. The Troup lead was just two when Bryon Butts pinned Austin Coppinger to seal the win.
Sonoraville went 1-1 Friday, winning 56-21 against McNair before losing 40-32 to Lumpkin County in the semifinals. The Phoenix were up 17-6 after five bouts and were leading at 132 when Lumpkin's Keller Brown turned the match around with a pin. Lumpkin won four of the next six bouts - three pins and a major decision - to take control.
"Anybody that knows wrestling knows you can't give up five pins and win," first-year Sonoraville coach Randy Steward said. "We were in good shape, but we got put on our back at 132 and it seemed to go south from there. All we talk about is fighting, and we have some very good kids, but as a group we don't fight hard enough right now.
"I hope we come back and compete tomorrow. We want third place and I think we can get there. We have great kids, but they just fought harder than us tonight."
In Class A, Trion, the No. 2 overall seed, was upset by Turner County, 33-30. Turner jumped on the Bulldogs by winning the first six bouts for a 25-0 lead.
Trion faces Strong Rock Christian in the consolation round, while Sonoraville goes against the winner of the Crisp County/Pierce County match. Afterward, the focus will turn to the finals, including the titanic quad-A battle.
"Jefferson has 16 state dual titles in a row and we have nine total," Gilmer's Snider said. "It's two very classy, hard-working programs. Our kids are ready for it and you know Jefferson is, too."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22