Friday was a historic day at the GHSA wrestling duals championships in Macon, where Sonoraville handed Jefferson its first state duals loss since the tournament’s inception in 2002.
The Phoenix, two-time reigning traditional champions, trailed 19-18 after the first seven bouts despite taking an 18-0 lead against the 18-time duals champs. They rebounded by taking six of the final seven matchups, the final two by pin, to win 48-22.
Sonoraville will face North Hall in Saturday’s Class AAA final at the Macon Centreplex and will be joined in the championship round by Gilmer in Class AAAA, Chattooga in Class AA and Trion in Class A.
Northwest Whitfield is in the Class AAAA consolation semifinals against Central-Carroll after defeating Eastside, 43-22, and Cartersville, 50-27, on Friday. Dade County is in the Class AA consolation semifinals after a 54-19 win over Jeff Davis. The Wolverines will face Elbert County on Saturday for a shot to reach the third-place match.
“They’ve been the best and you want to beat the best,” Sonoraville coach Randy Steward said of Jefferson. “The other biggest deal is that this is just the semifinals. We’ve got North Hall in the finals, a great team that we’ve also never beaten in a dual meet. It’s the same mindset as today.”
Sonoraville started the match with pins by Charlie Brown at 195, Joseph Bryan at 220 and Brandon Bristol at heavyweight before the Dragons won the next four to take a one-point lead. Eli Knight then earned a major decision at 132 to give the Phoenix a lead they would not relinquish. Allen Stone and Jayce Derryberry followed with technical falls, and David O’Neal made it 36-22 with a 14-6 major decision at 152.
Jebb Knight and Zakk Ferguson finished out the big win for the Phoenix, who have finished third three times at the state duals.
“The emotion on the bench was super,” said Steward, whose team is now 26-0 in dual matches. “Even though we were down 19-18 we had the toughest part of our lineup coming, so the guys knew we had a great shot. I’m proud, I’m happy and we’re all excited, but we want more.”
Chattooga will compete in its first duals final after getting five pins in a 45-27 win over Elbert County. The Indians started the match strong with pins at 195 by Ty Veatch, at 220 by Alex Mears and at heavyweight by reigning state individual champion Luis Medina. Three-time traditional champion Griffin Jarrett added six more points at 113 as coach Brian Beasley’s team built a huge lead.
Chattooga will face Social Circle, winner of the last five Class AA duals titles, in Saturday’s final.
Trion rolled into the Class A final with a 42-22 win over Mount Pisgah Christian by taking a 28-0 lead on the strength of a pair of forfeits, Clay Baker’s win at heavyweight on an injury default, Seth Huskins’ major decision at 106 and Daegan Vaughn’s pin at 113.
Coach Eric Brock’s team will face six-time Class A champion Commerce in Saturday’s championship round.
Gilmer, a nine-time duals champion, went to the final bout before getting past Perry, 36-31, in Class AAAA. The Bobcats were tied at 31 when heavyweight Jacob Cruz earned a 15-0 technical fall to clinch a title-round matchup with top-seeded Woodward Academy.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.