The GHSA state traditional tournament began Thursday in Macon for Classes AAA, AAAA, AAAAA and AAAAAA, and Sonoraville’s wrestling program is in title contention in AAA after competition was completed through the championship and consolation semifinals.
The finals for those four classes are at 6 p.m. Friday. Earlier in the day, competition will begin in Classes A, AA and AAAAAAA and the girls’ division, with those four brackets wrapping up Saturday.
Sonoraville is third in team points with 146.5, trailing Gilmer (168) and Rockmart (154), but coach Randy Steward’s Phoenix have a class-high seven finalists, another wrestler in the third-place match and two more in fifth-place matches.
Gilmer has five finalists, two in the consolation finals and three in fifth-place matches, with Rockmart still with four finalists, three alive for third-place points and three going for fifth.
Sonoraville will be represented in the finals by Logan Moore (132 pounds), Colt Weaver (170), Gavin Harper (182), Jebb Knight (195), Draven Peppers (220) and Jaxx Knight (285). Noah Chastain (106) will wrestle for third, while Thomas Young (113) and Wade Parker (120) will go for fifth.
The Phoenix recently finished third at state duals, where Rockmart edged Gilmer for the title.
Also in AAA, Coahulla Creek’s Adonnis Sanchez is in the 106-pound finals, with Ringgold’s Jaxon Delgado going for third at 145 and LaFayette’s Jacob Hamilton going for fifth at 113.
Class AAAA: Heritage’s Evan Wingrove (160) and Southeast Whitfield’s Olli Webb (106) are in the finals, and Northwest Whitfield’s Jayden Santiago (195) will wrestle for third. Heritage’s Tate Thomas (106) and Andrew Dietz (132) will shoot for fifth, as will Ridgeland’s Hunter Barber (106) and Northwest’s Tony Burnecke (160). West Laurens leads the team standings with 175.5 points, with Jefferson second at 136.
Class AAAAA: Calhoun has Kelly Wells going for fifth at 220. Cass leads a tight team race with 157.5 points, followed by Woodland-Bartow (141.5) and Ola (140).
Class AAAAAA: Dalton’s Riley Souther (285) is in the finals, and teammate Stryker Woods (220) is in a third-place match. Buford has a comfortable team lead over second-place Valdosta, 172.5 points to 95.5.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Boyd Buchanan 32, Silverdale Baptist 30: Freshman guard Sarah Durham found junior Dani Reeves for the winning basket in a Division II-A District 2 semifinal. Reeves glanced her shot off the glass while drawing a foul with 11 seconds to play. Reeves also blocked the final shot and scored 12 points, a game high matched by Silverdale’s Tori Gibson.
“These girls always find a way,” Lady Buccaneers coach Tracey Walker said after her team improved to 21-5. “They played tough defense and were fighting all the way to the finish. We pride ourselves on defense ,and that’s what we will continue to do.”
Bradley Central 63, Cleveland 42: Karsee Weber made five 3-pointers while leading the Bearettes (23-3) with 17 points, Ashlan Crittenden had four steals and Sloane Carpenter handed out six assists.
Ooltewah 63, Central 16: McKenzie Bernier led the Lady Owls to victory with 14 points.
Sale Creek 33, Soddy-Daisy 27: Shelby DeFore had 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Lady Panthers won.
Sale Creek 65, Girls Leadership Academy 14: Sale Creek secured the District 5-A regular-season championship with Wednesday’s win as Keilyn Morgan and DeFore combined for 30 points and as many rebounds. Morgan led all scorers with 16, while Caroline Holland added 12 for the Lady Panthers, who won their first district title since 1976.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Boyd Buchanan 63, Silverdale Baptist 62 (2OT): Jacob Shockley made the winning shot from under the bucket with two seconds left to send the Bucs to Friday’s district title game against Notre Dame. Shockley scored a team-high 18 points and Caden Johnson added 17. Silverdale’s Brett Wright led all with 27 points, and Houstan Holland hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the last 15 seconds of the second overtime. Boyd Buchanan’s Jaylon Moore had three blocked shots in the second half.
Bradley Central 51, Cleveland 48: The Bears held the Blue Raiders to three points in the third quarter, and Aiden McClary scored 16 points and had nine rebounds for the winners. Judah Sault led Cleveland with 17 points.
Red Bank 57, Brainerd 50: Haden Spurgeon had the hot hand, making five 3-pointers while scoring a game-high 17 points for the Lions (22-4). Reco Trimble had eight assists and Spurgeon had six in the win.
Soddy-Daisy 59, Sale Creek 25: Shaun Pangle scored 16 points for the Trojans, while Zack Ryans added 12 in the victory.
Trion 55, Armuchee 48: Trion earned a quarterfinal berth in the GHSA Region 6-A public tournament at Armuchee. Greyson Petty had 23 points, 11 in the first quarter, with Jase Mason scoring 10 of his 18 in the fourth as the Bulldogs held on.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon and Lindsey Young. Contact them at sports@timesfreepress.com.