Trion, Ringgold and Dalton earned GHSA area traditional wrestling championships Saturday, with several other Northwest Georgia teams also setting themselves up for success in next weekend’s sectional round and — especially for a handful of athletes — for individual glory at the state tournament in two weeks.
Trion will send 13 of a possible 14 wrestlers into the Class A sectional round, including five area champions: Jason Jenkins (120 pounds), Clayton Loughridge (138), Coleman Lee (144), Cohen Blaschke (175) and two-time individual state champion Toby Maddux (190).
Coach Eric Brock, after a fourth-place finish for the Bulldogs at state duals two weeks ago, was happy with his mostly young crew.
“Our younger wrestlers stepping up and wrestling hard made the difference today,” Brock said. “We had two freshmen make the finals, with Coleman Lee winning the area title and Silas Mills coming up just short after giving it everything he had. Our veterans also took care of business and showed why they are the leaders of this team.”
Also at the Area 7-A tournament at Trion, Dade County had three individual champs — Jax Guinn (165), Eli Kimball (285) and two-time individual state champ Landon Williams (215) — and will advance 10 wrestlers overall into the sectionals. Chattooga had individual champions in Bryson Rutledge (106), Landon Carlton (113) and Gavin Carlton (126) and takes nine to sectionals, while Christian Heritage’s Cooper Middleton was the 157-pound champ.