Wrestling teams from the Times Free Press coverage area went 5-1 in the opening round of GHSA state duals across three classifications Friday.
The quarterfinals weren’t as successful for that group, however, as only Gordon Lee advanced to Saturday’s championship semifinals, doing so in the Class A event at Heard County.
The Trojans, who were upset in the title match at last week’s Area 7-A duals by Trion, won a pair of tight matches, while the Bulldogs were relegated to the 16-team event’s consolation bracket — meaning they can finish no higher than third — after a heartbreaking defeat in the championship quarterfinals.
Coahulla Creek also lost a tight championship quarterfinal in the Class AA duals at East Jackson, while Ringgold also fell in that round. Sonoraville lost its opener, but after winning its next dual while facing elimination, the Phoenix will join the Colts and the Tigers in the consolation quarterfinals Saturday.
Calhoun went 1-1 in the Class AAA event at Mary Persons, where nine-time state duals champion Gilmer — which beat the Yellow Jackets to win last week’s Region 7 duals — advanced to the championship semifinals.
The biggest drama for local teams was in Class A, where Gordon Lee won on criteria in its opener against Toombs County, 41-40, and used a late surprise pin to get past Brantley County, 41-38, to set up a semifinal against Elbert County on Saturday.
The Trojans got pins from Noah Garrison in the first bout at 165 pounds as well as Layne Vaughn (215) and Josh Murtaugh (285) to build an 18-12 lead against Toombs. Cooper Saine (106) followed with another pin, and in a penalty that proved to be huge later, Toombs lost a point from the dual score for team misconduct.
Gordon Lee’s lead grew after pins from Landon Williams and Noah Brown and an 11-3 major decision from Jenz Martin (138), but the team win wasn’t secured until Kaden Ellis (150) managed to avoid being pinned. That five-point technical fall left Toombs down seven, so a pin in the dual’s final bout didn’t affect the outcome.
“We knew coming in we’re real close, but having holes in our lineup makes it tough, so we have to take a few chances and move some people around, and it feels good when it works out,” Gordon Lee coach Jason Mull said.
“The Toombs match was a tie, and we came away with that one on criteria because they’d had an unsportsmanlike called on them. The guys wrestled hard, even where we lost a couple matches, and some guys not getting pinned was huge.”
The Trojans led Brantley 29-17 after Brown’s tech fall at 126, but a Brantley pin at 132 cut the lead to six. At 138, Brantley’s Caden Benton led 14-4 before Gordon Lee’s Martin turned the bout around with a third-period pin. Carson Alexander followed with a pin at 144 to clinch the semifinal bid.
Gordon Lee is seeking its third state duals title, with the Trojans winning the Class A crown in 2013 after sharing the championship a year earlier.
Trion was not as fortunate as its rival Friday. After routing Temple 63-15 in an opening match that featured 10 pins, the Bulldogs were neck and neck with Commerce in the quarterfinals when bad fortune struck.
Commerce led by seven on the next-to-last bout when Trion’s Clayton Loughbridge, one of the team’s top wrestlers, was injured with the match tied at 3 and could not continue. The resulting injury default (not due to penalty) left the Bulldogs down eight. Commerce forfeited the final bout to win by a point.
At East Jackson, Area 7-AA champion Coahulla Creek routed Glenn Hills 82-0 with nine pins, but then lost 38-36 to Cook in the quarters after leading 34-32 with three bouts remaining. Cook got a pin at 165 and a major decision at 175 to take a six-point edge. Coahulla Creek’s Branson Lowery dominated the final bout, but he could not get a pin against Rolando Gonzalez and had to settle for a 14-2 major decision.
Ringgold downed Morgan County 57-24 in the opening round before losing 52-19 to four-time reigning state duals champion Rockmart.
Sonoraville opened with a 46-25 loss to Cook, then stayed alive by cruising past Glenn Hills 77-6 in the consolation bracket’s first round.
In Class AAA, Calhoun defeated Bainbridge 43-22 before falling to Dawson County 43-20. Gilmer had impressive wins over Cairo, 73-6, and West Laurens, 53-25, to reach the semifinal round, where the Bobcats will face Jefferson, which is seeking its second straight state duals title and 22nd overall.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com.