Chickamauga City Schools Superintendent Melody DayCHICKAMAUGA, Ga. -- Three months after the fact, the Gordon Lee High School wrestling team finally was able to celebrate a state championship. It came by a vote Monday of the GHSA executive committee.
The decision ended a hard-fought campaign by the Gordon Lee administration and Chickamauga City Schools Superintendent Melody Day to correct a scoring error in the Class A state duals championships in January. The vote of the 50-person committee, according to GHSA executive director Dr. Ralph Swearngin, will make Gordon Lee the champion along with Holy Innocents' Episcopal School in Atlanta.
"This is not a co-championship," Swearngin said by phone Monday afternoon. "Both schools will be listed as state champions. The majority of the executive committee felt like they needed to correct the situation, and that's what happened. Please note that nothing was overturned. This is an addition."
Swearngin was not sure if the GHSA had ever added a state champion by appeal.
The controversy occurred in the next-to-last individual bout of the Class A finals when Gordon Lee 106-pound wrestler Johnny Ragsdale was called for an intentional head butt against his Holy Innocents' opponent.
Though the mat officials agreed the incident occurred after the match had officially ended, Holy Innocents' was awarded six points for the match in addition to Gordon Lee losing a total of four team points for the foul and the questioning of the call by coach Brent Raby. GHSA wrestling rules state that in such a situation no points should be awarded to either team for the match.
Gordon Lee won the next individual bout and the six points awarded Holy Innocents' proved to be the difference in what was then ruled a 31-29 final score. Raby attempted to appeal the decision at the site but was told he couldn't.
Another attempt to gain an appeal a week later also was denied by the GHSA with the explanation that the school could not appeal a judgment decision, but school officials would not accept that ruling, either.
"We were not appealing the judgment call, just the incorrect scoring," said a jubilant Day, who was lifted into the air by several wrestlers following the announcement. "We then went to Thomaston to appeal in front of representatives from the executive board, and they did rule that we had an appealable case and they asked us to present it in front of the entire GHSA executive committee. We made our presentation today and we are very thrilled with the outcome."
Day, principal Clay Crowder, Raby and his assistant coaches informed the entire student body in a hastily called meeting in the school's gym at 2:30. The wrestlers, who did not know of the decision, were understandably thrilled, especially Ragsdale, a freshman.
"I think it's awesome," he said. "I knew it happened after the match, though it wasn't on purpose. With everything that's happened this year, with our teammate Jordan Queen getting killed and all, it feels amazing this was overturned. It didn't feel good at all when it happened."
The school's argument included a well-prepared document that included official statements from the head mat official, the assistant official and tournament director William Saville. Their comments made it clear the incident took place after the match had concluded and therefore the six points should never have been awarded to Holy Innocents'.
"Simply, six points were given to them they didn't earn," Raby said. "There were some high emotions and there were clearly some people who were adamantly against us, but the clear majority, once they heard the facts, were in our favor. The 50-person executive committee is there to help in situations like these, and this really helps restore the faith that it can get solved the right way."
Immediately following Monday's assembly, wrestlers lined up to get sized for their championship rings. Raby said the GHSA will set a date to award the championship trophy and the GHSA website will record the score as Gordon Lee 29, Holy Innocents' 25. The coach also hopes this is the first step in getting an evaluation process for officials.
"This may go a long way in changing the way officials are evaluated in Georgia," he said. "There needs to be a way to do that so we can get the best ones on the field or court. In the end they got it right, but it never should have gone this far."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296.