23-Trevor Burdick, Sonoraville.CALHOUN, Ga. - Randy Steward is counting on the power of momentum.
The second-year Sonoraville High School wrestling coach was somewhat disappointed the 2016-17 season ended when it did. The Phoenix - or Firebirds, as the wrestlers prefer to be called - caught fire in the postseason, following up a GHSA Class AAA third-place duals finish with a runner-up finish in the state traditional tournament.
Steward said the success carried into an offseason in which the program grew from 19 individuals to nearly 40 and had an increase in spring and summer competition for many of the wrestlers. Instead of feeling comfortable getting back near the top at the state level, the program was left wanting more.
"With me being new, I didn't know how good we would be," Steward said. "They just responded to what we were teaching, and we had a great end of the year and a great offseason.
"We got a bunch of them to wrestle this spring and summer. It's a good situation. This has been a good wrestling school, though we've never won a state title, but the kids are working toward that and they understand the history of it."
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TEAMS TO WATCH› McCallie: The Blue Tornado return two state champions — senior River Henry (285 pounds) and freshman Alex Whitworth (106) — and seven other wrestlers who placed in the Division II tournament last season.› Bradley Central: The Bears are coming off dual and traditional state championships, but coach Ben Smith must replace a trio of state champions and two runners-up. He does have four state placers back: Wesley Devaney, Kevin Gentry, Devin Gibson and Andy Robinson.› Cleveland: Joey Knox takes over after being an assistant for four years and will lean on seniors Cody Matthews and Bryce Pond, junior Titus Swafford and sophomore Garrett Bowers, each a top-four finisher at state last season.› Baylor: Coach Ben Nelson has a wealth of talent returning, led by sophomore 160-pound state champion Conner Duffy and runners-up Mason Reiniche and Riley Westlake, to go along with six other traditional tournament medalists from 2016-17.› Trion: The Bulldogs finished third in the GHSA Class A public duals and second in the traditional tournament last season. Coach Eric Brock returns four state medalists, including runners-up Logan Blevins and Cole Luallen.WRESTLERS TO WATCH› River Henry, McCallie: The senior heavyweight, who is headed to Old Dominion, is coming off a 36-2 state championship season. He earned prep All-American honors with a runner-up finish at a national tournament this past spring.› Tyler Hunt, Sonoraville: He was 40-1 and a GHSA state champion at 120 pounds last season. This season, the junior is 14th in FloWrestling’s national rankings at 126 pounds.› Mason Reiniche, Baylor: He was a D-II state runner-up at 152 pounds before surging to a national second-place finish and earning prep All-American honors in the spring.› Jacob Mariakis, Ridgeland: After offseason shoulder surgery, he battled back to go 18-0 and win the GHSA Class AAAA 138-pound state title last season as a junior.› Griffin Jarrett, Chattooga: He burst onto the scene with a 69-3 record in 2016-17, concluding his freshman season as a GHSA Class AA state champion.
Sonoraville had only two seniors last season, though one was surprise state champion Ian Clark. Two state titlists return - juniors Tyler Hunt (120 pounds) and Trevor Burdick (126) - along with three other state medalists: sophomore Allen Stone (106), senior Gavin Thompson (113) and junior John Knight (195).
"I think we've got eight, nine really good kids," Steward said. "Tyler Hunt wrestled all over the country and is now nationally ranked, and what that does is it rubs off on the other kids. Trevor Burdick is the same caliber, and some of the other guys I expect to make big leaps."
Two of those are seniors Brandon Bell (145) and Hunter Wilson. Both just missed making the state field and are motivated to take the next step.
Stone could contend for a title this year, either at 113 or 120, while sophomore Charlie Brown is expected to do even better than his 26 wins last season.
"We're still relatively young with three seniors, and we've got a great bunch of younger kids coming up from the middle school," Steward said. "The depth we've built should help as well."
To that end, Steward and his staff plan to limit their wrestlers' number of matches some during the regular season to help prepare for Georgia's lengthy postseason. It was a strategy that paid off last year.
"The kids who went to state for us had about 40 matches last year," Steward said. "We saw some there with 60, so we're going to try to keep it about 40 to keep them fresh for the end of the year. We're trying to peak in early January for the duals and then focus on individuals and then get them to peak again.
"I feel good saying we want to be in the hunt. We would like something other than a silver trophy."
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfpress.com or 423-757-6296. Follow him on Twitter @youngsports22.