Dade County had the highest finish among the four area wrestling programs competing in Saturday's GHSA state duals.
The Wolverines placed second in the Class AA event at Lamar County in central Georgia, falling 38-29 in the title match to No. 1 seed Oglethorpe County.
Trion, which was the top seed and hosted in Class A, finished fourth after losing a heartbreaking championship semifinal match. Class AAA's Sonoraville also finished fourth, while Dalton, a surprising qualifier for the final eight in AAAAAA, went 0-2.
Dade County reached the title round with wins over East Laurens, 62-18, and Vidalia, 45-34. The championship final began at 160 pounds, and the Wolverines surged to a 19-0 lead on a decision from Landon Williams, a major decision from Eli Johnson (170), a pin by Cody Williams (182), a decision from Isaac Pangle (195) and an 8-1 win by Austin Sorrelle (285).
Oglethorpe County, however, won seven of the next eight bouts - three by pin and another by technical fall - to take control. The only victory for coach Jeff Poston's team during the run was 120-pounder Garrett Dunn's major decision, and the Wolverines forfeited the final weight class with the dual's overall outcome decided.
Trion's hopes for a Class A title repeat fell short after losing 32-31 to Commerce on a match decided by the ninth tiebreaker criteria: greater number of first points earned. Each team won seven individual bouts, had three pins each and one major decision apiece, leading to the tiebreaker that made the Tigers champions.
The Bulldogs led 9-6 through three bouts after a pin by Logan Eller (160) and a decision won by Bladyn Bowman (182), but Commerce won the next four, including two by pin. The teams split the next four matches, with the two wins for Trion in that set a pin by Daegan Vaughn (113) and a major decision for Crawford Lee (126).
After Commerce's Bryson Flint earned a pin at 132, Trion won the final three bouts, starting with a pin from Bryce James (138), to make it 31-all and set in motion the tiebreaking process.
Trion bounced back from the tough loss to the Tigers to defeat Landmark Christian 63-12 in an elimination match before losing 40-27 to Social Circle in the third-place dual.
In Class AAA, fifth-seeded Sonoraville reached the semifinal round at Cherokee Bluff in Flowery Branch after defeating No. 4 Adairsville 51-24. However, eventual champion North Hall defeated the Phoenix 45-28, winning six consecutive bouts after Sonoraville's Eli Knight opened the match with a major decision at 132.
Sonoraville reached the third-place match by downing Hart County, 41-27, but fell 48-36 to Rockmart to settle for fourth. Eli Knight, Jaxx Knight and Jebb Knight each went 4-0 for the Phoenix on Saturday, with the latter two getting four pins each.
Dalton, competing as AAAAAA's No. 7 seed at Lassister in Marietta, lost 50-24 to Brunswick and 52-21 to Lee County.
In the TSSAA's duals postseason, Signal Mountain beat visiting Nolensville 42-36 in a sectional to qualify for the four-team Class A/AA state bracket next Saturday at Nolensville, which was previously determined as the host but will not compete after being eliminated by the loss to the Eagles.
A key moment in Signal Mountain's win came when senior 220-pounder Pearson Lindsay, trailing 5-2 after being taken down in the second period, fought his way off the bottom for a reversal and then pinned his opponent.
"He was riding me on bottom almost the whole match, but I just hooked his arm and had it deep and just rolled him right over. I hooked his head and squeezed as hard as I could to get his shoulders on the mat," Lindsay said. "It will be a victory I will always remember. Especially against Nolensville. They have been the team that has knocked us out the last couple of years, so to beat them on our home turf in front of our fans was amazing."
The Eagles trailed 18-3 early - Brock Shipley (145) won 9-2 in the opening bout - but they earned their first bonus points thanks to 182-pound standout Kevin Muschel, who already led 13-0 before ending his match with a second-period pin. Preston Worley followed with an 11-5 decision, and then Lindsay's pin made the dual score 18-all.
Signal Mountain was in good shape from there as its fearsome foursome from 106 to 126 did all the damage needed. Eighth grader Ethan Uhorchuk (106) landed the day's fastest pin at 19 seconds, while Noah Shriner (120) and three-time state champion Daniel Uhorchuk (126) each had a first-round pin and Caleb Uhorchuk (113) accepted a forfeit.
Daniel - the team's captain and the most decorated wrestler in school history - let out a yell as he sealed the victory with two matches left and the Eagles up 42-24.
"In my opinion, our 106 to 126 is one of the toughest stretches to get through in any classification in the state," Signal Mountain coach Joe Jellison said. "They are a tough four.
"Our seniors really wanted this, and it's great to exact revenge after we beat ourselves in the state quarterfinals last year against Nolensville. But we still have work to do for next week and can't be content."
Signal Mountain's opening dual at state is against Pigeon Forge at 2 p.m. Eastern next Saturday, when Hixson and Fairview will meet in the other semifinal. The championship and consolation finals are set for 7.
Walker Valley rolled to dominant dual victories over Whitwell, 54-15, and Sequatchie County, 80-0. David Westfield (113), Caden Decker (170), Heath Tanksley (182) and Kallum Lowe (195) had first-period pins against Whitwell, while Jadon Langford (285) and David Cantrell (138) won by decision. For the Tigers, Brice Barton (132) and Cooper Helton (145) won by pin, with the team's other victory a decision for Cameron Elliott (126).
BOYS' BASKETBALL
Christian Heritage 66, Mount Paran Christian 39: Freshman Jax Abernathy's 22 points led the Lions (16-2, 6-0 GHSA Region 7-A private) as they cruised. Evan Lester, one game after reaching the 1,000-point club, chipped in 12 points, six rebounds and six steals, and fellow senior Nash Bingham scored 13 points.
Hamilton Heights 56, McCallie 45: Hamilton Heights' Yerald Mieses and McCallie's Eric Rivers each scored 21 points, but it was Mieses and the Hawks who prevailed in the finale of this year's Dr Pepper Classic at McCallie. Hamilton Heights improved to 6-9 during a season in which the Chattanooga private school has played eight teams ranked in the top 25 nationally. IMG Academy of Bradenton, Florida, beat Knoxville Catholic 79-52 in Saturday's other Dr Pepper Classic game.
Howard 58, Tyner 51: The Hustlin' Tigers evened the score with the Rams in their District 6-AA showdowns this season. Meechie Bowens scored a game-high 19 points, while Kerrick Thorne (14), Marcus Greer (10) and Xavier Fisher (nine) also contributed for Howard (7-2, 5-1). Tyner (10-2, 9-1) was led by Trent Gresham's 17 points.
Polk County 60, McMinn Central 45: Tannar Patterson scored a game-high 28 points, and Caleb Milen made 15 of 16 free throws in a 23-point, 15-rebound performance to lead the Wildcats to the District 5-AA win on the road Friday night. Polk County's Jonah Adams had 10 assists.
Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22. Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.