Seventy-two Georgia high school wrestling teams ready to do battle this weekend for five state duals championships have been sidelined by bad weather and now must wait six weeks for a chance at a state ring.
The five-ring circus – A-AA-AAA-AAAA-AAAAA – all under one roof at the Macon Centreplex was scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, but has been moved to Feb. 25-26 with the locations to be determined.
For the second time in the 10-year history of the duals, the event will follow the state traditional tournament which is set for Feb 17-19 at the Gwinnett Center.
The four teams from north Georgia who have qualified for the state duals are Gordon Lee (A), Calhoun and Sonoraville (AA) and Heritage (AAA).
“Our guys were looking forward to wrestling for a state team title this weekend, but we will now focus on the traditional and then go after the duals crown,” said Heritage head coach Kenny Hill.
“I like the way we (state of Georgia high school wrestling) do it now in having the duals first and the traditional second, but don’t worry, wherever the AAA duals are we will be there.”
Now in its third season of existence, Heritage has an impressive 95-35 dual record (33-6 this season) and placed fifth at the state duals in 2009 and seventh last year.
The Forum in Rome: Prior to all five dual tournaments in Macon, they were held at various sites across the state, including The Forum in Rome.
“The Forum is a great venue for wrestling, it can host two classifications and it’s a neutral site. I hope the state office considers this venue if it has the open dates,” Hill stated.
Class A: 8 teams … No.1 seed – Bremen … No.2 seed - Gordon Lee.
Defending Champ: Two-time defending champ Bremen
Class AA: 16 teams … No. 1 seed – Jefferson … No.2 seed – Sonoraville … Calhoun is in top half bracket with Jefferson …
No.3 Lovett School is coached by former McCallie and UTC wrestler Jim Glasser ... Coach Glasser has led Lovett to 11 traditional and two state duals crowns since 1980 …
Defending Champ: Jefferson … 9-time defending state duals champ and 10-time defending state traditional champ …
Class AAA: 16 teams … No.1 Seed – Gilmer County … No.2 seed – Woodward Academy … Heritage is No. 7 seed and in the same quarter bracket with Woodward Acad. …
Defending Champ: Gilmer County ... who also won AAA state duals in 2005 and 2007 …
Heritage Notes: The Generals, runner-up in Region 7AAA to Gilmer County, have beaten three of the 16 teams in the AAA state event – No. 3 West Laurens (64-6), No. 4 Henry County (40-26) and Carrollton, 69-9 …
The Generals have also posted a win against one team which has qualified for the state duals in each of the other four classifications:
A- No.2 Gordon Lee 52-15
AA- Calhoun 57-18
AAAA- Alexander, twice, 47-26 and 52-14
AAAAA- North Gwinnett 33-26
Class AAAA: 16 teams … No.1 seed - Pope … No.2 seed - Loganville
Defending Champ: Loganville
Class AAAAA: 16 teams … No.1 seed – Collins Hills … No.2 seed – Camden
Defending Champ: Three-time defending champ Collins Hill … The Eagles also won the duals in 2005 and state traditional in 2005, 2008-09-10.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net