Wrestling: Creekview wins Big Red Rumble

GAINESVILLE - Creekview came to the Big Red Rumble Saturday at the Gainesville gym looking to show it could compete alongside the wrestling powers of Region 7-AAA.

The Grizzlies left more than satisfied. They placed seven wrestlers in the finals and had 11 of the 12 that made the trip from Canton qualify in the top four to win the traditional-style tournament with 74 points. They held off White County, who finished second with 63, and third-place Flowery Branch, who tallied 50 points.

The top four wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes scored team points (10-7-5-3 for positions first to fourth).

"We knew we had the potential to do well and I thought we wrestled extremely well in every division," Creekview coach Wyatt Wilke said. "It was the first time we had seen some of the teams from 7-AAA so we were anxious to see how we stack up. We were pleased overall."

Creekview had three champions in Brian Geary at 125, Corey Hamilton at 140, and Dustin Sinclair at 215-pounds. Grant Eddy (112), Joey Hinkle (135), Black Dorris (145) and Jeremy Hester (171) all took seconds for the Grizzlies. Jake McClendon (152) and Nick Riddle (285) finished third for Creekview.

For White County, coach Tim Bragg was smiling after taking second place but also felt they left points out on the mat.

"We did not wrestle that well in the early rounds and that cost us a shot at some finals," Bragg said. "But the guys really rallied in the second half of the meet. This will help us see where we are with the rest of 7-AAA."

The Warriors did extremely well in the finals with three of the four to finals winning: Caleb Morris (103), Blake Limbaugh (160), and Tyler Hamilton (285). Shannon Gooch (189) finished second while Anthony Brady (112), Will London (125), Jamal Payett (145), and John Young (215) all took third place finishes.

Following Creekview, White County, and Flowery Branch in the team competition was Buford (39), Jefferson (36), and Chestatee, Gainesville, Greater Atlanta Christian, and Roswell all finished with 22 points. Flowery branch actually held the lead through the first seven rounds but scored just 11 points in the final seven rounds to fall off the pace. Buford had just nine points through the first five rounds but a win at 135 by Billy Anderton got the Wolves going.

In the end, however, the sheer number of wrestlers by Creekview in the top four was just too much for anyone to overcome. The Grizzlies were in third place after the first five rounds.

Other winners Saturday were: Jake Martin of Roswell at 112; Danny Bell of Flowery Branch at 119; Conner Comeaux of Chestatee at 130; Scottie Forrester of Buford at 145; Nick Voss of Buford at 152; Trahern Ricks of Gainesville at 171; and Drew Schoepf of GAC at 189.

Here are the top four finishers in each weight class from first to fourth:

103: Caleb Morris (White Co); Nick Langford (FB); Armondo Medina (GHS); Chris Boulware (Buford)

112: Jake Martin (Roswell); Grant Eddy (Creekview); Anthony Brady (White); Zach Cannon (FB)

119: Danny Bell (FB); Clay Richardson (Jefferson); Adam Wilson (Roswell); Dustin Forrester (White)

125: Brian Geary (Creekview); Chip Glasper (GAC); Will London (White); Anthony Oliver (Buford)

130: Conner Comeaux (Chestatee); Brandon Dyer (FB); Travis Elrod (GAC); Cameron Hutchins (Buford)

135: Billy Anderton (Buford); Joey Hinkle (Creekview); Cain Finch (Jefferson); Dylan Shearer (White)

140: Corey Hamilton (Creekview); Sam Weintraub (Roswell); Nate Amos (FB); Nate Peck (Chestatee)

145: Scottie Forrester (Buford); Black Dorris (Creekview); Jamal Payett (White); J.J. Martinez (FB)

152: Nick Voss (Buford); Ben Yu (FB); Jake McClendon (Creekview); Cam Phillips (Chestatee)

160: Blake Limbaugh (White); Graham Simmons (GHS); Josh Harper (Jefferson); B.J. Holbert (Creekview)

171: Trahern Ricks (GHS); Jeremy Hester (Creekview); Kyle Roberts (Jefferson); Cory Orr (FB)

189: Drew Schoepf (GAC); Shannon Gooch (White); George Kudyba (FB); Bodie Blankenship (Creekview)

215: Dustin Sinclair (Creekview); Jam Loggins (Jefferson); John Young (White); David Jones (Chestatee)

285: Tyler Hamilton (White); Austin Przybysz (Jefferson); Nate Riddle (Creekview); Blake Forrester (Chestatee)