If area wrestling teams get their way, northeast Georgia should once again be well represented at the State Duals Meet in Macon next week.
But first, they must get through what figures to be grueling Area Duals meets.
Teams like Jefferson, Banks County, Commerce, and Buford all have won state duals titles in recent years. The Dragons have won the Duals every year since their creation in 2002 -- seven in Class A, six in Class AA, and last year in Class AAA. Commerce is the reigning back-to-back state champions in Class A while Buford won Class AAA in 2014 and Banks County won Class AAA in 2013.
And all four are again expected to lead a talented group of teams into the 2016 Area Duals, which begins Friday for some areas and runs through Saturday.
Only the top two teams in each area will advance to next week’s State Duals. Here is a look at each area in northeast Georgia:
Area 8-AAAAA at Clarke Central in Athens, Friday and Saturday
Hall County Championship winner Gainesville is looking to use that experience and momentum for a return trip to the State Duals.
The Red Elephants were the Area runners-up last year and new coach Shane Millwood is hoping for a repeat performance in the Area Duals.
“If we wrestle like we did at Hall County, I think we have a good chance (at advancing),” Millwood said.
The Red Elephants are 17-6 in Dual matches this season and come in as the third or fourth seed depending on some outcomes this week. Host Clarke Central is the favorite with the Red Elephants, Heritage-Conyers, and Lanier all with strong shots at grabbing one of the top two spots.
“Clarke Central is loaded,” Millwood said. “It will be tough to knock them off and I really think the other spot will come out of that other group. But you never know. There is always a surprise or two.”
Gainesville is led by seniors Terrell Knight (160-pounds) and Anthony Costantini (195), “the backbones of our team,” said Millwood. The Red Elephants are solid in the middleweights with sophomore Malik Johnson (132), senior Jerson Garcia (138), and Ken Flenoy (145).
“These guys finished second (as a team) last year so they know what they need to do. We always go in looking to win and hopefully we will wrestle to our potential,” Millwood said.
Area 8-AAAA at Buford, Friday and Saturday
North Hall comes in as the defending Area champion and as the top seed again for this year’s tournament. Host Buford is the No. 2 seed this year and took second last year.
Those two should be favorites to move on to the State Duals next week but Chestatee, the No. 3 seed, is a strong darkhorse candidate.
The rest of the area is in a rebuilding mode.
The Trojans, who recently finished second at the Hall County Championships, have wrestled a tough schedule and battled injuries early but are close to being at full strength as they enter the Duals.
Coach Stuart Cunningham said getting healthy and improving has been their goal.
“We’re still trying to get there,” Cunningham said. “The guys have worked hard and competed. Hopefully we can have a strong tournament.”
North Hall is led by a solid group of seniors. Michael Carew (160) is undefeated so far and Isaiah Hale (182) who finished third in the state at 170 last year, has just one loss, and Randy Galvan (220) also has wrestled well so far. Meanwhile, freshman Matt Glenn (106) has been a plenty addition to the lineup, Cunningham said.
Matt Sewell will rotate between 138 and 152 and Nick Whitmire will rotate between 170 and 182.
Cunningham said the plan is to try and defend their Area crown.
“Our plan always is to try and win,” he said. “Buford and Chestatee are wrestling well and we’ll have to bring our best.”
First-year Buford coach Jason Burton was a part of the Wolves back-to-back runs to the finals, helping them capture the 2014 crown as an assistant and is hopeful they can make a return to the top of the podium this year.
“I like our team,” Burton said. “We have balance and we’re getting back our best wrestler so we feel we’re in as healthy a spot as we’ve been all season.”
The Wolves are led by their only senior Jack Barber (145), who won state titles in 2013-14 and finished third last year. But, he has been battling injuries and the Area Duals will be his first action of the season.
Junior Trent Ferguson (138, 31-3 record) was a state title winner last year and is coming off a title win in a Illinois tournament last week. Junior Jack Ness (195, 6-2) finished fifth in that Illinois tournament.
“We expect those guys to lead us and we feel like we have solid guys in all the positions,” Burton said. “We haven’t wrestled anyone in the Area other than Monroe Area and we won a tight match with only eight guys so we’ll just have to see how things go once we get there.”
Chestatee, despite returning just four starters, is improving by the week and could be a factor. The War Eagles recently finished third at the Longhorn Duals at Lambert.
North Hall was 14th in the Longhorn Duals.
Monroe Area is the fourth seed, White County is the fifth seed, Stephens County is sixth, Johnson seventh, North Oconee eighth, and Madison County ninth. Madison County will play host to a wrestle-in match against North Oconee on Friday to get into the eight-team bracket for Saturday.
Area 7-AAA at Fannin County, Saturday only:
Banks County and Lumpkin County advanced last year and they are the pre-tournament favorites once again. Dawson County, East Hall, and West Hall all could be within striking distance if any key matches turn in their favor.
Before the Christmas break, Banks County, which won the 2013 Class AAA state duals title, was once again considered the favorite coming into the competition. But things have changed for the Leopards, and in Area 7-AAA.
Four Banks County starters, including two that were considered strong state title contenders, were ruled ineligible after not making grades and will not be available to coach Kasey Hanley.
“It’s very disappointing that these kids did not do what they were supposed to do in the classroom,” Hanley said. “We’ll move forward without them. We have some younger and inexperienced guys, at least on the varsity level, that we can fill in but obviously we’re going to lose some quality at those spots.
“We’re still expecting to be in the top two teams to move on but I think this hurts us for any real chance at winning state now when you have teams like Jefferson and Sonoraville that don’t have any holes. But we’re going to go out and compete as hard as we can.”
The Leopards, before the changes, looked every bit the part to make a run at a state title. They come in 16-3 in Dual matches and have beaten Class AAAAAA powerhouse Collins Hill twice. They also recently won the Black Knight Duals and finished second at the Grayson Duals leading up to the Area Duals.
Three-time state champion and senior Chris McCrackin (145) will lead Banks County once again. Senior Dylan Gouine (170) won Area last year and finished fifth in the state. Junior Chris Guthrie (160) and sophomore Devin Mullinax (106) were state qualifiers last year and are having solid seasons.
After that, Hanley said a lineup shuffle may be in store.
“We’ll just see where we are when we get there. We may have to move guys before every match. Whatever we have to do to try and qualify for state,” he said.
East Hall could be one of those teams that benefits from the Leopards misfortunes.
A young Vikings squad with just three seniors comes in 17-17 in Dual matches and finished third at the Hall County Championships and did it with two holes in the lower weights.
“We have wrestled a lot of bigger schools to try and prepare our kids and give them the toughest competition we could find,” East Hall coach Ken Stoudenmire said. “We have been wrestling pretty well. To finish third at Hall County was outstanding considering we were giving away 12 to 18 points every match with holes in the lineup."
The Vikings do not have anyone to fill the 106 and 113 spots and junior Joseph Smith (170), an Area medalist last year at 170, was out due to injury until recently returning. But they do have a solid 1-2 punch in sophomore James Stoudenmire (120, 31-6) and senior Will Davidson (132, 41-5). Both were state qualifiers last season but Stoudenmire will move them around depending on the team matchup.
Sophomores Ryan Buffington (138, 27-8) and Angel Vargas (126, 30-11) and junior Dylan Finley (220, 27-13) give East Hall a solid core to work from. However, Finley, a state qualifier and Area runner-up last year, is a stellar 25-7 at 220 after wrestling up at 285 during part of the season.
“I think we have a chance to challenge for one of the top two spots but we can’t give away any points,” Stoudenmire said. “Will and James have been wrestling well and Dylan in 220 has been tough for us all year. Angel is having a solid year so we feel if those guys keep doing what they’ve been doing and we get a couple of other guys to step up we have a shot.”
Area 8-AAA at Oconee County, Saturday only:
Jefferson has never lost an area or state duals meet as the 14-time defending state duals champion spanning three classifications. And the Dragons are sure to be a prohibitive favorite once again in 8-AAA coming into the meet with a perfect 28-0 Duals record.
The sparking record also includes a win over national power Brother Martin out of New Orleans as the Dragons handed the Louisiana powerhouse its first duals loss in over four years at the Baton Rouge Bayou Duals last month.
“We have wrestled well so far against some great competition,” Jefferson coach Doug Thurmond said. “That match against Brother Martin was one to watch and we felt so proud of the guys. When they wrestle to their capability they truly can beat anyone.”
The Dragons will get a challenge against Morgan County, Jackson County, Oconee County, and Elbert County but only the top two teams will advance to state. Jefferson recently won the Oconee Duals holding off Oconee County, Jackson County, and Elbert County in the process.
“I think the top two teams will come out of that group of five teams,” Thurmond said. “There’s always a surprise or two but all five of those teams are capable of winning it. It should be a good tournament.”
Jefferson is led by three undefeated wrestlers. Senior Tanner Thurmond (132) and junior Caleb Little (182) were both named Outstanding Wrestler at Baton Rouge. Sophomore Dawson Bates (113) is the defending state champion at 106.
Others helping to lead the Dragons are senior Mitchell McGhee (120), the defending state champion at 113, and senior Will Ballard (152), who won the state title at 145 as a sophomore.
“We have a few guys banged up but we’re trying to get through this week and qualify for the state and then see if we can get those guys back for the state,” Thurmond said.
Area 4-AA at Rabun County, Saturday
Area 4-AA is as loaded as any in the state in any classification with defending Class AA champion Social Circle and perennial stalwarts Greater Atlanta Christian, Wesleyan, and Riverside Military Academy.
The seeds will reflect that with those four teams as the top four seeds in the Area Duals.
For local area team Riverside Military, first-year head coach Kenny Payne, who was an assistant last year, is hoping they can begin the climb back to the top. The Eagles come in with a 9-2-1 dual record.
“We’re a hard-working team and we’re still trying to find our way,” Payne said. “We would love to have a shot at the top two but it will be an uphill battle. We have some solid guys who are making progress but this is a very tough area."
Riverside is the fourth seed and is led by undefeated senior Nick Hernandez (160) who finished second in the state last year. Newcomer and senior Nathan Brown (152) and junior Russell Bolton (113) have had solid seasons so far. Brown and Bolton both have lost just twice all season.
The big challenge will be that the Eagles are on the same side of the bracket as Social Circle and will have to find a way to take down the Indians in the semifinal round.
"Social Circle is strong at every spot," Payne said. "If we get that far we will have to wrestle our best of the season. Hopefully we'll have some luck on our side."
Rabun County and Union County, also in 4-AA, are in the middle of the seedings as well and are looking for a top four or five finish.
Area 4-A at St. Francis (Alpharetta), Saturday only:
Commerce comes in as the overwhelming favorite to return to Macon and why not. The Tigers are 9-1 on the season playing a nearly southeastern region schedule against some of the top teams in the south. Their only loss was a narrow one to a team from Tennessee without three of their starters.
They come into Saturday’s Duals fresh off a 60-9 drubbing of three-time defending Class AAAA state champion Gilmer on Tuesday and with a healthy lineup for the first time this season.
“We expect to win every time out if we wrestle to our potential,” Commerce coach Kendall Love said. “But we also expect a challenge, no doubt.”
No one on the Tigers comes in undefeated but several have just one or two losses against a brutal schedule so far.
Junior Jake Brewer (120) has just two losses and is the defending state champion at 113. Junior Dalton Flint (132) has just one loss, as does defending 170 state champ junior Cole Chancey, who has moved up to 182 this year. Junior Owen Brown (145) has two losses and is the defending 138 state champion. Senior Michael Patton (220) has just one loss.
“We feel we’re wrestling pretty good right now,” Love said. “We’re still a fairly young team but we have challenged them and they have responded pretty well. This group is battle-tested coming in.”
The Tigers will get a challenge from host St. Francis and Towns County could be a darkhorse in the area. Those three teams are the only ones in 4-A that can field a full lineup with Commerce and St. Francis both advancing last year.