Jackson County powerhouses Jefferson and Commerce are making a return to Macon to try and defend their State Duals titles beginning Friday at the Macon Centreplex.
Those two teams will headline a solid group of northeast Georgia teams making the trek to Macon.
Buford in Class AAAA (and a former state champion in Class AAA in 2014) and North Hall, and Jackson County and Lumpkin County in Class AAA all advanced to the State Duals.
Jefferson, now in Class AAA, has never lost a state duals since the tournament's inception in 2002, spanning three classifications, while Commerce is the two-time defending Class A state champion.
The top two teams in each region in all seven classifications advanced to the State Duals after last week’s Area Duals around the state. The finals for all classifications are slated to begin at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Here is a look at the local and area teams still alive for a state title, by classification (largest to smallest):
CLASS AAAA
The overall field is tough with past champions Buford and West Laurens, as well as contenders Marist, Carrollton, and North Hall, and of course, six-time defending champion Gilmer.
Gilmer is the top seed with Marist No. 2, Buford third, and Locust Grove fourth. North Hall is the No. 8 seed.
Buford and North Hall advanced from Area 8-AAAA and both face tough roads toward a championship. The Wolves won the Class AAA title in 2014.
Buford, which finished fourth in AAAA in 2015, will face a good Heritage, Catoosa squad in the opening round on Thursday and could face a possible second round matchup with 2005-06 state champs West Laurens.
The Wolves would not have to meet Gilmer until the finals but could meet Marist, which knocked them off twice in last year’s state duals, in the semifinals.
First-year Buford coach Jason Burton, who was a part of the Wolves back-to-back state title appearances in 2013-14 as an assistant, said they would like another shot at Marist. But first things first.
“I think our guys would like to wrestle Marist again,” Burton said. “But Heritage is a solid team and if we get by them then there’s a good chance we would get West Laurens, and they are definitely good enough to get to the finals. It’s going to be a tough tournament from the first round.”
The Wolves are led by their only senior Jack Barber (145-pounds), who won state titles in 2013-14 and finished third last year. He saw his first action of the season last week in the Area Duals and went undefeated.
Junior Trent Ferguson (138) won a state title last year and is coming off a title win in a Illinois tournament two weeks ago and had a solid performance last week. Junior Jack Ness (195) also leads the Wolves.
Burton said they are ready to get started.
“Gilmer is so good I don’t know if anyone can beat them but our goal is to try and get to the finals and see what we can do,” Burton said.
North Hall, the No. 2 seed from 8-AAAA, will take on Crisp County at 11:15 a.m. Thursday in the opening round and will almost assuredly face Gilmer in the second round. However, if the Trojans can find a way past the powerhouse Bobcats they have a solid road to the finals with either Woodward Academy or state runner-up Marist as the only tough hurdle left.
North Hall coach Stuart Cunningham said they aren’t looking ahead.
“We’re going in looking to win but we aren’t thinking about anybody other than Crisp County right now,” he said. “We’ll see where we are after that first match.”
The Trojans lost to Gilmer early in the season but neither team had their full complement of starters. Cunningham knows they will have their hands full if they advance to the quarterfinals. Does he think the Bobcats can be taken down?
“That’s always the question every year,” he said. “No one has been able to in a while. But we’re not worried about that. If we go against them we’ll go out and wrestle as hard as we can and see what happens.
“But I do feel we’ve gotten better the last two weeks. We’ve got our basic starting lineup so we feel good about where we are.”
The Trojans are led 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 pleasant addition to the lineup, Cunningham said.
Matt Sewell will rotate between 138 and 152 and Nick Whitmire will rotate between 170 and 182.
CLASS AAA
Jefferson is the Area 8-AAA champ, the No. 1 overall seed, and has won 13 straight Duals titles in three different classifications. The Dragons will take on Central-Carroll in the first round.
Jefferson coach Doug Thurmond said it never gets old trying to defend their unprecedented title run.
“It’s been a fun run and you never want to see something like that end,” he said. “We don’t talk about it or anything but the kids know what’s at stake every time they hit the mat.”
Jackson County, the 8-AAA runner-up and the No. 2 overall seed, opens against Glenn Hill and has a favorable draw. The Panthers could meet Spencer, the No. 3 seed, which finished fourth in 2015, in the semifinals and could get a rematch against cross-town rival Jefferson in the finals, if both teams get that far.
“Jackson County is a solid team,” Thurmond said. “We’ve beaten them twice but they can end our streak if we’re not ready. We’ve been working on making sure our guys know that.
“But there are a lot of unkowns for us because we haven’t seen Spencer or Toombs County or Calhoun at all this year. That will be a challenge for us.”
Jefferson is led by three undefeated wrestlers in senior Tanner Thurmond (132), junior Caleb Little (182), and sophomore Dawson Bates (113) who is the defending state champion at 106.
The Dragons have had several guys step up. Senior Mitchell McGhee (120), the defending state champion at 113, senior Will Ballard (152), who won the state title at 145 as a sophomore, and senior Deshon Lester (195) have had solid seasons. Junior Nick Holman (285) and freshmen Ian Stacia (106), Cole Potts (126), and Mason Corbett (160) have all shown they are capable at the varsity level.
“We have a good mix of older guys and freshmen,” Thurmond said. “They’ve all worked real hard.”
Lumpkin County, which finished third last year, is the No. 5 seed and comes in as the Area 7-AAA champ. But, the Indians face a brutal draw where they could face three of the top four seeds if they advance to the finals. They will meet Jordan in the first round and could face the No. 4 seed Toombs County in the second round. If they get past those two, Jefferson will most likely await in the semifinals. If they can pull the upset, then most-likely No. 2 Jackson County would be waiting in the finals.
CLASS A
Commerce is the Area 4-A champ, the No. 1 overall seed, and the two-time defending state champion. The Tigers, who are an overwhelming favorite to repeat, will take on Turner County in the opening round at 8 a.m. Friday.
They are coming off a 79-0 thumping of St. Francis in the Area 4-A finals. Commerce coach Kendall Love said they are excited about the opportunity to defend their title and will have their starting lineup available for the first time all season.
“We’ve been moving guys around and they’ve done a great job but we’re real excited because we’re fully healthy for the first time this year,” Love said. “We’re ready to go.”
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.
Mt. Zion, which lost to Commerce in last year’s final, comes in as the No. 2 seed and is 25-1 on the season, including a win over Class AAAAAA Brookwood earlier in the season. Treutlen is the No. 3 seed and Trion the No. 4 seed.
The Tigers could face a tough match with Trion in the semifinals while St. Francis and Treutlen are expected to meet in the other semifinals.
“Mt. Zion is tough and Trion, if we both advance, could offer us a challenge,” Love said. “But our goal coming in is to try and defend our title. I think with everyone back I like our chances even more."
