DULUTH — Commerce and Jefferson continued their dominating ways at the 2016 GHSA Treaditional wrestling tournament Saturday at the Infinite Energy Arena.
Commerce won its third straight Class A crown while Jefferson took its second consecutive Class AAA title and its 16th straight championship over three different classifications.
For Tigers coach Kendall Love, it was a record-setting weekend of rhis squad as all 14 wrestlers advanced to the finals. They brought home 11 individual titles.
""It was something special," Love said. "The guys did a great job. We were very close to having 14 champions but overall it was just a tremendous effort by everyone."
Commerce finished with 322 points and nearly tripled the point total of second place Trion, who had 109. Mt. Zion was third with 106 points.
In Class AAAA, North Hall nearly ended Gilmer's stranglehold on the classification losing by 11 1/2 points to the Bobcats, who brought home their fourth straight state title. It came down to a pair of matches for the Trojans, who had two champions, a second place, and a third place finisher.
Gilmer finished with 152.5 points while the Trojans finished with 141 points. Buford was third with 124.5 points.
North Hall coach Stuart Cunningham said they couldn't have asked more from his group.
"We we down just 5 1/2 points going into the finals and we had a chance (to beat Gilmer)," Cunningham said. "It was a great day for us and everyone gave it everything they had."
A couple of tough losses in the the consolation bracket and perhaps the best match of the day between the Trojans' Isaiah Hale and Gilmer's Matthew Waddell at 182-pounds were the difference.
Hale was considerable underdog to Waddell, who finished second at the Pan Am games last summer. Hale took Waddell to overtime before falling 6-4.
"An unbelievable match," Cunnigham said. "He had chances. But we had several matches that were really close. We couldn''t have asked any more of them."
AREA COMPETITORS THAT FINISHED TOP 5 AT 2016 GHSA TRADITIONALS
(Wrestlers listed by Classification, School and Weight)
CLASS A
Commerce
106 - Tucker Flint, champion
113 - Kole Burchett, champion
120 - Jacob Brewer, champion
126 - Dylan Deaton, champion
132 - Dalton Flint, champion
138 - Austin Brock, second
145 - Owen Brown, champion
152 - Nick Patrick, champion
160 - Chase Forrester, champion
170 - Knox Allen, champion
182 - Cole Chancey, champion
195 - Dontavious Mosley, second
220 - Michael Patton, champion
285 - Cade Ridley, second
Towns County
126 - Thomas Mitchell, fifth
170 - Dalton Rogers, third
CLASS AA
Rabun County
285 - Peyton Backer, second
CLASS AAA
Banks County
106 - Devin Mullinax, fifth
138 - Chris McCrackin, second
160 - Chris Guthrie, fourth
170 - Dylan Gouine, second
182 - John Brooks, fifth
East Hall
126 - Will Davidson, fourth
East Jackson
145 - Jacob Lindenmeyer, second
Jackson County
120 - Luke Gonzalez, third
132 - Chandler Saine, third
145 - Connor Crump, third
Jefferson
106 - Ian Stacia, second
113 - Dawson Bates, second
120 - Mitchell McGhee, champion
126 - Cole Potts, third
132 - Tanner Thurmond, champion
152 - Will Ballard, champion
160 - Mason Corbett, fifth
182 - Caleb Little, champion
195 - Deshon Lester, champion
220 - Jackson Bowen, fifth
285 - Nick Holman, champion
Lumpkin County
220 - Zach Matthews, champion
CLASS AAAA
Buford
106 - Logan Ashton, second
113 - Kyle McCullough, fifth
138 - Trent Ferguson, third
145 - Jack Barber, champion
152 - Cooper Roberts, fifth
195 - Jack Ness, second
Chestatee
138 - Marvin Cunningham, champion
145 - Matthew McClellan, fifth
170 - Jaime Arroyo, fourth
182 - Isaac Alarcon, fourth
North Hall
106 - Matt Glenn, third
160 - Michael Carew, champion
170 - Nick Whitmire, champion
182 - Isaiah Hale, second
195 - Darrien Ingram, fifth
220 - Randy Galvan, fourth
White County
126 - Matt Jenkins, fifth
CLASS AAAAA
Flowery Branch
132 - Ronald Link, fourth
CLASS AAAAAA
Habersham Central
126 - Andrew Burpee, second
