GAINESVILLE — It’s hard to imagine any team in any sport over the past few seasons putting together as dominant a performance in an event than the North Hall wrestling team did in the 2018 Hall County wrestling championships.
The Trojans went a perfect 8-0 and won every match by at least 60 points and claimed 11 of the 14 weight class top wrestler spots.
But as the 2019 version of the annual dual-format tournament gets set to begin on Friday at Johnson High School, could the rest of the field be ready to challenge the powerhouse Trojans, who return seven state placers from last year’s squad?
Chad Cole, coach of the host school Knights, said he would like to think so, but...
“(North Hall) is still awfully good and I would think you would have to consider them the overwhelming favorite again,” said Cole, whose squad finished seventh in 2018 but is looking to climb the ladder this season.
The Knights have beaten Cherokee Bluff and Riverside Military Academy in early-season duals but also lost to West Hall.
“I think it’s really a pretty wide-open tournament overall. There are probably about three or four teams that could challenge for the top two or three spots behind North Hall. I think we’re in that conversation this year.”
The tournament will get under way on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at The Dungeon with four rounds of round-robin action. The meet will resume on Saturday at Johnson at 9 a.m. with the final five rounds.
After North Hall in 2018, East Hall finished second, Chestatee was third, and West Hall took fourth in the final team standings. Expect the Vikings and Flowery Branch, which was fifth, to be among the top contenders to push North Hall this time around. The War Eagles are in a rebuild mode in 2019.
For the favored Trojans, coach David Nichols brings in another experienced group, led by 2019 state champions in junior Jacob Pedrara (120-pounds) and senior Seth Carlton (220) and senior state runner-up Bowie Eisenberg (285). Junior Damon Campbell (138 or 145, depending) could be someone to watch for.
“We graduated some outstanding wrestlers from last year but also have seven guys returning from last year so we feel like we have a strong, talented group to work with,” Nichols said. “Jacob, Seth, Bowie have all just been solid so far this year and really stepped up in leadership roles. Damon has stepped forward to help us in a couple of spots and is getting better and better.
“You feel good overall when you have that many guys returning but really we’re just focused on the process of getting better. If we do that, things will work themselves out.”
Friday schedule (action begins at 5:30 p.m.)
| Mat 1 | Mat 2 | Mat 3 | Mat 4 | |
| Round 1 | GHS vs. North Hall | East Hall vs. Johnson | Branch vs. West Hall | RMA vs. Bluff |
| Round 2 | GHS vs. Branch | East Hall vs.West Hall | Johnson vs. RMA | Bluff vs. Chestatee |
| Round 3 | GHS vs. West Hall | North Hall vs. Johnson | Branch vs. Bluff | East Hall vs. Chestatee |
| Round 4 | West Hall vs. North Hall | Johnson vs. Branch | Bluff vs. East Hall | Chestatee vs. RMA |
Saturday schedule (action begins at 9 a.m.)
| Mat 1 | Mat 2 | Mat 3 | Mat 4 | |
| Round 5 | GHS vs. Bluff | North Hall vs. Chestatee | Branch vs. RMA | West Hall vs. Johnson |
| Round 6 | GHS vs. Johnson | North Hall vs. Bluff | Branch vs. Chestatee | RMA vs. East Hall |
| Round 7 | GHS vs. RMA | North Hall vs. East Hall | Chestatee vs. West Hall | Johnson vs. Bluff |
| Round 8 | GHS vs. Chestatee | North Hall vs. RMA | West Hall vs. Bluff | Branch vs. East Hall |
| Round 9 | GHS vs.East Hall | North Hall vs. Branch | West Hall vs. RMA | Chestatee vs. Johnson |
