It was a Bartow County sweep at the Region 7-AAAAA Duals. Woodland and Cass finished first and second, respectively, last Saturday at Creekview High School to qualify for the GHSA Class AAAAA state duals wrestling championships. The tournament begins Thursday at the Macon Centreplex.
Both the Wildcats and Colonels will hit the mats at 2:45pm for their first round matches in Macon. Woodland, named top seed for the tournament, faces Gainesville in the opening round and Cass, seeded seventh, will square off against Jones County. The quarterfinal and the state semifinal matches are scheduled for Friday afternoon and evening. The state finals for all six GHSA classifications will be Saturday afternoon.
The single elimination format includes a consolation wrestle back schedule to help determine the top four teams in each classification. The wrestle back matches begin for first round losers Thursday night and will continue throughout the weekend.
It was the fifth consecutive Area/Region Duals title for Woodland and coach Adrian Tramutola’s Wildcats will be a favorite to win it all. He says, however, there will be other top contenders for the title. “I would say Camden, Allatoona, Alexander, Ola, and Cass are in the top six this year.”
Colonels’ head coach, D.L. Koontz confirmed. “Woodland will be a favorite to make the finals along with Camden County. Camden is a 6A size school competing down a classification in all sports except football due to the GHSA isolation rule.” Koontz, who is confident his team will challenge, confirmed Tramutola’s list and added Union Grove. “It’s our eighth trip to the state duals since 2004 and we’ve only missed the top three one of those times,” added Koontz.
The single elimination format includes a consolation wrestle back schedule to help determine the top four teams in each classification. The wrestle back matches begin for first round losers Thursday night and will continue throughout the weekend.
It was the fifth consecutive Area/Region Duals title for Woodland and coach Adrian Tramutola’s Wildcats will be a favorite to win it all. He says, however, there will be other top contenders for the title. “I would say Camden, Allatoona, Alexander, Ola, and Cass are in the top six this year.”
Colonels’ head coach, D.L. Koontz confirmed. “Woodland will be a favorite to make the finals along with Camden County. Camden is a 6A size school competing down a classification in all sports except football due to the GHSA isolation rule.” Koontz, who is confident his team will challenge, confirmed Tramutola’s list and added Union Grove. “It’s our eighth trip to the state duals since 2004 and we’ve only missed the top three one of those times,” added Koontz.
Usually competing in separate classifications, both programs have a strong recent history. The Colonels won the title in 2008 and have runner-up finishes in 2006, 2007, and 2014. Woodland was state runner-up in 2013 and 2014 and won the state duals in 2011 and 2003.
At the 7-AAAAA meet, Woodland defeated River Ridge, 84-0, Cambridge, 50-17, and Cass in the finals, 55-15. Cass had region tournament wins over Dalton, 51-18 and Creekview 33-31 before falling to Woodland in the finals. Creekview finished third and Cambridge was fourth.
Koontz says his guys need to treat this weekend like others on the schedule.
“We have to wrestle like this is a regular tournament. Some kids get to the Centreplex and are awestruck by the size of the venue. The good news for us, however, is everyone except our freshmen have been down there before. Our kids look forward to this tournament and as long as they make every match a war, the team will do just fine.”
The Colonels’ head coach said the core of his lineup has plenty of state tournament experience.
“We will lean heavily on our main guys. Tyjuan Jett, Dallas Huston, Aaron Matthews, Chance Scrutchins, Tyller Larson, Devin Wills, Montavious Turner, Hunter Quinn, Jordan Mitchell, Josh Morris, Chandler Blum, and Devin Garrett understand what we have to do. Our coaching staff loves this group and will put them up against anyone.”
Woodland’s head coach is no stranger to the state tournament either. Prior to taking over the Wildcats, his teams at McEachern won multiple state titles and his Woodland teams have challenged each year since his arrival.
“This year’s team is one of the strongest we’ve had from top to bottom,” said Tramutola. “We have several juniors in the lineup that have been three year starters, so they have tons of experience. Veterans on this team are guys like Jahvar Lewis, Logan Sims, Jake Huffine, Spencer Cooper, Matt Evans, Khalil Morris, Chance Bishop and Brett Shedd. Most of them have wrestled for the title two or three times in high school, so they have that experience to draw back on. We expect those guys to lead the young guys and to keep them calm and relaxed when the money rounds come up.”
“This year’s team is one of the strongest we’ve had from top to bottom,” said Tramutola. “We have several juniors in the lineup that have been three year starters, so they have tons of experience. Veterans on this team are guys like Jahvar Lewis, Logan Sims, Jake Huffine, Spencer Cooper, Matt Evans, Khalil Morris, Chance Bishop and Brett Shedd. Most of them have wrestled for the title two or three times in high school, so they have that experience to draw back on. We expect those guys to lead the young guys and to keep them calm and relaxed when the money rounds come up.”
With the recent close calls in mind, the Wildcats’ head coach spelled out his team’s formula for a championship.
“To win the title, we will need a complete team effort. We need guys to go out and score bonus points in a lot of matches. We also need some guys to step up in big spots. It’s four matches in a row to win the title and that is against some great teams, so we have to make sure our guys are ready to go each round and they are not guilty of looking ahead.”
“To win the title, we will need a complete team effort. We need guys to go out and score bonus points in a lot of matches. We also need some guys to step up in big spots. It’s four matches in a row to win the title and that is against some great teams, so we have to make sure our guys are ready to go each round and they are not guilty of looking ahead.”
Tramutola and his squad have clear intentions headed to Macon. “This year’s team knows they have an excellent shot at winning the title that has eluded them in the past. We have a great group of veterans mixed with some very talented young guys. We have wrestled an extremely tough schedule this year so our kids are battle tested,” added the coach.
Koontz credits his extended coaching staff for the consistency of his program. “It starts with the tremendous teaching they do with our kids at Cass Middle. Coach Elrod, Coach Sims, Coach Arnold, and Coach Fallin all do such a great job, the high school coaches get to spend time building on established fundamentals and improving individual skills.”
In other Area/Region Duals action last weekend, Cartersville just missed a spot in the Class AAAA state tournament. The ‘Canes finished behind defending state champ Gilmer and Heritage-Catoosa. In Region 6-AAA, Adairsville had a victory over Ringgold, but fell to Calhoun and Coahulla Creek. Sonoraville and Calhoun advanced to the state duals from that tournament.
No comments:
Post a Comment