THE AAAAA WRESTLING REPORT: 2008 STATE TOURNAMENT EDITION
Edited by: Bob Berg
Epstein Becker &
Green, P.C.
945 East Paces Ferry
Road, Suite 2700
Atlanta, Ga. 30326
(phone) 404/923-9050
(fax) 404/923-9950
(e-mail) rberg@ebglaw.com
Welcome,
and thank you for reading this 2008 State Tournament Edition of The AAAAA
Wrestling Report. We hope you enjoy
it.
A
Few Words about the Format: Once
again, we have opted to employ the “modified Brakeman format” this year. Thus, rather than a blow-by-blow assessment
of the State Tournament, following the Region tourneys and the setting of the
AAAAA State brackets, we offer up a pre-Region analysis, along with our best
estimation of what is likely to happen in a few short weeks, when teams from
all over the State converge on the Arena at Gwinnett Center (from now on, the
“Gwinnett Center”) for one hell of a weekend of wrestling where, once again, all
five classification championships will be wrestled under one roof. So, how does the “modified Brakeman format”
work?
For each weight class, we project
the most likely champion; we then give you our best guess at a “top 20”
ranking, based on the information available to us as of February 7, 2008, when I
sent out the bat signal and convened a conference call of some of the best and
brightest minds available to talk AAAAA wrestling (OK, so it was just me and my
five wayward partners in crime; “best and brightest” sounds much more
Kennedy/Camelotesque!). You will then
see a short “view from 50,000 feet,” where we identify the most probable major
combatants for the gold medal, followed by a more detailed look at each of the
eight AAAAA Regions. All told, you
should get a pretty thorough blast of information and data, to use in watching
and enjoying this year’s AAAAA State Tournament (assuming our assessment is not
rendered totally meaningless by the eleventh hour weight class manipulations we
are likely to see, resulting from the optimal performance calculating/alpha
master reporting/under 7% body fat assessing/hydration testing/1.5% per week
weight dropping can of worms known as the new GHSA “weight management program”).
One word about the “rankings”, as
they are oftentimes misunderstood. If it
turns out that our #17 wrestler beat our #8 wrestler during the year, there may
be several explanations as to why we have the winner at #17 and the loser at
#8:
a) We
may not have that particular result in our data base. Our bad, but even in this era of incredible
technology and information flow, we just don’t have all the results, so we
operate with something less than full information. As Hyman Roth said in Godfather II, “this is
the business we’ve chosen.”
b) We
may have known the result, but discounted it (a very important technique in the
prognosticator’s bag of tricks - - if a result appears to be aberrant or we
don’t like it, we just ignore it!) for any number of reasons, including
injuries, weight issues, conditioning issues (e.g., for those wrestlers coming
out after football season), SAT forfeits, etc.
c) We
may have known the result, but trumped it based on each wrestler’s full body of
work, rather than just that one result.
As we’ve all come to learn, the transitive property of inequalities (if
A > B, and if B > C, then A > C) may work in algebra, but “if A beats
B, and B beats C, then C will beat A” is a formula for disaster in the
wrestling prognostication business.
d) Similarly,
we may know the result but, especially if it was prior to the first of the
year, we may believe that the loser of that particular bout has improved
substantially and would win the rematch.
e) Or,
finally (and, in all probability, most likely), we may just have gotten it
wrong. To paraphrase Forest Gump, “stuff
happens.” That’s ok, we will live with
our mistakes, hope they are infrequent and, most importantly, continue to
understand that, ultimately, the outcomes of wrestling contests are determined
on the mats, not on the pages of this Report.
And that’s about it, in terms of the
table-setting. So, in the immortal words
of ring announcer Michael Buffer, “LET’S
GET READY TO RUMBLE.”
The
traditional Bob Berg disclaimer:
Please remember, we are not experts, and this is not the gospel. We have tried to use the data available to
us, along with observations from some very knowledgeable people, to assist us
in preparing this Report. In the end, we
stand by our predictions and we will be held accountable for them. Nonetheless, the primary purpose of this
Report is not to engage in speculation.
It is to serve as a resource for wrestling fans throughout the
State: to help identify the many superb
wrestlers who compete in Class AAAAA; to lend some perspective to the
tournament; to help identify those matches which may dictate the outcome of the
tournament or the outcome of an individual weight class. So, think of this Report not as a set
of predictions, but as a “commemorative program” for you to use in watching the
tournament, either live at what is sure to be a rockin’ Gwinnett Center or
through the posted results on the internet.
A
final acknowledgement of special thanks: I have received an incredible amount of help
in this project from some very knowledgeable, very special people, including
coaches, the wrestlers themselves or their families, as well as many former wrestlers,
plus fans of particular teams or of wrestling in general. They have e-mailed me results (or posted them
on the vent); they have e-mailed me observations; they have corrected my
mistakes and supplied me with accurate information; they have been invaluable
to me in the preparation of this Report.
I know who you are, and I know what you have done, and I couldn’t have
done it without you. More importantly,
you have given me an ever-increasing number of teams to root for, and an even
bigger number of individual wrestlers to follow and secretly wish for
success. If only there were enough team
trophies and individual gold medals to go around, because I would want all of
your teams and all of your wrestlers to win them. And, of course, my annual note of gratitude
to Brian Brakeman, who for the past 37 years has written the Ohio High School
Wrestling Forecast, the finest work of its kind in the country, and who even
called earlier in the week to share his observations and analysis on the
Georgia wrestlers participating in the Ironman, Brecksville and GIT (Wadsworth)
tournaments. He is our idol and his work
sets the bar for our efforts here.
Two other notes of particular
gratitude. First, to my now five
partners in crime, who share in this endeavor on a daily basis throughout the
year, in-season and out, and who help me see things more clearly, both as to
wrestling and as to life its own self: JimmyO,
.theWB, X-Man, Dr. Truth and ScottO.
Thanks for being there when the bat signal went out (except for JimmyO,
who no doubt was plotting the next hydraulics problem to keep my flights from
taking off on time). I may be the pilot
on this annual trek, but I am flying on instruments only; you are my eyes and
my ears and my boots on the ground, and I value your astute observations and keen
analysis more than you know. And,
finally, thanks to Jane, who helps me keep everything in perspective and makes
every day seem like the State Championship finals.
That about does it for the
preliminaries. The ring announcer has
made his call and the fighters are at center ring, getting their final
instructions. What’s left to say, other
than to quote famous referee Mills Lane, “LET’S
GET IT ON.”
103 LBS.
Projected Champion: Stephen
Spradlin (10), Camden County (103 – 5th/Region Champ)
2. Anderson
(11), Hiram (103 – sq/Region Champ)
3. K.
Salone (11), Centennial (103 transfer from Alpharetta)
4. Jones
(10), Parkview (103 – sq)
5. Anthony
(9), Pope (Kids State placer)
6. Herrera
(10), Kennesaw Mountain (103)
7. A.
Lazor (9), Union Grove (Kids State placer)
8. Doyague
(9), Collins Hill [or Carson (12), 103 – sq]
9. G.
Epps (10), North Gwinnett (103)
10. Sanders (9), Kell (Kids State placer)
11. Garcia (12), McEachern (King of the Hill
“KOH” 103 – 4th)
12. Christakis (9), Harrison (Kids State
Champ)
13. Martin (9), Roswell (Kids State Champ)
14. Hammett (9), Lowndes
15. Ard. Smith (9), Marietta
16. B. Smith, Chattahoochee
17. Hobby (9), Grayson
18. Z. Shoemaker (9), Murray County
19. Jones (11), Warner Robins (112 – sq)
20. Zunun (9), Colquitt County
The View From 50,000 Feet:
Some of you who, like
me, are older than dirt, may remember quite well how each episode started: “The Lone Ranger! A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty Hi-yo Silver,
away. The Lone Ranger! With his faithful Indian companion, Tonto,
the daring and resourceful masked rider of the plains led the fight for law and
order in the early West. Return with us
now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
The Lone Ranger rides again….”
You may well also remember how each episode ended. As the Lone Ranger rode off into the sunset
(with yet another “Hi-yo Silver, awayyyyyyy”), some amazed and baffled observer
would mutter “Who was that masked man?”
Well, it’s much the same for Stephen Spradlin, the younger of the two
excellent Spradlin brothers, who fights for recognition in South Georgia and,
after the end of each tournament where he’s excelled, leaves baffled observers
muttering “who was that kid?” 5th last year at this weight, he
has dominated the 103 landscape this year, from winning gold at the Battle of
the Border (beating Salone 11-2 in the finals), to taking 1st at 112
at the Coastal Georgia Classic. He has
pinned Anthony in the first period (after spending some rare quality time on
his back) and took an impressive 3rd at the extremely tough Zac
Jarzynka in Florida. Assuming the
bracket gods are kind, his likely finals opponent is the returning 4AAAAA
Region Champ, Anderson. Last year, he,
much like Lone Ranger Spradlin, was small for this weight (as evidenced by his
Junior National Freestyle 6th at 98 pounds over the summer). Following some early troubles (3rd
at the Southern Slam, 4th at Sequoyah at 112 and 3rd at
the Battle of the Border, losing 6-1 to Salone along the way), he has come on
like gangbusters, collecting gold medals at the Dirty South (pinning Anthony in
the finals) and Alexander before stumbling a bit with a 3rd at the
Crossbones. (Interestingly, Spradlin and
Anderson met in the State consolations last year, where Spradlin’s 7-5 win
eliminated Anderson.) If the bracket
gods aren’t cooperative, or even if they are, other possible finalists facing
off with Spradlin include Salone, Jones and Anthony, and you can read more
about their credentials below. However,
when the cloud of dust clears on the 103 bracket and everyone readies to ride
off into the Gwinnett County sunset, the hand being raised will be the Camden
County Lone Ranger. Right? “Um, that right, Kemosabe!”
Region 1AAAAA. The
best of the lot appears to be the freshman Hammett, who has served up a string
of nice placements (2nd at the Rebel, 6th at the Dirty
South, 5th at the Fayette Christmas, 3rd at the Valdosta
Wildcat and 2nd at Tift County).
His failure to place at tough tracks like the Battle of the Border
(where Anderson thumped him 10-2) and North Metro (where he did go up by 5 on
Lazor before being teched) suggests he may not be quite ready for prime time
yet, but that will only be a matter of time.
Zunun was 2nd at the Hornet, and he should earn a trip to the
Gwinnett Center, along with Jones, who dropped down to 103 after a two-and-out
experience at 112 State last year.
McCall (Tift County), 6th at the Rebel, and R. Jones
(Valdosta), 4th at the Coastal Georgia Classic, should also contend.
Region 2AAAAA. Alex
Lazor should dominate this Region, as there is no one else who can come close
to his “bona fides”: 3rd at
the South Metro (where he pinned Rana), 5th at the Stockbridge Tiger
(where, tellingly, he lost to Herrera before pinning Rana again), 2nd
at the Valdosta Wildcat (where he beat Zunun) and 3rd at North
Metro. Beyond that, perhaps most
impressively, he took out Carson 3-2 in the State Duals quarterfinals match
between Union Grove and Collins Hill. He
is definitely good enough to stand on the podium at the Gwinnett Center. As for the podium here, his fellow medalists
are somewhere out there, but i haven’t a clue who they might be.
Region 3AAAAA. Spradlin will rule the school at this
weight, with Hymans of Groves (6th at the Toomey) as the only other
wrestler from this Region on our radar screen.
Region 4AAAAA. Anderson
is the cream of the Region 4AAAAA crop, with the most likely opposition in the
finals coming from the veteran Rana (pinned by Lazor at both the South Metro
and the Stockbridge Tiger - - I’ll bet he’s glad to be in a different Region
from Union Grove! ) or S. Nakano (Paulding County), recently 6th at
the Crossbone Classic.
Region 5AAAAA. While
the “southern” Regions lack any serious depth, the “northern” Regions make up
for it in spades, starting with 5AAAAA.
Any of the top four in this Region could take the gold: Herrera won the Raider Rumble, was 2nd
at the Fayette Christmas, Titan Cup and Cobb County, and 3rd at the
Stockbridge Tiger. We rate him top dog
as a result of his pin wins over Smith (2x) and Sanders, along with a close win
over Christakis; however, he has lost twice to Anthony (6-3 and 8-4), so it is
critical that he place high in the Region to avoid a nasty first or second
round State matchup. Garcia was 3rd
at McCallie and 3rd at Cobb County, where he lost on the first night
to Christakis by pin but came back to beat Christakis 6-3 in the consolation
finals, a circumstance which suggests foes might want to get Garcia early, when
weight is an issue, as he will be a large 103 at tourney’s end. The aforementioned Christakis, who serves as
our most logical baseline at this weight, was 5th at McCallie, 2nd
at Whitewater and 4th in Cobb County. He has won two out of three from Garcia, lost
close to Herrera (4-3), won close against Salone (5-4) and pounded Shoemaker
(14-1). Indeed, we may have him highly
undervalued here (a theme which appears throughout this Report with regard to
Hoya wrestlers, for reasons which baffle me).
Finally, the youngest of the Marietta Smith brothers has managed to nab
medals at the Knoxville Catholic (4th), Sequoyah (6th)
and Rockmart (4th), and if he is reasonably healthy (seemingly
always an issue for the Smith boys), he should nab the last podium spot. Others to watch would include Z. Shoemaker (4th
at the Dalton Carpet and Murray County, 3rd at Soddy Daisy), Levya
of Etowah (consolation finalist at the Last Man Standing) and Helterbrand of
North Cobb (3rd at the Adairsville Tiger and Coal Mountain, but pin
losses to Smith, Garcia and Herrera).
Region 6AAAAA. While
Region 5AAAAA is deep, this Region is cavernous! K. Salone has spent much of the year at 112,
where he did reasonably well (e.g., 3rd at the Crossbone), but
perhaps his most telling result was his 2nd at the Battle of the
Border, where he lost in the finals to Spradlin 11-2 but took a convincing 6-1
victory over Anderson. He also has a 4-2
overtime win over Anthony (and, of course, that puzzling 5-4 loss to Christakis)
and has definite finalist potential, where he would likely top 115 pounds by
the pre-whistle hand shake. Anthony,
younger brother of Pope’s first State Champ, Caleb, has steamrolled through his
frosh season, winning at Sequoyah, Bradley Central and Cobb County. He has beaten Herrera twice, shut out
Christakis and teched Garcia, while losing in overtime to Salone and getting
pinned by Anderson in the Dirty South finals.
Those two are the likely finalists, but both Sanders (3rd at
the Rebel, 14-12 loser to Anderson at the Dirty South), if healthy, and Martin
(2nd to Anthony at Sequoyah, 1st in Fulton County, 2nd
at Chattahoochee and 3rd at the Titan Cup) will challenge. They will also be challenged for State
berths, most notably by B. Smith, who was 2nd to Herrera at the
Raider Rumble, 2nd to Martin in Fulton County (losing 5-2 in the
finals), 4th at Chattahoochee, and 1st at both the Santa
Slam and the Coal Mountain; his failure to make it out of this Region would
speak volumes as to the sick depth sometimes encountered in this 12-team
Region. Gilkenson (Milton), 4th
in Fulton County and 6th at the Chattahoochee, Jerrus (Alpharetta),
4th at the Raider Rumble, Leith (Sprayberry), Bailey (Wheeler), 4th
at Brookwood, and Hauser (Lassiter), 6th at Whitewater, are also
likely to be on the outside looking in when the podium snapshot is taken. Needless to say, the Region Champ that gets
#4 from this Region is in for an unpleasant and undeserved surprise.
Region 7AAAAA. It appears that Carson has lost his weight
battle, meaning the Doyague will represent the Eagles in the post-season. Given Carson’s excellent performance at State
last year, where he pinned both Anderson and St. James, his absence is not
great news for Collins Hill. Still, it
isn’t all that bad, as Doyague took the gold medal in Gwinnett County (beating
Epps 9-4 in the finals), beat Garcia 8-4 at the Walton Duals and has split two
close matches with our baseline Christakis.
His opposite number in the Region finals is likely to be Epps, 3rd
at Sequoyah (where he lost to Martin 10-9), 3rd in a brief Alabama
excursion to Hewitt-Trussville, 2nd in Gwinnett County and, most
recently and most impressively, 1st at Whitewater where he put a
13-5 hurting on our baseline Christakis.
The other two State qualification spots are there for the taking, with
Beck (Mill Creek), Marionneaux (South Forsyth), 3rd at the Raider
Rumble, and Cross (North Forsyth), 2nd at the Coal Mountain in the
hunt, perhaps joined by Sponholz (Norcross), 2nd at the Toomey and 4th
at the Coal Mountain.
Region 8AAAAA. Jones has spent most of the season toiling at
112, where he managed to collect a gold at the Southern Slam, 4th at
McCallie, 2nd in Gwinnett County, 8th at the Zac Jarzynka
and 2nd at Chattahoochee.
Since he dropped to 103 and quickly lost to Salone, he has been a
hammer, taking 1st at the Last Man Standing and 2nd at North
Metro. He will be a monstrous 103, if he
can survive the weight management required over a grueling three-day State
tournament and be wrestling late into Saturday evening. Hobby was 4th at the Big Red
Rumble, and should vie with Thomas (Brookwood) and Wofford (Shiloh), recently 4th
at the Lovejoy Wildcat, for the remaining qualification spots.
112 LBS.
Projected Champion: Mitchell
(10), Collins Hill (AA 103 – 1st at Wesleyan)
2. Sartain
(12), Peachtree Ridge (103 – 2nd/Region Champ)
3. Bushart
(10), Pope (103 – 4th/Region Champ)
4. B.
St. James (10), Centennial (103 – sq)
5. R.
Maus (10), Kennesaw Mountain (103 – sq)
6. Vega
(12), Brookwood (112 – sq/Region Champ)
7. Lane
(9), Murray County (Kids State Champ)
8. Scott
(9), Valdosta (Kids State Champ)
9. N.
Mullins (9), South Forsyth (Kids State Champ)
10. An. Stringer (10), Kell (103)
11. Lunsford (11), Paulding County (112 – sq)
12. L. Mosher (11), Harrison (AAA 112 – 6th
at Cass)
13. Bell (12), Redan (112)
14. Kreis (11), Grayson (103 – sq)
15. Burris (12), Marietta (112 – sq)
16. Ferreira (12), McEachern
17. McAraw (12), Parkview (112 – sq)
18. Mitchell (10), Newton County (112 – sq)
19. Parks (12), South Cobb (112)
20. Gary (10), Hiram
The View From 50,000 Feet: The 112 pound bracket is chock full of
youth, with no less than four recent Kids State Champs likely to be among the
combatants. Still, when the final bout
is wrestled, we anticipate two grizzled veterans who are used to wrestling
under the spotlight toeing the line in the battle for the gold, much to the
delight of wrestling fans throughout the State who have speculated, on “the
vent” and elsewhere, as to the likely outcome when Mitchell and Sartain finally
get it on. Mitchell, plain and simple,
is a phenom. Undefeated AA Champ at 103
last year, he has done nothing this year (e.g., 1st in Gwinnett
County at 119, 2nd at the Toshiba Midwest Classic where he lost 1-0
in the finals to nationally ranked Waters) to tarnish his national reputation
and ranking. He bombed Bushart 12-3 at
State Duals, and likewise mashed Luke Mosher 11-2 the next day (giving him a
clean sweep of the Mosher brothers, having bested brother Peter 12-4 at the
Walton Duals); thus, you get some idea of the gap between Mitchell and some
other highly regarded prospects at this weight.
Yet, Sartain is more than a worthy foe, having won championships in Gwinnett
County, at Chattahoochee and at the Last Man Standing, and if he can wrestle
Mitchell mostly on the mat, he has an excellent chance to climb to the top step
on the podium. Conversely, if the match
is wrestled on their feet (as we suspect it will be wrestled), Mitchell is likely
to be crowned king of the 112s by a reasonably comfortable margin. Bushart and St. James look to be the best of
the rest (more on them in the Region 6AAAAA summary), but while Bushart did
beat Sartain with a last second takedown during last year’s regular season, this
year’s 6-1 win by Sartain over Bushart’s teammate and highly ranked 119 Crowe
suggests the Sartain may have passed him by over the course of the last
year.
Region 1AAAAA. Two freshmen are likely to lead the way, as Jovan
Scott (brother of former 2x State champ Jamal) and Thomas (Lowndes) appear to
be the class of this weight class. Scott
was 3rd at the Rebel and 4th at the Battle of the Border,
before winning the Valdosta Wildcat (topping Thomas in the finals); there was
some early talk that he might contend for State gold this year, but his 11-0
loss to Bushart at the Walton Duals pretty much silenced expectations of that
sort. Thomas has also generated an
enviable track record, including a 3rd at the Hornet, 6th
at the Rebel, 4th at the Valdosta Wildcat and 2nd at Tift
County. By my count, he’s lost at least
three times to Scott, though, so he is likely looking at arriving at the
Gwinnett Center as a second seed.
Returning State qualifier Holmes (Houston County) looks to improve on
his one win at State last year, with results like his recent 3rd at
the Toomey supporting that possibility, while Creech (Coffee 103 - sq) hopes to
return to State to better his 0-2 performance of a year ago.
Region 2AAAAA. While this weight class earlier seemed to be
wide open, the veteran Bell looks to be rounding into form after some early
slips and is now clearly the frontrunner.
He was 4th at the Stockbridge Tiger and 2nd at the
Fayette Christmas (losing in each to Maus), before winning gold in Dekalb
County and, most recently, at the Lovejoy Wildcat. Mitchell took 1st at the Red Skin
Rumble, which bodes well for him bettering his 0-2 performance at State last
year. Beyond that, the freshman Benton
(3rd at the Valdosta Wildcat) will probably join the throng of Union
Grove wrestlers qualifying for State. We
expected to see returning Region Champ Nelson of Stephenson at this weight, but
we have no results for him this season and don’t know if he is wrestling.
Region 3AAAAA. No names jump out at us in this bracket, and
we lack the data to even hazard a guess.
Most notably, we have no results
for returning State qualifier Sororian of Windsor Forest and don’t know if he
is wrestling this year.
Region 4AAAAA. Lunsford looks to be the clear choice, with
a stellar record including 2nd at the Mohawk, 1st at the
Raider Rumble (where he shocked the highly ranked Maus 2-0 in the finals), 4th
at Alexander and 3rd at the Coal Mountain. Former Kids State Champ Gary has been up and
down, bookended by an 8th at the Southern Slam in South Carolina early
in the year and a 6th at the Crossbone late, but he has a strong
youth wrestling pedigree and could surprise at this weight. Forbus (Newnan) won two matches at State last
year and has Region finalist potential this year.
Region 5AAAAA. As with 103, 112 in this Region is
loaded. Maus leads the way, and the
champ at the Stockbridge Tiger (where he pinned Bell) and Fayette Christmas
(along with 2nd at the Raider Rumble, 3rd at the Dirty
South and Titan Cup and 2nd at Cobb County) has definite State placement potential. But first, he will have to tame a tough set
of Region opponents, perhaps led by the youngest of them, Lane, who took gold at
the Dalton Carpet and was a finalist at both Soddy Daisy and Murray County (and
who punctuated his rise up the charts with same day Region Dual wins over both
Mosher, 8-2, and Maus, 3-2). AAA
returning placer Mosher has suffered through the perils of the murderous
Harrison schedule (Ironman, the Clash, Powerade, among others) but managed to
score some jewelry along the way, including 2nd at Whitewater and 4th
at Cobb County; like his running mate at 103, Christakis, I fear we may have
misconstrued that brutal schedule and, as a result, underestimated Mosher, as
well. The fourth and final qualifying
slot will be the subject of a fierce battle, leaving several qualified
candidates by the wayside. Burriss was 3rd
at the Knoxville Catholic, 3rd at Sequoyah, 4th at the
Last Man Standing and 6th in Cobb County (where he beat Ferreira 2-1)
and he probably has the inside track.
Ferreira went into overtime with Mosher at Cobb County before falling by
pin, and, as mentioned, lost 2-1 to Burriss, so the margin between those two is
miniscule. Add in Parks (champion at
West Laurens and 5th at Alexander) and it should be exciting times
at the McEachern gym.
Region 6AAAAA. Bushart and St. James have been knocking
each other around for as long as I can remember, going back to kids wrestling
days and continuing through 103 last year, and by all rights, they will lock
horns again in the Region finals.
Bushart has been flat out dominant to date, winning gold medals at
Sequoyah (where he crushed Burriss 11-0), Bradley Central, the Dirty South (6-2
over Maus in the championship tilt) and Cobb County (5-2 over Maus in the
return match), along with a 2nd to the excellent Ohio Division III placer
Minnard at the Wadsworth Grizz. St.
James has run in different circles, but with equally dominating results,
winning titles at the Battle of the Border, the Heart of Dixie in Alabama, the
Coal Mountain (beating Mullins along the way) and North Metro (winning an
exciting finals match against Vega).
Beyond those two, the younger Stringer brother (4th at the
Rebel, 6th at the Dirty South, 3rd in Cobb County) and
Massoor of Milton (5th at the Knoxville Catholic, 3rd in
Fulton County) look to have the best chance of punching State tickets (with
Stringer’s 15-2 win over Massoor suggesting the likely outcome should they meet
in the consolation finals). Cleary (Northview)
took 4th in Fulton County and at the Raider Rumble, and he appears
to be the logical threat to the top
four, with Grossman (Walton), Martin (Chattahoochee), 4th at the
Coal Mountain, Jennings (Wheeler), 6th at Sequoyah, and A. Lesesne
(Sprayberry) more distant pursuers.
Region 7AAAAA. Mitchell and Sartain exit from this Region,
enhancing the possibility that their long-awaited matchup in the finals will,
in fact, be a rematch. N. Mullins is
also very good, judging by his 1st at the Santa Slam, 2nd
at the Coal Mountain (losing to St. James in the finals and beating Lunsford)
and 3rd at the Raider Rumble; his 7-2 loss to Sartain at
Chattahoochee also suggests he is not one to be trifled with. Rivera (Norcross), 5th at the
Toomey, is a late arrival on our radar screen.
Region 8AAAAA. Vega returns as the Region Champ at this
weight, with an enviable record this year including gold medals at Brookwood
and the Santa Slam, a silver at North Metro (losing a close finals match to St.
James) and a bronze in Gwinnett County (where he beat closest pursuer Kreis 9-1,
suggesting there is no reason to expect that Vega will not repeat as Region
titlist). He was rolling towards
placement at State last year when he was derailed by Pope’s Crowe in the consolations,
but we see him on the podium at the Gwinnett Center this time around. Kreis was 3rd at the Big Red
Rumble and at Hoover, but stumbled at Gwinnett County and at Region Duals,
losing to Vega 9-1 and then by pin.
McAraw was 3rd at the Southern Slam and 4th at the
Last Man Standing, each at 119, before taking part in the “Parkview Shuffle”
and dropping to 112, where he was an impressive 3rd at North
Metro. Cooley (South Gwinnett),
Fernandez (Central Gwinnett), 4th at the Adairsville Tiger, and
Daverna (Shiloh) are others to keep in mind.
119 LBS.
Projected Champion: Westerman
(11), McEachern (103 – 1st/Region Champ; ’06 103 – 1st)
2. Sam
Spradlin (12), Camden County (112 – 3rd/Region Champ; ’06 112 – 5th)
3. Crowe
(12), Pope (112 – sq)
4. Davis
(12), Parkview (119 – 5th/Region Champ)
5. Devita
(11), Union Grove (119 – sq at Northview)
6. Willard
(10), Collins Hill (112 – sq)
7. P.
Mosher (11), Harrison (AAA 103 – 3rd at Cass)
8. Pfifer
(10), Lassiter (103 – sq)
9. N.
Isburgh (10), Grayson (103 –sq/Region Champ at South Gwinnett)
10. D. Brown (10), Central Gwinnett (112 – 5th)
11. Taylor White (12), Forsyth Central (112
– sq)
12. Knutsen (12), Lowndes (transfer from
Michigan)
13. Ho (11), Shiloh (112 – sq)
14. Reinhardt (12), Valdosta (112 – sq)
15. Thompson (12), Newnan (119 – sq)
16. Balkhanian (12), Northview
17. Wilson (10), Roswell (103)
18. Wagner (11), Etowah (103 – sq)
19. Castanaro (11), Milton (112)
20. Conti (12), North Cobb (103 – sq)
The View From 50,000
Feet:
They are both highly
skilled, with a seemingly endless supply of moves, counters and
counter-counters resulting in a long and steady stream of wins. And now, they seem destined to meet,
hopefully in the finals where the spotlight can shine on the two of them. Westerman, the Champ everyone seems to love
to hate - - “He lucked into the title when Fields missed weight.” “He weighed 140 pounds, he must have cheated
to get down to 103.” “He is part of that
evil horde known as the McEachern Indians.”
Bad stuff. And then there’s
Spradlin, the kid everyone seems to love to love - - “He would have won two
titles if he could only stay healthy.”
“He’s a great kid and deserves to win a title now.” “He gets no respect, because he’s from South
Georgia.” Good stuff. Yep, this is your classic good versus evil,
enough so that, if they do meet in the finals, the spotlighted mat may well
start to take on the look and feel of the Planet Cybertron! Westerman, known as Megatron, the leader of the
