RMC

Buford opens new arena with tournament win By Brandon Brigman BUFORD — Tom Riden Stadium has been the home of Buford’s football team, one of the most dominant teams in the state. Across the street in Buford’s new arena, the wrestling team is trying to build the same tradition. Under first-year head coach Tom Beuglas, the Wolves won the Takedown Sportswear Invitational on Wednesday. It was the first sporting event in the new 5,500-seat arena. “It was nice winning in the new arena. I’m not going to lie, I wanted to win,†Beuglas said with a grin. “The guys were excited about being in here. We’ve been hearing about this place for a year. We didn’t even get to look inside until Monday, so the guys were pretty excited about it.†Buford scored 242.5 points to hold off runner-up Archer, Beuglas’ former team, with a score of 211.5 points. Woodland-Catersville was third with 194 points. Collins Hill placed ninth and Peachtree Ridge was 27th in the 36-team tournament that featured some of the top teams from all classifications in Georgia along with teams from Tennessee and Alabama. “For us in AAAAA and the Gwinnett AAAAAAA schools, this is probably tougher than the state tournament,†Beuglas said. Buford had nine wrestlers place in the tournament, including five in the finals. Logan Ashton was the only tournament champion at 106 pounds. Nick Stonecheck (132 pounds), Trent Ferguson (152), Tristian Bozoian (160) and Jack Ness (195) were second. Cooper Roberts (170) was fourth, Charlie Darracott (145) and Billy Barber (182) were fifth and Blaine Burgey (126) was sixth. “We would like to win them all, but they had some tough matchups,†Beuglas said. “A lot of times you get in the finals and you hope they can go either way. We had a couple that pulled upsets just to get to the finals.†Ashton had four pins in the tournament and posted a 7-0 win over Woodland-Catersville’s Gavin Nix, who he will likely see again at the state tournament. “This is big because it’s the first one in the arena and Woodland and Archer are here,†Ashton said of his fourth tournament win this season. “Archer is the defending state champion and Woodland will be our toughest competition at state. “It shows where we are going into state.†Archer had seven tournament placers, including three champions. Gavin Smith (138), Peter Myndresku (152) and Quinn Miller (220) placed first. Logan Smith (145) and Will Choloh (285) were second, Chase Degernier (160) was fourth and Aaron Hunt (132) was fifth. “We went 5-for-5 in the semifinals, which I thought was great because the tournament is super tough,†Archer head coach Keith Jannett said. “I’m just super proud of the guys. They have wrestled hard all year. Buford is obviously a very tough team. That’s why we came here. We want to face the best competition and wrestle the best.†Myndresku is having a breakout season after not even placing at the state tournament last year. Myndresku won his second tournament of the year on Saturday with a 9-5 win over Buford’s Ferguson. “It’s just another win. I take it one match at a time,†Myndresku said. Myndresku won arguably the toughest bracket in the tournament, pinning Woodland-Catersville’s Cody Cochran, a defending state champion, and beating Ferguson, a third-place finisher last season. “I know I can beat anybody. It’s just about having confidence in yourself,†said Myndresku, who also won the Southern Slam and placed fourth at the Kansas City Stampede. Miller, a three-time state finalist and a Virginia commitment used a decisive 18-1 technical fall to claim his third tournament title. Miller missed most of last season with an injury and returned to wrestling last month after football season where he earned Daily Post Defensive Player of the Year honors. “Now that I’ve won three out of the last four tournaments, it’s kind of letting people know that I’m back and ready to go,†Miller said. Collins Hill’s Lucas Desilva had the most exciting win of the finals. The freshman trailed 8-7 in the 132-pound championship with 50 seconds in the match when Stonecheck let him go. Desilva responded by taking him down and getting a pin with 33 seconds left in the match. “I felt disrespected,†Desilva said. “When he cut me like that he was saying I’m not good enough to take him down, but I did.†The win was the fourth tournament victory for Desilva, who also won the Gwinnett County championship earlier this month. “It’s definitely a great win. This is my first big tournament win,†said Desilva, who improved to 40-5 on the season. “By far this is a bigger win than county. There’s a lot of good teams here from Tennessee and Alabama.†Collins Hill’s Joey Felix (106) was third at 106 and Tariq Malik (113) was fourth. Peachtree Ridge’s Bryce Jones was fourth at 285 pounds. http://www.gwinnettprepsports.com/schools/buford/buford-opens-new-arena-with-tournament-win/article_a392f9ea-31e3-572e-9cb2-0a27439a7c7a.html Team Scores 1. Buford HS 242.5 2. Archer 211.5 3. Woodland, Cartersville 194.0 4. Gilmer County 176.5 5. Father Ryan 163.0 6. Cass 130.0 7. Morgan County 116.0 8. East Coweta HS 107.0 9. Collins Hill 106.0 10. Fitzgerald 90.0 11. South Forsyth H.S. 89.0 12. Oak Mountain 85.0 13. Creekview 84.5 14. Ola 82.5 15. West Laurens 80.5 16. Social Circle 78.0 17. South Pointe 77.5 18. St Pius X School 71.0 19. Marietta 59.0 19. West Forsyth 59.0 21. Clarke Central 57.0 22. Shaw 53.0 23. Franklin 52.5 24. Pepperell 52.0 25. Pickens 50.0 26. Starr`s Mill 47.0 27. Peachtree Ridge 37.0 28. Cambridge 33.5 29. Buford HS #2 20.0 30. Gainesville 16.0 31. Woodland, Cartersville B 11.0 32. Morgan County B 7.0 33. Archer 2 4.034. Elbert County 0.0 34.Heritage-Catoosa 0.0 34.Jonesboro 0.0

Southern Slam - Eastside, SC I knew Science Hill was TN team...are there others? Can't wait until Buford gets a couple more of the starters back in the lineup. Team Scores 1. Archer 207.0 2. Buford 198.0 3. Eastside 183.0 4. Oak Mountain 154.0 5. Collins Hill 148.5 6. Davie 138.5 7. Lugoff Elgin 135.0 8. Alexander 120.5 9. River Bluff 119.0 10. Fort Mill 112.5 11. Science Hill 107.5 12. Rock Hill 105.5 13. Woodward Academy A 100.5 14. Dorman 98.5 15. Belton-Honea Path 95.5 16. South Forsyth 89.5 17. Emerald 88.0 18. James F Byrnes 85.5 19. Mauldin 72.0 20. York 71.5 21. Boiling Springs 61.0 22. Clover 48.0 23. South Pointe 45.0 24. Walhalla 39.0 25. Crescent 36.5 26. Sumter 36.0 27. Blue Ridge 35.0 28. Berea 31.0 29. J L Mann 30.0 30. Greenville 17.5 31. Seneca 15.0 32. High Point Academy 6.0 33. Woodward Academy B 4.0 33. Wren 4.0 35. Travelers Rest 3.0

CBG.....I think it's partly because of the growth. When I moved to town it was Parkview on my side of town that was the strong program....then Collins Hill opened where Coach Ramos built from scratch after coming from another Gwinnett school. Then West Forsyth opened and Parkview Coach Stromie became the AD there. When Coach Stromie left Parkview, Coach Beuglas took over and after a few years he headed to the newest Gwinnett school...Archer. He did pretty well there reaching #5 in the country. Now he's at Buford. Buford is city school that's been around quite a while. It's known for Academics, Arts, and Athletics....and the teachers and coaches don't leave for other schools...so takes a while to get new coaches and teachers in at the school. The Principle at Buford is Dr. Banks Bitterman….who used to coach Brookwood HS in wrestling. I think you may see Buford good for a while. They also have the middle school on campus so those kids can wrestle JV. One problem at Buford is that they always make the football playoffs and you don’t get those kids back until mid-December. I think this is the 10th year in a row to make it to the state semi-finals in football. Side note….they’ve already won Volleyball, Softball, and One Act play state championships this year. (10th Softball state championship in a row.) Other problem we have in GA is that the vast majority of middle school don’t have wrestling. So you don’t really get to develop that sustained feeder program. I helped with a club middle school team at Collins Hill and that seemed to really help. So , back to your question on why they seem to be good for 5 years….that may be because of permissive transfer. If your school allows it (Collins Hill didn’t), you can live anywhere in the county and go to another county school. So you get kids that come up through youth programs, different training centers and they all decide to go to one school. You see that in GA for football, basketball, and other sports. You get a new school...with a known good coach and the kids will come. I’ll leave it with growth and coaches moving up to administrative positions and permissive transfers…..

At the Archer Duals today..... Buford missing 4 starters loses 33 - 30 to Archer in finals

Sommers..... Don't leave out Camden, Mountain View... I thought I was done with wrestling.... Daughter drug me back in..... She's a manager.

CH gave them a match, but lost.

You don't have to be a private school to compete with Blair....we did it in 2010: (we lost....but I'd say we competed) Final Four Duals (PA) Site: Easton High School (PA) Long Branch (Won 27 - 25) Blair Academy (Lost 33 - 30) Benton (Won 54 - 25) Easton (Won 45 - 12)

Sommers.... If any of the old guys are still around.....I'll be here: Dec. 27/28 Takedown Sportswear Inv. in Atlanta @ Buford High This is the first event held in the new $24m gym.

Sommers......don't look now......but there's another GA team on the rise......might rival the old Collins Hill teams of 2009 and 2010. Wait till they get their upper end guys back from football. (that should give you a hint)

Gwinnett wrestlers fare well at NHSCA meet From Staff Reports [email protected] VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Two Gwinnett County wrestlers won championships in their respective weight classes, while five others earned All-American status with their finishes at the National High School Coaches Association tournament this past weekend in Virginia Beach, Va. Archer’s Daniel Bullard and Collins Hill’s Codi Russell won national championships at 160 and 126 pounds respectively the senior division of the meet, considered the nation’s premier end of the season folkstyle meet. In addition, Central Gwinnett’s Hasan Krigger (fourth, 113), North Gwinnett’s Todd Small (fourth, 120) and Archer’s Chris Diaz (sixth, 138) earned All-American distinction by placing in their respective weight classes in the senior tournament. Two other Gwinnett wrestlers, both from Archer, also earned All-American status by placing in their weight classes in their division’s tournaments.

My youngest daughter is at Buford and in 9th grade......she's the girls starting lacrosse goalie. Some may remember that Dr. Bitterman, Banks, was also the wrestling coach at Brookwood High School a few years ago. He and Beuglas are both great people. Dr. Bitterman has a done a fantastic job at Buford with academics and athletics. The school motto is Academics, Athletics, and Arts Excellence. Buford school district is now the #1 school district in Ga. Last year the school competed for 9 state championships. Notable wrestlers......Chip Ness..now at North Carolina. I can't wait to see what we'll have!!

What a shame Millhof and Russell had to meet in the 2nd round of NCAA.......teammates for 3 years at Collins Hill. Millhof made All-American and was the first from Gwinnett County. Some of you guys may remember me from the CH glory days........well...take my word...keep an eye on 2 schools from down here. Buford High School and Mountain View High School. Buford is starting to get things rolling and if you know who Coach Ramos is from Collins Hill, he is now an assistant at Mountain View....they are headed up.

BCB......how you doing old man......do you get kicked out videoing the bowling too.....

If you remember Cliff Ramos at Collins Hill, Ga......this is pretty funny: http://www.gwinnettprepsports.com/schools/collins_hill/getting-to-know-cliff-ramos/article_baf80399-1a8e-51c7-9f4c-927cd1ad2f8f.html

CH finished 13th.

Probably good Archer wasn't there: Kansas City Stampede Tournament 1. Archer 557.5 2. Stillwater 495.5 3. Tuttle 444.0 4. Bettendorf 401.5 5. Edmond North 400.0 6. Collinsville 356.5 6. Perry 356.5 8. Timberland 327.0 9. Sand Springs 304.5 10. Neosho

How was Quinn Miller of Archer at 195? I haven't had a chance to see him, but heard he's one tough 9th grader........was a 9 time youth state champion.....and brother of former Parkview wrestler Jesse Miller.

Just an FYI.....I think Buford is still missing several kids since our (GA) football season hasn't ended. (ends next weekend) Did Ness wrestle? I know he's been hurt....but a real stud. Looks like on the 14th you'll see the best team from GA at the Cleveland duals. Archer is tough top to bottom.

Coach Stepehns said they are comitted somewhere else.

I came here to see the TN results..(don't look as much as I used to)...yes...super tough tournament... For what it's worth......I think tougher than Fargo.....Millhof and Russell don't go to Fargo. If anyone was curious about GA results: Sean Russell-3rd at 120 Ryan Milhof-Champion at 126 Chip Ness-Champion at 195 Taylor Lujan-2nd at 170 Matthew Moore-3rd at 220 Kids that I know where they're headed: Millhof - headed to Oklahoma Ness - headed to North Carolina Russell - headed to Edinboro Also had 8 placers in the middle School division.

Sommers......how about that Peter Yates.......now Georgia's 3rd multiple AA....others Witt Durden and Charlie Heard. Yates is a great kid, good student, and only loss in high school was to Garrison Goins in the state finals of his freshman year.....in double OT. Also won Beast of the East. Next year watch for Joey Lazor of UNI....one match from the podium this year at 141.

165 - Blake Ridenour (30-7) placed 1st and scored 21.00 team points. Champ. Round 1 - Blake Ridenour (Newberry) 30-7 won by pin over Fredrick Bruce (American International) 0-2 (Pin 1:21) Quarterfinal - Blake Ridenour (Newberry) 30-7 won by decision over Robert Scheivert (Shippensburg) 12-10 (Dec 5-1) Semifinal - Blake Ridenour (Newberry) 30-7 won by pin over Zach Pincus (Millersville) 13-19 (Pin 1:16) 1st Place Match - Blake Ridenour (Newberry) 30-7 won by pin over Clint Schaefer (Mercyhurst) 23-10 (Pin 1:04)

Blake Ridenour (Maryville, Tenn.) also cruised to the 165 lbs. semifinals. He pinned American International's Fredrick Bruce in 1:21, then took a 5-1 decision from Shippensburg's Robert Scheivert in the quarterfinals. He will face Millersville's Zach Pincus in the semifinals.

Pope, Collins Hill, Jefferson.....all up at the Clash right now. Collins Hill still missing 2 kids.

Sommers...I've been away from the wrestling scene at CH for a while due to my work and remember my son is now a JR at UT. He is helping when he can at William Blount with their 220 pounder and really enjoys it. My youngest is 12 and we'll probably put her over at Buford. MFCEO......looks to be closer to current trends than I am. (MFCEO......where is Spencer Rickman?) It does appear that GA wrestling is still on the rise.