Chattanooga-area prep wrestling teams push toward state duals

Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Sonoraville wrestling coach Randy Steward talks to Thomas Young during the GHSA Area 6-AAA duals on Jan. 15 at LaFayette. Sonoraville won the event and will host a state duals preliminary tournament this weekend.
Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Sonoraville wrestling coach Randy Steward talks to Thomas Young during the GHSA Area 6-AAA duals on Jan. 15 at LaFayette. Sonoraville won the event and will host a state duals preliminary tournament this weekend.

Northwest Georgia schools will host four of the GHSA state duals preliminary tournaments Saturday to trim the postseason field to eight teams per classification for next week's championship round.

Dade County, Northwest Whitfield, Sonoraville and Trion - all of them coming off an area or region duals championship last weekend - each will host a single-elimination event. Only the winners of the prelim tournaments, most of them four-team events, will advance to state duals, which will be held at predetermined school sites.

Region 7-AAAA winner Northwest, part of a three-team field, has a first-round bye and will face the winner of the match between Luella and North Oconee, meaning one win sends the Bruins to state at Jefferson. Also in AAAA, Region 7 No. 4 seed Heritage wrestles host Marist in Atlanta, with the winner facing either Riverdale or Flowery Branch in the final.

In AAA, Area 6 champion Sonoraville will wrestle West Hall in the opening round, and the winner advances to face either Stephens County or Dawson County with a state berth at stake. Coahulla Creek, the Area 6 runner-up, is wrestling Area 7's Lumpkin County at Hart County. The host, the Area 8 champ, is wrestling Area 5's Murray County.

Also in AAA, Area 6 No. 4 seed LaFayette is wrestling host North Hall, with the winner to face either Area 5 runner-up North Murray or Oconee County. AAA state duals are at Cherokee Bluff High School in Flowery Branch.

Area 7-AA champ Dade County is hosting in Trenton and will receive a bye. The Wolverines await the winner of the match between Elbert County and Union County, with the hosts either advancing to state at Lamar County or turning their attention to the traditional postseason.

In Class A, 2020 state duals champ Trion hosts a prelim after winning Area 7 last week and will face Fellowship Christian, with the winner going against either Athens Christian or Mount Zion-Carroll. Gordon Lee, the No. 3 seed out of Area 7, faces Wesleyan at Commerce, which opens against Bowdon. Trion will also host state, whether or not the Bulldogs qualify for the eight-team bracket.

In Class AAAAA, Region 7 No. 3 seed Calhoun is wrestling Union Grove, with the winner facing host Jackson County, which has a bye. AAAAA state duals are at Locust Grove.

In Class AAAAAA, Dalton, after earning the No. 3 seed out of Region 5, goes against Habersham Central, with the winner facing the winner of River Ridge and Pope, the Marietta school hosting the event. AAAAAA state duals are at Lassiter, another Marietta school.

Parkview will host state for AAAAAAA, which does not include any northwest Georgia programs.

photo Staff photo by Matt Hamilton / Sonoraville's Wade Parker, left, wrestles Ringgold's Gage Keener in a 113-pound bout at during the GHSA Area 6-AAA duals on Jan. 15 at LaFayette.

TSSAA update

In Tennessee wrestling, Hixson and Signal Mountain stormed to region championships in Class A-AA earlier this week, and both the Wildcats of Region 4 and the Eagles of Region 6 will host sectional matches next weekend for a shot to advance to state duals next month. Only four teams will qualify for state in A-AA, with the field cut in half as part of the adjustments made during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the number of people gathered at one site.

Signal Mountain's Caleb Uhorchuk (113 pounds), Daniel Uhorchuk (126) and Preston Worley (182) hold No. 1 state rankings in their respective weight classes, while teammates Ethan Uhorchuk (106), Kevin Muschel (195) are ranked second. Coach Joe Jellison's team has won four straight region titles.

Hixson finished third at last year's state duals and brought back key standouts in Trevor Lewis (132, No. 2 state ranking), Caleb Miller (138, fifth), Kobie Smith (160, third) and Parrish Pacetti (220, first), a reigning individual state champion.

In Class AAA, top-ranked Cleveland, which has won three straight state duals titles, will host the Region 3 duals Saturdat. The Blue Raiders are led by an unbeaten trio of reigning individual state champions: Jackson Bradford (132), Trae McDaniel (138) and Ashton Davis (220).

Cleveland rival Bradley Central stands out at the lower weights with Bryson Terrell (106, No. 1), Ethan Lipsey (113, No. 2) and Easton Lipsey (126, No. 2). Walker Valley, another Bradley County program, has a powerful upper-weight trio of Heath Tanksley (182), Kallum Lowe (195) and Jadon Langford. East Hamilton's Jason Brumlow is ranked first in AAA at 195.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @youngsports22. Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com and follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.

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