The following is a list of area wrestling competing this weekend:
Class A
COMMERCE
106 -- Dakota Moon, 3rd
120 -- Tucker Flint, 1st
126 -- Kole Burchett, 1st
132 -- Austin Black, 4th
138 -- Dalton Flint, 1st
145 -- Jake Brewer, 1st
152 -- Nick Patrick, 2nd
160 -- Owen Brown, 1st
170 -- Chase Forrester, 1st
182 -- Mitchell Patton, 1st
195 -- Cole Chancey, 1st
220 -- Knox Allen, 1st
285 -- Cade Ridley, 1st
TOWNS COUNTY
126 -- Kaine Hoffman, 4th
145 -- Blaine Rogers, 2nd
170 -- Nick Shook 3rd
Class AA
BANKS COUNTY
160 -- Davis Day, 3rd
182 -- John Brooks, 3rd
195 -- Terrance Walker, 1st
RABUN COUNTY
195 -- Sam Butikofer, 2nd
Class AAA
DAWSON COUNTY
113 -- Kelton LeBaron, 2nd
120 -- Wyatt Smith, 2nd
182 -- Jeremy Whalen, 1st
EAST HALL
132 -- James Stoudenmire, 1st
160 -- Blake Nix, 3rd
FANNIN COUNTY
106 -- Landon Galloway, 1st
138 -- Parker Brown, 3rd
JACKSON COUNTY
126 -- Jacob Love, 3rd
132 -- Ben Gilbreath, 2nd
138 -- Chandler Saine, 1st
170 -- Anthony Wingfield, 3rd
182 -- Davey Jennings, 3rd
195 -- Kyle Graham, 1st
LUMPKIN COUNTY
106 -- J.T. Phines, 3rd
138 -- Nolan Wheeler, 2nd
145 -- Cole Hopkins, 2nd
152 -- Carter Hopkins, 4th
160 -- Connor Heriot, 4th
182 -- Cole White, 4th
195 -- Noah Denard, 4th
220 -- Zach Matthews, 1st
285 -- Ceszar Ramos, 3rd
NORTH HALL
113 -- Matt Glenn, 1st
120 -- John Pedraza, 1st
126 -- Bryson Smith, 1st
Class AAAA
CHESTATEE
106 -- Caleb Carter, 2nd
113 -- Pascual Velasquez, 2nd
120 -- Gavin Cunningham, 3rd
145 -- Matthew McClellan, 2nd
285 -- Gavin London, 6th
JEFFERSON
106 -- Christian Partan, 5th
113 -- John Peavey, 3rd
120 -- Jared Blackburn, 2nd
126 -- Ian Statia, 1st
132 -- Bates Dawson, 1st
138 -- Cole Potts, 2nd
145 -- Coy Strong, 3rd
152 -- Gavin Blackburn, 8th
160 -- Mason Corbett, 1st
170 -- Hunter Allen, 6th
182 -- Caleb Little, 1st
220 -- Nick Holman, 1st
STEPHENS COUNTY
132 -- Nikko Beady, 5th
145 -- Jay Stowe, 6th
152 -- Corey Kindel, 5th
195 -- Gavin Walker, 2nd
WEST HALL
120 -- Blake Kesley, 8th
126 -- Eugenio Manilla, 4th
132 -- Robbie Campbell, 6th
138 -- Parker Campellone, 7th
160 -- William Fouts, 7th
220 -- PJ Thornton, 7th
285 -- Ricky Castillo, 8th
WHITE COUNTY
120 -- Sean Wurtz, 5th
126 -- Matt Jenkins, 3rd
170 -- Josh Jenkins, 8th
285 -- Deejay Fleming, 8th
Class AAAAA
BUFORD
106 -- Logan Ashton, 1st
113 -- Kyle McCullough, 2nd
120 -- Chase Hartman, 3rd
126 -- Nick Stonecheck, 1st
132 -- Blaine Bergey, 1st
138 -- Charlie Darracott, 1st
145 -- Ethan Ceren, 2nd
152 -- Trent Ferguson, 2nd
160 -- Tristan Bozoian, 1st
170 -- Cooper Roberts, 1st
182 -- Alcein Mendoza, 3rd
195 -- Jack Ness, 1st
220 -- John Downing, 4th
285 -- Quentin Skinner, 4th
FLOWERY BRANCH
106 -- Marshall Johnson, 7th
138 -- Tyler Webb, 5th
152 -- Wyatt Sladek, 5th
220 -- Anthony Woodall, 2nd
285 -- Clayton Walzeck, 6th
JOHNSON
120 -- Alex Pham, 4th
160 -- Michael Robles, 8th
Class AAAAAA
GAINESVILLE
145 -- Malique Johnson, 2nd
285 -- Keith Harris, 3rd
LANIER
106 -- Richard Rannals, 5th
113 -- Zander Clark, 7th
132 -- Jacob Morden, 8th
160 -- Cade Coen, 5th
170 -- Ethan Wilson, 6th
220 -- Giovanni Diaz, 8th
Running, lifting, drills and grappling are some of the things area wrestlers have done to make it to the Traditional Wrestling State Tournament set for 3 p.m. today at the Macon Centreplex in Macon.
After putting in countless hours of training to earn a place to compete at the state level, those select few who have qualified will head down to Macon this weekend.
Matches begin as early as 1 p.m. and conclude with the championship rounds on Saturday.
Gainesville junior Keith Harris is one of the wrestlers who will be competing in Macon this weekend. Harris, who is also a member of the Red Elephants football team, missed out on the opportunity to go to state last year, instead watching his teammates go on to compete at the next level.
“Watching my teammates go to state last year really humbled and motivated me,” Harris said. “I made a promise to myself that it would be me going to state the following year. This is truly an amazing opportunity and an example of where hard work can take you. This has taught me a lot about myself as well. The inevitable happens once you truly use the power of your mind and hard work.”
Teammate Malique Johnson will also be making the trip to Macon. While competing in the 145-pound weight class, Johnson earned his spot at state with a good performance in sectionals.
In the first round, he won by tech fall (19-4) against Hayden Sommers of Greenbrier. He grabbed a second-round win against Johns Creek’s Daniel Hajduk by a 19-7 decision.
In the third round, he won by decision 4-3 over Jorge Malave from Grovetown before finishing the day with his only loss to Gavin Kane from Cambridge.
Johnson said the continued support of his peers and God have helped him during his journey.
“God has helped me and my teammates help me practice hard,” he said. “My mom and dad and coaches also supported me."
Jackson County’s wrestling program has six wrestlers competing this weekend. Jacob Love, Ben Gilbreath, Chandler Saine, Anthony Wingfield, Davey Jennings, and Kyle Graham are all standouts for the Panthers.
Jackson County wrestling coach Jason Powers has seen his wrestlers work hard for a year and is pleased to see where they are now. Powers thinks Jackson County will have multiple finalists this weekend in Macon. The wrestlers who are competing for Jackson County are all seniors except for Davey Jennings.
Powers said that he has seen improvements in his wrestler’s since their freshman year. He has seen some of them have rocky starts and get better to be one of the best in the state.
“Wrestling is a sport that you get what you put in and all of them have out in a lot of work,” said Powers.