Braves Wrestling Team impressive at Lagrange Duals

HC Tough! 2012-2013 Braves Wrestling Team – FRONT ROW (L-R): Mat Girl Alexus Higgins, Gene Bell, Jordan Timmons, Adam Morgan, Zane Woods, James Sprayberry, Brian Hill, Mat Girl Kali Bailey MIDDLE ROW (L-R): Tori Rogers, Jacob O’Neal, Ethan Hand, Kinley Cantrell, Adam Cannon, Cole Pate, Austin James, Zack Hyatt – BACK ROW (L-R): Head Coach Justin Ransom, Matthew Brown, JC Starnes, Rad Brooks, Ta Freeland, Hank Barnes, Dakota Meredith, Taron Person, Dylan Yates, Coach Kyle “Hoss” Yates (Photo by THE WARCRY)

(Lagrange,GA) – Head Coach Justin Ransom and the varsity Braves wrestling team kicked the season off last Saturday with a strong showing in the Lagrange duals held at Lagrange High School.

The Braves finished in third place on a tiebreaker after finishing in a tie for second place with three other squads.

Coach Ransom was very pleased with the effort. “Our kids really stepped up and did phenomenal,” stated Ransom. “They went after it. It was a solid showing especially considering we only have basically one wrestler with more that two years experience, Senior Hank Barnes.“

The Braves (5-AA) defeated Bowdon (5-AA) 44-40, Newnan (3-AAAAAA) 50-30, and a shorthanded Callaway (4-AAA) 60-18.

The Braves dropped two battles to host Lagrange (5-AAAA), and tournament champion Fayette County (5-AAAA).

Top wrestlers on the day were Ta Freeland, Matthew Brown, and Tori Rogers who each finished undefeated. Not far behind were James Sprayberry, Rad Brooks, Taron Person, Andrew Cannon, Dylan Yates who each finished with only one loss.

Especially impressive in the upset of the much larger Newnan team were Rogers, Freeland, Brown, Cannon, Gene Bell, and Dakota Meredith who all pinned Cougar opponents. Cantrell and Jordan Timmons also scored pins over Callaway.

Matthew Brown’s 4-0 record was especially strong for a freshman. Regions 4-AA and 5-AA will be combined into one area this season making the competition two times as tough for the area championships.

The strongest opponents the Braves will face include Spencer, Macon Co., Monticello, and of course Bremen. The Blue Devils are a dynasty in high school wrestling having one the last five Class A state championships and finishing in second place the prior six years before that. They also return five individual state champions from a season ago.

Region duals will take place at Bremen on January 4-5 before state duals at the Macon Centriplex on January 11-12. The individual state championship meets will happen in February.