Gilmer High was in Jasper for its final traditional wrestling tournament of the regular season.
GHS was one of 27 teams at the annual Burnt Mountain Classic last Friday and Saturday. The Bobcats took the mat in 11 of 14 weight classes, and senior 132 pounder Bregan Berry defeated everyone in his weight class for first.
Gilmer secured another top-four placement and tallied 98.5 team points for 9th in the team standings.
“We didn’t have all of our starters and have some guys who are banged up that we’re trying to get healthy for (the upcoming) area (tournament),” said head coach Josh Ghobadpoor. “We had spots where we didn’t even wrestle anybody and others where we wrestled a backup here and there. Overall I thought it was good mat time for our guys.
“We saw a lot of really great teams. We were focused on mat time and kind of using the tournament as a high-intensity practice. I was happy with what we did on the mat.”
After a bye, Berry’s tournament got rolling with a technical fall and decision. His semifinals match concluded with a second period pin, and he faced Darlington’s Aden Davis in the finals. Berry’s dominant day continued with a 6-1 decision.
“He’s looked excellent all season,” said Ghobadpoor. “He’s a lot of confidence and was our lone winner of the tournament.”
Senior Lleison Puac (144) finished with a 4-2 record for fourth place. His second round major came before a loss by decision. He then was victorious with a major, decision and forfeit in the consolation bracket. In the battle for third place, a decision loss ended Puac’s day.
Eight other Bobcats scored team points and included Nelson Jacinto (106, 3-2 record), Braelyn Nelson (120, 1-2), Eliceo Perez (126, 2-2), Alex Raymundo (138, 2-2), Harrison Chester (150, 3-2), Jovani Raymundo (165, 3-2), Bryson Shubin-Gibbs (215, 2-2) and Denny Ramirez (285, 3-2).
“Lleison came back and placed fourth in a tough bracket,” Ghobadpoor said. “We had a lot of guys who were a match away from placing in the top six. Overall, I was real pleased with the mat time. We didn’t have any injuries, and we’re ready to go into the week of practice to get ready for the traditional area tournament.”
Dalton (159) won the Burnt Mount Classic ahead of Jasper, Ala. and Mt. Pisgah, who tied for second with 145.5.
The traditional area tournament will be Saturday at Lumpkin County High School.
JV Bobcats finish second
The Burnt Mountain JV Classic was held concurrently, and Gilmer placed second with 153 points behind first-place Creekview (202). Calhoun (131), Alpharetta (123) and Heritage (117) rounded out the top five.
Six Bobcats reached the medal stand and three were crowned champions. Taking first were Miguel Reynoso (126), Dawson Richard (144) and Gaspar Tercero (150). Both Reynoso and Tercero finished with 4-0 records and Richard was 3-0.
Kevin Gonzalez (157) had a 3-1 record and reached was a runner-up. Adolfo Bautista (4-1) finished third at 132, and Yovanni Lucas (2-2) was fourth at 190.
Remaining Gilmer wrestlers included Eddy Puac (1-2), Carter Ortis (138, 3-2), Byran Loarca (215, 1-2) and Colton Maddron (285, 1-2).
A day prior, the Bobcats placed second at the junior varsity traditional area tournament.
Reynoso, Bautista and Richard were No. 1 in their weight class at this event as well. Joseph Baughman (157) and Loarca joined them to make up Gilmer’s group of champions.
Both Robert Pim (165) and Augustus Lamey (175) were runners-up. GHS had a pair of third place finishers that included Ortis and Gaspar Tercero, while Benito Thompson (106), Puac and Maddron were fourth.
“Our JV did great. They had to wrestle Thursday night for JV region then turn around and make weight to wrestle Friday and Saturday at Burnt Mountain,” said Ghobadpoor.
“They had a lot of wrestling and showed a lot of toughness with that schedule. We’re really proud of those guys.”