Gilmer Bobcat wrestlers brought home some hardware from state duals.
GHS was in Jefferson last Friday and Saturday for the Class 3A tournament and entered the 16-team event as the No. 4 seed. After rolling through Cairo (73-6) and West Laurens (53-25) in its opening matches, Gilmer met undefeated Jefferson in the semifinals. It marked the No. 1 seeded Dragons’ closest dual to that point, and they downed the Bobcats, 61-15.
Gilmer then won two straight in the consolation bracket over Oconee (40-32) and White (44-31) counties to finish in third place.
“I’m very, very proud of the boys,” said head coach Caleb Waddell. “We executed our plan and did everything that we needed to do. And it all kind of worked out. We fell to who I think is the No. 1 or No. 2 team out of all classifications. And I don’t even think it’s close.”
Wrestling in the finals began at 190 pounds, and Jefferson started the match with two pins for a 12-0 lead. Bobcats Denny Ramirez (285) and Deyson Lopez (106) responded with pins to even the score. JHS secured a technical fall at 113, and Bobcat Daniel Escobar’s decision at 120 trimmed the Dragons’ lead to 17-15.
JHS went on to win the final eight bouts of the match with five pins, two tech falls and a decision.
“We were just a little outmatched,” Waddell said. “They’ve got five guys ranked in the top 25 in the country, and they kind of matched up against our power five. And that happens, and we just have to get that much better. We’re just a bunch of homegrown kids, just warriors.
“Even after the match, (opposing) coaches were coming up to me saying, ‘You have some warriors that will never back down.’ And they don’t. They don’t care who they’re up against. No matter what, they’re still going to toe the line. So it was really awesome.”
GHS met Oconee County in the consolation semifinals. Gilmer led for nearly the entirety of the match and by as many as 21 points. Ramirez’s decision was followed by Lopez’s pin. OCHS earned six points at 113, and Escobar won with a decision.
Oconee got five points back at 126, and Manny Velasquez (132) pinned for GHS. The Warriors pinned as well in the following bout to overtake Gilmer, 17-15.
However, the Cats reeled off four straight wins. Adolfo Bautista (144), Braelyn Nelson (150) and Bo Cronic (165) all pinned, while Dawson Richard (157) won with a tech fall. Leading 38-17, GHS lost the final three bouts.
Next up was White County in the consolation finals. Gilmer left no doubt as to who the better team was and conceded the final three bouts.
Lopez got GHS on the board with a pin, and WCHS forfeited to Liandro Diaz (113). Escobar’s pin moved GHS ahead, 18-0. Major and minor decisions followed for White before Gilmer won five in a row.
Hunter Newhart’s decision at 138 was followed by Bautista, Richard and Cronic all winning by pin. Nelson also appeared to secure a pin, but it was downgraded to a tech fall.
Ahead 44-7, Bobcat Gaspar Tercero was leading his bout 9-0 in the second period. He was injured, and Waddell opted to forfeit the bout. To avoid any further injuries with the win secured, GHS forfeited at 190, 215 and 285.
“Once again, they just stuck with the plan,” Waddell said. “They did every single thing that I asked them to do, everything that I addressed. They stayed in good position and didn’t give up in certain scenarios. They kept wrestling 100 percent of the time.”
Winners by pin in the first round versus Cairo included Lopez, Diaz, Velasquez, Max Vaughan (138), Cronic, Tercero and Ramirez. Both Escobar and Tryton Haley (157) earned wins via tech falls, Alex Alonzo (126) won with a major decision, and CHS forfeited to Bautista.
Earning six team points with pins against West Laurens were Bobcats Diaz, Escobar, Velasquez, Newhart, Bautista, Richard, Tercero and Ramirez. Nelson snagged five team points with a tech fall, and Lopez earned a decision.
“We wrestled a weaker south Georgia team from Cairo, and it went about as expected,” Waddell said. “We just went straight down the line and did what we were supposed to do. Then we wrestled West Laurens, who was a very good team. They’ve always been very, very solid, and we just went out there and did our job. We talked about how we can’t get pinned and can’t give up bonus points in certain scenarios, and we didn’t. They did everything we’ve been working on. The first day was exceptional and exactly what we expected.”
Jefferson defeated Troup County in the finals, 57-21.
Gilmer has a 25-2 dual record and celebrated its seniors at press deadline.