For the first time in 15 seasons, the duals wrestling state championship did not go through Gilmer County.
The GHS Bobcats were on a 14-year state finals streak, which resulted in seven titles. They attended the yearly event last Friday and Saturday at Lumpkin County High School, and the Bobcats were out of the tournament at the conclusion of their second match.
Both of the Bobcats’ defeats came down to the final bout. Gilmer faced Upson Lee in round one, and the Knights came away with a 37-30 victory. The Bobcats met LaFayette in the consolation bracket, and the Ramblers’ 36-28 win ended Gilmer’s dual season.
The No. 5 seeded Bobcats were without team captain and 150-win senior Carson Farist. The three-time state finalist was sidelined because of a broken thumb, and his absence was felt in both losses. Sophomore Manny Velazquez was injured three weeks prior and did not wrestle either.
In terms of results, head coach Josh Ghobadpoor called the tournament “the worst” of his GHS tenure.
“Injuries can knock a very good team down quickly, and we had a couple of those over the past 3 1/2 weeks,” he said. “We had two injuries to two of our best wrestlers. Those are big blows. During the season, a lot of our wins came down to the last one or two matches. When you lose two who are winning 90 percent of their matches, that’s a big-time blow.
“Along with that adversity, we had 10 new starters in our lineup at state. We had guys step in. Some of them were ready and some weren’t. It seemed like maybe the lights were a little too bright for some of our wrestlers.”
Ghobadpoor added, “But you can take the injuries and inexperience out of it. We still had enough talent and the right guys to make a run. Ultimately, we didn’t do it. As a coach, I take responsibility when we don’t wrestle to our best in several different spots. That’s a burden I’ll bear, and we’ll look to see what we can do better as a staff.”
The opening round versus Upson Lee started at heavyweight, and the Knights won four of the first five bouts. Two of those wins were by pin, and ULHS came away with a decision at 120 and major at 126.
Gilmer received six points when Upson Lee forfeited to freshman Nelson Jacinto (106). Trailing 19-6, Gilmer seniors Bregan Berry (132) and Alex Raymundo (138) added points to the Bobcats’ effort. Berry secured a second-period pin, and Raymundo’s 5-3 sudden victory cut the Knights’ lead down to 19-15.
The teams traded wins over the final seven bouts. Upson Lee was victorious with decisions at 144 and 175 and a pin at 165. GHS came away with points in matches by junior Harrison Chester (150, decision), senior Aspen Hataway (157, pin) and freshman Juan Jacinto (190, pin).
ULHS held on to a 31-30 edge and a Knight pin at 215 sent Gilmer to the consolation bracket.
The early portion of the LaFayette match went in Gilmer’s favor. Benito Thompson (106) began the match with a pin, and fellow freshman Enrique Piaz’s (113) major gave GHS a 10-0 advantage. A pin at 120 got the Ramblers’ on the board ahead of three Bobcat wins.
GHS senior Eliceo Perez’s (126) decision was followed by Berry’s technical fall and Raymundo’s major. The trio of victories widened the Cats’ lead to 22-6. However, GHS only earned six more points over the remaining bouts.
LaFayette decisions at 144, 150 and 157 followed, and a Rambler pin at 165 trimmed Gilmer’s lead to a point. LHS also pinned at 190 and picked up a decision at 175 to pull ahead, 30-22.
Bobcat senior Bryson Shubin-Gibbs’ (215) kept Gilmer in the match. Down 30-28, LaFayette’s pin at 285 knocked GHS out of the tournament.
“We had a good dual season, we just didn’t finish at the end. We were right there in it until the end of both matches. This breaks our streak of being in the state duals finals. We need to figure out what type of commitment we can get out of our guys. I think some thought it would be automatic just because we’re Gilmer, but that’s not the case,” Ghobadpoor said.
“We’ve had a lot of our guys go after extra opportunities. They show up in the summer and find a weight room, but we have a lot of guys who don’t do that. When you get down to the point where we’re counting on those guys who haven’t put in the time required to be at that level, you have to deal with the consequences of that. For us, that’s going 0-2 at state.”
Gilmer posted a 27-10 dual record. The Bobcats will be at Pickens High School Friday and Saturday for the Burnt Mountain Classic.