Five Gilmer High Bobcats have punched their ticket to the state wrestling tournament.
Class 3A schools were split into two sectional tournaments last Saturday, and GHS attended the four-region event at Lumpkin County High School. Ten Bobcats took the mat, and senior Bregan Berry placed first for the team’s lone top finish.
“Overall, I was really happy with how our kids performed,” said head coach Josh Ghobadpoor. “We have a really tough sectional, and a really tough area. So getting guys through area has been tougher than it has been in the past and getting our guys through sectionals — when you add three other areas in there — with teams like Columbus, Franklin, Lumpkin, us and White.
“There are just a lot of really tough teams, especially when only six wrestlers make it out of each weight class.”
GHS originally qualified 12 wrestlers for sectionals. A personnel decision trimmed that number to 11 ahead of the tournament, according to Ghobadpoor. Senior Lleison Puac then suffered a season-ending injury during warm ups.
“We went from having 12 wrestlers to 10 quickly,” said Ghobadpoor. “Lleison’s a captain for us and a great kid, a senior, and it breaks your heart when your kid gets hurt and injured and doesn’t get to leave it all on the mat.
“That’s how we started our day. Our kids really rallied and did well and had to mentally persevere through that after losing one of their teammates.”
Following Berry’s first-round bye, he pinned his quarterfinal opponent. He then found himself in a semifinal battle versus Columbus’ Tyler Nguyen. Berry secured a 2-1 decision to set up the title match against Franklin County’s Josh Baughcum. Berry won with a 14-3 major for the 132-pound title.
“Bregan looked outstanding and has looked great all year,” said Ghobadpoor. “I think he’s hitting a good stride mentally, emotionally and physically. He beat the ‘No. 1 ranked’ kid in the semis and wrestled a great match. Then he beat another tough wrestler in the finals, handily.”
Freshman Nelson Jacinto (106) and junior Harrison Chester (150) both landed in fourth place with respective records of 3-2 and 4-2.
Jacinto lost in the semifinals before going 1-1 in the consolation bracket. Chester followed his first round loss with four straight wins before a defeat in the consolation finals.
Bobcat Alex Raymundo (138) posted a 4-2 record and placed fifth. Fellow senior Aspen Hataway (157) finished sixth and went 3-3.
Senior Eliceo Perez (126, 3-2) and sophomore Denny Ramirez (285, 3-2) placed seventh and will serve as state alternates.
“Nelson has really turned it on over the past month. We’re really proud of him,” said Ghobadpoor. “Alex showed some more offense and did some things we needed him to do. I’m hoping with another couple days, he’s even more prepared and ready to go.
“Harrison wrestled a phenomenal tournament and is hitting his stride at the right time, similar to Nelson. Aspen is really one throw away from beating anybody. He goes out there and wrestles and shows a lot of grit.”
Also competing were freshmen Enrique Piaz (113, 0-2) and Braelyn Nelson (120, 1-2) and seniors Israel Francisco (175, 0-2) and Bryson Shubin-Gibbs (215, 0-2).
The Class 3A traditional state tournament will be at the Macon Coliseum Thursday through Saturday. A full tournament schedule can be found at Ghsa.net/wrestling.