Gilmer High celebrated its senior wrestlers with two victories.
GHS hosted Southeast Whitfield last Thursday for its first-ever home girls dual, and the Cats topped the Raiders, 55-18.
The Bobcats took the mat next versus Murray County, and the Indians made a close match out of it. GHS led from wire to wire, and after the final bout, Gilmer walked away with a 45-30 victory.
The Bobcats’ win over Murray improved their record to 21-7. However, the overall performance was not something head coach Josh Ghobadpoor will remember fondly.
“I wasn’t very happy overall with that,” he said. “We’ve lost a lot, and we didn’t match up well with them. Where they were good (last season), they’ve gotten better. We gassed out in several weight classes, which is not typical of us. We were seeing some poor wrestling and decisions on the mat.
“We gave up bonus points in some places where we shouldn’t. We need to wrestle better than that, and there’s no way around that. It was one of those duals where we won, but it was almost like we felt like we lost a little bit.”
MCHS forfeited to Tony Puac (106 pounds) and got a decision at 120. Bobcats Kellen Watts (126) and Carson Farist (132) secured back-to-back pins before a Murray pin fall at 138.
Gilmer’s Llesion Puac won by decision at 144 and MCHS did the same at 150. Following Frisly Ambrocio’s (157) pin, the Indians swung six points back their way with a pin at 165.
Leading 27-18, Hunter Brown (175) won via pin, and MCHS replicated that result at 190. The teams swapped pins again over the next two bouts, and Diego Jacinto (215) secured six points for GHS. Juan Rafael (106) wrestled the final bout, which he ended with a pin with 10 seconds remaining in the first period.
“Some guys always go out there and do exactly what they’re supposed to,” Ghobadpoor said. “Those are also the ones who put the most work in and practice the hardest. We’re proud of those guys, but ultimately, it’s a team sport, and they can’t wrestle every match. I still think we’re going to keep getting better, but we didn’t have a great dual.”
There were multiple forfeits in the girls match. Felisha Yarborough (140) and Carmelina Tercero (140) both pinned for GHS, and Linda Tercero won 6-4 at 155.
Gilmer’s Taylor Scheisser (235) pinned her opponent in 30 seconds. Teammate Josephine Royer was winning handily at 105 before her opponent retired in the third period. Gilmer’s remaining wins came via pin by Sarai Solis (115), while Leticia Tercero got a major at 125.
The Bobcats ended the week Saturday at North Forsyth’s Coal Mountain Classic. GHS came away with three champions and finished fourth as a team. For Ghobadpoor, he was happy to see his team rebound after Thursday’s showing.
North Forsyth, Woodward Academy and Creekview were all in attendance and are the top-three ranked teams in Class 6A. Lovett, the No. 1 ranked team in Class 4A, was also part of the field
“It was a super-tough tournament, and that’s why we went. We wanted to get good competition, and from Thursday to Saturday, some of those guys who wrestled poorly got better,” Ghobadpoor said.
“A lot of times, it’s a heart thing. You’ve got to want it more, you’ve got to want to wrestle better and improve, and you’ve got to be tougher in certain situations. We got a little better, and there are still some guys, including some older ones, who need to figure it out.”
Gilmer’s champions included Rafael, Leo Domingo (120) and Jacinto (190). Bregan Berry (138) was also a finalist but finished second. Farist was in a loaded bracket at 126 as the top six wrestlers were all highly-ranked returning state placers. He came away with a win in the consolation finals for third.
Watts (132) and Llesion Puac (144) placed fourth, while Luis Lucas (144) and Ambrocio finished fifth. Landing in sixth place were Brown and Denny Ramirez (285).
North Forsyth (248 points) won the tournament as Woodward Academy (217.5), Creekview (191), Gilmer (171.5) and Lovett (170.5) rounded out the top five.
Gilmer will head to Armuchee High for a two-day tournament Wednesday and Thursday.