The Gilmer Lady Cats were one of eight wrestling teams in attendance for the finale of the duals season.
Gilmer was seeded No. 3 at the GHSA Division II state duals last Friday at Lumpkin County High School. The Cats fell in their opening-round match to Pierce County, 45-36.
GHS went on to defeat Jefferson (40-35) before it was eliminated from the tournament by Jordan in the consolation semifinals, 48-36.
“As I have said many times this year, this team has exceeded expectations,” said head coach Stacy Galloway. “They are young and inexperienced, but they have continued to step up and compete all season long. That inexperience showed at state duals, but finishing in the top eight in the state is still a strong accomplishment. Overall, we had a successful duals season, and this group has a lot to be proud of.”
Pierce jumped to a 33-0 lead with six wins and a forfeit. Gilmer got its first win at 130 pounds where Gladys Lopez pinned. Abelinda Tercero (135) and Estephany Becerra (140) did the same.
Ahead 33-18, PCHS won the next two bouts with pins for a 45-18 lead. The Cats closed out the match with pins by Jamie Sebastian (170), Juana Tercero (190) and Erika Tercero (235).
“Things did not go the way we had hoped or anticipated,” Galloway said. “We came out very flat in our first dual. They were scrappy and tough, and we simply did not wrestle well. We had a couple of winnable matches go the other way, and we were also disqualified in a match we were winning 8-0 due to too many penalties. That alone was a 10-point swing in the dual score and would have changed the outcome, but there were several other moments throughout the dual that contributed to the loss as well.”
GHS got the Jefferson match rolling with three straight pins by Gracie Cox (100), Salma Gonzalez (105) and Allison Hernandez (110). JHS won the next three to cut the lead to 18-16.
Lopez scored a major, and Abelinda Tercero pinned. A JHS pin and decision followed, and Gilmer clung to a 28-25 edge. LucyAnn McArthur pinned for GHS at 155 before Jefferson secured 10 points over the next two bouts.
JHS led 35-34 and forfeited the final bout to Erika Tercero.
“I was proud of how we responded against Jefferson,” Galloway said. “The girls bounced back and wrestled much better. Had we performed that way against Pierce, it would not have been a close dual.”
Aside from Gilmer’s forfeit at 110 pounds versus Jordan, all bouts concluded with pins. Lady Cat winners were Gonzalez, Hernandez, Alicia Tercero (115), Abelinda Tercero, Sebastian and Erika Tercero.
“After beating Jefferson, we faced Jordan, a team that has consistently performed well at state duals,” Galloway said. “They wrestle a unique style that we do not see very often during the season. We have tried to replicate it in practice and drilled it extensively over the past few weeks, but we still got caught in several positions, which ultimately led to the loss.”
GHS will attend the Area 6 traditional tournament Saturday at Lumpkin County High School.