Gilmer returned to one of the state’s toughest regular-season wrestling tournaments and finished third.
The Bobcats were at Jackson County High School last Saturday for the annual Panther Invitational. The event drew 22 teams, and eight Bobcats placed as senior heavyweight Denny Ramirez was crowned champion.
“I knew going back to this tournament that we were going to get good competition,” said head coach Caleb Waddell. “That’s what I want. I want to wrestle some individual tournaments to prepare us for the state tournament, and that’s exactly what it did.”
Waddell said of Ramirez’s impressive day, noting, “Denny looked dominant. Just purely dominant. The kid he beat in the finals got third at state last year. We had a couple kids beat some state placers.”
Gilmer started off strong but lost the bulk of its final 21 matches.
“We weren’t prepared to wrestle at the end,” Waddell said. “We were leading the tournament by 18.5 points, and when times got hard, we weren’t ready. I’ll take some of the blame, and I should have gotten them more prepared. We’re learning; everybody’s learning. I want them to understand, even if you lose on the front side (early rounds), the way you win state championships is on the back side. That was the biggest takeaway.”
Ramirez won two bouts by decision before a technical fall in the semifinals. He met Morgan County’s Clay Turner in finals, and he had not given up any points through three rounds. Ramirez was ahead 5-3 when he pinned Turner in the third period.
Also reaching the finals were Bobcats Manny Velasquez (144 pounds), Braelyn Nelson (150) and Adolfo Bautista (157). The trio of runners-up all posted a 3-1 record.
GHS had a pair of fifth-place finishers in Daniel Escobar (120, 1-2 record) and Bo Cronic (175, 2-2). Landing in sixth were Deyson Lopez (106, 2-2) and Gaspar Tercero (190, 2-2).
Also taking the mat were Liandro Diaz (113, 1-2), Eddie Alonzo (126, 1-2), Jonathan Perez (132, 0-2), Alex Alonzo (138, 1-2), Dawson Richard (165, 1-2) and Parker Settel (215, 0-2).
GHS will test its mettle once again Saturday at the Buford Invitational. The Cats will attend the 515 Classic today at Union County beginning at 5 p.m.
JV takes title
The Bobcats also competed in the junior varsity division and won with room to spare.
“We looked really good on the JV side and wrestled very well,” Waddell said. “We’ve got some good up-and-comers, so that’s a plus.”
Eleven Bobcats placed in the top four, and champions included Maynor Lopez (113), Jackson Crater (144) and Hunter Newhart (150).
Gio Crouse (126), Juan Alonzo (150) and Fabian Perez (285) were finalists as well and finished second. Winning the consolation finals for third place were Gilmer’s Gauge Crump (120), Tryton Haley (165) and Jacob Watson (215).
Carlos Matias (132) and Orrin Todd (175) placed fourth.
GHS bested the 14-team field with 208.5 points. Jackson County (189), Chestatee (124), Franklin County (102) and Seckinger (95.5) rounded out the top five.