12 Bobcats heading to traditional state tourney
Twelve Gilmer Bobcats are on their way to the traditional wrestling state tournament.
GHS was in Lumpkin County last Friday and Saturday along with half of Class 3A’s teams for sectionals, and a top-six finish was needed to qualify for state.
Five Bobcats advanced it to the sectional finals in their respective weight classes, and Gilmer’s champions included Juan Rafael at 106 pounds and 220-pounder Dylan Galloway.
“We brought 14 to sectionals and got 12 through to state. In a lot of places, I think we wrestled as well as we could have. In some other spots, we need to finish matches. We need to finish matches when we’re leading,” said head coach Josh Ghobadpoor.
Gilmer’s 12 state qualifiers are the most of any team in Class 3A and ranks seventh among all teams across all classifications.
“We have the tougher sectional in Class 3A. I know some weights can vary from tournament to tournament, but overall, we had a lot of quality teams in our sectional, which makes it harder to get your kids through to state,” Ghobadpoor said.
Also advancing to the finals and placing second were Bobcats Carson Farist (113), Owen Moss (195) and Tony Olea (285). Third-place finishers included Arturo Gonzalez (120), Carson Bentley (138), Miguel Jacinto (152), Diego Jacinto (160) and Daniel Reynoso (170).
Gilmer’s Bregan Berry (126) finished fourth and Frisly Ambrosio (145) was sixth. Hunter Brown (182) landed in seventh and will serve as an alternate at state. Kellen Watts took the mat at 132 pounds and posted a 1-2 record.
“Out of the 12 who qualified, we had one sixth place and one fourth, but the rest are top three. That helps with the draws at state. I’m pretty happy with it,” Ghobadpoor said.
Gilmer’s girls also took the mat, and a top-two placement was needed to qualify for state in their division. Linda Tercero (142) and Taylor Scheisser (172) were crowned champions. Gilmer’s runners-up were Itzzy Xec-Luna (142) and Hannah Mayo (152).
Also competing at sectionals for GHS were Letecia Tercero (122) and Felish Yarborough (132) in fourth place, Linda Tercero (112) in fifth and sixth-place finisher Sarai Solis (112).
At sectionals, Bobcats Rafael and Galloway both posted 4-0 records. Farist, Reynoso, Moss and Olea were 3-1, while Gonzalez, Miguel Jacinto and Diego Jacinto all had 4-1 records. Bentley was 5-1 on the day, and both Berry and Brown went 3-2. Ambrosio’s record stood at 3-3 and Watts was 1-2.
“We’re set up in a good way. Now we need to go out and win traditional state and that’s all there is to it,” Ghobadpoor said. “We’re just going to have to wrestle, be tough and finish matches.”
The season will conclude with the traditional state tournament Thursday through Saturday at the Macon Coliseum. A full tournament schedule can be found at Ghsa.net.