For the second season, the GHSA will host a girls state tournament. To qualify for state, wrestlers had to finish in the top two of their respective weight classes at sectionals. Wrestlers may also advance based on bids, which had not been determined as of Tuesday’s press deadline.
GHS has five guaranteed and hopes “possibly two more” will receive a bid, according to coach Josh Ghobadpoor.
Gilmer’s sectional champions included Laura Tercero (112), Karina Gonzalez (152) and Francisca Lopez (162). All three posted 2-0 records and Tercero won with a 9-7 decision while Gonzalez and Lopez both pinned their finals opponent.
Runners-up were Hannah Mayo (142, 2-1 record) and Maribel Perez-Lopez (197, 0-1). Third place finishers included Anna Waddell (132, 3-1), Noemi Torres (152, 1-1) and Claudia Zilke (172, 1-1). Ange Davis (122, 1-2) and Marisol Perez-Lopez (172, 0-2) placed fourth while Vallery Wofford (102, 2-3) was sixth.
“We had two champs and three finished second,” Ghobadpoor said. “None of our girls have even been to state before and to have that many, how cool is that? It was a great job all the way around.”
Rather than compete in separate classifications like the boys, girls from all school sizes will face one another to see who is Georgia’s best.
The Class 4A state tournament will be held Thursday through Saturday at the Macon Coliseum. The Bobcats are seeking their first state championship in four seasons, and a full tournament schedule can be found at Ghsa.net/wrestling.