The Gilmer High Bobcats capped their summer wrestling schedule with a trip to the Disney Duals.
Gilmer made its way to Orlando for the heralded three-day event June 25-27. GHS took the mat for 11 duals and came away with a 6-5 record after a difficult opening day.
“It was a long trip for us and almost felt like a month packed into a few days,” GHS head coach Josh Ghobadpoor said. “It ended up being a really good trip for us, and I’m really happy we were able to make it happen.”
The tournament was fully sanctioned and duals used the same format as a regular-season event.
Schools were grouped together based on enrollment and there was also an all-star division. Gilmer competed in the “Community II” division.
Within the Community II division, teams were grouped in pools of eight. After two days of wrestling, teams were regrouped into brackets. For example, the top three teams from each pool were placed in the gold bracket, teams four through six from each pool advanced to the silver bracket, and the remaining teams made up the bronze bracket.
Gilmer deployed a mixed bag of wrestlers that included some projected starters, as well as some younger wrestlers who have served as reserves in previous seasons. GHS was without four projected starters, which included state champion Carson Farist.
Teams were permitted to use up to three wrestlers from unattached schools to fill weight classes, and GHS picked up Brunswick’s Jeremiah Dawson to fill its vacant 152-pound spot.
“The first day we had three matches and it was the most brutal day,” Ghobadpoor said. “We had the best competition by far that day. The first match we had was the toughest one against Palm Bay, Fla., and they smoked us (49-12). They were very good from top to bottom and loaded at every weight.”
The Bobcats also dropped their next two matches versus Oak Harbor, Ohio (47-28) and West Perry, Pa. (47-25).
GHS was back on the mat for day two at 8 a.m. and notched three straight wins. The Bobcats topped Indiana’s Franklin Blue (67-9) and Terre Haute Black (68-12), as well as Billings, Mont. (47-27).
“We needed that,” Ghobadpoor said of Gilmer’s second day. “It was great for our kids to win the first three matches.”
The fourth match of the day against South Carolina’s Greenwave Grapplers was tied with a bout remaining but Gilmer fell short, 39-36.
“At that point of the tournament we were 3-4,” Ghobadpoor said. “We started talking to the guys about how much better of a day we had and how we needed to come out fighting the last day.”
The Bobcats were then placed in the silver bracket and notched an opening round win over Ohio Royals, 40-28. In the quarterfinals, GHS was defeated by North Florida Wrestling Academy Red, 41-27.
Once in the consolation bracket, the Bobcats downed Naples, Fla., Wrestling Club, 33-30. Gilmer closed out the tournament with a victory over Westerville North, Ohio, 38-33.
“Every match started at 106 pounds. That was kind of a big thing for us because we had some extra wrestlers in the lower weights but didn’t really have any up top,” Ghobadpoor said.
“The last match was against a team from Ohio, we were down 33-32 and it came down to (heavyweight) Tony Olea and he ended up getting a pin for us.”
For its efforts, GHS secured fifth place in the silver bracket.
Wrestlers at the tournament were recognized for their individual performances. Bobcats Juan Rafael (106 pounds) and Dylan Galloway (220) both posted 10-1 records and were named Silver All-Americans. Bregan Berry (113) and Owen Moss (195) both tallied 8-3 records and received the Copper All-American distinction.
Gilmer’s add-on wrestler, Dawson, was 9-2 and declared a Bronze All-American.
Ghobadpoor praised parents, coaches, wrestlers, sponsors and booster club members for helping make the trip a reality and assessed the Bobcats’ performance.
“We didn’t have a few of our guys there with us, but we had some younger guys step up when they got those opportunities,” he said. “I think this brought our team closer together and bonded us.
“Even through there were a lot of tough matches and it was a long week, we tried to mix in some fun during the trip. Some guys got to go to the beach for the first time. It was a unique experience and hopefully they’ll remember it for a long time to come.”
The event marked the end of Gilmer’s three weeks of June training. Wrestlers will receive some time off before they return for preseason practices in late-August.