AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2007 > February > 01 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USCondon-Stephens match one to remember
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The AJC’s Kurt Aschermann Jr. talks H.S. wrestling each Thursday. Feel free to talk back.
There were three great duals Tuesday and Wednesday night.
Tuesday, Stockbridge and Eastside renewed their rivalry with the Class AAAA champion Tigers winning 29-27 after their 37-28 win over the Eagles in the AAAA semifinals. Wednesday, a pair of duals took place only eight miles from each other: Union Grove visited Class AAAAA duals champion McEachern while Harrison entertained Class AA duals runner-up Lafayette.
The Union Grove-McEachern matchup never materialized. Nick Turpin (125 pounds) opened the match with a late takedown to hold off Justin Crozier 4-2 and the Indians never looked back, collecting four pins and three majors in a 45-20 win.
At Harrison, the dual was much closer. In a shrewd move, the meet started at 171 pounds, allowing the feature match — Harrison’s Josh Condon and Ian Stephens of Lafayette - to close out the dual at 160 pounds. With the Hoyas clinging to a 27-24 lead, Condon and Stephens got together.
The hype surrounding the Condon-Stephens match was similar to last January’s dual between Collins Hill and Henry County, when 135-pounders Thomas Knapp of Collins Hill and Henry County’s Brett Warrington battled in Gwinnett in a dual won by Knapp 3-1 in overtime.
Condon secured two takedowns and a near fall in the second period and another takedown in the third and controlled a majority of the match, winning a 9-4 decision. Stephens, who’s in his first year at Lafayette after transferring from neighboring Ridgeland High School, had been 54-0 coming in to the night. Ramblers coach Lee Dendy said Stephens hasn’t had the national exposure of Condon, but that there was no shame in his 160-pounder losing to a wrestler of Condon’s caliber.
These types of team battles and one-on-one matchups so close to the individual state tournament are good things for the sport of wrestling. It’s just too bad you can’t be in two places at once.
ONE LAST THING….
Don’t count out Henry County in the Class AAA race. The Warhwaks have six potential state placers and three wrestlers — Evan Warrington at 103 pounds; Tim Vlcek at 152 and Tyler Faulkner at 160 that, when right, can win individual state titles. If they can get help from their supporting cast — Justin Hawkins (119 pounds); Jonathan Parker (heavyweight); Justin Middlebrooks (112) and Anthony Fretwell (130) — the Warhawks might be right in the thick of the race for the AAA team title.
Gilmer, Cass and West Laurens are the lead horses in AAA, but Marty Hutsell’s group will be a factor in Gwinnett.
Week 4 Poll (last week’s ranking in parentheses)
1.McEachern (1)
2.Parkview (2)
3.Collins Hill (3)
4.Walton (5)
5.Stockbridge (4)
6.Gilmer (6)
7.Jefferson (7)
8.Cass (8)
9.West Laurens (9)
10.Harrison (T-12)
11.Eastside (10)
12T.Lafayette (11)
Union Grove (T-12)
On the cusp: Wesleyan, Henry County, Grayson, Whitewater, Lovett, Hardaway
Pin it down and rank the rankings: Let us know who your Top 12 are and how they stack up against Kurt’s picks.
Permalink | Comments (11) | Post your comment | Categories: Pound For Pound
Comments
By dick fitzgerald
February 1, 2007 02:00 PM | Link to this
dis guy knows nothing about wrestling. only thing aschermann has ever wrestled is another donut out of the box…
By SonuvaDawg
February 1, 2007 02:36 PM | Link to this
Great Blog Kurt. Hey Dick… oh nevermind. Keep up the good work Kurt!
By Kurt Aschermann Jr.
February 1, 2007 06:47 PM | Link to this
Interesting. That name ‘Dick Fitzgerald’ sounds familiar. I think I might’ve taught him and his son how to hit a baseball holding the thin end of the bat instead of the fat end.
Sonuva: thanks for reading!
By Ernie
February 1, 2007 11:43 PM | Link to this
Grayson, Hardaway and Henry County - all solid teams to have on the brink of the poll. I think all 3 will show some good things at state tournament. some others to watch - Trion, Columbus, Woodland and Kell
By grappler98
February 2, 2007 12:06 AM | Link to this
thanks for the coverage.
By Freestyo
February 2, 2007 03:49 AM | Link to this
Henry gonna get 3A’s 152 pound champ, Vlcek. guarantee it.
By chad poarch
February 2, 2007 01:08 PM | Link to this
Where’s Ringgold? There is no way that Gilmer Co. or Cass are better teams than Ringgold!!
By Kurt Aschermann Jr.
February 3, 2007 12:53 AM | Link to this
Chad -
I don’t have Ringgold ranked for a few reasons: one was the fact they lost a lot of wrestlers from last year’s Class AAAA traditional championship team, not the least of which were champs Garrison Goins, Greg Hopkins and Rob Baker.
They were also beaten this year in Area 7 by Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe and Northwest Whitfield and missed the state duals. I just feel there are a handful of teams in AAAA that will finish higher than Ringgold in Gwinnett, including No. 5 Stockbridge, No. 11 Eastside and cusp-team Whitewater.
As for Gilmer and Cass, I think they are two of the better teams in the state. I hope you get a chance to see their wrestlers at state; they’re impressive.
thanks for reading!
By Wrestling
February 5, 2007 06:27 PM | Link to this
wrestling rankings….boy, right up there with tennis, golf, badminton and shuffle-board. grap a root and growl wrestlers.
By 112
February 6, 2007 07:19 PM | Link to this
2A’s gonna be Lovett
By damion
February 8, 2007 09:55 AM | Link to this
How are you going to have Union Grove lower than teams they have already beaten in a dual.. Stockbridge, Eastside, Cass. Any top ten team in 5A would win state in any other class.