AJC > Sports > Highschools > Blog > Archives > 2008 > December > 19 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USPound for Pound: Collins Hill wrestling machine humming right along
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Could this year’s Collins Hill team be better than last year’s juggernaut? An early dual loss to Pope, minus two of the state’s top wrestlers, T.J. Mitchell and Taylor Knapp, might have scared off some prognosticators, but not the staff at Pound for Pound. We knew it would just be a matter of time before the Eagles got going, and last weekend’s victory at the Cleveland Duals was a good jumping off point.
In winning for the fifth consecutive time at the longtime Tennessee dual tournament, Collins Hill re-established itself in Amateur Wrestling News Prep 40 poll at No. 36 with the victory against former No. 40 South Dade. Now it’s about proving itself in the Midwest, as in the Midwest Classic in Kansas City, Mo., this weekend.
“I do think that we should be ranked in the top 40 nationally,” Eagles coach Cliff Ramos said. “Now the challenge is to see if we can keep that ranking as we face some of the top teams in the nation over the next two weeks.”
After Ramos takes his crew to Missouri (where he started his coaching career), the Eagles host the Kyle Maynard Duals, Dec. 27, and head to Rochester, Minn., for The Clash Duals on Jan. 2.
“We are not afraid to go against the national powers,” said Ramos. “We may not always beat them, but we will not shy away from them.”
AJC Top 10 All-Class Rankings (Last week’s rank in parenthesis)
- Collins Hill (1) Wrapped up fifth consecutive Cleveland Duals title with victory against South Dade (FL); head to Midwest Classic this weekend
- Union Grove (2) South Metro champions heavy favorite this weekend at Loganville
- Pope (3) Only loss to Bradley Central (Tenn.) in finishing second at Sawnee Mountain Duals
- Jefferson (4) Third at Sawnee; only loss to Bradley Central
- Lafayette (5) Brett Warren champions looking like clear favorite in Class AAA
- Cass (8) Fifth-place finish at Sawnee was followed by tight victory against No. 7 Kennesaw Mountain
- Kennesaw Mountain (6) Mustangs win Raider Rumble
- Henry County (7) Warhawks second at South Metro
- Centennial (10) Sequoyah Invitational champions coming together
- Dacula (9) After more than two weeks off, Falcons head to King of the Mat in North Carolina on Monday
AJC Coaches Poll — Week 5
- Collins Hill (8), 80 points. Last week: 1
- Union Grove, 66. Last week: 2
- Jefferson, 62. Last week: 3
- Pope, 61. Last week: 4
- Lafayette, 41. Last week: 5
- Henry County, 24. Last week: 6
- Centennial, 21. Last week: T7
- Kennesaw Mountain, 19. Last week: 10
- Cass, 14. Last week: 9
T10 Eastside, 10. Last week: NR
T10 Walton, 10. Last week: NR
Others receiving votes: Grayson, 8; Parkview, 7; Whitewater, 4; Camden County, 3; Peachtree Ridge, 3; Dacula, 2; Rockdale County, 2; Wesleyan, 2; Lovett, 1
Takedowns
• No. 2 Union Grove is rolling along after a runaway victory at the South Metro Invite. Joey Lazor, making a strong argument for Georgia’s wrestler of the year, won the 140-pound title, while Justin Crozier (135 champ), Ryan Devita (130), Jack Roberts (160) and Wesley Mena (285) won. All five wrestlers improved to 16-0.
• No. 3 Pope and No. 4 Jefferson never got a chance to meet at Forsyth Central’s Sawnee Mountain Duals, each losing to Bradley Central. The Tennessee state champion Bears defeated Jefferson 40-18 in the semifinals and slipped by the Greyhounds 33-28 in the final.
Where we’ll be
The Pound for Pound staff was tempted to make the 115-mile trip to Chattanooga for this weekend’s McCallie Invitational. Instead, we’ll head to Loganville for the Eric Hill Memorial Tournament and watch the favorite, Union Grove.
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Comments
By The Ole Ball Coach
December 21, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this
The LaFayette team is as strong as ever they outscored Pope at the McCallie Invitational this weekend. LaFayette has won two Tournaments UTC old timers and the Brett Warren and they alos have as noted defeated McCallie,
9 Southeast ranked Cleveland,Tn and wrestled very well with #4 Ranked southeastern team Baylor Tn.I think LaFayette may belong at #2 or #3 behind an excellent Collin Hills team.
By SandMountainMan
December 21, 2008 2:23 PM | Link to this
Cass took first place at the Mohawk Invitational at North Cobb High School this weekend with 11 wrestlers. They wrestled hard with a lot of class. Had 3 individual winners, 2 second place and one 3rd.
By Win
December 21, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this
Camden County (Kingsland, Ga.) just killed Oviedo (Orlando) 41-22 at the Camden Holiday Duals. Oviedo is one of Florida’s best wrestling schools and Camden’s victory snaps Oviedo’s streak of 84 strait dual meet victories.
By Rocky
December 23, 2008 3:29 PM | Link to this
i agree, should keep an eye on camden. i think eastside and centenial should be higher. they are full speed now. eastside looks much better with bailey and durden in the lineup.
By kush
December 26, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this
Union Grove along with Grayson and Loganville got pounded by a team out of South Carolina. Good? It looks like Georgia wrestling is pitiful. The smallest school in the tournament (Dublin) placed 9th out of 22 of those 4A and 5A heavy weights. Jefferson would kill Collins Hill.