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Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Georgia High School Basketball Blog: Live from state tournament 2nd round games
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It is here. The state tournament has started and the AJC Sports crew is all over the action. We had writers at several games Wednesday night, plus photographer Johnny Crawford captured the action too.
Here’s the game recaps:
• Norcross survives against Walton • Photos
• Wheeler beats Peachtree Ridge
Check out all the scores here:
• Boys • Girls
Feel free to post highlight-reel performances and your thoughts about the state tournament contenders.
Did you see this?
• AJC Slam Dunk Contest WINNER • VIDEO
QUESTION FOR THE BLOG: Which second-round favorite is primed for the biggest upset?
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Pound-for-Pound: The ajc.com All-State wrestling team
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s that time of year again, where the staff at Pound-for-Pound sifts through the state champions to come up with the best of the best. Here’s ajc.com’s Second Annual All-State Wrestling Team.
First team
103 pounds — Bazell Partridge, sophomore, Collins Hill. Class AAAAA champion goes from junior varsity team in 2008 to 49-4 sophomore campaign.
112 — Brian St. James, junior, Centennial. Finalist last season goes a step farther with a dominant 60-1 season.
119 — T.J. Mitchell, junior, Collins Hill. Second state title, first in Class AAAAA, for one of the state’s finest.
125 — Acton Pifer, junior, Lassiter. Won first state championship and finished 46-4.
130 — Brandon Westerman, senior, McEachern. Third four-time state champion in Class AAAAA history capped a 192-12 career.
135 — Joey Lazor, senior, Union Grove. Last loss was as a sophomore in the state finals, Lazor won his second state title in 2009 and finished the year 65-0.
140 — Joel Smith, junior, Collins Hill. Perhaps the state’s top wrestler, phenomenal athlete won first state crown and finished unbeaten in Georgia.
145 — Alex Hudson, senior, Sprayberry. Three consecutive state titles for the Tennessee-Chattanooga commitment.
152 — Gary Tiller, senior, Collins Hill. Battled injuries all season to claim Class AAAAA state title after taking three-timer Josh Condon to the wire in 2008 final.
160 — Taylor Knapp, senior, Collins Hill. One of five Eagles wrestlers to not lose in Georgia as the Virginia Tech commitment rolled to his third state title.
171 — Jack Roberts, senior, Union Grove. Brown commitment completed a 64-2 season with impressive run in state tournament.
189 — Ethan Blackstock, junior, Alexander. Continued to establish himself as one of the state’s finest, winning his second consecutive state crown in a 49-1 season.
215 — Derrick Laney, junior, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe. One of the most impressive wrestlers inside Gwinnett Arena for the second consecutive season, won second title and completed 46-0 campaign.
285 — Hunter Chumley, senior, Cherokee. Surprise Class AAAAA heavyweight champion finished the year 43-3.
Second team
103 — Cason Thurmond, sophomore, Jefferson. Finished 49-7 in winning second consecutive state championship.
112 — Chris Mann, senior, Holy Innocents’. Won Class A state championship, his first, and finished year 47-3.
119 — Kevin Ulmer, junior, Effingham County. Finished 66-6 in winning Class AAAA title to help Rebels win first team wrestling championship.
125 — Evan Warrington, senior, Henry County. Three-time state champion and four-time finalist; won 84 matches in 2009.
130 — Joe Denova, junior, Harris County. Transferred from Columbus late in the season and won second consecutive state title.
135 — Bryan Benton, senior, Toombs County. Four-time champion had one of the toughest matches in finals, outlasting Jefferson’s Cam Thurmond, a two-time champion. Benton finished his career 215-11.
140 — Trevor Bailey, senior, Eastside. Runner-up last season, Bailey gets gold in 2009, completing a 35-1 season.
145 — Jonathan Rivera, sophomore, Kennesaw Mountain. By season’s end stood out as favorite in Class AAAAA and didn’t disappoint, winning his first state championship during 63-8 season.
152 — Wade Farrow, senior, Swainsboro. Gets the nod partly for his upset of three-time champion Jay Fowler of Jefferson in Class AA final. 46-1 season didn’t hurt.
160 — Anthony Fretwell, senior, Henry County. Finished season with single-season state record of 85 wins; second consecutive state crown.
171 — Derick Wojcik, junior, Sandy Creek and Terrance Gaddy, junior, Clarkston. Most difficult decision we had to make so we chickened out: Wojcik upset unbeaten defending champion Jacob Williamson of Whitewater to win first state title in Class AAAA, while Gaddy completed second consecutive undefeated season with Class AAA title.
189 — Sam Kuntz, senior, Peachtree Ridge. The Rutgers commitment settled the argument of who was the better Class AAAAA 189-pounder, nipping Walton’s Jeff Olsen in an overtime thriller to win his first state title.
215 — Demery Hawkins, senior, Toombs County. Four-time finalist won second Class AA state title and finished with a 32-1 record.
285 — Chase Duke, senior, Heritage. Class AAA champion finished 52-2.
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