In Class AAAAAA, three-time defending dual state champion Archer will first host the Area 8 duals this Saturday to compete for the top seed in Macon the following week. Archer, one of four programs that successfully defended its dual state title at the Centreplex a year ago, outscored North Paulding (51-20), Chattahoochee (66-14) and Collins Hill (55-18) by a combined 110 points in the winners bracket before closing out its dominating run to a third straight Class AAAAAA team dual championship with a 66-3 blowout over Etowah.
The Area Duals provide a glimpse of things to come and Archer convincingly left little room for drama last year, outscoring South Gwinnett, Parkview and Brookwood by a combined 217-12 for the top seed in the state duals and another runaway Area 8 wrestling title. This year’s undefeated Tigers team has already won the Lassiter Invitational, Allatoona Duals, Defense Soap Duals, Southern Slam, U.S. Air Force Indian Classic and the Takedown Sportswear Invitational.
Across the county, it should be another intriguing battle in Area 7. Mountain View dethroned Collins Hill for the Area 7 title last year. It was pins by Austin Phillips, Adam Flatt (a Davidson-commit) and Austin Brown helped the Bears continue their historic season. Only Brown returns and the 195-pound senior will have to lead the Bears against a deep Collins Hill squad.
In Class AAAAA, Camden County returned to the podium for the second time in program history (first since 2012) with a convincing 40-19 victory over Woodland-Cartersville in the dual state finals. Camden County cruised past fourth-place finisher Cass (48-12) in the quarterfinals and third place finisher Allatoona (51-15) in the semis before handling the top-seeded Woodland Wildcats for the title. The Wildcats should cruise once again in the Area duals and set themselves up for another title run. Camden County exhibited their championship potential with a 74-0 shutout over Ware County for the Area 3 title match last year, marking the school’s 17th straight Area title. Last year’s dual runner-up Woodland Cartersville dominated Area 7 and earned the No. 1 overall seed. Woodland’s win came in one of the deepest area’s in the state and Cass was able to finish second ahead of Creekview and defending Traditional champion Cambridge. Ola edged a talented Union Grove team for the Area 4 championship and Allatoona held off Alexander in the Area 5 championship match 34-28.
Gilmer won Class AAAA’s race for the state title and used a 52-13 victory over Northwest Whitfield to claim a sixth straight dual state title (eighth since 2005). With Northwest Whitfield, North Hall, Carrollton, Buford and Marist, Class AAAA’s seeding will be critical. Gilmer earned Class AAAA’s top seed with the Area 7 title last year. Buford, which made its Class AAAA debut last season after winning the Class AAA Dual state title last year fell to North Hall in the Area 8 championship. Class AAAA’s Marist topped rival St. Pius for the Area 6 title and defending Area 2 champion West Laurens adds to a loaded field.
After winning the last 13 dual state titles in Class A (2002-08) and Class AA (2009-14), Jefferson used a 51-22 win over Sonoraville to take home its first-ever Class AAA state title last year. Jefferson outscored McNair (54-21), Rockmart (54-14) and Spencer (59-18) by a combined 114 points to set up the 29-point decision over Sonoraville in the finals. An incredible finish between Spencer and Lumpkin County for third place in Class AAA upstaged nearly every head-to-head matchup in last year’s state meet. Spencer edged Lumpkin County 35-34 in their quarterfinal matchup, but could not complete the sweep against Lumpkin County. When the two teams met in the third-place match, Lumpkin County returned the favor with a one-point victory of its own (33-32) to secure the third place finish. Prior to the Dragons’ successful state meet, Jefferson ousted Oconee County, Morgan County and Jackson County in Area 8 and earned the top seed in the Class AAA bracket. Jefferson was not the only school making the jump from AA to AAA as Toombs County and Westminster also successfully transitioned in last year’s Area duals. Toombs County topped Appling County to take home the Area 1 title and Westminster thrashed Blessed Trinity by 30 points for the Area 4 crown.
Social Circle ran through Dublin (69-6) and Lovett (53-15) before using a 34-31 victory over Bremen to capture the program’s first-ever state championship and all eyes will be on this year’s Redskins’ team. Greater Atlanta Christian, which finished third in Class AA, was sent to the loser’s bracket with a heartbreaking 27-26 loss to Bremen. The Spartans bounced back from the difficult loss with an impressive 45-30 victory over Gordon Lee in Saturday’s third-place match. The Spartans, Bremen and Gordon Lee join Social Circle as favorites in Class AA. The Redskins entered the Area Duals ranked No. 1 in the Class AA polls last year and protected their No. 1 status with a 42-20 win over GAC to earn the top seed in the tournament.
Defending Class A champion Commerce successfully defended its first and only wrestling state title with a 54-24 win over Mt. Zion-Carroll in the state finals last year. Commerce outscored Treutlen (59-15) and Trion (66-4) by a combined 106 points before the finals. Turner County fell 41-36 to runner-up Mt. Zion before topping Trion 34-27 for a third-place finish in Class A. Commerce defeated St. Francis in the Area 4 championship last year and became the only team in Class A’s field of eight that had ever captured a dual wrestling state title. A more experienced field is certain to make it to Macon this year.
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