The first day of the GHSA Traditional Wrestling Championships took place at the Macon Centreplex on Wednesday. Classes AAAA, AAAAA, AAAAAA and AAAAAAA went through the Round of 16 and the first round of wrestle backs for those who lost in opening matches
In Class AAAAAAA, defending-champion Camden County has the lead with 50.5 points ahead of Collins Hill (36 points). Forsyth Central finished the day with 30 points and Brookwood amassed 27 points to tie with Mountain View. Camden County’s Hayden Malson defeated North Paulding’s Caleb Reda by fall at 5:26 to advance in the winner’s side of the bracket. He will face Todd Parks from Cherokee in the second round. In the 132-pound bracket, Camden’s Nathan Santos defeated East Coweta’s Zion Selby by fall at 4:41 and will face Milton’s Ben Williams in the second round of the winner’s bracket.
Class AAAAAA is tight at the top with Pope and Valdosta locked at 37 points. Alexander isn’t far behind with 34.5 points. Richmond Hill has 31 points and Creekview tallied 30 points to finish in fifth place. In the 145-pound bracket, Pope’s Troy Gable defeated South Paulding’s Chris Acree 10-0 to improve to 49-7 on the year.
Woodland-Cartersville is leading the AAAAA tournament after collecting 35 points after the opening rounds. Buford is trailing by a slim margin after a 34-point effort on the first day. Ware County (29 points) and Veterans (28 points) are third and fourth. Cass and Ola are tied for fifth with 26 points. In the 138-pound bracket, wrestlers from Buford and Woodland-Cartersville each won their opening rounds and are on track to meet in the semifinals if they secure victories in the next rounds. Nick Stonecheck, Buford’s star 138-pounder, defeated Stockbridge’s Desmond Stephenson by fall at 1:23. Stonecheck will face Cass wrestler Cameron Depasquale in the second round. Woodland’s Cole Cochran beat Southwest DeKalb’s Alfonzo Farley by fall at 3:31. Cochran will meet Kell wrestler Jake Boyd in the next round.
West Laurens, at 34.5 points, is holding a 3.5 point lead over Blessed Trinity’s 31 points after the opening rounds at Class AAAA. Gilmer is third with 30.5 points. Woodward Academy is in fourth place with 29 points. Central-Carroll is fifth with 27 points. West Laurens wrestler Michael Thomsen advanced in the 182-pound bracket after defeating James Seay by fall at 1:25. Thomsen will face Central-Carroll wrestler Sam Conerly in the next round.
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