Archer defended its Class AAAAAA duals state championship with a 42-15 victory over Camden County at the Macon Centreplex on Saturday.
Chris Diaz scored a pin at 126 pounds, and Grant Aycox won a major decision at 132 pounds. Sam Bullard won a thriller at 138 pounds with a take down on the final second, and Thomas Bullard grabbed a win at 145 after Camden County had grabbed an early 6-3 lead.
Elliott Lee is the only unbeaten wrestler for Archer this season, and the 195-pounder sealed the victory by giving Archer a 34-15 lead with only two wrestlers remaining.
The Tigers cruised past Lowndes (60-9), Newton (68-3) and region-rival Collins Hill (56-13) in the semifinals. Collins Hill placed third with a 41-24 edge over North Forsyth.
In other classifications:
AAAAA: Pope secured its third consecutive dual state championship by defeating Woodland-Cartersville in the championship round for the third consecutive season, 36-29. In 2012 and 2013, Pope defeated the Wildcats to the tune of 56-10 and 50-14, respectively, but this year the Greyhounds had to dig their way out of a 20-0 hole.
Tyler Haskin, who committed to Chattanooga, got Pope on the board and made the score 20-5 with his win at 132 pounds. Jake Adcock took a technical superiority at 138 pounds to make the score 20-10, and T.J. Collins cut the deficit to 20-14 with a major decision at 145 pounds.
Colton Lombardy gave Pope its first lead with 7-4 victory at 160 pounds, and the Greyhounds took a 33-29 lead into the final match, where heavyweight Seth Gorman sealed Pope’s comeback victory with a 3-0 decision.
Before Pope’s championship, Allatoona defeated Creekview 43-24 in the third-place consolation match.
AAAA: Gilmer took a 30-27 lead into the final match despite trailing Cass 17-7 after six of 14 wrestlers. Cass erased the three-point deficit in the final match, and Tyjaun Jett tied the score at 30-30 with a 3-point decision at heavyweight. Gilmer won the tiebreaker by criteria and claimed its third duals state title in the past three seasons and its fifth all-time.
AAA: Buford won its first wrestling state title with a 44-23 win over defending state champion Banks County. The Leopards edged Buford 34-32 in the Area 7 duals last week, but the loss gave the Wolves their first berth into the duals state tournament. Buford jumped to a 22-0 lead through the first five rounds before winning its rematch with Banks County. The Wolves' lead shrunk to 32-17 after Banks County won three of four matches, but a pair of pins at 195 and 220 pounds sealed the victory.
AA: Jefferson's historic dominance on the mats continued as the Dragons defeated Bremen 48-15 and won their record 13th consecutive duals state championship. Jefferson defeated Pepperell 61-18 in the quarterfinals before battling past Toombs County 47-34 in the semifinals. Social Circle grabbed a third-place finish by topping Toombs County 45-30 in the third-place match.
A: Commerce won its first duals state championship with a 48-18 win over Athens Christian. Commerce scored a 72-3 win over Strong Rock Christian in the quarterfinals and a 70-7 win over Turner County in the semifinals. Defending state champion Gordon Lee finished third with a 54-28 win over Turner County.
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