Area 7-3A Wrestling: Two Cats win titles; SE is fifth

ACWORTH — Winning an area wrestling title as a sophomore isn’t an uncommon occurrence, but it usually happens in the lower weight classes.

But Dalton sophomore Sidney Wheeler plays with the big boys, and he plays the game well.

Wheeler pinned Allatoona’s Cody Webb in the 182-pound finals of the Area 7-3A traditional tournament on Saturday at Allatoona to highlight a day in which area schools crowned three champions and sent 13 wrestlers on to next weekend’s Class 3A West sectional at Sandy Springs’ Riverwood.

“I’ve worked hard all season, and the hard work is paying off in the end,” said Wheeler, who won all three of his matches in the tournament after getting a first-round bye. “It was an impractical moment for me, beating three guys who had a lot more experience. It will be tough at state, but hopefully I can keep it going.”

Murray County’s Blade LeQuire (285) and Dalton’s Reinaldo Torres (145) — both seniors — each took area titles as well. LeQuire scored the only point of his championship match with Ringgold’s Chase Orr on an escape in the second period, while Torres handed Heritage-Catoosa’s Logan Perkins just his third loss of the season with an 8-4 decision to win his first area title.

Despite not having an area champion, Southeast Whitfield qualified six wrestlers for sectionals and finished with the highest score among local schools, earning 133 points for its fifth-place finish in the 12-team tournament.

Gilmer had five area champions to take first in the team standings with 253.5 points. Heritage, the area duals champions earlier this year, was second with 220 points, three champions and three runners-up, while LaFayette (160) and Allatoona (153) finished ahead of Southeast. Murray County (97) was sixth, Cartersville (88) seventh and Dalton (79) eighth.

In Wheeler’s final, the two wrestlers had a scoreless standoff in the first period before he was able to cradle Webb and get the pin with 39 seconds left in the second period. The victory earned the admiration of Dalton wrestling coach Richard Garrett, who also noted that sophomores usually don’t have success at the upper weight classes.

“That is starting to get up there with the big boys,” said Garrett, who took over the program midway through the year. “Sydney and Dylan (Carlile) both had a great tournament, and that was about the best they have wrestled all season.”

Carlile finished third at 120, taking a 5-2 decision in the consolation finals to claim third place over Heritage’s Austin Frye. He had to go three extra frames in overtime to get the win. He will be joined at sectionals by teammate Larry Fernandez (220), who finished fourth.

Torres has been one of the area’s most consistent wrestlers all year, winning at a variety of weights. But in the 145-pound final, he outscored Perkins 6-2 in the final period after finishing tied at 2-2 heading into the third.

“Mentally, my focus has just gotten better this year,” Torres said. “Last year, I worried about what the other guy was doing, and this year, I’ve tried to take more control. It is one step on my goal to win state.”

Torres and Perkins were the top two seeds coming into the tournament, and Torres rolled to the title with a pair of major decisions before taking the area crown. He beat Cartersville’s Hans Navarrete 13-3 in the semifinals for a major decision. Torres finished fourth at state last season, and after finishing as the area runner-up the past two years, he is looking for something bigger to finish his high school career.

“I’ve gotten a lot of seconds, and I am tired of it,” Torres said.

LeQuire was the favorite coming in at 285, and he didn’t disappoint. His first match of the tournament after getting a first-round bye was over in 21 seconds. He then advanced to the finals with a pin before the first period was over to earn another meeting with Orr, with whom he has a long history. LeQuire made the sectionals last season as a third-place finisher from the area and then advanced through sectionals to earn a spot at state.

“There was a lot for me to prove coming from last year,” LeQuire said of his senior season. “I was supposed to place. It was a lot of pressure. Now, placing at state would be nice, but I would like to take it one match at a time.”

Also qualifying for Murray County were Matthew Crace, third at 220, and John Duarte, fourth at 126. Crace lost his opening match of the tournament on Friday, but battled back and benefited from an injury to Gilmer’s Austin Sprayberry. He had a pin and took a 6-2 decision over Fernandez in the consolation finals.

Southeast’s six sectional qualifiers were led by a second-place finish from Carlos Fraire at 220. Fraire had perhaps one of the most stressful days of the tournament, advancing to the finals after Sprayberry had to default against him after suffering a compound dislocation of his elbow during their semifinal match.

Sprayberry’s bone in his forearm broke the skin after the dislocation, witnesses said, and matches were stopped while Sprayberry was attended to and transported by ambulance to a Cobb County hospital.

“I freaked out,” Fraire said. “I heard it pop like five times in a row. I tried to roll him one way and my weight rolled on his arm and it just dislocated. It was a real shame.”

Fraire advanced to the finals against Allatoona’s Bryson Brindle, who took the victory by pin at the 1:00 mark of the second period.

“While it was all going on, he was kind of upset,” Southeast coach Michael Herndon said. “He had time to settle down, but that kid from Allatoona is one of the best you will see. I’m very proud of the guys, and this is about what we expected.”

Freshman 106-pounder Omar Ruiz led 7-5 in the second period when he scored a pin against Ringgold’s Justin Sheppard with 44 seconds remaining in their consolation final. Finishing fourth for the Raiders were Lester Paucay (138), Austin Allen (160), Edgar Federico (170) and Jose Ortiz (285).

n In the Area 7-2A traditional tournament at Rockmart, three North Murray wrestlers qualified for next weekend’s Class 2A West sectional at Atlanta’s Blessed Trinity, while Francisco Sanchez (113) became the first to advance from an area tournament for first-year program Coahulla Creek.

North Murray’s Ethan Center (160) and Justin Pack (170) each finished third, while Blane Anderson (285) took fourth. Center and Anderson are both sophomores who will make their first trip to sectionals, while Pack is a senior who advanced last year and came one win shy of the top-eight finish needed to make state.

“They all were seeded the positions that they finished,” Mountaineers coach Steve Colley said. “The seeding was just about perfect.”

Senior Justin Saylor (182) finished fifth and will be an alternate for sectionals. Two other Mountaineers, sophomore Elias Lechuga (138) and junior Jeremiah Watkins (220), placed sixth.

“Everybody wrestled good, did a great job and nobody quit,” Colley said. “I’m really proud of the young guys.”

North Murray was ninth out of 16 teams heading into the final round, but Colley did not know his team’s final place at the tournament.

Jackie Abernathy (145), the only other Mountaineers senior, was eliminated Friday after dropping both of his matches. Colley attributed the losses to Abernathy being sick.

“He did the best he could,” Colley said. “He was just exhausted. He could barely hold his head up.”

Along with Sanchez, fellow sophomore Labron Kendrick (138) took fifth for Coahulla Creek.

Sanchez’s breakthrough for Whitfield County’s newest high school came despite wrestling with a cracked bone in his thumb — he has refused a cast because it would not allow him to compete. Unseeded for the area tournament, the Murray County Invitational champion will carry a 22-10 record into next week’s sectionals, where a top-eight finish is needed to make the state tournament field.

“He’s a good worker and a good kid,” Coahulla Creek coach Anthony Thomas said. “All of our kids are really good kids.”

Dalton High School Catamounts

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