Prep roundup: Dalton's Sidney Wheeler steps up late, wins state

DULUTH — It’s only a few inches higher off the ground, but for Dalton wrestler Sidney Wheeler it was “amazing.”

Standing on the highest step of the medal stand compared to the second highest means a lot. It drove Wheeler, a sophomore 182-pounder, to a thrilling come-from-behind 16-12 victory against West Lauren’s Demetrius Green to claim a state championship in the Georgia High School Association’s Class 3A state traditional tournament Saturday night at the Gwinnett Center.

“Willpower” was just one of the things Wheeler gave credit to for the comeback.

“I’ve been praying a lot about these matches the last few weeks,” said the first-time state qualifier, who finished the season with a 48-10 mark. “I just want to give this victory to God because without him I couldn’t have done it.

“And a lot of practice and great coaching. ... It’s amazing.”

Also in 3A, Carlos Fraire, Southeast’s 220-pound junior finalist, lost 3-2 in triple overtime against Allatoona’s Bryson Brindle. Dalton’s Reinaldo Torres (145) and Southeast’s Omar Ruiz (106) each placed fifth.

In Class 4A, Northwest Whitfield senior Dustin Pendergrass (145) — who has a record of 52-8 this season — took fifth. He trailed 9-3 in his final match before winning by pin.

In the 3A finals, Wheeler led 3-2 in the first period before Green scored a two-point reversal and then got Wheeler on his back for near-fall points. While Wheeler was able to keep from being pinned, Green added three points and held a 7-3 lead after the first two minutes. Green then scored a reversal to open the second period and held a six-point advantage.

But the Catamount battled back with a reversal of his own and scored the final three points of the second period. Wheeler pulled to within two points before Green scored two points to double his lead to 11-7. Wheeler then scored four straight points and nine of the last 10 to come away with the victory. He scored a total of 10 points in the final two minutes.

This season was not the smoothest for the Cats. Charles Mitchell resigned as head coach in mid-December to take an administrative position at Hixson High School in Tennessee. Richard Garrett, who previously coached Dalton until 2004, stepped in to take the reins, but the roster size dwindled during the transition.

“We had a lot of good wrestlers quit,” Wheeler said.

But to finish the season with a monumental high after a few lows gave the Cats vindication and a good foundation to rebuild.

“It’s something to build on,” Garrett said with his eyes tearing up. “Sidney’s got two more years, and we’ve got some great kids coming back.”

Fraire’s match, while just as intense and suspenseful, did not end on the same happy note. The Raider battled with Brindle, who had pinned Fraire (49-7) three times this season heading into their championship bout.

“The plan was to stay on our feet,” Southeast coach Michael Herndon said, because (Brindle) is so good on the mat.”

Fraire stuck to the plan as both wrestlers stayed upright for the first two periods. The scoreboard had two goose eggs until Brindle escaped from bottom in the first couple seconds of the third period to take a 1-0 lead.

“The plan worked for the most part,” Herndon said. “One more takedown and it goes out way.”

Fraire was able to score the tying point with 40 seconds left as Brindle was called for stalling. The two wrestlers did not break the deadlock in the first overtime period and exchanged points in the second 60 seconds.

Then, in the final 30 seconds, Fraire started on top, knowing he would have to ride Brindle for the entire 30 seconds to win the title. Brindle escaped Fraire’s hold at the halfway point and secured the victory.

Fraire will be back next year, though, and letting a championship slip through his fingers could be fuel for next season.

“An extra pushup, an extra mile,” Fraire said about the loss. “I should have worked a little bit harder.”

Pendergrass, a three-time state qualifier, lost by pin to Cody Dickerson of Alexander in the consolation semifinals, but defeated Lovejoy’s Derek Holmes by pin in the fifth-place match.

Ruiz (49-9), a freshman, lost by technical foul to Lumpkin County’s Greg Hilliard and defeated Woodward Academy’s Max Pastor for fifth place. Torres (16-13), a senior, lost 7-6 to West Lauren’s Keyon Taylor but rebounded to defeat LaGrange’s John Parker by pin.

The Raiders finished with 42 team points, good for 17th place in Class 3A. Dalton was 19th place with 38 points.

Heritage-Catoosa won the 3A team title with 139 points, beating fellow Area 7-3A program Gilmer (128).

Northwest finished with 21 points and was 29th in Class 4A, which was won by Pope. Bremen won Class A, Jefferson took the Class 2A title to win a traditional state crown for the 12th year in a row, and Collins Hill won its fifth straight Class 5A title.

Basketball

• Curtis Baptist boys 61, Christian Heritage 51: A late rally fell short, and the Lions’ season came to an end with the loss in the quarterfinals of the GISA Class 2A state tournament at Middle Georgia College in Cochran.

Michael McKinney scored 27 points to lead Christian Heritage (9-16), which trailed at the end of each quarter but cut Curtis Baptist’s lead to three points with two minutes to play. However, Curtis Baptist countered with a 3-pointer, the Lions were forced to start fouling and the rally went no further.

The Lions trailed 43-35 entering the final period, having been behind 33-19 at halftime and 18-8 after the first quarter.

“We got down early and had to dig ourselves out of a hole,” Christian Heritage coach Chad Woodson said. “We started out kind of sluggish — we couldn’t get our shots to fall, we couldn’t rebound — but we fought back and gave ourselves a chance to win it, so I’m proud of our guys for that.”

Cole Maffetone added seven points for Christian Heritage, which finished fourth in Region 4-2A, but upset No. 1 seed Piedmont Academy 50-30 in Thursday’s opening round to reach the quarters. Andrew McEntyre and Cole Townsend each chipped in six points for the Lions, who lose just one senior, Derrell Christian, to graduation as they prepare to transition to GHSA competition next season.

“I definitely think our team improved throughout the year and got better,” Woodson said. “We had a chance to win tonight and advance to the final four, but we just came up short.”

Christian Heritage’s girls qualified for this week’s semifinals at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville with a 65-54 victory against Fullington Academy this past Friday. The Lady Lions, who are in the semifinals for the second straight season and third time in five seasons of GISA competition, take on Gatewood at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Soccer

• Dalton boys 2, Habersham Central 1: Ramiro Huitanda had two goals and Eder Mora had both assists as the Cats picked up the non-region victory in Mount Airy.

Habersham Central advanced to the Class 4A state semifinals the past two years, and the Cats (2-0) outshot the Raiders 14-9 in Saturday’s victory. The Cats, who reached the Class 3A quarterfinals a year ago, opened the 2011 season at Harmon Field with a 5-3 loss to Habersham Central.

“It was a great early challenge,” Dalton coach Matt Cheaves said, “and great to go on the road against a quality team and get the win.”

Raymundo Bahena was noted for his play in goal by Cheaves, who also said Salvador Rodriguez, Zack Keen and Edgar Hernandez did a good job of keeping Habersham from being able to attack for much of the game.

• Dalton JV boys 3, Habersham Central 2: Alan Lopez, Marcos Ruiz and Javy Rodriguez all scored for the Cats in their season-opening win on the road. Jose Plaza had a pair of assists, and Luis Becerra had another as Dalton outshot the Raiders 11-3.

Golf

• Dalton and Northwest’s boys opened their seasons at the North-South Challenge in Vidalia, where the North came up short in the best ball match play event, 16 1/2-7 1/2.

Northwest was paired with golfers from Peachtree Ridge and competed at Hawks Point Golf Course. The Ryder Cup-style event pits eight teams from the upper half of the state against eight from South Georgia.

The Bruins’ Silas Ledford teamed up with Zach Pritchard and won, 1 up, while Ethan Hayes was paired with Michael Chong and won, 5 and 3.

Northwest’s Trevor Goodman played with Jeff Chae and lost, 2 and 1; Tyler Roberts played with John Beyan and lost, 8 and 6; Sam Speights played with Charles Huntzinger and lost, 2 and 1; and Clay Kittle played with Kevin Kim and lost, 4 and 3.

“(This event) is how we always start the year,” Northwest coach Jim McGrew said, “and it’s a good way to start it since it’s down south, where it’s warm. It’s something that’s kind of different and the kids don’t get to see as much, with match play, so it’s a good way to start the year off.”

Dalton coaches did not report the Cats’ results by The Daily Citizen’s deadline.

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