By Marty Kirkland
RINGGOLD — As a freshman, Andy Pichardo was one of five Southeast Whitfield wrestlers to win an area medal. Then he watched as the program’s experience graduated and that number dropped to two the following season.
Three years after his freshman performance, Pichardo was again one of five Raiders with a medal draped around his neck after Saturday’s Area 6-3A traditional tournament at Heritage-Catoosa High — and even though his time at Southeast is short, he feels good about what he’s leaving behind.
Pichardo finished second in the 145-pound weight class, as did fellow senior Cristian Perez (285) and North Murray’s Zach Penland. Another Southeast senior, Tanner Phipps (160), was third — but for Pichardo the most encouraging results might have come from junior Mario Rodriguez (third at 119) and sophomore Jeremy White (fourth at 103).
“I feel like we’ve brought the program back up,” said Pichardo, who lost 12-0 to Heritage’s Corey Canada in the finals. “I’m excited about (Rodriguez and White) because now they’ve got experience. I’m comfortable leaving leaders who know how it is at the next level.”
LaFayette rolled to another area traditional crown with 218.5 points, well ahead of the host Generals’ 151, to sweep its area postseason events for the fifth straight time. The Ramblers, a state-level power who won area traditional and duals titles three straight years in Class 2A before moving up to Area 6-3A for the 2008-09 season, beat Heritage in the 6-3A championship dual at Southeast last month.
While it might look easy for LaFayette — which had four champions on Saturday — plenty of work has gone into maintaining the run.
“In our lineup, we have 10 starters out of 14 weight classes that were not starters last year,” Ramblers coach Lee Dendy said. “And most of them aren’t freshman. They’re sophomores or juniors, people who didn’t quit.
“I think a lot of programs run into the problem of having starters, then nobody. I’ve got quality kids who sat on the bench, bided their time and waited on their chance to shine. That’s the trick to continuing to be good every year.”
Cartersville (134), Carrollton (120.5), Ridge-land (112) and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (102) rounded out the top six, while the Raiders missed out on being among that upper half — entering the tourney, it had seemed like a reasonable goal with half of their lineup seeded — and were eighth with 88 points in the 11-team field, three shy of seventh-place Ringgold.
Raiders coach Neil Nichols was also frustrated to see both of his finalists come up short of the podium’s top step as Perez suffered a second-period pin against LaFayette’s Kenny Sartin in the day’s last match.
But he’s optimistic about his wrestler’s chances at next weekend’s Class 3A West sectional at Riverwood High in Atlanta as they aim for the top-eight finishes that will advance them to the state tournament.
“They say if you can get out of this area, as tough as it is,” Nichols said, “you should be able to get out of sectionals.”
Rodriguez, who was competing in the postseason for the first time, said looking ahead in anticipation of making the finals cost him in his semifinal loss to LaFayette’s Justin Wallin. But he bounced back with a technical-fall victory against Carrollton’s Levi Ward in the consolation final and figures he’ll be much better prepared when sectionals start on Friday.
“I just need to go match by match by match,” Rodriguez said. “I haven’t been doing that. But I will. Coach just told me to finish strong, no matter what.”
Experience is something North Murray’s wrestlers are also still looking to gain, but the first-year Mountaineers have far more than they did when they took to the mat for their first practice a little more than three months ago. Naturally, that’s encouraging to coach Larry Cornelius, who thinks he has a good idea of what needs work.
“We showed our youth, but kind of in a good manner,” said Cornelius, whose team was 11th with 32 points behind Central Carroll (53) and Cedartown (42). “We were very, very aggressive out there today.
“We built leads in the first period and didn’t know how to wrestle with a lead. We were just trying to do a little too much.”
Penland, a sophomore on a team where that essentially represents the upper class, has been a leader all year for the Mountaineers and was in that position again on Saturday as he gained one of the biggest honors yet for the fledgling athletic program. Though outmatched in the finals as Heritage’s Landon Reed pinned him in the second period, Penland was able to appreciate the improvement he and his team showed.
“I think we’ve made a lot of progress,” said Penland, who will be the lone Mountaineer at sectionals. “People are working harder and putting the team ahead of themselves.”
2010 AREA 6-3A TRADITIONAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS
At Heritage-Catoosa High School, Ringgold
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010
TEAM STANDINGS
1. LaFayette — 218.5
2. Heritage-Catoosa — 151
3. Cartersville — 134
4. Carrollton — 120.5
5. Ridgeland — 112
6. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe — 102
7. Ringgold — 91
8. Southeast Whitfield — 88
9. Central Carroll — 53
10. Cedartown — 42
11. North Murray — 32
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
103 pounds
1. Hayden Nichols, Ringgold
2. Chase Hale, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
3. Britton Gilbert, LaFayette
4. Jeremy White, Southeast Whitfield
112 pounds
1. Landon Reed, Heritage-Catoosa
2. Zach Penland, North Murray
3. Phillip Fuqua, Ringgold
4. Jay Dillard, Central Carroll
119 pounds
1. Jacob Wallace, Ridgeland
2. Justin Wallin, LaFayette
3. Mario Rodriguez, Southeast Whitfield
4. Levi Ward, Carrollton
125 pounds
1. Brandon Wallin, LaFayette
2. Mason Mitcham, Carrollton
3. Mike Shepard, Heritage-Catoosa
4. Ty Downer, Cartersville
130 pounds
1. Preson McCalmon, LaFayette
2. Cody Goins, Heritage-Catoosa
3. Richard Spinks, Central Carroll
4. Gary Tucker, Ridgeland
135 pounds
1. Seth Taylor, LaFayette
2. Justin Moore, Ridgeland
3. Taylor Peterson, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
4. Hans Navarette, Cartersville
140 pounds
1. Josh Diprima, Cartersville
2. Leodegario Cordero, Cedartown
3. Dalton Smith, LaFayette
4. Jarrod Holmes, Heritage-Catoosa
145 pounds
1. Corey Canada, Heritage-Catoosa
2. Andy Pichardo, Southeast Whitfield
3. Dustin Fuqua, Ringgold
4. Brady Hart, LaFayette
152 pounds
1. Jake Johnson, Cartersville
2. Justin Ownby, LaFayette
3. Demetre Taylor, Ringgold
4. Broklyn Cotton, Cedartown
160 pounds
1. Tate Murray, Cartersville
2. Ky Hart, LaFayette
3. Tanner Phipps, Southeast Whitfield
4. Jared Harmon, Ridgeland
171 pounds
1. Brien McClure, Cartersville
2. Travis Joyce, Carrollton
3. Justin Gregory, Ringgold
4. Andrew Gilbert, LaFayette
189 pounds
1. Madison Paris, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
2. Jacob Ellis, Ridgeland
3. Jacob Tripp, Heritage-Catoosa
4. Mason Tillman, Carrollton
215 pounds
1. Derrick Laney, Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe
2. Patrick Darby, Carrollton
3. Burton Thomas, Cenral Carrollton
4. Gabe Pendley, Heritage-Catoosa
285 pounds
1. Kenny Sartin, LaFayette
2. Cristian Perez, Southeast Whitfield
3. Axel Quintanar, Carrollton
4. Dylan Lowe, Heritage-Catoosa
