West Laurens, Veterans send multiple wrestlers to semifinals at GHSA meet

West Laurens is right in the mix for a potential GHSA Class 4A traditional wrestling championship through one day of competition at the Macon Coliseum.

Thanks to placing six wrestlers in the semifinals, West Laurens finished the first day with 70 points, 6.5 behind first-place Jefferson and 9.5 ahead of third-place Gilmer.

Jefferson has won 16 straight traditional wrestling championships, while Gilmer has won traditional titles in six out of the past seven years. West Laurens, which won traditional state titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007, is the most recent Middle Georgia program to have won a traditional state title.

Reaching the semifinals from West Laurens were Vincent Mariella at 106 pounds, Logan McGowan at 120, Evan Stokes at 126, Blake Beasley at 145, Cameron Butler at 160 and Joseph Horne at 285. Four other wrestlers — Lucas Miller (113), Brent Carr (132), Spenser Dacus (195) and Marshall Archord (220) — are still wrestling in the backdraw.

Veterans, with three semifinalists, was the only other Middle Georgia team to crack the top 10 in its classification, sitting in a tie for 10th in Class 5A. Reaching the semifinals are Julian Farber (106), Michael Mort (132) and Jacob Pierce (160). Two others, Kori Walker (182) and Jermall Lucas (220), are still competing in the backdraw.

Class 6A semifinalists from Middle Georgia include Houston County’s Reed Vincent (138) and Northside’s Dashawn Farber (132). In Class 4A, Upson-Lee’s Lazavier Moore (220) has a semifinal spot.

Wrestling resumes at the Coliseum at 10 a.m. on Friday with first-round action in the 1A, 2A and 3A classifications. Semifinal action in all classifications is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., with backdraw semifinals slated for a 7 p.m. start.

Championship action is scheduled for Saturday. Fifth-place matches are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., third-place matches at 11:30 a.m. and championship matches at 3 p.m.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 11:48 PM with the headline "West Laurens, Veterans send multiple wrestlers to semifinals at GHSA meet."