Jones County wins state wrestling duals opener
The Jones County wrestling team had some nervous moments in its first match of the GHSA State Duals against LaGrange on Thursday at the Macon Coliseum, but the Greyhounds rallied with four late match wins to claim a 46-30 victory in Class AAAAA action.
It marked the first time in program history that the Greyhounds have advanced to the quarterfinals. They will meet Woodland at 9:45 a.m. on Friday.
"I knew once we were only down 30-24 at that time would win because my next four guys are very good," said head coach Jay Crook, who suffered the only injury of the day when he aggravated a previous knee injury coming down some steps. "We have not wrestled anywhere below I-20 all year long and we have seen some great competition, so I knew we were ready.
"We have some guys that don't have great records right now, but I am still very confident when they are on the mat."
Torrez Finney got Jones County off to a good start when he won the opening match 11-9, and Jonathan Todd followed with a pin to give the Greyhounds a quick 9-0 lead. They quickly lost the next two matches and trailed 12-9, but they got a clutch pin from Shi Canty at 113 pounds to give them back the lead at 15-12.
LaGrange was able to get pins in the next two matches to take a 24-15 lead, but Tyler Dukes won at 132 by decision and Nicholas Nelson pinned his opponent at 138 to tie the score.
The Greyhounds fell behind again after a pin at 145, but they did not lose another match. Sherrod Shahid pinned his opponent at 152 to tie the score at 30, Seph Shedd won by decision, and Darrell Duggan and Daniel Curry scored wins by pinfall.
"I knew that if I won we would probably win the match and if I lost we could very possibly lose the match," said Shedd, who took the mat with his team tied and earned four points with an 11-3 win. "We are all used to the pressure of having to win, and we feel like we are prepared for Duals. It's a huge accomplishment to finally get by the first round. "
Crook has already looked at how the points might break down against Woodland and said his team is in for another tough matchup.
"When you add up the points, it shows that we have to have some guys step up and maybe not get pinned when they are supposed to," Crook said. "Woodland has six state champions on their team, but we feel like we are ready to battle. But don't get me wrong, Woodland is legit."
West Laurens claimed a first-round win in Class AAAA, beating Cook 67-12 to advance to a quarterfinal matchup Friday morning against Buford, while Crisp County (56-21 to North Hall) and Upson-Lee (66-15 to Gilmer) lost their opening matches. In Thursday night's wrestlebacks, Crisp County defeated Upson-Lee 44-36.
In Class AAA, Toombs County defeated Calhoun 40-34 and will face Lumpkin County at 8 a.m. on Friday.
Class A and Class AA competition also begins at 8 a.m. on Friday. Mount de Sales takes on Mt. Zion of Carroll County in Class A, while Class AA contests include East Laurens-Social Circle, Fitzgerald-Armuchee and Jeff Davis-Bremen.
This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 9:07 PM with the headline "Jones County wins state wrestling duals opener ."