State Wrap up - Episode 4: Georgia 1A-3A Hammers
Each state had some absolute hammers at their state tournaments. We routinely recognize hammers throughout the season (in fact we try to do it weekly in December and January). In that case, coaches are asked to submit a wrestler that exceeded their expectations - whether that was on the mat, in the classroom in a leadership position, etc. We believe “hammers” aren’t just those wrestlers that destroy their competition and it is important to recognize those wrestlers that are continuing to push their ceiling.
But in this case - we are looking for those wrestlers that really hammered their way to a state title. These are the wrestlers that left no doubt. Not all State Champs are listed … the names below met 3 criteria: 1) they won a state title, 2) each classification had representatives, and 3) they met the point cutoff. Honestly - some brackets were tougher than others and a wrestler that won 5-4 in the semis and then 3-2 in sudden victory to win a title might be more deserving even though he or she did not score as many team points … I fully recognize that. But to avoid confusion (and to make it as objective as possible) I went with the above criteria.
Point cutoffs for each:
Georgia 1A: 28.0
Georgia 2A: 28.0
Georgia 3A: 28.0
Hunter Adams (North Hall) - Georgia 3A 182 lb. State Champ
Adams rolled to the 182 lb. title with 4 consecutive falls (one of 4 3A wrestlers to do so). All 4 of his falls came in the 1st period including in the finals over Chandler Diles. Adams didn’t spend much time on the mat but still outscored his opponents 28-1 over the 4 matches.
David Bertrand (Mt Pisgah) - Georgia 1A 170 lb. State Champ
Bertrand hammered the 1A 170 lb. bracket. He had 3 1st period falls including a 35 second fall of Rolland Williams in the finals. He also won 19-4 in his quarterfinal match over Jaxon Ethridge of Social Circle.
Elijah Burns (Commerce) - Georgia 1A 220 lb. State Champ
Burns had 3 1st period falls - in a total of a minute and 30 seconds before having to grind out a 14-7 win over Trion’s Brantley Willbanks in the 220 final. The win never looked in doubt as Burns had 3 takedowns in the 1st period and a takedown and nearfall in the 2nd, but had to work the entire match to claim another title.
Jaylin Burns (Vidalia) - Georgia 2A 285 lb. State Champ
Burns hammered the first few rounds - getting falls in 1:32, 31 seconds, and 1:32 before being pushed a little in the finals by Landynn Powers. The two were tied 0-0 in the 2nd period when Burns got a reversal and then a takedown to go up 4-1. He added another takedown in the 3rd to win 6-2.
Dalton Cornett (Adairsville) - Georgia 3A 152 lb. State Champ
Cornett hammered the bottom side of the 152 lb. bracket with a 52 second fall, a 43 second fall, and a 16 second fall before running into a tough test in Diego Jacinto in the finals. Jacinto pushed Cornett to overtime with an escape with 13 seconds remaining in the match. Cornett would need a takedown in sudden victory to claim the 152 lb. title.
Kolby Dempsey (Armuchee) - Georgia 1A 106 lb. State Champ
Dempsey had 2 1st period falls before drawing Catherine Grace Bertrand of Mt Pisgah in the semis. She had to be one of the favorites after placing a year ago, but Dempsey took care of business with a 6-0 win (sealing it in the 2nd period with a takedown and 2 pt nearfall). He beat Allen Calderon of ELCA by fall in the 2nd period in the final to claim the 106 lb. title.
Erik Dodder (Mt Vernon Presbyterian) - Georgia 1A 182 lb. State Champ
Unlike many on the 1A list … Dodder had to win 5 matches to claim the 182 lb. title. That’s because he finished 2nd in Area 6 the weekend before. He had 4 falls (as well as leading 17-0 before getting the falls) on his way to a rematch with Wesleyan’s Samuel Schmitt. Dodder won a wild one to claim the 182 lb. title. He fell behind 2-1 entering the 3rd and then gave up an escape to trail 3-1 with under 20 seconds remaining … a stall call and a last second takedown got him the 4-3 win. Missed this match? Go back and watch it on trackwrestling.
Logan Eller (Trion) - Georgia 1A 160 lb. State Champ
Eller not only survived a tough bottom side of the 160 lb. bracket - he thrived. He pinned Dagenhart in 1:01 and Jud Allen in 38 seconds before grinding out a tough 4-1 decision over Grady Tisdale. He finished in style with a takedown, nearfall before getting a 1st period pin over Colton Hardeman of ELCA.
Carson Farist (Gilmer County) - Georgia 3A 106 lb. State Champ
Farist cruised through the 3A 106 lb. bracket early with a 1:21, 0:41, and 4:11 falls before having a real battle in the finals with TK Davis of Rockmart. In fact, Davis took the lead early on a takedown and the Farist got the escape to trail 2-1 after the 1st period. Another escape in the 2nd period by Farist made it 2-2 heading into the 3rd. Davis got a reversal to start the 3rd to go up 4-2, another Farist escape made it 4-3 and then a takedown by Farist with about 30 seconds remaining got him the 5-4 win and the title.
Jakob Frates (Commerce) - Georgia 1A 285 lb. State Champ
Frates made the big jump up from 195 this season and did so with few problems. He had 3 1st period falls on his way to the 285 lb. final and ground out a tough 4-1 decision over Tanner Bivins to claim the title.
Thomas Godbee (Vidalia) - Georgia 2A 195 lb. State Champ
Godbee was one of just two wrestlers in Georgia 2A to pin his way through the state tournament (Sauls was the other). Godbee was a man among boys at 195. He pinned Davis in 59 seconds, Dodd in 1:20, Bostic in 1:24, and Hyatt in 2:39 in the finals. He did so without surrendering a point (19-0).
Charlie Henkel (Franklin County) - Georgia 3A 170 lb. State Champ
Big tournament for Henkel who survived a very early scare from Trevor Coryall (a 5-4 decision) in the 2nd round. Henkel then went on a tear winning by fall in 1:56, by fall in 2:22 and then a fall of Dalton Battle of North Hall in 48 seconds … a super tight headlock that Battle could not find a way out of.
Eli Knight (Sonoraville) - Georgia 3A 132 lb. State Champ
Knight was another of the 3A hammers to record 4 consecutive falls on his way to the top step. He had a 2:42, a 0:14, and a 3 minute and 8 second fall to advance to the finals and pinned Avery Sullivan in 5:47 to claim the 132 lb. title. The last minute of the match was a strange series of events that saw Knight not get awarded a reversal and then backpoints and instead saw Sullivan get the backpoints … very strange, but it didn’t matter in the end.
Jaxx Knight (Sonoraville) - Georgia 3A 285 lb. State Champ
Jaxx Knight hammered the heavyweights in 3A - he had 4 consecutive falls including a fall of Adam Lamar in the 2nd period to claim the 285 lb. title. To be fair - he was dominant early, but the final vs. Lamar was tied at 8 before Knight got he fall (in fact Knight trailed 7-1 after the 1st period and had to mount a comeback to get the win).
John Lovett (Pike County) - Georgia 3A 195 lb. State Champ
Lovett was the only person to stand In the way of a Knight trio claiming titles in 3A. He had 3 falls before downing Jebb Knight 7-5 in the finals at 195. Lovett’s ability to score on his feet was ultimately the difference.
Joshua Millhollan (Rockmart) - Georgia 3A 160 lb. State Champ
Millhollan had a quick 1 minute an 8 second fall in the 2nd round before running into his toughest test of the tournament - a 4-3 decision over Colt Weaver in the quarters. Millhollan then had a 26 second fall in the semis before getting a DQ in the finals over Nolan Sorrow.
Tyler Nelson (Mt Pisgah) - Georgia 1A 132 lb. State Champ
Really good weight class that Nelson handled with relative ease. He had 2 1st period falls before getting into a dogfight with Bryce James of Trion in the semis. The match went back and forth in the 1st period before Nelson gained control in the 2nd to lead 11-5 … from there he cruised to a 14-9 win. Nelson pulled a tough Bryson Flint in the finals, but rolled after giving up the initial takedown … ultimately getting the 2nd period fall after leading 7-2.
Garrett Pace (Rockmart) - Georgia 3A 113 lb. State Champ
Pace came to play in the 113 lb. bracket … not amongst the favorites (according to me - and yeah I will cop to it … he was a “contender” but wasn’t among the first 3 listed) - Pace showed out at the state tournament. He had a 33 second fall and a 26 second fall before gutting out a 6-4 sudden victory win over North Hall’s Cristian Contreras in the semis. He then put on a show in the finals - pinning Arturo Gonzalez in the 2nd period after being up 12-4.
Jacob Pedraza (North Hall) - Georgia 3A 126 lb. State Champ
Pedraza joins 3 other 3A hammers in pinning his way to a state title in 2021. Pedraza wasn’t even pushed beyond the 1st period in any of his 4 matches - winning with a 29 second fall, a fall in 1:52, one in 1:26, and a fall of Kerwin Martinez in just 57 seconds in the finals.
Jamal Rucker (Elbert County) - Georgia 2A 126 lb. State Champ
Rucker finished his year in style at 39-1. He had 3 falls to make the finals and then worked his way to an 8-3 decision over Josh Robinson to claim the 126 lb. title. Rucker outscored his opponents 44-4 over the course of the tournament.
Zach Sharp (Trion) - Georgia 1A 195 lb. State Champ
Sharp was the only 1A wrestler that pinned his way to the title. He had falls of 1:17, 2:23, and 53 seconds before pinning Sammy Brown of Commerce in the 2nd period of the 195 lb. final.
Braden Sauls (Bremen) - Georgia 2A 120 lb. State Champ
Sauls was one of just two wrestlers in Georgia 2A to pin his way through the state tournament (Godbee was the other). Sauls didn’t have the leave the 1st period until the finals … getting falls of 10 seconds, 47 seconds, and 19 seconds. He pinned Tyshawn Hughes in 3:16 to claim another title and gave up just 1 point in the entire tournament (an escape to Hughes).
Ty Veatch (Chattooga) - Georgia 2A 220 lb. State Champ
Veatch capped off a perfect senior season with 2 2nd period falls, a 5-2 decision of Wells Kamerschen before pinning Josh Stapleton in the 2nd period of their final. He finished the season 24-0.
Cody Williams (Dade County) - Georgia 2A 182 lb. State Champ
Williams finished the season 22-1 and the 182 lb. title. He pinned Ledford in 48 seconds before getting his toughest of the tournament in Joah Gay in the quarters - a 6-0 win. He pinned Stephen Hardeman in the 2nd period of their semi (after leading 7-0) and pinned Dawson Campbell in the 2nd period (after 3-0) to claim the top step.