Wrestlers from all over the SE descended on Ola High School in Saturday for the Georgia Super 32 Early Entry Tournament. This is always a solid event and the 2024 edition didn’t disappoint. As always - some weights were stacked where others were more top heavy with talent. We could you a list of the placers, etc. but will instead focus on a few matches, individuals that stood out to us.

3 Matches of the Day:

150 lbs.

Simon vs. Papcun

One of the best matches of the day came in the “small gym” between Alabama’s Yanik Simon and Ola’s Brian Papcun. The two defending State Champs easily took care of their sides of the 150 lb. bracket before squaring off in the finals. Simon’s first period takedown would ultimately prove the difference … he led 3-2 before being reversed - still leading by one after the 1st period. Papcun started the 2nd period down and go the escape making it 3-3 and given the 2-1-1 times for the match - this match flew by. Simon couldn’t escape in the 3rd and we moved to a series of tiebreakers … Simon’s escape ultimately gave him the win 4-3 in an outstanding match.

144 lbs.

Sly vs. Anderson

Another deep weight that featured two hammers that took care of business to get to the finals. North Carolina State Champ Bentley Sly downed Alabama State Champ Will Anderson 2-1 to claim the title. This match had a ton of scrambles, but ultimately it would be a reversal by Sly that would prove the difference as both wrestlers had opportunities for takedowns, but neither could make it happen. Georgia State Champ Conner Doherty was 3rd.

126 lbs.

DJ Clarke vs. Ty Murray

Murray scored first, but Clarke countered with an escape and then a takedown of his own at the end of the 1st period to lead 4-3 into the 2nd. Clarke’s escape made it 5-3 and he headed to the 3rd period … where Murray would get one, but couldn’t get the comeback win in a great match.

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Domination

Several wrestlers looked super impressive on their way to a title. Antoine Glasgow pinned or teched every wrestler in his way at 165 lbs including Louisiana hammer Braeden Simoneaux. Glasgow is going to enjoy the 3 point takedown this season.

Alex Rozas of Louisiana continued his run (he was outstanding in Fargo as well). Rozas put up 6 tech falls on his way to the 120 lb. title … 18-1, 16-0, 17-1, 16-0, 15-0, and a 15-0 tech fall of Georgia State Champ Chris Phillips in the finals.

Roundtree 106’s accounted for 3 of the 4 semifinal spots and they forfeited out with Quay Mills taking 1st, Cody Clarke 2nd, Ariah Mills 3rd, and Eli Bowman in 4th.

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More to know:

Bookends … Andrew Lawson of Calvary Day won 98 lbs and Everest Ouellette won the 285 lb. weight.

Battles throughout especially at:

• 175 where NC State Champ Colt Campbell downed Georgia Champ Ethan Secoy (4-2) before downing Alabama State Champ Cody Kirk (7-4) for the title.

• Demarcus Powe downed Callum McCormack and Mason Butler (2-0) to claim the 157 lb. title

• Colson Hoffman beat Rowdy Duck by fall in what could be a preview of the 4A state title in February.

Kieron McCormack had to win a tough one early (Round of 16) vs. Chase Creque before rolling to the 132 lb. title.

113 was a lot of fun with Sam Comes downing fellow Tennessean Nolan Hardeman and Will Atkinson before taking out South Carolina State Champ Nate Manos in the finals. Top to bottom - 113 was one of the two best weights in the tournament.

Final two weights were claimed by Tennessee hammer Jay Eversole who downed Steele Brown of Mt. Pisgah at 190 and Creekview’s Jackson Locke who looked great on his way to thr 215 lb. title with wins over Mealer and Rettig.

A few names that should be on the radar after this weekend:

• Aidan White (120)

• Drew Corbin (126)

• Rowdy Duck and Conner Beaudin (138)

• Dane Kracht (157)

• Cael Edwards (165)

• Jason Brown (215)

Lucas and I are working on a series of shows for the month of September entitled the Top 25 of the Last 25 featuring our Top 25 wrestlers in Georgia since 2000 (the last 25 years). A couple of points of clarification …

What do we mean by since 2000?

A wrestler must have wrestled at least one season in the state of Georgia since 2000. A good example of this is Chris Rodrigues of Walker. Rodrigues was a 4x State Champion with his senior season coming in 2000 (meaning he won his previous titles in 1997, 1998, and 1999) - but he wrestled at least one high school season in Georgia - making him eligible for this list.

What do we mean by Top?

There have been 38 4x State Champions that meet the above criteria (since 2000). But this is more than simply a best high school wrestler in the state of Georgia … college and international wrestling matters as well (as does Fargo, World Team Trials, etc.), but “kids” wrestling does not. We aren’t concerned with 15 Tulsa titles - it is a great accomplishment, but our lists will be focused on high school and beyond. One additional note … becoming a great coach, official, etc. also does not count for this list. This is only a list of someone’s wrestling accomplishments.

Look for the podcast series (it will be 3 shows) to launch in mid-September. That said - we need your help.

Below is a list of 135 wrestlers that meet at least one of two criteria: 1) 4x High School State Champion since 2000 or 2) were a college All American (any level from NJCAA to Division 1). Unfamiliar with some of the names? Check out their accomplishments in the sheet below (be sure to scroll right as well as up and down to see everyone as well as what they did in college). Come up with 10 and then let us know who would be in your top 10 by clicking the link to the survey.

SURVEY - CLICK HERE

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What to know about this weekend’s Super 32 Early Entry Tournament at Ola High School in Georgia? In case you were wondering … Georgia’s Super 32 EE is usually one of the first of the year, but this year we’ve had both Pennsylvania and New Jersey get a jump on the competition. Interestingly we almost always have Georgia first followed by Florida a week later, but that’s not the case in 2024. Georgia is this coming weekend (August 31st) and Florida is scheduled for September 14th (along with Virginia, Texas, Rhode Island, and Missouri). North Carolina and California occupy the 7th and Indiana has their EE on the 8th.

I could be wrong - but this seems like more states than in years past. These tournaments are always bangers … many kids that have already qualified go ahead and compete because they are looking for quality competition before other events this fall (including Super 32 in October).

Interested in what happened a year ago? Check out the brackets. But here is a quick rundown …

Teequavious Mills won 98 over Coreu Powe of Alabama … both would end up claiming state titles … In fact, Ariah Mills (double Fargo Champ this past summer) was 3rd downing Georgia 2A Champ Eli Bowman.

Gabe Swann of Georgia took 106 - Swann would end up claiming his 2nd Georgia state title, win Knockout, etc.

Alex Rozas beat DJ Clarke at 113. Rozas is a Louisiana hammer and Clarke is now a 2x Georgia 7A runner-up.

Antonio Mills beat Tyson Roach at 120 in what was probably the best weight of the tournament. Mills is now a 2x Georgia State Champ, Roach is a hammer from Louisiana, Durben Carpenter was 3rd (Georgia 5A State Champ) and Brodie Christmas was 4th (Alabama State Champ).

Ryder Gibson beat Tucker Kazienko for the 126 title with Colson Hoffman downing Tennessee State Runner-up Spencer Reep for the 132 title. Another outstanding weight featured South Carolina State Champ George Maholtz downing Georgia State Champ Jveion Redman with another SC State champ, Tommy Johnson, taking 3rd.

Georgia State Champ Brian Papcun downed Alabama State Champ Bradley Williams at 144 and in a battle of Alabama State Champs - Daishun Powe beat Brady Campbell for the top spot at 150. Cade Parent, Georgia 1A Champ took the title at 157, Dom Bambinelli claimed the top spot at 165 and in a battle of Georgia State Champs -Chris Mance downed Kriecg Roe for the 175 lb. title.

Alabama hammers Mason Ellis, Kyle Oliveira, and Wilie Cox claimed the last three weights as Stronghold (Alabama) won the team title. Many people see this as a qualifying tournament … but the truth is … it is one of the toughest folkstyle tournaments of the year (same for the Florida Super 32 Early Entry Tournament) - just ask LA Ruffin who could show you some matchups from past Georgia Super 32 Early Entry Tournaments that featured multiple time State Champs battling it out for a top 4 finish. And go through last year’s brackets … you will find wrestlers that ended up claiming state titles at the end of their season, but didn’t make the top 4 at this “qualifying” tournament.

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I expect this year to be much of the same and if you want to watch some quality wrestling before the high school season kicks off … then Ola High School is the place to be this weekend. We aren’t going to delve into the registration list a bunch because wrestlers drop in and out and change weights … so there is no guarantee that the list we see today will be who competes this coming weekend. That said - we will be there watching all the action and those below are just a few names we are watching.

First a quick rundown of some numbers:

#’s by State:

• Alabama - 45

• Colorado - 2

• Florida - 37

• Georgia - 270

• Illinois - 3

• Louisiana - 21

• North Carolina - 24

• Ohio - 1

• South Carolina - 39

• Tennessee - 59

By weight:

• 98 - 11

• 106 - 49

• 113 - 44

• 120 - 46

• 126 - 42

• 132 - 52

• 138 - 46

• 144 - 44

• 150 - 40

• 157 - 39

• 165 - 23

• 175 - 24

• 190 - 17

• 215 - 20

• 285 - 4

By Grade:

• 7th - 5

• 8th - 16

• 9th - 70

• 10th - 110

• 11th - 157

• 12th - 143

And now for a few names at each weight to watch … this isn’t a prediction - just a few wrestlers that should be on the radar.

98 lbs.

Is there a future State Champ ready to make a run like Teequavious Mills did last year? Maybe - but certainly the one to watch is his younger brother 2x Fargo Champ Ariah Mills (who is an 8th grader and will compete at Athens Christian this fall in the GISA). Younger siblings are always on the radar - so you might keep an eye on Malachi Burris as well.

106 lbs.

Returning 98 lb. Champ (and Georgia 7A State Champ) Quay Mills is in the bracket. As are Fargo All Americans Jameson Thomas of Alabama (7A Alabama State Champ as well) and Cody Clarke of Georgia as well as Georgia State Champ Eli Bowman, Georgia State Placers Bryson Hunt, Angel Ayala, Xander Ledford, Bryson Rutledge and Casey McElligot, and Alabama State Placer Braylen Johnson. Add in freshmen hammers Chris Metz, Cooper McArthur, and Walker Bunch of Georgia as well as Tennessee’s Noah Watkins and you have a weight that is talented and deep.

113 lbs.

Seven 2024 State Champs headline 113 … Kiyan Simon (Alabama), Gabe Easey (Georgia), Nathan Manos (South Carolina), Samuel Comes and Luke Myhan (Tennessee), and Liam McConaughy and Holt Quincy (North Carolina) all claimed titles last year. Add in Georgia State Runner-up Tyler Prinzo, Georgia State Placers Max Maya, Landon Moore and Cruz Floyd, Alabama State Placer Will Atkinson (placed at this tournament last year), Tennessee State Placers Joseph Drewry and Locke Sessions. Keep an eye on rising freshmen in Caleb Kirk of Louisiana and 7th grader Cooper Mariakis of Georgia.

120 lbs.

120 is headlined by returning Champ Alex Rozas of Louisiana and Georgia State Champ Chris Phillips. But the weight is deep with a ton of wrestlers that were on their state podiums in 2024 including State Runners-up Michael Barnett (Louisiana) and Evan Gates (South Carolina) as well as a ton of State Placers … Hunter Barrett, Dylan Couey, Colt Mitchell, Marquavious Lane, Kaiden Holloway, and Kaden Taylor of Georgia, Max Belsome (Louisiana), Gavin Samons (Florida), Drayton Johnson (South Carolina), and Larson Pilant (Tennessee).

126 lbs.

Louisiana State Champ Bodi Harris, Georgia State Champ Ty Murray, and Georgia State Runner-up DJ Clarke headline the weight. But the weight, like the others before it, is deep with returning state placers. Alabama State Placers Zander Samargia and Luke Dickinson, Georgia State Placer Gabe Burns, and Tennessee State Placers Brody Connell, Devin and Drew Corbin. There are also a few freshmen and middle schoolers that could make some noise as well.

132 lbs.

132 is headlined by a pair of State Champs in Nick Sykes (Alabama) and Luke Johannes (South Carolina) as well as Georgia State Runner-up Kieron McCormack. But the weight is deep with several that have made the podium previously including State Placers Case Creque and Cole Gumlick of Tennessee, Joseph Sowell (Alabama), Jasper Croom and Jay Brown of Florida, Jose Rincon (Louisiana), Kaden Helms (North Carolina), and Luka Jensen (Georgia).

138 lbs.

The best weight of the tournament (at least if everyone that registered shows). 138 is worth the price of admission alone and could feature more returning State Champs than any other weight in the building. The top seeds (not necessarily in this order) should be returning Alabama State Champ Bradley Williams, North Carolina State Champ Bentley Sly, South Carolina State Champ Conner Beaudin, Georgia State Champs Colson Hoffman, Maddox McArthur and Conner Doherty as well as Illinois State Runner-up Thomas Silva. Add in State Runners-up Carter Brickley (Georgia) and Thadeus Gerstenacker (South Carolina) and State Placers Cainan Williams (Tennessee) and Joseph Cox, Dylan Baynes, Michael Hedrick, Dylan Martin and Rowdy Duck of Georgia and you have a great weight that will feature some outstanding matches early.

144 lbs.

144 has the potential for some fireworks with returning State Champs Will Anderson (Alabama), Brian Papcun (Georgia), Caleb Lavine (Louisiana), and Quinton Gerstackner (South Carolina) in the field. Add in hammers like State Placers Julian Lowe (Alabama), Hank Lee (South Carolina), Wilson Jamison (Tennessee), Logan Johnson (Georgia), and Cale Prater, Danny Krutules, Luke Johnson, Ezekiel Adams and Jake Hall of Georgia and you have a solid weight from top to bottom. Keep an eye on AJ Piatt and Dominic Haines - I don’t believe either placed in 2024, but they are two names to watch.

150 lbs.

Alabama State Champ Yanik Simon headlines the weights class that could be fairly wide open. Georgia State Placers Dane Kracht, Jonathan Fogus, Ryan Rector, and Arrie Martin are the only other placers registered (from what I could find). That could open the door for someone a little off the radar to make some noise.

157 lbs.

157 is headlined by 3 returning State Champs … Ethan Secoy and Mason Gillespie of Georgia and Demarcus Powe of Alabama. State Runners-up Andrew Young and Zachary Wallace are also registered as are Tennessee State Placer Mason Butler and Georgia State Placers Callum McCormack and Connor Stephens.

165 lbs.

Outstanding weight class headlined by State Champs JT Bowers (Georgia) and Braeden Simoneaux (Louisiana) as well as 2x Runner-up Antoine Glasgow (Georgia). Add in State Placers Zane Puff and Jake Rheaume (Georgia), Drew Adams (Alabama) and Brodie Melzoni (Tennessee) as well as a handful of returning State Qualifiers.

175 lbs.

A trio of State Champs headline the weight … Alabama’s Cody Kirk, Louisiana’s Harris Treuting and North Carolina’s Colt Campbell. Georgia State Placers Matt Phillips, Steele Brown, Manolo Deleon and Costen Wright are also in the field.

190 lbs.

Two young Georgia hammers headline 190. Easton Boren was a 5A State Runner-up at 190 in 2024 and Ronan An was 4th in the deepest weight in 7A (190). They are joined by Georgia State Placer Walt Tinney and Louisiana State Placer Cam Himel as well as a few other returning State Qualifiers.

215 lbs.

Not the same numbers as some of the lighter weights, but still a outstanding field that is headlined by several Georgia standouts. Malcom Burris claimed the 2A 215 lb. title in 2024, John Gill was a 5A State Runner-up, Will Mealer was 4th in 1A, and Jackson Locke was 6th in 6A. Add in Tennessee State Placer Houston Retting and there should be some outstanding matches at 215.

285 lbs.

Just 4 registered … Everest Ouellette of North Carolina was 4th last year as a Junior. The other 3 … Martin Thomas (Alabama), Seaton Tallent (Tennessee) and Paul Jenkins (Georgia) are returning State Qualifiers.