Welcome to the Fan’s Guide for the GHSA Girls State Tournament

So what is a Fan’s Guide?

The Fan’s Guide is a look at the tournament as a whole and each individual weight class … from a fan’s perspective. But it is not a prediction of who will win or who will make the podium. In fact, a Fan’s Guide is a little different. It is a look at a few individual pieces from each bracket … they include:

Favorite: the wrestler that enters the tournament as a section champ and has the best shot to claim the top step.
Contenders: a wrestler that finishes 1st or 2nd at sectionals has a decent chance to make the podium … one of the champs and both runners-up should be considered contenders.
Darkhorse: a wrestler that finished 3rd or 4th at one of the sectional tournaments, but could make a run for the top step.
Bracketbuster: a wrestler that finished 5 or 6 in their section, but could make a run for the podium.

Isn’t that kind of a prediction?

Yes and no. I do identify the favorite, but beyond that I have no idea of who will march through the bracket and claim a title (don’t get me wrong - I’ve watched a lot of wrestling this season so I have an idea of what will happen). I could give you an educated guess about a possible finals match and who will make the podium, but in the world of high school wrestling that is dangerous territory. Few wrestlers (if any) are unbeatable … but we do have past results and past accomplishments on which to make a guess or two. In reality, I am as much of a fan as any of you and like to talk wrestling. I hope each athlete goes out and performs to her ability and we, as fans, get an opportunity to watch some great wrestling.

Remember the sole purpose of the website, twitter, instagram, fan’s guides, pictures, etc. is to promote the sport in the Southeast. Have a great time this weekend, enjoy the wrestling, and best of luck to everyone competing.

NOTE: ALL INFORMATION BELOW IS ASSUMING THAT THE INFORMATION INPUTTED INTO TRACKWRESTLING EITHER BY THE EVENT DIRECTOR OR THE COACHES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON IS CORRECT.

A Look Back to 2023

Team Race

So a lot to unpack here … in the first Girls State Tournament where a team champion was recognized … Chestatee was later stripped of the title and I don’t believe either Carrollton or Gilmer were awarded the title … it was simply vacated. I say that because if you look back at trackwrestling you will see Chestatee removed from the team scores. We have included them above because it is still relevant to the discussion about how to win a state traditional team title, but know that they are not on the official record as having won. I have also truncated the team race above because so many schools had one qualifier, but again it isn’t relevant to the discussion of the team race. The data I have for the above table was pulled long before Chestatee was removed and had to vacate the title. Just for curiosity sake - I wonder how they handled the situation with Gabriel Phillips of Grovetown who finished 2nd at 155 to the wrestler that was later deemed ineligible. Same refrain as we see on the boys except with fewer qualifiers - which means placers mean that much more.

Just look at Jackson County - 2 qualifiers, 2 State Champs and 4th (3rd after Chestatee was ruled ineligible). So numbers matter, but with fewer numbers - placers are huge. Combine those two and you have a state championship team.

Team Notes

The table below is a list of every qualifier by school, along with their place. So we could talk about a number of different teams, but in reality there are just a handful that have enough to really make a run for a team title. They are discussed below the table.

This is really a 7 team race for the traditional team title. Jefferson, Chestatee, Gainesville and the other teams that qualified 3 have an outside shot, but things would need to go extremely well for them to claim the title. Not to say they won’t be in the hunt or can’t finish in the top 3, but making up the ground on each of the teams above them is going to be difficult. The team race always comes down to qualifiers and placers.

Qualifiers are opportunities. Without horses in the race - you have no shot to win and that is what we are talking about with qualifiers. They provide an opportunity for points.
Placers ultimately get you points. Last year it looks as if the GHSA simply awarded placement points because all 14 champions earned their team 22 points. Each runner-up scored 18 points and so on. For those of you that are new … that is not how state tournaments are normally scored. Usually, a wrestler can earn their team points in 3 ways: 1) placement (what we are talking about above), 2) advancement (winning matches on your way to the podium), and 3) bonus (getting a fall or a tech fall earns more points than a decision). If you look at the boys state tournament from last year you will champions earning their team a range of points based on the above.

So … with 6 qualifiers each - Woodward Academy, Carrollton, and Greenbrier are in the drivers seat. They simply have more opportunities to score points. Gilmer has 5 qualifiers with Lumpkin County, Jordan, and Tift County each having 4 qualifiers. Woodward Academy also sits in the best spot amongst the top 3 teams because they have 3 Section Champs and 1 Runner-up.

Matchups could also play a role:

Woodward Academy’s 6 qualifiers are at 100, 120, 140, 145, 155, and 190
Carrollton’s 6 qualifiers are at 130, 135, 140, 145, 170, and 190
Greenbrier’s 6 qualifiers are at 100, 105, 120, 145, 155, and 190
Gilmer’s 5 qualifiers are at 105, 130, 135, 155, and 235
Lumpkin County’s 4 qualifiers are at 135, 140, 155, and 170
Jordan’s 4 qualifiers are at 105, 120, 125, and 135
Tift County’s 4 qualifiers are at 115, 125, 190, and 235

Obviously 145, 155 and 190 will play a huge role for each of the teams. If your school has a wrestler at those weights - matchups could decide which teams move ahead and which fall behind.

Favorite: Woodward Academy

Our favorite is Woodward Academy because they have the best shot of putting at least 4 on the podium. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Greenbrier or Carrollton top them if they can get their hammers to finish higher on the podium, but they might need to get more wins to have that chance. Returning State Champs like Genevieve An at 170, Artemis Eaton at 115, or Jasmine Jenkins-Bey at 130 could play a huge role in the team outcome simply by knocking someone from one of the teams listed above out of the tournament. None of their teams (An’s, Eaton’s, or Jenkins-Bey) will be in the hunt for a title, but each will likely takeaway from points someone on one of the teams above could have earned. Keep an eye on this team race which could come down to the smallest of margins.

Schedule