Mt Pisgah Climbs to the Top of the 1A Mountain
Photo taken from Sally Barnett Pickren’s Facebook page
My conversation with Coach Merry
Final Bracket
Carrollton came from the 3 seed to claim a dual state title. Coach Merry talks about it being a complete team effort to make a run through that bracket. You can watch my extended interview above. Pisgah started off with a solid 70-9 win over a good Oglethorpe County team … a team that fought their way back through the backside of the bracket to finish 4th. As a result, Pisgah beat the #2, #3, and #4 teams in the bracket on their way to the title.
Mt Pisgah jumped out to a massive lead with falls from Doherty, Christian Lange, Nardella, and Washington to put themselves in front for good. Oglethorpe County fought throughout the dual, but just Tanner Mask and Tanner McKie were able to get wins for OC and Pisgah moved into the semis with a 70-9 win.
Top seed Trion advanced to meet East Laurens on the top side and Social Circle beat Temple to setup a showdown between Pisgah and Social Circle in the bottom semi.
A Wild One in the Semis
The box score shows the dual beginning at 106, but that wasn’t the case (trackwrestling also has the Commerce vs. Temple match as the matches at 120 and 126 instead of Castillo and Duren). The dual began with a major decision by Castillo and a 9-3 decision by Duren to put Social up 9-0. Brady Nardella, Marley Washington, Dillon Brubaker, and Tyler Nelson came up huge for Pisgah from 132-150 before Kacen Taylor (Social Circle) took a forfeit at 157. Joey Bertrand’s 17-8 major decision of James Eldridge put Pisgah up 21-13 as the dual went to the 175 lb. weight class. Crews and Ethridge got tough decision wins for Social to narrow the lead to 21-18 with 4 matches remaining. The two team traded 6 at 220 and 285 leaving two weights and Pisgah in the lead 28-24. Conner Doherty’s fall (a match he was winning 12-4) put it out of reach and Pisgah would advance with a 33-31 win.
Mt Pisgah vs. Trion for the Title
The dual began at 126 and both teams traded punches in the early part … Seth Huskins and Carter Jackson got 7 points for Trion, Brady Nardella and Marley Washington earned 8 for Pisgah. Tyler Nelson and Joey Bertrand put Pisgah up 20-7 before Trion began their run with a forfeit for Tony Maddux at 165. Cohen Blaschke, Lane Harris, and Logan Eller gave Trion the lead with a decision, a major decision, and a fall … making the team score 26-20 with 4 matches remaining. Pisgah bumped Joy Chane to 285 where he got a fall of Cameron Durham to make it 26-26. That’s when Tyler Prinzo came through for Pisgah - giving them a 19-2 technical fall and the lead 31-28 with 2 matches remaining. Once again the dual came down to Conner Doherty … and once again Doherty came through for his team. Doherty’s 6-4 decision of Clayton Loughridge at 113 sealed the win and Pisgah forfeited 120 to take a 33-32 win and the 1A State Title.
Video Credit: Trackwrestling
Top 4 1A Duals Teams:
Mt Pisgah
Trion
Social Circle
Oglethorpe County