Columbus overcomes some adversity to top Gilmer for the 3A Duals Title
Photo Credit: Columbus Boosters
My conversation with Coach Keys
Final Bracket
Columbus came in the 2 seed, but there was chaos from the start throughout Stephens County’s gym. Gilmer cruised by LaFayette, but each of the top seeds had some challenges. Pike County downed 4 seed Franklin County 36-28 in a great dual, Bremen knocked off 3 seed Ringgold 40-20, and Columbus downed Gordon Lee 57-22, but lost one of their top wrestlers with an injury to Tyler Nguyen. An injury that would keep him out of the lineup the rest of the day.
Columbus got up early on Gordon Lee and cruised to a 57-22 win, but it came with a cost. Columbus returning State Champ Tyler Nguyen was up 13-4 in his 120 lb. match with Landon Brown when he was injured … the injury would keep him out of the lineup the rest of the day.
Columbus vs. Bremen for a spot in the final
Mason Persons bumped back up for Columbus into the 120 lb. weight (after losing Nguyen) and Columbus started things off with an 18-2 tech fall and a fall by JT McDaniel to go up 11-0. Gavin Mastrangelo put Bremen on the board with a 12-1 major, but Columbus added falls from Ethan Secoy and Adrian Villegas-Reidel to put them up 23-4 after 5 matches. Bremen’s James Bumgardner and Trent McPherson helped Bremen climb back into the dual, but falls from Tyler Secoy, William Rapp, and Zain Lodhi sealed the win and Columbus moved on.
A wild final
I can’t overstate how wild this one end up being. It started with a decision by Domingo Velasquez for Gilmer and then decision wins by Etahn Secoy, Adrian Villegas-Reidel and a fall from Dylan Heard to make it 12-3 heading to 157. Frisly Ambrocio pinned Sam Wampler to make it 12-9 and then Gabriel Myers earned a major for Columbus to make the dual 16-9. Columbus bumped Jacob Vineyard up to 175 and he got a fall and Columbus looked like they were in the drivers seat with a 22-9 lead. And then things went sideways for Columbus. Tyler Secoy had bumped to 190 looking for a match with Diego Jacinto, but Gilmer bumped him to 220 leaving Secoy vs. Bryson Shubin. Secoy was chasing a fall when Shubin was injured on what the official called an illegal move … Shubin couldn’t continue and Secoy was disqualified (and was issued a 1 point unsportsmanlike) … making the dual 21-15. Jacinto got the fall for Gilmer at 190 to even the score at 21-21. Tyranny McGowan had a fall at 285 for Columbus and Juan Rafael had a fall for Gilmer at 106 to make the dual 26-26 with 3 matches remaining. Gilmer’s Leonardo Domingo pinned Samuel Hendrix at 113 and Gilmer had their first lead 32-26. Mason Persons earned a 10-0 major to narrow the lead 32-30 (Persons major ended up being huge because had the teams tied - Gilmer would have won on criteria). JT McDaniel and Carson Farist put on a great show in the finale with McDaniel escaping with a 1 point win to give Columbus the title.
Video Credit: Trackwrestling
Top 4 3A Duals Teams:
Columbus
Gilmer
Ringgold
Franklin County