Central Carroll tops Lovett for the Georgia 4A State Duals Title
Photo Credit: Cody Knight
Final Bracket
Central Carroll came in as the 3 seed with Lovett as the 1, Chestatee the 2, and Heritage-Catoosa the 4 seed. North Oconee downed Heritage fairly easy with a 49-23 win and Lovett, Chestatee, and Central Carroll rolled into the semis. On the top side - Lovett downed North Oconee 60-15 to make the finals … the bottom saw a battle between Central and Chestatee (detailed below).
In the opening round - Central Carroll jumped on Troup from the opening whistle and put the dual out of reach before Troup got on the board. McKnight, Horseley, Brewer, Disharoon, and Swann each had falls and Central led 30-0 after the first 5 matches.
Taking down the 2 seed
Central Carroll wrestled each dual like they had a chip on their shoulder … the Chestatee match was emblematic of that. They dropped the first match, but then won the next five (including 3 falls) to go up 24-3. Chris Pruitt pinned Ty Murray at 126 and Tristen Martin pinned William White at 138, but it couldn’t stem the momentum built by an impressive 18-5 major by Colson Hoffman over Ely Raines or Owen Warren’s fall at 144 … Carroll rolled - giving the last 3 matches by forfeit (but led 46-9 before that).
McKnight is clutch
A packed Lovett gym against the returning 2A State Champions … no problem for the young lions. Talk about a back and forth battle of two outstanding teams - this was one to watch. Momentum swings by both teams. Danny Krutules’s fall at 120 over John Goodsell was huge for Central Carroll and Ty Murray beat returning State Champion Cael Kusky 7-3 at 126 to keep that momentum going. Murray was 0-2 on the day - so a 7-3 win over a tough Kusky had to make one think that Central Carroll was destined to hoist the trophy. Colson Hoffman pushed Central Carroll even further ahead with a 12-7 decision before Jake Kennedy and Nicholas Moffett put Lovett back in the lead. Ultimately it would come down to Dylan McKnight … the Lions needed a fall in the final match to get the win and as you can see below … a cradle got the job done and Central took home the title.
Video Credit: Trackwrestling
Top 4 4A Duals Teams:
Central, Carroll
Lovett
Chestatee
North Oconee