A Fan's Guide to the Georgia 7A State Tournament
Welcome to SEWrestle’s Fan’s Guide to the Georgia 7A State Tournament. For those of you unfamiliar with the Fan’s Guide … here are a few things to know. First, I don’t believe in making predictions … happy to leave that to others. Anything can happen on the mat and these wrestlers must win multiple matches to earn a title … so don’t jump to the conclusion that the favorite is my prediction for the champ. Second, the Fan’s Guide is simply designed to give the average fan an idea of the bracket and who are some of the bets wrestlers to keep an eye on. This is determined by a number of different things including how they placed at the sectional tournament, how they performed at past state tournaments, etc. Third, if you have never heard the term “darkhorse” before … it is usually identified as someone “flying under the radar” that could surprise some people (for the purpose of the Fan’s Guide it will always be a wrestler that finished 3rd or lower at their sectional tournament). I don’t necessarily believe the darkhorse will win it all, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they found a way high onto the podium.
I hope you enjoy the state tournament and best of luck to everyone competing.
106
Favorite: Kenneth Jett (Brookwood)
Contenders:
Michaele Medrala (Collins Hill)
Bradley Patterson (Camden Co)
Landon Robinson (Woodstock)
Darkhorse: Cameron Haynie (Forsyth Central)
Best 1st Round match: Arcadian Eaton (North Forsyth) vs. Colt Daniel (Cherokee)
What to Expect: Jett’s only losses this season have come to top competition and he handled the Section B tournament with relative ease (beating Robinson 15-2 in the finals). But what puts Jett as the favorite is the fact he has already beaten Medrala at the Gwinnett County Championships. Now adjustments are made and Medrala has wrestled tough to claim the Section A title … so keep that in mind. Another thing to be aware of is that Jett will likely need to beat the Patterson/Haynie winner to advance to the finals. Haynie lost to Medrala in the semis last weekend … so he definitely one to watch.
113
Favorite: Reed Walker (West Forsyth)
Contenders:
Hunter McCullough (Lowndes)
Alexander Reid (Alpharetta)
Daniel McEntyre (Etowah)
Darkhorse: Camren May (Lambert)
Best 1st Round match: Sergio Martinez (Tift Co) vs. Gavin Frierson (Archer)
What to Expect: Walker vs. McCullough again seems like the finals match. Both have wrestled extremely well and look ready to do it again in this weekend. Alex Reid of Alpharetta beat Frierson and McEntyre to claim the Section B title … but both matches were close and McEntyre beat Balbuena 8-4 in the quarters last weekend (in what could be another quarterfinal matchup). Walker and McCullough have been the top 2 113’s all season - I don’t expect that to change this weekend (the only question is the order).
120
Favorite: Riley Dahlgren (Camden Co)
Contenders:
Ethan McCullough (Lowndes)
Connor Marsh (Newnan)
Noah Amick (West Forsyth)
Darkhorse: Josh Stephenson (North Gwinnett)
Best 1st Round match: Evan Gonzalez (Brookwood) vs. Josh Stephenson (North Gwinnett)
What to Expect: Section A 120 was a grind … with returning State Champ Riley Dahlgren taking the title over McCullough, Amick, etc. Dahlgren is the favorite and his Section A foes make up much of the contenders - along with Section B Champ Connor Marsh. The bottom side of the bracket is super tough … and a potential McCullough vs. Amick re-match will be one to watch. Keep an eye on Josh Stephenson who interestingly sits in a good spot … he has already beaten Gonzalez this year and a quarterfinal vs. Maze is within his reach.
126
Favorite: Ethan Sellers (Colquitt)
Contenders:
Noah Danforth (West Forsyth)
Tyson McCullough (Lowndes)
Lucas Morrison (Newnan)
Darkhorse: Collin Mullins (North Paulding)
Best 1st Round match: Wyatt Sligh (Harrison) vs. Sam Scothorn (Dunwoody)
What to Expect: Once again Section A was a beast … with Colquitt County’s Ethan Sellers eventually emerging as the champ (and pinned Danforth in the finals … now we have no idea how close that match was when the fall occurred because track has no details of individual matches and it wasn’t streamed). Did Sellers dominate? Was it close? No idea. What we do know is the top 6 in A are going to be tough to beat. A Danforth vs. McCullough quarter will be a re-match of the week of sections and Collin Mullins sits in the good spot after taking 6th - drawing Tabb and Price - Mullins hasn’t looked like a #6 all season and after losing to Danforth in the semis last weekend might come in with a mission. Lucas Morrison won Section B and figures to pull the winner of Danforth/McCullough in the semis. Sellers is the favorite after navigating that bracket last weekend, but any number of wrestlers could take the title this weekend.
132
Favorite: Jacob Silka (Cherokee)
Contenders:
Logan Paradice (Colquitt)
Anthony Santos (Camden Co)
Xavier Bentley (Brookwood)
Darkhorse: Christian Gordon (East Coweta)
Best 1st Round match: Shemani Price (McEachern) vs. Tony Tanory (West Forsyth)
What to Expect: Grappler has Paradice ranked #1 and Silka #2. Not sure why - unless Paradice has beaten Silka this season. Not that it won’t be a great match, but I’ll stick with the 2x Champ until it happens. It seems like everyone else is wrestling for 3rd. Paradice looked outstanding in hammering the Section A field last weekend … Silka looked less impressive, but still took a 5-2 win over Price and a 7-0 win over Bentley. There are no style points … so getting wins is what matters … still it would be surprising if we didn’t see Silka vs. Paradice (the old guard vs. the new guard).
138
Favorite: Nathanial Taylor (Colquitt)
Contenders:
Josh Denson (North Paulding)
Porter Bryant (Camden)
Thomas Rhodes (Roswell)
Trey Childress (Alpharetta)
Darkhorse: Emil Necula (Walton)
Best 1st Round match: Emil Necula (Walton) vs. Antoine Glasgow (Parkview)
What to Expect: Fireworks. The difference between the top wrestlers isn’t significant … so expect to see some really close matches. Denson beat Bryant 4-3 in last weekend’s quarters … that match will likely happen again this weekend. Taylor downed Denson 2-0 in the finals - not sure if we will see those two again, but we could and it should be as close again. Rhodes took the top spot in Section B and could get a tough Timothy Wright in the quarters. Emil Necula is the easy pick as the darkhorse. He finished 6th in Section B after taking an injury default in the consi semis and forfeiting to 6th … he is far from a #6 and could cause all sorts of chaos in that quarter of the bracket.
145
Favorite: Konlin Weaver (Camden Co)
Contenders:
Bentley Wheeler (North Forsyth)
Connor Powell (Hillgrove)
Rickey Motley (McEachern)
Dylan Lobdell (Lambert)
Darkhorse: Daviel Abreu (Moutain View)
Best 1st Round match: William Reid (Alpharetta) vs. Michael Bledsoe (Colquitt)
What to Expect: State Champ vs. State Champ … Weaver vs. Wheeler. Weaver won 4-2 last weekend and a rematch seems like a given. Motley of McEachern took the Section B title, but beating Wheeler is going to be a challenge … of course Wheeler is going to have to beat Powell again if he is going to even get that shot. Keep an eye on both Abreu and Bledsoe … each wrestled tough last weekend and could make some noise in Macon.
152
Favorite: Dominic Bambinelli (Mill Creek)
Contenders:
Joseph Lago (Etowah)
Jon Peralta (Marietta)
Brennon Linenger (East Coweta)
Darkhorse: Elijah Griffin (Camden Co)
Best 1st Round match: Christopher Henderson (North Forsyth) vs. Fazal Farid (Grayson)
What to Expect: Welcome to the Dominic Bambinelli era in Georgia wrestling. We don’t give out medals before competition begins and we certainly don’t do it for freshmen, but Bambinelli is different. He’s already shown he has the ability to go with the best (Henson, Kilic, Paradice, etc.) in Georgia, but also some of the best 152’s in the country. Bambinelli reminds me of what Joe Sealey did last year as a freshman in North Carolina … put up points in bunches (scored more than 100 in 4 matches at the state tournament). Lago won Section B and Peralta and others are tough, but I don’t see anyone knocking off the freshman.
160
Favorite: Jeremy Paradice (Colquitt County)
Contenders:
Christian Cartier (Roswell)
Florin Myndresku (Archer)
Micah Green (North Paulding)
Darkhorse: Kian Houser (East Coweta)
Best 1st Round match: Jaheim Mills (Brookwood) vs. Ely Earley (Marietta)
What to Expect: Paradice vs. Cartier … seems like the matchup everyone is waiting to happen. Myndresku will have something to say about that, but in the end it looks like that is the likeliest matchup. Both Paradice and Cartier though need to focus on the match in front of them because the bracket isn’t a cakewalk. Keep an eye on the potential #2 vs. #3 quarterfinal matchups … Hauser vs. Myndresku and Zuzich vs. Green.
170
Favorite: CahMari Johnson (Camden)
Contenders:
Kieman Sherwood (North Gwinnett)
Colin Spencer (Newnan)
Joey Bambinelli (Mill Creek)
Darkhorse: Landon Jones (Harrison)
Best 1st Round match: Kam'Ron Shannon-Likely (Archer) vs. William Verdirame (North Forsyth)
What to Expect: Section A was a lot of fun last weekend as Johnson beat Bambinelli 5-1 in the quarters and Sherwood 7-4 in the finals. Expect a great matchup in the quarters this weekend with Bambinelli and Sherwood. Spencer - the Section B Champ could pull a tough Landon Jones of Harrison. Johnson should handle the top side and wait for the bottom side to figure itself out.
182
Favorite: Armond Jones (Mountain View)
Contenders:
Tristan Graham (North Forsyth)
Elliot Meyer (Milton)
Dom Martinez (Archer)
Darkhorse: Connor Cooper (Hillgrove)
Best 1st Round match: Tyler Rogers (North Cobb) vs. Landon Toth (Newnan)
What to Expect: Jones has wrestled great this season and won a tough one over Graham 3-0 to claim the Section A title. He is definitely the favorite coming in based on the season, but also last weekend’s title. Graham shares the side with Section B Champ Elliot Meyer of Milton who beat Dom Martinez 5-1 in the finals. Meyer looked superb last weekend and that potential semi could be fun to watch. Meyer can’t get looking ahead with Connor Cooper potentially sitting there as his quarterfinal matchup.
195
Favorite: Cole Williams (South Forsyth)
Contenders:
Dylan Lyerly (North Forsyth)
Gavin Guerra (Mill Creek)
Jaiden Maddox (Etowah)
Tracy Wright (Archer)
Darkhorse: Bryce Gibbs (Harrison)
Best 1st Round match: Ryan Ackovic (Peachtree Ridge) vs. Steron Parke (McEachern)
What to Expect: This one will be fun. Williams beat Lyerly 3-2 in the Section A finals a week ago after downing Guerra 3-2 in the semis. Lyerly downed Ackovic 2-1 in the quarters and Gibbs 3-2 in the semis … so the separation from the A sectional isn’t significant. Maddox beat Wright 6-4 in the B finals and both had to win decisions to advance to the finals … meaning we could see some close matches - especially between the #2 vs. #3’s in the quarters, both semis and the finals. Gibbs is in a dangerous spot for those on the bottom side … he definitely has the ability to make a run to the finals.
220
Favorite: Zion Rutledge (Hillgrove)
Contenders:
Grant Laskey (Lowndes)
Cosby Ellis (East Coweta)
Ashton Heflin (Newnan)
Darkhorse: Deonte Dozier (Camden)
Best 1st Round match: David Reyes (Collins Hill) vs. Alex Mincey (Archer)
What to Expect: Hillgrove’s Zion Rutledge had a great section tournament … beat Helstone, Dozier, and Laskey each by fall. If he puts together another run like that this weekend - he should claim the top spot. Cosby Ellis claimed the Section B title with a 4-2 win over Mincey and a fall of Heflin. The first round matches at 220 should be really fun to watch. Don’t be surprised if a #3, #4, #5, or #6 makes a run … the separation isn’t significant.
285
Favorite: Thomas Dossett (Lambert)
Contenders:
Damion Clark (South Gwinnett)
Sam Rwibuka (Archer)
Eli Edwards (North Forsyth)
Darkhorse: Anthony Yancey (Camden Co)
Best 1st Round match: Ryhen Miller (North Paulding) vs. Javon Hobson (Cherokee)
What to Expect: After taking 2nd a year ago to multiple time State Champ Dylan Fairchild - Thomas Dossett looks primed to take the title in 2022. But anything can happen at heavyweight. Dossett beat Daniels 4-1, George 5-1, and Edwards 3-0 to claim the Section A title last weekend. Damion Clark did similar work in Section B - downing McKnight 9-3 and Rwibuka 5-4. Expect it to be some close matches - but Dossett has the experience and is the favorite coming in.