Camden County won its 11th consecutive teams duals wrestling championship last month, and the Wildcats will try to complete their 11th straight double title when they compete in the GHSA Traditional State Wrestling Championships from Thursday through Saturday at the Macon Coliseum.
The Wildcats feature the top Class 6A wrestler in four of the 14 weight classes, according to Georgia Grappler. They are Bradley Patterson at 113 pounds, Isaac Santos at 120, Brock Weaver at 157 and Ryder Wilder at 190. All four wrestlers won in the Wildcats’ 43-26 victory over Buford in the duals final last month. Camden County also got victories against Buford from Cane Smolarsky at 126 pounds, Hunter Prosen at 138, Waylon Rozier at 150 and Brian Wright at 175.
Unlike the duals competition, where teams go head-to-head in each round and the winners advance as a team, the traditional meet puts athletes into separate weight brackets, with each school earning points based on the advancement of their wrestlers.
Other team duals winners looking to complete a championship sweep are Class 5A Creekview, Class 4A Cass, Class 3A Jefferson, Class 2A Rockmart and Class A Social Circle. In the girls division, Greenbrier and Lumpkin County won duals championships but will compete for one championship at the traditional meet.
Jefferson, the longtime gold standard in Georgia wrestling, won its 21st duals championship last month. The Dragons won 18 consecutive duals titles from 2002-19 and 18 straight traditional titles from 2001-18.
Jefferson also has four of the top wrestlers in Class 3A in the Georgia Grappler rankings. They are led by Roman Belardo (132 pounds), Dominic Haines (144), Dallas Russell (157) and Cap Benson (190).
Ola and Central-Carrollton won their first state championships at the traditional meet last year, but they will compete for one title this season as they both ended up in Class 4A after reclassification. Both teams lost in the semifinals of the duals meet last month, and Central defeated Ola in the consolation final to finish in third place.
Rockmart and Social Circle are two-time defending traditional state champions, and Carrollton is the defending girls champion.
Schedule
Thursday
7 a.m. – Weigh-In for all weight classes in 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A
8:30 a.m. – Coaches meeting for 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A
9 a.m. – Round of 16 matches in all weight classes for 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A. Those matches will be followed by the quarterfinals, Round 1 wrestlebacks, Round 2 wrestlebacks, semifinals and consolation quarterfinals
Friday
7 a.m. – Weigh-In for all weight classes in 5A, 6A and girls
8:30 a.m. – Coaches meeting for 5A, 6A and girls
9 a.m. – Round of 16 matches in all weight classes for 5A, 6A and girls. Those matches will be followed by the quarterfinals, Round 1 wrestlebacks, Round 2 wrestlebacks, semifinals and consolation quarterfinals
3 p.m. – Weigh-In for all weight classes for 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A. That will be followed by the consolation semifinals, consolation finals and finals
Saturday
7 a.m. – Weigh-In for all weight classes in 5A, 6A and girls
9:30 a.m. – Consolation finals in all weight classes for 5A, 6A and girls. Those matches will be followed by the consolation finals and finals.
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