Swainsboro High School’s varsity wrestling team came away from the GHSA Class AA Area 2 Traditional Tournament on February 5 at Toombs County High School with a bid to state, setting a new school record in the process by qualifying 10 wrestlers for the championship.
“Being able to qualify 10 wrestlers is a major accomplishment. Our kids have worked extremely hard to achieve such an accomplishment,” said coach Michael Singletary. “They lose roughly 45 minutes of practice every day due to having to break down the tables and chairs and rolling out the mats before practice, then after practice, they have to set everything back up in the cafeteria. This is a young team that will continue to set records.”
As a team, the Tigers were able to rack up 142 team points to take third place over East Laurens, who is ranked number eight in the state.
Jacob Smith (113), Zach Lee (138), and Robert Allen (160) all finished first in their respective weight classes. Matthew Hancock (285) took second. Kam’Ron Tillman (106), R’Tavien Green (120), Caleb Smith (152), Trey Waller (170), Omarion Wilcher (182), and Jonorian Foots (220) all placed third.
Also placing in the area tournament was River Greene (145), who took fourth in his weight class.
The 10 Tigers who placed in the top three at the area match qualified to compete at state, and the team as a whole departed Monday evening from Tiger Trail in Swainsboro for the GHSA Class AA Traditional Wrestling State Championships, which began Tuesday, February 9, and will run through Wednesday, February 10, at the Macon Centreplex.
In addition to Coach Singletary, Austin Fultz helps the team.
Results were unavailable at press time, but look for an updated report in the February 17 edition.