Dade Finishes Second as Team; Sends 12 Wrestlers to Sectionals

By EDDY GIFFORD
Sports Writer

The Dade County wrestling team competed in the Area 7 Traditional Tournament this past weekend, and several Wolverines will be moving on to sectionals.

On Friday, the Lady Wolverines traveled to Alexander High School in Douglasville to compete in the inaugural girls Area Championship.

Maleah Wilson placed third at 100 pounds and will move on to the sectionals at Upson Lee this Friday. Jerzee Crabtree placed fifth and will be an alternate at 170 pounds. Georgia Marter placed sixth at 235 pounds.

The boys’ championship was last Saturday at Trion High School. The Wolverines were able to secure second place in the team standings and send 11 wrestlers onto sectionals.

Eli Mason placed third at 113 pounds, Colton Chase placed third at 120 pounds, Gideon Moore placed third at 132 pounds, Brandon Willerson placed third at 138 pounds, Zane Murdock placed third at 144 pounds, and Mason Gann placed fourth at 165 pounds.

Four Wolverines made the finals, and three of those four won their weight class. Gavin Childress placed second at 150 pounds.

Heidi Raines, who decided to wrestle in the boy’s tournament instead of the girls, is the Area 7 Champion at 157 pounds. Landon Williams is the Area 7 champion at 215 pounds where he defeated the previously unbeaten Lane Harris from Trion. Jordan Casstellanos is the Area 7 champion at 285 pounds. Every wrestler who placed in the top four will advance to sectionals. Levi Raines is an alternate with a fifth-place finish at 175 pounds.

Coach Jeff Poston said, “I think we have a great shot to send several kids to Macon out of this group. We’re a team of predominantly freshmen and sophomores, so we’ve had to take some whippings this year, but to be runner up in the duals and traditional is a promising sign. I’m extremely proud of the growth we’ve made from November to February, and we’re already planning out our off season work to make sure we build on this next year.”