Wolverines Close Out Season At State
By EDDY GIFFORD
Sports Writer
Contributed photo – The Dade County High School wrestling season came to an end this past weekend at the state tournament in Macon. Those traveling to the tournament were (from left) Gideon Moore, Coach Jeff Poston, Jordan Castellanos, Jude Evearitt, Coach Neal Shavers, Trent Walliser, and Kolt Owens. Congratulations to the wrestlers who qualified for the tournament.
The Dade County High School Wrestling team ended their season at the state tournament in Macon this past weekend. The Wolverines took four qualifiers to Macon.
Jude Evearitt wrestled in the 106-pound weight class and went 2-2 in Macon. Evearitt was one match away from being a state placer as a freshman. He lost a close match in the blood round and was one out of bounds call away from the podium.
Gideon Moore ended his high school career as a three-time state qualifier. Moore lost a close opening match that put him on a tough road back to be able to place. He wrestled at 144-pounds.
Kolt Owens qualified at 150 pounds, and he wrestled well on the big stage. He drew a tough match in the opening round, and lost by tech fall to the eventual state runner-up. Kolt came up short in his second match, losing a close 3-1 match.
Jordan Castellanos, who partially tore his ACL during week eight of football season, qualified as the 215-pound wrestler for Dade. Castellanos won his first match, but it was bitter-sweet because he re-injured his leg, and was told it was torn the rest of the way. Jordan pushed through the pain and wrestled anyway. He dropped his second match to the eventual state champion. He then went on to win two hard-fought matches on Thursday night and became a state placer. Castellanos lost a 4-3 battle to the wrestler from Heard County in the console semifinal, which put him in the fifth and sixth place match. He won his final match as a Dade County wrestler by fall and finished as a three-time state qualifier and fifth place wrestler at 215-pounds.
“This was the toughest tournament I have been a part of as a coach. They went to a 16 man bracket this year, and single A had 115 kids from 106-285 pounds who placed last year from single A to three A. It was brutal, and our kids got after it. We brought two freshmen and two seniors, and that was fitting. We capped off the past few years of solid wrestling, and we introduced the state to the fact they were on the way back to the top with these young guys. I am extremely proud of how our guys fought and represented our school and community,” coach Jeff Poston said.
