Herons finish third in Sectional ‘B’ tournament at Toombs County
LYONS — Brantley County had seven wrestlers qualify here Saturday at the Class A Sectional “B” Traditional tournament at Toombs County High School for the Class 1A state finals while recording a third-place showing in the 37team field.
Kelly Stringer (106 lbs.) was the highest finisher with a runner- up position. Ty Hughes (215) placed third with Caden Benton (138) fourth.
Sawyer Grimsley (132), Payton Perez (165) and Steven Cook (285) each posted fifthplace finishes. Rylan Benton (120) notched a final spot with an eighth-place showing.
Steven Roberson (126) just missed placing ninth, but is an alternate in his weight class. Also wrestling were Dante Holbrook (113), Falcon Machado (144), Colton Green (157) and Ethan Eunice (190).
The top eight wrestlers in each weight classification from Sectional “A” will meet the top eight qualifiers from the Sectional “B” tournament held at Coahulla Creek Wednesday, February 11 and Thursday, February 12 in Morrow.
Host Toombs County edged out Bremen 257.5 to 254 for the team title. The Herons recorded 166 points. Heard County (157) and Dublin (149.5) rounded out the top five teams.
• Stringer (106) posted a 31 record with the loss coming in the championship match. He won his first two matches by pin (2:37, 1:13 quarterfinals).
Stringer recorded a 17-1 technical fall decision in the semifinals. He lost an 18-3 technical fall decision to Fitzgerald’s Elijah Merrett in the finals.
• Hughes (215) finished 4-1 to place third in his weight class. He won via pin (31 seconds) and posted a 17-1 technical fall to reach the semifinals.
After suffering a pin (2:26) defeat, he won a consolation semi matchup with a 10-1 major decision. He followed with a pin (39 sec.) in the thirdplace match.
• Caden Benton (138) finished 4-2 with a fourth-place finish in his weight division.
He won his opening match via pin (1:38) before losing by pin (1:07) to fall into the loser’s bracket. After a forfeit win, Benton recored an 18-2 technical fall in the consolation quarterfinals and a pin (4:03) in the semifinals. He forfeited the third-place match.
• Grimsley (132) posted a 3-2 record opening with two wins and finishing with a victory to place fifth in his weight division.
He posted consecutive pins (1:33, 43 sec.) to reach the semis where he dropped a 17-1 technical fall decision. After losing by pin (36 sec.) in the consolation semifinals, Grimsley notched an 11-6 victory in the fifth-place match.
• Perez (165) finished fifth in his weight class going 4-2. After recording a first round pin (42 sec.), he suffered a 12-8 loss.
Perez won his next two matches with pins (4:07, 1:48) to reach the consolation semis where he dropped an 18-13 decision. He bounced back with a pin (3:26) in the fifth-place match.
• Cook (285) also went 4-2 battling back through the loser’s bracket after falling by pin (1:07) in his opening match.
He followed with a pin (2:31), a 9-0 major decision and a consolation bracket quarterfinal round pin (3:46). Cook lost a 13-3 major decision in the semis and came back with a pin (2:52) in the fifth-place match.
• Rylan Benton (120) finished 2-3 losing his last two matches to place eighth in his weight division. He opened with an 18-2 technical fall victory before losing a 5-3 decision.
Benton won his first match in the consolation bracket with a pin (3:29). He defaulted in his next match and forfeited the seventh-place match.
• Roberson (126) notched a 3-2 record for a ninth-place finish in his weight class. He won his opening match via pin (1:51) before suffering an 18-3 technical fall setback.
After a pin (3:56) in the loser’s bracket, Roberson won by forfeit and captured the ninth-place match with a pin (1:00).
• Holbrook (113) lost his two matches falling 12-9 and suffering a pin (3:56) defeat.
• Machado (144) finished 13. He suffered a 24-8 technical fall setback before winning by pin (1:54). Machado then lost a 16-1 technical fall decision and a 9-7 loss.
• Green (157) went 0-2 falling by pin (1:08) and dropped a 13-1 major decision.
• Eunice (190) dropped his two matches losing a 20-3 technical fall decision and a pin (1:40) defeat.
