PERRY — Ware County completed the sweep of the Region 1-AAAA wrestling titles capturing the Traditional championship here Friday to go along with the Duals crown.
The Gators totaled 259 points to finish ahead of host Perry’s 213.5 total. Wayne County was third with 185 points. The Yellow Jackets were followed by Benedictine (176.5), Warner Robins (97) and New Hampstead (55.5).
The Gators had all 14 weight classes qualify for the Sectional “A” tournament scheduled for Saturday, February 7 at Cambridge High School in Milton. The top four wrestlers in each weight class advanced to the Sectional tournament.
Ware County’s Jordan Maxwell (113 lbs.), Jaden McKelvin (144), Gunter Fore (165) and Collin Deal (175) won their respective weight classes.
Maxwell went 2-0 winning his opening match with a 15-0 technical fall. He scored a pin (2:00) in the championship match.
McKelvin needed two wins for his title winning by pin (1:36) and recording a 1513 decision.
Fore captured two of his three wins via technical fall. He opened with a 17-0 technical fall, won via pin (3:24) in the semis and won the title with a 19-3 technical fall.
Deal also went 3-0 with two pins and a technical fall. He won his first match via pin (43 seconds), posted a 28-10 technical fall in the semis and finished with a 39-sec. pin win.
Six grapplers finished second in their respective weight classes.
Cristian Martinez (106) followed a pin (1:20) win with a pin loss (58 sec.) in the finals.
Noah Paul (120) opened with a pin (31 sec.) before falling by a 16-1 technical fall in the championship match.
Damarion Zanders (132) opened with a pin win (1:27) ahead of 10-4 setback in the title match.
Aaron Bennett (150) posted an 11-7 decision before suffering a pin loss (4:20) in the championship match.
Taishawn Muchison (157) recorded a pin (3:44) in his first match and notched a 7-4 decision in the semis. He lost via pin (1:06) in the finals.
Jalen Hampton (215) recorded back-to-back pins (1:07, 5:46) in the quarters and semis rounds. He lost by pin (1:36) in the title match.
Three Gators placed third in their weight classes. Rodrigo Reyes (126) won by pin (1:25) in his opener and dropped a 21-6 technical fall in the semis. He won the third-place match via pin (3:23).
Evan Thomas (138) dropped his first match with a medical forfeit. He battled back in the losers’ bracket winning with a 16-sec. pin and recorded a pin (5:09) in the third-place match.
Antonio Birch (285) also lost his first match dropping a 6-0 decision. He pinned (1:03, 1:38) his next two opponents - the last in the third-place match.
Leland Nettles (190) sandwiched a pair of losses around a victory. Nettles lost a 17-2 technical fall, bounced back with a pin (2:52) and lost a 17-3 technical fall in the third-place match.
