Mat Cougars Prepare For State Tournament

The Piedmont Academy wrestling team will compete at the GISA Class A/AA state wrestling tournament Saturday in Statesboro.

Mat Cougar coach Darrell Young said earlier this week he believes several Piedmont wrestlers have a chance to do well Saturday at the state meet, which will be hosted by Bulloch Academy.

“It will be a good test for us to go down there and see how we do,” Young said. “Hopefully, we will have some wrestlers compete well.”

Weigh-ins are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday with mat action starting at 10 a.m. A junior varsity tournament will also be held Saturday.
{{more}}
Piedmont will have one final tune-up before state when it competes today against Brandon Hall, Hidden Lakes and the Webber School at 5:30 p.m. in Atlanta.

The Piedmont Academy wrestling team hosted George Walton Academy, Mill Springs and Monroe Academy last Saturday.

In varsity action, B.J. Benjamin earned a pin at 112 while Ryan Young pinned his opponent from Mill Springs at 119 and lost on points (13-6) to George Walton Academy.

Blake McMichael (145) had two pins for the Mat Cougars while Joey Schroeder (152) picked up his second win of the season by pinning his opponent from Mill Springs.

Charley Needham earned a forfeit win against Mill Springs at (171), In addition to the varsity matches Saturday, the younger wrestlers in the
Piedmont program were able to compete for the home crowd. Second grader Ben Davis competed in four matches while Levi Lord wrestled twice.
Second grader Dawson Sanders wrestled three times and earned a pin using a “Peterson roll.” Coach Young said it was impressive that a seconds grader was able to learn and execute that manuever.

Fourth grader Montana Sanders wrestled teammate Mills Smith while Malcom Tyler competed against teammate Mateson Slaughter.
The sixth grade Mat Cougars also got to compete last weekend. Chandler Sanders led his eighth grade opponent from GWA before being pinned.
Zach Benjamin earned a pin against an eighth grader from Mill Springs.

Drew Odegaard wrestled well against his eighth grade Mill Springs opponent while Slaughter also competed against an eighth grader from Mill Springs.
Last Thursday, the Mat Cougars were scheduled to travel to Monroe for dual matches at George Walton Academy, but once again a scheduling snafu caused some problems. Riverside Military Academy decided not to compete which in turn caused First Presbyerian to back out.

Since GWA was scheduled to travel to Piedmont two days later, the coaches agreed to not have Thursday’s event with just the two schools.
On Jan. 9, the Mat Cougars traveled to Westfield In Perry to compete along with David Emanual and Robert Toombs.

Ryan Young earned a pin and a won a 14-10 match against a two-time state medalists. Brunton pinned his David Emanual opponent.
McMichael and Brunton also earned pins during matches at Westfield.