Mat Canes Sending Four to State

Four of the nine Mat ‘Canes, who qualified for the East Sectionals Individuals in Dublin last weekend, have earned a spot in the state tournament beginning today, Feb. 17, and continuing through Saturday, at the Gwinnett Arena.

These nine qualified to advance to the sectionals by placing in the top four in their weight class in the region. The top eight out of 16 in each weight class will advance on to the state.

Junior Brandon Barger, a region runner-up, placed fifth and will advance to the state tournament in the 171 pound weight class. Barger came very close to placing higher and took one opponent to triple overtime. He is also the team’s only wrestler who advanced to the state tournament last year.
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Sophomore Oscar Sandoval, a region champion, placed second and will also advance to state in the 160 weight class. Sandoval won his first three matches before losing to a wrestler who placed third in the state last year.

Another sophomore, Patrick Clements, a region champion, placed fourth and will advance in the 140 pound weight class.
Freshman Justin Bradley finished in eighth place and will also advance in the 103 pound weight class.

Junior Nick Tarleton at 112, Senior Patrick Hutchison at 130, and Sophomore Brian Harper at 160, were all three just one match short of qualifying. Sophomore Edgar Batista, in his first year, and coming off a great season, failed to qualify. Senior Heavyweight Blake Bell also failed to advance.

Head Wrestling Coach Andy Rewis said, “All our kids wrestled hard. Sometimes people don’t realize the degree of the achievement when a wrestler qualifies in eighth place, but when you get to that point, everybody is good. And at Gwinnett Center everybody will be real good. Brandon was the only wrestler who we sent to state last year, and this year we’re sending four, a junior, two sophomores and one freshman.”

Also, team action continues when the team travels to Lyons, at Toombs County High School on February 25 and 26, to compete in the State Duals (team) Tournament. The team advances to this tournament as a result of placing second in the recent region duals.