While this tournament was a little lackluster compared to the previous year there was still no shortage of monsters walking around Ola High School this past Saturday. This tournament is always one of my personal favorites because it is a colliding of worlds. Most wrestlers are representing their club teams, but there is also a small sampling of wrestlers who represent their high school programs as well, and one who couldn’t decide so he registered under both. Something I can certainly respect.
As you can expect our state was well represented, but there are always kids from all over the east coast that attend in the hopes of qualifying. This year was no exception, kids from North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, Colorado, and Ohio were in attendance on Saturday.
While the only thing on the line are spots for early registration into Super 32, the tournament organizers still keep team points every year. The top 5 finishers for this qualifier were as follows.
- Stronghold (AL): 183.5
- Roundtree WA (GA): 171.5
- Compound (GA): 120
- New Orleans WC (LA): 102
- Darkhorse (NC): 95.5
The Cream of the Crop: These teams were in a 3 team race for supremacy based on team points awarded.
While it’s not fun to see our PonyBoy number 1 ranked club come in second place, the boys from Stronghold could flat out wrestle. I’ve never been one to consider Alabama as a wrestling state to watch for, the boys coming out of this program could more than hold their own against some of the best that the Southeast had to offer. Stronghold finished the tournament with 7 kids qualified, 2 firsts, 2 seconds, 1 third, and 2 fourth place finishes.
Roundtree delivered some incredible wrestling just like we have to come to expect from their kids this weekend. The Mills boys were locked in, Cody Clarke, Kieron and Callum McCormack and Dj Clark were some of their big names in attendance. Roundtree specifically dominated the 106 lb weight class, having 2 in the finals and 3 out of 4 in the semifinals. Teequavious Mills, Cody Clarke, and Ariah Mills finished 1,2,3 in this weight class. Overall Roundtree finished with 3 firsts, 1 second, and 1 third place finisher. Overall not a bad day for the boys in the boys in baby blue.
Compound came in 3rd in the team standings with a solid performance. You had to think that the boys from Compound would show out since they are the host program. Colson Hoffman finished in first place, Connor Stephens finished in second, and Gabe Easey came in 4th. Cliff Fretwell is one of the major reasons Ga wrestling is where it is today. Compound did a great job putting this tournament on along with Ola High School.
The Surprises: Good and Bad: The following are wrestlers or situations we found as interesting or noteworthy.
As we mentioned earlier Roundtree absolutely dominated the 106 lb weight class. Watching both Mills and Cody Clarke dominate that weight class all day and then come in the semi finals and finals with forfeits was curious. There could be any number of reasons for these forfeits, our theory here at PonyBoy is that all three had already qualified, or were certain to qualify, so why take the chance of getting hurt in a live match against your practice partners when you don’t have to. If that’s why I get it for sure, but not gonna lie, there would be some outstanding wrestling between these three and its something I would love to watch.
Brian Papcun, the Morris Fitness/Ola High School product losing a close one in overtime to the Stronghold champ Yanik Simon was a surprise for us here at PonyBoy. I think we are so used to seeing Papcun dominate when he steps on the line it was surprising to see anyone hand with him. Especially since he was the 1 seed and Simon was unseeded.
Ella Hughes, representing Roundtree, might have finished 0-2 for the day but you have got to give her some serious respect for registering and rolling with the boys. The only female to do that from what I saw. The state placer held her own and probably should have won her second match of the day. Big shoutout to Ella for working on her craft and stepping on the mat every chance she gets.
Isaac Jung out of Morris Fitness is an 8th grader who made it all the way to the semi finals losing by tech fall to eventual champion Teequavious Mills. Jung went 4-2 on the day with 2 falls and 2 decisions along the way falling just short of placing top 4 and qualifying for early entry into Super 32 on the high school side.
The Gold Standard: Some kids win tournaments and some kids dominate them. The following kids absolutely destroyed whoever got in their way.
Teequavious Mills was a scoring machine Saturday coming up with 5 tech falls and 1 forfeit. The Mills have become a household name for the Georgia wrestling world for good reason. They are fun to watch and put up basketball scores on a regular basis and Saturday was no exception to that.
Kieron McCormack finished his day with 5 pins and 1 decision. Chase Creque out of Stars Wrestling Club was the only person all day to give McCormack a match. This senior from Buford was looking great every time he stepped on the mat.
Alex Rozas from Teurlings Catholic High School out of Louisiana was scary good Saturday. He teched every single kid who stepped on the mat with him. Going 6-0 on the day with 6 techs is impressive, to make it even more impressive he did it while only giving up 2 points all day. He teched Marquavious Lane the state placer out of Valdosta and Christopher Phillips the state champ from Central Carroll.
Antoine Glasgow went 5-0 with 3 pins, all coming in the first period, and 2 tech falls. Glasgow pinned the number 1 seed in the finals in the first period.
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