The 5A classification is going to be a wild ride this year, several teams in this classification have the potential to put some stuff together and make a run at a duals title and an individual team state title. It would not surprise me for different teams to win those championships this year. Almost all of the major teams in this group either moved down a class or lost a lot of production to graduation. I personally believe the state championships this season will go to the coaching staff who can bring it all together and have their teams peak at the right time. Below you will find the preseason rankings for the 5A classification.
Here are the preseason rankings for the upcoming 2024 – 2025 wrestling season. We took four key factors into consideration when making these rankings.
- Number of 2023 – 2024 state qualifiers, number of those qualifiers who are returning for 2024 – 2025
- Quality of returners (because returning 4 state champs is a lot different than returning 4 state qualifiers who went 0-2)
- How that team finished in state duals
- How that team finished in the traditional state tournament.
By putting those factors together we tried to come up with the best guess we could for how a team might be in the upcoming season. So here are our preseason rankings for the 2024-2025 season for 5A.
- South Effingham
- Glynn Academy
- Jackson County
- Creekview
- Lassiter
- Woodward Academy
- Coffee County
- Villa Rica
- Lee County
- Alexander
HM. Pope
HM. Thomas County Central
1. South Effingham has established itself over the past few years as a force to be reckoned with in the state of GA. Last season they won both the team state title and individual team title by way of utilizing an absolute unit of a team from top to bottom. These Mustangs did not have any super stars on their team but you could guarantee that every single kid they put on the mat was competitive and knew how to win. South Effingham and Glynn for the 6A team duals state finals last year was a wild ride with the Mustangs coming out on top due to pin criteria. They had a much more comfortable lead in Macon winning another title by 54.5 points. South Effingham qualified 12 for the individual state tournament last year and will only be returning half of that this year. 3 of those 6 returners are state runner ups with another one getting 5th. The Mustangs are certainly capable of winning another title in 2025 but i’d be lying if I said they didn’t look a little vulnerable this year.
2. Glynn Academy comes in at the number 2 spot to start the season. As mentioned before they lost an absolute heartbreaker to South Effingham in the team state finals, which probably stings a little more since these two teams come from the same region. Gynn also finished 4th in Macon last year from qualifying 10 wrestlers. 7 of the 10 will be coming back for another season this year. Of the 7 returning Red Terrors only 2 placed in the state tournament with 1 losing in the state finals. It is worth noting that 3 of these returners lost in the blood rounds last year. With the number of returners as well as coaching staff Glynn has it is not hard to imagine them finally getting over the hump next year and winning a state championship.
3. Jackson County comes in at number 3 on our preseason board for good reason. They had a great season last year finishing 3rd in Macon and losing in the conso semis of the state duals tournament. Jackson County started strong in the duals making it all the way to the semis before losing to Glynn and then losing again to Woodward Academy by 5 points. The Panthers also qualified 8 for individual state and will be returning 6 for this upcoming season. Of those 6 returners 4 panthers are state placers with one being a defending state champion. Jackson County is poised to make a run if they can fill a couple holes here and there, it would not surprise me to see the Panthers on top of the podium in January or February if they can put it all together.
4. Creekview is our number 4 preseason ranked team for the 5A class. They finished state duals last year in 4th place losing to Woodward in the conso finals. Overall for the state duals tournament they went 4-2 with some impressive wins along the way. In the individual state tournament the Grizzly Bears finished 9th overall by qualifying 7 wrestlers, and will be returning all 7 for this upcoming season. Of those 7 qualifiers, 4 are state placers, with another 2 losing in the blood rounds last year. With the number of qualifiers returning the Creekview Grizzly Bears could find themselves right in the mix for a state championship this upcoming season.
5. Lassiter is the perfect example of a team who is built to win an individual team state title. The Trojans have 4-5 wrestlers, especially in the light weights, who are absolute units. Outside of those 4-5 the rest of their lineup leaves something to be desired. Which makes it very difficult to win dual matches, but if you take 5 kids who all have the potential to make the individual state finals, that is a team that needs to be respected. The Trojans finished in 6th place for the individual tournament by qualifying 5 wrestlers for Macon last year and will be returning 4 of them. Each of the 4 returners are state placers, with 2 of them making the state finals, and 1 of them winning a state title. On the duals side of it, they failed to qualify for the state duals tournament last year, losing out to Pope and Johns Creek last year. I don’t see this year being much different than last, these Trojans will probably continue to struggle in a duals format, but if you see Lassiter walk into an individual tournament this year you better watch out, because those lightweight boys can go.
6. Woodward Academy is coming in at the number 6 spot in our preseason rankings. The Eagles had an absolutely phenomenal year last year finishing 3rd in team duals and 2nd in the individual tournament. Normally that would propel them to be much higher on this list but….. The Eagles will be devastated by senior losses this upcoming season. Woodward qualified 11 wrestlers for the state tournament last year and will only have 3 returners for this upcoming season. Luckily 2 out of the 3 returners are absolute monsters and will be defending their state titles this year. The Eagles were hit hard by graduation this year and it should be interesting to see how they do this upcoming season.
7. Coffee County is one of the few teams who are in the top 10 that were in the 5A class last season. The Trojans were able to put together a very respectable and solid season last year going 1-2 in team state duals losing to Cass by only 10, and losing another close one to Eastside by 4 points. On the individual side of it Coffee County finished up in 4th place overall which is pretty impressive considering the teams who were in 5A last year. Coffee qualified 9 wrestlers for Macon and will be returning 6 this season. From those 6, 4 of them are state placers and 5 out of the 6 returners will be seniors. Coffee County does not look to be a pushover team, but a group that will be senior heavy and looking for a top 3 finish in both team duals and individuals.
8. Villa Rica is the only other team that was in the 5A classification to break into our top 10. The Wildcats had a good year in 2023 – 2024, finishing up the team duals tournament by going 2-2, beating out Greenbrier and Chattahoochee and losing out to Woodland Cartersville and Harris County. The Wildcats finished in 14th place in the traditional tournament last year. They qualified 6 for Macon last year and will be returning 5 this upcoming season. From those 5 returners only one is a state placer, with 2 others losing in the blood rounds. I am certain these Wildcats will be looking to improve this upcoming season and finish as high as they can in both individuals and duals.
9. Lee County is a team that had an incredible run two years ago, then was decimated by graduation this past season. Even though they lost a ton to graduation these Trojans were still able to put together a respectable season. They failed to qualify for team duals, yet was able to push 8 through the sectionals tournament and into Macon. Of those 8 qualifiers, 5 will be returning for 2024-2025. Lee county is anchored by 2 state placers on the back side of their lineup, while the other 3 returners will be looking for more productivity this time around in Macon. If Lee County can get back to their winning ways, in this new class they can be a team to be feared, but they have a lot of questions to answer before that can happen.
10. Alexander finishes out our top 10 for this class. The Cougars did not place in the state duals tournament last year going 2-2. Alexander absolutely manhandled Marist in the first round,then lost to eventual state runner up Glynn, narrowly squeaking by Pope, and then eventually falling to Creekview. The Cougars finished up in 13th overall for the individual state tournament, qualifying only 3 wrestlers for Macon. Out of those 3 qualifiers 2 of them will be returning, both of whom will be seniors this upcoming season. 1 of those seniors is a state placer.
HM. Pope comes in as our first honorable mention in this class. Last year they qualified for team state and went 1-2 when they got there, losing to Newnan and Alexander, but beating Rockdale County. The Greyhounds qualified 4 for the individual state tournament last year and 3 of them will be returning. Pope will have 1 state placer in their room next year, I’m sure the Greyhounds are looking to improve upon their finish in Macon from a year ago.
HM. Thomas County Central rounds out our honorable mentions for this class. The Yellow Jackets had a decent season last year, qualifying for the state duals tournament and going 1-2, Beating Allatoona but losing to North Forsyth and Creekview. As for the individual tournament, TCC qualified 7 but will only have 2 returners next year, neither one of them are state placers.
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