Wednesday, February 19, 2003
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Wednesday, February 19, 2003 |
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Starr's Mill wrestlers win area championship By MICHAEL
BOYLAN If you have followed region 4-AAAAA wrestling this year, you know that Starr's Mill and Fayette County have met several times in hotly contested battles. The area championship, which took place at Fayette County High School, was no different. Starr's Mill won the area championship with 246 points, while Fayette County placed second with 187.5 points. McIntosh High School placed fifth in the meet. Wrestlers from each team were fighting for a top four finish which would qualify them for this weekend's state tournament. All of Starr's Mill wrestlers qualified for the state tournament, while several other wrestlers from the local schools also qualified. The state tournament will take place in Macon this weekend. Starr's Mill freshman Corey Radcliffe (103) defeated Fayette County's Steven Lowery 6-4 in overtime in the championship round. In the 112 pound weight class, Starr's Mill's Devin King placed second and McIntosh's Ryan Winter placed third. Chase Verzello, a freshman at Starr's Mill, placed second in 119. Starr's Mill juniors Michael Cosper (125) and Tyler Kourajian (130) were named area champions of their weight class. Kourajian edged out Fayette County senior Matt Kellerman 4-2 in their fourth meeting of the year, while McIntosh's Justin Edwards placed third. Fayette County's Steven McElrath placed second in 135, while Starr's Mill's Davey Woods placed third. Starr's Mill freshman Matt Hartpence placed fourth in 140, while Panther senior Scott Molleson took first in 145 with the team's only pin of the evening. Fayette County's Patrick Kellerman took third in 145. In 152, Starr's Mill sophomore Nick Bennett defeated Fayette County's Powell 16-6 for the area title. Kyle Verzello, a senior at Starr's Mill, posted a 7-0 win over Nick Foster in 160 for first place. McIntosh's Cameron Hall took third place in 160. Jordan Powers, a junior for Starr's Mill, defeated the Tigers' Joe Strickland for the 171 title, while Fayette County's Will Barnes won the 189 title by defeating Starr's Mill's Ben Griffin. In 215, Fayette County's Chris Leslie won the title by beating Bradley Conner. The heavyweight match between Starr's Mill's Andy Smith and Fayette County's Drake McCoy went into double overtime. Smith emerged victorious with a 2-1 victory. Sandy Creek is sending three wrestlers and one alternate to the AAAA state meet in Rome, Ga. The three wrestlers are Thomas Whitley (119), Frankie Brand (135), and Blake Morgan (145). Nick Dorsey is the alternate.
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