By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Sports Editor

The South Metro Invitational, starting today at Eagle's Landing High School, will host 22 area high school wrestling teams in a very competitive bracketed tournament.

It is expected that there will be 18-20 entrants in each weight class for the two-day tournament. All four Fayette County teams will be entered in this year's tournament, previewing the two region championships and the county championships, which will be coming later this season.

Two of the top contenders in the meet would be Fayette County and Starr's Mill. The Tigers start nine seniors and are led by two-time area champ Jarrod Bailey. Starr's Mill returns its full squad in the school's first year with a senior class.

The Panthers will be wrestling without Clint Barbour until after Christmas. That still leaves the team with seven state qualifiers and five all-state wrestlers from last year's squad.

McIntosh and Sandy Creek have excellent coaching and solid leadership from experienced wrestlers. Their problem is that both teams don't have as many experienced wrestlers as they are used to. The Chiefs have won the South Metro Invitational eight years in a row, but will have a hard time winning it this year. Both teams figure to be competitive later in the season, when their teams have gained experience.

East Coweta also will enter the tournament and cause some shake-ups at some weights, especially the middle weights from 135-160. Those weights will be the turning point for the team that will be successful this weekend. If you can sweep the middle, you have a great chance at winning the whole shebang.

The meet will start at 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday.

On the basketball courts this weekend, look for another intra-county rivalry. Friday night, East Coweta travels to Lovejoy. Both the boys and girls squads are very strong this year and Lovejoy will be an obstacle to regional dominance for both teams.

Fayette County will host LaGrange and Starr's Mill will host Eagle's Landing. Eagle's Landing typically fields a very strong and speedy team, but the Starr's Mill teams have good size and athleticism. Friday night's games begin at 7 p.m.

Saturday, McIntosh travels to LaGrange for its final game for a week, while Starr's Mill hosts Fayette County. Last week's games between Starr's Mill and McIntosh included a highly charged atmosphere, countless lead changes, and five overtimes. Who knows what is in store for this weekend?

Sandy Creek will host Heritage Saturday. The games at Starr's Mill and Sandy Creek will begin at 6 p.m., while the McIntosh games will begin at 7 p.m.

There will also be significant games Monday evening as Fayette County will host East Coweta, while Starr's Mill will travel to Forest Park. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Sandy Creek will travel to North Clayton for games beginning at 7 p.m.

As the holiday season nears, the athletic schedule gets a tad sparse. The games that are played, though, serve as a small taste of what is to come in the year 2000.

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