MainStreetNewsSports

Nothing on paper suggested Jackson County’s 2018-19 wrestling season would end like this, but the Panthers nevertheless put the finishing touches on one of the program’s most successful campaigns ever.
Despite having only two wrestlers having any prior state tournament experience, Jackson County produced a school-record eight placers at state in a fourth-place team finish in Class AAA on Saturday.
All 11 Panthers who qualified for state ended up scoring points in the three-day tournament.
Jackson County also put one girl, Bre Lumley, on the podium in the first-ever girls’ state tournament.
“I think it was a fantastic weekend,” Panther coach Jason Powers said. “I was wishing one or two more would have found the podium. I felt like they had their opportunity to and they came up just short, but it was a fantastic weekend.”
With 102 points, the Panthers finished behind powerhouses Sonoraville (172 points), North Hall (168.5) and Jefferson (165.5) in a loaded and competitive Class AAA division. Jackson County finished in fourth-place by 15 points over fifth-place Lumpkin County (87 points). No other team in Class AAA scored more than 54 points.
“We were a top four team by a good ways — a really solid season,” Powers said.
Joey Sosebee earned the top individual finish for the Panthers, finishing as runner-up in a stacked 106-pound classification. He beat two of the top contenders in rounds two and four respectively to earn his way to the finals.
“Being able to overcome those two matches, which were two very, very, very tough matches to overcome and then making it to the finals, that’s a huge accomplishment,” Powers said.
In the finals, Sosebee dropped a 7-6 decision to Jefferson’s Mason Mingus in the fourth match this year between the two wrestlers. The senior was unable to earn a one-point escape in the final moments of the match to send the bout to overtime.
“It’s hard to fault a kid for trying to win it right there,” Powers said. “He’s trying to get his two (points), trying to secure himself a state title.”
Jackson County saw seven of its 10 wrestlers that were sent to the wrestle backs battle back and earn team points in the consolation brackets. Finishing third were Kaden Andreasen (160) and Tyler Wester (195), while Devonte Stephens (220) placed fourth. Jacob Crumley (145) and Jared Love (152) both placed fifth, and Christian Soto (126) and Aiden Giroux (182) were sixth.
The fourth-place showing marked the first time the program has earned a trophy in both the traditional state tournament and the dual state tournament. The Panthers also finished fourth in the state duals back in January.
The state tournament also marked a strong close to the season for Jackson County’s first ever girls’ team. Five wrestlers qualified for the tournament, and Lumley (176) became the program’s first-ever placer with a pin in the consolation finals over Veteran’s High School’s Emilie Rohme to finish third.
“Bre being able to step in and coming home with a state medal was fantastic,” Powers said. “That’s just going to help us grow our program around here.”
The Jackson County girls began their inaugural year with six wrestlers and finished with six.
“We wanted to do this to get kids experiences,” Powers said. “I think wrestling is a sport that teaches you a lot of self confidence and teaches you how to fight back from adversity. If we can get girls involved in that then that’s a fantastic way of doing it.”

Saturday will mark a homecoming of sorts for the Jefferson track and field teams as they’ll host their first home meet since 2017. The eight-team meet is set for 9 a.m. at Memorial Stadium.
The Jefferson teams competed on the road for the entire 2018 season as Memorial Stadium underwent renovation.
Participating in Saturday’s meet along with Jefferson are Rockdale County, Gainesville, North Oconee, Oconee County, Lumpkin County, Monsignor Donovan and Hart County.

•Mt. Pisgah 2, Jackson Co. (boys) 1: Ryan Xiong scored the Panthers’ lone goal during a loss in the showcase at the University of North Georgia.

SOCCER
Wednesday
•Jefferson (girls) 7, Franklin Co. 0: Freshman Abbey Eison scored four goals to lead the Dragons to a region win over Franklin County at home. Lauren Wilson added a goal and an assist. Savanna Jackson and Sarah LaMar added one goal each.
•Jefferson (boys) 5, Franklin Co. 0: Brandon Hudson scored two goals with an assist as the Dragons shut out Franklin County in a region win. Patrick Sorah, Will Burdick and Hayden Kilgore each added goals. Roberto Quintal had two assists.
Thursday
•Jefferson (girls) 7, Winder-Barrow 0: Lauren Wilson and Abbey Eison scored two goals each as the Dragons trounced the visiting Class AAAAAA Bulldoggs. Kristin Dean, Valerie LaDue and Savanna Jackson scored goals as well in the rout.
•Jefferson (boys) 3, Winder-Barrow 0: The Dragons downed the Class AAAAAA Bulldogs at home with goals from Cort McCormack, Brandon Hudson and Gavin Tacto. Cameron Smith and Roberto Quintal each had assists.
TENNIS
Wednesday
•Jefferson (girls) 5, Apalachee 0: The Jefferson girls moved to 3-0 with a shutout win over Apalachee. Winning were Ginevra Gradassi (No. 1 singles, 8-2), Sarah Moore (No. 2 singles, 8-0), Gwenyth Miller (No.3 singles, 8-5), Gracie Beem and Sydney Tyler (No. 1 doubles, 8-1) and Kaitlyn House and Sarah Middleton (No. 2 doubles, 8-2).
•Jefferson (boys) 5, Apalachee 0: Jefferson blanked Apalachee with wins from Marcus Berninger (No. 1 singles, 8-6), Cooper Kework (No. 2 singles, 8-1), Cody Bare (No. 3 singles, 8-1), Caleb Wells and Luke Forrester (No. 1 doubles, 8-0) and Grant Morrow and James Smith (No. 2 doubles, 8-5).

Jefferson’s Seth Glausier wasn’t just any deep snapper for the Dragons.
He was a rare four-year starter at the position, and his history at the position dated back all the way to recreation league football.
“I don’t ever remember a better one in the entire time that I’ve been around high school football and college football,” Jefferson coach Gene Cathcart said.
That experience and talent earned him a big-time college scholarship as Glausier recently signed with Division I-FBS Georgia State.
Glausier inked his letter of intent Feb. 6 on National Signing Day at a ceremony held at Jefferson High School. Cathcart praised Glausier’s contributions to the Dragons’ special team unit, a team strength the past several seasons.
“We’re extremely proud of you,” Cathcart said to Glausier before he signed. “We’re grateful to you for all that you’ve done, working tirelessly. I’ve never seen anybody with your work ethic.”
In turn, Glausier expressed his gratitude toward the Jefferson football program for helping him reach this point in his career.
“I thank (former head) coach (Ben) Hall, coach Cathcart, (assistant) coach (Mike) Doolittle and many more for believing in me and just investing all their time in me in order to see me succeed,” Glausier said.
Glausier will go to a Georgia State football team, coached by Shawn Elliott, that is coming off a 2-10 season but went 7-5 a year earlier and earned the first bowl win in program history.
Glausier thanked Elliot “for the amazing opportunity that he’s giving me to play for his program.”
For more signing stories, see the Feb. 27 edition of The Jackson Herald.