It was another strong week for the Mat Panthers of Jackson County, picking up wins at home last Tuesday before moving on to place second in a tournament in Walhalla, S.C. on Saturday.
Last Tuesday, Jackson County played host to Forsyth Central and Gainesville, going 2-0 on the night with wins over both schools.
Wrestlers going 2-0 on the night for Jackson County included Zach Moore, Ryan Shekey, Tre’ Horton, Izzy Carrillo-Garcia, Charles Smothers and Ryan Howe.
Then, over the weekend, the Mat Panthers traveled to South Carolina to take part in the Walhalla Tournament.
In the end, they finished second in the event, scoring 182 points to winner Enka’s 226.
The Mat Panthers had four tournament champions in the event, including Ryan Shekey, who went 3-0 with three pins, Izzy Carrillo-Garcia, who went 3-0 with two pins, Charles Smothers, who went 3-0 with three pins and Ryan Howe, who went 3-0 with two pins.
Zack Moore finished second, going 2-1. Austin McDonald placed second with two pins. Tre’ Horton placed third with two pins. Justin Brewer went 2-2 for a fourth place effort.
Daivon Ledford went 2-2. Conner Andreason went 1-2. Josh Spanks went 1-2. Jacob Hogan went 0-2.
“Our team is starting to come around nicely right now,” said coach Jason Powers. “We are making a very good transition from dual into individual. Our practices started getting better the week of state duals and I feel that we are making improvements both as a team and as individuals.”
Powers said the Walhalla tournament was very good for his team.
“There was only one other team in the tournament from Georgia, so we got to wrestle against some different competition. I think this will help us prepare for the sectional tournament and the state tournament because it makes our wrestlers adjust to different styles that they have not seen before. It was also a nice break from wrestling teams that we have seen since the beginning of the season. Most of our matches did not have any effect on Area seeding. We were just able to relax and wrestle.”
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Jackson Herald or The Braselton News.
