The Commerce Mat Tigers got their season under way in high fashion last week with a win over Madison County and a sixth-place finish in the tough Panther Invitational.
The Tigers will host Riverside and Morgan County today (Wednesday). Action is set to start at 5 p.m.
That will be followed by a trip to Apalachee on Dec. 10-11 to take part in the Round Robin Duals. Matches are scheduled to being at 5 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday.
Commerce started its season last Tuesday with a match at home against Madison County and Jefferson.
The Tigers came away with a 48-27 victory over Madison County, with Jacob Harrison, Cody Legg, Nick Henderson, Josh Westmoreland, Greyson Cochran, Addison Davis, Chance McClure, Zach Harmon, and
Serguio Rojas all recording wins in their weight classes.
Things didn’t go as well against Jefferson, with the Dragons besting Commerce 51-30.
Winners included Jacob Harrison, Cody Legg, Addison Davis, Chance McClure and Serguio Rojas.
“I thought we wrestled really well for our first matches of the season on Tuesday night,” said coach Kendall Love. “Obviously we have some areas we need to improve in, but overall I was pleased. We opened up with two tough opponents and I think it only made us better.”
Up next was the Panther Invitational at Jackson County Comprehensive High School, where the Tigers came home sixth out of 26 teams. Commerce scored 132 points, trailing Jefferson (274), North Gwinnett with 231.5, Gilmer County with 185.5, Locust Grove (148.5) and host Jackson County (138.5).
West Laurens, Oconee County, Madison County and White County rounded out the top ten.
Placers in the tournament included Serguio Rojas, who picked up the lone first-place finish for the Tigers, pinning all of his opponents in the process. Addison Davisnrecorded a second place, losing to the top-ranked wrestler in AAAAA in the finals. Cody Legg placed third in his weight class, with Chance McClure recording a fifth-place effort.
Others winning matches included Jacob Harrison, Nick Henderson, Josh Westmoreland, Greyson Cochran, Cole Ledford and Morgan Flint.
“We were only a few points out of fourth as it was a very tight tournament,” Love said. “This was the toughest the Panther has ever been in my opinion. There were several ranked teams in all classifications there. Some of our younger guys got very tough draws but competed hard. I feel like our boys saw what it takes to be a top caliber team and they will definitely learn from the experience. I was pleased with the effort from all the guys.”
