JACKSON COUNTY wrestling coach Jason Powers has no generalized expectations for this weekend’s area tournament.
In fact, he has a rather specific goal in mind for a squad seeking atonement for a somewhat disappointing showing in the area duals in early January.
“As a team it is our goal to finish second in the area,” Powers said. “The team was really disappointed after area duals, and I think everybody wants a chance to make up for the third place finish, and I truly believe that we can do it this weekend with a great effort out of each one of our wrestlers.”
Powers believes that nine to 10 Panthers could propel themselves to the state sectionals, which would put Jackson County in a great position towards its second-place goal (The top four wrestlers in each weight class move on to the sectionals in Dublin).
Powers even thinks a few could even find themselves atop the winners’ podium with area titles.
“I think three or four of our wrestlers have a great chance to win an individual area title, which would put them in excellent position headed into the sectional tournament,” Powers said.
Heading into the wrestling postseason, those with the best individual records are Zach Moore, Ryan Shekey, Justin Brewer, Daivon Ledford and Austin McDonald. Each has less than 10 losses and has close to 40 wins. And with a full complement of wrestlers now, Jackson County is primed for a strong postseason.
“We have rarely had our full line-up together this year,” Powers said. “We have always been battling injury and sickness. So it is nice to finally be able to see everything come together. We have a tough team with some very strong individuals. I’m very excited about what the postseason has to offer for this bunch.”
As for this past weekend, Jackson County posted a third-place showing in the Sweet Onion Classic in Toombs County – missing second place by 1.5 points and first place by 3.5 points.
Jackson County was bolstered by five first-place finishers: Moore, Shekey, Brewer, Ledford and McDonald.
“It’s hard to say who had the best individual performances over the weekend when we had five first-place finishers,” Powers said. “However, Justin Brewer and Bryan Burnette really had some strong showings this weekend.”
While Powers was pleased with how well is team rebounded from a poor showing at the East Metro, he said missing out on first by 3.5 points “kind of makes you sick.”
“But we really had an excellent tournament,” Powers said. “We made the trip to get exposed to some of the teams that we will be meeting up with in two weeks at the sectional tournament and we had some really big wins over some of those opponents.”
Powers said the event — and the near first-place finish — should serve as a confidence builder for his squad after having some tough tournaments earlier this year.
“We had a goal as a team of finishing in the top three going into the tournament and that’s exactly what we did.” Powers said. “I think this momentum will carry over to the area tournament and into the postseason.”
Individual highlights from the Sweet Onion Classic included:
•Brewer defeating a Toombs County wrestler, who placed fourth in Class AA last year, 10-6 in the finals. “This was a huge win for him and should carry over the next couple of weeks,” Powers said.
•Burnette, who was not seeded heading into the weekend, knocking off the no. 2 seed in the second round and finishing third. “This shows great promise out of a freshman wrestler, and he should be looking to turn some heads over the next couple of weeks,” Powers said.
•Daivon Ledford, who “had an excellent tournament,” pinning all four of his opponents en route to a tournament championship. “Daivon is only a sophomore and could be on the podium in Gwinnett (at the state tournament) in three weeks with some solid wrestling.”
•Brandon Espinal finishing fourth.
