JACKSON COUNTY had hoped to qualify its entire lineup for the state championships at Gwinnett Arena this week.
The Panthers weren’t far off that mark.
Seven of the nine Jackson County wrestlers who participated in the state sectionals this past weekend are moving on to Gwinnett as the Panthers shoot for a top 10 finish in Class AA. Jackson County finished sixth in Class AAA last year.
“I expect our individuals to perform well,” coach Jason Powers said. “We have been performing well over the past couple of weeks and I expect that trend to continue. I will be disappointed if we come home with less than five state placers and at least one state finalist. If we accomplish this goal, then we should be in the top 10 teams at the end of the tournament.”
The seven Jackson County wrestlers advancing from the state sectionals to the state championships are Austin McDonald, Zach Moore, Ryan Shekey, Justin Brewer, Daivon Ledford, Jamie Stapler and Bryan Burnette.
McDonald (215-lb.) and Moore (112-lb.) each earned second-place finishes at sectionals. Shekey (130-lb.) and Brewer (140-lb.) both finished third. Ledford (171-lb.) added a fourth-place finish and Stapler (103-lb.) and Burnette (125-lb.) were both fifth.
“I was pleased for the most part with the individual’s performance,” Powers said. “Qualifying seven wrestlers for the state tournament is a good accomplishment. However, I believe that we can and will do better this weekend. The biggest thing from this past weekend was making it into the top eight and making it to state.”
Powers said once at state, anything can happen, regardless of a wrestler’s seeding. So the entire Panther lineup is thinking big.
“Everybody in the tournament has an equal chance of becoming a state champion and this will be our goal for all seven of our wrestlers,” Powers said.
