EVEN BY Jefferson’s standards, this is a long trip.
The Dragons, who often leave Georgia’s borders for tournaments, fly to Rochester, Minn. this week to compete in the elite Clash National Duals Friday and Saturday.
“This is one of those things where you get to go and measure your team,” coach Doug Thurmond said of his team’s 1,000-mile trip. “They’ve pretty much been measured in the south.”
Jefferson (16-0), perennial state champions in Georgia, consistently thrives in out-of-state competition in this corner of the country. In fact, the Dragons are coming off a title in Tennessee last week with an unbeaten run through Pigeon Forge Southern Duals. That came on the heels of a traditional tournament win in Raleigh, N.C. two weeks ago.
But Jefferson will run up against some of the best that the northern U.S. — and thus the nation — has to offer at the 32-team Clash event.
Thurmond said his team can’t go in star-struck by the national platform or the teams.
“We’ve just got to make sure they don’t get the goo-goo eyes and don’t get the deer-in-the-headlights look,” Thurmond said.
Jefferson has been grouped in a bracket with teams mostly from the north to start the tournament.
The Dragons open with Hastings (Minn.), while other teams in Jefferson’s bracket include St. Edward (Ohio), Punahou (Hawaii), Christianburg (Va.), Arrowhead Union (Wis.) and Carl Sandurg (Ill.).
The tournament will obviously feature plenty of heavy hitters on the national level, including three-time defending Clash champion, Apple Valley out of Minnesota.
This will certainly be different than most tournaments for Jefferson, starting with the mode of travel.
“Some of these kids have never flown before,” Thurmond said. “So that’s going to be fun for them.”
This week’s travels will make last week’s trip to Pigeon Forge seem short in comparison. Jefferson won eight matches there last Wednesday and Thursday to win the Southern Duals yet again.
“The kids had a good time and wrestled well,” Thurmond said.
Jefferson prevailed in all four of its pool matches, beating Jefferson County (Tenn.) 75-6, Dalton (Ga.) 61-9, Woodford (Tenn.) 51-3 and Notre Dame (Tenn.) 62-9, to advance to the gold bracket.
In the gold bracket, Jefferson beat Larue (Ky.) 43-18, Father Ryan (Tenn.) 43-27, Gilmer County (Ga.) 48-18 and Heritage of Catoosa (Ga.) 47-12 to win the tournament.
Isaac Kelly went 8-0 in his matches and was named “Outstanding Wrestler” in the lower weight classes. Also going 8-0 were Josh Harris (120 lb.), Tyler Marranelli (126 lb.), Clay Richardson (145 lb.) and Forrest Przybysz (182 lb.). Chase Piperato (106 lb.), Kyle Kashuba (113 lb.), Cain Finch (152 lb.), Jake Sherman (160 lb.) and Jack Dollar (138 lb.) all went 7-1.
“We were really proud of them,” Thurmond said of the entire team.
Now, Jefferson hopes to keep it going this week in what may be the furthest trip the school even takes for an athletic event. The Dragons will try to keep the objective simple enough — wrestle well and remain injury free.
“We just want to get them through it and see how well we do,” Thurmond said.
