Wrestling: EJCHS sending two wrestlers to sectionals

Junior Jeff Chandler won the heavyweight division of Area 8-AA, while senior Garrett Lott finished third in the 113-lb. division for the Eagles at the traditional 8-AA tournament. East Jackson placed ninth overall as a team at the event, which was held this past Friday and Saturday at Elbert County.

East Jackson coach Randy Hill praised Chandler’s performance and noted the parity in the heavyweight division.

“When we went into the tournament, we realized that there were five heavyweights that were all about the same,” he said. “It could have gone either way. Thank goodness we came out on top. We just had to wrestle smart.”

As for Lott, moving up to the 113-lb. division this year turned out to be a good move.

“That’s kind of one of the reasons we went to 113 and not 106,” Hill said. “The 106-lb. weight class was loaded with a bunch of real tough kids, so we feel we had a better chance at 113 and got what we wanted.”

Also placing at area but not qualifying for the sectionals was Austin Jones, who took sixth in the 106-lb. class.

The state sectionals are this Friday and Saturday in Dublin.