Two MCHS wrestlers qualify for state finals

Steven Resby, a senior, took second place in the state sectionals this past weekend in Loganville in the 182 lb. weight class, while Max Nash finished third in the 126 lb. division. The top eight wrestlers in the 16-man sectionals in each weight division advance to the final eight-man tournament in Gwinnett Feb. 16-18.

Resby, who finished 3-1 on the day, beat a wrestler from Fayette County in the semifinals to advance to the finals.

“He (Resby) beat him pretty handily,” said Red Raider head coach Ritchie Houston.

Resby was beaten by a wrestler from Ola High School in the finals.

“He’s a pretty tough kid; a lot of people are saying he’s the man to beat next week,” said Houston of the wrestler from Ola, who pinned Resby in the second period.

Houston said Nash, a junior who finished 5-1 in the sectionals, also wrestled well. The 126-lb. wrestler downed the number one seed from Southwest Dekalb in the first round of the tournament by pin in the match’s second round. He then dropped a match to a wrestler from Whitewater, before winning three matches in the consolation round, where he handily defeated the wrestler from Whitewater to take third in the tournament.

“That was a great match for him (Nash), a great confidence builder headed into this weekend,” said Houston.
Houston was pleased with how his wrestlers performed.

“I think we did real well having a young group and only a few guys, having one be in the finals and one wrestling for third,” said Houston. “There’s 84 schools in 4A, so you’re finishing in the top 42 on our side. So that means a whole lot.”

Madison County’s Andrew McCannon also earned a spot in the state sectionals with a fourth-place finish in the region tournament but was unable to attend due to a death in the family.

— Channel 2 will air live the GHSA wrestling state finals Saturday from 4-6 p.m.