Toombs County Grapplers Take 2nd at State; Coley Crowned Champion

The Toombs County High School wrestling team traveled to Macon last week for the GHSA State Traditional Tournament and left with a second-place team finish. Competing against the state’s best, the Bulldogs trailed only Social Circle in the final standings. The team sent a contingent of 11 wrestlers to the event, consisting of 10 boys and one girl. The squad’s performance was highlighted by one individual State Champion, two Runners- up, two third-place finishers, and one sixth-place finish.

Boys

Leading the charge for the Bulldogs was Lucas Coley, who captured the State Championship at 175 lbs. Coley began his tournament run with a shutout 3-0 victory and followed it up with a dominant 18-3 win to advance to the semifinals. He continued his roll in the semis, defeating Caden Mc-Williams of Christian Heritage 10-0 to secure a spot in the finals. In the Championship Match, Coley capped off his stellar performance with an 8-3 victory over Tim Brown of Temple to bring home the title.

Wyatt Bunch earned State Runner-up honors at 132 lbs. Bunch opened with a 9-4 decision and a 6-1 victory in the subsequent round. He was impressive in the semifinals, dismantling Lane Broome of Trion with a 17-1 win. In the finals, he faced Cohen Hargrove of Social Circle, falling 10-4 to finish in second place.

Samson Dobbs battled his way to a third-place finish at 144 lbs. After winning his first two bouts 6-1 and 4-1, continued from page

Dobbs ran into the eventual State Champion, Walker Woodard of Social Circle, losing 10-0. Undeterred, Dobbs rebounded in the consolation bracket with a 12-5 win over Tucker Karr of Bremen. He then clinched third place with a victory over Zane Chavis of Commerce in the consolation finals.

Tyson Brantley also secured third place, competing at 150 lbs. Brantley opened with a 9-0 shutout but was sent to the consolation bracket early after a 10-2 loss to Winston Wu of Wesleyan. Facing a long road back, Brantley showed resilience by rattling off wins of 6-3, 3-1, and 6-3. His run set up a rematch with Wu in the consolation finals. This time, Brantley dominated, winning 17-2 to claim third place.

Rounding out the podium finishers for Toombs County was Leeson Allen, who placed sixth at 190 lbs. Allen started with a 4-0 win but fell to State Runner- up Robert McCoy of Temple in the next round. He fought back with wins of 6-2 and 6-5 to stay alive in the tournament. After a 4-0 loss in the consolation semis, Allen dropped a tight 3-1 decision in the fifth-place match to finish sixth.

Girls

In the girls' division, Jasmine Villegas also finished as the State Runnerup. Villegas started strong with a 17-2 major decision and a 3-0 shutout. She punched her ticket to the finals with a 5-1 semifinal victory over Bentley Burke of Central Carrollton.

The Championship Match against Aumunique Mills of Mill Creek was a dramatic contest to say the least; Villegas held a 5-4 lead, and Mills had already accrued two stalling warnings, two other penalties, and a misconduct violation for throwing a punch, not her first of the State Meet either.

However, with Villegas rattled from the conduct of her opponent, Mills managed to secure a pin in the second period, ending the match and leaving Villegas with the silver medal.