Canes' wrestlers fourth at Area 5AAAA duals

The Cartersville wrestling team took fourth place Tuesday at the Area 5-AAAA team duals hosted by Central of Carrollton.

Troup won the championship with LaGrange finishing second to claim the two slots for Area 5-AAAA at this weekend’s GHSA State Duals Championship in Macon.

The Canes opened with a 54-30 first round win over Cedartown, but lost to Troup in the semifinals. After blitzing Chapel Hill 84-0 in their first consolation match, Cartersville faced Central-Carrollton with the winner advancing to wrestle LaGrange for a spot in the state tournament. The host Lions edged the Canes 39-32 in that match, but Cartersville coach Garvin Edwards was pleased with his team’s performance. “Central beat us badly earlier in the year,” noted Edwards. “Our kids wrestled hard today and did a really good job. Our guys pushed the pace and had some opportunities to knock them off, but we came up just short.”

Canes’ wrestlers Jonathan De La Cruz and Carlos Aborresco — both juniors — went undefeated in their matches to lead Cartersville to a fourth place finish. Senior Robby Earick lost just one match, falling to his opponent in the match with Troup.

Cartersville will now transition to the traditional format for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. The traditional format still has a team aspect, but now team points are earned by individuals in their respective weight classes advancing bracket rounds at each event.

Cartersville will begin preparations with a Senior Night event next Tuesday. “We will bring in officials for some challenge matches,” said Edwards. “We will have some guys face off in some of the weight classes to earn a spot in the lineup during the traditional segment of the schedule. We’ll also recognize the seniors in our program,” the coach concluded.