Colonels win Area 7-AAAAA Duals Championship

The Cass wrestling team won the Area 7-AAAAA Dual Championship Saturday by defeating Carrollton in the finals, 43-31.

Cass defeated Kell 52-20 in the opening round and took down Hiram 59-21 in the semifinals. Carrollton defeated Woodland in the other semifinal.

Starting at the 182-pound weight class in the finals, the Colonels and Trojans split the first two matches with Carrollton taking a brief 6-3 lead.

Beau Smith of Cass won a 6-5 minor decision at 182-pounds, but Carrollton’s Chase Sippola pinned Tyrese Dawson at 195-pounds to give the Trojans a lead.

Cass then got back-to-back wins by seniors Tripp Breeden (forfeit) and Seven Richards (pin) at 220- and 285-pounds, respectively, to take a lead they would not relinquish at 15-6.

Derrick Smith (113-pounds, pin), Ben Mills (126-pounds, pin), Tyler Pilcher (132-pounds, major decision), Kameron Depasquale (138-pounds, pin), and Kendall Arnold (145-pounds, pin) put the match away for the Colonels with a 43-13 lead.

Cass then chose to forfeit matches at 152-, 160-, and 170-pounds to avoid risking injury to make the final score 43-31.

Derrick Smith (113), Tyler Pilcher (132), Kameron Depasquale (138), Kendall Arnold (145), Blake Carrington (152), Noah Hoffmeier (160), Rett Moore (170), Tripp Breeden (220), and Seven Richards (285) were all unbeaten on the day for the Colonels.

Cass and Carrollton advance to the 2018 GHSA State Dual Wrestling Championships in Macon this Thursday through Saturday at the Macon Centreplex.

The opening round for Class AAAAA begins at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday.