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0000-00-00 | | | | The following article is from the Gwinnett Daily Post
1/18/2009 12:01:00 AM
Smackdown
Collins Hill cruises past Pope to win dual state title
By Brandon Brigman
Staff Writer - Gwinnett Daily Post
MACON - Collins Hill solidified what a lot of people in the state already knew.
The Eagles' wrestling team is hands down the best and everyone else is a distant second.
Collins
Hill won 11 of its 14 matches to beat Pope 47-9 on Saturday at the
Macon Centreplex on its way to the Class AAAAA state duals championship.
It's the second straight title for the Eagles and the third since 2005.
"We've
been looking forward to this all year," Collins Hill senior Taylor
Knapp said. "Everyone has been saying all year we are the favorites."
The Eagles, which are ranked No. 27 in the nation by Amateur Wrestling
News, have not lost to a team from Georgia since its season opening
loss to Pope. Collins Hill (30-3) had seven starters out at the time,
so with a full lineup on Saturday the Eagles blew away Pope (23-3).
"We won more close matches than they did," Collins Hill coach Cliff Ramos said.
It's
the third dual state championship for the Eagles, joining McEachern as
the only other Class AAAAA school to win three titles. Collins Hill
improved to 27-6 all-time in the dual state tournament and 19-2 at the
Macon Centreplex.
Collins Hill breezed through Friday's
competition, beating Valdosta 67-12, Newton 58-15 and Camden County
58-6 to reach the finals.
"Collins Hill is a phenomenal team," Pope coach Jim Haskin said. "They have very good wrestlers."
On
a team full of superstars, Caleb Sawchuk certainly doesn't standout.
The senior has never qualified for the state tournament and his best
finish at a tournament was fourth at Gwinnett County last year.
But
on Saturday he made his presence felt. Sawchuk's 3-1 decision over
Pope's Tommy Nickles at 112 pounds put Collins Hill ahead 34-9 with
three matches left and sealed the state title.
"I didn't really know I had clinched it until my dad said something to me afterwards," Sawchuck said.
T.J.
Mitchell (119) added to the score with a 41-second pin, John Allgood
(125) followed with a major decision and Allen Willard (130) defeated
Dexter Bushart 7-2 to end the match.
"We were really ready for this tournament," Ramos said. "Pope has a great team, they're tough."
Pope kept it close by winning two of the first three matches. Joel Smith's decision at 140 pounds got the Eagles on the board.
"After three matches, I was thinking something could go wrong and we could lose this," Knapp said.
But nothing went wrong, at least for the Eagles.
Gary
Tiller (152) won by decision and Knapp's pin at 160 pounds made it
14-6. Nick Holbert (171) added another decision and then Mac Bennett
(189) got a big first period pin as the Eagles began to pull away 23-6.
"That was a good momentum builder," Ramos said. "That was big. Pins make a difference."
C.J. Collins (215) won by decision and Bazell Partridge's (103) technical fall made it 31-9 with just four matches left.
"Points started to pile up a little quicker than we wanted to," Haskin said.
That's when Sawchuck came up with his big win to seal the match.
"Sometimes it feels good to fit in," Sawchuk said. "I didn't want to let my team down. I feel like I came through for them."
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