Gilmer Going to State Duals

The Gilmer Bobcats wrestling team is headed to the State Duals meet in Macon. The Bobcats secured a trip, by placing second in the 7-AAA Area tournament, held at Heritage High School in Ringgold. Gilmer rumbled by the Ramblers of Lafayette 44-19 to take second place. The host team, the Generals, placed first to win Heritage’s first ever Area Duals Championship, by beating the Bobcats in the finals 37-21.The Bobcats began, by blazing through the competition, going undefeated to reach the finals, for a rematch of last year’s finals match with Heritage. The Bobcats began hot against the Generals, with two straight pins; however, Heritage’s senior laden team prevailed.

Gilmer next faced Lafayette for true second place, due to the fact that the Ramblers had not lost to Gilmer in the tournament. The Ramblers ran off to a 7-0 lead, after winning the first two matches. After trading pins in the next two matches, Lafayette led 13-5. The Bobcats were penalized one team point, because of thrown headgear.

The Bobcats won the next four matches to take a 26-13 lead. Austin Sprayberry, grimacing throughout his match due to a serious shoulder injury, fell 7-3, which closed the gap to 26-13.

The Ramblers were able to win only three more matches as, Gilmer cruised to a 44-25 victory, sealing the win and a trip to the state duals tournament in Macon.