Wrestling team competes at Trojan Invitational Duals

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  • Indians wrestler Jeremiah Holmes gets his opponent on his back for a win by pin during the Trojan Invite at Lassiter High School on Saturday, Dec. 21.
    Indians wrestler Jeremiah Holmes gets his opponent on his back for a win by pin during the Trojan Invite at Lassiter High School on Saturday, Dec. 21.
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With several of its wrestlers sidelined with injury or illness, the LCHS varsity wrestling team still proved successful when the Indians took to the mats at Lassiter High School to take part in the Trojan Invitational Duals on Saturday, Dec. 21.
While the rest of Lumpkin County’s students were enjoying the first days of their holiday break, the Indians traveled to Lassiter to bring their signature brand of mayhem to the mats to gain more experience against some tough competition.
The Indians began the day versus a solid Pepperell Dragons squad in their first dual of the event.
The Dragons proved wily and put up a fight against an Indians lineup without two-time defending State Champion Nolan Wheeler and up-and-comer Trevor Coryell among others.
The Indians were able to get what they needed from their depleted roster and overpowered Pepperell in a closely fought battle to emerge victorious by a final score of 42-25.
Levi Seabolt (170 pounds), TJ Payne (126), and Hernon Macedo (220) each picked up wins by pin for Lumpkin during the dual versus the Dragons.
Lumpkin’s next dual proved to be too much for the Indians to overcome when they faced off with host Lassiter.
The Trojans showcased strength, speed and solid technique to earn themselves a 61-23 win over Lumpkin.
The Indians did have some shining moments during the dual, including a dominant win by pin from defending State Champion Sam Irwin (182) and wins by pins from Seabolt and Macedo.
With a 1-1 record to that point, the Indians then squared off with a Hillgrove team that forfeited six matches due to a small lineup of wrestlers.
The Indians took advantage of Hollgrove’s depleted roster and pulled out a 48-24 victory thanks in large part to wins by pin from Jack Irwin (132) and Jeremiah Holmes (138).
Lumpkin kept its winning ways going with a 54-12 pummeling of the Tucker Tigers in the next round of dual action to up the Indians’ record to 3-1 on the day.
Seabolt, who had a sensational day on the mats for Lumpkin, earned his third win by pin of the duals versus his Tucker opponent.
Sam Irwin and Ethan Kline (195) also earned wins by pins against the Tigers to help the Indians to their third win.
In their final dual of the afternoon, the Indians faced off with powerhouse Cherokee.
Despite an inspiring fight from the Lumpkin wrestlers, the Indians fell to Cherokee by a final score of 36-29.
Sam Irwin earned himself a 16-1 win by major decision and Kline picked up his second pin of the day to go 2-0 at the duals.
The loss gave the Indians a 3-2 record at the Trojan Invitational Duals, but more importantly allowed the Lumpkin wrestlers to gain some experience against solid competition as the end of the regular season draws near.
At press time, the LCHS varsity wrestling team was set to take part in its second dual tournament of the holiday season when the Indians traveled to Calhoun High School for the Calhoun New Years Duals on Saturday, Dec. 28. No official results were available.
The Indians will take to the mats again when they participate in the Murray County Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 4. Matches begin at 10 a.m.