JEFFERSON – Before the first wrestler even took the mat last weekend in the GHSA State AAAAA Team Duals, the Greyhounds were already in select company. Jones County was one of 16 teams in its classification wrestling for a state title, a spot that more than 50 teams across Georgia had not even advanced to.
The Greyhounds weren’t happy to only be there in Jefferson. On the other hand, Jones County dug in, staying alive well into Saturday by winning a pair of consolation bracket matches to finish fifth, the best showing at state duals in program history.
“There’s 10 teams at the start of this tournament that didn’t get to finish, and we’re one of the ones that did,” Greyhounds head coach Adam Gillhouse said. “There are 51 teams in AAAAA that did not wrestle where we did this weekend. We’re proud to be here.”
Hunter McCleskey brought home what any wrestler at a state tournament dreams of – an unblemished record. He came away from Jefferson with a perfect 5-0 record, besting each of his opponents.
He wasn’t the only one sending an early statement as the tournament began on Friday as Jones County shut out Tucker 81-0. Other than McCleskey, winners for JCHS against Tucker were Luke McCoy, Hunter Hardwick, Garrett Green, Will Agudelo, Landon Lewis, Aiden Lipford, Peyton Thompson, Jackson Brown, Arrie Martin, Robert Scott, David Little, Jack Carr and Jacob Skinner.
It was the culmination of a week of practice following a performance in the region tournament that left the Greyhounds unsatisfied, and their showing in Jefferson proved that determination.
“The message all week was ‘You vs. You, Us vs. Us.’ It’s like we had talked about last week, we did not wrestle our greatest dual against Ola,” Gillhouse said. “We came out and wrestled well; we’re proud of how our guys fought. We had some guys fight through some injuries; we had some guys fight through adversity. To be in the top five of the state, that’s not a bad place to be.” Next up for the Greyhounds was host and defending state champion Jefferson. The Greyhounds fell to the Dragons 42-28 with wins by Agudelo, McCleskey, Martin, Scott, David Little as well as Daniel Hawk.
Despite the loss, Jones County was among the final 12 teams left in the double-elimination tournament, where Jones County advanced Saturday morning. They’d end up staying for a while. Wins in two of the final three matches against Greenbrier kept Jones County alive with a 41-30 win, and a 54-18 win against Eastside moved JCHS to the consolation semifinal against Woodland, where the Hounds ended up the tourney in fifth with a 49-18 loss.
That school-record finish was made possible by the way Saturday began for the Greyhounds. Jones County took an early lead, going up 21-6 on wins by Agudelo, Lewis, McCleskey and Lipford, and a pin by Brown combined with a win by Martin moved the lead to 30-12. But when the Wolfpack cut the lead to 30-27, the dual match was set up to come down to the final few matches. There was no other option. The Greyhounds’ Jack Carr, Hunter Hardwick and Jacob Skinner had to step up with a combined two wins needed between them. They rose to the occasion. Down 3-2 in the third period, Carr turned the fortune in favor of JCHS with a pin, and Hardwick’s pin to close out the match clinched the win, keeping the Greyhounds alive.
“We got caught in some spots and going into those last three matches, we had to win two of those last three with Jack, Jacob and Hunter,” Gillhouse said. “Jack finished that match and with him getting that win and Hunter stepping up big-time, they came in and won the dual for us and kept us alive. They did a great job. They came in a fought hard.”
Another strong start keyed the win against Eastside as pins by Brown and Martin made the lead 30-6 before Skinner registered a pin for a 42-12 lead. Hardwick and Brayden Thomson closed out the dual with a pair of pins.
Thanks to a win by McCleskey, the Greyhounds were within striking distance early against Woodland and went ahead 15-9 on pins by Brown and Martin before four pins in a swung the match in Woodland’s favor.
But even in the loss, the Greyhounds, who host Veterans on Thursday before individual tournament season begins, came away from Jefferson having send a strong message.
“It’s like we told the guys, nobody is going to show up at state duals anymore and be like, ‘who’s that purple and gold team?’” Gillhouse said. “We finished fifth and two years ago were in the top eight and last year missed it because of some crazy stuff that happened.”
The Greyhounds wrestle in the region traditional tournament Feb. 3, the sectionals on Feb. 10 at Flowery Branch with hopes of advancing to the state tournament Feb. 15-17 at the Macon Coliseum.
