MORROW — When Jones County lasted just three matches into last month’s GHSA state duals, a feeling of emptiness set in for the Greyhounds. Since then, they have been a team intent on showing that it had more to show, and that belief was proven in the GHSA State Traditional Wrestling Championships at the Clayton County Convocation Center.
“Coming from the state duals, we felt we had underperformed, that it was not an accurate representation of who we were as a team,” Greyhounds head coach Adam Gillhouse said. “Our guys began to wrestle with a chip on their shoulder.”
Jones County powered to an overall finish of fourth, the best showing in program history, as a total of five wrestlers placed. Not only did Arrie Martin win the Greyhounds’ first individual title in 10 years, but Luke Thompson finished third, Noah Pieterick placed fourth, Jacob Skinner was fifth, and Hunter McCleskey was sixth.
“The last few years, we kind of came away a little disappointed. We kind of felt that we did not quite perform at the level we felt we could have,” Gillhouse said. “That was a big goal going into it. We were going in with a little bit fewer kids, so the goal was to go in and perform at a high level.”
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That manifested in a large way as on Saturday’s second day of the tournament, five wrestlers were still alive, four of whom won their first two matches to make it to Saturday morning’s semifinals and have plenty of rest on Friday night.
“We felt good going to Saturday. The guys in semifinals got out of there early on Friday to the hotel,” Gillhouse said. “That was big for them to go ahead and do that and be able to get more rest.”
Luke Thompson was among them. After a pair of victories at 215 pounds moved him to the semifinal round where he lost via fall, Thompson rallied back, beating Maverick Armour of Tucker in the consolation semifinal before topping Dalton’s Josiah Hernandez 8-1.
Noah Pieterick also used a strong start to find himself a late factor. A consolation semifinal win at 144 pounds against Neco Favors of St. Pius X advanced him to the consolation final against Carson Kimbrough of Ola where he fell 8-7 in double overtime, placing fourth overall.
Pieterick and Thompson will both return for the Greyhounds next year, something that Gillhouse says is already exciting.
“That’s big, being able to place a sophomore. Noah’s a two-time state placer, and Luke’s tournament got cut short last year with an injury,” Gillhouse said. “For him to be able to come back and place, That’s big for him.”
Skinner’s pin and major decision moved him to the semis. Skinner would go on to bounce back, winning the last match of his career in the 175-pound’s fifth-place match against Jamorrie Cole of Eastside.
McCleskey also finished his high school career strong. A state placer as a freshman, he did so again on Saturday in the 113-pound division, staying alive with a pair of consolation bracket wins as he’d come home sixth.
For McCleskey, Martin, and Skinner, the end result was the same — each of them walked off the mat having found success on the state’s biggest wrestling stage. “All three of our seniors — Arrie, Jacob and Hunter — they all finished their careers on their terms,” Gillhouse said.
