GREYHOUND GRAPPLERS
Challenges are not something that the Greyhounds are running from on the wrestling mat.
That was shown and rewarded last weekend in Madison when Jones County began the season in the John Robbins Invitational in Morgan County. The Greyhounds won first overall and had five grapplers win first, beating a group of teams, including West Laurens and Morgan County, two teams that regularly contend for state titles.
“West Laurens historically has had a really good program, and Morgan County has done the same,” Greyhounds head coach Gillhouse said. “To beat them, that’s really solid.”
Jones County, ranked ninth in AAAAA in one set of preseason rankings, built up points by having 13 placers in the top four on Saturday. At the top of the list? First-places Hunter McCleskey, Aiden Lipford, Jackson Brown, Arrie Martin and Robert Scott.
Finishing second were Landon Lewis and Carson Lumley.
“It’s exciting to start a season with a strong showing. We wrestled really well in a lot of spots and also saw some stuff that we need to work on,” Gillhouse said. “There’s definitely a lot to build on.”
Finishing third were Landon Pittman, Peyton Thompson, Jack Carr and Brayden Thompson with points being added by Dawson Walker and John Rackley finishing fourth.
“As a team, we’ve had guys take steps. We’ve had guys that were young last year, and guys like Scott and Carr wrestled really well,” Gillhouse said. “To see them step up and contribute points for us the way that they did, that was exciting to see.”
There’s no lull for the Greyhounds after the opening-weekend win. In fact, one of the more anticipated dates on the calendar is this Saturday when Jones County hosts the Gauntlet in Gray. For starters, there’s one thing that sets this event apart of other early-season tournaments – the location. Jones County gets to wrestle in its own gym, a chance to compete in front of more family and friends that the Greyhounds always relish.
But there will be more to it than that. A 12-team field will bring in teams from as west as Columbus and as south as Brunswick. That includes powerhouses such as Troup, Columbus and Brunswick. Columbus is last year’s AAA state duals champion.
“They’re excited to see some of the best teams in the state come in here,” Gillhouse said. “It’s big for our community that there will be 12 teams coming in here to our town from all over the state.”
