GREYHOUND GRAPPLERS
Revenge from a season ago. A strong showing in front of a home crowd. Multiple wrestlers ending a day of wrestling undefeated. Saturday was a day that the Greyhounds did just that.
Jones County proved to be an ungracious host when things went onto the mat at Saturday’s Gauntlet in Gray hosted by JCHS, going 4-1 with three wrestlers – Arrie Martin, Landon Lewis and Carson Lumley –wrapping up the day undefeated.
“We had a great crowd. We sold out of everything in the concession stand,” Greyhounds head coach Adam Gillhouse said. “We had a lot of people here and a bunch of students here watching. It was great to have so many people here.”
After easy wins of 75-6 and 75-12 against Northside and Peach County began the day for the Greyhounds, Jones County moved on to the gold bracket by virtue of their 2-0 record. JCHS dominated in those two wins, losing a combined three matches in the first two rounds.
Going 2-0 to start things out were Lewis, Hunter McCleskey, Dawson Walker, Aiden Lipford, Peyton Thompson, Jackson Brown, Arrie Martin, Carson Lumley, Robert Scott and Jacob Skinner.
Also getting a win was Will Agudelo, one of multiple Greyhounds who took to wrestling Saturday morning after getting home from the Greyhounds state playoff game Friday night. “Jacob, Luke McCoy, Garrett Green and Will all came out here after wrestling (Friday),” Gillhouse said. “It was exciting to see whose guys ready to be out here.”
The Greyhounds began their pool bracket with a 48-27 win against Perry with wins coming from Lewis, Aiden Lipford, Jackson Brown, Martin, Lumley, Robert Scott, Jack Carr, Jacob Skinner and Brayden Thompson.
The win against the Panthers earned a measure of revenge for Jones County against Perry, which beat Jones County in its senior night last season.
“Against Northside and Peach, we wrestled really well early,” Gillhouse said. “Perry, after they beat us here last year, our guys kind of had a chip on their shoulder.”
That moved Jones County to its pool’s semifinal round against Brunswick, where the Greyhounds beat out the Pirates 41-32 with wins by Brown, Martin, Lumley, Skinner, Thompson, Green, Lewis and Hunter McCleskey.
“Brunswick is one of the best teams in its classification,” Gillhouse said. “To wrestle and beat them, that’s pretty good.”
Columbus, a duals state champion in its classification last season, got the best of the Greyhounds in the final round, winning 51-19 with individual match wins coming from Martin, Lumley, Green and Lewis.
“Columbus is a really good team, a returning state champion with a nationally ranked wrestler. We talk a lot about chasing greatness, and that’s one of the ones we are chasing. To score some points on them, that’s exciting.”
