GREYHOUND GRAPPLERS
Unshaken by a roster with lesser experience, the Greyhounds finished second in the region’s wrestling ranks last year, qualifying nine grapplers for the state tournament with three going on to place in the top five.
A bulk of those wrestlers return with two seniors lost to the attrition of graduation.
It’s for that reason that leadership is expected to be a strong suit for the Greyhounds.
Overall, seven state placers from last season are set to return in Hunter McCleskey, Aiden Lipford, Jackson Brown, Arrie Martin, Carson Lumley, Robert Scott and Will Agudelo.
The fact that a good portion of them are seniors should bode well for the Greyhounds.
“We have a great group of seniors; we’re really excited about them,” Greyhounds head coach Adam Gillhouse said. “They’ve won lots of matches and qualified for state.”
There’s more to the Jones County experience than just match time. It’s within the intangibles, too.
“This group has been with us for three years, so they have a solid understanding of what’s expected,” Gillhouse said. “They’ve started to be an extension of us as coaches. They know what to say and what to expect. We only had two seniors last year, so having more this year really helps. When they can police themselves, it’s easier to get things done.”
That experience will be offset by freshmen moving up to the high school level after success in middle school along with some new adds via either moving in or giving the sport a try.
“We’ve got lots of freshmen. We’ve had some move-ins and a few others who decided they want to be a part of what we have going on an want to wrestle,” Gillhouse said. “It’s good to have guys come in and be interested in wrestling.”
Some of those younger wrestlers could have more chances to step up early the season given that Agudelo, Jacob Skinner and Hunter Hardwick also play football. As long as the Greyhounds football season continues, those three making their way to the wrestling mat will be on hold.
“Hopefully, we don’t get to use them until mid-December,” Gillhouse said.
Ola and Locust Grove figure to be the top teams to contend with in terms of a region title. The Mustangs finished third in the state last year.
“Ola and Locust Grove will always be the top teams that we’ll be chasing, and we’re definitely chasing Ola,” Gillhouse said. “That’s the message that we’re preaching, that we are chasing those guys.”
One change from last season is the state duals format. In previous years, the top four teams from the region duals would advance to one of eight four-team prelims that set the field for the state duals. Those preliminaries are gone this year. Instead, each region’s top two teams will automatically advance to state duals, meaning that there will no incentive to lay back and finish third in the region and that much more weight will be riding on the region duals on Jan. 13 at JCHS. The hope for the Greyhounds, who despite finishing second in the region last year but being matched up with eventual state champion Jefferson in prelims, will be to earn a top-two finish and get a spot in the state tournament Jan. 20 at Jefferson.
“The draw we got in the prelims kind of got us last year,” Gillhouse said. “This year with the duals, it makes the region mean a little bit more. You can’t slip up.”
The Greyhounds will get plenty of chances to wrestle close to home at the outset of the season. After a quick trip up the road to be part of the Rhodes Memorial event in Morgan County on Nov. 11, JCHS hosts the Gauntlet in Gray on Nov. 18 with the Main Street Gray Duals on Nov. 25, an event that’s slated to be held outdoors in downtown Gray as part of the city’s holiday festivities.
The Gauntlet in Gray, for example, will welcome teams from southeast Georgia in Brunswick and other top-caliber teams such as Troup and Columbus, which won a state title in its classification last year.
The downtown Gray event will have a uniqueness in its own. With it taking place outdoors, the event will give wrestlers a chance to wrestle in the heart of the community, even possibly in front of those who may have never seen a live high school wrestling match.
“That’s going to be really exciting for our kids, to be able wrestle outside in the front of the community as part of the Christmas festival,” Gillhouse said.
