Georgia 2A Section B
Fan's Guide
NOTE: There is no narrative as a result of the delay of the region/area tournaments being pushed to this week. I apologize - we simply ran out of time to do a deeper dive.
Welcome to our Fan’s Guide for the Georgia 2A Section B Tournament.
For those of you new to SEWrestle, or for anyone who has never read one of our Fan’s Guides, this is a brief introduction to what you’ll be seeing over the next two weeks. If you already know (or have already read this in another section) - jump below to see what we think.
The Fan’s Guide is a look at the tournament as a whole—and at each individual weight class—from a fan’s perspective. It is not a prediction of who will win a title or who will stand on the podium. Instead, it highlights key storylines and pieces within each bracket that make the tournament compelling.
Each Fan’s Guide includes the following:
Favorite – The wrestler who enters the tournament as the perceived front-runner, or the athlete who appears to have the best shot at the top step based on past results and accomplishments.
Contenders – Wrestlers who should punch their ticket to the state tournament and have the potential to make a legitimate run at a title. Winning a section championship guarantees nothing next weekend—but it still matters (and we’ll talk about why later).
Darkhorse – Typically a wrestler who finished 2nd or 3rd at an area or region tournament, but has the tools to make a deep run and earn a spot at the state tournament.
Bracketbuster – A wrestler who finished 3rd or 4th in their area or region, yet wouldn’t surprise us at all if they disrupt the bracket and qualify for state.
Isn’t that kind of a prediction?
Yes - and no.
We do identify a favorite, but beyond that, predicting who will navigate the bracket and ultimately claim a championship is foolish. High school wrestling is unpredictable. Few wrestlers—if any—are unbeatable. While we can lean on past results and accomplishments to make educated observations, outcomes are never guaranteed.
At the end of the day, we’re fans just like you.
Our hope is that every athlete goes out, competes to their ability, and gives themselves the best chance to achieve their goals. The sole purpose of our Substack, Facebook, Instagram, Fan’s Guides, photos, and coverage is simple: to promote the sport of wrestling in the Southeast.
Have a great weekend, enjoy the wrestling, and best of luck to everyone competing.
The sectional tournament is a lot like the first half of a football game or the early rounds of a golf tournament, where the mantra is simple: you can’t win it in first or second round, but you can absolutely lose it.
Wrestling well this weekend means one thing—you’ve advanced to the big dance. It promises nothing about what happens next weekend. But if I’ve learned anything about this sport over 40 years of competing, coaching, and now writing about it, it’s this: putting yourself in a good position heading into the state tournament matters. A lot.
Take a look at a few numbers from last year’s Georgia postseason:
Out of 84 state champions, just 10 did not win their section the week before.
Of those 10, only three failed to make their section finals.
Cael Kusky injury-defaulted to sixth at sectionals but went on to win his fourth state title, so we’ll set that one aside.
That leaves just two true outliers:
Andrew Battle (Mt. Zion–Jonesboro), who finished fourth at sectionals and won the 3A 285-lb. state title
Wyatt Bunch (Toombs County), who finished sixth at sectionals and won the 1A 126-lb. state title
Winning this weekend does not guarantee a state title—there are only 14 of those per class. But history shows us that it does put you in the best position, and gives you the highest probability, to make a legitimate run to the top step.
That’s the reality of the postseason—and why this weekend matters so much.
Now onto the Fan’s Guide …
Teams
Although there is no official team race at sectionals, it’s still telling to look at which programs have put themselves in the best position coming out of the Area/Region tournaments. As we’ve talked about before, none of this guarantees anything once we reach the state tournament—but just as sectionals can set a team or individual up for success at the state tournament, the Area/Region round does the same for this weekend.
Take a look at the numbers below. For me, the most interesting metric is section conversion rate—the number of wrestlers a team entered at Area/Region divided by how many ultimately advanced to sectionals. It’s a simple stat, but it says a lot about depth, consistency, and how efficiently a lineup is performing when the pressure starts to rise.
106 lbs
Favorite: Kannon Chambers - Rockmart
Contenders
Bryson Thornton - Appling County
Colt Carroll - Franklin County
Ethan Jones - Morgan County
Nyjm Hutchins - Crisp County
Darkhorse: Bentley Brophy - Sonoraville
Bracketbuster: Aiden Bristol - Cook
113 lbs
Favorite: Eli Bowman - Rockmart
Contenders
Colton Bullard - Cook
Jamarion Dykes - Glenn Hills
Brody Buckley - East Jackson
Christian Fleming - Hart County
Darkhorse: Alejandro Reyes - Sonoraville
Bracketbuster: Martelle Davis - Crisp County
120 lbs
Favorite: Eli Flowers - Union County
Contenders
Chaz Graham - Rockmart
Angel Rodriguez - East Jackson
Gregory Sallet - Pierce County
Kevin Sims - Butler
Darkhorse: Isaac Gallegos - Sonoraville
Bracketbuster: Sam Williams - Franklin County
126 lbs
Favorite: Mason Smith - East Jackson
Contenders
Luke Mealor - Sonoraville
Tripp Clay - Rockmart
Blake Atkinson - Morgan County
Marcus Clemons - Appling County
Darkhorse: Ja’Caden Wheeler - Hart County
Bracketbuster: Aiden Hyatt - Union County
132 lbs
Favorite: Major Chambers - Rockmart
Contenders
Kaydon Roberts - Franklin County
Timothy Walden - Cook
Thomas Gary - Union County
Harrison Jackson - Morgan County
Darkhorse: Xavier Clemons - Appling County
Bracketbuster: Tyler Gordon - Crisp County
138 lbs
Favorite: Sawyer Johnson - Rockmart
Contenders
Harris Holley - Cook
Riley Mortenson - Union County
Keylan Martin - Hart County
Lachlen Behrndt - Morgan County
Darkhorse: Tylis Harrell - Appling County
Bracketbuster: Jaxon Norwood - Franklin County
144 lbs
Favorite: Hagen Sharp - Rockmart
Contenders
Carter Woodall - Cook
Trey Silva - Franklin County
Chris Turner - Morgan County
Ethan Meisinger - Holy Innocents
Darkhorse: Michael Lindsey - Union County
Bracketbuster: Carter Brock - Sonoraville
150 lbs
Favorite: Josh Baughcum - Franklin County
Contenders
Cooper Davis - Pierce County
Garrett Krous - Stephens County
Kennith Fiers - Rockmart
John Berry - Butler
Darkhorse: Logan Kennedy - Cook
Bracketbuster: King Campbell - Hart County
157 lbs
Favorite: Paxon Legatt - Union County
Contenders
Jeremiah Amos - Cook
Tristen Moran - Sonoraville
Finn Ferrero - Holy Innocents
Khalil Dunbar - Butler
Darkhorse: Colton Roberts - Franklin County
Bracketbuster: Carter Fowler - Stephens County
165 lbs
Favorite: Zane Puff - Franklin County
Contenders
Maliq Vickers - Cook
Kole Smith - East Jackson
Joshua Arroyo - Burke County
Phillip Griffin - Holy Innocents
Darkhorse: Devonte Poole - Appling County
Bracketbuster: Knox Pierce - Hart County
175 lbs
Favorite: Sakai Bennett - Butler
Contenders
Kevin Kilpatrick - Union County
Harrison Carnine - Cook
Evan Reed - East Jackson
Rayf Elrod - Sonoraville
Darkhorse: Beau Bennett - Hebron Christian
Bracketbuster: Hunter Nichols - Franklin County
190 lbs
Favorite: Jake Gravitt - Rockmart
Contenders
Chase Wingfield - East Jackson
Kaleo Willcoxson - Morgan County
Rolando Gonzalez - Cook
Darkhorse: Fidel Jaramillo - Sonoraville
Bracketbuster: Chamberlien Thompson - Appling County
215 lbs
Favorite: Thomas Dougherty - Holy Innocents
Contenders
Jit Ward - Morgan County
Jay’lynn Everett - Pierce County
Kenyon Harris - Hart County
Edwin Burt - Appling County
Darkhorse: Emer Jacinto - East Jackson
Bracketbuster: Akeem Bateman - Cook
285 lbs
Favorite: Paul Jenkins - East Jackson
Contenders
Kyle Terrell - Cook
Colton Chappell - Rockmart
Jamari Mundy - Morgan County
Branson Mathews - Sonoraville
Darkhorse: Langston Brooks - Franklin County
Bracketbuster: Lee Brown - North Cobb Christian