High school wrestling state championships: Four locals bring home state titles; Southeast’s Burse becomes first girls champion in Whitfield County history

Published 2:00 pm Monday, February 19, 2024

The 2024 Georgia High School Association Traditional Wrestling State Championships were held Thursday through Saturday in Macon, and four local wrestlers brought home state individual titles to Whitfield and Murray counties.

Southeast Whitfield boasts two. Olli Webb won the Class 4A 120-pound championship, while Southeast’s Terra Burse took home the 190-pound division state championship at the girls state championship. Burse is the first girls state champion in Whitfield County history.

Dalton’s Stryker Woods grabbed the Class 5A 215-pound championship, and Murray County’s Kristopher McGinnis was crowned the Class 2A 150-pound champion.

Webb and Burse lead the way for the Raiders

Webb, who won a Class 4A state championship two years ago as a freshman, finished as a runner-up last season. But Webb got back on top in 2024.

Webb had bye to start off his time in Macon, then downed Central-Carrollton’s Colt Mitchell by fall in the quarterfinals. Webb took down Druid Hills’ Deonte Smith by fall in the semifinals to move on to the state championship bout. Webb dominated the state championship match against Sonoraville’s Noah Chastain, winning 16-1 by technical fall. Webb will head into his senior wrestling season with a pair of state titles already under his belt.

Burse took the girls 190-pound title to become the first girls state champion in Whitfield County history. The GHSA began holding girls state championships in 2018-19, and each weight class crowns a state championship from schools of all classifications. After a bye in the first round, Burse knocked off Carrollton’s Journey Gray by fall in the quarterfinals and defeated Debraysia Doward from Tift County in the semifinals. In the state championship match, Burse dominated Cartersville’s Anetra Witherspoon 9-0 by major decision.

Southeast Whitfield also had a pair of fourth-place finishers. Bryan Ruiz took fourth in the Class 4A, 113-pound division, and Areli Celis was fourth in the 126-pound class. Joseph Morales finished in a tie for fifth in the 215-pound division. Brandon Tapia and Anthony Chacon were also state qualifiers for Southeast.

The Raiders finished sixth in the team standings in Class 4A.

Woods’ championship helped propel strong Dalton showing, Sliger is runner-up

Woods powered his way to a state title in Class 5A’s 215-pound division, becoming the first Catamount to win state since 2021.

After a bye, the sectional champ defeated Coffee’s Samuel Morris by fall in the quarterfinals, then got past Harris County’s Levi Garner by fall in the semis. In the state championship match, Woods defeated John Gill from Woodland in a 9-2 decision to take state.

Dalton’s Randal Sliger also reached a state championship match in the 157-pound division, but fell to Flowery Branch’s Seth Larson and took runner-up. Dalton’s Zaedin Ausmus was a third-place finisher in the 132-pound class. Alex Overby was fourth in 144, and Riley Souther grabbed fourth in 285. Nathen Ridley, Dominick Parks, Junior Deharo, Nathen Hernandez, Ezra Wingfield and Leon Roberson also qualified for state for Dalton. The Catamounts finished fifth in the Class 5A team standings.

McGinnis rises from sixth at sectionals to claim state title

Murray County’s McGinnis was the last state qualifier in his Class 2A, 150-pound sectional, finishing at sixth place.

But McGinnis rose up to roar through the state championship bracket and bring home a state title to Chatsworth.

McGinnis defeated Toombs County’s Slade Landrum in a 7-3 decision in the first round, then beat McNair’s Glenn Simmons by fall in the quarterfinals. An 11-5 decision against Banks County’s Case Hanley put McGinnis in the state championship match, where a 9-6 win on a decision against Rockmart’s Luke Clay gave McGinnis the title.

Murray’s Todd Banks finished third in the Class 2A 126-pound division, and Caleb Blair was fourth in 144. Brayden Thomason also qualified for state for Murray County. Murray finished ninth in the 2A team standings.

North Murray’s Locke finishes as runner-up after last year’s title

After winning a Class 2A title as a freshman last year, North Murray’s Brandon Locke finished one step shy of a repeat in 2024.

Locke reached the state title match in the 2A, 113-pound division, but fell by fall to Rockmart’s Malachi Macedonio.

North Murray’s Elijah Hardin grabbed fourth place in the 120-pound division, and Cody Wheat and Blake Griffin also competed at state for the Mountaineers.

North Murray finished 14th in the 2A team standings.

Creek’s Sanchez is runner-up for third straight year

For a third straight season, Coahulla Creek’s Adonnis Sanchez grabbed a runner-up spot at the Class 3A state championships.

Sanchez reached the 2024 state championship match in the Class 3A, 106-pound division, but Sanchez was toppled by Gordon Lee’s Noah Brown by fall to finish as the runner-up. Sanchez also finished as a runner-up in 2022 and 2023 after a fourth-place finish in 2021.

Coahulla Creek’s Danny Lidy was the third-place finisher in the 138-pound division, and Jackson Lowery, Levi Lowery, Greg Christie, Drake Goff and Preston Giles also wrestled at the state championships for Creek.

The Colts finished 11th in the 3A team standings.

Trio of Bruins finish fifth

Three Northwest Whitfield Bruins finished in a tie for fifth place at the Class 4A state championships.

Daniel Soto grabbed fifth in the 175-pound division, Tony Burnecke was fifth in the 190-pound class, and Landon Phillips was fifth in 215. Holden McCullough, Abraham Hurd, Ethan Williams and Nicholas Ramirez also competed at state for Northwest.

The Bruins were 16th in the 4A team standings.

Torres, Middleton compete for Christian Heritage

A pair of Christian Heritage wrestlers competed at the Class A state championships.

Erik Torres finished in a tie for fifth in the Class A 132-pound division, while Cooper Middleton competed in the 157-pound division.

The two finishes were enough for the Lions to take 20th place in the team standings.