Putnam County High School’s wrestling team competed at Sharpsburg Dec. 9-10, in the South Metro Invitational, the longest-running tournament in Georgia since its 1971 debut.
Once the final match was decided, the War Eagles had crowned a champion in Amber Winslette with the Girls’ 130-pound title, scored a runner-up for Lily Frisch (Girls’ 115) and secured a trio of 4th-place finishes for Jade Mullis (Girls’ 110), Mark Winslette (Boys’ 165), and Tristan Lower (Boys’ 190).
Meanwhile, Brayon Farley finished 6th for the War Eagles in the Boys’ 157-pound class, as did Kannericka Nelson in the girls’ 235. It all added up to a 14th-place finish for Putnam County in a 24-team field.
The War Eagles wrestlers were back home on Dec. 13, where they triumphed over Washington-Wilkes (78-5) and Jasper County (48-36) at the Eagles Nest.
On Dec. 16, Morgan County High School hosted the next tournament for its Senior Night, but after Westminster bowed out, Morgan coach Jared Rector decided to change the format from a traditional duel to a more informal match.
Rector did not keep a team score for the night, opting instead to match up his seniors to make sure they were able to compete on “their night.” It was a welcome change for Putnam coach Joe Hutsell, too, since six of his starters were out due to attending Christmas parties with their families, so it provided other quality wrestlers an opportunity to share in the spotlight.
As the evening continued, Putnam County won six matches, while Morgan County took nine of its bouts. Brothers Sammy and Scott Ford each claimed wins in their respective weight classes for the War Eagles.
War Eagles Wrestling next competed on Dec. 17, in the Tommy Warren Duals at Oconee County High School and finished the day 3-2. The Putnam wrestlers defeated Cedar Shoals (60-15), Athens Christian (52-24), and Baldwin County (54-21) after falling to Elbert County (43-34) and Oconee County (45-36) in their first two pairings of the day.
While the varsity team visits Monroe Area High School on Dec. 21, for the East Metro Invitational, the girls’ team will compete in the Women’s War Eagle Challenge the same day at Chestatee High School. The girls and JV teams will remain at Monroe on Dec. 22, while the varsity team will move on to Oglethorpe County High School for the Doug Eberhardt Duals.
Following the holiday break, War Eagles wrestlers will return to action at home on Jan. 6-7, in the Area 4-AA Duals at the Eagles Nest, with the girls taking to the mat the first day and the varsity team taking over on Saturday’s Senior Night.