Seven Dodge County High School (DCHS) Grappling Indians recently competed in the 3-AAA Eastern Sectional Tournament in Madison. Competing in a 16-man bracket against wrestlers from the entire eastern half of Georgia, four emerged with a ticket to the state tournament beginning this week in Macon.
At 106 pounds, freshman Christian Grauberger battled his way through several tough matches and ended the two-day tournament with only one loss to take a hard fought third place finish. At 145 pounds, senior Jacob Danforth, competing in a stacked 16-man bracket, was tested at every turn and ended the tournament in seventh place.
At 220 pounds, senior Jerald Gay surprised everyone winning all his matches and earning the distinction of being our first high school wrestler to enter the finals at the sectional tournament. In the finals, Gay took on the state runner-up from last season and ended the day with a hard fought second place.
Rounding out the competition at 285 pounds, junior Aaron Spires tackled some tough competition in the heavy weight division and earned a fifth place finish.
Also wrestling for Dodge County but falling short of earning a state bid was Clayton Scarborough, 113 pounds; Jared Cannon, 138 pounds; and Justin Warnock, 195 pounds. Paul Herman, 126 pounds, who attended as an alternate, was unable to wrestle.