The GHSA Traditional Wrestling State Tournament crowned six teams over the weekend in Macon and those champions headline our final wrestling poll of the year. It would be easy to simply take the top 10 teams from each class based on finish and make that the final rankings. However, many teams excelled during the year that perhaps did not show well at the final tournament and some teams benefitted from the individual aspect of the traditional tournament to finish higher than another team that had previously placed higher at the duals championship last month.
In Class AAAAAA, Archer is clearly No. 1 after sweeping both the duals and the traditional titles. No. 2 Camden County managed to place seven wrestlers, one more than No. 3 Collins Hill, who finished second in Macon on the strength of a pair of champions. The tiebreaker was Camden County’s depth and win over Collins Hill at the Duals in January. No. 5 Roswell moved up after a fourth-place finish in Macon. No. 7 Etowah, No. 8 Cherokee and No. 9 Lowndes were all new to the rankings.
In Class AAAAA, Ware County moves to No. 2 after finishing second in Macon. No. 8 Starr’s Mill, No. 9 Apalachee and No. 10 Union Grove are new while No. 4 Ola, No. 5 Creekview and No. 6 Loganville all moved up.
In Class AAAA, No. 2 Carrollton and No. 3 Alexander flipped spots following their finishes in Macon. Jefferson stayed atop Class AA after winning its 13th straight traditional title with Bremen remaining No. 2 after finishing second. Lovett, Social Circle and Toombs County round out the top five in Class AA. Gordon Lee stayed ahead of Holy Innocents’ in the Class A poll after edging past them in Macon.
The biggest shakeup occurred in Class AAA when Woodward Academy moved up to No. 1 following a title in Macon. Previous No. 1 Banks County slipped to No. 2, staying ahead of traditional tournament runner-up Oconee County. Jackson County and Elbert County moved into the poll at No. 9 and 10, respectively.
Class AAAAAA
1. Archer
2. Camden County
3. Collins Hill
4. North Gwinnett
5. Roswell
6. Kennesaw Mountain
7. Etowah
8. Cherokee
9. Lowndes
10. Parkview
Class AAAAA
1. Pope
2. Ware County
3. Whitewater
4. Ola
5. Creekview
6. Loganville
7. Woodland-Cartersville
8. Starr’s Mill
9. Apalachee
10. Union Grove
Class AAAA
1. Gilmer
2. Carrollton
3. Alexander
4. West Laurens
5. Marist
6. Heritage-Catoosa
7. Locust Grove
8. Southeast Whitfield
9. Chestatee
10. Lumpkin County
Class AAA
1. Woodward Academy
2. Banks County
3. Oconee County
4. Morgan County
5. Buford
6. Sonoraville
7. McNair
8. Rockmart
9. Jackson County
10. Elbert County
Class AA
1. Jefferson
2. Bremen
3. Lovett
4. Social Circle
5. Toombs County
6. GAC
7. Fitzgerald
8. East Laurens
9. Monticello
10. Spencer
Class A
1. Gordon Lee
2. Holy Innocents’
3. Commerce
4. Mount Zion-Carroll
5. Athens Christian
6. Darlington
7. Irwin County
8. Strong Rock Christian
9. George Walton Academy
10. ELCA