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From Staff Reports

 

DUBLIN, GA – The Southland Academy Wrestling Team (SA) finished as the tournament runner up at the annual Crusaders Invitational held Friday and Saturday, January 10-11, at Trinity Christian Academy in Dublin, GA.

The Raiders were lead by Tanner Humphrey, who won the 120-pound weight class. Humphrey finished the tournament with a record of 7-0 and had six pins.

Landon Griffin also had a strong performance at the tournament. Griffin
finished with an undefeated record of 7-0 with four pins and won the 138-pound weight class.

Griffin’s brother, Keaton Griffin, finished in second place in the 132-pound weight class and won in a sudden-death wrestle off to make it to the finals.

Another Raider that turned in a fine showing was Tyler Joyner. Joyner
provided the highlight of the tournament by pinning a major rival not once, but twice before finishing second in the 182-pound weight class.

John Saye entered the semifinals unbeaten in the tournament and was able to gut out a victory after suffering a pulled hamstring. Saye would go on to take second place in the 220-pound weight class.

The Raiders also got a strong performance from Will Rhodes, who finished in fourth place in the 145-pound weight class. Rhodes finished the tournament with a record of 4-4.
Cayce Joyner also finished tied for fourth place, but was eliminated in
the sudden-death wrestle off. Joyner finished with a record of three wins
and two losses. James Griffin placed fourth in the 160-pound weight class
and finished with a record of 4-3. Colman Fort finished in third place in the 152-pound weight class with a record of 5-2.

Another Raider that had a strong tournament showing was Riley Parker. Parker finished in third place in the 170-pound weight class and finished with a
record of five wins and two losses. Parker was filling in for the injured
Tyler Kennedy, who showed up to support his teammates and helped coach several matches.

Johan Garcia finished outside of the top four, but was able to earn two pins for the Raiders.

There were other Raiders who showed great promise in this tournament. James Wall showed great improvement and also recorded his first varsity pin of the year. Koldin Kinney also participated for the Raiders and had three pins, finishing with a record of 3-2.

In total, the Raiders finished second out of 18 teams, which was extremely pleasing to SA head coach Mike Smith.

“I was really proud of the effort we gave and it showed how hard we have been
working,” Smith said. “We feel good heading into Region.”

The SA Wrestling Raiders will travel to Albany on Tuesday, January 14, to compete at Deerfield Windsor before hosting the Glory Days Tournament Friday and Saturday, January 17-18.