Southland Wrestlers finish in third place at Glory Days Tournament

Published 4:42 am Tuesday, January 21, 2020

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AMERICUS – The Southland Academy Raider Wrestling Team turned in a strong showing as they finished in third place at the second annual Glory Days Tournament hosted by Southland Academy (SA) Friday and Saturday, January 17-18.

The Raiders finished behind tournament runners-up George Walton Academy, while Bulloch Academy ended up winning the tournament.

“It was a good two-day tournament. Each one of my wrestlers ended up getting at least seven matches so it’s getting us prepared for state for a two-day tournament,” SA head coach Mike Smith said. “Overall, we wrestled well and we’ve got a little time to get better.”

There were a total of 13 schools, including SA. Competing in this tournament and wrestlers competed in 14 weight classes ranging from 106 lbs. to 284 lbs.

Southland Academy’s John Saye (yellow) ended up finishing in third place in the 220 lb. weight class at the Glory Days Tournament at Southland Academy this past weekend.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

In the 106 lb. weight class, Sullivan Ryan of Bulloch Academy finished in first place, followed by Banks Durrance of Pinewood Christian and James Major Johnson of Gatewood. In the 113 lb. weight class, Bulloch’s Garrett Sapp took home first place, followed by Wesley Tippins of Pinewood Christian and Boone Pope of Piedmont Academy.

Tanner Humphrey was the only Raider to take home a first-place finish. The defending state champion finished in the winner’s circle in the 120 lb. weight class. Antonio Del Vecchio of Valwood came in second place and Spencer Sharp of Bulloch Academy came in third in the 120 lb. weight class. Humphrey was able to beat Del Vecchio in an extremely hard-fought match. “He’s a great wrestler Del Vecchio,” Humphrey said. “Just working smarter, not harder…try to conserve energy and get points and try to not give up any points.”

In the 126 lb. weight class, Perry Jake Stone of George Walton Academy took home first place and his teammate, Nico Eberhardt, finished in second. Nathan Dummitt of Stratford Academy finished in third place in that weight class.

Tanner Humphrey with his first-place medal after winning the championship of the 120 lb. weight class at the second annual Glory Days wrestling tournament held at Southland Academy.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

Beau Mitchell of George Walton finished as the champion in the 132 lb. weight class, followed by Adam Massey of Bulloch Academy and Jordan Cadiere of Gatewood.

SA’s Landon Griffin had a fine showing as he took third place in the 138 lb. weight class. Ryan Denhardt of George Walton Academy came in second, while Ben Becker of Bulloch Academy ended up being the champion in the 138 lb. weight class.

Will Rhodes was another Raider who turned in a strong showing in the tournament. Rhodes finished as the runner up in the 145 lb. weight class behind champion Harrison Wren of Bulloch Academy. There was a tie for third place in that weight class between Agnus Bateman of George Walton and Levi Collins of Gatewood.

Colman Fort gave the Raiders another second-place finish. Fort finished as the runner up in the 152 lb. weight class behind first-place finisher Chris Sperin of George Walton. Clay Williams of Creekside Christian Academy finished in third place in the 152 lb. weight class.

Southland Academy’s Kolden Kinney pins his opponent at the Glory Days wrestling tournament.
Photo by Ken Gustafson

In the 160 lb. weight class, Marj Coley Jr. of Tiftarea Academy took home first place, followed by Hunter Hogan of Stratford Academy. George Walton’s Michael Dagenhardt finished in third place in that weight class.

In the 170 lb. weight class, George Walton’s Patrick Morris took home first place, followed by Alex Ahn of Brandon Hall. Camden Johns of Pinewood Christian finished in third place.

The final Raider to finish as a runner up was Tyler Joyner. Joyner finished in second place in the 182 lb. weight class behind Jake Wasdin of Bulloch Academy, who finished as the champion. Brock Heath of Pinewood Christian finished in third place.

In the 195 lb. weight class, Stratford Academy’s Kieran MacKinnon finished as the champion and Jayson Wright of John Milledge was the runner up. Charles Dodds of Bulloch Academy finished in third place.

John Saye was the final Raider to finish in the top three, finishing in third place in the 220 lb. weight class. Saye finished behind runner up Jesus Gonzalez of Bulloch Academy and 220 lb. weight class champion Evans Plowden of Deerfield-Windsor.

In the 285 lb. weight class, Korbett MacGregor of Pinewood Christian finished as the champion and Gray Morgan of Piedmont Academy finished in second place. Josh Davis of Bulloch Academy finished in third place.

Up next for the Raider wrestlers is a trip down US Highway 19 to Leesburg, GA on Tuesday, January 28, for a non-conference meet at Lee County High School. The meet will get underway at 5 p.m.