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White County's Caden Autry pins Archer's MJ Maze during the Hook'Em Holiday Classic last week at Lambert High School. Autry won the 120-pound division title with a 4-0 record. (Photo/Mark Turner)
The White County Warriors capped off the holiday break last week by wrestling in the Hook'Em Holiday Clash in Suwanee.
The Warriors finished ninth among 25 teams in the event. North Forsyth wont the team title with 214 points, with West Forsyth second at 192, and Lambert was third at 168.5. Archer and Fannin County rounded out the Top 5, followed by Lassiter, Jones County, Mountain Brook (Ala.), WCHS, and Cherokee.
The Warriors had three wrestlers finish land on the medal podium. Sophomore Caden Autry won the 120-pound title, while Kane Lowery was second at 170-pounds, and Davin Lightsey was third in the 106-pound class.
Autry posted a 4-0 record to claim the championship in his weight class. The tournament title was the second for Autry in his prep career.
“It feels good to come out here and win a big tournament,” Autry said. “I knew there would be some good guys in this tournament, like I'll see at state, and I l know I'm wrestling at a high level.”
He started things off with a 16-0 technical fall over Jones County's Jackson Brown, and recorded a fall over Cherokee's Devin Mays in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals,
Autry pinned Archer's MJ Maze midway through the second period to set up a showdown with West Forsyth's Santosh Bonda in the championship match.
The two wrestlers traded points through the three periods, with Autry hitting move in the third period to clinch an 8-6 win.
Autry said he was prepared for Bonda after watching his matches throughout the tournament.
“Wrestle smart, I knew he likes cradles from watching his matches,” Autry said. “I kind of went in there knowing to stay calm and cool, but be aggressive at the same time.”
Lowery posted three consecutive pins to earn a spot in the 170-pound finals. He pinned John Creek's Kabir Umer midway through the opening period of his first match, and followed with another first period pin in the quarterfinals against Cherokee's Chris Lindeborg.
In the semifinals, Lowery needed only 49 seconds to pin West Forsyth's Matthew Rogers.
In the finals, Lowery battled Lassiter's Anthony Fiorenza through the first two periods before Fiorenza came up with a pin with nine seconds left in the second period.
Lightsey had a 3-1 record to finish third in the 106-pound class.
He opened with an 8-2 win over Jackson Gore from Byrnes, S.C. In the quarterfinals, Lightsey dropped a 10-8 decision to Mountain Brook's Stephen Springfield. But Lightsey bounced back to win two matches in the consolation round. He pinned Hampton's Dej-Ann Angus early in the second period, and then won the third place match over Lassiter's Isaac Hoshide. Lightsey was up late in the first period when Hoshide injured his shoulder and could not continue, giving Lightsey the win by injury default.
At 195-pounds, Jeb Robinson posted a 3-2 record, posting a pair of pins and a win by forfeit before falling to Jones County's Marquez Hunt in the consolation semifinals.
Sidney Sullens competed in the 160-division, posting a 2-2 record. She the fastest pin of tournament in the opening, needing only 10 seconds to knock off Hampton's Jake Harper, and posted another pin during the consolation round.
Ashton Pickett went 2-2 at 145 pounds, posting two pins, while Isiah Whitlow was 2-2 in the 113-pound division, posting a pin and a forfeit win. Trenton O'Kelly was 1-2 in the 220-pound class, picking a pin
Aiden Pickett (106)m Bryson Ravan (126), Mason Autry (132), Jacob Beisterfield (145), Christian Kehely (152), Jon Scott (160), and Tyler Long (182) also compete in the tournament.