25 high

school wrestling teams met last Friday and Saturday for

the largest South Metro Invitational in history.

The

tournament, held at Eagle's Landing High School, featured

282 wrestlers, including many state champions and

placers. The four teams from Fayette County did well,

with three of the teams finishing in the top 10.

Starr's

Mill won the tournament with 295 points. They were

followed by Woodward Academy, which finished with 235

points. Seven Starr's Mill wrestlers made it to the

finals and many of their younger and inexperienced

wrestlers scored points, helping their team to victory.

Gary James finished first in the 103 weight class, while

Kevin Trickey (112) placed fifth and Scott Hartpence

(125) placed sixth.

Jason

Kiefer finished second to McIntosh's Eddie Smith at 130.

Freshman Scott Molleson also scored team points at 130.

Ariston Bowers took first place at 140, Christopher

Coleman placed first at 145 and Drew Cofty placed first

at 152. Matt Fuhrman placed second at 160, Stephen

Behringer placed second at 189 and Tony Tofanelli

finished in fifth place at 215.

Coach

Mickey Statham feels that his team is still getting into

wrestling shape. Many of his wrestlers played football

for the high school and have not been practicing as long

as the others. The Panthers will host their own

tournament this weekend, featuring teams like Berkmar,

Alexander and Newton. The Starr's Mill Invitational will

begin at 6 p.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Fayette

County finished fifth , with 150.5 total points. The

Tigers had five wrestlers make the finals of the

tournament. Jarrod Bailey took first place at 135, Brad

West finished second to Bowers at 140, Justin Lane placed

sixth at 145 and Nick Salters and Phillip McFarlin each

placed fourth at 160 and 171 respectively.

"We

could have wrestled better, but I'm not

disappointed," said Coach Jim Bailey. "We still

have starters out and it is still early in the

season." The Tigers will participate in the

Brookwood tournament this weekend, with wrestling

beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday and at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

The

McIntosh Chiefs, last year's South Metro Champions,

finished in seventh place this year with 137.5 total

points. Freshman Ricky Smith (112) and his brother Eddie

(130) each placed first. Carlos Dinkins took third at

119, Jerry Fochtmann took fifth at 125 and Michael Lee

finished third at 160. Coach Hutsell believes that his

team is inexperienced and tournaments like this one will

only help them as wrestlers.

McIntosh

will head to the McCallie Invitational this weekend in

Chattanooga, TN. The tournament will put the Chiefs up

against some tough competition, which will only prepare

them more for the McIntosh Christmas Classic, which will

be held next Tuesday and Wednesday at McIntosh. The

tournament will feature 38 teams and some of the biggest

names in wrestling in the state will be there. The

wrestling will begin at 9 a.m. on both days.

Sandy Creek

attended the South Metro Invitational and placed 19th.

They scored a total of 60 team points. John Hilton

wrestled well for the team, placing sixth at 103. Many of

Hilton's matches went to overtime and were very close.

Joey Singleton took fifth place at 119, losing to some

very tough competition, while Larry Wright placed fourth

at 140. The 140 weight class included four state placers

from last year's state meet.

"It's

been slow going, so far," Coach Damian Belvedere

said. "The team is together now and now we have to

make sure everybody is on the same page." The team

hopes to get Jonathan Callahan back this week from an

injury. The Patriots will participate in the Caveman

Duals at Northgate High School this Saturday.