Starr's

Mill High School's wrestlers continued their winning pace

over the weekend as they hosted the Starr's Mill

Invitational and won it all.

Fourteen

schools entered the two-day tournament, taking on several

tough programs, including the South Metro Invitational

champions, the Starr's Mill Panthers.

The

Panthers finished in first place overall with 247.5

points. Rockmart High School, a AA school, finished in

second place. Starr's Mill had five first place

finishers, five second place finishers, one third place

finisher and one fourth place finisher.

Gary James

(103), Jason Kiefer (130), Ariston Bowers (140),

Christopher Coleman (145), and Drew Cofty (152) all

finished in first place. Kiefer defeated last year's AA

state runner up, Brett Hayes of Rockmart.

Danny

Davidson (135), Matt Fuhrman (160), Rusty Lyle (171),

Stephen Behringer (189), and Tony Tofanelli (215) all

placed second. Scott Hartpence (125) finished in third

and Kevin Trickey (112) finished in fourth.

"We've

been going at it pretty hard recently," said Coach

Mickey Statham. "It's time for a break, both

mentally and physically." The Panthers get some rest

now. They will return to action Thursday, Dec. 30 when

they compete in the St. Pius Duals.

"We

should also get Clint Barbour back after Christmas. We're

not banged up too bad, but the rest is very important

right now."

It would be

a big wrestling weekend for the other local schools as

well. Sandy Creek, Fayette County and McIntosh wrestled

over the weekend and are participating in the McIntosh

Christmas Classic this week.

Fayette

County wrestled in the Brookwood tournament last Friday

and Saturday. The team was missing five starters, one to

weight and four to minor injuries. Despite the obvious

setback, the Tigers tied for sixth place overall,

finishing two points out of fourth place, and had five

wrestlers place in the tournament.

"The

best thing about the Brookwood tournament is that it is a

physical meet," Coach Jim Bailey said. "It's

important for our wrestlers to see some different

styles."

Jarrod

Bailey took first place at 135, while Nick Salters and

Landon Anderson both finished in second place at 160 and

215 respectively. Zach Nelson and Brad West each finished

in third place at 125 and 140 respectively.

"We

would have had a chance at winning the whole thing with

our entire team," said Bailey. "The five

wrestlers that didn't wrestle most likely would have

placed."

The Tigers

will get back one wrestler this week for the McIntosh

tournament but the other four will likely be out until

after Christmas.

McIntosh

brought seven wrestlers to the McCallie Invitational in

Chattanooga, Tenn., and finished 12th out of 25 teams.

The Chiefs produced three placers in the tournament,

including one tournament champion, Eddie Smith. Smith

(130) beat two-time state placer Michael Powell to remain

undefeated on the season. Smith's brother, Ricky,

finished in second place at 112, while Michael Lee

finished in sixth place at 160.

It was a

long weekend for the Chiefs and their coach, Marty

Hutsell. Upon returning to Peachtree City, the team had

to begin preparations for their Christmas Classic. The

tournament stretches over two days and includes 37 teams.

When the tournament began seven years ago, only 16 teams

attended.

If you

consider yourself a good wrestling school with state

caliber wrestlers, it is now almost a necessity to

attend. The action begins around 8:30 a.m. both Tuesday

and Wednesday. Some of the schools attending this year

are Troup County, Harrison and Morgan County.