Thirty-three

teams gathered at McIntosh High School last week for the

annual McIntosh Christmas Classic wrestling tournament.

The top

high school wrestlers gather in what is likely to be a

preview of the state meet at the end of the season. Three

of the four county teams participated in the tournament:

Fayette County, Sandy Creek and, of course, McIntosh. If

this was a preview of the state tournament, they each

have a ways to go.

Troup

County, ranked second in AAA in the state, won the

tournament with 247.5 points. Harrison came in second

with 212.5 points, while Morgan County placed third

overall with 178 points. As for our local teams, Fayette

County placed 12th, scoring 79.5 points, McIntosh placed

16th with 73.5 points and Sandy Creek, which brought only

five wrestlers, placed 31st with 25 points.

Sandy

Creek's John Hilton (103) was the school's only placer in

the tournament. He finished fifth overall. Hilton beat

some competitors that he had lost to previously this

season. Larry Wright hurt his wrist in the tournament and

could not wrestle further. Ryan Stanfield also won

several matches for the Patriots.

Sandy

Creek's varsity team is off until its contest with Forest

Park Jan. 4, but Sandy Creek will host the South Metro

Junior Varsity Invitational Thursday at 9 a.m.

McIntosh

coach Marty Hutsell was a bit disappointed with his

team's performance. Their only two placers were Ricky and

Eddie Smith. Ricky (112) placed fifth, while Eddie (130)

placed third. Eddie lost in overtime to a wrestler he

beat one week ago, two-time state placer from Harrison

Michael Powell. The Chiefs head to Fitzgerald this

Wednesday and Thursday and then are off until the War

Eagle Classic Jan. 7 and 8.

Fayette

County also produced only two placers: Jarrod Bailey

(135) placed third and Brad West (140) placed fourth.

The one

positive that both Fayette County and McIntosh take from

the tournament is that their region is wide open. Fayette

County gave the strongest performance among region 4-AAAA

teams, but LaGrange was close with 77.5 points and

Stockbridge came in behind McIntosh.

The region

meet will be in February and at this point it is

anybody's game.