If you have

followed region 4-AAAAA wrestling this year, you know that Starr's Mill

and Fayette County have met several times in hotly contested battles.

The area championship, which took place at Fayette County High School,

was no different.

Starr's Mill

won the area championship with 246 points, while Fayette County placed

second with 187.5 points. McIntosh High School placed fifth in the meet.

Wrestlers from each team were fighting for a top four finish which would

qualify them for this weekend's state tournament. All of Starr's Mill

wrestlers qualified for the state tournament, while several other wrestlers

from the local schools also qualified. The state tournament will take

place in Macon this weekend.

Starr's Mill

freshman Corey Radcliffe (103) defeated Fayette County's Steven Lowery

6-4 in overtime in the championship round. In the 112 pound weight class,

Starr's Mill's Devin King placed second and McIntosh's Ryan Winter placed

third. Chase Verzello, a freshman at Starr's Mill, placed second in 119.

Starr's Mill

juniors Michael Cosper (125) and Tyler Kourajian (130) were named area

champions of their weight class. Kourajian edged out Fayette County senior

Matt Kellerman 4-2 in their fourth meeting of the year, while McIntosh's

Justin Edwards placed third. Fayette County's Steven McElrath placed second

in 135, while Starr's Mill's Davey Woods placed third.

Starr's Mill

freshman Matt Hartpence placed fourth in 140, while Panther senior Scott

Molleson took first in 145 with the team's only pin of the evening. Fayette

County's Patrick Kellerman took third in 145. In 152, Starr's Mill sophomore

Nick Bennett defeated Fayette County's Powell 16-6 for the area title.

Kyle Verzello, a senior at Starr's Mill, posted a 7-0 win over Nick Foster

in 160 for first place. McIntosh's Cameron Hall took third place in 160.

Jordan Powers,

a junior for Starr's Mill, defeated the Tigers' Joe Strickland for the

171 title, while Fayette County's Will Barnes won the 189 title by defeating

Starr's Mill's Ben Griffin. In 215, Fayette County's Chris Leslie won

the title by beating Bradley Conner.

The heavyweight

match between Starr's Mill's Andy Smith and Fayette County's Drake McCoy

went into double overtime. Smith emerged victorious with a 2-1 victory.

Sandy Creek

is sending three wrestlers and one alternate to the AAAA state meet in

Rome, Ga. The three wrestlers are Thomas Whitley (119), Frankie Brand

(135), and Blake Morgan (145). Nick Dorsey is the alternate.

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