By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

Although his team lost to Smiths Station for the second time this season, LaGrange High wrestling coach Scooter Weathers was pleased with what he saw.

Earlier in the season, Smiths Station overwhelmed the Grangers in a match they were never in.

Saturday morning in the Granger Duals, the two teams met again, and although Smiths Station won 51-27, LaGrange had its chances.

“We had two matches that could have gone either way,” Weathers said. “If we’d won them (by pin), it would ended up tied 39-39. We wrestled a lot better this time.”

As for the rest of the matches Saturday, the Grangers were dominant.

They beat Callaway 48-21, Harris County 48-32 and Newnan 59-24.

LaGrange ended up tied for second with Bowdon in the six-team meet.

Weathers said every match is beneficial for a team that lacks experience.

“We got to throw some young ones in there,” he said. “Of course we’re all young right now.”

Callaway, meanwhile, went 1-4 Saturday, with its lone victory coming over Harris County.

The Cavaliers were hurt by having four weight classes unfilled, meaning they had to forfeit those four matches.

“That was tough, giving away four weight classes,” Callaway coach J.J. Wahl said.

For LaGrange, senior Braden Duke, the Grangers’ top returning wrestler, posted a 4-0 record, as did junior Rhyian Patterson.

Winning two matches for the Grangers were Sam Jenkins, Chris Parker, John Parker, Marcus Lewis, Markevious Leslie, C.J. Robinson and Dillon Crites.

Winning single matches were Bobby Russell, Michael Lee, Josh Fuller, Austin Taylor, Andrew Taylor and Marquis Floyd.

One of the highlights of the day came in one of the final matches when freshman Marquis Floyd, in his first match of the season, won by pin.

For Callaway, Zach McIntyre went unbeaten in four matches, while Ryan Kiss and freshman Sam Mosley each went 2-1.

Brandon Hontz went 3-1, and his lone loss came agains Harris County’s Joey DeNova, who won a state championship last season.

Wahl said twin freshmen Dustin Vaught and Clayton Vaught wrestled well as well, as did junior Casper Wood, who returned to the mat after missing last season.