By Kevin Eckleberry

Sports Editor

The LaGrange Grangers came up a few precious points shy of winning the Area 2-AAA duals a few weeks ago.

The Grangers got a second shot at winning an area championship on Saturday, and they made the most of it.

With 11 LaGrange wres-tlers finishing in the top four in their weight class to qualify for state, the Grangers outlasted Columbus to win the traditional area tournament on Saturday at La-Grange High.

It was also a good day for Troup, which qualified seven wrestlers for state.

A combined five wrestlers from LaGrange and Troup captured individual championships.

LaGrange did it with depth.

The Grangers had wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes, and all but three of them are going to state.

Justin Gilbert (140 pounds), Ivan Dowell (215 pounds) and Braden Duke (125 pounds) each won individual titles for LaGrange.

“They wrestled hard, and they wrestled well,” La-Grange head coach Scooter Weathers said. “They stepped it up. It was a total team effort. They never gave up. They never quit.”

For Gilbert, the area title was his third in fourth years.

Gilbert outlasted his cousin, Troup wrestler LaQuada Gilbert, in the finals.

“I’m proud of the team,” Gilbert said. “We’ve been working hard. We worked especially hard this week. Hard work pays off.”

Dowell, who like Gilbert joined the team late because of football, continued to have a dominant senior season.

Dowell came into Saturday’s tournment with a sterling 25-1 record.

Duke won his first area title in improving to 43-5, and Gilbert now stands at 25-4.

Pete Haralson (112 pounds), Cody Rayburn (130 pounds), Nick Kinder (171 pounds) and Justin Brooks (189 pounds) each finished second for LaGrange.

Third-place finishers for the Grangers were Hunter Williams (103 pounds), Austin Taylor (119 pounds), John Parker (135 pounds) and Matt Pauley (152 pounds).

For Troup, it was a big day for Adam Lundberg (130 pounds) and Zach Latimore (135 pounds), each of whom won an area title.

It was sweet redemption for Lundberg, who was seeded second at last year’s area tournament but failed to qualify for state.

“To win it this year is amazing,” said Lundberg, who beat LaGrange’s Rayburn in the finals.

Going to state, Lundberg said, “is going to be a lot of fun. I can’t wait.”

Latimore wasn’t even in the lineup last year, but he’s been one of Troup’s best wrestlers this season.

“It’s pretty cool. I hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Latimore said.

Troup got second-place finishes from DeMarkis Rosser (285 pounds), LaQuada Gilbert (140 pounds) and Cody McRae (103 pounds).

Also for the Tigers, Jeremy Torbush (125 pounds) was third, and Luke Gay (112 pounds) was fourth.