By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

LAGRANGE – It’s 17 up, and 17 down for the LaGrange High wrestling team.

LaGrange went 4-0 in a tournament at Haralson County on Saturday to improve to 17-0 in dual matches on the season.

A starter was out of the lineup, and LaGrange head coach Scooter Weathers said the other wrestlers did a nice job of filling that void.

“The guys stepped up,” Weathers said. “We bumped up a few weight classes and filled them all, and wrestled well.”

One of those wrestlers who move up a weight class was De’Erious Sands, and Weathers was proud of his effort, especially when he took on a strong opponent from Haralson County.

“He said coach, I want to wrestle him,” Weathers said. “He’s tough, and he’s physical. We bumped up, and he beat him, pinned him in the second period. That was good that he wanted to wrestle somebody that’s heavier. He got after it. We had a good day.”

LaGrange opened with a 61-12 win over Callaway, and it then beat Bremen 70-12, Villa Rica 59-16 and Haralson County 63-18.

“Dual wise, this team top to bottom is real salty,” Weathers said.

LaGrange has only participated in one traditional-format event, and it placed fourth in the Chattahoochee River Wrestling Association tournament.

“We’re a real good dual team,” Weathers said. “I was anxious to see how we’d do in a traditional tournament. For our first one, I was a little disappointed. But, we got that first individual under our belt. Hopefully we can go with it now, and make strides to get better.”