By Kevin Eckleberry

kevin.eckleberry@lagrangenews.com

MACON – It was a state heart-breaker for the Troup High wrestling team.

After overwhelming Perry 67-4 in the opening round of the Class AAAA state duals on Thursday afternoon, Troup squared off with Luella in the second round with a berth in the final four on the line.

It was a tight match, and both teams had an opportunity to win, but it was Luella escaping with a 31-30 victory to advance to the semifinals.

LaGrange also went 1-1 on the first day of the Class AAAA state duals.

After losing a close one to Marist, 36-32 in the first round, LaGrange bounced back to beat Northside-Columbus 58-18 in the second round.

While LaGrange and Troup have been eliminated from championship consideration, they can both still finish as high as third in the state.

The tournament continues at 12:30 p.m. today, and Troup will face Ridgeland, while LaGrange will wrestle Oconee County.

Troup head coach Craig Garner felt the match with Luella would be a tight one, and that’s how it played out.

“We felt there were four pivotal matches that could have gone either way,” Garner said. “Unfortunately, we came out on the losing end. That was a disappointing loss. That was a tough one.”

The good new for the Tigers, who are now 34-4 in dual matches, is that their tournament isn’t over.

“We can still finish third,” Garner said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”

If LaGrange and Troup both win their first matches today, they would wrestle at 7:30 p.m. in an elimination match.

The tournament concludes on Saturday, with the third-place match set for 2 p.m.

BASKETBALL: The Lafayette Christian School Cougars lost to region-leading Arlington Christian 81-72 in a road game on Thursday.

The Cougars were ahead 57-56 through three quarters, but they were outscored 26-17 in the fourth period.

Jonathan Parham led the Cougars with 18 points, and Josh Shepherd added 13 points

In the girls’ game, it was Lafayette Christian falling to Arlington 63-15.

Abbey Hudson led Lafayette Christian with 11 points, and Harmony McCord had four offensive rebounds.