Morgan County had a strong showing at last week's Class 2A sectional round of the traditional tournament.
The Mat Dogs sent 13 grapplers to sectionals, as eight moved on to the state competition in Macon on Thursday.
Morgan County head coach Duane Turner is excited for the guys who advanced and get to wrestle for a state title.
“I’m proud of all eight guys who made it to state,” Turner said. “All of them have a great opportunity to place.”
The coach believes junior Clay Turner and senior Paul Bessette will “lead the way” for Morgan County in Macon.
“We knew before the season that Paul was going to be a leader and have success,” Turner said. “He has been a varsity starter all four years. Clay was a backup in ninth and 10th grades, so seeing him step up has been a blessing.”
Last week, Turner placed first in the heavyweight division, while Bessette finished third in the 138-pound weight class. The two veteran Mat Dogs have been some of the team’s most consistent competitors this year.
The other six Morgan County wrestlers who qualified for state were Jarrett Standard (106), Lachlen Behrndt (113), Blake Atkinson (126), Judson Carter (144), Kaleo Wilcoxson (190), and Jatavious Ward (215). Evan Moss (144) will also be traveling to Macon with the Mat Dogs as an alternate.
Last season, Morgan County had eight wrestlers qualify for the state traditional tournament at the Macon Centreplex. However, the Mat Dogs graduated four state qualifiers, and two decided to focus on other sports.
Bessette and Wilcoxson are the only returning qualifiers. The other six wrestlers will be in Macon for the first time.
Turner believes the program is in a good place despite losing six state qualifiers from last season.
“As for the program, we have tried to do a good job of reloading every year,” he said. “We had four solid seniors last year and two other state qualifiers who decided to focus on other sports this year. So to lose six of eight qualifiers from last year and to have eight again this year is a testament to our depth year in and year out.”
Morgan County will begin wrestling on Thursday morning at the Macon Centreplex.