For many of these novice wrestlers, this was the first wrestling tournament that they had ever experienced. The Lowndes Viking Challenge is the most recognized middles school tournament around. The tournament was held in Valdosta with 13 teams attending from all over GA and FL.
The Bearcats of West Bainbridge Middle School and Hutto Middle School went in with inexperienced wrestlers, and only one match under their belt. The one match against the Lee Co. Trojans, who are number one in the region every year, the Bearcats lost to them Thursday night at Hutto coliseum.
As the tournament started 17 out of 20 of the Bearcat wrestlers won their first match, it seemed the wrestlers were there to prove themselves to both the state of Georgia and Florida. A few rounds in eight Bearcats had made it into the semi finals and were in position to bring home medals.
Jose Ramos with tournament 2nd place medal for the 155 wieght class.
Entering the final rounds undefeated were Blake Merchant in the 115 weight class, Justin Faulk the 98 weight class, Jerome Jones the 105 weight class, and Jose Ramos the 155 weight class. Other Bearcat wrestlers entering the semi finals with one loss were Charles Emmanuel, Hunter long, Gracin Herd, and George Clemons who finished strong but out of the medal rounds.
Blake Merchant went into his final two matches pumped, ready, and determined, but fell short by being defeated by Fitzgerald in the first round. Blake showed great heart and will continue to improve as the season goes on.
Justin Faulk lost his final two matches, one by technical decision, and the other by a pin. He took both into the third rounds. Justin showed to be very strong and consistent.
Jerome Jones, the energizer bunny, showed he wanted it bad by running through his opponents until he lost in the semi finals to Suwannee County in the 2nd round. He received a third place medal.
Jose Ramos was our only Bearcat to wrestle for 1st and 2nd place in the finals. He went in to the third round before falling to his opponent by technical decision. Jose finished the tournament with the silver medal.
Coach Chad Smith stated, "I was extremely proud of our Bearcats this past weekend; we were a team of 20 wrestlers against a field of more than 2000 wrestlers. The students’ performance was excellent. They showed heart, determination, and pride to be a Bearcat wrestler."
