For 4 members of the Bainbridge Bearcat Wrestling Team the year with a trip to the state tournament in Gwinnett, GA. The 4 that qualified for the tournament were Kole Gilbourn, Brian Ordonez, Brock Merchant, Kevin Hill and Jordan Jeffery.

Jordan Jeffery, Kevin Hill, Kole Gilbourn, Brock Merchant and Coach Chad Smith
Each wrestler went in to the tournament with no state qualifying experience except for one, Brock Merchant at the 160 lbs class. All the young men went in with a clear head, and pounding pulse. It can be overwhelming at first but the boys held it together while staring down at the floor full of 12 mats and thousands of future competitors.

In the first match Kole Gilbourn's opponent would eventually be the 3rd place medalist for the tournament. Both wrestlers came into the match aggressive but the match ended with Gilbourn being pinned. As a Sophomore, Kole is one of the very few sophomores that have made it to the state tournament for Bainbridge. He came out of this tournament with a ton of experience and hope for next year.

In the following match Brian Ordonez come crossed the 135 lbs Effingham County wrestler. Brian gave Stone Mountain a strong outing but lost in regulation at the end of the final round by points. Brian is a Junior but this is his 1st year when it comes to wrestling. He was a pleasant surprise on the year and a joy to be around. Brian will return next year as a Senior and a experienced competitor.

Brock Merchant went into his match as the only experienced wrestler at the state level. He drew the Stone Mountain 160 lb. Brock is always the wrestler to go in and give it all he has and this past weekend was no exception. Brock locked up with his opponent and hustled around for 3 rounds but eventually fell by way of pin in the 3rd round. This was Brock’s senior year so he won't be returning next year as a wrestler but hopes to return as an assistant to help coach and led the young wrestlers coming up at the high school level. Brock leaves Bainbridge High with 8 years of experience and will be missed.

In the fourth match of the day, Kevin Hill wrestled West Augusta in the 171 lb weight class. Kevin has been the back bone of the year. He arrived at the tournament with a 12- 4 record and looked promising to advance to the next day. Both wrestlers started out strong but Kevin was dominating the take down battle. Leading the entire match, a penalty was called for locking hands and this gave West Augusta 1 point which tied the wrestlers at 5 to 5 with 10 seconds left. As the clock rolled down, West Augusta defended a takedown attempt and got 2 control points. With 1 second on the clock Kevin suffered a loss in the last round by 2 points. Kevin will be missed and has plans of attending college in Tennessee.

The last match of the day consisted of Jordan Jeffery of the 285 lbs class. Jordan is another young man in his first year of wrestling. Jordan wrestled Sean Carney, whom eventually finished 3rd the in the tournament. Jordan is a great young man who listens very well and has high expectation for himself. He was pinned in the first round.

Coach Chad Smith stated, "I was very proud of how our wrestlers handle themselves and demonstrated great sportsmanship in the face of adversity. There is a lot to be said for this group of young men."