Whitewater wrestlers head to state duals

Whitewater’s wrestling team started 2013 the way they ended 2012 - strong.

The Wildcats took second in the area duals over the weekend and will travel to the state duals for the third consecutive year this weekend. In the quarterfinals, Whitewater topped Creekside, advancing to a semifinal match with Forest Park. The Wildcats got pins from Logan Wesolowski (113), Zach Thorne (126), Max Sultan (132), Austin Penland (138), Joseph Van Meter (145), Barrett Martin (170), Christian Winslett (182), and George Harris (285) against the Panthers and made the championship match against Ola. Harris and Penland both had pins against the Mustangs but Ola won the last three matches and topped Whitewater 36-30.

The Wildcats then had to wrestle against Union Grove for a battle for second place. Harris, Wesolowski, Sultan, Penland and Taylor Daly (185) all contributed to a 45-31 win over the Wolverines.

State duals matches begin in Macon at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Over the Christmas break, Whitewater took second at the Yellow Jacket Invitational at Rockmart High School and second at the Hardaway Invitational in Columbus. In the Yellow Jacket Invitational, Penland and Harris both had first place finishes and Thorne took second place. Sultan and Dylan Davis (195) placed third. In the Hardaway tournament, Sultan, Penland and Harris were all individual champions, while Wesolowski, Thorne, Van Meter and Daly had fourth place finishes and Reid Loveless (106) placed fifth.