The Chattooga wrestling team took part in the Class AA State Wrestling Tournament over the weekend. All five classifications convened on the Arena at Gwinnett for the three-day event, due to the inclement weather that passed through the state last weekend. The Georgia High School Association (GHSA) canceled the sectional tournaments and advanced all 32-area winners to the state tournament for a weekend full of wrestling. Each wrestler would battle through a 32-man bracket instead of the scheduled 16-man brackets in quest for a state title.

Jefferson High School won the state title for class AA in the team standings with 270 team points. It was Jefferson’s 10th consecutive state title. This year, Henry County finished second with 175 points and Lovett came in third with 168.5 points. After finishing 15th  in 2009, Chattooga finished 14th this year in the team standing with 61 points. Other 7-AA teams in the standings were Sonoraville (4th), Dade (7th), Adairsville (16th), Calhoun (19th), Pepperell (20th), Model (22nd) and Armuchee (45th).

Five Chattooga wrestlers advanced to the state tournament and three brought home medals from the event. Seniors Cody Siffles and Austin Burdick finished fourth and freshman J. J. Blankenship finished sixth.

“They competed hard and lost with class. I’ve gotten compliments all year about our kids and how hard they wrestle and how they carry themselves,” said Chattooga wrestling Coach Clay Livingston. 

After sitting out the first part of his senior season due to eligibility issues, Cody Siffles ended his career with a (124-50) record and 70 pins. After losing early at state, Siffles battled back and took fourth in the 135 weight class.

“He lost two matches on the year and both those kids; I think one of them finished third and the other finished fifth. One of the kids he lost to was in the championship rounds, he came back and beat him in the wrestle backs. So that was very impressive that he did not go out there with his mind made up that he could not beat that kid cause that kid beat him 7-3 in the second round,” said Coach Livingston. Cody went 5-2 at state.

Senior Austin Burdick finished fourth at 152 pounds with a season record of (52-6).

“He wrestled his heart out. I don’t think I have ever had a kid that was beat up as bad as Austin was this season. He has had a broken nose and a banged up shoulder. Friday morning at state he woke up and his knee was the size of a softball. To still come back and get fourth was pretty impressive. He beat the eventual state champion from Calhoun at area, I wish we would have had another chance to wrestle him but it just didn’t work out for him. With all the injuries and to finish up the year 52-6 that was great. Two of his losses coming to the AA state champion and another to the AAAA state champion. His season was better than a fourth; it just did not work out that way. He was our leader in the room and led the team in just about every stat: wins, takedowns, near falls, reversals. He did it all for us this year,” said Coach Livingston.

Freshman J. J. Blankenship may have had the most impressive run through the season and throughout the state tournament. “He wrestled really well. Every match that he lost was to a kid that placed. He took the Henry County kid into overtime. He went down 7-2 in that match and came back to 7-7 and had a chance. That kid was pretty tough. I was real proud of him to be a freshman, first time out there and 2,000 people in the stands. A lot of kids kind of have a meltdown but he really did well,” said Coach Livingston. Blankenship finished out his rookie season with a 41-7 record with 33 pins and a 4-2 record at state.

Two other Chattooga wrestlers took part in the weekend tournament, Isaiah Bagley and Brandon Siffles. Siffles, the 2009 119-pound state champion, went 2-2 on the weekend. He met the eventual state champion in the quarterfinals. “That’s unfortunate because those two probably should have been in the finals. We had the kid on his back in the first period. We had him cradled up. Usually when he gets you on your back it’s done. To that kid’s credit he fought off his back, fought back and won the match. Brandon lost three matches all year long. He lost to a kid that finished third in Tennessee, he lost to the AA state champion and he lost to a kid that finished sixth,” said Coach Livingston. Because of the 32-man brackets, day one was single elimination. Bagley fell in the first round and was eliminated. Once the brackets were down to 16 wrestlers, the tournament was double elimination.