NOTEPAD: Wrestling playoffs, National Signing Day and basketball region tournaments

While basketball is heating up in the final stretch of the regular season this week, wrestling is entering playoff sectionals Friday, and plenty of Macon schools will take to the mat this weekend.

One of the most impressive wrestlers in the area is Zelin Pollard, a senior for Howard in the 190 weight class. Also a standout on the football field, Pollard amassed a 52-8 record this season and finished second in his qualifying tournament ahead of this week’s sectionals. He will face Lucas Pruett of East Hall in his first match.

The 3A Section will be held at LaGrange High School this Saturday.

On the team side, the Northeast Raiders boast one of the better collective resumes in Bibb County. The Raiders won the Bibb County championship and have three players — Kingston Askins, Daniel Hicks and Idris Muhammad — with at least 24 wins. 

Another impressive Bibb County wrestler is Southwest’s Jamarion Hill. A senior in the 165 weight class, Hill rolled to a 32-2 record this year and placed first in his qualifying tournament. He will face off against Cayleb Sanford of Vidalia in a Friday sectionals match.

Anthony Adorno (18-2) and Keishaun Davis (26-6) for Central are two more impressive wrestlers set to compete at
sectionals. 

All of Macon’s A-Division I schools will compete at the A-Division I Section A meet at Social Circle High School Saturday.

Westside and Rutland will compete at the 2A Section A meet at North Murray High School in Chatsworth on Saturday.

On the GIAA side, this weekend’s state championship schedule has not been released yet, but the region championships were completed last week.

Mount de Sales and Stratford were the standout Macon schools, each finishing with 158 points to tie for second place behind Piedmont Academy. The Cavaliers had a wrestler finish fourth place or better in all but three weight classes and had three wrestlers — Desmond Brown in 113, Blake Jones in 120 and Maurice Hoskins in 285 — win their respective weight classes.

Stratford’s David Garnett took first place in the 175 class, while FPD’s Bennett Lake topped the 190 leaderboard. Dysen Mendoza got a win for Windsor, taking first place in the 132 weight class.

The GIAA State Championships are scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, according to the GIAA website. A bracket has not been released on FloWrestling or TrackWrestling.

Some regular season hoops champs still up in the air

With region tournaments just around the corner, lots of regions housing Macon basketball teams are still searching for a regular season champion.

The Central girls were one of the first Bibb County squads to clench a regular season title, and they did it in style with a double-overtime win against ACE at home on senior night Tuesday. It’s the third straight region title for the Chargers, and an impressive one considering the move to Region 2-A Division I, a 10-team league with several squads earning a top-10 ranking during the year.

The Southwest Patriots boys team was hoping for some luck after it dismantled Bleckley County on the road Tuesday night 62-36, but the Patriots will have to settle for second place in Region 2. The Dublin Fighting Irish snagged first place with a win Tuesday and will host the region semifinals and finals next weekend, their win against Southwest proving a crucial one. Southwest’s 19-2 overall record unfortunately consisted of two region losses.

At the Region 2-2A level, the Westside boys earned the chance to win the region thanks to a 12-point victory over Jackson Tuesday. The Seminoles will travel to Morgan County with the top spot in the region on the line Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

The Westside girls were not as fortunate, as Morgan County clinched the region title regardless of the outcome of Saturday’s game thanks to a perfect record in region play so far.

In Region 4-3A, both of Howard’s teams are out of it thanks to strong showings by Cross Creek and Baldwin. The Cross Creek boys in particular have dominated, rolling to a 22-1 record overall and easily claiming the region.

At the GIAA level, Stratford and Tattnall boys are still jockeying for the top spot in District 6-4A/3A. The Trojans are one spot ahead thanks to their thrilling win on a buzzer-beater last week, but the two teams rematch Friday night to give Stratford a chance at revenge, though Tattnall appears to have the tiebreaker edge.

On the girls side, Stratford put themselves in great position with an impressive win over region rival Piedmont last week. Barring a mishap against Tattnall Friday, the Eaglettes will have control of the regular season standings.

Region tournaments begin next week for most Bibb County schools.

Clayton State dominates National Signing Day in Macon

After some interesting commitments last week, some of Macon’s best athletes officially signed on to play college sports Wednesday morning and afternoon.

Nick Woodford was one of the more high profile signings, as the star running back for the Northeast Raiders officially signed with Morehouse after committing there last week. Another local stud rusher, Westside’s Kadiphius Iverson, made his commitment to Alabama A&M official Wednesday as well.

Northeast had a total of five athletes set to sign, including star linebacker Santana Balkcom, who committed to Fort Valley State earlier this year. Lineman Zantavious Towles and receivers Zahkie Denson and Micaiah Howard signed with Clayton State. 

Other athletes signing included Westside’s Courtavious Colemond, who signed with Elizabeth City State. The Seminoles’ receiver Tristan Houston followed the trio of Northeast players and signed with Clayton State Central’s Nikee Walker and Southwest’s Marquis Hutchings, Kyle Jefferson and Jamerea Watkins all signed with Clayton State as well.