11 Tigers advancing to sectionals

After a stellar showing at the Area 4-A tournament last weekend, 11 Commerce wrestlers placed in their respective weight classes, earning them spots at sectionals and a chance to advance to the state tournament.

Tiger head coach Kendall Love says he is enthused that none of his wrestlers’ seasons are over just yet.

“First and foremost, you want the guys to live to see another weekend, and they did just that,” said Love. “For the most part, we wrestled well. There were some matches that I felt like we could have won and should have won, but we are just going to work hard and improve as much as we can next week.”

The sectional tournament will begin at 9 a.m. at Montgomery County High School on Saturday, Feb. 9. The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the state tournament in Macon on Feb. 15-16.

While Commerce wrestlers can expect some different opponents, Love feels that the competitors from Commerce’s area will be the toughest contenders.

“Our area is by far the toughest out of the four,” he said. “Down south, they have a few good individuals, but they have nowhere near the depth we have. I feel like our area is going to take most of the spots in state.”

Area 4-A rivals Holy Innocents’ and Athens Christian are also bringing a host of wrestlers to sectionals and are expected to perform well.

Still, Love says he is confident that his squad will continue to perform at a high level, at sectionals, and at state.

“We aren’t going against anything we haven’t seen,” he said. “I think we are going to represent well.”

Commerce hosted the Area 4-A individuals tournament last weekend. Love called it a “huge success.”

“I want to thank all of the volunteers, our administration and our coaches for helping out and making things go as smoothly as they did,” he added.

Commerce wrestlers placing at area were: First place — Michael Patton (126 lb.), Trent Reddish (170 lb.), Morgan Flint (182 lb.) and Chance McClure (220 lb.). Second place — Grayson Cochran (160 lb.). Third place — Johnny McAbee (132 lb.), Josh Westmorland (138 lb.), Jake Tate (145 lb.) and Cole Sweeney (182 lb.). Fourth Place — Tyreke Wiggins (152 lb.) and Uriah McGlone (285 lb.).