Heading into the final day of the GHSA Traditional Wrestling State Tournament in Macon, a pair of local teams are sitting in second place in their respective classifications, with Carrollton chasing Gilmer in Class AAAA, while Bremen is on the heels of Jefferson in AA.

Mt. Zion currently is in fourth place in Class A, while Villa Rica and Bowdon also still have wrestlers alive battling for a spot on the podium.

Class AAAAA

Villa Rica has sophomore 138-pounder Tristan Ware grappling for a medal after he reached the semifinals on Friday before suffering an 8-6 setback to drop him into the conso semifinals, where he will begin his quest for a third-place finish at 9:30 this morning.

Senior Josh Ivey (113) went 2-2 over the past two days, falling just one win shy of placing, as did sophomore Sam Preston (120), who also finished 2-2.

Class AAAA

Carrollton has four grapplers in the finals — Rhett Hembree (132), Turner Martin (145), Taylor Lujan (152) and Travis Joyce (182) — while four others are still alive in the conso semifinals, seeking to finish as high as third place.

Chris Foster (120) reached the semifinals with a pair of wins over the past two days before dropping a 3-0 decision to Joshua Harrison of Gilmer, while defending state champion Jake Adcock (126) was upset in the quarterfinals by Alexander’s Roman Boylen in a 9-6 decision. Adcock bounced back to pick up a pair of wins in the wrestlebacks to ensure a spot on the podium today.

At 160 pounds, Dan Harris fell to Jamal Mitchell of Shaw in the quarterfinals and battled back with a pair of wins in the wrestlebacks to reach the conso semifinals. Murphy Hagen (195) suffered the same quarterfinal fate, but also kept his season alive with a pair of wins in the wrestlebacks.

Bryan Johnson (106) was eliminated after going 1-2 for the weekend, while Cole Glommen (hvy.) was knocked out after an 0-2 showing.

The Trojans enter today’s action in second place with 131 teams points, trailing defending state champion Gilmer, which has 154 points.

Class AAA

Central senior Jarrett Thomas won his first match of the day, pinning West Hall’s Elliott Raiford, to set up another encounter with West Sectional champion Cody Kuhn of Sonoraville in the semifinals. Kuhn prevailed in a 9-4 decision to send Thomas into the conso semifinals, where he will face William Willsey of Woodward Academy this morning to try and earn a third-place showing.

Class AA

Bremen has five guys in the finals — Cory Morgan (126), Brock Cooper (132), Joseph Stroud (145), Kannon Madden (152) and Joe Bexley (hvy.) — and three others jockeying for position on the podium in Luke Campbell (113), Tristan Williams (138) and Darron Boxley (170). Jacob Bumgardner was eliminated after an 0-2 showing at 120 pounds.

The Blue Devils sit in second place in the team standings with 106.5 points, trailing 12-time defending state champion Jefferson, which has 129 points.

Bowdon endured a tough opening day of action in Macon, with all four of its wrestlers dropping first-round matches. Trevor McCray (106) and Connor Wigginton (195) bounced back to earn victories in the wrestlebacks to reach the conso semifinals and keep their seasons alive, while Hunter Jones (113) and Saeje Brown (220) both went 0-2 and were eliminated.

Heard County has both of its state qualifiers in the conso semifinals, with Hank Barnes (182) and Taron Person (hvy.) looking to bring home a medal.

Class A

Mt. Zion has three wrestlers in this evening’s finals — Ashton Robinson (106), Javier Martinez (132) and Will Sizemore (hvy.) — while Hunter Smith (113), Fernando Valles (145) and Daniel Anderson (182) are all still alive in the conso semifinals.

Robinson won by pin in the quarters and captured a 4-2 decision in the semifinals for the chance to win a state crown as a freshman, but the Eagle lightweight must knock off Stihl Lance of Gordon Lee in the finals today.

Martinez, meanwhile, won a 10-0 major and a 6-0 decision to set up his finals bout with Brendan Quigley of Holy Innocents’ and Sizemore, who is now 39-1 on the year, put both of his opponents on their back and will square off against unbeaten Nolan Bullard (27-0) of George Walton Academy today in the finals.

Mitchell Chambers (120), Dillion Lovell (126), Nathan Whaley (195) and Eugene “Buddha” McClure (220) were all eliminated on Friday.

The Eagles are currently in fourth place in the Class A team standings with 70 points.