By Greg Sullivan
Sports Editor

Nick Childers was the Mat Dogs' first finalist since 2004 after finishing  as runner-up Saturday in the state wrestling championships at Gwinnett Arena. Childers was one of three Morgan County wrestlers to place.
"He wrestled well in the finals, but came up just short," said Mat Dog Head Coach John Robbins of Childers. "With the score tied at 2-2 going into the third period, we were right where we wanted to be. Nick got taken down as time ran out to lose 8-5."
"I'm very proud of our guys' individual accomplishments," Robbins said.
Aside from Childers' second place finish at 171, Wes East finished with a strong showing, taking third at heavyweight, and Kody Vaughters took fifth at 130.
Robbins said he views East still to be clearly the best heavyweight in Class AA, despite his third place finish.
"Wes was tripped up in the semis while holding a considerable lead," Robbins said of the first time East was pinned all season. "I thought the match was in hand."
"He responded well [to being pinned for the first time]," said Robbins, "pinning his way to third place."
Vaughters finished fifth in a competitive 130 weight class.
"{Vaughters] showed a lot of character by wrestling great on Saturday and earning our team a lot of additional points by getting fifth place," Robbins said.
He said he was also pleased with his two other state championships participants Zach Yost and Jacob Akins. Yost finished one win short of placing at 140 while Robbins said freshman Akins proved he will be a wrestler to contend with in the coming years after picking up a win in the consolation bracket despite a tough weight class and seeding at 103.
The finishes by the Mat Dogs' wrestlers over the weekend earned the team an eighth place finish at the state tournament out of 50 squads. Lafayette won the state title.
"For us to finish eighth after the crazy hand we were dealt at the end of the season is a testament to the work ethic of those individuals who competed this weekend," said Robbins.
Winning handily at 145 at the weekend tournament was Buford's Scottie Forrester, a wrestler that now-injured Mat Dog Austin Sharp defeated twice during the regular season. Sharp beat Forrester 21-8 by major decision in the finals of the Redskin Rumble in Social Circle.
The state tourney concluded the Mat Dogs' season and the team will have to replace some key wrestlers next season from this year's squad.
"I'm very excited about next season which brings a new set of opponents from AAA and new area alignments, which haven’t been released," Robbins said. "We will sorely miss our graduating seniors (Vaughters, Sharp, Childers and East), and we will have to look for someone to step up and carry the load with our lone returning junior, Zach Yost."