Veterans dumps Buford to advance to championship, West Laurens stays alive at GHSA duals

          Two Central Georgia teams are in action on the final day of the GHSA state duals wrestling tournament at the Coliseum, but only one is going for a championship.

          Veterans will take on Woodland-Cartersville Saturday afternoon for the Class 5A title, while West Laurens stayed alive in the hunt for third.

          Veterans knocked off Buford, winner of three state duals titles since 2014, in a Friday night meeting.

          The Warhawks and Wolves had two pins each, Veterans from Austin Suess at 195 (in 3:17) and Tyler Barb at 113 (in 51 seconds).

          Veterans got technical fall wins from Damien Johnson at 106 and Julian Farber at 132, getting seven wins overall to six.

          Woodland-Cartersville has won 81-0, 70-12, and 62-6 to reach the finals. The Warhawks three wins were by 74-6, 50-22, and 37-25.

          West Laurens remained alive with a three-point win over North Oconee, the Raiders losing a point for unsportsmanlike conduct.

          Brent Carr at 220, Chase Horne at 285, Bobby Beasley at 138, and Russell Graham at 145, Greyson Clark at 170, and Dre Boner at 182 racked up pins for West Laurens, to three for North Oconee.

          Clark’s pin in 2:45 sealed it for the Raiders, giving them a 35-26 lead

          The Raiders rolled past Perry earlier Friday to eliminate the Panthers.

          Baldwin, Lamar County, Dodge County, and Mount de Sales were also eliminated Friday.

Friday

Class 5A

Veterans 37, Buford 25

Class 4A

West Laurens 60, Cairo 23; West Laurens 60, Perry 33; Perry eliminated; next: West Laurens 41, North Oconee 32

Madison County 51, Baldwin 25, Baldwin eliminated

3:45 p.m.

Class AA: Bremen 54, Dodge County 27, Dodge County eliminated; Screven County 47, Lamar County 35, Lamar County eliminated

Class A: Turner County 60, Mount de Sales 12, Mount de Sales eliminated

Saturday

9 a.m.

Class 4A

West Laurens vs. Blessed Trinity, consolation semifinal, winner faces Central-Carroll or Northwest Whitfield at 11 a.m. for third place.

3 p.m.

Class 5A

Veterans vs. Woodland-Cartersville, championship