Canes' wrestlers third at "Rumble at the Rock"
The Cartersville High School wrestling team finished third of 12 teams Saturday at the Northside-Columbus High School "Rumble at the Rock" Duals Tournament.
The Purple Hurricanes won their pool with victories over St. Anne Pacelli (70-12), Shaw (48-33), and Harris County (48-36) to reach the three-team finals. Cartersville lost hard-fought matches to the other finalists -- Veterans and Spencer -- to finish in third place for the tournament.
Other schools at the tournament included: Brookstone (Columbus, GA), Cartersville, Carver (Columbus, GA), Chattahoochee County (Cusseta, GA), Harris County (Hamilton, GA), Jordan (Columbus, GA), Northside (Columbus, GA), St. Anne Pacelli (Columbus), Shaw (Columbus, GA), Spencer (Columbus, GA), Turner County (Ashburn, GA) and Veterans (Kathleen, GA). Last year, Cartersville placed second at this event.
Leading the Hurricanes was senior, Robby Earick, at the 132 lbs. weight class. Earick was undefeated on the day with a 5-0 record and three wins by pin. Senior Rafael Lopez followed with three pins and a 4-1 mark at the 285 lbs. weight class. Juniors Ryan Hardesty (195 lbs. & 220 lbs.) and John Reed Evans (160 lbs.), along with freshman Caz Smith (106 lbs.) also earned 4-1 records with three pins during the event. Jonathan De La Cruz, a junior competing at the 195 lbs. and 220 lbs. weight class this weekend was 3-1 on the day with a pin. Jabril Williams efforts earned him a pin and a 3-2 record. Carlos Aborresco (junior), Shil Shah (sophomore), and Braden Durocher (sophomore) all picked up two wins each during competition. Edwin Balderas (sophomore) and Will Simmons (freshman) both added one match win at the tournament.
For the second year in a row, the Cartersville wrestling team was able to stop by the Georgia Dome and support the Hurricanes' football team in their state championship game. The Canes wrestling roster will now add several football players and the coaching staff will be anxious to see what impact they bring to the lineup. Cartersville competes again this Friday and Saturday at Whitewater High School Wildcat Brawl.
