Buford’s varsity wrestling team produced two individual state champions during the GHSA Class AAAAAAA State Traditional Wrestling tournament at the Centreplex in Macon on Saturday, Feb. 18.
Buford’s two state champions were sophomore Drew Gorman and junior Gavin Pope. Gorman defeated Parkview’s Antoine Glasgow in the 138-pound weight class finals. Pope won on a 5-4 decision over North Paulding’s Josh Denson in the 144-pound weight class.
State Runner-ups for the Wolves were DJ Clarke, Rylan Ibold, Maddox McArthur, Grayson Santee, Conor McCloskey and Aaron Riner. JT McCullough finished in third place in the 150-pound class and Ty Gentry finished in fourth place in the 120-pound weight class. Kieron McCormack rounds out Buford’s top finishers with fifth place in the 132-pound weight class.
Buford was a strong contender to potentially win the Class AAAAAAA State Traditional Championship but they came up short to Camden County. Buford was in the lead going into Saturday’s finals 199-184 but Camden County managed to slip past Buford 233-219 to win the state title. Second place was a solid finish for Buford in their first season in the state’s highest classification not to mention that they were competing with a relatively young team.
