Wrestlers send five to TSSAA championships

Success continues to follow the Warren County High School wrestling program, as five wrestlers have now qualified for the TSSAA state tournament.

After the first round of the Region 5 individual tournament on Friday four wrestlers had earned a spot in the state tournament, and by the end of the day on Saturday one more Pioneer had made his way to the next round, and two Pioneers had won region gold.

Aaron Thomas captured the 160-pound Region 5 title after pinning Oakland?s J.D. Stombaugh in the first period of the championship match. Jon Paz defeated Cory Smith of Tullahoma by pin fall to win the 215-pound Region 5 crown.

Casey Welch finished in second place after falling to Tullahoma?s Ziad Aboulmouna in the championship match of the 119 division. Also finishing in second place was Rush Reedy, who fell to Riverdale?s Zack Mitchell in the 140-pound title match.

Bobby Rampp made his way to the 145-pound semifinal round, but fell to the consolation bracket. He defeated Hoesph Honea of Tullahoma by pin in the second period, but was later awarded third place after Riverdale?s Bryant Fausnaught was disqualified.

Paz, Thomas, Welch, Reedy and Rampp will be competing today at the McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga in the first round of the 2007 TSSAA State wrestling tournament, which runs through Saturday.

Several other Pioneers had a successful showings in the Region 5 tournament, including Ben Matheney, who fell in the semifinal round of the consolation bracket to Kyle Tate of Oakland. Matt Martin also fell in the consolation round in the 130-pound division, losing to Lincoln County?s Daniel Campbell.

Jose Martinez earned a fourth-place finish after falling to Oakland?s Getsemani Torres at 103. Dylan Myers fell in the 152 class to Josh Davis of Tullahoma in semifinal action of the consolation round, and Juan Guardado brought home a fourth-place finish in the 171 division. Guardado defeated Coffee County?s John Smith, but then fell to Scott Church of Tullahoma. Hector Labrada fell to Siegel?s Stefan Winkler in the consolation bracket in the 189 division.

Tullahoma finished in first place with 243 points, followed by Oakland with 157. Warren County finished third with 142 points.