The inaugural DeKalb Wrestling All-County Team met at Chick-Fil-A Northlake. (Photo courtesy of Carla Parker)
The DeKalb County Wrestling Coaches named the inaugural All-County Team this past week with 44 wrestlers from 22 schools being honored with dinner provided at and by Chick-Fil-A Northlake.
Honorees included 22 First Team and 22 Honorable Mention selections from all 19 DCSD wrestling programs along with Decatur, Marist and St. Pius X. Each school had one first team and one honorable mention named.
Twenty-two of the wrestlers named qualified for their respective state meets and 11 of those placed in the Top 6 including two state champions, three silver medalists, one bronze medalists and five sixth place finishers.
McNair’s first team and honorable mention both brought home gold medals from the Class 3A meet. First teamer Terrance Randle finished the season 47-0 and captured the gold medal in the Class 3A 182 weight class. Honorable Mention selection DeeJay McNeil captured gold in the Class 3A 113 weight class and finished with an impressive 53-1 slate.
Silver medalists included Southwest DeKalb’s Eris Walker (5A 220), Marist’s Jer’Miah Fantroy (4A 182) and St. Pius’ Max Spearman (4A 160) who were all named First Team.
Stephenson first teamer Taquel Young lost just two matches all season including one in the semifinals on the way to the bronze medal in the Class 6A 145 weight class.
The sixth place finishers included Decatur’s Kaden Span (5A, 132), Lakeside’s Cody Domingue (7A 160) and Lithonia’s John Webb (5A 126) who all claimed spots on the First Team.
Honorable Mentions Corey Langner of Marist (4A 170) and Micah Goodwin of Stephenson (6A 145) also picked up sixth place finishes in state competition.
Other first team selections that qualified for state were Bart Turney (Chamblee, 5A 138), Jacob Starks (Dunwoody, 6A 120), Isiah Rodgers (M.L. King, 6A 195), Miquel Bynum (Miller Grove, 5A 132) and Justin Carter (Tucker, 6A 160).
The rest of the First Team selections are Christian Phillips (Arabia Mountain), William Flounory (Cedar Grove), Ekoue Kangni (Clarkston), Kionte Brown (Columbia), Cleyber Ventura (Cross Keys), Artavis Brown (Druid Hills), Rahsaan Ali Gadson (Redan), Jessie Cadet (Stone Mountain), and Mysta-Prince Ayers (Towers).
The coaches also nominated McNair’s Ramon Tillery as Coach of the Year. Tillery’s squad won both its Area Dual and Traditional titles while finishing fourth overall in the Class 3A State Tournament. He also had two state champs, one state runner-up (silver medal) and two third place finishers (bronze).
All First Team members received plaques sponsored by DeKalb Kids Project compliments of Diijon and Tiijon DaCosta and President Kanecia McNeil. Honorable Mention honorees received certificates.
Southwest DeKalb wrestling coach Keith Johnson was responsible for putting the idea together to honor the wrestlers.
See the complete All-County Team selections at the link below: