Coach Luke McSorely’s Dunwoody Wildcat Wrestling squad repeated as the William Venable DeKalb County Wrestling champions this past weekend at Tucker High School.
Twelve wrestlers finished no lower than fifth in twelve of the fifteen weight classes to propel Dunwoody to a 272.5-165.5 win over Decatur to repeat as the William Venable DeKalb County Wrestling champions held at Tucker High School on Friday and Saturday.
The Wildcats grabbed three gold medals along the led by Alex McKissick kicking off Dunwoody’s run with a win in the 120 weight class. McKissick (26-5) won his first three matches of the tournament by pin fall before he picked up a 21-7 major decision over Stephenson’s Artavus Hughes (32-3).
Andrew Fiddler (23-6) closed out a gold medal run in the 138 weight class winning four consecutive matches including a pin fall and two technical fall wins before reaching the finals against Stone Mountain’s Hla Aung. Fiddler got a pin with 37 seconds left in the second period of the match for victory. Fiddler made it two consecutive county gold medals after having won the 132 class a year ago.
Dunwoody’s third gold came at the hands of David Remigailo (39-8) at 165 who won all four of his matches by pin fall on the way to the title. He took down Arabia Mountain’s James Carter (24-4) via pin in the third period of their match to collect the gold.
The Wildcats finished the day with one silver, two bronze and three each of fourth and fifth place finishes.
Decatur wrapped its second place finish collecting two gold medals in back-to-back weight class finals along with a silver and two fifth place finishes.
The Bulldogs first gold medal came at the 175 class as Ronin Simms (23-0) kept his record unblemished. Simms picked two pin falls on his way to the finals and finished off his tournament with a third period pin over Columbia’s Pharrell Griffin.
Nasir Braxton (31-0) also came out of the tournament with his record intact winning his way into the finals with two pin falls and a technical fall (19-3). Braxton then hooked up with Miller Groves Desmond Hutchins (25-1) winning 19-7 for the gold.
The host Tucker Tigers (155.5) put together a third place finish that featured three gold medals and one fourth place finish.
Imraan Mumin (20-2) had two pin falls along the way to reach the finals in the 150 weight class to face off with Arabia Mountain’s Rodney Booker (23-5) for the gold. Mumin ran off to a 24-9 technical fall victory to get his hand raised as a champion.
Columbia senior Thawbaan As-Siddiq (white singlet) defeated Decatur’s Lucian Brock in the 144 weight class championship match to become a three-time county champion. He was also voted the Championships MVP by the coaches and referees. (Photo by Mark Brock)
Jacob Grier (21-1) took the mat next for the Tigers in the 157 class title meeting with Chamblee’s Josiah Harper. Grier entered the final with three consecutive pin fall wins but Harper was out-pointing him 13-7 as the match worn on. Grier then got the upper hand and manage to pin Harper to win the match.
Tucker came to the forefront again as the 215 class had freshman Maverick Armour taking on Lithonia’s Josias Dore. Both wrestlers entered with three consecutive wins by pin. Dore took the early lead in the match and was controlling things until Armour turned the tables getting Dore’s shoulders down for the pin and victory.
Southwest DeKalb, which won the championship two years ago, laid claim to a pair of gold medals. The first gold came in the 113 class as Kamari Rivers-Childs (19-0) pulled out a 9-7 decision over Arabia Mountain’s Zion Burroughs (28-5) to remain undefeated on the season.
The second Panther gold came in the heavyweight division with Amir Ferguson (32-2) outdueling Arabia Mountain’s Zion Dennis (30-3) by disqualification for delays while leading 4-1 in the third period of their match.
Lakeside’s Joe Austin gave the Vikings a gold medal as he won a 10-1 major decision over Stone Mountain’s Dontavious Perry in the 106 weight class.
Deonte Smith was the lone Red Devil to reach the finals remaining undefeated on the season at 32-0 winning a 20-4 technical fall over Dunwoody’s Charlie Ruark (27-9) at 126. Smith became a two-time county champion having won the 113 title in 2023. It was the first finals loss for Ruark who had won titles at 113 (2022), 120 (2023) and 126 (2024).
McNair’s Houston Simmons (21-3) grabbed the 132 class gold with a tough 9-5 decision over Lithonia’s Ziauddin Ahmadi in the championship round.
Columbia’s Thawbaan As-Siddiq became a three-time champion as he defeated Decatur’s Lucian Brock by pin fall in the 144 weight class. He also won the 120 class (2022) and 126 (2023). As-Siddiq was also voted the Championships MVP by the coaches and referees.
Boys’ and girls head to Area wrestling tournaments this weekend. The girls open first on Friday (Jan. 31) as Greenbrier hosts the Area 2 Division 1 girls that includes DeKalb entries Arabia Mountain, Clarkston Druid Hills, Lakeside, Lithonia, Southwest DeKalb and Tucker. Girls from Martin Luther King Jr., McNair, Miller Grove, Redan, Stephenson, Stone Mountain and Towers head to Collin Hills for the Area 4 Division 2 tournament.
The boys’ have two DeKalb schools hosting Area tournaments in Dunwoody (4-5A) and Druid Hills (5-4A) as the guys’ tournaments are set for Saturday (Feb. 1).
DeKalb teams heading to Dunwoody include the host Wildcats, Arabia Mountain, Chamblee and Lakeside. Druid Hills has DeKalb entries from Clarkston, Lithonia, Southwest DeKalb and Tucker competing.
Martin Luther King Jr. heads to Maynard Jackson for the Area 4-4A while Cedar Grove, Stephenson and Stone Mountain travel to Mt. Zion-Jonesboro for the Area 5-3A tournament.
Columbia, Miller Grove and Redan go to Lovett for the Region 5-AA group and Towers and McNair will compete in the Area 5-1A tournament at Mt. Pisgah.
See link below for the full Top Six and team results from the 2025 William Venable DeKalb County Wrestling Championships: