The Fannin County Rebel wrestlers made their marks at the GHSA Traditional State Championships in Macon, Georgia, Februaruy 16, 17 and 18.
Eight of 12 State Qualifiers placed on the podium making it the single greatest program performance at the state tournament. Taylor Collis at 138, Carson Collis at 144, and Corbin Davenport at 175, all claimed state titles in their divisions, making it the first time Fannin has ever had multiple state champions in the same year.
Blake Summers finished a solid season with a state runner-up. Matthew Crowder and Logan Long both capped off their careers with wins in the consolation finals to finish third in their divisions. Cooper Moreland finished his career on the state podium with fourth place and Colby Shaw placed fifth.
The team finished as the state runner-up, out scoring third place Toombs County by 60 team points.
Head Coach Chuck Patterson praised his seniors saying,“To have so many seniors on the team and competing for the final time was a very emotional experience for the whole program. Only a very small number of wrestlers ever get the chance to win their last match, and we had five kids that were able to do this. I am so happy for the Collis Family, Carson, Taylor, Coach and Mrs. Collis have been instrumental in the building and sustained success of this program, to have both of them win titles is not only a great program moment but an experience I’m sure they will cherish! Corbin Davenport has been the best athlete in the school this year, and after two years of coming up just shy of the state title, he wasn’t letting anything get in the way of that. Blake [Summers] has had an amazing career thus far, I know it’s frustrating for him to lose in the finals, it was frustrating to everyone of us, especially such a close match, but when you look at his entire body of work a three time state placer and a state champion with the potential to become only the second four time placer in program history, that’s pretty amazing. Logan Long and Matthew Crowder have both been to the state tournament the two previous years and not reached the podium, this year they were both seconds away from being in the finals but fell short and battled back through the tournament to finish third. I am so proud of them. Cooper Moreland and Colby Shaw have also been to the tournament twice before to fall short of the podium, and this time they weren’t letting it happen. Drake Cantrell and Thomas Golden sustained injuries last weekend at the sectional tournament, and both wrestled with everything they had this weekend. Christen Newberry had a really tough bracket but walked away with two wins at the state tournament. Finn Thoreson had an amazing post season run for a freshman and I’m really looking forward to his career here.”
He continued with,“It’s been one heck of a season for this program. A key factor this year has been the community support and enthusiasm for these kids. Fannin County has showed up all season long in support of these guys, and it has really meant a lot to them and me! The other key factor is experience, toughness, and work ethic of this group. All of these seniors have been wrestling for at least four years and most of them since sixth grade or younger. When kids and parents dedicate themselves to the sport, amazing things happen. I’m so proud of all of them! Go Rebels!”