Marist defeated Southwest DeKalb for the Area 6-AAAA duals wrestling championship. Photo courtesy of Sharon Andres.

Stephenson has qualified for the State Duals wrestling championships before, but this time there is a distinction. The Jaguars won their first area duals title Jan. 7, beating Newton in the 2-AAAAA championship.

“The boys worked hard and listened to their coaches,” said second-year coach Phillip Noble. “I thought we had a better team than last year when we finished second to East Coweta. The guys stepped up their level of focus and their concentration and we were blessed.”

Three other schools in DeKalb County also qualified for the state duals tournament Jan. 13-14 in Macon. Marist won the Area 6-AAAA title and Southwest DeKalb was second, and McNair placed second in the Area 5-AAA tournament. The top two teams from each area in the state will participate in the state duals in Macon.

Stephenson’s toughest test in the 2-AAAAA tournament came against Newnan in the semifinals. The Jaguars won 36-35 after Stephen Wiley won his 152-pound match to erase a three-point deficit. Wiley, Darrian Perry at 160 pounds, Dexter Brown at 113, Mike Gales at 195 and Brandon Addison at 285 each went through the tournament undefeated.

Marist won its third area championship in the past five seasons, avenging a loss to Southwest in last year’s championship.

Coach Riddick Beebe has six freshmen in the starting lineup, and it has been a mix of youth and experience that has propelled the War Eagles this season.

“It was definitely a team effort,” Beebe said. “We needed everybody to wrestle well and wrestle smart, and more importantly they did what we wanted them to do on the mat.”

Beebe said he expects Matt Andres at 138 pounds to be tough to beat in the state meet. Other top wrestlers include freshman Kenneth Brinson at 195 pounds and Steven Wallace, who leads the team in pins.

“We have a big focus on team sports here and when we ask the kids what their goals are they always say they want to go to Macon,” Beebe said. “Nobody likes to come in the day after Christmas to work out, but you like to go to Macon.”

All four teams will begin the double-elimination state tournament on Jan. 13, with 16 teams participating in each class. In Class AAAAA, Stephenson faces Benedictine in the first round. In AAAA, Marist faces Cass and Southwest DeKalb takes on Forest Park. In AAA, McNair faces Glenn Hills.