The Oglethorpe Echo
School was out for winter break at Oglethorpe County, but the athletic teams remained busy.
The OCHS boys wrestling team picked up its 19th dual win in the seventh annual Doug Eberhardt Memorial duals on Dec. 28.
The Patriots defeated Morgan County 53-27 and Chestatee 71-11, improving to 19-4 in duals on the season.
“It was nice to finish our home dual schedule undefeated,” coach Steve Mason said.
On Jan. 4, the boys finished fifth out of 22 teams at the West Oak Invitational in South Carolina.
Mason said he feels his team is in a strong spot as it prepares for the state dual meet this weekend.
“I am very proud of the way everyone is contributing to this team. It really is a total team effort,” Mason said. “Now we just need to get 100% healthy and in the correct weight classes so we can go qualify for the state dual meet."
The girls wrestling team placed second out of nine teams at the Spartan Slam Invitational, finishing behind Chestatee. However, coach Josh Austin said the Patriots would’ve won the invitational if the team had all of the weight classes.
Akira Owens and Tristin Caldwell secured victories and all girls placed in the top four.
Basketball also was in action over the winter break with the girls winning two consecutive games.
On Dec. 13, the girls added their second win of the season and first Region 8-A Division I victory by defeating Rabun County, followed by a win over Monroe Area on Dec. 17.
“That finish (Rabun County) showed some heart, grit and belief in what we are doing,” coach Brianna Dickens said.
The girls team is 3-11 and 1-4 in region play after a loss to Elbert County on Jan. 7.
“We started the year as a group with very little varsity experience since we did not return a single starter from last year, and the first half of the season has given us that experience,” Dickens said.
However, she expects her team to be much improved by the region tournament.
“The goal is to get a little better every day and see the big picture,” Dickens said. “We want to be significantly better come February when entering the region tournament than we were when we started in October.”
The boys basketball team earned its first win of the season on Jan. 4, defeating Athens Academy 49-43. Co-athletic director Mike Holland has no doubts about the team’s potential in its first season under coach Carlos Strong.
“I believe they’re going to get it figured out,” Holland said.
The boys team is 1-9, 1-3 in region. Its next game is on Jan. 7 in a region game against Elbert County.
“The level of competition has increased dramatically, which is good,” Holland said.
Despite the schedules being tougher, Holland thinks it will ultimately create winning programs. He explained he’d rather play tougher teams and occasionally lose than cruise through an easy schedule.
“I think the resilience of the kids really shows up in their ability to keep giving great effort game after game, no matter what the sport is,” Holland said.