The Long County Lady Blue Tide wrestling team is one of the top teams in the state of Georgia. They got the chance to host the Division 2 Area 1 championship on Friday, January 9 and entered as the number one seed in Area 1.

They took the mat needing just one win to win the Area 1 championship after the Brantley County Herons defeated the Jenkins Warriors 39-27 in the first match.

The Lady Tide got off to a good start as Janiya Williams took the pinfall victory just 19 seconds into the first round of the 135-pound class match for a 6-0 victory.

The Herons got a forfeit win in the 140-pound class to tie the score at 6-6 before the Tide took pinfall victories in the first round of both the 145-pound and 155-pound class matches.

Shelby Hoard and Caileigh Hughes took first round victories to put the Tide up 18-6. The Herons won won at 170, 190, 235 and 100 pounds by pin with Ansleigh Benton losing her match in the second round and Jaylah Davis, Tymiah Powell and Madison Spurgeon all losing theirs in the first.

Down 30-18, the Lady Tide got three straight forfeit wins as Aleena Clark, Hayley Jones, and Bella Gardner all got the six-point victories in the 105, 110, and 115-pound classes.

This gave the Tide a 36-30 lead and putting them in a position to win the match with two more pinfall victories.

They did just that as Aaralyn Ruise and Aliana Morales took first-round pin victories in the 120 and 125-pound classes to give them the definitive 48-30 match win.

This gives the Lady Tide their second straight Area 1 championship and they will host the state duals preliminary round against the Area 8 runner-up with the match date to be determined.