Dawson County will send three wrestlers to the Gwinnett Arena this weekend to participate in the State Traditional Meet.

Qualifying last weekend at Jefferson High School were David Wood (112) with a fifth place finish, Joe Perry (130) finished sixth and Preston Adams (135) came in eighth. The top eight wrestlers in each category go to state.

James Evans (103) and Nick Tobias (152) will serve as alternates. Both will have a chance if something happens to one of the top eight wrestlers in their respective weight class.

Tiger Head Coach Arron Haynes commented about his team’s effort, “We just didn’t wrestle very well. The kids were trying, but it seemed nothing would go our way. I’m proud of all our wrestlers. Our three qualifiers and alternates will represent us well at state.”

The Tigers sent seven wrestlers to the East Sectionals at Jefferson.

Not moving on to the state meet were Eian Perry (140), Perry injured his shoulder on Friday night and was unable to perform on Saturday, and William Ridings (145).

Eian Perry finished the sectionals with a 1-4 record due to his injury.

Ridings lost in the first round to Daniel Domanico from Lovett. Ridings got his only win against Quinton Beasley from Crawford County by way of pin.

Wood finished in the highest place for the Tigers with a fifth place finish.

Wood went 4-2 in the tournament, with wins over Caleb Bumpers (GAC) by a 6-2 margin, Brent Floyd (Buford) by a pin, Andrew Goodwin (Riverside) by pin and Davey Parker (Toombs Central) by a 7-4 score.

“David had a good tournament,” said Haynes. “He should do well this weekend.”

Wood, who is 50-15 this season, will square off with Joey Tomburello from Dade County in the first round this weekend.

Joe Perry will take his impressive 52-7 record into the state tournament against Austin Williams from Sonoraville.

Perry, a senior, qualified for state with a 3-3 record at sectionals. He won his first match last weekend by technical fall over Michael Karwacki from Manchester.

Perry lost a close decision, 4-3, in his second match to Sean O’Brien from Blessed Trinity.

He bounced back to take his next two matches against Chase Nettles by a pin and Cameron Hutchins (Buford) with an 11-2 win. Perry dropped his last two matches to take a sixth place finish.

“Joe didn’t wrestle as well as he should,” said Haynes. “Joe is tough and, hopefully, he will do better this weekend.”

Freshman Tiger Preston Adams captured eighth place with wins over Tevin Carswell from Dublin with a pin and Devin Kesler (East Jackson) with a 6-3 decision.

He also won his last match to get him through for a spot in state.

Adams will take an impressive 42-17 record into the first round, where he will face Cody Siffles from Chattooga. Adams has defeated Siffles this season.

The State Traditional Tournament will be held at Gwinnett Arena in Duluth from Thursday, Feb. 19 through Saturday, Feb. 21. Brackets for the tournament can be found on www.ghsa.net.

Action will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday.

E-mail Pam Jacobs at sports@dawsonnews.com.