CAIRO – The Cairo Syrupmakers are sending eight wrestlers to the state sectionals next weekend. Considering the season’s toll on this year’s team, last weekend’s region tournament was a success, says Cairo head coach Scott Marshall.

“This has been a long season. We’ve had a lot of injuries. We actually only had 10 guys going into region, so out of 14 weight classes, we had 10 wrestlers,” Marshall said. “The season has taken a toll on the team as a whole. The eight that we got through have been consistently our top performers all year.”

The eight that qualified included region champion junior Dominic Lombardo, 138-pound weight class; sophomore Aiden DeBlois, second place, 106; senior Ralph Conyers, second place, 126; senior Zach Thomas, second place, 150; sophomore Jakin Ross, second place, 190; junior Angel Bastida, third place, 120; sophomore Kaleb Prince, third place, 157; and senior Cedric Smith, third place, 285.

The team will travel to Chestatee High School in Gainesville for the state sectionals, scheduled for Feb. 13-15.

“We’re in Section B, so we’re going to have some good competition. We’re not going to necessarily see the biggest powerhouses in 3-A in our sectional. We’ll have big schools like Gilmer County and Lumpkin County,” Marshall said. “Ralph was a state qualifier last year, so we’re hoping to get him onto the podium this year. We also have a junior (Dominic) that placed first in region. We were very impressed with his performance Saturday. He’s definitely shown that he can grind it out.

“Angel Bastida is another one of our juniors. We’re hoping to see big things from him and hoping he can be a state qualifier as well.”