Parkview Qualifies Seven Wrestlers for State Tournament

Parkview took nine wrestlers to the Class AAAAA East sectionals Saturday at Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, coming away with seven state qualifiers and two sectional champions.

Brian McAraw and Robbie Kane won individual titles for the Panthers.

Kane, (14-2) who has battled a shoulder injury all season, beat North Gwinnett’s Dalton Daniel 6-5 to win the 119-pound class.

"Kane is one of the toughest kids," Parkview coach Chris Hardin said. "People don't understand how much pain he's in every single match … This is the time of year when he has to go with it. I'm so happy for him."

McAraw notched his 40th win of the year as he defeated Matthew Moody of Lowndes 3-2. McAraw got a reversal as the buzzer sounded to take the victory.

"It's just a testament of the amount of work and how hard he's work since I've been here," said Hardin. "Brian McAraw is probably the best one-year varsity wrestler in the state right now. He's had a fantastic season. I can't say enough about how hard he's worked."

McAraw led 2-1 until Moody had an escape late in the third period to tie it, but McAraw got an escape of his own at the buzzer and won the match.

"I was thinking about next week," he said, referring to state. "I just tried to come out with a win right there and carry it over to next week. That was incredible that he was only a freshman. I haven't had a match like that ever. That was a lot of fun."

Others who qualified for state for Parkview were Garrett Miller (sixth, 103 pounds), Taz Tobit (fourth, 125 pounds), Bradley Atkinson (seventh, 140 pounds), Ryan McFall (third, 145 pounds), and Will Squires (sixth, 160 pounds).

Berkmar's 215-pounder Jaime Cruz came into the tournament with a 46-12 record and won his first match but dropped his next two and didn't qualify for state.