Class 4A Region Duals Preview

IT'S REGION/AREA DUALS WEEK!!!!

CLASS 4A REGION 1 DUALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Region 1: Hosted by Bainbridge
Bainbridge, Cairo, Hardaway, Shaw, Westover

Bainbridge leads the way here with wins over Cairo, Hardaway, and Shaw making them the clear #1 seed heading into the weekend.  With that being said things are close in this Region between the top 4 teams, as Bainbridge only beat Hardaway by 2 and Hardaway defeated Shaw by 6.  Westover has a small roster and it will be very difficult for them to push into the top 4.

Predictions:
1. Bainbridge
2. Hardaway
3. Cairo
4. Shaw
5. Westover

CLASS 4A REGION 2 DUALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Region 2: Hosted by West Laurens
Baldwin, Griffin, Howard, Perry, Spalding, West Laurens, Westside Macon

Howard does not have any wrestlers in the system, and both Griffin and Westside have very small rosters.  That leaves us with 4 teams vying for the 4 postseason spots.  West Laurens and Perry look to be the clear front runners to make it to the finals, so Spalding and Baldwin should be battling it out for 3rd.  West Laurens is 9-1 on the season in duals, and that includes a 61-15 win over Perry, while Perry may be able to make it a little closer this time around, I can't see them making up 40+ points.

Predictions:
1. West Laurens
2. Perry
3. Baldwin
4. Spalding
5. Westside

CLASS 4A REGION 3 DUALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Region 3: Hosted by Benedictine
Benedictine, Burke Co, Islands, New Hampstead, Wayne Co

Islands has a very small roster and will probably be the odd team out of this group of 5.  Benedictine and New Hampstead have split duals this season, and Benedictine has defeated Wayne Co.  Burke Co looks solid and they should be going up against Wayne Co for 3rd.

Predictions:
1. New Hampstead
2. Benedictine
3. Wayne Co
4. Burke Co
5. Islands

CLASS 4A REGION 4 DUALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Region 4: Hosted by Carrollton
Fayette Co, LaGrange, North Clayton, Riverdale, Starrs Mill, Trinity Christian, Troup Co, Whitewater

Rather large Region, but I expect a few of these schools to sit out this weekend due to small rosters.  Fayette Co, Riverdale, and Trinity Christian all have small rosters and will struggle in a dual format, while North Clayton doesn't have any wrestlers in the system.  That leaves us with 4 teams competing for the 4 postseason spots.  Troup Co is the leader in this Region, and they have dual wins over Whitewater and Starrs Mill already this season.  Whitewater defeated Starrs Mill 39-36 in mid December, so they should be the 2 seed heading into the weekend.  LaGrange also won by 3 over Starrs Mill in mid November, so look for things to be tight for spots 2-4.

Predictions:
1. Troup
2. Whitewater
3. Starrs Mill
4. LaGrange
5. Trinity Christian

CLASS 4A REGION 5 DUALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Region 5: Hosted by Hampton
Hampton, Lovett, Luella, McDonough, Mt Zion Jonesboro, Pace Academy, Stockbridge, Woodland Stockbridge

Lovett is definitely the team to beat in this Region, and they shouldn't have any problem living up to their #1 seed.  Pace Academy, McDonough, and to some extent Luella, will struggle in this format due to smaller rosters. However, Luella may have just enough to push themselves through, but it will be tight against Mt. Zion.  I don't have many results for any of the other teams so making predictions is more guess work than anything.

Predictions:
1. Lovett
2. Hampton
3. Stockbridge
4. Luella
5. Mt Zion, Jonesboro

CLASS 4A REGION 6 DUALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Region 6: Hosted by Westminster
Clarkston, Druid Hills, Holy Innocents, Miller Grove, SW Dekalb, Stephenson, Stone Mountain, Westminster

A lot of these programs were absolutely devastated when COVID policies were put into place by their school systems, they are just now starting to rebound.  There aren't very many results available among these teams, but there are a few, and that helps figure somethings out.  Southwest Dekalb looks to be the strongest team of the group, but they will have plenty of challengers for the Region Championship.  Once we get down to the final 6 teams in this Region, all of the matches will be tight.

Predictions:
1. SW Dekalb
2. Westminster
3. Stone Mountain
4. Stephenson
5. Holy Innocents
6. Miller Grove

CLASS 4A REGION 7 DUALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Region 7: Hosted by Heritage, Catoosa
Cedartown, Central Carroll, Heritage Catoosa, Northwest Whitfield, Sonoraville, Southeast Whitfield

CLASS 4A SUPER DUAL ALERT x2: 2/3 seed Semifinal and the Finals

All 6 of these schools are good, and would probably be the favorites to win several of the Regions in this classification.  Central Carroll, Heritage, and Sonoraville look to be the top 3 teams and whichever two teams meet in the semis, it will be an enormous match up with implications on the make up of the rest of the 4A State Duals.  More than likely one of the teams from this Region is going to wind up facing the winner of Region 8 with a spot in the Elite 8 on the line.  Southeast Whitfield, Northwest Whitfield, and Cedartown will all be battling it out for the 4th and final playoff spot in this region, and their matches will also be super intense.  

Predictions:
1. Central, Carroll
2. Heritage, Catoosa
3. Sonoraville
4. Southeast Whitfield
5. Northwest Whitfield
6. Cedartown

CLASS 4A REGION 8 DUALS PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

Region 8: Hosted by Chestatee
Cedar Shoals, Cherokee Bluff, Chestatee, East Forsyth, East Hall, Johnson, Madison Co, North Hall, North Oconee, Seckinger, Walnut Grove

CLASS 4A SUPER DUAL ALERT: Chestatee vs North Oconee

An absolutely massive Region that is not only heavy in quantity, it has several quality teams as well.  While there are a couple teams that could crash the party (North Hall and Walnut Grove), a finals match up between Chestatee and North Oconee looks imminent in this Region.  Be sure to keep an eye on Seckinger as the first year school has posted a few quality wins and could potentially sneak past North Hall or Walnut Grove.

Predictions:
1. Chestatee
2. North Oconee
3. North Hall
4. Walnut Grove
5. Seckinger
6. Madison Co

TOP 8 DUAL TEAMS

1. Lovett
2. Chestatee
3. West Laurens
4. Central, Carroll
5. Heritage
6. Sonoraville
7. Troup
8. North Oconee