(Photo Caption: The Roswell Hornets celebrate their Area 6AAAAA dual championship at West Forsyth last weekend. It was the first area team title in school history for Roswell, which will head to Macon for the Class-AAAAA state championships in February).
In what marked the biggest weekend in Roswell wrestling in quite some time, the Hornets swept through the area duals at West Forsyth on Saturday and snagged the 6AAAAA team title.
The area championship marked the first dual title in school history and clinched a berth in the state duals, which have been rescheduled for Feb. 24 to 26 in Macon due to inclement weather across the state this week.
At West Forsyth, Roswell dispatched Northview (68-12), North Forsyth (35-24) and the home-standing Wolverines (34-33) in the final round, setting off a celebration and clinching a Hornets berth in the GHSA state festivities next month.
"It's just huge, because when I first started with the program three years ago we forfeited three weight classes (at area) and finished eighth out of 10 (teams)," said RHS head coach Evan Goff, who had served as a Roswell assistant the previous two years.
"In just a matter of three years, winning in a new region - one of the strongest in terms of depth in the whole state - it means a great deal," Goff added.
At state, the fifth-seeded Hornets will battle Benedictine in the first round at the Macon Centreplex. If it advances, Roswell will face the winner of Kennesaw Mountain-Parkview in the second round with a potential semifinal matchup against top-seed and perennial state power Collins Hill looming after that.
Back at West Forsyth, the Hornets were led by Chaz Gunning (140 pounds), Jake Martin (119) and Corey Wilson (152). Goff said freshmen Rowdy Miller (112) and Charles Routt (130) also came up big, wrestling beyond their years in a hostile environment.
"Every West Forsyth person was there pulling for [the Wolverines]," said Goff. "It was great to overcome the hometown crowd and kinda shut 'em up. Our kids were definitely excited, but we were classy about it. We definitely felt deserving."
Roswell was the lone north Fulton program to advance to the state duals in Macon. Milton, which had narrowly defeated Roswell earlier this season, finished third at the 6AAAAA duals.
Now moving on to state, Goff and the Hornets feel like they will be playing with house money.
"Our chances of winning are slim, but our goal is to come out there and knock off some teams," he said.
With the delay, Roswell (11-2) now shifts its focus to a Wednesday home match against Lassiter. The rescheduled state duals will follow the traditional tournaments for area, sectional and state, which are scheduled to take place the first three weekends in February.
