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Bainbridge Middle and High School wrestlers traveled to Cairo Friday for a scramble. A scramble is similar to a scrimmage in other sports.

Varsity wrestling head coach Paul Coleman said Friday was an opportunity for his young team to get experience against other school’s competition.

“For those guys that are new, they get their chance to see what it’s all about,” Coleman said.

More than 20 Bainbridge wrestlers competed in the scramble. they were segmented into three weight classes — 100 to 130 lbs, 130 to 160 lbs, 160 lbs and above — and wrestled in five to six matches a piece. Each match lasted four minutes, and the matches were split into three different rounds.

The first round lasts two minutes. Wrestlers start on their feet, facing each other, and attempt to pin each other. Rounds two and three last one minute each. In these rounds, wrestlers alternate starting positions in the referee position and attempt to pin their opponent. 

In the referee position, one wrestler starts on their hands and knees on the mat, and the other starts on top, behind and in control. Coleman thought his team did well and was glad his wrestlers could have the experience.

“A lot of [the wrestlers] said it was really fun,” Coleman said. “They were glad to be on the mat and see what they could do.”

The wrestling season runs from October to February, but Coleman’s team has been training year-round at bi-weekly practice since March. Coleman said he feels that the wrestling season doesn’t give his wrestlers enough time to compete at their highest level.

He explained that the team has only November and December of a true, regular season. The sport of wrestling has two forms of competition — dual and traditional. For Georgia high school wrestling, both forms have championship competitions. 

Dual regional and state competitions start in January, and traditional regional and state competitions begin in February. Because of that, Coleman started the year-round, bi-weekly training schedule for his team to give them more time to get in shape.

According to Coleman, The team is young and led by junior Izavious Scott. Scott finished 3rd in the region last year and didn’t drop a match in Friday’s scramble.

“That’s pretty much my leader,” Coleman said. “He’s got the most experience right now.”

Coleman said he’s expecting big seasons out of sophomores Khaled Mullins and Brian Sanders. They finished fourth and second in the region last year, respectively. Coach Coleman also looks forward to more girls trying out for the women’s wrestling team this year. It has one wrestler so far, and Coleman is working with Master Sgt—Scott Morehouse from the ROTC program at the high school to recruit members internally. 

Coleman said his goal for the team this season is to make it to the sweet sixteen and finish at least in the final four.