DeKalb Wrestling Championships Set for Weekend

By Mark Brock

The 2014 William Venable DeKalb County Wrestling Championships are set for Friday, Jan. 17 and Saturday, Jan. 18 at Arabia Mountain High School.       .

The tournament begins Friday at 5 p.m. and continues with a 9 a.m. start on Saturday as the DeKalb County wrestling teams compete for the coveted championship.

A new champion is assured this year as defending champion Marist had a scheduling conflict.

Some of the top contenders for the title in 2014 include Lithonia, fresh off its Top Six finish at the GHSA State Duals Tournament and win over Marist, Lakeside, Dunwoody, McNair and Southwest DeKalb.

Kirk Hudson, 106 division, and Chris Nelson, 160 Division, headline a strong lineup for Lithonia heading into the weekend. Hudson is undefeated with a 26-0 record on the season and Nelson who went 3-2 at the State Duals last week is 33-2.

Lakeside is coming off its first ever Area Duals championship and State Duals appearance last week as the Vikings prepare for the county meet. Alex LaRotta (190), 31-0 heading into the State Duals Tournament last week, and Josh Powel (152), 28-2 heading into state, are two of the leaders for Lakeside.

Dunwoody is coming off a second place finish to Lakeside in the Area 6 AAAAA Duals and a first ever appearance at the State Duals. The Wildcats look to Sunny Sharma (120), who won the 113 class at county and area a year ago, to lead the way this weekend.

Southwest DeKalb was the runner-up to Marist a year ago in the Venable Championships. The Panthers return county and state champion Abdur-Rahman Yasir (152, won at 145 a year ago) and county champ Justin Hussein (182).

McNair which won its first ever county title in 2012 looks to seniors Mamadou Diallo (120) and Nicholas Evans (145) and junior Jamaal Deng (152). The trio all placed at county in 2013.