Buford’s wrestling team fell a little short of their ultimate goal for this weekend’s GHSA Class 6A Traditional State Championships in Macon, but they still have plenty to celebrate.
A sixth traditional state championship wasn’t in the cards for the Wolves, as they placed second with 221.5 points behind Camden County, who amassed 303.5 points. Mill Creek, West Forsyth and Harrison rounded out the top five teams. Camden County has dominated Georgia’s high school wrestling scene for the past 11 years now as they captured the traditional state title year after year since 2015.
Although Buford did not walk away with the overall traditional state title, they did leave with two individual state champions, six state runner-ups and one third-place finisher.
Junior D.J. Clarke beat Camden County’s Cane Smolarsky by an 11-2 major decision to capture the state championship title in the 126-pound weight class. Last year, Clarke was the state runner-up in the 113-pound weight class.
Senior Drew Gorman won his fourth state title, the third Buford wrestler to reach this accomplishment. He joins an elite group with Nick Stonecheck (2017-2020) and Chip Ness (2011-2014). Gorman won his fourth state title by technical fall over Rod Zow of Camden County.
Cooper McArthur (106), Chris Metz (113), Kieron McCormack (132), Maddox McArthur (138), Conor McCloskey (215) and Albert Butler (285) each finished second in their respective weight classes. Trey Gregory finished third in the 150-pound division for Buford.
Buford’s accomplishments at the GHSA Class 6A Traditional State Championships are only a small portion of the team’s achievements during the 2024-2025 season. During this season, the Wolves can claim the following:
- Second place (team) at the GHSA Class 6A Duals State Championships
- Second place (team) at the GHSA Class 6A Traditional State Championships
- Two individual state champions
- Seven individual state placers
- Ninth year in a row that the team has placed in the top two in state tournaments
- Team had 10 tournament championship wins
- Head coach Tom Beuglas was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Three seniors sign with college wrestling programs (Drew Gorman, Virginia Tech; Maddox McArthur, Reinhardt University and Conor McCloskey, Princeton)
