Alexander's Starnes Wins 3rd State Title

finished fifth at the Georgia Traditional Wrestling Championships on Saturday, falling short of defending its 2010 AAAA title, but 125-pound wrestler Chad Starnes came through with his third consecutive state championship.

Starnes took on Rockdale’s Ulises Ponce in the title match at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Following a trend during Saturday’s matches, the two grapplers went scoreless in the first period, but Starnes took control in the second, scoring three points, and did not relinquish.

Starnes exhibited exceptional defense in the third period to bring home his third individual state title in a row with the 3-0 victory.

Also contributing to Alexander's fifth-place team finish with 78 points were James Prescott, who finished fifth at 112 pounds; Berkley Stewart, sixth at 119 pounds; and Dan Monett, fifth at 285 pounds.