Alexander added another region wrestling championship to its long list Saturday and the Cougars qualified 12 athletes for next weekend’s sectionals in the process.

Four Cougars are region champions in the Region 5-AAAA invitational or traditional format which was held Friday and Saturday at Fayette County High School.

Jamie Prescott (103 pounds) was a 9-2 winner over a wrestler from Fayette in the finals, while Chad Starnes (119) was an 11-3 winner. Two time state champion Ethan Blackstock (189) and Joe Hinchman (215) pinned their opponents.

For Blackstock, who has lost only once all season, it was another impressive showing. His only loss came during a big Christmas Tournament in Chattanooga. Starnes, a state winner a year ago, also keeps winning impressively.

Alexander finished with 223 points, defeating Whitewater (151) for the team title.

“We got points in all classes. That’s something I’m proud of,” said Alexander coach Sean Moistner. “All of our guys wrestled hard. We could have done a few things differently, but this is just stage one in the process. Our main goal is to qualify as many as possible for the sectionals.”

Four AHS wrestlers took second-place honors, including Berkley Stewart (112), Jamil Watkins (125), Omar Ansari (140) and Jason Wilde (145).

Third-place honors for AHS went to Alex Head (135) and Austin Barrett (171), while placing fourth were Cody Dickerson (130) and Deandre Sims (160).

One goal which wasn’t met was qualifying for the sectionals in all divisions. But all the AHS wrestlers did score.

Upson Lee High School will host the sectionals Friday and Saturday. The top eight in each division will qualify for the state AAAA championships in two weeks at the Gwinnett Civic Center.