The Long County Lady Blue Tide wrestling team has been on the cusp of breaking through the last few seasons and the 2024-25 season is shaping up to be a historic one.

After winning the Area 1 championship last week, the team qualified for the state duals tournament and got the chance to host the state preliminary round.

With Aliana Morales’ win in the last match, the Blue Tide defeated North Oconee and Thursday and set up a trip to Lumpkin County for the Class 2 girls state duals finals on January 25.

Starting out in the 155 pound weight class, the visiting Titans took an early 6-0 lead with a forfeit win due to the Lady Tide not having a wrestler in the class.

Ansleigh Benton and Sala Tiapula then gave the Lady Tide a 12-6 lead with first-round pin victories in the 170- and 190-pound classes. Tymiah Powell just missed on a decision victory in the 235-pound class as she was pinned with 6 seconds left in the final round.

The Titans took an 18-12 lead with a pin victory in the second round of the 100-pound weight class match. A forfeit victory in the 105-pound class for Aleena Clark gave tied the score at 18-18.

Hayley Jones got another pin in the 110-pound class to put the Lady Tide up 24-18, but another pin in the next match tied the score again.

Haniyah Coleman got a first round pin in the 120-pound class and Daisy Ortiz won in the 125-pound class after her opponent was disqualified for an illegal slam that led to the match being stopped due to injury.

The Lady Tide’s college commit wrestler Kaiden Boshers got a forfeit victory in the 130-pound class to give the Lady Tide a 42-24 lead with three matches left.

With an 18-point lead and three matches left, the Lady Tide needed to either win one more match or lose one of the remaining three by anything other than a pin.

However, Janiyah Williams, who was wrestling up in class, and Evelyn Walters both lost by second-round pin in the 135- and 140-pound classes.

This left Morales with a huge opportunity in the 145-pound class match. With a 42-36 lead, Morales only needed a decision victory or to lose by major decision or less.

She took it into her own hands as she got a pin victory 22 seconds into the first round.

The Lady Tide will match up with Oglethorpe County in the first round and the winner will meet the winner of the Lumpkin County-Hardway match.