The Long County Lady Blue Tide wrestling team had its best season in team history last year after they advanced to the state duals tournament for the first time and finished in the top six of the state.

The team looks forward to another successful season this year and head coach Kristy Versprille is mostly excited about having 25 girls on the team and getting a “buy in” from all of them.

“Numbers are what you want when you are building a program,” Versprille said. “We were able to get the girls to ‘buy in’ last season. Most of the team worked with us this summer and participated in wrestling outside of the school as well.”

One thing that the girls have had to contend with over the last few years is the lack of girls teams in the state, especially in the area. Versprille says this is a “huge negative” because “the girls are forced to travel long distances to compete.”

To offset this, she said she worked with some of the best wrestling programs in the state to make sure the girls have experience wrestling against talented competition.

“Due to this issue, I have worked closely this summer and off-season with the coaches from Richmond Hill and Camden.” Versprille said. “We have been able to get our girls together for practices and conditioning.”

The girls entered the state duals tournament as the number four team in the state and much of the media coverage was unclear of where the Blue Tide even came from.

Versprille was proud that the team showed out and made a name for themselves in girls wrestling. So much so, the team has had to “turn down” several invitations to compete against teams in North Georgia.

“Teams now know where Long County is and coaches want to size up their teams against us,” Versprille said. “Schools beyond Macon want to be familiar with their competition since girls wrestling is more popular up there.

Going back to the numbers, Versprille said that they must have a “full squad” to avoid forfeit losses in any weight class. This year, they have that.

“Currently, we have all 14 weight classes filled. This is a plus,” Versprille said. “When a team is deemed as winners, it attracts others to want to be a part of that team. We do have several new wrestlers this season, new wrestlers who will be beneficial to this team.”

Versprille said that time on the mat this summer has been the most beneficial effort towards continuing to compete for a state title. She says they have “set the bar high” and hope to continue what they started last year.

“I expect all my girls to have personal bests this season,” she said. “We are one year older and know the sport better. I expect this to lead to more personal wins and team wins than last year.  Our team goal is to repeat the area championship and to closely compete with high-ranking schools.”

The girls hit the mat for the first time on Saturday, November 15. They travel to Evans to participate in the Rumble in the Jungle at Lakeside High School.