Team Georgia’s wrestlers went 8-5 at last week’s Cadet National Duals in Daytona Beach, Fla.

Georgia finished 3-3 in the Greco-Roman style and placed second in the Red/Blue pool. The team followed up with a 5-2 mark in freestyle wrestling and won the Green/Yellow pool.

“As far as all of the teams that competed there, we were about at .500 as far as our record goes,” said Pope and Team Georgia coach Jim Haskin. “I’m really proud of the way we finished, though. We finished on a great note that last day and won all three of our matches to win the pool. I liked how we were able to end it.”

All teams competed in the Greco-Roman style over the first two days. Georgia was seeded to compete in Pool B along with Florida Red, Missouri, Maryland, Kansas and Michigan Red to start things off.

Maryland defeated Georgia 58-13 in the first round of the winner’s bracket before Kansas topped Georgia 39-29 in the consolation semifinals. Georgia beat Michigan Red 36-29 to finish fifth in Pool B and send the team to the Red/Blue championship round.

Georgia dominated North Carolina 63-6 in the opening round to earn a second-round bye. Georgia then defeated Florida Blue 46-24 before falling 44-32 to Pennsylvania Red in the first-place match.

Incoming Wheeler freshman Aslan Kilic went 1-5 at 106 pounds for Team Georgia in Greco-Roman, while rising Pope junior Tyler Haskin finished 5-1 in the style at 126. Rising Walton junior Jacob Murphy was solid at 3-2 at 132, while rising Kennesaw Mountain sophomore Justan Rivera went 5-1 at 182. Woodstock’s Zach Shareef finished 1-1 for Team Georgia at 132.

“The kids did a great job overall, I think,” Jim Haskin said. “They really shined out there.”

Freestyle wrestling concluded action over the final two days of the meet. Team Georgia started out in Pool D, along with Michigan Blue, Missouri, Ohio Scarlet, Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma Blue and Florida Blue.

Georgia found itself in familiar surroundings following a 41-21 setback to Virginia. The team then lost its consolation opener by a narrow 39-36 decision before beating Florida Blue again, 45-31 to earn a spot in the Green/Yellow pool.

Team Georgia shined with victories over North Carolina (52-15), New Mexico (59-14) and Ohio Grey (39-38) and Pennsylvania Red (42-34) to win its freestyle division.

Kilic once again finished 1-5 at 106 pounds, while Tyler Haskin was 2-4 in his bouts at 126. Murphy went 5-1 in his contests at 132, while Rivera totaled a 6-0 mark at 182 and 195 pounds. Shareef picked up a forfeit victory at 132.

“We had a bunch of kids high in the stats who did really well,” Jim Haskin said. “We’re working hard and we’re getting there. It was a great event.”