Richmond Hill girls wrestling coach Tony Dragon knew Jackson County would be a tough opponent when the Panthers came to town Thursday for a State Duals Meet Preliminary Match with a berth in the state tournament on the line.The teams met in November in a tournament with the Wildcats winning 48-30, but Dragon noted that neither squad was at full strength for that match.On Thursday it was a different story as both squads were fighting to keep their seasons alive. There were pins in all 14 matches and it came down to Wildcat star Izzy West at 120 pounds in the final bout of the day. The senior scored a first-period fall over Marlie Sanchez to notch her 100th career win, while tying the match at 42 all.It came down to a tiebreaker, and Richmond Hill prevailed on the 8th criteria of which team had the most total first points scored as the Wildcats prevailed 33-9 on that front to win the match 43-42.Richmond Hill punched its ticket to the GHSA Division I State Dual Meet Tournament where the Wildcats are set to compete at Lumpkin County High School on Saturday, Jan. 25 against an opponent to be determined."We knew the match (with Jackson County) was going to be more competitive, but that was closer than we wanted it to be," Dragon said. "When we had to go to the tiebreaking criteria, I really had no idea how it would end up. But getting the most first points in those matches is all about being aggressive, and we talk to the girls about that. We don't want to wrestle defensively and be passive — we always talk about being aggressive and it paid off today."There was a blind draw to determine the order of the matches, and it ended it with the 120-pound bout being the final match of the day — setting the stage for West to reach the 100-win milestone for her career in a huge moment for her and the team."Izzy has been a real steady force, and we can always count on her to be there when we need a big win," Dragon said.Last season, West finished second in the Traditional State Tournament at 110 pounds and was named the All-Greater Savannah Girls Wrestler of the Year. The senior improved to 38-2 this season with the win over Sanchez."It was a stressful match — there was a lot of pressure and I think some of our girls got nervous and it came down to the last matches," West said. "It meant a lot for me to help the team win and get my 100th win. It definitely means more for a girl to reach 100 wins because there are less opportunities to wrestle than the boys have. So this was a big milestone for me."When West was a sophomore, she was the only girl wrestling for Richmond Hill. Last year, the Wildcats had a team with 16 wrestlers and reached the State Duals Tournament. This year there are 27 girls on the squad.In the win against Jackson County, the Wildcats got pins from Amelia WIckline at 135 pounds, Kaitlyn Platt (145 pounds), Rymonea Rivers (155), Coralys Lopez (100), Liliana Flacksenburg (105), Lacee Dragon (110) and West.Dragon, a sophomore and the daughter of coach Tony Dragon, came through in dramatic fashion in a back-and-forth battle with Danielle Hussey. It looked like the match might come down to a decision, but Dragon scored the third period fall for six team points to keep the Wildcats hopes alive."I didn't want to watch that one, I was thinking about just going into the hall way so I wouldn't be so nervous," Tony Dragon said with a laugh. "But that was a big win for Lacee, and we needed every win we got."Rivers, a junior, improved to 25-1 with her win over Tatiana Rubio."I was kind of a troubled child, I was aggressive," Rivers said. "And I liked wrestling right away because it gave me an outlet for that. When I started, Izzy (West) was the only girl on the team. I wanted to be strong and tough like her and thought that this was the sport for me. Now it's really growing at Richmond Hill. Everybody wants to be part of it — to be part of a winning team."Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN