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QUICK UPDATE - First, I see a lot of wrestling names that I recognize on that GoFundMe. THANK YOU so much for helping this family. After the long surgery on Sunday morning to repair his neck, Jacob suffered a collapsed lung. Sometimes this happens after long surgeries. They had to put him on a ventilator to get his breathing back on track. He came off the vent on Monday morning and they put a BIPAP on him to help control his breathing. As of today, Thursday, the BIPAP came off and he is breathing well on his own. He is working towards drinking a glass of water and hopefully eating some solid food at some point in the near future. Jacob can "feel" when someone touches his legs, but there is still no movement. His parents are beginning to prepare for him to be moved to the Shepherd Center in the next few days. He will be there in Atlanta for 30-45 days. Im sure he will receive excellent treatment. Please continue to pray for healing for him and if you are so moved, please contribute to the gofundme link above to help in any way you can. The go fund me is doing well, but this is going to be a very long road for these guys Im afraid.. Thanks again! Sells

As a parent, this was always my worst nightmare. I take it for granted every time I get in the car and took it for granted most of the time when one of my sons was on the wrestling mat. Sometimes things are not "going to be fine". Jacob was wrestling in a Greco match at Iron Man when he was thrown. He landed on his head and neck and shattered his C6 and C7. His spinal cord was offset which is not good. He is currently at Vanderbilt Childrens in Nashville and has undergone a big surgery to brace his neck with pins and screws and realign his spinal cord, but damage has been done. He is currently not able to move his legs or control his fingers. I visited him yesterday and this young man has a long row to hoe. I'm asking the wrestling community here in TN to lift his family up in prayer and come together to help. He will likely have to go to Shephard Center in Atlanta which is going to require his mom and dad to take off work, travel, eat out, etc. Jacob does have some feeling in his lower extremities, so we are praying he will be able to recover. Time will tell and God is in control. If you are unable to donate $5-10, please offer up prayers for Jacob to heal completely and for patience and strength for his parents as they are no doubt dealing with a worst nightmare. GO FUND ME for JACOB gofund.me/22e00da8 Thanks, Matt Sells - Blackman Wrestling

Glad to see this back. We used to do this back in 2012 and before.

The end of the match baffles me.

I'm not expecting Blackman to just walk into the state duals. We still have to show up and wrestle. For several years, Bradley has been known for having some tough well known kids, but what sometimes goes unnoticed is their ability to take kids who most people don't know and turn them into hammers. What's Walker Valley like this year?

THANKS!! Sincere thanks to all the coaches, parents and wrestlers who came to the Blackman Preseason tournament! I think we had a great event, and everyone was so well-behaved! I cant think of any issues really at all with parents, coaches, or fans! Whether you were new to wrestling, or a state champ, we had some great competition for you! Dale Bradford did a great job running the tournament and keeping things moving. I know a lot of you were happy to be out of there early! A quick reminder to those who dont know. This tournament is always round robin format using ABILITY GROUPING. Kids are ranked by their coaches from 1 to 4. (beginner to expert). The beginners wrestle other beginners, and the experts wrestle other experts. It's a great dry run for coaches and their teams to finish getting things in order for the season! Special Thanks to Heritage, Cleveland, Clarksville, Rossview, Northeast, and others who travelled to get here. Good luck to everyone this season!

Thanks! It will be a good one once again!!!

EVENT DATE: Saturday, November 18, 2023 LAST YEAR PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS: Beech Senior, Blackman, Brentwood, Brentwood Academy, Cane Ridge, Cleveland, Coffee County, Cornersville, Dickson Co., Eagleville, Forrest, Franklin, Franklin Co., Glencliff, Goodpasture, Green Hill, Heritage, Kenwood, Lavergne, Lawrence Co., Liberty Creek, Marshall Co., Martin Luther King, Nashville Christian School, Northeast, Oakland, Riverdale, Rossview, Smyrna, St. Andrew`s-Sewanee, Stewarts Creek, Summit, Trousdale County, Tullahoma, Wayne County, Wilson Central, Blackman (Girls), Cane Ridge (Girls), Cleveland (Girls), Coffee County High School (Girls), Dickson Co. (Girls), Forrest (Girls), Franklin (Girls), Franklin Co. (Girls), Green Hill (Girls), Heritage (Girls), Kenwood (Girls), Lavergne (Girls), Marshall Co. (Girls), Northeast (Girls), Oakland (Girls), Ravenwood (Girls), Riverdale (Girls), Rossview (Girls), Smyrna (Girls), St. Andrew`s-Sewanee (Girls), Stewarts Creek (Girls), Summit (Girls), Tullahoma (Girls) MATS: 7: 5 mats will be used in the Main gym and 2 in the Aux Gym WEIGH-IN: Weigh-Ins will be conducted at YOUR site Wednesday, Nov 15. Scratch weights should be taken right after your practice. Whatever the wrestler’s weight is at the end of practice is the scratch weight. ***Because this is an early season scrimmage, we don’t want to focus on making weight. Hence, the reason for scratch weigh-ins. This also allows for teams to arrive later, for us to start earlier, and to speed up the event. We expect weigh-ins to be conducted properly and wrestlers to try maintaining their scratch weight rather than trying to gain advantage by putting on weight. Line-ups must be entered on Track Wrestling. You will receive an email link. Please indicate skill level 1-4 (Elite-1, Good-2, Fair-3, Beginner-4) Email Dale Bradford at gdbradford@comcast.net if you don’t have a link. BRACKETS: Round Robins will be used for bracketing. Wrestlers will be grouped as best as possible according to skill level. Please be as close/honest as possible when rating and weighing your wrestlers. All matches will be three 1 minute periods. COACHES MEETING: We will hold a coaches meeting Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. Hospitality room for Coaches and Referees ONLY! WRESTLING SESSIONS: 9:00 a.m.- 1st Round. Wrestling will continue throughout the day. ADMISSION: Tickets may be purchased at the door. Adults: $10.00 Students: $5.00 ENTRY FEE: There will be an $15 entry fee per wrestler, payable upon arrival. Coaches are responsible for ALL names that are sent in. 3 coaches per team, each additional coach is $10. Make checks payable to: Blackman Wrestling WEIGHT CERTIFICATION/HYDRATION TESTING SITE Blackman HS will serve as a mass testing site for Hydration and Weight Certification. Start time will be 7:00am. Contact Wade Bartlett at 931-334-9944 or wade.bartlett@starpt.com for more information.

Here's what I get. Requested two days ago.

They are definitely on the right path. I am very pleased to see a standard of discipline and accountability higher than has been in recent years.

I always felt like he wasn't feeding Brown the ball like he should have. So worried about spreading it out to kids who just didn't have the spark. Blackman will be fine. We need to get back to forcing our kids to be tough and gritty anyway.

Blackman's problem the last few years has been a lack of discipline, grit and tenacity. Until that changes, we are stuck here in 2-4th place.

What he said ^^

LOL

Show up at 5:30 to stretch and warm up. Live 5 minute goes begin promptly at 6pm.