While there is some debate as to which team will win Tennessee's Division I-AAA state championships in February, it seems likely tournament trophies will find their way back to Bradley County.
The question is whether those recognitions of excellence will come to reside at 1000 South Lee Highway, home base for Bradley Central's Bears, or 850 Raider Drive, the address of 2014-15 state champion Cleveland.
Cleveland High School wrestling coach Jake Yost will try to lead his Blue Raiders to their fourth championships in the state duals and traditional tournament this season.Three teams to watch
1. Baylor: The Red Raiders have power that includes three-time defending champions Ryan Parker, who just finished a standout football season, and Virginia-bound Michael Murphy.2. Bradley Central: Finishing third in last season’s state duals and runner-up in the traditional tournament left the Bears with an empty feeling. They return the most points from last year’s traditional tournament, and they’re hungry to finish climbing the pinnacle.3. Red Bank: The Lions have a pair of state champions — Devin Crawl and Gabe Duffy — among eight seniors, but a 33-31 loss to Hixson kept them at home for the state duals, and they’re looking to get over the hump.
Three wrestlers to watch
1. Michael Murphy, Baylor: He’s finally a senior. He’s been around for an eternity and will be looking for his fifth state medal and fourth state championship.2. Tucker Russo, Soddy-Daisy: He’s a two-time state champion and three-time medalist.3. Devin Crawl, Red Bank: He’s a returning state champ and two-time state finalist.
"We have some big shoes to fill," Cleveland coach Jake Yost said. "The class that came through and graduated is the most decorated in Cleveland history."
Titles this season would be the Blue Raiders' fourth in each tournament - duals and traditional.
For seven of the past eight seasons, the state duals title has been won by either Bradley Central or Cleveland, a string broken only once by Soddy-Daisy. And the traditional championship has resided in Bradley County in seven of the past 10 seasons, again with the string interrupted only by the Trojans.
Preseason polls seem to favor the Bears.
"Nope," Bradley coach Ben Smith said. "Cleveland's the team to beat. We can have all the hype and paper champs all year, but you're still the king till you get beat. Now I think we have as good a shot as anybody, but we haven't beat anybody. Until we toe the line and do it in February, they're still the team."
The Bears return the most points from last season's traditional tournament, and Smith believes his Bears should have been in the title dual opposite Cleveland instead of Wilson Central.
"We underachieved in the duals and then we were in position to win the traditional and didn't," he said. "They won it, but we felt it was just as much us losing it."
He has kept the traditional runner-up trophy in the wrestling room as a reminder.
"We're not good enough that we don't have to come in every day and get better," he said.
Yost is working with a group that is primarily untested and may have but one senior (126-pound Triston Blansit) in the starting lineup.
"We have a lot of room to grow," Yost said. "There's potential and the kids are working hard, so I think we can get there."
There are those in the state who think Cleveland will be hard-pressed to finish among the top quartet.
Smith doesn't believe it.
"I've told them if you think you guys and us are going to walk all over Cleveland, then you're crazy," he said. "I know what they have in the room and what's coming up."
The primary challenges should come from Soddy-Daisy, or perhaps Wilson Central and Hendersonville Beech.
"Soddy-Daisy is quietly reloading," Smith said, "and Walker Valley will be in there, too."
Soddy-Daisy coach Jim Higgins believes Stewarts Creek, Halls and William Blount could challenge as well.
"We're just practicing, having fun," Higgins said. "Cleveland is going to still be in the top four or five. They've added some transfers. A lot of hard work and determination should have us right there in the mix with those guys."
In Division I-A/AA, the early rankings have Pigeon Forge No. 1, followed by Red Bank, Alcoa and Hixson.
"That's good, I guess," Red Bank coach Shane Turner said of his team's No. 2 ranking. "It's recognition that maybe we're doing something right, but I'd rather be ranked in the last poll (of the season). Pigeon Forge is still the benchmark statewide, and Hixson will be the benchmark in our region. Until somebody beats them, they're still at the top."
Although he has eight seniors in the lineup - each has been with the Lions since Turner joined the program - he continues to remind them they have yet to win anything.
"We're watching how we talk and we're working hard," he said.
The Division II tournament favorites are familiar names - Baylor, McCallie, Father Ryan, MBA and Christian Brothers.
"It's the same song and dance as the rest of us," Smith said.
"McCallie has some good young kids. Baylor got a big out-of-state recruit and has a great feeder program and great coaches. Father Ryan also has great coaches. CBHS was young last year but they were tough, and MBA has a good little core Baylor is always going to find a way to be in the top two or three, and McCallie will make things interesting."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at twitter.com/wardgossett.