Father Ryan's King wins 4th title; Irish win DII wrestling
FRANKLIN — Eli King climbed the plastic fencing Saturday night and reached over the railing into the stands.
The Father Ryan senior had wrapped up his wrestling career moments earlier in the TSSAA Wrestling State Championships. And he was ready to celebrate with his mom, Victoria King.
King became the Nashville area's second four-time state champion, beating Montgomery Bell Academy's Bryce Wittman 6-0 in the Division II 145-pound final. King, who has college wrestling options, plans to attend college solely a student.
He wants to be a dentist, like his father.
"It's all over," Eli King said. "It's all set and done. I achieved what I wanted to achieve.
"I achieved it. I'm at peace."
King, who is Father Ryan's first four-time wrestling champion, was one of five Irish to win Division II titles to help the Irish win the Division II championship with 239.5 points. McCallie was second with 212.5. Father Ryan also beat McCallie in the DII state duals earlier this month.
"It was an incredible day," said Father Ryan's Christian Simpson, who won the 113-pound weight class for his third straight title. "If you asked at the beginning of the year, people thought two state champions and three of their lucky.
"Five is huge. That's unreal for us."
The Irish had eight in the finals.
The Nashville area wrapped up the three-day tournament with 20 individual championships.
Riverdale senior Nick Boykin ended his career with a third straight title and 140-match win streak after beating Wilson Central's Michael Kramer with a 14-4 major decision at 285 pounds in Class AAA. Boykin plans to leave Friday for Colorado to begin training with the U.S. Olympic team.
"I hadn't realized how big of a winning streak I had until I came here," Boykin said. "It's pretty awesome. I just set it for other people to beat it."
Mt. Juliet had two Class AAA champions in Zack Wilkins (138) and Nathan Walling (195).
Williamson County had a trio of male champions in Franklin's Jack Schrader (126), Page's Houston Tywater (182) and Independence's Isaiah Demello (220). The county also had a female state champion in Independence's Zanaya Shropshire (185).
Schrader's 5-4 win over Independence's Daniel Fowler was named Class AAA's best match of the finals.
On the girls side, Northwest's Jessica Elery won her third title, pinning William Blount's Jillian Alford in 1:34.
"I didn't come in here overconfident," Elery said. "I came in here thinking I could lose, just like my freshman year.
"That's really what keeps me sane. I don't ever want to get too comfortable."
Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 and tkreager@tennessean.com or @Kreager.