HIGH SCHOOL

Isbell, Elery named All Area Wrestlers of the Year

George Robinson
USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

While Northwest's Jessica Elery has been through state competition before, Clarksville High's Christian Isbell was having new experiences nearly every time he stepped on the mat.

The two Montgomery County wrestlers were still dominant during the high school wrestling season as Elery captured her third straight Class 3A state championship in women's wrestling while Isbell finished third overall in state competition.

And for the second straight year, Elery has been named The Leaf-Chronicle All Area Girls Wrestler of the Year. Isbell captured the Boys Wrestler of the Year award. Both were selected by The Leaf-Chronicle sports staff while the All Area boys and girls Wrestling Teams were selected by the area athletic directors.

"I was a little scared at first, when the season first started because I was unsure of what to expect, coming from the middle school side," Isbell said. "But once I got a few wins under my belt early in the dual season I settled down and started to gain a lot of confidence."

Jessica Elery of Northwest wrestles Jillian Alford of William Blount in the Girls 138 weight class of the TSSAA State Wrestling championships in Franklin, Tenn.

Isbell finished the dual season 48-6 and pinned 32 of his opponents. It was a step up in the competition level for Isbell but he handled it with veteran savvy.

"With a team of just freshmen and sophomore, we had our ups and downs as a team," Isbell said. "But you could tell we all started to gain confidence. It wasn't just me. I think we all began to be more consistent as wrestlers."

Although this was Isbell's first year as a varsity wrestlers, he's no stranger to how much pressure can be on a Clarksville High wrestler. He has two older brothers who went through the program and competed at a high level. His brother Brandon competed at state for three straight years, placing third overall and Chad Isbell finished state runner-up his junior and senior year.

Christian took his first state experience two months ago and placed third overall.

Clarksville's Christian Isbell looks to score points during a match earlier this season. Isbell has been named the All Area Boys Wrestler of the Year.

"I have never seen so many mats in my life," Isbell joked. "It was intimidating at first but again, I just settled down and started wrestling and made it to the state semifinal round before I got beat. Then I had to just concentrate on finishing off state as strong as possible. So, when I got third, I was really proud of myself."

For Elery, she has become arguably the most dominate girls wrestler in the state, completing her state title three-peat this past season. Elery also helped Northwest High capture the overall state championship as a team after teammates Lindsey Morrison, Deyla Brito-Perez and Catherine Palmieri all finished state runner-up and Stephanie Juarez took third place.

Northwest's Jessica Elery honored as girls' top wrestler

“We always joke that God blessed the athlete," Northwest coach Ben Smitherman said. "I’ve never had an athlete where this was more true than with Jessica. She is physically superior to all of her opponents."

Elery captured her first All Area Wrestler of the Year last year after taking home her second straight state championship. She has captured a state title in each of the three years that the girls wrestling has been a TSSAA sanctioned sport.

In addition to another state title, Elery was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Alabama Girls Championships three months ago and was named Dream Team Most Outstanding Female Wrestler while sporting a 3.6 GPA.

"Hard work in the weight room during the off seasons got her to this point," Smitherman said. "Her presence in our lineup will be missed.”

Reach Prep writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com or (931) 245-0747 and on Twitter @Cville_Sports. 

ALL AREA BOYS WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

Christian Isbell

Class: Freshman

Dual record: 48-6 (32 pins)

Region Tourney: Runner-up

State Tourney: Third place

ALL AREA GIRLS WRESTLER OF THE YEAR

Jessica Elery

Class: Senior

Dual record: 28-1

Region Tourney: Champion

State Tourney: Champion (third straight year)