Bump11

The top half here will run through one guy. Bradley Williams. The second semifinal spot up top will be a fight though. Moolman, Dubberly, and Brumlow could all get that spot. I’m taking Moolman. But expect Dubberly and Brumlow to make waves on the back side. On the other end, the finalist from the bottom half could be any one of 4 or 5 guys. I’m taking Clemmons. Evan and Eli will try to become the first set of brothers to win state championships the same year since the Rippys did it a few years ago. I’d be interested to see how many more times, if ever and that has happened before. In addition to Dubberly and Brumlow, a couple of names to keep an eye out for are Luis Ramirez (Riverdale) and Dominic Love (Mt. Juliet). Final Picks: 1. Bradley Williams (Clarksville) 2. Evan Clemmons (Lebanon) 3. Christian Moolman (Franklin) 4. Devin Gibson (Bradley) 5. Isaiah Perez (Cleveland) 6. Jason Brumlow (East Hamilton) One match away: Jacob Dubberly (Lawrence Co) Luis Ramirez (Riverdale)

I REALLY liked Richards too. I had him vs Davis in the round of 12. He is definitely one to watch. Just was a little too inconsistent over the year for me to take him over Davis but I wouldn’t be surprised at all of he’s on the podium come Saturday.

Austin Antcliffe comes in as the favorite, but Sacharczyk and Jones are right on his tail. The Jones/Sacharczyk semi will be exciting if we get it. I like a few under the radar guys to make a deep run here. Cooper Palmieri (Northwest), Tyrone McDonald (Bradley), and Camden Buckingham (Motown West) are the ones to keep an eye on. Palmieri has been strong all year and was the top seed in region 6, losing an airtight decision to Smith from Clarksville 6-5. McDonald hasn’t been on the mat a ton but just gave Dylan Jones all he could handle in the region 4 final. Final Picks: 1. Austin Antcliffe (Arlington) 2. Brooks Sacharczyk (Blackman) 3. Sam Smith (Clarksville) 4. Dylan Jones (Cleveland) 5. Chris Parcel (Page) 6. Cooper Palmieri (Northwest) One match away: Tyrone McDonald (Bradley), Camden Buckingham (Motown West)

Oh boy. This likely finals match will be one of if not the most exciting match all weekend for me. Fowler vs Diehl. Both defending state champs. Both top p4p guys. Both elite talent in Tennessee. It would be a lot of fun. Dylan Quinn will try his best to spoil the party though. I really like Alex Mercado from Motown East and Cade Young from Houston. Mercado has flown under the radar, but had 2 very close matches with Diehl and I think he’s been very underrated. And young has been a solid guy throughout high school but has never been able to break through and hit the podium. I think he does this year. The toughest decision here was who wins it all. Fowler and Diehl could wrestle 10 times and I’d bet it’s close to 5-5. Final Picks: 1. Landon Fowler (Blackman) 2. Chase Diehl (Science Hill) 3. Dylan Quinn (Mt. Juliet) 4. Gabe Smith (Clarksville) 5. Alex Mercado (Motown East) 6. Cade Young (Houston) One match away: Ashton Davis (Cleveland), Cade Meeks (East Hamilton)

160 is gonna be a lot of fun. Fields starts his rod to a 2nd straight title with a 1st round match against the #6 guy. (Insert proper seeding needed plug). He then has a pretty tough match every step of the way. But I think he passes the test and gets his 2nd. However there’s no doubt the bottom half is the tougher half. There’s a solid 6 guys who could make it out of that side. It will depend on who wants it more. My pick is Cockman. Although don’t be surprised if Levi Stone wiggles his way into the final. A few names to look out for are Jonathan Ellis of Antioch, Clint Morrisette of Dobyns Bennett, and Landon Lewis of Soddy. I’d throw Ryan Brown of Lebanon in there but he’s been in and around the top 6 all year so I wouldn’t quite consider him a dark horse. I also expect Nathaniel Brewer to end the podium drought for Hendersonville. Final Picks: 1. Dominic Fields (Tennessee) 2. Dalton Cockman (Arlington) 3. Josh Pietarilla (Hardin Valley) 4. Levi Stone (Wilson Central) 5. Ryan Brown (Lebanon) 6. Nathaniel Brewer (Hendersonville) One match away: Clint Morrisette (Dobyns Bennett), Landon Lewis (Soddy)

You think I hope he chokes? LOL I never said that. All I stated was that there has been talk amongst people about him choking. I never said that I agreed with it. I hope Cole wins. I hope he wins it all. I just don’t see it happening.

Auston Sweeney is the only returning placer at this weight. And holds a win this year over my 145 lb state champ Alex Pergande. All signs seem to point towards a smooth path to title number 2. However, a path that likely runs through a Lemons brother and 2 studs from Johnson City OR a very dangerous Blaze named Brown...I’m not quite sold on it.. But he has been dominant this year and you know the Raiders in Blue are always at their best this time of year. Hmmmmmm...let’s toss a wrench shall we Cleveland fans lose their minds in 3.....2.....1 Final Picks: 1. Logan Ferguson (Tennessee) 2. Jared Harter (Science Hill) 3. Auston Sweeney (Cleveland) 4. Cainon Elkins (Halls) 5. Jalen Brown (Blackman) 6. Jeremiah Herron (Beech) One match away: Owen Medrano (Northeast), Trenton McCrary (Overton)

My bad. It’s supposed to say “beat Dooley to a title” ala got one first. Fixed

This may be one of the most controversial weights, or atleast one with the most controversial match. Klingensmith vs Lundy. With all the talk about Cole choking come tournament time, and Lundy not deserving his ranking..this one has intensity written all over it. Both want it bad, and both lose to Pergande in the final imo. But this is by far the match I’m most looking forward to. And we get it as a quarterfinal. However I don’t think anyone touches Pergande. He looks even more dangerous at 45. Joseph Frye seems to have the easiest path to the podium. That quarter isn’t near as strong as the others. Watch for Sam Morris, Trevor South, and Antonio Washington to real off some wins on the back side and make it interesting for the bottom half of the podium. Final Picks: 1. Alex Pergande (Wilson Central) 2. Grant Lundy (Cleveland) 3. Cole Klingensmith (Summit) 4. Gavin Russell (Davey Crockett) 5. Matheson Meade (Bearden) 6. Joseph Frye (Science Hill) One match away: Sam Morris (Maryville), Trevor South (Stewarts Creek)

Not sure why it posted twice

For sure! I had him round of 12 losing to Manuel. If he beats Henry he places I think. But I got Henry and then the loss to Manuel. But he’s definitely one to watch. I enjoy watching him and his brother. Both will be multiple time medalists

This is another one that’s pretty solid on the finals matchup. Henderson vs Dooley is the likely final bout. And I’m torn. On one hand, Henderson beat Dooley to a title here last year (got his first) and has a decision win over Job in the Ryan final this year. On the other hand, if there’s anyone who knows Henderson..it’s Dooley. And we all know how bad Job wants that title to finish his high school career. I think he gets it done. Elsewhere, look for Ely Castillo to give Henderson fits if they meet in the semis. Castillo dropped a 3-0 decision to Dooley, and beat Alan Fort, who gave Henderson all that he could handle. Castillo is good and could be a dark horse threat to win it Final Picks: 1. Job Dooley (Franklin) 2. Cameron Henderson (Smyrna) 3. Dillon Pendley (Tennessee) 4. Ely Castillo (Clarksville) 5. Alan Fort (Wilson Central) 6. Sebastian Hernandez (Bradley) One match away: Donovan Henry (Mt. Juliet), Jake Manuel (Houston)

At 132 I think we see the state finals in the semis between Isbell and Whiteside. The winner of that match stands on top of the podium while the loser takes 3rd. One to watch here is Alex Ables. He’s been hot lately and has recently climbed into the rankings. I went back and forth for about 30 minutes between him and Dom Williams and decided to be bold. Final Picks: 1. Christian Isbell (Clarksville) 2. Alex Ables (Centennial) 3. Logan Whiteside (Cleveland) 4. Luke Kerns (Arlington) 5. Dominic Williams (Lawrence Co) 6. Zachary Teaster (Heritage) One match away: Ian Morgan (Halls), Landon Fisher (Jefferson Co)

Brayden Palmer is looking for his 2nd title in a row to end his high school career. And I’m not sure who can stop him. I think Medina and Dezember put up a fight, but the Clarion signee cements his legacy as one of best lightweights the state has ever seen. Final Picks: 1. Brayden Palmer (Beech) 2. Luke Dezember (Lawrence Co) 3. Braxton Mann (Science Hill) 4. Steven Fisak (Wilson Central) 5. David Medina (Riverdale) 6. Daniel Mroz (Bradley) One match away: Dylan Cockman (Arlington), Kameron Franklin (Bartlett)

This bracket is loaded and is gonna be one of, if not the hardest one to predict. There’s probably 12-15 kids who belong near the podium. But we only get 6. Cannon is the favorite, but his road starts with a bang against Vance in rd 2 and only gets harder from there. On the bottom half, Clemmons is the favorite to make the final..but same as Cannon, his road will not be easy starting with Bridgeford in round 2. This bracket has all the makings to have fireworks and possibly a handful of upsets Final Picks: 1. Eli Clemmons (Lebanon) 2. Michael Cannon (Arlington) 3. William Witt (Cane Ridge) 4. Chase Bridgeford (Indy) 5. Jacob Haney (Lawrence Co) 6. Tyler McKeefery (Farragut) One match away: Cal Rogers (Tullahoma), Wes Devaney (Bradley)

Cannon is probably the favorite but it will by no means be easy. He’s gonna have to seriously earn it starting round 2. Theres 12 or so guys I counted that could make the finals. 120 is deep.

If we get that finals match it will be fun! Last year Borders took an early loss or 2 and really turned it on the 2nd half. He’s done the same this year so I think he’s got the tools to get title #2

Troll

Next up is 113. Like 106, the top 3 seem to be set, while 4-6 could go a lot of ways. Seems like we are destined for a Borders/Bradford final, a rematch I’ve been waiting to see since Jackson edged Hunter earlier this year, but keep an eye on Shires of Rossview in that second semi against Bradford. I believe Sammie will be a state champion in tennessee, and possibly a multiple time champion. How close does he get this year? Final Picks: 1. Hunter Borders (Wilson Central) 2. Jackson Bradford (Cleveland) 3. Sammie Shires (Rossview) 4. Glen O’Daniel (Bradley) 5. Brennan Watkins (Dobyns Bennett) 6. Javelle Gillespie (Science Hill) One match away: Alex Rose (Blackman), Kolin Koss (Bartlett)

I’m going to put out Picks for each weight with their own thread so each weight gets its own discussion. We will start at 106. I think everyone is in agreement that this is McDaniel’s championship to lose. With only a couple viable challengers, it’s hard to imagine Trae not being on top of the podium next weekend. I think 1-3 are locks. 4-6 however gets tricky. Lots of good talented kids fighting for those spots. Final Picks: 1. Trae McDaniel (Cleveland) 2. Chris Calvin (McGavock) 3. Brayden Ivy (Motown West) 4. Ethan Wilson (Bradley) 5. Tyler South (Stewart’s Creek) 6. Keegan Schulz (Munford) One match away: Grapperhaus (Sevier) Stokes (Oakland)

We will keep this one going for bulk state talk but I will be dropping threads for each weight with picks to go more in depth

Very true. I can almost guarantee you that a large amount of them are kids who wrestle. I know from experience, my Coach T days started my sophomore year. Although I had two different screen names back then

I know I know. It’s silly of me to think such a thing could be possible. But one can dream right?

All qualifiers are set. Based on the past and the fact that TSSAA presses a button to seed the brackets, I’m guessing they will be out in the next couple of days. What would it honestly take to do as the NCAA’s are being done and seed the entire thing, 1-32 at every weight? Like actually seed it properly.

Tell me what picks for anything ever play out perfectly..don’t worry I’ll wait. Nobody was sleeping on Bradley. Nobody ever sleeps on Bradley. With the history of that program you can’t sleep on them. Nobody ever said they weren’t good or couldn’t win..Just because some of us were high on a couple others and thought they could beat bradley does not mean anyone was “sleeping” on the them. It means we just thought a couple teams could beat them. You can be high on one team without being low on the other. To say that anyone was sleeping on Bradley is absurd.