cowcatcher

Once we know who all qualifies for single A in a few weeks, I will post my top 6 in each weight but to create some discussion, here are my early picks in each weight... 106 - Cole Dyer (Soddy) over Christopher Lagorio (Hixson) ... I would not be surprised to see Comes from Seymour sneak into the finals, but Dyer is the man to beat. 113 - JoJo Uhorchuk (Signal) over Tyson Flavin (Soddy) 120 - Carson Dupill (Greeneville) over Charles Duncan (Soddy) 126 - Ethan Uhorchuk (Signal) over Andy Cable (Pigeon Forge) ... this should be an awesome match! 132 - Caleb Uhorchuk (Signal) over Sam Hutchisen (Halls) 138 - Harlen Hunley (Halls) over Brody McLemore (Eagleville) 145 - Hunter Mason (Greeneville) over Sasha Warner (Polk) 152 - Colin Dupill (Greeneville) over Jackson Davis (Signal) 160 - Wyatt Howard (Pigeon Forge) over Thomas Magness (Harpeth) ... expect Turner from Soddy to be right there. He almost beat Howard two weeks ago. This should be a fun weight to follow! 170 - Jake Stacey (Green Hill) over the field 182 - Logan Heckert (Sycamore) over Gabe Ferrell (David Crockett) 195 - Kendrick Curtis (Fairview) over Rob Atwood (Trousdale) in an upset of the match Atwood won earlier this year 4-2. Lowery from Greeneville will be right there in the mix as well. 220 - Zac Crisman (Greeneville) over the field 285 - Caleb Wolfe (Pigeon Forge) over Ronan O'Connell (Page) Finalists Greeneville - 4 Signal - 4 Soddy - 3 Pigeon Forge - 2 Halls - 2

Soddy is the clear cut favorite to win both duals and traditional next year in single A. I expect next year's Soddy team to be one of the best to ever come through the division. Only other on that level in recent years would be the Pigeon Forge team from 2021. I wouldn't be surprised if Soddy can compete with Baylor, Cleveland, and Bradley next year. They should be legit!

A - Greeneville...I know they didn't make the duals but with Carson, Colin, Hunter, Chrisman, and Lowery, they will have 5 champions. I expect Pigeon Forge, Signal, and Soddy to be their biggest challengers. They are the only ones that will have the firepower to match that. Pigeon Forge will have Cable, Wyatt Howard, and Wolfe in the finals with Aiden Howard and Little right there too. Signal probably has 4 finalists with the three brother and Davis. Soddy has Dyer, Flavin, and Turner who I expect to be finalists and don't overlook Cosper or Duncan. Halls is a great dual team, but they might only have one finalist with Hunley. After watching the single A duals this past weekend, I will say that the Hunley from Halls, Davis from Signal, and O'Connell from Page are three guys that really impressed me that I don't normally hear a lot about. AA - Cleveland...expect Bradley to keep it closer than most think. They beat Cleveland by 10 points in the Father Ryan tournament earlier this year, but Ellison was out. They would need some help with some upsets, but they likely have a 2/10 chance to win it. DII - Father Ryan... Baylor will be right there if Tisdale is back and healthy enough to make it to the finals.

I have given this a lot of thought and still could be completely off. I would group the 8 teams into three groups… Contenders: Signal, Soddy, Halls Potential Spoilers: Page, Fairview, Gibbs, Tullahoma Happy to be here: Sycamore Quarters Signal over Gibbs … this one could be closer than most think. This Gibbs group came close to upsetting powerhouse Pigeon Forge in this same round last year Tullahoma over Sycamore … Tullahoma by 18-23 points Halls over Page … Page almost spoiled Signal’s run to the title last year in this same round, but when Halls is healthy I just don’t see how they can match up in this one. Give me Halls by 16-19 points Soddy over Fairview … I see Soddy being the favorite in 8 of the 14 matches here. Not impossible for Fairview to pull an upset, but give me the Trojans by 12-15 points. Semis Signal over Tullahoma … I don’t think Signal matches up great with Gibbs or Tullahoma in the upper weights, so expect both of these matches to be fairly close. I do think Gibbs is more of a threat to Signal than Tullahoma. I’ll take Signal by 8-10 points. Soddy over Halls ... Halls will need an upset or two to pull this one off. Keep an eye on Lewis v. Sexton at 126. I'll take the Trojans by 1-3 points. Finals Signal over Soddy in the match of the year. Both teams have new additions to their lineups with Dyer and Elliott. I am interested to see if we get any different matchups in the rematch. I hope we get to this point, I am dying to see this one this time! How I see the three biggest matches shaping out… Halls v. Page 106 – Kitts (Halls) dec. Herman (Page) 3-0 Halls 113 – May (Halls) maj. O’Neal (Page) 7-0 Halls 120 – Simpson (Page) dec. Cook (Halls) 7-3 Halls [Cook won previous meeting 10-7] 126 – Sexton (Halls) dec. Brown (Page) 10-3 Halls [toss up match] 132 – Hawkinson (Page) dec. Hutchisen (Halls) 10-6 Halls 138 – Hunley (Halls) pins Drake (Page) 16-6 Halls 145 – Sexton (Halls) dec. Elder (Page) 19-6 Halls 152 – Whaley (Halls) pins Garner (Page) 25-6 Halls 160 – Whaley (Halls) pins Williamson (Page) 31-6 Halls 170 – J. Ward (Page) pins Freeman/Forton (Halls) 31-12 Halls [I would bump Ward away from Whaley if I am Page] 182 – West/Olsen (Page) maj. dec. Stowell (Halls) 31-16 Halls 195 – Cook (Halls) pins E. Ward (Page) 37-16 Halls 220 – Meeks (Page) pins Shubert (Halls) 37-21 Halls 285 – Turner (Halls) dec. O’Connell (Page) 40-21 Halls I do not feel like Halls is 19 points better than Page, so maybe they make some adjustments and/or pull an upset or two to make it closer but when Halls has everyone in the lineup, I don’t see them losing to Page. Soddy v. Halls 106 – Dyer (Soddy) pins Kitts (Halls) 6-0 SD 113 – Flavin (Soddy) maj. dec. May (Halls) 10-0 SD 120 – Duncan (Soddy) dec. Cook (Halls) 13-0 SD 126 – Lewis (Soddy) dec. Sexton (Halls) 16-0 SD [expect this to be a close match] 132 – Hutchisen pins Whalen (Soddy) 16-6 SD 138 – Hunley (Halls) pins Hatcher or Bull (Soddy) 16-12 SD 145 – Cosper (SD) pins Sexton (Halls) 22-12 SD 152 – Whaley (Halls) dec. Rawlinson (Soddy) 22-15 SD 160 – Whaley (Halls) pins Bates (Soddy) 22-21 SD 170 – Turner (Soddy) pins Forton (Halls) 28-21 SD 182 – Stowell (Halls) dec. Wade (Soddy) 28-24 SD 195 – Cook (Halls) dec. Laxton (Soddy) 28-27 SD 220 – Montgomery (Soddy) pins Glenn (Halls) 34-27 SD 285 – Turner (Halls) pins Davis (Soddy) 34-33 SD Soddy v. Signal 106 – Dyer (Soddy) pins Higdon (SM) 6-0 SD 113 – JoJo Uhorchuk (SM) pins Flavin (Soddy) 6-6 tied 120 – Duncan (Soddy) pins Lynch (SM) 12-6 SD 126 – Ethan Uhorchuk (SM) maj. dec. Lewis (Soddy) 12-10 SD 132 – Owens (SM) dec. Whalen (Soddy) 13-12 Signal 138 – Caleb Uhorchuk (SM) pins whoever Soddy throws here or gets a forfeit 19-12 Signal 145 – Cosper (Soddy) dec. Elliott (SM) 19-15 Signal 152 – Davis (SM) pins Welch (Soddy) 25-15 Signal 160 – Rawlinson pins Shriner (SM) 25-21 Signal 170 – Turner (Soddy) pins whoever Signal throws here or gets a forfeit 27-25 SD 182 – Quails (SM) dec. Ross (Soddy) 28-27 Signal 195 – Laxton (Soddy) pins Gardner (SM) 33-28 SD 220 – Winchester (SM) dec. Montgomery (Soddy) 33-31 SD 285 – Odom (SM) dec. Davis (Soddy) 34-33 SM I think someone said it earlier, but I feel like Soddy matches up better with Halls than they do Signal, and Halls matches up better with Signal than they do Soddy. I could go either way with this one, but I am going to go with Signal to repeat. I wouldn’t even be entirely shocked if Gibbs and Halls wrestled in the finals so you can call me an idiot on Sunday when that happens LOL!

That bottom half of the bracket is tough! Talk about a tough road for Soddy Daisy... had to beat Pigeon Forge and have to go through Fairview, Halls v. Page winner, and then likely Signal.

Thanks, Mitch24! I was surprised my prediction of Soddy over Pigeon Forge ended up only being a point off. That was a first LOL but I am glad to hear someone appreciates the fun I have giving my predictions. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed attending the match on Friday night. Incredible wrestling on both sides and the fans were really into it! I plan on posting my round by round predictions once the brackets are posted. I will say that my early thoughts are after seeing Soddy Daisy getting Dyer eligible and Signal Mountain picking up a solid transfer from Notre Dame in the Elliott kid at 145, they have likely separated themselves a little more from the pack. Not having Pigeon Forge or Greeneville in the field this year must be a first. I suspect Page and Halls have the next best chance to walk away champions after Signal and Soddy. It will be fun!

Cobrakid, Well at least you "have went over their lineups" LOL. We can debate who is the better coach all we want, but I will say that you raise a solid point. Some of that can be negated with who has to send first. Ultimately, the point I was trying to make is that despite having lesser talent, Foreman will have constructed a lineup that gives the Tigers a chance to win. I am sure we can agree that it's matches like tomorrow that make this the most fun division in the state. I mean it's truly wide open this year and going to be a lot of fun to watch tomorrow and next Saturday. Look at these matchups! Section 1 #5 Gibbs v. #6 Greeneville David Crockett v. #2 Knox Halls Section 2 Seymour v. #1 Signal Mountain #3 Soddy Daisy v. #4 Pigeon Forge Section 3 #9 Tullahoma and #8 Page Section 4 #7 Fairview and Sycamore I believe Sections 3 and 4 are decided, correct? fooseball95, I agree. No way TSSAA allows this. If it were allowed, we would have heard of more kids doing this before.

When you say you had never even heard of Foreman, you're either lying to make a point, which is fine or you're just showing how little you actually know. Foreman is one of the best coaches to ever come through the state and that's undeniable. Sure Turner might be a great youth coach as you say, but let's not pretend he is something that he is not. He is no mastermind like Foreman and the results over the years speak to that. If Soddy wins tomorrow night, which I predict they will, it will be because there's a talented differential. I also cannot imagine that Dyer is able to wrestle this year at Soddy unless some exception is made by the TSSAA and I doubt those are just handed out because someone loses a challenge match. That said, I do hate that for the kid and wish him nothing but the best. I like many others cannot wait to watch this dual tomorrow night!

I said it before and I'll say it again, a lot of people have just forgotten how talented this Greeneville team is. They are good enough to win the duals, and have got to be the favorites at the individual tournament. Colin, Carson, Hunter, Morgan, and Zac... that's 5 champions right there to Signal's 3 with the Uhorchucks. Does Signal even have any other placers outside of maybe the Davis kid?

From what I have heard Shane Turner is an excellent teacher of the sport, but I do not know many that would call him a "formidable brain trust." If this match comes down to what coaching staff devises the best game plan to get the most favorable match ups, it is a no brainer. Soddy Daisy is at a significant disadvantage in that category going up against one of the all-time most winning coaches in TN history. Again, I do give Soddy the edge simply due to the talent differential. I could be completely off with these predictions but I follow single A the most of the three divisions and have seen both teams wrestle this year. Here is how I see it playing out on Thursday... 106 - Hilton (SD) pins Zeglen (PF) 6-0 SD 113 - Flavin (SD) pins Rivera (PF) 12-0 SD 120 - Duncan (SD) pins Ruriboen (PF) 18-0 SD 126 - Cable (PF) dec. Lewis (SD) 18-3 SD 132 - Whalen (SD) dec. Pratt (PF) 21-3 SD * 138 - Cosper (SD) pins Monnin (PF) 27-3 SD 145 - Welch (SD) dec. Hood (PF) 30-3 SD * 152 - Rawlinson (SD) pins Lazrzbek 36-3 SD 160 - Howard (PF) dec. Turner (SD) 36-6 SD 170 - Jackson (PF) pins Ross (SD) 36-12 SD 182 - Little (PF) pins Wade (SD) 36-18 SD 195 - Howard (PF) pins Laxton (SD) 36-24 SD 220 - Perez (PF) dec. Montgomery (SD) 36-27 SD 285 - Wolf (PF) pins Davis (SD) 36-33 SD For the Tigers to pull the upset they need to win one of the two toss ups that they lost in the first meeting at 132* or 145* or find bonus points with majors at 126 or 160. I think a lot of people will be surprised to see how good Wyatt has gotten. No knock against Turner who is an absolute stud. I think Andy has a great chance to pick up a major dec. against Lewis as well if he wrestles how he did last year in the state tournament. Can't wait for this one! Two blue bloods, great for TN HS wrestling!

Never smart to count out Coach Foreman and the Tigers. Think back to last year when they had a really down regular season for their standards. They nearly won it all again last year even without Garrett Foreman. I do give Soddy the slight edge though. Turner and Cosper will be tough to overcome as you say. I heard the Soddy v. Signal match was electric last night and standing room only. It Killed me having to miss it, I would have made the drive in if it hadn't been on a week day. Is the PF v. Soddy match tomorrow or Friday?

Great work with these and thanks for taking the time to do them. They seem spot on to me!

Thank you for your clarifying post and honesty. I can respect that.

DII - I will go out on a limb and say Baylor lol. If FR is healthy, I could see them at least giving Baylor a little scare. AA - Cleveland again A - where things get interesting. So many teams with a chance to win this year, especially the duals. Region 1/2 - Greeneville & Halls ... everyone seems to have forgotten how good the Devils are. May I remind you, Colin and Carson Dupill, Hunter Mason, Zac Chrisman, Morgan Lowery, Cooper Johnson... we'll see what they get at the other weights, but those are 6 guys that are for sure wins against the majority of the teams in the state. Region 3/4 - Signal & Pigeon Forge ... I know Soddy Daisy beat PF earlier in the year, but Coach Foreman just always seems to have his guys peak at the right time. Unfortunate that one of these 3 teams will be left out this year. They might be the state's three best and it wouldn't shock me to see Signal being the 3rd team left out. Hard to bet against the defending champs, but I hear they have lost some of their starters. Region 5/6 - Page & Tullahoma ... Page has the guys to win it this year and doesn't really have any holes in their lineup. They should be viewed as a real threat and in my opinion have the most complete team. Region 7/8 - Fairview & Sycamore ... Sycamore should be a great tournament team, but hard to see them doing much outside of making it to the dance. With very little confidence in this given how even the teams appear, I would rank my top 8 as follows: 1. Page 2. Signal Mtn. 3. Greeneville 4. Pigeon Forge 5. Soddy Daisy 6. Halls 7. Fairview 8. Sycamore

I'm not even a Cleveland fan, but even if that is true, so what? Good for them! The school, its alumni, donors and community are committed to be good at wrestling. If they want to raise money or have a donor pay a coach, great...the kids benefit and you shouldn't hate on that just because your school isn't as fortunate. I will be rooting for Summit or Bradley to end Cleveland's streak in February, but man, this sounds like pure jealousy...

Great point, cbg. From my time following this message board, you always seem to provide great insight and share intelligent posts. To the topic of Cleveland, I would add that they haven't just be handed success on a silver platter. Coach Bosken isn't denying that Mr. Jones has helped the program, but many schools receive help from donors (I admit maybe not to that level). As Coach Bosken noted, they raised $100k this year supposedly that Mr. Jones had nothing to do with. I suspect that type of budget is greater than most if not all high school football teams in the state (including the private schools). BUT that is money they earned from THEIR hard work and commitment (there is no rule against that). Money helps, make no mistake about it, but that is not why Cleveland and Bradley have been so good for so long. It's the buy in from top to bottom that has made them so great. They understand that success starts at the youth level and they've built their programs around that. The coaching aspect is also one of the main drivers of that success. Cleveland and Bradley's youth programs have better coaches than the majority of the high school programs across the state. As the old saying goes, if you built it, they will come, and these programs have done that with the coaches they have had over the years. Another thing I thought of that goes to the point that money isn't everything and doesn't always buy success...look at what Montgomery Bell Academy has done in D2 since Simpson's son took over. That program has as much money as any school in the state. You get a young qualified coach in there like they have now and they have been on the rise ever since. Even in the small school classification, it's the teams with the good coaches that attract the top talent. Greeneville (Randy Shelton/Sid Mason), Signal Mtn (Houston Clements/Matthew Cate), Pigeon Forge (legendary Greg Foreman), Soddy Daisy (Ulric Winesburg/Shane Turner), etc. This concept is nothing new and applies to all level of sports. Kids want to play for the coaches they believe give them the best chance to accomplish their goals. If you live in the Chattanooga area, who wouldn't want to wrestle for Coach Knox at Cleveland or Coach Smith at Bradley? They have proven to have the most success, which you can't blame folks for wanting to be a part of.

I see what you are saying, but I will say that I favor Hamm's rankings over the computer. College Football likely agrees with me choosing the CFP over the old BCS computer rankings. LOL. Hamm, please don't stop your rankings if you read this. I always look forward to your take!

Lipsey v. Cable would be a great match. Cable is a super entertaining guy to watch. Redford v. Wolfe should be good, too. It will be interesting to see Caleb at HWT this year. Best of luck to that young man. I really hope he gets that title that's eluded him. You won't find a better kid.

Preview of a potential state finals matchup between Magness and Bennett at 160. Brenot v. Heckert should be epic as well. So many great matches across the state this weekend. Does anyone know if Harpeth, Black Horse, or Catholic will be streaming matches on Flo or Track?

Just saw the list of teams for this one and did a little research on the out of state teams... very stout competition. Great to see West TN attract this type of talent from across the state and southeast. Arab (AL) - 5-6A State Duals Champions, 2nd in traditional Blackman - 3rd in traditional Brother Martin (LA) - Traditional State Champions Christian Brothers - 4th in traditional Cabot (AR) - 2nd in traditional MBA Grissom (AL) Oak Mountain (AL) Nolensville Paducah-Tilghman (KY) - 4th in Traditional Page Signal Mountain - A State Duals Champions, 2nd in traditional Summit - 4th in State Duals, 6th in traditional Zachary (LA)

I do agree with Oceansize on this one. "Mad" Max would beat Fowler, and I do not suspect it would be that close of a match.

Great work with these Hamm!!!

Great job with these rankings! Any chance we get to see Colin Dupill v. "Mad" Max or Logan Hecker v. Omaury Alvarez this year? Better question, are there any tournaments that these teams will see each other at this year? I would drive anywhere in the state to see either of those matches.

Looking at the entries on the website we have 40 guys participating. That's got to be a record number from TN. I love to see it! Of those 40, I give the following 10 guys (in order) the best chance to place. 1. Cooper Hilton (Baylor) 2. "Mad Max" Norman (Dobyns-Bennett) 3. Aiden Brenot (Clarksville)...his big win at WNO over Alverez showed how good he is on his feet which is where matches at tournaments like this are decided 4. Bryson Terrell (Bradley Central) 5. Logan Pardice (Baylor)...listed as Georgia 6. Hunter Sturgill (Baylor) 7. JoJo Uhorchuk (Signal Mtn.) 8. Logan Heckert (Sycamore) 9. Logan Fowler (Cleveland) 10. Caleb Uhorchuk (Signal Mtn.), Jarvis Little (Summit), Bentley Ellison (Cleveland) - depending on the day And I agree with WrestlingGod, you're crazy if you don't think seeds matter at this event. You will probably see a good number of first round matches where you have two state champs going at it. When you have 100+ guys in a bracket and lose an opening round match, you've got to win like 8-10 matches just to get on the podium.

Hard to argue with this. Great post and thank you for sharing your thoughts!