Inspiring for coaches and wrestlers...

[texas23]

Sons, you poor fool. I enjoy telling you now that I am the one who has plugged in the vast majority of those green votes. What better way than that to degrade the trophy you desire so much, acceptance.

[Sommers]

Photos: 2015 TSSAA State Duals Wrestling Championship Matches

 

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/2/2/293237/Photos-2015-TSSAA-State-Duals.aspx

[Sommers]

Thanks Tex!! Nice, since you had me down to negative 25 in the Red, at one point (August 2014 if memory serves) ...Just having You reading my thread, viewing my personal profile & adding these 22,000 viewers/clicks is a Nice Trophy by itself! Oh, CoachT doesn't mind either 😜

 

Now back to biz...

 

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

 

A little more Tennessean Coverage...

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/sumner/2015/02/02/bucs-take-best-state-dual-wrestling-tourney-finish/22766279/

 

Bucs take best state dual wrestling tourney finish

 

From staff reports4:37 p.m. CST February 2, 2015

 

(Photo: Shelley Mays/Gannett Tennessee)

 

FRANKLIN – The Beech High wrestling team earned its best-ever finish at the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA) Dual Meet State Championships last Friday and Saturday at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center, placing fourth among the Class AAA field.

 

The Buccaneers reached the semifinals for the first time in school history after a 36-30 win over Dobyns-Bennett in Friday evening's first round and a 44-28 victory over Heritage in the quarterfinal round later on Friday.

 

Beech's win over Dobyns-Bennett was the second first-round victory in four state appearances for the program, but the Bucs had never won a second match in the main draw until their victory over Heritage.

 

Their run at a state title ended with a 48-18 loss to eventual state champion Cleveland in Saturday afternoon's semifinal round.

 

The Buccaneers advanced to the third-place match by defeating Knoxville Halls (40-33) in the consolation semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

 

Beech took home fourth place, falling to Bradley Central (51-22) in the third-place match.

 

Kaleb Rippy won all five of his matches at the 182-pound classification. He was the only Buccaneer to win all of his matches. Four of his five wins came by pinfalls, with the other one by forfeit against Heritage.

 

Rippy led the Bucs against Dobyns-Bennett, with Peyton Reinart (220-pound class), Devol Whitfield (285), Heath Uhles (113), Landon Butler (126), Trevor Rippy (138), Kyler Johnson (145) and Michael King (160) all earning victories.

 

Reinert, Whitfield, Uhles, William Carney (132), Trevor Rippy, King, Kyle Smith (170) and Kaleb Rippy all won against Heritage.

 

Butler, Kaleb Rippy, David Dowell (195) and Uhles were the only winners in the semifinal loss to Cleveland.

 

Whitfield clinched the match against Knoxville Halls, with Trevor Rippy, Joseph Garrett (152), King, Smith, Kaleb Rippy, Dowell and Peyton Reinert also providing victories, and King, Kaleb Rippy, Reinert and Whitfield were the only winners against Bradley Central.

 

The Bucs will compete in the indvidual region tournament on Friday and Saturday at Wilson Central. The individual state tournament begins next week.

 

Bradley Central 51, Beech 22 (Third-place match)

 

145: Donnie Beyer (BC) over Kyler Johnson, decision, 7-1; 152: Caleb Adkins (BC) over Jherian Maddox, fall, 1:09; 160: Michael King ( over Jack Bandy, technical fall, 25-10; 170: Corey Gatlin (BC) over Kyle Smith, fall, 1:52; 182: Kaleb Rippy ( over James Elkins, fall, 1:25; 195: Brett Brown (BC) over David Dowell, fall, 3:29; 220: Peyton Reinert ( over Timothy Lawson, fall, 1:40; 285: Devol Whitfield ( over David Adams, fall, 2:12; 106: TJ Hicks (BC) over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 0:37; 113: Toribio Navarro (BC) over Heath Uhles, technical fall, 18-3; 120: Ryan McElhaney (BC) over William Downing, major decision, 11-0; 126: Knox Fuller (BC) over Landon Butler, fall, 5:10; 132: Joshua LaCoe (BC) over William Carney, technical fall, 17-1; 138: Stephen Scott (BC) over Hayden Hammock, fall, 1:33.

 

Beech 40, Knoxville Halls 33 (Consolation semifinals)

 

138: Trevor Rippy ( over Cole Russell, major decision, 17-5; 145: Joe Fox (KH) over Kyler Johnson, decision, 6-4; 152: Joseph Garrett ( over Sirrel Robinson, decision, 4-3; 160: Michael King ( over Colton McMahan, sudden victory-1, 6-4; 170: Kyle Smith ( over Luke Harp, fall, 1:35; 182: Kaleb Rippy ( over Tyler Kalish, fall, 1:22; 195: David Dowell ( over Tanner Huff, fall, 1:51; 220: Peyton Reinert ( over Lucas Wright, fall, 1:13; 285: Devol Whitfield ( over Walton Elkins, fall, 1:27; 106: Chase Brown (KH) over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 1:10; 113: Chris Nielsen (KH) won by forfeit; 120: Zack Kennedy (KH) won by forfeit; 126: Trey Lepper (KH) won by forfeit; 132: Eric Brady (KH) over Hayden Hammock, fall, 3:14.

 

Cleveland 48, Beech 18 (Semifinals)

 

120: Tristian Blansit © over William Downing, fall, 1:03; 126: Landon Butler ( over Victor Barbosa, decision, 8-1; 132: Colton Landers © over William Carney, fall, 0:38; 138: Christopher Debien © over Trevor Rippy, decision, 10-3; 145: Ezra Taylor © over Kyler Johnson, fall, 2:12; 152: Robert Hicks © over Jherian Maddox, fall, 3:21; 160: Aaron Oliver © over Michael King, decision, 3-0; 170: Jonathan Martin © over Kyle Smith, fall, 1:08; 182: Kaleb Rippy ( over Riley Stevison, fall, 1:39; 195: David Dowell ( over Samuel Garcia, decision, 7-2; 220: John Gaither © over Peyton Reinert, decision, 8-3; 285: Koran Kennedy © over Devol Whitfield, decision, 6-0; 106: Bryce Pond © over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 0:59; 113: Heath Uhles ( over Jayce Mullin, fall, 2:56.

 

Beech 44, Heritage 28 (Quarterfinals)

 

195: Josh Carpenter (H) over David Dowell, decision, 4-1; 220: Peyton Reinert ( over Jacob Coppenger, fall, 2:34; 285: Devol Whitfield ( over Seth Moneypenny, fall, 3:20; 106: Vili Bussey (H) over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 4:41; 113: Heath Uhles ( over Shawn Lewis, fall, 3:42; 120: Juan Hernandez (H) over William Downing, fall, 3:35; 126: Nick Crawfore (H) over Landon Butler, decision, 4-3; 132: William Carney ( over Tyler Lane, decision, 7-2; 138: Trevor Rippy ( over Joshua Teaster, fall, 0:43; 145: Michael Diemer (H) over Kyler Johnson, major decision, 15-5; 152: Daniel Riley (H) over Jherian Maddox, fall, 2:19; 160: Michael King ( over Dexter Watson, technical fall, 24-9; 170: Kyle Smith ( over Javier Salvador, fall, 3:26; 182: Kaleb Rippy ( won by forfeit.

 

Beech 36, Dobyns-Bennett 30 (First round)

 

182: Kaleb Rippy ( over Zach Ratliff, fall, 1:19; 195: Peyton Laughlin (DB) over David Dowell, decision, 3-0; 220: Peyton Reinert ( over Michael Foster, decision, 4-3; 285: Devol Whitfield ( over Jonathan Ruth, fall, 1:56; 106: Dillon Lemons (DB) over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 3:12; 113: Heath Uhles ( over Corbin Bumgarner, major decision, 9-1; 120: Charles Davis (DB) over William Downing, fall, 1:03; 126: Landon Butler ( over Rhys Fontaine, fall, 1:43; 132: Josh Rapcan (DB) over William Carney, decision, 10-6; 138: Trevor Rippy ( over Adam Jeffers, major decision, 8-0; 145: Kyler Johnson ( over Hunter Stratt, major decision, 11-0; 152: Alex Jeffers (DB) over Jherian Maddox, fall, 3:14; 160: Michael King ( over Joseph Begley, decision, 6-5; 170: Tyler Dean (DB) over Kyle Smith, fall, 5:20.

Thanks Tex!! Nice, since you had me down to negative 25 in the Red, at one point (August 2014 if memory serves) ...Just having You reading my thread & adding views/clicks is a Nice Trophy by itself!

 

Now back to biz...

 

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

 

A little more Tennessean Coverage...

 

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/sumner/2015/02/02/bucs-take-best-state-dual-wrestling-tourney-finish/22766279/

 

Bucs take best state dual wrestling tourney finish

 

From staff reports4:37 p.m. CST February 2, 2015

 

(Photo: Shelley Mays/Gannett Tennessee)

 

FRANKLIN – The Beech High wrestling team earned its best-ever finish at the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA) Dual Meet State Championships last Friday and Saturday at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center, placing fourth among the Class AAA field.

 

The Buccaneers reached the semifinals for the first time in school history after a 36-30 win over Dobyns-Bennett in Friday evening's first round and a 44-28 victory over Heritage in the quarterfinal round later on Friday.

 

Beech's win over Dobyns-Bennett was the second first-round victory in four state appearances for the program, but the Bucs had never won a second match in the main draw until their victory over Heritage.

 

Their run at a state title ended with a 48-18 loss to eventual state champion Cleveland in Saturday afternoon's semifinal round.

 

The Buccaneers advanced to the third-place match by defeating Knoxville Halls (40-33) in the consolation semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

 

Beech took home fourth place, falling to Bradley Central (51-22) in the third-place match.

 

Kaleb Rippy won all five of his matches at the 182-pound classification. He was the only Buccaneer to win all of his matches. Four of his five wins came by pinfalls, with the other one by forfeit against Heritage.

 

Rippy led the Bucs against Dobyns-Bennett, with Peyton Reinart (220-pound class), Devol Whitfield (285), Heath Uhles (113), Landon Butler (126), Trevor Rippy (138), Kyler Johnson (145) and Michael King (160) all earning victories.

 

Reinert, Whitfield, Uhles, William Carney (132), Trevor Rippy, King, Kyle Smith (170) and Kaleb Rippy all won against Heritage.

 

Butler, Kaleb Rippy, David Dowell (195) and Uhles were the only winners in the semifinal loss to Cleveland.

 

Whitfield clinched the match against Knoxville Halls, with Trevor Rippy, Joseph Garrett (152), King, Smith, Kaleb Rippy, Dowell and Peyton Reinert also providing victories, and King, Kaleb Rippy, Reinert and Whitfield were the only winners against Bradley Central.

 

The Bucs will compete in the indvidual region tournament on Friday and Saturday at Wilson Central. The individual state tournament begins next week.

 

Bradley Central 51, Beech 22 (Third-place match)

 

145: Donnie Beyer (BC) over Kyler Johnson, decision, 7-1; 152: Caleb Adkins (BC) over Jherian Maddox, fall, 1:09; 160: Michael King ( over Jack Bandy, technical fall, 25-10; 170: Corey Gatlin (BC) over Kyle Smith, fall, 1:52; 182: Kaleb Rippy ( over James Elkins, fall, 1:25; 195: Brett Brown (BC) over David Dowell, fall, 3:29; 220: Peyton Reinert ( over Timothy Lawson, fall, 1:40; 285: Devol Whitfield ( over David Adams, fall, 2:12; 106: TJ Hicks (BC) over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 0:37; 113: Toribio Navarro (BC) over Heath Uhles, technical fall, 18-3; 120: Ryan McElhaney (BC) over William Downing, major decision, 11-0; 126: Knox Fuller (BC) over Landon Butler, fall, 5:10; 132: Joshua LaCoe (BC) over William Carney, technical fall, 17-1; 138: Stephen Scott (BC) over Hayden Hammock, fall, 1:33.

 

Beech 40, Knoxville Halls 33 (Consolation semifinals)

 

138: Trevor Rippy ( over Cole Russell, major decision, 17-5; 145: Joe Fox (KH) over Kyler Johnson, decision, 6-4; 152: Joseph Garrett ( over Sirrel Robinson, decision, 4-3; 160: Michael King ( over Colton McMahan, sudden victory-1, 6-4; 170: Kyle Smith ( over Luke Harp, fall, 1:35; 182: Kaleb Rippy ( over Tyler Kalish, fall, 1:22; 195: David Dowell ( over Tanner Huff, fall, 1:51; 220: Peyton Reinert ( over Lucas Wright, fall, 1:13; 285: Devol Whitfield ( over Walton Elkins, fall, 1:27; 106: Chase Brown (KH) over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 1:10; 113: Chris Nielsen (KH) won by forfeit; 120: Zack Kennedy (KH) won by forfeit; 126: Trey Lepper (KH) won by forfeit; 132: Eric Brady (KH) over Hayden Hammock, fall, 3:14.

 

Cleveland 48, Beech 18 (Semifinals)

 

120: Tristian Blansit © over William Downing, fall, 1:03; 126: Landon Butler ( over Victor Barbosa, decision, 8-1; 132: Colton Landers © over William Carney, fall, 0:38; 138: Christopher Debien © over Trevor Rippy, decision, 10-3; 145: Ezra Taylor © over Kyler Johnson, fall, 2:12; 152: Robert Hicks © over Jherian Maddox, fall, 3:21; 160: Aaron Oliver © over Michael King, decision, 3-0; 170: Jonathan Martin © over Kyle Smith, fall, 1:08; 182: Kaleb Rippy ( over Riley Stevison, fall, 1:39; 195: David Dowell ( over Samuel Garcia, decision, 7-2; 220: John Gaither © over Peyton Reinert, decision, 8-3; 285: Koran Kennedy © over Devol Whitfield, decision, 6-0; 106: Bryce Pond © over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 0:59; 113: Heath Uhles ( over Jayce Mullin, fall, 2:56.

 

Beech 44, Heritage 28 (Quarterfinals)

 

195: Josh Carpenter (H) over David Dowell, decision, 4-1; 220: Peyton Reinert ( over Jacob Coppenger, fall, 2:34; 285: Devol Whitfield ( over Seth Moneypenny, fall, 3:20; 106: Vili Bussey (H) over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 4:41; 113: Heath Uhles ( over Shawn Lewis, fall, 3:42; 120: Juan Hernandez (H) over William Downing, fall, 3:35; 126: Nick Crawfore (H) over Landon Butler, decision, 4-3; 132: William Carney ( over Tyler Lane, decision, 7-2; 138: Trevor Rippy ( over Joshua Teaster, fall, 0:43; 145: Michael Diemer (H) over Kyler Johnson, major decision, 15-5; 152: Daniel Riley (H) over Jherian Maddox, fall, 2:19; 160: Michael King ( over Dexter Watson, technical fall, 24-9; 170: Kyle Smith ( over Javier Salvador, fall, 3:26; 182: Kaleb Rippy ( won by forfeit.

 

Beech 36, Dobyns-Bennett 30 (First round)

 

182: Kaleb Rippy ( over Zach Ratliff, fall, 1:19; 195: Peyton Laughlin (DB) over David Dowell, decision, 3-0; 220: Peyton Reinert ( over Michael Foster, decision, 4-3; 285: Devol Whitfield ( over Jonathan Ruth, fall, 1:56; 106: Dillon Lemons (DB) over Bryan Kirkland, fall, 3:12; 113: Heath Uhles ( over Corbin Bumgarner, major decision, 9-1; 120: Charles Davis (DB) over William Downing, fall, 1:03; 126: Landon Butler ( over Rhys Fontaine, fall, 1:43; 132: Josh Rapcan (DB) over William Carney, decision, 10-6; 138: Trevor Rippy ( over Adam Jeffers, major decision, 8-0; 145: Kyler Johnson ( over Hunter Stratt, major decision, 11-0; 152: Alex Jeffers (DB) over Jherian Maddox, fall, 3:14; 160: Michael King ( over Joseph Begley, decision, 6-5; 170: Tyler Dean (DB) over Kyle Smith, fall, 5:20.

Edited February 3, 2015 by Sommers

[marshiebaby]

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR....................Not inspirational at all the coach did nothing at all wrong. She lost the bet and didn't tell him mom said no to it.  OMG  This lady just needs some money. I havn't been posting much this year but that one got me. A part of her body gone pffft, IT'S HAIR. HOLY!  @$$#@%$#^%$^$%&&^% BATMAN. That one got me. The mom looks like she needs to be hunted down by "DOG" the bounty hunter anyway. She is from Hawaii. lol

The world has gone MAD!!!  I side with the coach...  If young ladies are going to wrestle, then they can deal with some of the more spartan aspects of the sport and if the coach thinks the length of hair (below her butt) affects performance then the coach is the coach...  Likely a tax payer funded settlement comming of course...

[Sommers]

Little More Johnson City regional pre-coverage...

 

http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/article/124059/lady-cyclones-rebels-among-states-top-scorers

 

Wrestling hits the regional stage for individual tournaments. Area competitors will try to punch their tickets for next week’s state tournament in Franklin.

 

The Region 1-AAA tournament will be held at Daniel Boone’s Snyder Gym, beginning on Friday. It will conclude with Saturday’s championship matches, tentatively scheduled to start at 6 o’clock. …

 

The Region 1-A/AA event starts Friday at Elizabethton’s Treadway Gym. The field consists of wrestlers from 22 teams — including Elizabethton, Greeneville, Happy Valley, Sullivan East and Sullivan South — and competition will continue through Saturday’s championship matches, which begin at 4 p.m.

[Sommers]

Final Luther Poll...

 

Monday, February 2, 2015

FINAL 2015 TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL

Luther Killian

TENNESSEE HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING POLL

 

From: Luther Killian

Results from: 2/2/15

 

Now in its 23rd year, The Poll is primarily a measure of dual meet strength with some consideration to individual tournament strength. Votes are cast by a state-wide panel of high school wrestling coaches and are based on a maximum Power Ranking of 100%.

 

 

THIS WILL BE THE LAST POLL OF THE YEAR AS THE WRESTLING SEASON CHANGES FROM THE DUAL MEET STATE TOURNAMENT TO THE INDIVIDUAL REGION AND STATE TOURNAMENTS.

 

STATE POLL: RANK SCHOOL POWER RANKING LAST WEEK

 

1 BAYLOR 100 1

 

2 FATHER RYAN 91 2

 

3 CLEVELAND 84 3

 

4 WILSON CENTRAL 72 6

 

5 BRADLEY CENTRAL 64 4

 

6 MCCALLIE 64 7

 

7 MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY 49 5

 

8 BEECH 34 10

 

9 PIGEON FORGE 29 11

 

10 SODDY DAISY 26 8

 

11 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 17 9

 

12 HALLS 10 ---

 

Others receiving votes: ARLINGTON, HIXSON, SIEGEL, SUMMIT, TENNESSEE HIGH

 

Note: Shows how a slow early start can affect season's end rankings as Blackman loses a couple of early region matches, but comes back to beat some of these teams in late season tournaments and duals

Edited February 3, 2015 by Sommers

[Sommers]

Local Coverage for WC...

 

http://www.lebanondemocrat.com/article/sports/561936

 

Lebanon Democrat

 

Central threepeats as as runner up

 

Wildcats get closer but fall to Cleveland

 

FEB 3, 2015

 

FRANKLIN — They keep getting closer and closer, but Wilson Central saw another outstanding dual season end with a frustrating finals loss to Cleveland, this time 34-26 last Saturday at the Williamson County Expo Center.

 

This was the third straight season Central lost to the Blue Raiders. The Wildcats won just one match in the 2013 final and scored four points.

 

Central is the only middle Tennessee team to reach the dual finals three times in the history of the event. Clarksville has advanced twice and Franklin once.

 

“We are so proud of the wrestlers on this team and especially the seniors who helped put Wilson Central wrestling on the map four years ago when they were freshman,†Wildcats coach John Kramer said after Central finished a 44-3 dual season.

 

Luther Killian’s final state poll of the season has Central up two spots to fourth, trailing No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Father Ryan (who finished 1-2 in the Division II duals) and No. 3 Cleveland. Bradley Central, who the Wildcats beat in Friday’s state semifinal, fell a spot to No. 5.

 

Wildcat winners against Cleveland were Caleb Berta 6-1 at 126 pounds, Mike Binns by pin in 1:07 at 152, John Michael Jenkinson 8-6 at 170, Zach Linton by 17-2 technical fall at 182, Perry Baltz by pin in two minutes at 195 and Simon Pergande 9-3 at 113.

 

With duals over, everyone will return to the mat this week to prepare for individual regionals with the top four from each class will advance to state Feb. 12-14 at the Expo Center. Central will play host to a regional, with Lebanon and Mt. Juliet also participating, at 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday. Wilson Central senior Johnny Kramer is a defending state champion.

[Sommers]

Tullahoma Coverage...

 

http://www.tullahomanews.com/?p=29146

 

February 03, 2015

 

 

Wildcats state dual run ends with loss

 

Posted on Tuesday, February 3, 2015 at 3:01 pm

 

By ZACH BIRDSONG

 

Sports Editor

 

With a pair of heartbreaking losses and a win riddled with controversy, Tullahoma endured its fair share of drama during its TSSAA State Dual Championship run last weekend in Franklin.

 

After leading Arlington 36-9, the Wildcats fell in a gut-wrenching loss. The Tigers reeled off six-straight victories to notch the 39-36 come-from-behind win and send Tullahoma to the consolation bracket.

 

With their backs against the wall in the double-elimination tournament, the Wildcats responded with a 33-30 win over Summit on Saturday morning. Tullahoma built a nine-point lead with one match remaining. After checking with officials, THS Head Coach Al Morris elected to forfeit the final bout, (six points), rather than risk an injury.

 

Following that contest, the Summit squad left the mat and the Wildcats began prepping for their next match against Knox Halls. As THS was warming up, Summit’s coaches filed a review with the TSSAA, challenging the result of the bout with Tullahoma.

 

The Trojans’ coaches argued that Cleveland Cyree, who competed in the 126-pound matchup, should have been disqualified, giving Summit six points and the overall match. Cleveland won his bout against the Trojans by decision.

 

Entering the tournament on Friday, Cleveland weighed in between 120 and 126 pounds, making him eligible for both weight divisions. The THS grappler competed at the 120-pound bout on the opening day. However, during weigh-ins on Saturday, he was listed at 126 pounds which, according to the rulebook, should have disqualified Cleveland from the remainder of the tournament.

 

According to the rulebook, “All wrestlers must weigh-in each day of the multiple-day event and they must weigh-in at the same weight class each day of the event. A wrestler is only eligible for two weight classes during a multiple-day, team-advancement tournament, and those two weight classes are determined at the first day weigh-in and cannot change during the remainder of the event.â€

 

After a discussion, TSSAA officials initially concluded that Summit was correct in its interpretation of the rules. However, on review, the TSSAA allowed Tullahoma to advance due to the timing of the Trojans’ protest.

 

Photo

Tullahoma wrestler Dylan McElhaney (left) locks in a hold against Arlington’s John Craft on Friday night. –Staff Photo by Zach Birdsong

 

“Technically, [Cleveland] should have been scratched,†said TSSAA Executive Director Mark Reeves. “It got missed… When it was first brought to our attention, we didn’t realize that the dual meet was over and everybody had left. If it had been brought to our attention immediately, which is what we thought initially had happened, then we would have reversed the outcome of the match where [Cleveland] wrestled and it would have been a nine-point swing and Summit would have won. We realized that the match was already finished and the results have already been reported. When the results have already been reported, even though you had an ineligible wrestler, it’s not a correctible error.

 

“According to Summit, they indicated that they had said something to the referee. The referee at that point is not going to be the one to make that call,†Reeves said. “We could only verify that at the table. They didn’t ask for the head table. I’m not faulting [summit], but they should have stopped until they got something from the head table, which they didn’t. We’ve got to take a look at some of our logistics and procedures of weigh-ins to try and eliminate something like that from happening in the future. Coach Morris wasn’t trying to skirt the rules or anything, he just had the wrong interpretation in his mind. It’s just an unfortunate at what happened.â€

 

Although the TSSAA upheld Cleveland’s win over the Summit grappler, he was disqualified from competing in the remainder of the tournament.

 

While Morris acknowledges he was in the wrong, he still feels a change is needed in the rulebook.

 

“The problem I have with that rule is that we have a kid that makes the weight for two weight classes,†Morris said. “In wrestling, you’re allowed to bump up one class higher than what you actually weigh. When we weighed him in, he weighed up to the next weight class that he was able to wrestle. They said he couldn’t wrestle that weight.

 

“The way I broke it down was that we are allowed to wrestle that weight, but we aren’t allowed to weigh that weight,†he added. “I think something has to change with that rule. It puts people at a disadvantage. If they want to bump a kid up, we are making a kid starve himself to make the weight to wrestle up and he’s not allowed to wrestle what he’s supposed to wrestle.â€

 

After being allowed to stay in the tournament, Tullahoma’s state run came to an end with a 36-31 loss to Knox Halls on Saturday.

 

The Wildcats cut it to a 26-22 matchup, but the Red Devils won back-to-back bouts, one by pinfall and another by a major decision (four points) to seal the overall contest.

 

“Our season is still not over yet,†Morris said. “We still have individual regions and the individual state tournament. Our goal is to go in and do as well as we can in the region tournament and actually win that tournament as a team, [because] they keep total points on how you do.

 

“We came in and we battled [against Knox Halls],†he added. “Obviously, we had technicality issues from the match before us, so that kept one of our best wrestlers out of the lineup during this match. I was really proud of our kids for the way they battled. That’s a very good team.â€

 

The individual region tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Siegel High School. Start times have not yet been determined.

 

THS vs. Arlington

 

Against Arlington on Friday, Tullahoma opened up the contest by winning six of its first eight matches, including five by pinfall.

 

Dylan Pearson opened competition with a quick victory over Alan Roaten in the 182-pound division. After grabbing a 2-0 lead, Pearson scored a first-round fall (1:21) to put Tullahoma up 6-0.

 

In the 195-pound class, Morris elected to forfeit the match and give Arlington the points to tie the match at 6.

 

“That was one of the best kids [on Arlington’s] team,†Morris said. “We got a good kid, but we saw an opportunity to get six points at the 220. We’ve been a little shaky at that weight all year and we saw the opportunity that we could bump up one of our better kids up.â€

 

 

 

Tullahoma wrestler Devan Cyree flips Knox Halls’ Trey Lepper during the 126-pound bout on Saturday. –Staff Photo by Zach Birdsong

 

Morris’ strategy worked out, as the Wildcats followed with consecutive first-round pinfall wins to make it an 18-6 contest. In the 220-pound class, Mikey Lett defeated Trey Claus (1:49) and Christian Kazmark followed with a win over Johnathan Metcalf (0:45) in the 285-pound division.

 

Arlington got back on the scoreboard with a win in the 106-pound bout. After taking a 3-0 lead into the third round, Caleb Morgan kept Tullahoma’s Will Moran off the scoreboard, to notch a 5-0 decision victory (three points).

 

Tullahoma then won three-straight matches to increase its advantage to 36-9. Adam Rogers won his match in the 113-pound division by forfeit, while Cleveland and Devan Cyree notched back-to-back pinfall wins. Cleveland defeated Harrison Phillips with a quick first-round fall (0:21) in the 120-pound division. After building a 14-1 advantage, Devan got a second-round pinfall victory (2:21) over Josh Worley in the 126-poiund bout.

 

Just as quickly as the Wildcats built that lead, it vanished, as Arlington sealed the match with six-straight wins.

 

In the 132-pound class, Andrew Zarshenas notched a first-round fall (1:15) over Aaron Kelly. Arlington’s John Craft followed with a third-round pinfall over Dylan McElhaney at 138 pounds. The Tullahoma grappler took a 3-2 advantage into the final round, but Craft quickly erased that to go ahead 7-3. With 22 seconds remaining in the bout, Craft notched the pinfall victory to cut it to a 36-21 match.

 

Arlington then added a pair of close decision victories to pull even closer to the Wildcats.

 

In the 145-pound bout, Tullahoma’s Andy Shahan held a 7-5 advantage over Bailey Hulley heading into the final round. With a late near fall, Hulley grabbed an 8-7 edge and the match ended that way.

 

Down 6-5 heading into the final round of the 152-pound bout, Tullahoma’s Chris Howse couldn’t get the points he needed to get the win over Michael Mowery. A late escape, followed by a takedown allowed Mowery to get the 9-5 decision victory.

 

In the 160-pound bout, Tullahoma’s Tristan Scott took a 5-3 advantage over Nathan Enzor into the second round. With 59 seconds left in the second period, Enzor tied the match at 5. Twenty seconds later, Enzor caught Scott and pinned him, to make it a 36-33 contest with one match remaining.

 

After taking a 6-2 advantage into the second round, Tullahoma’s Jared Bonee couldn’t pull out the victory over Aaron Moore at 172 pounds. With 45 seconds remaining in the second period, Moore caught Bonee and secured the pinfall, to allow Arlington to get the comeback victory.

 

“Once again, it’s getting pinned. It’s the same story we had last Thursday [against Siegel in the region tournament],†Morris said on Friday. “We were winning 36-9 in the dual meet and got pinned in four matches. It’s disheartening because this team is good enough to place here, which we can still come back and do tomorrow. We just can’t keep getting pinned. It’s not a secret recipe, it’s not a secret move, it’s just having heart and going out there and fighting your tail off.

 

“We knew coming in that this was a good team,†he added. “We had pretty much everything going our way right off the bat. All we needed was one more win and we basically had it locked up, but we couldn’t get it in the last six weight classes.â€

 

Wildcats vs. Summit

 

Tullahoma came back on Saturday and got its lone victory of the tournament over Summit. Trailing 21-12, the Wildcats rallied to pick up the 33-30 win.

 

The Trojans opened the competition with a victory in the 120-pound division. After the match was tied at 2 in the second period, Sean Butler pinned Jovahny Sanchez with one second left in the period, to give Summit a 6-0 advantage.

 

 

 

Tullahoma wrestler Cleveland Cyree locks a hold on Summit’s Esteban Remillard. –Staff Photo by Zach Birdsong

 

Tullahoma followed with-back-to-back victories to go ahead 9-6.

 

Cleveland took an 8-0 advantage over Esteban Remillard into the third round. A late stalling penalty called on Cleveland awarded Remillard a point, and the THS wrestler missed getting a major decision, winning by an 8-1 decision.

 

Devan followed with a first-round pinfall victory over Kyle Kish in the 132-pound class. After leading 4-0, Devan pinned Kish with 58 seconds left in the first period.

 

Summit quickly tied the match with a victory in the 138-pound class. McElhaney took a 4-1 advantage into the third round, but couldn’t hang on over Sawyer Knott. With two late close falls, Knott was able to pick up the 9-6 decision and tie the match at 9.

 

The Trojans followed with back-to-back decision wins to take a 15-9 advantage. Kobey Desselle notched a 7-0 decision victory over Bryce Triplett in the 145-pound division. Mark Sweeney followed with a 9-5 decision over Shahan.

 

Howse followed with a decision victory for Tullahoma, to make it a 15-12 contest. Howse nearly missed winning by a major decision, and defeated Chris Bartol 15-9 in the 160-pound division.

 

Summit’s Zack Carney then got a pinfall victory over Scott in the 170-pound division. After Carney built a 4-0 advantage in the second period, he pinned Scott with 23 seconds left in the round, to increase the Trojans’ lead to 21-12.

 

Momentum quickly shifted as Tullahoma won four-straight matches, to go ahead 33-21.

 

With 16 seconds left in the opening round, Pearson pinned Dylan Wingerter in the 182-pound class. Lett followed with a 32-second pinfall victory over Matt Bradshaw in the 195-pound bout. With 36.8 seconds remaining in the first round, Haden Eggleston caught Ruben Ladron for the pinfall win in the 220-pound class.

 

“That’s what made us a good team this year,†Morris said. “Normally teams have certain weight classes that they are good at. It’s either down low, in the middle, or up top in the weight classes. We are fortunate to have Pearson, Mikey Lett, Haden Eggleston and Christian Kazmark up top and they are all seniors.

 

“Haden is the only one that doesn’t really have any wrestling experience, but he stepped up huge in that match,†he added. “That right there could have been the difference. I say that was probably the difference in the match. That’s something that we weren’t expecting but he pulled out a win for us.â€

 

Kazmark followed with a 5-2 decision victory over Josh Bouser in the 285-pound division. With the match tied up at 2 in the second round, Kazmark got an escape and followed that with a takedown, to take a 5-2 advantage into the third round. Kazmark was able to hold on for the 5-4 victory.

 

Summit closed out the match with back-to-back wins. After Tullahoma’s Moran was not pinned in the 106-pound bout, it allowed the Wildcats to get the win over the Trojans. Moran lost to Zach Thomas by way of a 12-6 decision, to make it a 33-24 contest with one bout left.

 

After double checking the score with officials, Morris forfeited the 113-pound bout to Summit, and advanced with the 33-30 victory.

 

“We wrestled a lot better, but it came down to not getting pinned. That was the difference in the match right there,†Morris said. “Like I told you last night, you can’t give up bonus points. When you’re wrestling good teams, it comes down to close matches all the time, it always does. But when you give up the extra points, it makes it hard to win. Hopefully we learned a lesson last night.â€

 

THS vs. Knox Halls

 

After moving past Summit, the Wildcats ended their tournament with a close loss to Knox Halls. Tullahoma led early in the contest, but couldn’t recover late and the Red Devils went on to win 36-31.

 

In the opener, Devan put the Wildcats in front 4-0 with a major decision victory over Trey Lepper. After leading 10-3 after two periods, Devan continued to be aggressive, and nearly missed a technical fall (five points) on his way to the 21-7 major decision win.

 

Knox Halls got on the board after Eric Brady defeated Kelly by a 10-6 decision in the 132-pound division. Brady built a 10-0 advantage after two periods, but had to survive a third-round comeback attempt. Kelly received a point for an escape, two more for a takedown and three for a close fall, but couldn’t get enough points to get the win.

 

Tullahoma extended its lead to 10-3 after McElhaney came through with a third-round fall victory over Matthew Gold in the 138-pound class. After the bout was tied at 6 after two rounds, McElhaney scored the pinfall victory just 26 seconds into the third period.

 

Knox Halls tied up the match with back-to-back wins. In the 145-pound bout, Joe Fox defeated Triplett by way of a 22-8 major decision. Sirrel Robinson followed with a 9-3 decision victory over Shahan in the 152-pound class.

 

The Red Devils then took the lead with a third-round fall in the 160-pound bout. After trailing 10-1 to Colton McMahon, Howse was caught for the pin with 57 seconds remaining in the period, as Knox Halls took a 16-10 advantage.

 

The Red Devils extended their lead to 20-10 with a major decision victory in the 170-pound class. Luke Harp shut out Scott on his way to a 9-0 major decision.

 

Knox Halls followed with a pinfall victory in the 182-pound division to make it a 26-10 matchup. After Pearson got a late reversal that tied the matchup at 6, Tyler Kalish caught Pearson and pinned him with 13 seconds remaining in the third round.

 

Lett and Eggleston followed with back-to-back falls to make it a 26-22 matchup. After building a 5-0 advantage, Lett pinned Tanner Huff with 1:18 left in the first round of the 195-pound bout. Eggleston followed with a second-round fall (3:03) over Lucas Wright in the 220-pound class.

 

Knox Halls added back-to-back wins that ultimately sealed the Wildcats’ fate. With 35 seconds remaining in the first round, Walton Elkins pinned Tullahoma’s Luke Champion in the 285-pound division. Chris Nielsen followed with a 14-0 major decision over Moran in the 106-pound class, to make it a 36-22 matchup.

 

Rogers added a win to Tullahoma’s column, defeating Tolliver Justice by way of an 8-2 decision.

 

With the overall match in hand, Knox Halls forfeited the final match, giving Tullahoma’s Sanchez a win in the 120-pound division, to win the contest 36-31.

 

Wildcats state dual run ends with loss

 

By ZACH BIRDSONG Sports Editor With a pair of heartbreaking losses and...

 

Wildcats gear up for state tourney

[Sommers]

Nice Mr Hunt...

 

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/2/3/293331/Bradley-Cleveland-Set-For-Region-4-AAA.aspx

 

Bradley, Cleveland Set For Region 4-AAA Wrestling Battle

 

Soddy Daisy Could Throw In A Few Surprises On Saturday

 

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - by John Hunt

 

CLEVELAND -- There will be eight teams battling for the Region 4-AAA wrestling championship at Bradley's Jim Smiddy Arena on Saturday, but based on Tuesday's seeding meeting, it will most likely come down to a tussle between two-time defending region winner Cleveland and the host Bradley Bears.

 

Bradley beat Cleveland in their dual meet last month before the Blue Raiders returned the favor in the Region Duals at McMinn County.  Cleveland just won its third straight State Duals title on Saturday night as they beat Wilson Central for the third straight year.

 

 But don't think for a second that those guys in the black singlets with Bears on their back are about to toss in the white towel or surrender anything to their cross-town rivals. 

 

 The biggest goal for all teams involved is qualifying as many individuals as possible for the traditional state tournament, which will again be held at the Williamson County Agriculatural Expo Center on Feb. 12-13-14.  Winning a region title along the way is just a little icing on the cake for the champion.

 

 Bradley received the most number-one seeds with seven while Cleveland was next with five.  Soddy Daisy and Walker Valley received one apiece.

 

Those picked to win for Bradley include T. J. Hicks at 106, Toribio Navarro at 113, Ryan McElhaney at 120, Knox Fuller at 126, Donnie Beyer at 145,  Brett Brown at 182 and Ed Elkins at 195.

 

Cleveland's five include Christopher DeBien at 132, Ezra Taylor at 138, Jack Hicks at 152, Aaron Oliver at 160 and Koran Kennedy at 285.

 

The other two include Walker Valley's Ric Kennett at 220 and Soddy Daisy's Austin Williamson at 170.

 

Cleveland coach Jake Yost is just looking for his team's best effort.  He knows that if he gets that, there won't be anything else to worry about.

 

"Bradley has more top seeds than we do and that's why we need to give our best effort in every match," Yost said after the coaches meeting at the Mountain View Inn had ended.

 

"The seeds went about like I thought they would, but as always, bonus points will be important.  As long as we compete to the best of our ability, the team score will take care of itself. 

 

"Another region championship is not really the prize we're after. This is a chance for us to prepare for the state meet and to qualify as many individuals as possible.  It will be another strong test for us, but it should be a lot of fun," Yost said as his team looks to win its third straight traditional state title as well.

 

Bradley's Ben Smith was happy that his team made it back to the state duals last weekend and he was proud of their third-place finish, but he's still not satisfied.

 

"I feel good about the tournament and I feel like we got the seeds we deserved.  We had a good regular season and won some important region matches, but the more we can take to Franklin, that's what our number-one goal is for this weekend," Smith said.

 

"We're excited to have another shot at winning a state title, but we feel like we have some unfinished business to take care of.  We just hope to rebound from what we did last weekend.

 

"We need to win where we're supposed to win and we need to win some other matches where we might not be favored, but I feel like we have a better tournament team than dual meet.  I think people are hoping for a Cleveland-Bradley-Soddy Daisy showdown on Saturday, but we're all just trying to advance all 14 of our wrestlers to the state next weekend," he added.

 

"It could be interesting as you never know what will happen.  But I'm sure that with Soddy Daisy staying at home last weekend, they'll be hungry and ready to wrestle," Smith concluded.

 

While Bradley and Cleveland led the way with the most number-one seeds, Soddy Daisy had the most number twos with four while Bradley and Cleveland had three apiece.  Walker Valley and East Hamilton also had two each.

 

Other teams that will be competing include Ooltewah, McMinn County and Rhea County.

 

Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m. with the finals set to start at 5 p.m.  An all-day pass will cost $10 while a ticket to the finals only will be $6.  The top four finishers in each weight class will qualify for the state tournament.

 

Here are the top four seeds for each weight class.

 

106 -- 1. T.J. Hicks (Bradley); 2. Lance Wheaton (Soddy Daisy); 3. Cody Mathews (Cleveland); 4. Chandler Davis (Walker Valley).

 

113 -- 1. Toribio Navarro (Bradley); 2. Briar Potter (East Hamilton); 3. Chase Payne (Soddy Daisy); 4. Garrett Hall (McMinn Co,).

 

120 -- 1. Ryan McElhaney (Bradley); 2. Tristan Blansit (Cleveland); 3. Zane Smith (Walker Valley); 4. Grant Landry (East Hamilton).

 

126 -- 1. Knox Fuller (Bradley); 2. Colton Landers (Cleveland); 3. Jake McClure (Soddy Daisy); 4. Matt Meeks (East Hamilton).

 

 132 -- 1. Christopher DeBien (Cleveland); 2. Austin Houser (Soddy Daisy); 3. Joshua LaCoe (Bradley); 4. Joseph Munoz (Walker Valley).

 

138 -- 1. Ezra Taylor (Cleveland); 2. Emory Holcomb (Soddy Daisy); 3. Stephen Scott (Bradley); 4. Austin Gregory (Walker Valley).

 

145 -- Donnie Beyer (Bradley); 2. Tucker Russo (Soddy Daisy); 3. Mikel Gregory (Walker Valley); 4. Andrew Sturdivant (East Hamilton).

 

152 -- 1. Jack Hicks (Cleveland); 2. Caleb Adkins (Bradley); 3. Connor Stiles (Soddy Daisy); 4. Dionte Richardson (Walker Valley).

 

160 -- 1. Aaron Oliver (Cleveland); 2. Clay Bandy (Bradley); 3. Jordan Chafi (Ooltewah); 4. Hunter Rogers (Soddy Daisy).

 

170 -- 1. Austin Williamson (Soddy Daisy); 2. Corey Gatlin (Bradley); 3. Tyler Reid (Ooltewah); 4. Jonathan Martin (Cleveland).

 

182 -- 1. Brett Brown (Bradley); 2. Chuck Sanders (East Hamilton); 3. Seth Garcia (Cleveland); 4. Walker Moats (McMinn Co.).

 

195 -- 1. Ed Elkins (Bradley); 2. Jaylon Martin (Walker Valley); 3. Victor Bednarski (Ooltewah); 4. Riley Stevison (Cleveland).

 

220 -- 1. Ric Kennett (Walker Valley); 2. John Gaither (Cleveland); 3. Jacob Keltch (Ooltewah); 4. Elijah Cartwright (Soddy Daisy).

 

285 -- 1. Koran Kennedy (Cleveland); 2. C.J. Schwark (Walker Valley); 3. David Adams (Bradley); 4. Trace McNew (Soddy Daisy).

 

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)

[Sommers]

- This boys gift to his dying dad is PRICELESS!

Be sure to have a hanky handy ...: http://youtu.be/-n1Hi5Tq_tI

 

What a story

[Sommers]

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Region 2-A/AA Wrestling Could Be Battle To The End

 

Notre Dame, Hixson, Red Bank Among Many Who Could Win

 

Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - by John Hunt

 

The Hixson Wildcats are the defending Class A-AA state wrestling champions and they won the Region 2-A/AA meet last year as well, so they have to be considered one of the favorites for this year's tournament, which starts Friday night at Signal Mountain.

 

The Wildcats have a legitimate shot, but so do several others, including Notre Dame, Red Bank, Central and East Ridge.

 

But based on Wednesday afternoon's seeding meeting, it should be a battle between Hixson and Red Bank, but Notre Dame walked away with the most number-one seeds with five.

 

Add the second seeds and Hixson tops the list with seven, followed by Red Bank with six, Notre Dame with five, Central with four and East Ridge with three.

 

 It all comes down to how many state qualifiers each team can generate and that may be the most critical factor of all.

 

"We'll see which team shows up, but these seeds don't mean much," said Notre Dame coach John Mullin after the seeding process had concluded.

 

"If we show up and do what we're capable of doing, we have a shot.  Hixson has a lot of momentum after finishing second in the state duals and Red Bank has something to prove.  And Central has a bunch of great athletes too.

 

"It was a balanced tournament last year and I'm sure it will be again this time around, but it will all come down to who has the most medalists," Mullin said after his Fighting Irish were picked five times at the number-one slot.

 

"I don't have any idea,  but I'm sure it will be a dog fight as usual," said Hixson's Garrick Hall.

 

"There are five or six teams capable of winning, but everything depends on who does what in the consolation rounds.  That's where most tournaments are won and lost, but kids get better as the season progresses and we have a bunch of teams that can generate points in a hurry.

 

"But it went about like I thought it would," Hall added.

 

East Ridge coach Chris Bird is more worried about his guys than anyone else.

 

"To tell you the truth, I'm on pins and needles over what my guys are going to do.  I'm just worried about our individuals, but it's going to be a battle.  Most of these guys have been with me a long time and I just want them to succeed and do well. We'll be alright," he added.

 

Notre Dame has the most number-one seeds with five while Hixson was next with three.  Red Bank and East Ridge both had two while Central and Signal Mountain both have one apiece.

 

Those picked to win for Notre Dame include Tucker Gill at 106, Luke Mullin at 120, Packy Mullin at 145, Noah Bankston at 152 and Chris Hornsby at 220.

 

Hixson's three top picks include Isaac Yates at 126, Tabrin Walker at 138 and Brody Gregory at 285.

 

Red Bank's pair include Trent Comeaux at 113 and Devin Crawl at 182 while the two for East Ridge include Spencer Griffey at 132 and DeAngelo Johnson at 170.

 

Xavier Norwood got the nod at 160 for Central while defending state champ Cale Shelton is seeded first at 195 for Signal Mountain.

 

Notre Dame's Bankston is the only unbeaten wrestler in the tournament at 16-0 while teammates Packy Mullin and Luke Mullin are 34-1 and 33-1, respectively.  Hixson's Landon Goforth, seeded second at 145, is 27-1.

 

East Ridge's Johnson is 26-2, Hixson's Gregory is 39-2 and Signal's Shelton is 25-3.

 

Others with just three losses include Notre Dame's Gill at 26-3, Red Bank's Comeaux at 36-3 and Gabe McDuffie at 32-3.

 

Friday's action begins at 6 p.m. and will go through the championship quarterfinals and two rounds of consolations.  Saturday's action will start about 10 a.m. with the finals scheduled for 3 p.m.

 

The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the TSSAA traditional state tournament, which will be held in Franklin next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

 

While Hixson, Red Bank, Notre Dame, Central and  East Ridge are expected to battle for first place, other teams in the field include Boyd-Buchanan, Brainerd, Howard, Signal Mountain, Sale Creek, Whitwell, Sequatchie Co., Tyner and Chattanooga Christian.

 

Listed below are the top four seeded wrestlers in each weight.

 

 106 -- 1. Tucker Gill (Notre Dame); 2. Blake Reichel (Red Bank); 3. Kashawn Cosey (East Ridge); 4. Jacob Newman (Hixson).

 

113 -- 1. Trent Comeaux (Red Bank); 2. Hunter Owens (East Ridge); 3. Spencer Groves (Hixson); 4. Grant Speer (Notre Dame).

 

120 -- 1. Luke Mullin (Notre Dame); 2. Jonah Bird (Red Bank); 3. Logan McDonald (East Ridge); 4. Jay Brock (Sequatchie Co.).

 

126 -- 1. Isaac Yates (Hixson); 2. Bryson Lemons (Central); 3. Ned Warwick (Notre Dame); 4. Gavin Gardner (Sequatchie Co.).

 

132 -- 1. Spencer Griffey (East Ridge); 2. Cederick Harris (Hixson); 3. Isaac Coffman (Central); 4. Dan Dawson (Signal Mountain).

 

138 -- Tabrin Walker (Hixson); 2. Justin Wheeler (Chattanooga Christian); 3. David Johnson (Red Bank); 4. Jonas Shackleford (Hixson).

 

145 -- Packy Mullin (Notre Dame); 2. Landon Goforth (Hixson); 3. Alex Hundley (Chattanooga Christian); 4. Greg Layne (Whitwell).

 

152 -- 1. Noah Bankston (Notre Dame); 2. Gabe McDuffie (Red Bank); 3. Alonzo Heyward (Central); 4. Chayse Patrick (Tyner).

 

160 -- 1. Xavier Norwood (Central); 2. Kaine Kell (Red Bank); 3. Ronny Huff (Hixson); 4. Matthew Mapp (East Ridge).

 

170 -- 1. DeAngelo Johnson (East Ridge); 2. Seth Petarro (Signal Mountain); 3. Robert Perry (Red Bank); 4. Michael Quatrano (Notre Dame).

 

182 -- 1. Devin Crawl (Red Bank); 2. Chris Nicholson (Hixson); 3. Kevin Cortes (Tyner); 4. B.J. Sledge (Central).

 

195 -- 1. Cale Shelton (Signal Mountain); 2. Dylan Bargerstock (Hixson); 3. Christian Jackson (Red Bank); 4. Seth Cumby (Whitwell).

 

220 -- 1. Chris Hornsby (Notre Dame); 2. Curtis Noiseaux (Central); 3. Truman Ross (Hixson); 4. Will Watkins (Boyd-Buchanan).

 

285 -- 1. Brody Gregory (Hixson); 2. Sam Stephenson (Central); 3. Anthony Ottinger (Red Bank); 4. Chase Cantrell (Whitwell).

[Sommers]

For convenience sake, more Hunt's regional coverage...

 

http://www.chattanoogan.com/2015/2/3/293331/Bradley-Cleveland-Set-For-Region-4-AAA.aspx

 

Bradley, Cleveland Set For Region 4-AAA Wrestling Battle

 

Soddy Daisy Could Throw In A Few Surprises On Saturday

 

Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - by John Hunt

 

Bradley's T.J. Hicks (top) wrestles in the State Duals in the 106-pound weight class. Hicks is a number one seed in that weight class in the upcoming Region 4-AAA championships. 

- photo by Dennis Norwood

 

CLEVELAND -- There will be eight teams battling for the Region 4-AAA wrestling championship at Bradley's Jim Smiddy Arena on Saturday, but based on Tuesday's seeding meeting, it will most likely come down to a tussle between two-time defending region winner Cleveland and the host Bradley Bears.

 

Bradley beat Cleveland in their dual meet last month before the Blue Raiders returned the favor in the Region Duals at McMinn County.  Cleveland just won its third straight State Duals title on Saturday night as they beat Wilson Central for the third straight year.

 

 But don't think for a second that those guys in the black singlets with Bears on their back are about to toss in the white towel or surrender anything to their cross-town rivals. 

 

 The biggest goal for all teams involved is qualifying as many individuals as possible for the traditional state tournament, which will again be held at the Williamson County Agriculatural Expo Center on Feb. 12-13-14.  Winning a region title along the way is just a little icing on the cake for the champion.

 

 Bradley received the most number-one seeds with seven while Cleveland was next with five.  Soddy Daisy and Walker Valley received one apiece.

 

Those picked to win for Bradley include T. J. Hicks at 106, Toribio Navarro at 113, Ryan McElhaney at 120, Knox Fuller at 126, Donnie Beyer at 145,  Brett Brown at 182 and Ed Elkins at 195.

 

Cleveland's five include Christopher DeBien at 132, Ezra Taylor at 138, Jack Hicks at 152, Aaron Oliver at 160 and Koran Kennedy at 285.

 

The other two include Walker Valley's Ric Kennett at 220 and Soddy Daisy's Austin Williamson at 170.

 

Cleveland coach Jake Yost is just looking for his team's best effort.  He knows that if he gets that, there won't be anything else to worry about.

 

"Bradley has more top seeds than we do and that's why we need to give our best effort in every match," Yost said after the coaches meeting at the Mountain View Inn had ended.

 

"The seeds went about like I thought they would, but as always, bonus points will be important.  As long as we compete to the best of our ability, the team score will take care of itself. 

 

"Another region championship is not really the prize we're after. This is a chance for us to prepare for the state meet and to qualify as many individuals as possible.  It will be another strong test for us, but it should be a lot of fun," Yost said as his team looks to win its third straight traditional state title as well.

 

Bradley's Ben Smith was happy that his team made it back to the state duals last weekend and he was proud of their third-place finish, but he's still not satisfied.

 

"I feel good about the tournament and I feel like we got the seeds we deserved.  We had a good regular season and won some important region matches, but the more we can take to Franklin, that's what our number-one goal is for this weekend," Smith said.

 

"We're excited to have another shot at winning a state title, but we feel like we have some unfinished business to take care of.  We just hope to rebound from what we did last weekend.

 

"We need to win where we're supposed to win and we need to win some other matches where we might not be favored, but I feel like we have a better tournament team than dual meet.  I think people are hoping for a Cleveland-Bradley-Soddy Daisy showdown on Saturday, but we're all just trying to advance all 14 of our wrestlers to the state next weekend," he added.

 

"It could be interesting as you never know what will happen.  But I'm sure that with Soddy Daisy staying at home last weekend, they'll be hungry and ready to wrestle," Smith concluded.

 

While Bradley and Cleveland led the way with the most number-one seeds, Soddy Daisy had the most number twos with four while Bradley and Cleveland had three apiece.  Walker Valley and East Hamilton also had two each.

 

Other teams that will be competing include Ooltewah, McMinn County and Rhea County.

 

Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m. with the finals set to start at 5 p.m.  An all-day pass will cost $10 while a ticket to the finals only will be $6.  The top four finishers in each weight class will qualify for the state tournament.

 

Here are the top four seeds for each weight class.

 

106 -- 1. T.J. Hicks (Bradley); 2. Lance Wheaton (Soddy Daisy); 3. Cody Mathews (Cleveland); 4. Chandler Davis (Walker Valley).

 

113 -- 1. Toribio Navarro (Bradley); 2. Briar Potter (East Hamilton); 3. Chase Payne (Soddy Daisy); 4. Garrett Hall (McMinn Co,).

 

120 -- 1. Ryan McElhaney (Bradley); 2. Tristan Blansit (Cleveland); 3. Zane Smith (Walker Valley); 4. Grant Landry (East Hamilton).

 

126 -- 1. Knox Fuller (Bradley); 2. Colton Landers (Cleveland); 3. Jake McClure (Soddy Daisy); 4. Matt Meeks (East Hamilton).

 

 132 -- 1. Christopher DeBien (Cleveland); 2. Austin Houser (Soddy Daisy); 3. Joshua LaCoe (Bradley); 4. Joseph Munoz (Walker Valley).

 

138 -- 1. Ezra Taylor (Cleveland); 2. Emory Holcomb (Soddy Daisy); 3. Stephen Scott (Bradley); 4. Austin Gregory (Walker Valley).

 

145 -- Donnie Beyer (Bradley); 2. Tucker Russo (Soddy Daisy); 3. Mikel Gregory (Walker Valley); 4. Andrew Sturdivant (East Hamilton).

 

152 -- 1. Jack Hicks (Cleveland); 2. Caleb Adkins (Bradley); 3. Connor Stiles (Soddy Daisy); 4. Dionte Richardson (Walker Valley).

 

160 -- 1. Aaron Oliver (Cleveland); 2. Clay Bandy (Bradley); 3. Jordan Chafi (Ooltewah); 4. Hunter Rogers (Soddy Daisy).

 

170 -- 1. Austin Williamson (Soddy Daisy); 2. Corey Gatlin (Bradley); 3. Tyler Reid (Ooltewah); 4. Jonathan Martin (Cleveland).

 

182 -- 1. Brett Brown (Bradley); 2. Chuck Sanders (East Hamilton); 3. Seth Garcia (Cleveland); 4. Walker Moats (McMinn Co.).

 

195 -- 1. Ed Elkins (Bradley); 2. Jaylon Martin (Walker Valley); 3. Victor Bednarski (Ooltewah); 4. Riley Stevison (Cleveland).

 

220 -- 1. Ric Kennett (Walker Valley); 2. John Gaither (Cleveland); 3. Jacob Keltch (Ooltewah); 4. Elijah Cartwright (Soddy Daisy).

 

285 -- 1. Koran Kennedy (Cleveland); 2. C.J. Schwark (Walker Valley); 3. David Adams (Bradley); 4. Trace McNew (Soddy Daisy).

 

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)

 

Cleveland wrestler Aaron Oliver is favored in the 160-pound class. Taylor won by a major decision (12-0) over Wilson Central's Damon Smith to help the Blue Raiders earn their third straight State Duals title in Div I-AAA. 

- Photo2 by Dennis Norwood