Wrestling Updates and Tidbits...

Sommers · February 3, 2018

Saturday's State Dual Wrestling Results

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Individual Match Results From Saturday’s State Duals Wrestling, which is being held in Franklin. Championship results will be posted later.

AAA FINALS

(Match Began At 220 Pounds

CLEVELAND 51, SCIENCE HILL 22

106 – Trae McDaniel (Clev) pinned Hayden Bobo, :36

113 – Braxton Mann (SH) dec. Jackson Bradford, 12-5;

120 – Tyler Seeley (SH) major dec. Burns Meagher, 9-0;

126 – Bryce Pond (Clev) pinned Javelle Gillespie, 1:38;

132 – Jayce Mullin (Clev) pinned Joseph Frye, 1:25;

138 – Luke Story (SH) dec. Logan Whiteside, 5-2;

145 – Cody Mathews (Clev) pinned Arthur James, 4:19;

152 – Austin Sweeney (Clev) pinned Isaiah Ryans, 1:44;

160 – William Diehl (SH) pinned Zach Brezna, 5:07;

170 –Dylan Jones (Clev) pinned Joseph Morrell, 2:43;

182 – Jack Hicks (Clev) pinned Jim Kalogeros, 1:02;

195 – Weston Brown (SH) pinned Logan Strickland, 4:00;

220 – Wilson Benefield (Clev) dec. Denzel Medina, 6-5 in overtime;

285 – Titus Swafford (Clev) pinned Jesse Cross, 1:55.

A-AA FINALS

(Match Began At 195 Pounds)

GIBBS 40, SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 33

106 – Daniel Uhorchuk (SM) pinned Jace LaRue, :21;

113 – Isaac Tate (SM) major dec. John Pittman, 16-8;

120 – Yair Garcia (G) pinned Kale Albritton, 2:40;

126 – Kevin Muschel (SM) won by technical fall over Colby Tate;

132 – Landon Adzima (G) major dec. Sam Wickizer, 13-2;

138 – Clay Gallant (SM) dec. George Gillman, 8-6;

145 – Matthew Maxwell (G) pinned Eli Buttram, 1:02;

152 – Preston Worley (SM) dec. Tim Buangala, 11-9 in overtime;

160 – Noel Leyva (G) pinned Oliver Goodgame, :51;

170 – Jake Woodlief (SM) won by forfeit;

182 – Spencer Leonard (SM) won by forfeit;

195 – Elijah Lawson (G) pinned Will Davis, :55;

220 – Tyson Hefner (G) pinned Mason Hilke, :42;

285 – Joel Griffin (G) pinned Riley Daniels, 2:59.

D-II FINALS

(Match Began at 195 Pounds)

CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 32, BAYLOR 28

106 – Dayne Dalrymple (CB) won by technical fall over Hunter Bankes;

113 – Porter Kaufman (Bay) major dec. Charles Salvaggio, 10-2;

120 – Evan Anthony (CB) pinned Jacob Weekley, 1:43;

126 – Garrett Bowers (CB) major dec. Grant Slye, 12-0;

132 – Hayden Hartline (Bay) major dec. Jackson Herring, 10-0;

138 – Andrew Pace (Bay) dec. Austin Brooks, 7-4;

145 – Elijah Hodge (CB) dec. Austin Atchley, 7-4;

152 – Alex Atchley (Bay) dec. Luke Leon, 9-2;

160 – Connor Duffy (Bay) dec. Eric Hodge, 5-0;

170 – Mason Reiniche (Bay) pinned Luke Condy, 1:39;

182 – Riley Westlake (Bay) won by technical fall over Jake Spiva;

195 – Tommy Brackett (CB) major dec. Sam Reynolds, 14-4;

220 – Grayson Walthall (CB) major dec. Stephen Morgan, 11-0;

285 – Patrick Healy (CB) pinned Riley Bodine, 1:59.

CLASS AAA CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS

(Match Began At 195 Pounds)

CLEVELAND 41, ARLINGTON 24

106 – Trae McDaniel (Clev) won by forfeit;

113 – Jackson Bradford (Clev) pinned Brayden Asadoorian, 1:57;

120 – Michael Cannon (Arl) dec. Burns Meagher, 3-0;

126 – Bryce Pond (Clev) pinned Micah Douglass, 2:47;

132 – Garrett Stevenson (Clev) dec. Hayden Baudoin, 5-1;

138 – Jayce Mullin (Clev) pinned Chase Rozell, :39;

145 – Cody Mathews (Clev) won by technical fall over Michael Ford, 5:41;

152 – Jeremy Poe (Arl) won by forfeit;

160 – Josh Worley (Arl) won by forfeit;

170 – Austin Antcliffe (Arl) won by forfeit;

182 – Double forfeit;

195 – Jack Lewis (Arl) dec. Logan Strickland, 8-5;

220 – Wilson Benefield (Clev) pinned Adam Milton, :56;

285 – Titus Swafford (Clev) dec. John Worley, 3-2.

CLASS AAA CONSOLATION FIRST ROUND

SODDY DAISY 44, HOUSTON

(Match Began At 195 Pounds)

106 – Jacob Allen (SD) won by forfeit;

113 – Cole Prestwood (SD) won by forfeit;

120 – Jacob Pratt (SD) dec. Tucker Spiecha, 14-10;

126 – Jacob Kilgore (SD) won by technical fall over Nathan Kinnear;

132 – Jacob Manuel (H) pinned Alekzander Rawlinson, 2:40;

138 – Landon Lewis (SD) dec. Collins Fisher, 10-5;

145 – Tony Wilson (SD) pinned Tanner Spiecha, :55;

152 – Bobby Vincent (SD) dec. Caleb Poston, 10-9;

160 – Joseph Dawson (H) won by forfeit;

170 – Trenton Jones (H) won by forfeit;

182 – Cade Young (H) won by forfeit;

195 – Brent Settles (SD) pinned Deion Harris, 2:18;

220 – Ty Boeck (SD) won by forfeit;

285 – Kip Frankland (H) pinned Addison Roberts, 1:37.

AAA CONSOLATION SECOND ROUND

(Match Began At 220 Pounds)

SODDY DAISY 41, BLACKMAN 39

106 – Jacob Allen (SD) pinned Alex Rose, :21;

113 – Cole Prestwood (SD) pinned Peyton Adams, :41;

120 – Jacob Pratt (SD) pinned Jeremiah Savage, 4:11;

126 – Jacob Kilgore (SD) pinned Liam Elam, 3:13;

132 – Alekzander Rawlinson (SD) won by technical fall over Austin Marlatt;

138 – Daniel Bradford (B) pinned Landon Lewis, 2:35;

145 – Tony Wilson (SD) pinned Aaron Fisher, :16;

152 – Jalen Brown (B) pinned Bobby Vincent, 1:20;

160 – Brooks Sacharczyk (B) dec. Hayden Maynor, 6-5;

170 – Landon Fowler (B) won by forfeit;

182 – Spencer Layne (B) won by forfeit;

195 – Ryan Heath (B) won by forfeit;

220 – Ty Boeck (SD) pinned Bowdy Boyce, 2:24;

285 – Jamil Hughes (B) pinned Addison Roberts, 5:15.

AAA CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS

(Match Began At 285 Pounds)

WILSON CENTRAL 42, SODDY DAISY 32

106 – Grant Fetters (WC) pinned Jacob Allen, 2:38;

113 – Thomas Borders (WC) pinned Cole Prestwood, 3:03;

120 – Thomas Oakley (WC) dec. Jacob Pratt, 8-4;

126 – Jacob Kilgore (SD) dec. Alan Fort, 6-2;

132 – Prentice Belcher (WC) won by technical fall over Alekzander Rawlinson;

138 – Alex Pergande (WC) pinned Landon Lewis, 2:00;

145 – Tony Wilson (SD) won by technical fall over Christopher Payne;

152 – Levi Stone (WC) major dec. Bobby Vincent, 11-0;

160 – Hayden Maynor (SD) pinned Colton Colyer, 1:00;

170 – Parker Bennett (WC) pinned Bailey Faires, 1:12;

182 – Bryce Settles (SD) won by forfeit;

195 – Brent Settles (SD) won by forfeit;

220 – Ty Boeck (SD) won by forfeit;

285 – Michael Kramer (WC) pinned Addison Roberts, 1:16.

CLASS A-AA CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS

HIXSON 45, ALCOA 30

(Match Began At 195 Pounds)

106 – Caleb Miller (H) pinned Dakota Harrison, 1:00;

113 – Trevor Lewis (H) won by forfeit;

120 – Charles Burton (H) pinned Jaylen Tyler, 1:21;

126 – Rylie Hart (H) won by forfeit;

132 – Jeremiah Shackleford (H) dec. Donovan Puri, 12-7;

138 – Jordan Lewis (SD) pinned Ethan Flowers, :37;

145 – Justin Butler (A) won by forfeit;

152 – Anthony Jones (A) won by forfeit;

160 – William Carter (A) pinned Stephen Dykes, 5:58;

170 – Alexander Richardson (A) pinned Austin Francis, 1:25;

182 – Double forfeit;

195 – Benjamin Kuberg (H) won by forfeit;

220 – Grant Brace (A) pinned Parrish Pacetti, 2:43;

285 – Devotis McCurdy (H) pinned Justin Kinder, 3:46.

A-AA CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS

(Match Began At 220 Pounds)

FAIRVIEW 40 HIXSON 33

106 – Caleb Miller (H) pinned Max Morrill, 1:38;

113 – Trevor Lewis (H) pinned Jacob Derrick, :26;

120 – Charles Burton (H) pinned Zach Derrick, 3:25;

126 – Riley Bennett (F) major dec. Rylie Hart, 15-2;

132 – Braxton Hunter (F) dec. Jeremiah Shackleford, 7-4;

138 – Jordan Lewis (H) pinned Mathew Cox, :49;

145 – Luke Maxwell (F) dec. Bruce Wilson, 10-8;

152 – Blake Sisco (F) pinned Kaleb Mayes, 3:24;

160 – Mario Pukl (F) pinned Nick McKee, 1:11;

170 – Robert White (F) pinned Jake Ivey, 4:24;

182 – Deven Baker (H) dec. Cody DeLano, 6-3;

195 – Tristan Mann (F) pinned Benjamin Kuberg, 5:02;

220 – Hiller Gray (F) pinned Parrish Pacetti, 3:27;

285 – Devotis McCurdy (H) pinned Jackson Clevenger, 1:57.

DIVISION II CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS

(Match Began At 220 Pounds)

McCALLIE 51, MONTGOMERY BELL ACADEMY 21

106 – Christian Morris (McC) won by forfeit;

113 – Emory Taylor (McC) dec. Frank Perazzini, 12-5;

120 – Cody Chittum (McC) pinned Will Higgins, 3:18;

126 – Alex Whitworth (McC) pinned Adam Garfinkel, 3:48;

132 – Joseph Tarquine (MBA) dec. Zachary Ward, 6-0;

138 – Blake Andrews (MBA) dec. Mason Hughes, 3-0;

145 – Bryce Wittman (MBA) pinned David Fisk, 1:30;

152 – Dan McGuire (MBA) dec. Frankie Zahrobsky, 9-4;

160 – Hayden Rowland (McC) pinned Ike Cravens, 1:15;

170 – Thomas Sell (McC) pinned Cord Wilson, 3:46;

182 – Dominic Fisher (MBA) pinned Russell Barry, 1:09;

195 – George Robinson (McC) won by forfeit;

220 – Riley Looper (McC) won by forfeit;

285 – Adam Smith (McC) pinned Joseph Moore, :27.

DIVISION II CONSOLATION FINAL FOR THIRD

McCALLIE 58, FATHER RYAN 18

(Match Began At 285 Pounds)

106 – Christian Morris (McC) pinned Tyler Holland, 1:07;

113 – Emory Taylor (McC) won by technical fall over Paul Killian;

120 – Cody Chittum (McC) pinned Griffin Habacker, 1:54;

126 – Alex Whitworth (McC) pinned Bailey Rush, 2:51;

132 – Zachary Ward (McC) pinned Carlyle McAfee, 1:54;

138 – Lawrence Madson (FR) won by technical fall over Mason Hughes;

145 – Houston Crouch (FR) pinned Conner Fisk, 1:10;

152 – Joseph Vogelpohl (FR) pinned David Fisk, 1:31;

160 – Hayden Rowland (McC) pinned Jack Laden, 1:29;

170 – Thomas Sell (McC) major dec. Nikita Kouzovik, 12-2;

182 – Russell Barry (McC) major dec. Henry Hagey, 8-0;

195 – George Robinson (McC) pinned Kane Kleowis, :28;

220 – Riley Looper (McC) dec. Felix Wilson, 8-3;

285 – Adam Smith (McC) pinned Brock Carlson, :27.

(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

_________________________________

Check this one out...

Baylor, Signal Mountain wrestling teams reach finals at state duals

February 3rd, 2018by Chip Cirilo

FRANKLIN — Baylor and Signal Mountain will wrestle for titles in the TSSAA state duals tonight at Williamson County Ag Expo Park.

Signal Mountain earned its first appearance in a state duals final with a 38-29 win over Fairview in the Class A-AA semifinals Friday.

"We started four eighth-graders last year who are now freshmen," Eagles coach Joe Jellison said. "They're kind of ahead of the curve in a sense compared to most freshmen. We're starting, like, six freshmen in the lineup."

Signal Mountain (16-4), the Region 5-A/AA champion, faces Gibbs – another first-time finalist – in the championship dual at 6:30.

"Just peaking them at the right time and having fun," Jellison said of the reason for the Eagles' success. "We play a lot of games in the practice room. These are 14-year-olds. They're still eating candy and not focusing as much on diet."

In the quarterfinals, Signal Mountain defeated 2017 state runner-up Greeneville 45-23, with the Eagles winning the first four matches of the dual.

Gibbs' quarterfinal was against Hixson, which lost the first three matches on the way to a 40-27 defeat. Hixson (23-9) will face Alcoa (20-9) in the first round of the consolation bracket at 10 this morning.

In Division II, Baylor (14-2) posted two lopsided wins to reach the title dual, including a 63-9 rout of 2017 champion Father Ryan in the semifinals.

"We've had a great week of practice," Baylor coach Ben Nelson said. "I felt like we were ready to come up here Tuesday. I wanted to get the guys on the mat against competition because they've been having such good workouts and they've been ready."

Baylor will meet Christian Brothers (22-3) with the title on the line at 6:30 tonight. Christian Brothers beat a short-handed Baylor team earlier this season.

Baylor, a fourth-place finisher last season, won 10 of its first 11 matches on the way to a 56-12 victory over Memphis University School in the quarterfinals.

"We expected to have a match like that," Nelson said. "We had seen them at an individual tournament (earlier) in the year, so we had a pretty good idea of what they had in their lineup. We've got a stronger lineup than they do, and our guys are wrestling pretty well."

McCallie (13-3), last year's runner-up, lost to Christian Brothers 37-30 in the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, the Blue Tornado won 10 of the first 11 weight classes during a 65-18 victory over Brentwood Academy.

"I think anytime you can get off to a big start, the team just kind of builds on it," said McCallie coach Mike Newman, who has just three seniors. "So it's always important every dual, those first few guys, they get out and they're battling and they set the tone. The momentum just kind of rolls, so that's what you're always looking for."

In Class AAA, Cleveland (32-1) defeated Wilson Central 37-29 in the quarterfinals and will meet Arlington (21-8) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. today.

"The guys battled, especially having to give up the forfeit there at 138," Cleveland coach Joey Knox said. "That was something strategic. I know it may look crazy, but it's what we had to do."

Cleveland routed Centennial 65-3 in the first round.

Soddy-Daisy lost to Brentwood 36-30 in the quarterfinals. Brentwood heavyweight Skylar Coffey clinched the Bruins' win by pinning Soddy-Daisy's Addison Roberts in 3:59.

Soddy-Daisy (10-3) faces Houston (19-10) in the first round of the consolation bracket at 10 this morning.

Dalton thriving after day one of GHSA sectional

______________________________

Check this one out...

SignalMountain Wrestlers Advance To Dual Finals

Baylor Also In Finals While Cleveland Advances To Semis In AAA Action

Friday, February 2, 2018 - by John Hunt

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – There are six teams from the Chattanooga area competing at the State Duals wrestling tournament here at the spacious Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Center and the news was positive for half and not so positive for the other half.

Perhaps the biggest and brightest news of the day involved the Signal Mountain Eagles, who won two matches in their first appearance ever at the Duals and will battle for a state title Saturday night.

Cleveland, the AAA runner-up from last year, advanced to the semifinals with two good wins on Friday while Baylor did the same in Division II.

McCallie won its first match against Brentwood Academy before dropping a tough 37-30 verdict to second-ranked Christian Brothers. Baylor advanced with a 56-12 win over Memphis University School before sending defending D-II champ Father Ryan to the loser’s bracket in a resounding 63-9 romp.

Cleveland put a 65-3 whipping on Centennial in its first match of the day before getting past Wilson Central by a 37-29 in the quarterfinal. The Blue Raiders face Arlington in Saturday’s AAA semifinal at 1.

The news wasn’t so good for Soddy Daisy and Hixson as both lost their opening matches, the Trojans getting beat 36-30 by Brentwood and Hixson getting knocked off by Gibbs, 40-27.

It’s been quite a ride for coach Joe Jellison and his group of Signal Mountain Eagles, who advanced to this tournament with a resounding win at Red Bank last Friday night.

Now 16-4 for the season and a win away from its first state duals title, Jellison was happier than a little kid on Christmas morning after his kids. But he knew that this was going to be a special day for his kids after they led from the beginning and knocked off Greeneville, the Class A-AA defending duals runner-up, in the first match of the day.

“I’m obviously excited, but it’s all about the kids and a testament to how hard they’ve worked to get to this point,” Jellison said shortly after the final match ended.

“I told our kids we had to win big and lose small, meaning we had to win with pins and bonus points while giving up the bare minimum in matches we lost. Bonus points were critical, but I think the turning point came at 220 when Mason Hilke came back and got a pin after trailing 7-1. That was huge.

“We won big where we needed to, but this freshman class is something special. They all got valuable experience last year, but they’ve really bought into what we’re teaching. We’re just trying to peak at the right time, but I’m really proud of the effort they put out tonight. They have a killer instinct that’s really special,” Jellison added.

Cleveland’s Blue Raiders were second to Bradley a year ago, but are hoping to get back to championship form after winning three in a row from 2013-15.

The opening match against Centennial was barely more than a good warmup before facing Wilson Central. Both teams won seven matches in that second one, but the Blue Raiders got five pins to just three for the Wildcats to advance.

Bryce Pond (120), Austin Sweeney (152), Zach Brezna (160), Dylan Jones (170) and Jack Hicks (195) all had pins to help Cleveland to improve to 32-1 for the season.

First-year coach Joey Knox might have been tense in the second match, but he didn’t look it. He did have a relieved look on his face when Trae McDaniel’s 7-1 decision at 106 locked up the win for the Blue Raiders in the next-to-last match.

“I thought our guys did a good job as we battled today,” Knox began.

“We still have some big matches tomorrow, but we knew this one would be much tougher than the first one. It came down to our freshman at 106, but he’s one of those guys we can count on.

“We got beat by Bradley in the finals last year and we don’t want to have that same taste in our mouths this year. We have to come back just as strong tomorrow,” Knox added.

The Baylor team won their biggest match last Friday when they knocked off second-ranked McCallie. That loss put the Blue Tornado in the same side of the bracket as Christian Brothers.

While McCallie was losing a tough one to the Purple Wave after beating them in the Cleveland Duals, Baylor was cakewalking past MUS and defending champ Father Ryan to the finals, where they will face Christian Brothers for the second time after losing to them at the Cleveland Duals.

“That wasn’t too bad,” Baylor coach Ben Nelson smiled after his team put a 63-9 whipping on the Purple Irish in the semifinal match.

“Father Ryan ended our dual season the last two years and our guys were looking for a little revenge tonight. That felt good, but we’ve had a great week of practice and we were ready to go when the whistle blew. We’ve been training all year for this and we’re where we want to be right now.

“Christian Brothers beat us soundly at the Cleveland Duals, but we were missing a few of our better wrestlers and we’re hoping the results may be different tomorrow,” Nelson added.

McCallie’s Mike Newman never has been one to dodge talking about tough losses and he didn’t on Friday.

“We beat them earlier, but it didn’t turn out quite like we had wanted,” he said shortly after the match with Christian Brothers ended.

“It just wasn’t in the cards. There were a couple of toss-up matches and they won both of them, but they did a good job and deserve all the credit. We could have been smarter in places as the effort was good. Tomorrow is still a big day and we just hope to build from what we did today,” Newman nodded.

The Soddy Daisy Trojans fell to 10-3 with the loss to Brentwood, now 18-2 after that first win. Soddy Daisy coach Jim Higgins felt like his kids simply weren’t ready to compete and they got what they deserved.

“The right team won and they deserved it,” Higgins said matter of factly after the loss to the Bruins.

“I’m not sure where our focus was, but it wasn’t on that match as we made way too many errors and lost too many close decisions. We’re much better than that as we just didn’t get a team effort in that one.

“I guess we’ll see what we’re made of tomorrow and we’ll find out just how much we want to battle back. But we just got out-wrestled by Brentwood tonight,” he concluded.

Jacob Kilgore’s 4-2 decision at 126 gave the Trojans their only lead at 6-3. Trailing 12-6 after a pin and overtime decision, perhaps the nail that sealed the coffin for Soddy Daisy came when Tony Wilson got pinned in the first minute after building a 5-0 lead and being in total control of the match.

That gave Brentwood an 18-6 lead and it never got much closer. The lead was a dozen points before the Bruins forfeited the final match.

While Signal Mountain was the talk in A-AA, Hixson had a short night after losing to Gibbs.

The Wildcats had a 15-0 lead after getting pins from Trevor Lewis and Rylie Hart sandwiched around a 3-2 decision by Charles Burton at 120. Bruce Wilson’s 6-4 decision at 152 gave the Wildcats a 21-10 lead, but the Eagles came storming back to win six matches in a row before forfeiting the last match at 106.

Hixson coach Garrick Hall didn’t seem too bothered by it.

“We wrestled well, but Gibbs has a really good team. It is what it is,” the veteran Wildcat leader expressed.

“We graduated nine seniors last year, so we’re really young, but I thought we fought a lot harder than we did a year ago after coming here and losing our first two matches.

“We tried to shave points, but it didn’t work very well. I thought it might be a little closer, but we’ll just have to suck it up and keep working. Last year we came back to win the region and then finished second in the traditional state tournament, so anything is possible in this sport,” Hall smiled.

While Baylor and Signal Mountain are set for the championship matches in their divisions at 5:30 CST, Cleveland will try to join them and will get that chance with a semifinal match against Arlington.

Hixson begins its day with a match against Alcoa at 9 while Soddy Daisy squares off against Houston at the same time. McCallie tangles with the MBA-MUS winner in the D-II consolation semis at 1.

Bradley, Pigeon Forge and Father Ryan are the defending champs, but none will repeat as Bradley and Pigeon Forge didn’t even qualify this time.

(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

Thanks again John Hunt!!

_________________________

HIGH SCHOOL

Blackman falls in state wrestling duals quarterfinals; Oakland loses in first round

Blackman wrestling coach Ronnie Bray shouts instruction during a past match. The Blaze won the first round over Dobyns-Bennett before falling to Arlington in the quarterfinals.

http://www.dnj.com/story/sports/high-school/2018/02/02/blackman-advances-state-wrestling-duals-quarterfinals-oakland-falls/301920002/

____________________________

Science Hill slides into semis; D-B falls late to Blackman

JOHNSON CITY PRESS • UPDATED FEB 2, 2018 AT 10:13 PM

FRANKLIN —It’s on to the semifinals for Science Hill in the TSSAA state duals wrestling championships.

The Hilltoppers dusted a pair of opponents on Friday, overwhelming Oakland 55-21 before grinding out a 43-32 win over Beech.

In their first test, the Hilltoppers took the opening two matches on pins from Braxton Mann and Tyler Seeley. Oakland was able to counter with a win from Desmond Stepp over Javelle Gillespie, but the Hilltoppers went on a roll after that and won six matches in a row.

That surge included back-to-back quick pins by Joseph Frye and Luke Story. Arthur James, Isaiah Ryans, William Diehl and Joseph Morrell also earned victories as part of the run by Science Hill.

Nolan Cook put an end to the Science Hill run with a narrow victory over Jim Kalogeros. Weston Brown and Hayden Bodo were able to pick up the last two wins on the evening for the ’Toppers. They would move on to face Beech Senior later in the evening.

Despite a rough start in its battle with Beech, Science Hill got the job done.

The ’Toppers lost their first three matches before Story and James got them on track with momentum-shifting wins.

After Trevor Rippy of Beech had a quick pin on Garrett Stiltner, the ’Toppers ran off six consecutive victories to seal the deal. Beech won the last two matches on forfeit, but the outcome was already decided.

Science Hill will move on to face Heritage today at 1 p.m. in the semifinals.

Meanwhile, Dobyns-Bennett took a heartbreaking 39-36 loss to Blackman in the opening round. Blackman had a regular season record of 23-1, so the task was quite difficult for the Indians.

D-B captured the first four matches behind wins from Game Hawkins, Corbin Bumgarner, Jackson Hurst and Caleb Fields. It looked early on that the Tribe was going to roll right through Blackman.

However, Blackman won seven out of the next nine matches and secured the Jamill Hughes’ late pin win with over Brenton Salyers.

Dobyns-Bennett will grapple next with Anderson County in the consolation bracket today at 9 a.m.

-_________________________________-

Clarksville area has futuristic developments....

Youth wrestlers from U.S. take overall team championship in France

By ClarksvilleNow.com February 2, 2018 4:27 pm

Clarksville Now

Clarksville, Tenn. – (ESPN CLARKSVILLE)A team of youth wrestlers just finished competing at the International Freestyle Open Cup Le Creusot 2018 in Le Creusot, France.

The U.S. left France with eight medalists, including five champions and three silver medalists and an overall team championship. The competition was comprised of eight countries, over 60 teams and over 400 wrestlers.

Rossview Middle School sixth grader, Vaun Morris, ended with a 5th place finish at the event. The USA team consisted of 17 wrestlers aged 11-14 years from Wisconsin, Kansas, Georgia, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Tennessee and Idaho represented the United States at the international event.

Three of the boys were only 11 years old and too young to compete at Schoolboy age category. Rather than sitting out, they elected to wrestle up in age-group competing against older, more experienced and developed wrestlers.

Morris, 11, who is a six-time Tennessee State Champion and multiple time All-American, competed in the 14/15 year old category. Despite giving up four years to most of his competition, Morris competed without fear and ended up 5th place.

“This was a great trip and event for me. This is my first overseas trip and I hope to have many more. I learned a lot and saw a lot of cool stuff that we learn about in school. I made a lot of friends and I got to share it with my dad, which is really special. I plan on getting back to The Academy and putting more work in, so I can go on more trips,” said Morris.

The Team Organizer, Jared Lewis from Wisconsin said, “The trip is definitely a wrestling trip but it’s so much more than just wrestling and some sightseeing. It’s an opportunity for the boys to grow both on and off the mat, an opportunity to meet friends that have similar interest from all over the world and most importantly, it’s the opportunity to test their skill against some of the best youth wrestlers in Europe!”

The team was coached by Wisconsin’s Ringer’s Wrestling Club founder, James Schmitz and assisted by coaches Brandon Morris, President/Head Coach The Alliance Wrestling Academy in Clarksville and Philip Arnold, owner of Alpha Omega Wrestling Club of South Georgia.

Coach Morris, who is an Active Duty Warrant Officer stationed at Fort Campbell, is also the President and Head Coach of The Alliance Wrestling Academy located on Franklin Street downtown. The Alliance Wrestling Academy is an elite wrestling program organized around the sound fundamental skills of technique, physical conditioning, personal discipline, and mental edge. The main goal of The Alliance is to train, educate and support our athletes to achieve the next level of excellence.

Coach Morris said “It was an honor and privilege to be a part of this trip and to share the experience with my son. I look forward to taking more of our kids oversees to see the world and compete at the highest levels.”

U.S. results for the 2018 International Freestyle Open Cup Le Creusot were Gold medalists Gabriel Arnold, Jadon Skellenger, Christopher Coates, Royce Nilo and Nick Hamilton. Silver medals went to Brandon Bohm, Rhett Peak and Cash Stewart. Vaun Morris, Hunter Taylor and Aden Attao took fifth lace, sixth place, Cole Sarbacker, seventh place, Henry Amborn, eighth place, Jackson Mankowski, ninth place Aidan Squire and in eleventh place Aedon Sinclair and Beckett Spilde.

Edited February 4, 2018 by Sommers

Sommers · February 4, 2018

On 2/3/2018 at 9:53 AM, Sommers said:

On 2/3/2018 at 9:53 AM, Sommers said:

Appy gets the Mocs 18-16...

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.chattanoogan.com/2018/2/4/362760/Appalachian-St.-Nips-UTC-18-16-In.aspx&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoUMTc2Mzc5ODIzMDEwNTk3NDEyODEyGjE5MWRlNmFlNzVmY2RhMTk6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNFFNl4sPZ6wZykaSaeJOEo2q3KrTg

_______________________________

HIGH SCHOOL

Gibbs wrestling wins first TSSAA state duals championship

Tom Kreager | USA TODAY NETWORK - TennesseeUpdated 16 hours ago

FRANKLIN — The candy ring pops came out Saturday evening shortly after Gibbs clinched its first TSSAA state duals wrestling championship.

It was time to celebrate.

Gibbs players lift their coach, Tim Pittman, into the air after defeating Signal Mountain during ...more

Wade Payne, For the News Sentinel

Gibbs, which dropped down to Class A/AA from Class AAA prior to the school year after the TSSAA reclassification, defeated Signal Mountain 40-33 at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center. The title comes in the Eagles' first title match in four appearances.

Tyson Hefner, a 220-pound wrestler for Gibbs, came up with idea of pulling out the ring pops. The idea caught on. Some in the crowd even had them.

Share Media

Previous Next
1 of 13

John Pittman of Gibbs positions himself against Paul Tate of Signal Mountain during the TSSAA Wrestling... more

Wade Payne, For the News Sentinel

"He was like, 'We're probably not going to get our state rings right away if we win state," said Gibbs' Landon Adzima of Hefner. "So lets get ring pops as a joke."

Gibbs jumped out to an 18-0 lead after pins by Elijah Lawson (195 pounds), Hefner and Joel Griffin (285 pounds) to open the championship dual. And Gibbs never looked back.

"We said in our meeting if we could get three quick pins that would get everybody jacked up," Gibbs coach Tim Pittman said. "We knew the lightweights were where they were real, real strong."

Gibbs had reached the previous three Class AAA state duals but had never placed in the top four. A year ago the Eagles didn't win a match at the duals.

Tim Buangala of Gibbs wrestles Signal Mountains Preston Worley during the TSSAA Wrestling Duals ...more

Wade Payne, For the News Sentinel

But reclassification gave them a boost — if they could beat Pigeon Forge, the defending Class A/AA state champions. Gibbs did that, beating them in the Region 2-A/AA final to reach state.

"We knew once we beat Pigeon Forge there were more steps to it," said Matthew Maxwell, a Gibbs 145-pound wrestler. "We knew there were other teams that could give us a scare so we didn't stop at Pigeon Forge."

Gibbs clinched the championship with two weight classes remaining, allowing the Eagles to forfeit the last two weight classes and speed up the celebration and bring out the candy.

"Coaches, managers and fans — they were all passing them out," said Gibbs 195-pound wrestler Elijah Lawson, a plastic ring the only thing remaining from his strawberry candy.

"This is great. What does a state title mean? It means your the best."

Reach Tom Kreager at tkreager@tennessean.com or 615-259-8089 and on Twitter @KreagerOriginally Published 8:45 p.m. ET Feb. 3, 2018

Edited February 5, 2018 by Sommers

Sommers · February 5, 2018

On 2/3/2018 at 9:53 AM, Sommers said:

The Tennessean

HIGH-SCHOOL

4 takeaways from first day of TSSAA state duals

Tom Kreager | USA TODAY NETWORK - TennesseeUpdated 8:24 a.m. CT Feb. 3, 2018

Show Caption

FRANKLIN — The finals are set for the Class A/AA and Division II state duals following Friday's opening rounds at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center. The final four is set for the Class AAA tournament.ere are four takeaways from the first day of the tournament entering Saturday's finals.

Here are four takeaways from the first day of the tournament entering Saturday's finals

Brentwood's Skylar Coffey slams Soddy-Daisy's Addison Roberts to the mat during the TSSAA Wrestling Dual... more

George Walker IV / The Tennessean

MIDDLE TENNESSEE ELIMINATED FROM TITLE HUNT

Nolensville's Gavin Channell yells as he is put on his head by Fairview's Blake Sisco during the ...more

George Walker IV / The Tennessean

There will be no Nashville area team in the duals finals for the first time since 2011. Two-time defending DII duals champion Father Ryan had reached the finals each year since 2011.

But Baylor beat the Irish 63-9 in their semifinal.

No Nashville area team has reached a Division I final since Wilson Central was runner-up to Cleveland in 2013 in Class AAA.

Gibbs freshman wrestler John Pittman

Tom Kreager/The Tennessean

GIBBS REACHES FIRST WRESTLING FINAL

Gibbs' first year in Class A/AA has been a memorable one.

The Eagles edged Greenbrier 31-28 in their Class A/AA semifinal to reach the school's first duals final in fourth appearance.

Gibbs coach Tim Pittman watched the Eagles survive a late Greenbrier comeback when his son John Pittman, a freshman at 113 pounds, kept from getting pinned by Matthew McCartney to seal the win. McCartney won 2-0, but needed a pin for Greenbrier to have a shot at winning.

"Ironically, it was my son," Pittman said. "I just said, 'If you can stay alive without being pinned, we win.'

"He just went out and battled. We knew McCartney was tough. We had already scouted him."

Gibbs had previously been in Class AAA before dropping down this season after the TSSAA's reclassification.

BRUINS PULL OFF EARLY UPSET

Brentwood turned heads in the opening round of the Class AAA tournament with a 36-30 win over perennial wrestling power Soddy-Daisy.

The Bruins sealed the win when 285-pounder Skylar Coffey pinned Addison Roberts in 3:59.

Brentwood was one of four Nashville area teams to reach the quarterfinals. But Heritage beat the Bruins 40-20. Other Nashville area second-round losses included Wilson Central to tournament favorite Cleveland 37-29, Blackman to Arlington 35-31 and Beech to Science Hill 43-32.

FAIRVIEW JUST MISSES FINAL

Greenbrier wasn't the only Nashville area team that just missed a trip to the Class A/AA final. Fairview led Signal Mountain 29-26 entering the final two weight classes.

But Signal Mountain pulled out a 38-29 win with pins by 106-pounder Daniel Uhorchuck over Justin Martin and 113-pounder Isaac Tate pinned Jacob Derrick.

The Yellow Jackets reached the Class A/AA semifinals with a 38-34 win over Nolensville.

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 and tkreager@tennessean.com or on Twitter @Kreager.

Johnson City Press gives their Hill Toppers nice press....

wrestling duals

JOHNSON CITY PRESS • UPDATED FEB 4, 2018 AT 12:06 AM

FRANKLIN—Although Science Hill’s wrestling team didn’t quite reach the mountaintop, it showed its mettle.

Holding true to their No. 2 ranking, the Hilltoppers captured second-place honors Saturday in the Class AAA state duals at the Williamson County Expo Center.

“This is a big step for us,” said Science Hill coach Jimmy Miller. “This is something our kids talked about four months ago. They said, ‘This is what we want to do — this is where we feel like we can get to.’ And we did it.”

After picking up two wins on Friday, the Hilltoppers gained their title shot with a hard-fought 37-31 win over Heritage in Saturday’s semifinals. In the championship match, Science Hill fell 51-22 to top-rated Cleveland.

“Our weekend was great,” Miller said. “Our kids came down here with something to prove. We were ranked No. 2 in state for most of the year. I don’t think there were a lot of believers — beside the coaches, our kids and our families — that we were capable of making the finals. There was a lot of talk around the state that couldn’t get there.

“Our kids kept putting one match together over and over and over. We did it three times over the weekend and got to finals match. We had opportunities during the finals, but we had matches that just didn’t go our way. Our kids wrestled tough. … I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

This was Science Hill’s first finals appearance at the state duals. The ’Toppers took third place a year ago.

“I couldn’t be happier for our kids,” Miller said.

Luke Story, William Diehl and Weston Brown showed the way for the Hilltoppers over the weekend. All went 4-0 with Story capping off his day in the 138-pound weight class with a 5-2 decision over Michael Whiteside of Cleveland.

Diehl scored a pinfall at 5:07 over the Blue Raiders’ Zach Brenza at 160, and Brown pinned Logan Strickland at the 4:00 mark in the 195 final.

Braxton Mann was also undefeated, going 3-0 at 113 and earning a 12-5 conquest of Jackson Bradford in the final round.

Tyler Seeley and Joseph Morrell both sported 3-1 records. Seeley’s weekend included a 9-0 major decision over Burns Meagher in the 120 final. Morrell rolled through his first two matches at 170, winning each by pinfall in less than a minute.

Isaiah Ryan was 2-1 for Science Hill at 152 before losing to Cleveland’s Austin Sweeney.

Joseph Frye went 2-2 at 132, as did Arthur James at 145.

Hayden Bodo (106), Jim Kalogeros (182), Denzel Medina (220) and Jesse Cross (285) also picked up victories over the weekend.

“We’re graduating a ton of seniors,” Miller said. “They put the time in and built this thing from ground up. We’ve had good teams here before, no doubt about that. This is a special bunch and they’ll all be missed.”

Miller conveyed the program won’t lose its hunger.

“We’ll be graduating a lot of kids, but a lot of kids are coming back,” he said. “They are just tough — tough-hammer kids. We’re going to build on this. We’re not going to sit back on our haunches.”

Miller, who also spoke well of his coaching staff, will now turn the Hilltoppers’ attention to next weekend’s regional tournament (individuals) at David Crockett.

“Our goal is to go out and win next weekend,” he said. “That’s something that’s evaded us the last couple of years. We missed (the title) by only 3-4 points last year, battling with a good Tennessee High team. This year we should have upper hand. We need to go in there and respond to this weekend and have a good tournament.”

———

In Saturday’s consolation bracket, Dobyns-Bennett handled Anderson County 60-24 before losing a 56-17 match with Brentwood.

Working from the 113-pound weight class, the Indians’ Gabe Hawkins posted a 3-0 tournament mark. Dillon Lemons, wrestling at 152, also finished 3-0.

Jackson Hurst won both his matches in the 126 division.

______________________________

UTC wrestlers lose by two at home to Appalachian State [photos]

February 5th, 2018by Gene Henleyin Sports - CollegeRead Time: 2 mins.

1517805356_020518C01-UTC-wrestling-WEB_t350_h3adc1702da28ab3336035f3ee3827bf9373b5ff1.jpg

UTC's Michael Pongracz yells in pain as Appalachian State's Irvin Enriquez twists his leg during their 141-pound match on Sunday at McClellan Gym. Pongracz earned a major decision with a 9-1 victory, but Appalachian State won the dual 18-16.

Photo by Erin O. Smith

Gallery: UTC wrestlers lose to Appalachian State

+10

more photos

Heath Eslinger was frustrated Sunday afternoon.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling coach believed his team had done enough to earn a victory in a big Southern Conference dual against Appalachian State.

The scoreboard at Maclellan Gymnasium said otherwise.

ADVERTISING

UNI PANTHERS

Feb. 5, 2018 at 6:36PM

Wrestling Weekend That Was: Oklahoma State handles UNI

Observations in wrestling for Feb. 2-4

Head Coach Doug Schwab answers local media questions during the Northern Iowa Wrestling Media Day in Cedar Falls, Iowa Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. (TIFFANY RUSHING / Courier Staff Photographer)

persbilde?Avis=GA&ID=Pilcher&MaxH=150&MaxW=150

K.J. Pilcher

The Gazette

General observations from the wrestling weekend that was.

Cowboys Wrangle Panthers

UNI Coach Doug Schwab and the Panthers were enthusiastic about the move to the Big 12 Conference. The switch provided the opportunity to compete against well-known programs, including traditional power Oklahoma State and a chance to wrestle in historic Gallagher-Iba Arena.

“It’s exciting we get to go down to Oklahoma State this year,” Schwab said during the team’s annual media day. “I don’t look at it any different. We still prepare the same. Now we have Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, West Virginia and all those other teams in our conference, which is good for us, because we want to be battled-tested and ready when we head to the national tournament. I know we will be.”

The 13th-ranked Panthers made their trip to Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday only to suffer a 24-10 defeat at the hands of the No. 5 Cowboys.

UNI’s top trio — Max Thomsen, Taylor Lujan and Drew Foster — each earned victories. Thomsen and Lujan earned decisions at 149 and 174, respectively. Thomsen, a returning All-American ranked eighth, scored a takedown in the first sudden victory period for a 3-1 decision over No. 14 Boo Lewallen. All-American and ninth-ranked Foster added a 12-2 major decision over previously ranked Keegan Moore at 184.

The Panthers dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big 12, falling to No. 12 South Dakota State earlier this season. UNI hosts Iowa State (7-8, 2-5) on Saturday at the West Gym in a series that now adds conference ramifications.

“Looking forward to have an in-state rival,” Schwab said of Iowa State. “It’s exciting for me. It’s exciting for our team. It’s exciting for the state.”

Penn State Wins No. 1 Vs. No. 2 Battle

Top-ranked Penn State was considered vulnerable. Ohio State fields a ranked wrestler at every weight with bookend NCAA champions, a third titlist and another top-ranked wrestler. Plus, the Nittany Lions were missing NCAA champion Jason Nolf, who was on crutches after a knee injury suffered last weekend in a dual against Rutgers.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT

WEEKLY HAWKEYE TRIVIA

Weekly Hawkeye questions, and monthly prizes provided by Van Horn Ford Chevrolet of Newhall.

None of that was a problem as Penn State won four of the last five matches, including a major decision by Bo Nickal over Myles Martin in a battle of national champions, for a 19-18 victory.

Things looked to play out that way as Ohio State claimed the first three matches and held a 15-5 lead at the break.

Penn State reeled off four wins against ranked foes. The biggest came at 197 pounds when Anthony Cassar topped No. 1 Kollin Moore, 6-3, at 197. Cassar has split time with junior Shakur Rasheed, who is ranked seventh by trackwrestling.com. Cassar’s victory gave the Lions a four-point lead and a large advantage in tiebreaker criteria, causing Ohio State two-time NCAA champion and Olympic gold medalist Kyle Snyder to need a technical fall. Snyder tried some high-risk moves, looking for extra bonus points, but Nick Nevills was able to keep it at a 15-10 decision. Penn State clinched the Big Ten dual title before hosting seventh-ranked Iowa on Saturday.

Happel Thorn In Minnesota's Side

Iowa’s Carter Happel received the nod against rival Minnesota Friday, drawing No. 10 Tommy Thorn. Happel scored the first and the last takedown in the match. The final points as time ticked down, coming from an inside trip that Happel executed. Thorn let up and Happel put the finishing touches on his match and the decisive dual victory with a pin in 6:58.

“I felt really good going out there,” Happel said. “Tom has been putting it in our heads all week about wrestling hard seven minutes, so I went out there and wanted to wrestle hard all seven minutes.”

Happel even drew praise from Iowa Coach Tom Brands, noting Happel wrestled much tougher and with more energy than his last match, which was a lackluster bout at Ohio State.

“It was good,” Brands said. “He was in it.

“He looked different coming out there. His energy was different.”

Bono Hits 100

South Dakota State Coach and former Iowa State NCAA champion and two-time finalist Chris Bono earned his 100th dual victory as a head coach. He did it against a familiar program as well. The Jackrabbits handled the Cyclones, 30-15, Sunday at Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Sommers

Sommers · February 7, 2018

Share Media

Previous Next

1 of 26

Fairview High’s Tristan Mann victorious in Round 3 versus Hixson to advance team to Round 4 during the... more

Holly Cox

FAIRVIEW

Fairview High wrestling team makes history at State

Nancy Stephens | USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee6:30 a.m. CT Feb. 6, 2018

First, the Fairview High School Yellow Jacket Wrestling Team became the first boys team in the history of the school to advance to the State.

And on Saturday, the team followed up that achievement by scoring the highest finish of any sport in the history of the school with a third-place finish at the Class A-AA Duals Championship, held at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center in Franklin.

The Yellow Jackets reached the Class A/AA semifinals after a 38-34 win over Nolensville in Round 1 on Friday. Fairview also took on Signal Mountain Friday, but their opposing team pulled out a 38-29 win on their way to becoming the State runner-up.

On Saturday in the consolation semifinals, the Jackets showed grit and determination to land a solid 40-33 win over Hixson which started with Hiller Gray's big pin.

Coach Jim Derrick said, "The fan support for the Jackets was great all weekend, but the Hixson match was one for the books. The crowd for both teams made it electric, and the finish was awesome with senior Tristan Mann ending with a pin."

In their final team run, the Jackets defeated Greenbrier 39-21 to take third place. Fairview’s Riley Bennett (126), Braxton Hunter (132) and Matthew Cox (138) were impressive on the mat to push the team scoring. They were followed up by solid moves from Blake Sisco (152) and Cody DeLano (182), allowing the Yellow Jackets to take the lead. Fairview’s Tristan Mann sealed the victory with a pin in the 195 weight class.

Coach Derrick said he was "very proud of the boys and their never-quit attitude. We came from behind in all three of our wins. Now, we need to get ready for Region and State Individuals."

_________________________

Campbellsville Women’s Wrestling Breaks Through with First-Ever - LEX18.com | Continuous News

Campbellsville Women’s Wrestling Breaks Through with First-Ever No. 1 Ranking in Program History

Posted: Feb 05, 2018 7:29 PM CSTUpdated: Feb 05, 2018 7:29 PM CST

For the first time in program history, Lady Tiger wrestling earns the No. 1 ranking in the WCWA Poll, officials announced on Monday afternoon.

The Lady Tigers earned 110 points from the national raters – 25 more points than No. 2 Simon Fraser University.

McKendree University (79), King University (60) and Emmanuel College (55) round out the Top 5.

In addition to Campbellsville, two other Mid-South Conference foes are in the Top 13. University of the Cumberlands earned 14 voting points and sits at No. 12 while Life University is at No. 13 with 13 points.

The Lady Tigers went 15-0 this season in duals, including 13 wins over ranked foes.

"The recognition is well deserved," said coach Lee Miracle. "I told the team to give themselves a moment to think about what this program has been through to get to this point abd to be proud of this accomplishment. But after they have taken a minute to enjoy this moment, realize that this is just a stepping stone to our goal of winning a WCWA National Championship as a team. I told them to remember we still have work to do to make this ranking a reality."

Led by three-time national champion Kayla Miracle, Campbellsville has a nation-high 13 Lady Tigers ranked in their respective weight classes. Miracle ranks No. 1 at 136 lbs., while Campbellsville has three Lady Tigers sitting at No. 2 – Grace Bullen (130), Koral Sugiyama (123) and Charlotte Fowler (109).

CU also has a pair of Lady Tigers sitting at No. 3 – Shelby Hall (130) and Kaitlyn Hill (191).

At 143 lbs., Alexia Foca remained at No. 4, while Courtney Gray sits at No. 7. Mariah Harris comes in at No. 4 at 170 lbs. this month, while Morgan Becker (155) and McKayla Campbell (101) are both at No. 6.

Story continues below

Lastly, Steffanie Hampton (123) is at No. 7, while Jessie Grubbs (191) is at No. 10.

Story continues below

Campbellsville, which is in its fifth season as a program, is seeking its first national championship. The Lady Tigers are competing at the WCWA National Championship on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 9-10 in Oklahoma City, Okla.

15982526_G.jpg?auto=webp&disable=upscale

Edited February 8, 2018 by Sommers

Sommers · February 9, 2018

NEXT UP

5a7c886072f5e.image.jpg?crop=675%2C675%2C262%2C0&resize=100%2C100&order=crop%2Cresize

CU ATHLETICS -- Board launches $500,000 initiative

WRESTLING -- WC places 3 in state duals

William Blount’s Austin Sauls is controlled by Wilson Central’s Alex Pergande during their 138 bout.

Phil Stauder

Wilson Central’s Kolin Miller wrestles at 220 against William Blount’s Christian Lovell Friday, Feb. 2.

Phil Stauder

Wilson Central’s Colton Colyer tries to control the hands of William Blount’s Luke Wright during their 160 bout Friday, Feb. 2.

Phil Stauder

Wilson Central’s Thomas Oakley (top) works on a half against William Blount’s Ethan Banner.

Phil Stauder

Region 6 tourney up next -

FRANKLIN -- Wilson Central closed out the Class AAA Dual Wrestling Championships with four consecutive wins in the consolation bracket and earned a third place finish with a 49-25 victory over Brentwood High Saturday, Feb. 3 at the Williamson County Expo Center.

The Wildcats opened the 16-team tournament Friday afternoon with a 52-15 win over William Blount, then was dispatched to the consolation bracket with a close 37-29 loss to eventual champion Cleveland Friday night.

In fact, both Cleveland and Wilson Central won seven matches -- the Raiders picked up seven pins to just two for WCHS.

Coach John Kramer's team then sent three teams packing in order to reach Brentwood in the third place match.

WCHS eliminated Knoxville Halls 48-28, then downed Soddy-Daisy 42-32.

The semifinals of the consolation bracket found Central ousting Heritage High 40-36 -- setting up the consolation finals versus the Bruins.

Wilson Central ended the dual season with a record of 44-6 overall with only two seniors in the everyday lineup.

Next up for the Wildcats is the Region 6 individual tournament Feb. 9 and 10 at Clarksville's Kenwood High.

The top four finishers in each weight class will advance to the TSSAA Individual State Feb. 16 and 17 at the Williamson Expo Center.

Wilson Central 49, Brentwood 25

106 - Grant Fetters (WC) over Alex Young (BHS) Fall 0:32

113 - Thomas Borders (WC) over Brennan Jennings (BHS) Fall 1:13

120 - Thomas Oakley (WC) over Brennan Jennings (BHS) Dec 8-6

126 - Alan Fort (WC) over Kizer Hensley (BHS) Fall 4:47

132 - Prentice Belcher (WC) over Cooper Finch (BHS) Fall 1:00

138 - Alex Pergande (WC) over Isaac Asselin (BHS) Maj 11-0145 - Garner Jones (Brentwood) over Christopher Payne (WC) Maj 9-1

152 - Levi Stone (WC) over Hutson Staggs (BHS) Fall 2:47

160 - Colby Finch (BHS) over Colton Colyer (WC) Fall 1:40

170 - Johnny Feldhacker (BHS) over Parker Bennett (WC) Dec 11-7

182 - Sinjin Noga (WC) over Drake Cunningham (BHS) Fall 1:34

195 - CJ Grissim (Brentwood) over Matthew Jenkinson (WC) Fall 0:41

220 - Skylar Coffey (BHS) over Dre Trotter (WC) Fall 2:35

285 - Michael Kramer (WC) over Charles Roston (BHS) Fall 0:40

_________________________________

HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING

Science Hill's Story earns top honor on Super 14 team

DOUGLAS FRITZ • TODAY AT 6:59 PM

dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

Science Hill’s Luke Story has been a force on the mat this season.

The Hilltoppers’ 138-pound senior, carrying a record of 54-3 into Saturday’s Region 1-AAA individual wrestling tournament at David Crockett, was chosen Thursday as the Johnson City Press and Kingsport Times News Super 14 wrestler of the year.

Story, who was selected by the Region 1 coaches as co-wrestler of the year along with Tennessee High’s Dillon Pendley, earned the Super 14 honor based on his ranking of No. 1 in the state along with his 9-4 decision earlier this season over No. 2-ranked Kyle Burns of Knox Bearden. The Super 14 wrestler of the year was chosen independent of the Region 1 coaches selection.

Story and Pendley were joined on the team by four other wrestlers from Science Hill, three others from Tennessee High, two each from Dobyns-Bennett and Morristown West, and one from Jefferson County.

Here’s the 2018 team:

106 pounds

Brennan Watkins, Dobyns-Bennett, freshman

Record: 40-7

Highlights: 3rd place (Soddy-Daisy Showdown), team leader in wins

113 pounds

Braxton Mann, Science Hill, freshman

Record: 42-7

Highlights: North Knight Invitational Champ, Fandetti-Richardson Brawl Champion, 2nd Place Battle for Independence

120 pounds

Tyler Seeley, Science Hill, sophomore

Record: 53-4

Highlights: 2017 TSSAA State Medalist (5th, 106 pounds), North Knight Invitational Champion, 3rd Place at Southern Slam, Battle for Independence Champion

126 pounds

Judson McCray, Tennessee High, senior

Record: 43-8

Highlights: 2nd Place at Brawl in the Hall, 2nd Place at Holiday Hammer, Greeneville Invitational Champion

132 pounds

Dillon Pendley, Tennessee High, junior

Record: 44-2

Highlights: 2017 TSSAA State Medalist (4th, 113 pounds), Brawl in the Hall Champion, Beech Invitational Champion, Holiday Hammer Champion, Ed Cressell Classic Champion, Greeneville Invitational Champion, 4.0 GPA

138 pounds

Luke Story, Science Hill, senior

Record: 54-3

Highlights: North Knight Invitational Champion, 3rd Place at Southern Slam, Battle for Independence Champion, Fandetti Richardson Brawl Champion

145 pounds

Dominic Fields, Tennessee High, junior

Record: 43-6

Highlights: Brawl in the Hall Champion, Greeneville Invitational Champion, GPA 3.94

152 pounds

Logan Ferguson, Tennessee High, junior

Record: 32-8

Highlights: 2nd Place Brawl in the Hall, GPA 3.9

160 pounds

Chase Diehl, Science Hill, junior

Record: 48-3

Highlights: 2017 TSSAA State Medalist (3rd, 160 pounds), North Knight Invitational Champion, Southern Slam Champion, Battle for Independence Champion

170 pounds

Griffin Simerly, Morristown West, junior

Record: 42-3

Highlights: 2nd Place at Brawl in the Hall, Greeneville Invitational Champion

182 pounds

Camden Buckingham, Morristown West, junior

Record: 40-5

Highlights: 2nd Place at Brawl in the Hall, 2nd Place at Greeneville Invitational

195 pounds

Weston Brown, Science Hill, senior

Record: 45-9

Highlights: 2nd Place @ North Knight Invitational, 3rd Place @ Southern Slam, Battle for Independence Champion

220 pounds

Curtis Pinkston, Jefferson County, senior

Record: 27-4

Highlights: 2nd Place at Knox Catholic, 2nd Place at Brawl in the Hall, 2nd Place at Fandetti Richardson Brawl

285 pounds

Brenton Salyers, Dobyns-Bennett, junior

Record: 29-5

Season Accomplishments: Brawl in the Hall Champion; 17 Pins

Edited February 9, 2018 by Sommers

Sommers · February 10, 2018

Amazing Bono Story at SDSU

Jacked up: South Dakota State wrestling reaches new heights under Chris Bono

SDSU wrestler Connor Brown celebrates a win earlier this season. Brown and the Jackrabbits are undefeated in Big 12 ...more

Stephanie Pendrys

Matt Zimmer | mzimmer@argusleader.com11:43 p.m. CT Feb. 8, 2018

BROOKINGS – Seven years ago, South Dakota State officials were thinking about killing off their wrestling program. Today, it’s quickly becoming one of the hottest tickets in town, and one of SDSU's most successful sports.

The Jackrabbit wrestling team is ranked 12th in Division I, and they are undefeated in duals in the Big 12 conference (of which they’re an affiliate member for wrestling). They’ve averaged 1,950 fans at six home duals, have a national champion contender in top-ranked 133-pounder Seth Gross, and a coach in Chris Bono who’s something of a celebrity in the wrestling world -- willing to do whatever it takes to put his program on par with the football and basketball teams that have carried South Dakota State to success in Division I athletics.

When Bono took over in 2012, SDSU had lost 29 of its last 30 duals. The Jacks had never attracted a crowd of even 900 fans to a dual at Frost Arena.

Last Sunday they cruised to a win over Iowa State in front of 2,276 fans. On Super Bowl Sunday, no less.

More: Chris Bono picks up 100th win as South Dakota State wrestling dumps Iowa State

And this thing is still trending upwards. In February of 2015, it was a big deal when SDSU drew 918 fans and beat Stanford, a dual that was scheduled immediately following a men’s basketball game against North Dakota State to maximize attendance.

Today, the Jacks need no such assistance to draw a crowd, and a turnout of less than 1,000 fans would be considered a huge disappointment. But Bono isn't done.

“We can do better,” said the soon-to-be 44-year-old Bono. “We can really grow this thing and knock it out of the ballpark. I won’t be satisfied until we sell out all 6,500 seats and there’s another 6,500 outside waiting to get in. That’s the goal.”

SDSU wrestling duals have a main-event feel to them at Frost Arena

Argus Leader file photo

SDSU now offers the full Division I allotment of wrestling scholarships (9.9), has a coaching staff with two full-time assistants, has gone 50-21 in duals over the last four years and is exploring plans for additional wrestling facilities. Once on the chopping block, today wrestling is a revenue sport for South Dakota State. Athletic director Justin Sell said ticket revenues for wrestling have risen from between $15,000-$20,000 in a year to six figures.

“I remember sitting with (former assistant athletic director) Leon Costello and saying, ‘We’ve got one of two choices’”, Sell said. “Either we’re all in on this thing and let’s get it going, or let’s not have it. We made a commitment at that point – let’s figure this out. Let’s look at scholarships, let’s look at getting a full-time coaching staff instead of grad assistants. By doing that, the quality of (coaching) candidates went way up. People got excited.”

Jason Liles had stepped down after the 2011 season. Bono, a 5-foot-3 powderkeg of enthusiasm and a former national champion at Iowa State, replaced him.

“I’m a guy who loves positive energy, and it took me two minutes of talking to (Bono) to be like, ‘I’ve got to get this guy’,” Sell said.

Bono had gone 39-17 in a prior D-I coaching stint at Chattanooga, but the focus would be as much on growing a fan base and creating excitement for a program that had little support as it would on adding talent. The hope was that one would beget the other, and that’s what’s happened.

SDSU wrestling is undefeated in Big 12 duals this year

Stephanie Pendrys

Bono and top assistant Jon Reader have been on the offensive since they’ve been in Brookings, devising promotions, launching social media campaigns and making appearances around campus and in town to rally support.

Of course, gaining membership in the Big 12 gave the program much-needed credibility, and in recent seasons the Jacks have brought the very best college wrestling programs in the country to Frost – Iowa, Minnesota, Oklahoma State, and others. A crowd of 3,063 attended this year’s dual against the Gophers, while the new SDSU record was set last year, when 4,087 saw the Jacks fall to the Iowa Hawkeyes. That's five times more fans than had ever been to Frost for wrestling prior to Bono's arrival.

“The environment there is awesome,” said Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser. “You really have to give it to their fans and Bono and Reader and what they’re doing down there. It’s pretty amazing.”

Bono’s tireless enthusiasm is a big factor, but he, in turn, credits Sell and his staff for giving him the freedom to sell the program aggressively.

“If I have an idea, it’s yeah, go get it done,” Bono said. “(Administration’s) passion for the program is as big as ours.”

And with no disrespect to the basketball fans that support SDSU’s teams at Frost, the intensity fans bring to home duals is something to behold. Wrestling fans are a different breed, and the darkened lighting with a spotlight on the giant Jackrabbit logo on the mat creates a boxing-style main event feel to the matches.

“We’ve got great people and we get out in the community and we get to know them personally,” Bono says. “It’s special here – people truly care, and when someone truly cares about you they support you in every single way possible. We’ve got people calling us wanting to know how they can be a part of this.”

SDSU coaches Chris Bono (left) and Cody Caldwell watch a match earlier this season.

Stephanie Pendrys

The wrestlers themselves play their part, too. Bono encourages his athletes to put on a show, celebrating success and playing to the crowd. It’s not uncommon for a Jackrabbit wrestler to bounce up from the mat after a victory and race a lap around the mat, gesturing to the crowd like a gladiator.

“It’s my fifth year here and our fans have gone from 800 to (up to) 4,000,” said senior Luke Zilverberg. “They’re insanely loud and they got our back. It’s one of the most fun things I’ll ever experience in my life.”

Said freshman 125-pounder Connor Brown: "It's been awesome going out there each match knowing the crowd can help by wearing on the other guy. When they start yelling and screaming at them it hypes us up and the other guy is like, 'What's going on'. The 11th man really helps."

But all of that wouldn’t be enough if SDSU hadn’t also improved dramatically on the mat, which they have. Division I status notwithstanding, Jackrabbit wrestling did not have the clout to land recruits on its own merits after the Division I move, and some of the state’s top wrestlers would choose to compete for Division II programs at Augustana, Dakota Wesleyan, Northern State and elsewhere.

Bono set about changing that, and the current roster includes in-state heroes like Nate Rotert and David and Alex Kocer. That will help set the tone as Bono pushes the program towards what he hopes will be national championship contention.

“There’s always been great wrestling in this state but for too long we didn’t give them enough to cheer for,” said Sell. “Chris brought the energy but then he started bringing in good recruiting classes, too. We’re in a part of the world where you can be great at wrestling, we just needed the right leader. Now we have people coming to us wanting to invest in this program and big crowds coming to all of our duals. This is our new norm.”

Sommers · February 11, 2018

HIGH SCHOOL

Parity reigns for Clarksville area wrestling as 25 from city earn state berth

George Robinson | USA TODAY NETWORK - TennesseeUpdated 2 hours ago

Show Caption

Sixteen years of district and region dominance created a monster wrestling program at Clarksville High School.

As dominant as the Wildcats were during that time period, that essentially ended after the resignation of former CHS wrestling coach Jeff Jordan in 2012, it could be argued that the rest of the city's wrestling programs finally had a chance to breathe -- and get better.

Rossview's Rickey Gonzalez tries to take down his Beech opponent during the 145-pound Region 6 championship match of the individual tournament Saturday at Kenwood High.

George Robinson / The Leaf-Chronicle

The result has been a dual season and wrestling postseason that has watched three programs rise to the occasion.

Rossview, West Creek and Clarksville High have nearly been interchangeable with combined dual wins totaling 66 victories this season.

Rossview captured the most with 31 dual wins while the Wildcats and Coyotes were not far behind. All three programs found ways to beat each other, but it was Rossview captured its first ever district dual team championship.

Share Media

Previous Next

1 of 22

Kenwood's Eric Jackson competes in the 138-pound Region 6 consolation final match during the individual tournament Saturday at Kenwood High.

George Robinson / The Leaf-Chronicle

But all three teams failed to earn a state dual berth.

However, a small consolation prize may come in the form of the state individual tournament as Montgomery County produced 25 state-bound wrestlers after Saturday's Region 6 individual tournament at Kenwood High.

"It's going to push your kids," Clarksville coach Tommy Badon said. "When you have parity in our district, you know every match is going to be difficult. If that doesn't push you to greatness, I don't know what will. Competition breeds excellence."

636538847391538804-Wrestling-Gabe-Smith-CHS-vs-Elijah-Miller-WC.JPG

Clarksville High's Gabe Smith (left) tries to stay on his feet as West Creek's Elijah Miller looks to take him down during their 160-pound Region 6 championship match Saturday at Kenwood High.

George Robinson / The Leaf-Chronicle

Clarksville pulled off a minor stunner Saturday, finishing ahead of Rossview and West Creek in the region individual team scores. Wilson Central captured the region title with 240 points. Clarksville finished third (132 points) while Rossview took fifth (110) and West Creek took sixth (65).

But Rossview and West Creek both pushed across six wrestlers to state. Clarksville High finished with five.

"I'm looking forward to state because you're going to see a lot of kids from the Clarksville area taking home medals," Rossview coach Jeff Price said. "The number of outstanding kids in our area is incredible."

Three area wrestlers captured region championships Saturday. Kenwood's Thomas Williams beat out Beech's Mason Smith at 132 pounds. Rossview's Ricky Gonzalez knocked off Beech's Jeremiah Herron at 145 and Clarksville's Bradley Williams handed Mt. Juliet's Nathan Walling a loss at 195 pounds.

Rossview's Aaron Barefield locks up his opponent in the 126-pound championship match of the individual tournament Saturday at Kenwood High.

George Robinson / The Leaf-Chronicle

Both Price and Badon feel this year's region athletes may be the best in the state.

"And that's including the Chattanooga region," Badon said. "I think it's in the top two in the state. I've never seen it this good from top to bottom."

Although Badon is happy to see other schools in Clarksville improve, helping with the popularity of the sport, he would also like to see his Wildcats return to those glory days.

Rossview coach Jeff Price (far right) talks to his wrestler during one of the consolation matches for third place during the Region 6 region individual tournament Saturday at Kenwood High.

George Robinson / The Leaf-Chronicle

"Well, sure," Badon said. "You'd like to see your team be consistently good. But you also want them competing against the very best. Those years that Clarksville was dominating, they were still competing against some of the best programs around the state. Now we have some really great ones in our own backyard and that makes everyone better."

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

WRESTLING BREAKDOWN

Total number of state berths: 25

Rossview state qualifiers (6): Bryce Woermer (106), Aaron Barefield (126), Ricky Gonzalez (145), Antonio Mariscal (182), Andrew Arias (220), Logan McMillan (285).

West Creek state qualifiers (6): Tristan Entwistle (113), Nick Gonzales (120), Andrew Parker (126), Jacob Slight (138), Elijah Miller (160), Eric Cornelius (195).

CHS state qualifiers (5): Christian Isbell (120), Ely Castillo (132), Chris Hill (145), Gabe Smith (160), Bradley Williams (195).

Northwest state qualifiers (3): Blake Spink (160), Trever Hanson (170), Cooper Palmieri (182).

Kenwood state qualifiers (3): Thomas Williams (132), Eric Jackson (138), Nate Thacker (285).

Northeast state qualfiers (1): Wren Campbell (152).

Montgomery Central state qualifiers (1): Brandon Maples (145).

KENTUCKY STATE WRESTLING

Fort Campbell state qualifiers (5): Ethan Tomerlin (170), Alexei Royar (113), Jesus Avila (195), Justin Wilson (220), Darion Dunn (285).

Originally Published 6:26 p.m. CT Feb. 10, 2018

Updated 2 hours ago

Sommers · February 11, 2018

For the second straight year, five Sullivan East wrestlers – including a pair of regional champions – earned state spots Saturday with top-four finishes at the Region 1-A/AA individual boys tournament at Pigeon Forge.

Seniors Elijah Hicks (113 pounds) and Kaleb Bare (heavyweight) each won regional crowns for the Patriots.

Bare needed just 58 seconds to pin Gibbs senior Tyson Hefner in his championship bout, while Hicks took a mere two more seconds to record his own gold-clinching pin of John Pittman, also from Gibbs.

Dylan Chase (145 pounds) also reached the regional finals for East, but had to settle for silver when he was pinned in 5:44 by Matthew Maxwell from Gibbs.

Cody Graham (third, 138 pounds) and Ty Boord (fourth, 106 pounds) earned the other state spots for East at next week’s state tournament in Franklin, Tennessee.

The Patriots finished fifth in the team standings with 82.5 points, while Gibbs (248.5 points) won the team title.

Abingdon finishes fourth in Region 3D tourney

Behind four runner-up finishers, Abingdon placed fourth in the team standings on Saturday at the VHSL Region 3D tournament in Christiansburg.

The Falcons accumulated 167 points, finishing behind of perennial power Christiansburg (307), Cave Spring (196) and Staunton River (176).

Gavin Timmons (120-pound weight class), Jack Campbell (145), William Seymore (182) and Ethan Roark (220) placed second in their respective weight classes for AHS. Campbell came the closest to claiming a title for the Falcons as he dropped a 3-1 decision to Christiansburg’s Xander Whitehurst in the finals.

Jack Newton (126, third place), Joby Milstead (152, fourth place) and Bobby Ference (195, fourth place) had top-four finishes for Abingdon.

____________________

WOMEN’S WRESTLING

King takes sixth at WCWA nationals

King University had seven All-Americans on its way to finishing in sixth place at the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association national championships Saturday.

King’s lone two finalists, 101-pound twins Marina and Regina Doi, declined to face each other as two-time national champion Marina forfeited to give Regina her first WCWA title.

Both sisters proceeded to leave their shoes in the middle of the mat to signal their retirement from competition.

King finished with 117.5 points, while Campbellsville won the team title with 196.5

Aleeah Gould (109 pound, fifth), Allison Petix (130, seventh), Nicole Joseph (136, fourth), Jessi Kee (155, third) and Victoria Espinoza (191, eighth) joined the Doi twins as All-Americans.

____________________

HIGH SCHOOL

Siegel's Salter, Blackman's Fowler out to better state runner-up finishes

Cecil Joyce | USA TODAY NETWORK - TennesseeUpdated 40 minutes ago

Show Caption

There's some unfinished business for Siegel wrestling standout Christian Salter and Blackman standout Landon Fowler.

Both grapplers came away from last year's TSSAA state individual wrestling tournament as state runners-up. They plan on finishing the job this year.

Siegel's Christian Salter (top) battles Cookeville's Dylan Houser in the Region 5-AAA wrestling ...more

Cecil Joyce / DNJ

Both took care of business Saturday in the Region 5-AAA tournament, winning their respective weight divisions.

"I just have to wrestle my match and not anybody else's," said Salter, who defeated Cookeville's Dylan Houser in the 182-pound finals. He was state runner-up in the same weight class a year ago.

"Last year I practiced to get to the state, not dominate it," added Salter, who was named the region's most outstanding wrestler. "This year I'm practicing to dominate at state. I know I can win if I wrestle my best."

The top four finishers at the region tournament advanced to the state tournament, which will be held Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Williamson Ag & Expo Center in Franklin.

Blackman (270 points) won the overall team region, followed by Oakland (179), Tullahoma (125) and Stewarts Creek (118.5).

The Red Hawks won three championships with Tyler South (106), Kenny Hartness (113) and Lucas Gaines (120) all taking titles.

More: Poise under pressure a key to Blackman boys' unbeaten season

Other area wrestlers who won region titles were Smyrna's Cameron Henderson (132), Blackman's Daniel Bradford (138), Blackman's Jalen Brown (152), Oakland's Ryder Gebhardt (160), Blackman's Ryan Heath (195) and Oakland's Branson Boone (220).

Fowler finished runner-up in the 152-pound division last year and has been sharp this season at 170.

"I've just got to keep working hard," said Fowler, who hopes to give Blackman a state champion for the fourth consecutive season and seventh overall. "I've gotten a lot better than last year. Hopefully I'll be peaking at state."

Both Fowler and Salter are the top-ranked wrestlers in Class AAA in their respective weight divisions.

"I don't pay attention to rankings," said Fowler, who was named the heavier division outstanding wrestler of the tournament. "If I wrestle my best I can win it. There are a lot of tough guys I have to wrestle."

Bradford and Henderson also medaled at last year's state. Boone, who is ranked No. 4 in the 220-pound division, hopes to earn his first medal.

"It's been a tough season, both mentally and physically," said Henderson, who has battled nagging injuries much of the season. "I feel like I've overcome a lot."

Added Boone, "I have to have a better mindset (at state). I've got to be a little more aggressive."

Oakland's Josh Harris was named region coach of the year while Blackman's Eric Sacharczyk was named assistant of the year. Blackman's Jeremiah Savage (120) was named region rookie of the year.

Blackman's Landon Fowler (top) battles Siegel's Kenneth Phillips in the Region 5-AAA wrestling ...more

Cecil Joyce / DNJ

Below are the top four finishers in each weight division:

106

1. Tyler South, Stewarts Creek; 2. Brandon Layana, Smyrna; 3. Alex Rose, Blackman; 4. Derico Johnson, Cookeville.

113

1. Kenny Harless, Stewarts Creek; 2. Devin Whitehead, Lawrence Co.; 3. Tyler Vanderheyden, Oakland; 4. Peyton Adams, Blackman.

120

1. Lucas Gaines, Stewarts Creek; 2. David Medina, Riverdale; 3. Dominic Williams, Lawrence Co.; 4. Samaj Burton, Oakland.

126

1. Luke Dezember, Lawrence Co.; 2. Brandon McClure, Riverdale; 3. Kalani Meckes, Stewarts Creek; 4. Desmond Stepp, Oakland.

132

1. Cameron Henderson, Smyrna; 2. Luke Price, Tullahoma; 3. Jordan Fenton, Siegel; 4. Joe David Bell, Oakland.

138

1. Daniel Bradford, Blackman; 2. Trevor South, Stewarts Creek; 3. Andrew Farrar, Oakland; 4. Sam Dean, Tullahoma.

145

1. James Harcum, Cookeville; 2. John Bonee, Tullahoma; 3. Daniel Derryberry, Smyrna; 4. Michael Williams, Shelbyville.

152

1. Jalen Brown, Blackman; 2. Michael Moultry, Siegel; 3. Richard Giers, La Vergne; 4. Alton Johns, Cookeville.

160

1. Ryder Gebhardt, Oakland; 2. Brenden Adkins, Tullahoma; 3. Charles Bos, Cookeville; 4. Anthony Gomez, Blackman.

170

1. Landon Fowler, Blackman; 2. Kenneth Phillips, Siegel; 3. Conner Coughran, Oakland; 4. Kurt Scothern, Riverdale.

182

1. Christian Salter, Siegel; 2. Dylan Houser, Cookeville; 3. Spencer Layne, Blackman; 4. Brian Nelms, Tullahoma.

195

1. Ryan Heath, Blackman; 2. Luis Ramirez, Riverdale; 3. Jacob Dubberly, Lawrence Co.; 4. Caleb Perkins, Oakland.

220

1. Branson Boone, Oakland; 2. Bowdy Boyce, Blackman; 3. Hector Feliciano-Torres, La Vergne; 4. Akil Hicks, Tullahoma.

285

1. Luke Champion, Tullahoma; 2. Jamil Hughes, Blackman; 3. Jackson Riley, Oakland; 4. Austin McBee, Shelbyville.

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnjcom or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.

FROM THE DAILY NEWS JOURNAL

Region 5-AAA wrestling championships

sports: 4 hours ago; ______________________________; Baylor first, McCallie close second in section wrestling

February 10th, 2018by Kevin Llewallynin Sports - Preps

Baylor and McCallie weren't the only teams that took the wrestling mat at the TSSAA Division II East/Middle section tournament Saturday at Baylor.

But it became a battle of the two rival programs as they combined to win 11 of the 14 individual championships, six for the Blue Tornado and five for the host Red Raiders.

Baylor edged McCallie 226.5 to 219 for the team section title, with Montgomery Bell Academy third at 111, but Red Raiders coach Ben Nelson admitted that this tournament was more about the wrestlers' individual performances.

"That doesn't really matter today," Nelson said. "Next weekend is what matters, all of the guys fighting for themselves trying to win individual state titles and helping the team win a state title (in Franklin)."

Baylor had 10 wrestlers reach the finals, a feat that was significant to Nelson heading into the state tournament. The top four in each weight class qualified for state.

"Them being in a place where they're competing hard is more important than anything," Nelson said. "We lost a few close matches that were hard to lose, but they fought hard. The wins and losses next weekend are the ones that really matter."

Baylor senior Stephen Morgan won possibly the most dramatic match of the day, defeating McCallie's Chase Looper in sudden-victory overtime with a one-point escape in the 220-pound weight class.

Baylor seniors Hayden Hartline and Alex Atchley also won individual titles, along with underclassmen Andrew Pace and Mason Reiniche.

Despite the narrow team loss, McCallie coach Mike Newman also placed the focus of the day on preparing for the state tournament.

"It came down to the last few matches," Newman said. "Right now we're just focused on the state tournament. We put ourselves in pretty good position going into that. We'll just continue to improve on ourselves and execute the fundamentals. That's what we're looking for."

Saturday's tournament was fast-paced, as most of the top wrestlers competed three or four times over the course of a few hours, something that took a toll on them physically and mentally.

This was especially evident in the finals of the 195-pound weight class, where McCallie senior Walker Robinson held off Baylor's Sam Reynolds 3-1 after a grueling three-period battle.

"When I'm in a match, I know that it's going to be the same amount of time whether I win or lose," an exhausted Robinson said. "I'm going to feel the same way after, except if I win I'm not going to feel bad. I'm going to be the same amount of tired, so I might as well lay it all out there."

Other Blue Tornado wrestlers who were East/Middle champions were Christian Morris, Emory Taylor, Cody Chittum, Alex Whitworth and Thomas Sell.

Notre Dame's Jacob Brigman won the 285-pound weight class.

Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com

Edited February 11, 2018 by Sommers

Sommers · February 11, 2018

Thank you once again Mr Hunt...

Saturday's Region Wrestling Results

Chattanooga Teams Involved In Tournaments At Baylor, Hixson, Sequatchie Co. & McMinn Co.

Saturday, February 10, 2018

Here are results from region wrestling tournaments in the Chattanooga area that were held on Saturday. All individuals listed qualify for the TSSAA Traditional State Tournament, which will be held in Franklin next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

D-II EAST/MIDDLE REGION AT BAYLOR

FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Baylor 226.5; 2. McCallie 219; 3. Montgomery Bell Academy 111; 4. Knoxville Grace 89; 5. Notre Dame 82.5; 6. Christian Academy of Knoxville 70.5; 7. Chattanooga Christian 47; 8. Friendship Christian 31; 9. Boyd-Buchanan 22; 10. Knoxville Webb 21; 11. St. Andrew’s-Sewanee 3; 12. Donelson Christian and First Baptist failed to score.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106 – Christian Morris (McCallie) pinned Ethan Madaris (Chatt. Christian), 2:54;

113 – Emory Taylor (McCallie) won by injury default over Cade Holloway (Notre Dame);

120 – Cody Chittum (McCallie) pinned Will Higgins (MBA) 3:01;

126 – Alex Whitworth (McCallie) pinned Tanner Thornton (Knoxville Grace), 3:33;

132 – Hayden Hartline (Baylor) dec. Joseph Tarquine (MBA), 9-2;

138 – Andrew Pace (Baylor) pinned Grant Speer (Notre Dame), 1:28;

145 – Bryce Wittman (MBA) dec. Austin Atchley (Baylor), 8-1;

152 – Alex Atchley (Baylor) dec. Gavin Cagle (CAK), 5-3;

160 – Mason Reiniche (Baylor) pinned Hayden Rowland (McCallie), :24;

170 – Thomas Sell (McCallie) major dec. over Connor Duffy (Baylor), 11-3;

182 – Dominic Fisher (MBA) won by forfeit over Riley Westlake (Baylor);

195 – Walker Robinson (McCallie) dec. Sam Reynolds (Baylor), 3-1;

220 – Stephen Morgan (Baylor) dec. Chase Looper (McCallie), 3-2 in overtime;

285 – Jacob Brigman (Notre Dame) won by forfeit over Coleton Elrod (Baylor).

CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE

106 – Hunter Bankes (Baylor) pinned Parker Sapp (CAK), :47;

113 – Frank Perazzini (MBA) pinned Ben Beaver (Knox. Grace), 2:31;

120 – Harrison Nichol (Notre Dame) dec. Jacob Weekley (Bay), 13-8;

126 – Nathaniel Harris (CAK) won by injury default over Grant Slye (Baylor);

132 – Zach Ward (McCallie) dec. Brendan Jarvis (CAK), 5-0;

138 – Mason Hughes (McCallie) dec. Blake Andrews (MBA), 8-2;

145 – Garrett Lay (Knox. Grace) pinned David Fisk (McCallie), 3:24;

152 – Eric Beecham (Knox. Grace) pinned Dan McGuire (MBA), 1:32;

160 – Hayden Alexander (Friendship Christian) pinned George Hutchinson (Chatt. Christian), 3:28;

170 – Nic Bass (Knox. Grace) pinned Jacob Hall (Chatt. Christian), 3:39;

182 – Russell Barry (McCallie) dec. Adam Truelove (Chatt. Christian), 8-1;

195 – Will Watkins (Boyd-Buchanan) dec. James Boyd (Notre Dame), 3-2;

220 – Brik Boruff (Knox. Webb) dec. Billy Sams (Knox. Grace), 8-4;

285 – Matthew Chinique (CAK) pinned Ryan Jackson (Friendship Christian), 1:33.

REGION 4-AAA AT McMINN COUNTY

FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Cleveland 224.5; 2. Soddy Daisy 175.5; 3. Bradley 171; 4. Walker Valley 111.5; 5. East Hamilton 82; 6. Rhea Co. 55; 7. Ooltewah 23.5; 8. McMinn Co. 12.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106 – Trae McDaniel (Cleveland) won by technical fall over Jacob Allen (Soddy Daisy), 5:54;

113 – Chandler Davis (Walker Valley) major dec. Te’Nario Thomas (East Hamilton), 9-1;

120 – Conner Thornburg (East Hamilton) dec. Daniel Mroz (Bradley), 6-4;

126 – Bryce Pond (Cleveland) dec. Jacob Kilgore (Soddy Daisy), 5-0;

132 – Jayce Mullin (Cleveland) dec. Alekzander Rawlinson (Soddy Daisy), 16-10;

138 – Logan Whiteside (Cleveland) major dec. Zeth Haynie (Walker Valley), 17-4;

145 – Cody Mathews (Cleveland) won by forfeit over Tony Wilson (Soddy Daisy);

152 – Jay Graham (Rhea Co.) dec. Austin Sweeney (Cleveland), 12-5;

160 – Zach Brezna (Cleveland) dec. Seth Gerena (Bradley), 2-0;

170 – Henley Headrick (Bradley) pinned Dylan Jones (Cleveland), 1:13;

182 – Jack Hicks (Cleveland) dec. Larry Johnson (Bradley), 19-13;

195 – D.J. Gibson (Bradley) won by forfeit over Cody Duggan (Walker Valley);

220 – Ty Boeck (Soddy Daisy) major dec. Kevin Gentry (Bradley), 17-5;

285 – Addison Roberts (Soddy Daisy) won by forfeit over Titus Swafford (Cleveland)

CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE

106 – Glen O’Daniel (Bradley) major dec. Elijah Vance (East Hamilton), 9-0;

113 – Wes Devaney (Bradley) won by injury default over Jackson Bradford (Cleveland);

120 – James Jur (Walker Valley) dec. Jacob Pratt (Soddy Daisy), 4-2;

126 – Gaven Hughes (Bradley) pinned Seth Carpenter (East Hamilton), 4:36;

132 – Wyatt Stumbo (Rhea Co.) pinned Tyler King (Walker Valley), 2:36;

138 – Landon Lewis (Soddy Daisy) dec. Easton Norris (Ooltewah), 5-0;

145 – Andy Robinson (Bradley) dec. Cade Meeks (East Hamilton), 9-4;

152 – Joey Vecchione (Walker Valley) dec. Skyler Bradley (Bradley), 9-7 in overtime;

160 – Hayden Maynor (Soddy Daisy) major dec. Heath Tanksley (Walker Valley), 9-1;

170 – Bailey Faires (Soddy Daisy) dec. Tristan Riggs (Rhea Co.), 7-4;

182 – Curtis Settles (Soddy Daisy) dec. Jason Brumlow (East Hamilton), 6-4;

195 – Isaiah Perez (Cleveland) pinned Brent Settles (Soddy Daisy), 2:22;

220 – Wilson Benefield (Cleveland) dec. Garrett Smith (Rhea Co.), 3-2;

285 – Brenden Hooker (Walker Valley) dec. James Howard (East Hamilton), 3-1 in overtime.

REGION 2-A/AA AT HIXSON

FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Hixson 264.5; 2. Alcoa 193; 3. Polk Co. 74; 4. Chattanooga Central 73.5; 5. Sale Creek 65; 6. Greenback 58; 7. Cumberland Co. 42; 8. Brainerd 40; 9. Upperman 35; 10. Tyner 28; 11. Livingston Academy 10.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106 – Caleb Miller (Hixson) dec. Brandon Forte (Central), 1-0;

113 – Trevor Lewis (Hixson) dec. Haiden Dill (Central), 6-3;

120 – Charles Burton (Hixson) dec. Aaron Smith (Central), 4-1;

126 – Ryan Wimbley (Alcoa) dec. Rylie Hart (Hixson), 11-7;

132 – Jeremiah Shackleford (Hixson) pinned Donovan Puri (Alcoa), 5:07;

138 – Jordan Lewis (Hixson) pinned Dakota Randolph (Cumberland Co.), 1:07;

145 – Jonathan Hawkins (Greenback) major dec. Anthony Jones (Alcoa), 19-9;

152 – Kaleb Mayes (Hixson) dec. William Carter (Alcoa), 12-10;

160 – Alexander Richardson (Alcoa) pinned Nick McKee (Hixson), :40;

170 – Zach Malone (Greenback) pinned Jake Ivey (Hixson), :26;

182 – Deven Baker (Hixson) pinned Chase Poole (Sale Creek), :37;

195 – Noah Evans (Alcoa) pinned Benjamin Kuberg (Hixson), 2:25;

220 – Grant Brace (Alcoa) pinned Kaleb Penny (Sale Creek), 1:20;

285 – Devotis McCurdy (Hixson) pinned Jamichael Wilson (Brainerd), 1:01.

CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE

106 – Dakota Harrison (Alcoa) pinned Ty Willette (Upperman), 2:32;

113 – Joshua Emerson (Polk Co.) dec. Vince Perry (Greenback), 5-4;

120 – Jaylen Tyler (Alcoa) pinned Hunter Swanson (Tyner), :37;

126 – Cameron Dwyer (Polk Co.) pinned Jack Neely (Central), 2:30;

132 – Gage Swanson (Tyner) pinned Kolten Campbell (Sale Creek), 4:26;

138 – Angel Delgado (Brainerd) pinned Nathan Hammock (Polk Co.), 3:21;

145 – Bruce Wilson (Hixson) dec. Justice Dykes (Polk Co.), 7-2;

152 – Steven Snyder (Upperman) pinned Blake Dilbeck (Polk Co.), :24;

160 – Nick Carpenter (Cumberland Co.) won by disqualification over Zac Mitchell (Polk Co.);

170 – Colton Wade (Alcoa) pinned Caleb West (Upperman), 1:32;

182 – Kevin Swallows (Cumberland Co.) pinned Nolan Morris (Polk Co.), 1:42;

195 – Dylan Lamar (Sale Creek) pinned James Hollingsworth (Polk Co.), 1:54;

220 – Parrish Pacetti (Hixson) pinned Cody Sullivan (Livingston Academy), 3:27;

285 – Charles Jones (Central) pinned Jason Tipton (Alcoa), 3:23.

REGION 3-A/AA AT SEQUATCHIE COUNTY

FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Signal Mountain 168.5; 2. Forrest 160; 3. Whitwell 149.5; 4. Red Bank 135.5; 5. Nolensville 124; 6. East Ridge 103; 7. Sequatchie Co. 86; 8. Eagleville 68.5; 9. Tennessee School For The Blind 17; 10. East Nashville 14; 11. Watertown 12; 12. Cascade 11; 13. Howard failed to score.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106 – Daniel Uhorchuk (Signal Mountain) won by technical fall over Max Dansereah (Nolensville), 5:04;

113 – Isaac Tate (Signal Mountain) dec. Jacob Vogelpohl (Nolensville), 8-3;

120 – Blaine Fussell (Eagleville) dec. Kale Albritton (Signal Mountain), 12-8;\

126 – Jeff Gross (Forrest) major dec. Gage Evans (Red Bank), 10-0;

132 – Wyatt McLemore (Eagleville) pinned James Brock (Sequatchie Co.), 4:52;

138 – Kashawn Cosey (East Ridge) dec. Caden Cline (Red Bank), 12-6;

145 – Cole Geeting (Forrest) dec. Gavin Channell (Nolensville), 7-5 in overtime;

152 – Cameron Weaver (Sequatchie Co.) dec. Jacob Roberts (Whitwell), 5-2;

160 – Jonah Bird (Red Bank) major dec. Austin Geeting (Forrest), 13-0;

170 – Nick McClendon (Forrest) pinned Allen Ashworth (Whitwell), 3:29;

182 – Andrew Carlisle (Forrest) dec. Jackson Hash (Red Bank), 5-3 in overtime;

195 – Wesley McCoy (Forrest) dec. Pedro Bautista (East Ridge), 5-3;

220 – Jacob Miller (Nolensville) dec. Will Davis (Signal Mountain), 5-0;

285 – Jeremiah Welch (Red Bank) dec. Riley Daniels (Signal Mountain), 6-1.

CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE

106 – Gabe Pennington (Eagleville) pinned Desmon Drake (East Ridge), 1:20;

113 – Brice Barton (Whitwell) pinned Hunter Nolan (Sequatchie Co.), 2:34;

120 – Christopher Cagle (Red Bank) major dec. Paxton Albright (Sequatchie Co.), 15-2;

126 – Kevin Muschel (Signal Mountain) pinned Jaren Thames (Whitwell), 3:44;

132 – Ty Martin (Nolensville) pinned Zachary Davis (Whitwell), 1:14;

138 – Will Keener (Sequatchie Co.) pinned Amado Gomez (Whitwell), 3:47;

145 – Preston Worley (Signal Mountain) pinned John King (Whitwell), 1:47;

152 – Bryton Spitzley (Forrest) dec. Oliver Goodgame (Signal Mountain), 13-10;

160 – Daniel Hodges (East Ridge) dec. Jake Woodlief (Signal Mountain), 5-3;

170 – Ashton Tubbs (Red Bank) pinned Dquan Pate (East Nashville), 1:15;

182 – Darian Smith (East Ridge) pinned McKinley Wagner (Nolensville), :24;

195 – William Carter (Whitwell) pinned Grant Countess (Cascade), 1:48;

220 – Thomas Argo (Whitwell) dec. Cody Donnelly (Forrest), 7-1;

285 – James Headrick (Whitwell) pinned Hayden Brammer (Nolensville), 1:39.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com).

___________________________

seven region titles

DOUGLAS FRITZ • UPDATED FEB 10, 2018 AT 8:21 PM

dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

One week after finishing runner-up in the state duals, Science Hill kept right on rolling.

The Hilltoppers dominated at the Region 1 individual wrestling tournament, capturing seven titles, four runners-up, and two third-place finishes at David Crockett’s gym on Saturday.

“I am happy,” said Science Hill head coach Jimmy Miller. “But this is what we’re supposed to do. This is what the team set for themselves. They showed up today and wrestled to the ability they have. I’m proud of them.”

Next up is the TSSAA state individual tournament, which begins Thursday in Franklin.

138 pounds

Luke Story, the Super 14 wrestler of the year, had his hands full with David Crockett’s Gavin Russell. The match was nip and tuck throughout and wound up going the distance.

Story, ranked No. 1 in the state, scored on an escape late to expand his lead and held on for a 5-3 decision.

“That match was a lot tougher than it should have been,” said Miller. “(Russell) doesn’t get in bad position, and he’s strong. We may be problematic to that. (Russell) has wrestled (Story) close two or three times.”

160 pounds

Chase Diehl, another medalist threat at the state level, methodically pulled away from Morristown East’s Alex Mercado for an 11-3 major decision. Diehl seemed to get stronger and more in control as the match progressed.

“The kid is really tough and strong, and I do my best to try to keep my lungs and keep a good pace,” said Diehl. “I’m constantly on the attack and constantly trying to score, and trying to get one takedown after another.”

Pin pair

Braxton Mann (113) and teammate Tyler Seeley (120) needed only a combined 2:15 to earn their titles. Mann pinned Tennessee High’s Reece Nelson in 1:37 while Seeley used only 38 seconds to capture a pin against Jefferson County’s Landon Fisher.

“At the beginning of the match, I noticed I could do a spin circle and attack on him,” said Seeley. “He was a freshman, so I wasn’t as nervous.”

Mann said, “I just made a good move and kept wrestling. My partners and my team are just great. They helped me get through everything.”

Other weight classes

Science Hill got a bit of a surprise win from Jim Kalogeros at 182. He beat top-seeded Camden Buckingham of Morristown West by a 6-4 decision.

“We wrestled over our heads there,” said Miller. …

Weston Brown pinned Cooper Jenkins of Tennessee High in just 54 seconds to win at 195 pounds. ….

Denzel Medina earned a 5-1 decision over Jefferson County’s Curtis Pinkston at 220 pounds. …

Dobyns-Bennett captured the top spot at 106 (Brennan Watkins) and 285 pounds (Brenton Salyers). ...

Tennessee High earned titles at 126 (Judson McCray), 132 (Dillon Pendley), 145 (Dominic Fields), and 152 pounds (Logan Ferguson).

__________________________________

Tribe's Watkins, Salyers capture region wrestling titles

BY DOUGLAS FRITZ • TODAY AT 1:39 AM

JONESBOROUGH — Dobyns-Bennett earned a bookend finish at the Region 1 individual wrestling tournament Saturday at David Crockett’s gym.

Brennan Watkins won the smallest weight class at 106 pounds and teammate Brenton Salyers captured the biggest class, 285.

As for everything between, it was mostly Science Hill. One week after finishing runner-up in the state duals, the Hilltoppers kept right on rolling. Science Hill earned seven titles, four runners-up and two third-place finishes.

“I am happy,” said Science Hill coach Jimmy. “But this is what we’re supposed to do. This is what the team set for themselves. They showed up today and wrestled to the ability they have. I’m proud of them.”

Next up is the TSSAA individual tournament, which begins Thursday in Franklin.

INDIANS RISING

Watkins had to battle into the second period before he was able to take Science Hill’s Hayden Bobo to his back.

“He wasn’t by any means easy,” Watkins said. “But it was a harder match than it should have been. I had a lot of weight on him. I feel good about the way I wrestled.”

Salyers had to go the distance to earn his title. He eventually worked his way to a 5-2 decision over Jefferson County’s Taylor Thomas.

HERE’S THE STORY

Science Hill’s Luke Story, the Super 14 wrestler of the year, had his hands full with Crockett’s Gavin Russell. The match was nip and tuck throughout and wound up going the distance.

Story, ranked No. 1 in the state, scored on an escape late to expand his lead and held on for a 5-3 decision.

“That match was a lot tougher than it should have been,” Miller said. “(Russell) doesn’t get in bad position, and he’s strong. We may be problematic to that. (Russell) has wrestled (Story) close two or three times.”

GOOD DIEHL

Chase Diehl, another of the Hilltoppers’ medalist threats at the state level, methodically pulled away from Morristown East’s Alex Mercado for an 11-3 major decision. Diehl seemed to get more in control as the match progressed.

“The kid is really tough and strong, and I do my best to try to keep my lungs and keep a good pace,” Diehl said. “I’m constantly on the attack and constantly trying to score, and trying to get one takedown after another.”

PIN PAIR

The Hilltoppers’ Braxton Mann (113) and Tyler Seeley (120) needed only a combined 2:15 to earn their titles.

Mann pinned Tennessee High’s Reece Nelson in 1:37 and Seeley needed only 38 seconds to capture a pin against Jefferson County’s Landon Fisher.

ABOUT THE VIKINGS

Tennessee High earned regional championships at 126 pounds (Judson McCray), 132 (Dillon Pendley), 145 (Dominic Fields) and 152 (Logan Ferguson).

Region 1 Championships

at David Crockett High

106 pounds

Championship — Brennan Watkins (D-B) def. Hayden Bodo (Science Hill), (Fall 3:07)

Third place — Roger Hartley (Boone) def. Auston McKinney (ME), (MD 16-5)

113 pounds

Championship — Braxton Mann (Science Hill) def. Reece Nelson (THS) 32-15, Fr. (Fall 1:37)

Third place — Guillermo Rodriguez (Jefferson Co.) def. Caleb Walters (Volunteer), (Fall 3:25)

120 pounds

Championship — Tyler Seeley (Science Hill) def. Landon Fisher (Jefferson Co.), (Fall 0:38)

Third place — Timmy Charpenter (Volunteer) def. Timothy Whitelaw (MW), (Fall 1:57)

126 pounds

Championship — Judson McCray (THS) def. Jackson Hurst (D-B), (MD 16-8)

Third place — Logan Fisher (Jefferson Co.) def. Juan Rodriguez (MW), (Dec 5-2)

132 pounds

Championship — Dillon Pendley (THS) def. Joseph Frye (Science Hill), (TF-1.5 4:00 (17-2))

Third place — Cody Harris (Jefferson Co.) def. Adrian Bautista (MW), (Fall 3:32)

138 pounds

Championship — Luke Story (Science Hill) def. Gavin Russell (David Crockett), (Dec 5-3)

Third place — Isaac Charpenter (Volunteer) def. Tre Morrisette (D-B), (MD 13-4)

145 pounds

Championship — Dominic Fields (THS) def. Dillon Lemons (D-B), (Dec 6-2)

Third place — Arthur James (Science Hill) def. Andrew Bailey (Jefferson Co.), (Fall 0:44)

152 pounds

Championship — Logan Ferguson (THS) def. Isaiah Ryans (Science Hill), (TF-1.5 5:28 (17-2)

Third place — Clinton Morrisette (D-B) def. Shane Watson (MW), (Fall 2:20)

160 pounds

Championship — William Diehl (Science Hill) def. Alex Mercado (ME), (MD 11-3)

Third place — Avery Venoy (Volunteer) def. Kaden Worley (Jefferson Co.), (Fall 0:44)

170 pounds

Championship — Griffin Simerly (MW) def. Joseph Morrell (Science Hill, (Fall 3:09)

Third place — Aaron Lawson (Jefferson Co.) def. Caleb Bowman (Crockett), (Fall 0:17)

182 pounds

Championship —Jim Kalogeros (Science Hill) def. Camden Buckingham (MW), (SV-1 6-4)

Third place — Aaron Lawson (Jefferson Co.) def. Caleb Bowman (David Crockett), (Fall 0:17)

195 pounds

Championship — Weston Brown (Science Hill) def. Cooper Jenkins (Tenn. High), (Fall 0:54)

Third place — Zane Gray (David Crockett) def. Sonny Watson (Morr. West), (TB-1, 4-3)

220 pounds

Championship — Denzel Medina (Science Hill) def. Curtis Pinkston (Jefferson Co.), (Dec 5-1)

Third place — Dane Dykes (Volunteer) def. Randall Whisman (Dobyns-Bennett), (SV-1, 4-2)

285 pounds

Championship — Brenton Salyers (D-B) def. Taylor Thomas (Jefferson Co.), (Dec 5-2)

Third place — Jesse Cross (Science Hill) def. Dwight Christian (Volunteer), (Fall 3:23)

_____________________________________

Four Vikings nab regional wrestling titles

Nate Hubbard | Bristol Herald Courier

Tennessee High's McCray wins regional title

Bristol Herald Courier

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – It took three tries for a swab of cotton to finally nestle in Judson McCray’s mashed nose Saturday afternoon and stem the gusher of blood threatening to escape from his right nostril.

Perseverance, however, has a way of paying off.

By the end of the 126-pound Region 1-AAA tournament championship bout, it was joy – not a fountain of red – pouring out of McCray.

Three Tennessee High wrestlers – McCray, Dominic Fields and Logan Ferguson – managed to turn 2017 runner-up finishes into regional title-winning efforts Saturday while junior Dillon Pendley won his third straight regional crown to highlight a strong day for the undermanned Vikings as the Bristol bunch sent seven wrestlers onto next week’s state tournament.

“The last time I got a bloody nose in a match was maybe my second year of AAU wrestling,” McCray said. “I was a little confused and I think I might have busted it, may have fractured it, I don’t know. When they were putting the plug in [for the first time] I almost passed out. It kind of made me mad and I just wanted to get back at him.”

McCray, who earlier this week signed to continue his wrestling career at West Virginia Tech, finished as a regional runner-up as a freshman, missed the 2016 regional tourney with an injury and then suffered through another near-miss with a second regional silver last year.

After getting his nose bloodied and ending the first period Saturday tied at 2 with Dobyns-Bennett’s Jackson Hurst, McCray carved out a 5-4 lead in second before he had to go with nose plug No. 2 when the first one went flying to the mat in the middle of the action.

A second nose-stuffing timeout didn’t seem to bother McCray a bit as he went on to build a 9-5 lead at the end of four minutes and then came back on the mat with nose plug No. 3 firmly in place to finish off a 16-8 major decision.

McCray said the pain of his squashed sniffer was nothing compared to the agony of his two previous regional silvers.

“I’ll do it any other day,” he said about Saturday’s gore-for-gold tradeoff.

Ferguson could fully relate to the sentiment.

After regional runner-up finishes as a freshman and sophomore, the junior 152-pounder dominated throughout his final match Saturday to take the title with a technical fall by a 17-2 count over Science Hill’s Isaiah Ryans.

“It just sucks [in the past] to be that close and not quite get it, but that’s what drives us in practice is our failures,” Ferguson said. “We learn from our mistakes and come back and practice what we have to practice.”

Fields, also a junior, won a regional title as a freshman, but he too had a score to settle Saturday at 145 pounds after losing to Dillon Lemons of Dobyns-Bennett in the 2017 regional finals.

Fields and Lemons, the No. 1 ranked 145-pound Class AAA wrestler in the state, completed a scoreless first period, but Fields got on the board with an escape, built a 3-0 lead and brought home a comfortable 6-2 win.

“To come back and beat him for it is pretty nice,” Fields said. “It’s another year of work. We went back and trained harder and came back and won.

“That’s how I wanted it. I wanted to wrestle him for the finals and that’s what happened.”

The improvement out of his second-to-first trio brought a grin to Tennessee High coach Tim Marshall’s face.

“Dom and Ferguson, just elated for those guys to see them win their matches and just win it in dominant fashion when nobody gives them the credit they deserve and they’re just kind of under the radar and go about their business,” Marshall said. “[Then Judson], he gutted it out.”

Meanwhile, Pendley continued his superlative season for the Vikings as he claimed a 17-2 technical fall victory identical to Ferguson’s winning margin to down Science Hill’s Joseph Frye.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Pendley said about his third regional title in as many tries. “I love to do it every year. Joseph’s good. He’s not a slouch or whatever you want to call it. It was a good win.”

Pendley’s performance earned him the regional wrestler of the year award following Saturday’s tournament.

Also heading to state for Tennessee High will be Reece Nelson, Cooper Jenkins and Gavin Hurley.

Nelson (113 pounds) and Jenkins (195) were each pinned in the first period of their regional championship matches, while Hurley (182) bounced back from a semifinal setback to win a 14-7 decision over David Crockett’s Jacob Bowman for a third-place showing.

Tennessee High had 10 wrestlers reach the finals last year on its way to winning the regional team title, but the shorthanded Vikings entered only nine total competitors into Saturday’s tournament.

Fully stocked Science Hill ran away with the team title, recording 260 points, but Tennessee High still managed to slip into second place with 136.5 points ahead of Jefferson County (127).

The four individual regional champions were just one short of Tennessee High’s total last year.

“I feel really good about what we’ve done to come in here with nine wrestlers and win four region championships,” Marshall said.

“I couldn’t ask the kids to do any more. … When you get down to the numbers that we have the team stuff is bonus. The individual improvement is what keeps us going.”

nhubbard@bristolnews.com | Twitter: @Hub_BHCSports | (276) 645-2543

__________________________________

Lookout Mountain Sports Hall of Fame Adds Eight Members

Sunday, February 11, 2018 - by B.B Branton

Highlighted by two national champions and a pair of All-Americans, the Lookout Mountain Sports Hall of Fame Committee has announced its class of 2018 which will be honored Sunday, May 6, at 3 p.m. in the Lookout Mountain School gym.

Tennis is represented by Kappie Clark Boles, All-American Elisabeth Donnovin and national champions Pem Guerry and Jack Webb, Caroline Caulkins Bentley was an All-American in swimming and Schaack Van Deusen represents wrestling.

Lee Dyer is an NFL official and B.B. Branton goes in in the sports media category.

B.B. Branton (sports media)

Co-Tennessee Tennis writer of the year (1997) while at the Chattanooga Free Press… sports writer for Lookout Mountain Mirror, Chatanoogan.com and Chattanooga Free Press … graduate of Lookout Mountain School (’62), McCallie School (’69) and Ole Miss(’73) … member of three Mid-South Conference champion wrestling teams at McCallie … Lookout Mountain summer checkers champion (age 7) … scored a run in a World Series (age 11, Little Boys Baseball) … caught the winning touchdown pass in a bowl game (age 11) … led Lookout Mountain School in scoring as Hawks won the basketball title (age 12) … 2017 recipient of the McCallie True Blue Award

Halls of Fame: Greater Chattanooga

Schaack Van Deusen (wrestling)

national high school assistant wrestling coach of the year … coached 40 years at Notre Dame and Baylor … head coach as Notre Dame won the 1970 state wrestling title … lettered in football, wrestling, tennis and baseball at Baylor … two-time City Prep wrestling champion ... two-time Mid-South runner-up … also wrested collegiately at Virginia and Chattanooga … intramural boxing champion at Virginia.

Halls of Fame: Baylor School, Greater Chattanooga, Tenn. Chapter National Wrestling HOF_

___________________________

Union County wins its 15th straight region wrestling title

Kevin Patton | The Gleaner11:26 p.m. CT Feb. 10, 2018

HARTFORD, Ky. – Union County won its 15th straight region wrestling championship and qualified 13 wrestlers for next weekend’s state championships.

The Braves, who are the two-time defending state champions, crowned seven individual region champions on Saturday at Ohio County.

Regional champions were Gabe Adams at 120 pounds, Sam Bacon at 126, Saul Ervin at 138, Micah Ervin at 170, Matthias Ervin at 195, Ross Hicks at 220 and Payton Snyder at 285.

Payne Carr was the runner-up at 132 pounds and Trevor Pogue was the runner-up at 145.

Other Union County wrestlers who qualified for the state meet were Matthew Moore, who finished third at 106; Stephen Little, who was third at 152; Carlos Perry, who was fourth at 160; and Darius Moore, who was fourth at 182.

Christian County finished as the region runner-up, finishing 52 points behind Union County.

Other individual regional champions were: Dylan Walls, Caldwell Co., 106; Austin Gibson, Christian Co., 113; Jakeiron Merritt, Christian Co., 132; Neal Aldridge, Christian Co., 145; Zlatko Skulijan Hopkinsville, 158; Colin Stevens, Trigg Co., 160; Dylan Gray, Caldwell Co., 182.

The state tournament will be Friday and Sunday in the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Sommers

Sommers · February 11, 2018

Former Memphis area and Christian Brothers wrestler coaching Winter Olympics team....

Share Media

Previous Next

1 of 26

United States forward Kendall Coyne (26) celebrates after scoring a goal against Finland during women's... more

Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

GEOFF CALKINS

Memphis' Mike Jankowski back for more gold as U.S. Winter Olympics coach

Geoff Calkins | USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee7:00 a.m. CT Feb. 11, 2018

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — No, seriously, Mike Jankowski understands.

He understands why the folks at Christian Brothers High School can’t very well give students a snow day if the United States snowboard and freeskiing teams win a medal.

Mike Jankowski, right, coach for the U.S. Olympic Snowboard Team, answers a question at a news ...more

Colin E Braley, ASSOCIATED PRESS

That’s what Christian Brothers did in 2006, back when all this Olympic snowboarding stuff felt new.

But now?

“They know we win too much,” said Jankowski, laughing. “It would be an automatic snow day.”

Which is a problem why?

What better way to celebrate the continuing accomplishments of the unlikeliest Memphis Olympic representative, the Christian Brothers graduate who grew up to be the coach of the most powerful United States team at this or any recent Winter Games.

More: Calkins meets British curling's first families

In his three previous Olympics, Jankowski’s athletes have won 19 medals. He’ll add to that haul over the next two weeks.

Not bad for a kid who whose only experience with winter sports growing up was sledding down Glenbriar Drive on actual snow days.

“Best sledding hill in Memphis,” said Jankowski, 42. “That’s where it all began.”

And, yes, I should probably tell the story again, because it is a lesson in what can happen if you open your heart and life to possibilities.

Jankowski grew up as the sixth of six kids, the youngest child of Madaline and Len Jankowski, although Len may have been better known as "Jan the Polka Man," who played polka records on WEVL for two hours every Monday morning.

"I'm the one who thought of the name," Madaline once told me. "Jan, as in Jankowski, Jan the Polka Man. I thought it had a nice ring to it.”

So the father was a semi-celebrity, but the son was a regular Memphis kid. He played baseball. He wrestled at Christian Brothers. He would go to the University of Tennessee and he would return to Memphis and he would get a job and he would live a nice, comfortable life.

The Associated Press

Except, he didn’t want a nice, comfortable life. He wanted adventure. He told his parents he wanted to move to Flagstaff, Ariz., live with a cousin, wait a year, make some money, and then enroll at Northern Arizona University.

Len and Madaline balked. It sounded crazy to them. But when they realized how serious Jankowski was about his plan, they told him he’d need more than the $300 he had in his pocket.

“Faith, courage and enthusiasm,” Len told his son. “Faith, courage and enthusiasm.”

Calkins: Best of Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony? A sweet moment in a divided country

So it was that Jankowski found himself at the foot of the Arizona Snowbowl in 1993, wondering how to get up to the top.

"I kind of sat down there and watched people load on the chairlift," he said. "I said, 'OK, it looks like they have one foot on the board. OK, it looks like they sit down.' I just kind of followed someone. Then I kind of slipped off at the top. I pointed straight down the hill and . . .”

And away he went. On the ride of his life. He learned to snowboard then he learned to teach other people to snowboard. Then he got a job as coach of the U.S. Junior National Team. Then he was promoted to the Olympic team, as an assistant. Then he was given the head coaching job.

Now Jankowski is the coach of 32 Olympic athletes, including some of the biggest stars at these Games. Which brings up the question: How does one coach, say, Shaun White? The guy is worth an estimated $40 million. He is the most successful individual in the history of a quintessentially individualistic sport.

Calkins: Winter Olympics should be a fun ride

“Honestly, it’s the same things I learned from my coaches at Christian Brothers,” Jankowski said. “Those values of accountability, hard work, perseverance and integrity, those are the values I bring to my team.”

So maybe it isn’t so crazy that the kid from Memphis is now the most successful coach at Pyeonchang. Maybe values carried him from there to here.

From his father: Faith, courage, enthusiasm.

From his coaches at Christian Brothers: Accountability, hard work, perseverance and integrity.

Throw in some snow and a halfpipe, and there’s no telling what sort of amplitude you can achieve.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Sommers

Sommers · February 12, 2018

February 12th, 2018by Gene Henleyin Sports - CollegeRead Time: 2 mins.

1518405143_021218c04Wrestling0016_t350_hb0f3cee3235f23a3cfd513d987bef4c5f0825f36.jpg

UTC's Chad Pyke, right, wrestles Gardner-Webb's Brett Stein during the 165-pound bout in Sunday's dual at Maclellan Gymnasium. Pyke won 6-4, and the Mocs won 37-5 on senior day.

Photo by C.B. Schmelter

Gallery: UTC wrestling team wins on senior day as coach Heath Eslinger hits milestone

After last week's narrow loss to Appalachian State, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling program couldn't wait to get back on the mat.

With another chance Sunday against Gardner-Webb, the Mocs made their wait a rewarding one.

UTC dominated the Bulldogs from the outset, winning the first four matches and nine out of 10 of the way to a 37-5 victory Sunday at Maclellan Gymnasium. It was the 100th dual win of coach Heath Eslinger's career, and it came on senior day as the program honored seven wrestlers and manager Jay Hennebaul.

In his ninth season, Eslinger improved to 100-61 overall and 52-5 against Southern Conference competition.

"I'm a team guy," Eslinger said. "I love the team part of sports. I'm not an individual guy, so it's not my 100th win, it's another 100 wins for the university. There's guys that won before me, there's hopefully guys that will win after me. I think some of these marks are marks of resiliency, not greatness — can you make it that long? If you asked me when I first got the job if I would get to 100 wins, I would have said no because I wouldn't stay long enough.

1518405144_021218c04Wrestling0005_t377_h1fbe3abe1254582bac8c4b5ecab9702459f7094d.jpg

UTC's Michael Pongracz, pictured, won his 141-pound bout against Gardner-Webb's Denton Spencer 12-0 Sunday afternoon at Maclellan Gymnasium. The Mocs' 37-5 victory was the 100th dual win of coach Heath Eslinger's career.

Photo by C.B. Schmelt

"There's a lot of work here, but I'm grateful for the opportunity, I'm grateful for what the athletes invest. I've had a lot of assistant coaches over the years that have poured into this place, administrators that have poured into it. I'm a fraction of the puzzle that it takes to make something like that, so I'm grateful to be a part of it."

The Mocs (7-7, 5-1) close their regular season Saturday at Campbell, then turn their attention to next month's SoCon tournament in Charleston, S.C. They were coming off an 18-16 loss to the Mountaineers the previous Sunday in a match in which they thought they were the better, more aggressive team.

Not getting the result they wanted and having to stew on that for a week led to a focused performance from the outset against Gardner-Webb.

Connor Tolley (285), who missed time with a head injury, won by pin. Michael Pongracz (141), Roman Boylen (149), Bryce Carr (184) and Scottie Boykin (197) won by major decisions, while Chris Debien (133), Chad Pyke (165) and Justin Lampe (174) won by decision and Alonzo Allen (125) won by forfeit.

Boykin, Carr, Dylan Forzani, Cody Hill, Lampe, Pongracz and Pyke were honored before the match.

"There was a bad taste in our mouth last week from the App State match," said Pyke, a graduate transfer from North Carolina State. "We know how good we can be. I don't think we've had all 10 guys click together yet. When we do, we will be a top-20 team in the country with two or three All-Americans.

"I'm so thankful to be a part of a program and be on the team where Eslinger gets 100. To be around this group of seniors, there's so much love, and I'm excited to go to battle with them against Campbell, conference (tournament) and national (tournament). It's going to be a good end of the journey for all of us, and we're going to stick it out together. We're a band of brothers, so it's a special day."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.

___________________________________

Blount County sending over 40 wrestlers to state

By Austin Bornheim austinb@thedailytimes.com
10 hrs ago
- 0

WRESTLING: Heritage's Zach Hollman vs William Blount's Austin Brownwell

Heritage’s Zach Hollman and William Blount’s Austin Brownwell during Brownwell’s 132-pound win Jan. 25 at Heritage.

Scott Keller | The Daily Times

Heritage’s Joshua Teaster works toward a win over William Blount’s Joshua Hughes Jan. 25 at Heritage.

Scott Keller | The Daily Times

Heritage’s Javier Salvador in his 220-pound win against William Blount’s Christian Lovell Jan. 25 at Heritage.

Scott Keller | The Daily Times

Blount County will be well-represented at the TSSAA Individual State Wrestling Championships this week.

Heritage leads the way with 14 wrestlers who qualified for the tournament. Alcoa will send 11, Maryville qualified nine and William Blount has seven headed to the Williamson County Ag Expo Center for wrestling on Friday and Saturday.

It's another chance for Blount County to have a banner year at the event.

Last season, three area wrestlers took home state titles and four others finished runner-up.

William Blount's Calvin Martin won the Class AAA 120 state championship last season, and will be back this season. Martin won the 126-point weight division at the region meet Saturday at Hardin Valley Academy.

Martin will be joined by teammates Diego Robinson (106), Brandon Nanney (132), Austin Sauls (138), Joshua Hughes (145), Dawson Satterfield (182) and TJ King (195).

Maryville will be represented by Zuriel Hampton-Coffin (106), Samuel Thomas (113), Layton Hall-Croft (120), Parker Hill (126), Michael Steverson (138), Samuel Morris (145), Alaeldin Gibril (152), JT Russell (160) and Dalton Crisp (195).

Alcoa's Dakota Harrison (106), Jaylen Tyler (120), Ryan Wimbley (126), Donovan Puri (132), Anthony Jones (145), William Carter (152), Alex Richardson (160), Colton Wade (170), Noah Evan (195), Grant Brace (220), and Jason Tipton (285) will wrestle at state.

Heritage is sending a wrestler to state from every weight class.

Hunter Davis (106), Zack Teaster (113), Brayan Sanchez (120), Nathan Hollman (126), Jacob Stamper (132), Joey Ahern (138), Josh Teaster (145), Jacob Riley (152), Alex Ortiz (160), Jeremiah Mynatt (170), Wyatt Snow (182), Todd Stafford (195), Javier Salvador (220) and Jacob Coppenger (285) will represent the Mountaineers.

Six female wrestlers will also represent their schools at state.

Kerra Strevel (119), Julianna Gibson (132) and Taylor Davis (215) will be there for Heritage. Kate Barnett (103), a defending state champion, and Jillian Alford (140) advanced for the Governors. Alford was a state runner-up last year.

Alcoa's Teagan Fisher also qualified for the Class A-AA state tournament.

__________________________________

Kudos to Upperman High in First season...

UHS qualifies 3 for state wrestling championship

Posted Monday, February 12, 2018

http://herald-citizen.com/stories/uhs-qualifies-3-for-state-wrestling-championship,25976

In what may be one of the biggest athletic accomplishments in Upperman High School’s storied sports tradition, its first-year wrestling program will be sending three athletes this week to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association State Championships in Franklin.

Upperman’s Ty Willette, Steven Snyder and Caleb West qualified to compete against the state’s best by finishing so well Saturday in the TSSAA A-AA Region 2 Championships at Hixson High School.

“We just came into the region with really good attitudes,” said Upperman coach Jason Holcomb. “We’ve been having some really good practices and the kids have put to use the things they’ve learned in the room (practice location).”

The state championship is slated for Thursday through Saturday at the Williamson County Expo Center. Daily competition is slated to begin at 8 a.m.

Willette, wrestling in the 106-pound class, rolled through his first couple of matches at the region before finishing fourth overall. Snyder took third in the 156-pound division and West, wrestling in the 170-pound class, was fourth in the final standings.

“Ty came out really strong and worked his way into the semifinals before losing. He then beat a wrestler from Greenback in the consolation bracket,” Holcomb explained. “Steven went to the semifinals and ended up winning the consolation bracket. And Caleb lost early but then went into the consolation bracket (and wrestled very well).

“Before the season started, I would have never expected this in the first season.

Upperman took three other wrestlers to the regional competition. Teyo Rodriguez wrestled at 132, Patrick Lair competed at 138 pounds and Hector Leon wrestled at 148 pounds.

Rodriguez won one of three matches at the event, while Lair lost his opening match and was eliminated in his first match in the consolation bracket. Leon lost his first two competitions.

Holcomb will work this week to get Willette, Snyder and West ready for the state championships. The coach said now is not the time to do anything different. He said there will just be a lot of fine-tuning in practice.

“We’re going to just keep going as we have been,” Holcomb explained. “We will work on correcting a few little mistakes, but really we’re going to work on making sure this is a team effort.”

__________________________

VIDEO: Rossview High girls wrestling team dominates the competition

http://clarksvillenow.com/local/video-rossview-high-girls-wrestling-team-dominates-the-competition/

Edited February 13, 2018 by Sommers

RMC · February 12, 2018

Three individual champions enough for Buford state wrestling repeat title

By David Friedlander

david.friedlander@gwinnettdailypost.com

MACON — By its own admission, the finals of the GHSA State Traditional Wrestling Championships wasn’t exactly the best day for Buford.

Fortunately for the Wolves, it was good enough, with eight individuals advancing to the finals having built up a huge lead in the team standings so that even with only three state champions, they were able to cruise to the Class AAAAAA team title Saturday at the Macon Centreplex.

Sophomores Nick Stonecheck (132 pounds) and Charlie Darracott (145) each won their second straight individual state championships, while Triston Bozoian completed a perfect season with his first state title at 182 pounds.

But it was just as much the five Wolves who wound up as state runners-up that played a role in Buford sweeping the state team duals and traditional championships for the second straight year.

“They (all) wrestled really well this weekend,” Buford coach Tom Beuglas said. “Getting eight of nine (state qualifiers) to the semifinals was pretty impressive. That’s obviously what won the tournament for us. I knew we were going to have a hard time winning very many in the finals because we had some really tough matchups. It’s disappointing, but when you get this far, everybody’s good. A lot of them can go either way.

“Last year … was exciting. This time, there was a little more pressure because everybody expected it. But they did the job as a group.”

Indeed, even the five Wolves who wound up on the short end of the stick in their title matches — Nick Cambria, Logan Ashton, Kyle McCullough, Blaine Bergey and Cooper Roberts — put up a tough fight, with three of those five defeats coming by a single point and one other coming by only two points.

And they each earned valuable team points leading up to Saturday, along with Billy Barber, who worked his way through the consolation bracket to place fifth at 195 pounds.

Still, with the first three Buford finalists on the day having come up short, it was a bit of a relief when Stonecheck was able to jump out in front with an early takedown, and then use a two-point reversal late in the second period to pull away for a 5-0 win over Union Grove’s Bryson Nease to win the 132 title.

“I had to do what I had to do,” said Stonecheck, who won a state title at 126 pounds last year. “Obviously, it was enough. I just figured if I do what I had to do, I’d come out on top. That’s how it ended up.

“The first takedown was obviously the key to the match, but that reversal kind of iced the match. I relaxed a little bit more (after that).”

Two matches later, Darracott joined Stonecheck in becoming a two-time state champ, pulling away for an 8-3 decision over Union Grove’s Gabe McDaniel to add the 145 title to the one he won at 138 a year ago.

But perhaps the most dramatic title for the Wolves on the day was Bozoian, who outpointed Union Grove’s Camden Johnson 5-3 in the 182-pound final to not only win his first state title, but end the season at a perfect 33-0.

“He actually went undefeated this season,” Beuglas said. “So I’m super happy for him. That’s certainly the way you want to go out.”

While Buford was the only Gwinnett squad to win a team title, several others turned in strong performances throughout the weekend, and specifically on Saturday.

Archer got individual titles from Peter Myndresku at 152 pounds and Will Choloh at 285 to place third in the Class AAAAAAA team standings with 114 points, trailing only champion Camden’s 233 and runner-up North Forsyth’s 115.50.

Two other Gwinnett teams rounded out the top five of the Class AAAAAAA team standings, with Collins Hill riding championship performances from Clint Gilbert at 106 and Lucas DeSilva at 145 to place fourth at 110, while Brookwood was close behind in fifth at 107.50, thanks to a state 170-pound title by Gabriel Lee plus a runner-up finish at 182 by David Key.

Mountain View also cracked the top 10 of the AAAAAAA standings by placing seventh at 96 points, paced by Harrison Spikes’ individual title at 195.

Sign In

Wrestling Updates and Tidbits...

Recommended Posts

Saturday's State Dual Wrestling Results

Baylor, Signal Mountain wrestling teams reach finals at state duals

Baylor Also In Finals While Cleveland Advances To Semis In AAA Action

Blackman falls in state wrestling duals quarterfinals; Oakland loses in first round

Science Hill slides into semis; D-B falls late to Blackman

Youth wrestlers from U.S. take overall team championship in France

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

Appvol

RMC

Sommers

Gibbs wrestling wins first TSSAA state duals championship

Link to comment

Share on other sites

4 takeaways from first day of TSSAA state duals

MIDDLE TENNESSEE ELIMINATED FROM TITLE HUNT

GIBBS REACHES FIRST WRESTLING FINAL

BRUINS PULL OFF EARLY UPSET

FAIRVIEW JUST MISSES FINAL

wrestling duals

UTC wrestlers lose by two at home to Appalachian State [photos]

Gallery: UTC wrestlers lose to Appalachian State

Wrestling Weekend That Was: Oklahoma State handles UNI

Observations in wrestling for Feb. 2-4

Cowboys Wrangle Panthers

Penn State Wins No. 1 Vs. No. 2 Battle

Happel Thorn In Minnesota's Side

Bono Hits 100

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Fairview High wrestling team makes history at State

Campbellsville Women’s Wrestling Breaks Through with First-Ever - LEX18.com | Continuous News

Campbellsville Women’s Wrestling Breaks Through with First-Ever No. 1 Ranking in Program History

Link to comment

Share on other sites

CU ATHLETICS -- Board launches $500,000 initiative

WRESTLING -- WC places 3 in state duals

Science Hill's Story earns top honor on Super 14 team

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Jacked up: South Dakota State wrestling reaches new heights under Chris Bono

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Parity reigns for Clarksville area wrestling as 25 from city earn state berth

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Siegel's Salter, Blackman's Fowler out to better state runner-up finishes

Baylor first, McCallie close second in section wrestling

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Saturday's Region Wrestling Results

Chattanooga Teams Involved In Tournaments At Baylor, Hixson, Sequatchie Co. & McMinn Co.

seven region titles

Tribe's Watkins, Salyers capture region wrestling titles

Four Vikings nab regional wrestling titles

Lookout Mountain Sports Hall of Fame Adds Eight Members

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Memphis' Mike Jankowski back for more gold as U.S. Winter Olympics coach

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Gallery: UTC wrestling team wins on senior day as coach Heath Eslinger hits milestone

Blount County sending over 40 wrestlers to state

UHS qualifies 3 for state wrestling championship

VIDEO: Rossview High girls wrestling team dominates the competition

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Three individual champions enough for Buford state wrestling repeat title

Link to comment

Share on other sites

Join the conversation

Announcements