My AAA End of the Year Awards

[Ummmno]

This is all my personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt. Who would you change?

 

Freshman of the Year: Landon Desselle (Summit) 6th Place. Coming into the state tournament his only two losses were to Charles Randall of Cleveland and Jackson Bradford of Cleveland (of which he later won). In the state tournament lost to eventual finalist Brennen Watkins of DB 3-2 and then Sammy Shires of Rossview 6-4 and then dropped the 5/6 match 5-3. Throughout the year he was never blown out by the top guys and always showed he was capable of hanging with them. I know there were a lot of incoming freshman who made an impact but in a large, upperclassman heavy field, with battle tested kids, Landon showed he will be around for a long while. 

 

Honorable Mention: Logan Fowler (Cleveland)

 

Sophomore of the Year: Cody Chittum (Cleveland) 1st place. I’m not sure there is any other answer here. Cody didn’t have a close match all season and I don’t just mean in the state. He teched the number 2 in the country. It was freestyle I know but we’ve all seen the throw highlight by now. He’s going to be a star. 

 

Honorable Mention: Bentley Ellison (Cleveland), Luke Belcher (Bradley Central)

 

Junior of the Year: Justin Bradford (Blackman) 1st Place. Had a good freshman year and was then dismissed from the team his sophomore year. How does he make a comeback? By winning a state title. And with the exception of his finals match and a mid season decision win over Mercante (3-0 against him this year with a pin and a major as well) no other of his matches were ever close. He pinned almost every other kid this year. He took a bad situation, turned a corner, and got significantly better on the mat in the process. 

 

Honorable Mention: Sammy Shires (Rossview), Stephen Fisak (Wilson Central)

 

Senior of the Year: Trae McDaniel (Cleveland) 1st Place. Trae capped off a fantastic high school career with his 3rd state title. The only time I ever remember seeing him lose was his freshman year in the finals. There were a lot of other awesome seniors this season (See honorable mention) but the level of dominance with Trae was second to none. The reason he’s getting the nod over the other two is what he did the year he didn’t win it. If not for one match he would’ve been a 4xer.

 

Honorable Mention: Trey Bates (Beech), Hunter Borders (Wilson Central)

 

Team of the Year: Cleveland. 9 in the finals. That’s unheard of. Won the team duals and then Individuals by a hundred points. Just absolute insanity. 

 

Coach of the Year: Pete Miller (Summit). Summit’s third place finish at the duals is the highest they’ve finished and 6 medals in the individual tourney was their best finish there. 

 

Assistant Coach of the Year: Ken Hammonds (Wilson Central). Ok let’s be real here, Hamm’s the best assistant coach in the state. Besides taking his team to another state finals appearance and finishing second in the individual team scores he also kept up with rankings all year and kept a full time job. The amount of work he is always doing is just stupid. And then to think all that and his team is incredibly successful is crazy to me. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Ummmno

[PackMentality]

Good selections.  I get the Desselle pick because it was a much deeper weight class and the kid is very, very good but hard not to give it to Fowler as the state champ. I would add Terrell to sophomore honorable mention. Kid was great all year and didn’t lose until the finals. I would add Ashton Davis to the Junior honorable mention. Workman-like dominance and brought the hammer to state.  I might also add Jackson Bradford to Senior honorable mention - except for a bad day at the duals he was dominant in a deep weight class.

[Ummmno]

6 minutes ago, PackMentality said:

Good selections.  I get the Desselle pick because it was a much deeper weight class and the kid is very, very good but hard not to give it to Fowler as the state champ. I would add Terrell to sophomore honorable mention. Kid was great all year and didn’t lose until the finals. I would add Ashton Davis to the Junior honorable mention. Workman-like dominance and brought the hammer to state.  I might also add Jackson Bradford to Senior honorable mention - except for a bad day at the duals he was dominant in a deep weight class.

I went back and forth. I gave it to Desselle as it’s tougher to come in as a freshman and medal in those middle weights than 106. Not taking anything away from Fowler. It was a hard pick.

Edited February 28, 2021 by Ummmno

[DAKEKO]

2 hours ago, Ummmno said:

This is all my personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt. Who would you change?

 

Freshman of the Year: Landon Desselle (Summit) 6th Place. Coming into the state tournament his only two losses were to Charles Randall of Cleveland and Jackson Bradford of Cleveland (of which he later won). In the state tournament lost to eventual finalist Brennen Watkins of DB 3-2 and then Sammy Shires of Rossview 6-4 and then dropped the 5/6 match 5-3. Throughout the year he was never blown out by the top guys and always showed he was capable of hanging with them. I know there were a lot of incoming freshman who made an impact but in a large, upperclassman heavy field, with battle tested kids, Landon showed he will be around for a long while. 

 

Honorable Mention: Logan Fowler (Cleveland)

 

Sophomore of the Year: Cody Chittum (Cleveland) 1st place. I’m not sure there is any other answer here. Cody didn’t have a close match all season and I don’t just mean in the state. He teched the number 2 in the country. It was freestyle I know but we’ve all seen the throw highlight by now. He’s going to be a star. 

 

Honorable Mention: Bentley Ellison (Cleveland), Luke Belcher (Bradley Central)

 

Junior of the Year: Justin Bradford (Blackman) 1st Place. Had a good freshman year and was then dismissed from the team his sophomore year. How does he make a comeback? By winning a state title. And with the exception of his finals match and a mid season decision win over Mercante (3-0 against him this year with a pin and a major as well) no other of his matches were ever close. He pinned almost every other kid this year. He took a bad situation, turned a corner, and got significantly better on the mat in the process. 

 

Honorable Mention: Sammy Shires (Rossview), Stephen Fisak (Wilson Central)

 

Senior of the Year: Trae McDaniel (Cleveland) 1st Place. Trae capped off a fantastic high school career with his 3rd state title. The only time I ever remember seeing him lose was his freshman year in the finals. There were a lot of other awesome seniors this season (See honorable mention) but the level of dominance with Trae was second to none. The reason he’s getting the nod over the other two is what he did the year he didn’t win it. If not for one match he would’ve been a 4xer.

 

Honorable Mention: Trey Bates (Beech), Hunter Borders (Wilson Central)

 

Team of the Year: Cleveland. 9 in the finals. That’s unheard of. Won the team duals and then Individuals by a hundred points. Just absolute insanity. 

 

Coach of the Year: Pete Miller (Summit). Summit’s third place finish at the duals is the highest they’ve finished and 6 medals in the individual tourney was their best finish there. 

 

Assistant Coach of the Year: Ken Hammonds (Wilson Central). Ok let’s be real here, Hamm’s the best assistant coach in the state. Besides taking his team to another state finals appearance and finishing second in the individual team scores he also kept up with rankings all year and kept a full time job. The amount of work he is always doing is just stupid. And then to think all that and his team is incredibly successful is crazy to me. 

Let's not forget that Hamm also trains ON THE MAT with his upperweights. I agree 100% that he's the best assistant in the state!

[Sommers]

EXCELLENT!!! Hamm and Miller

Freshman Fowler impressive as we're so many others this year, including that insightful description of Bradford after a year off.

Great to claim Soph Chittum as a product of Tennessee!!

[dbradford]

Bradford wasn't off last year . He was in the Finals and lost to Borders. He was kicked off the Team his Freshman year early in the season .

 

[Midtnwrestling1]

7 hours ago, Ummmno said:

I went back and forth. I gave it to Desselle as it’s tougher to come in as a freshman and medal in those middle weights than 106. Not taking anything away from Fowler. It was a hard pick.

I’m excited to see Desselle wrestle for the next couple years. Talking to people close to him he had higher expectations but his nerves got the best of him. 

[GoTNwrestling]

11 hours ago, Ummmno said:

This is all my personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt. Who would you change?

 

Freshman of the Year: Landon Desselle (Summit) 6th Place. Coming into the state tournament his only two losses were to Charles Randall of Cleveland and Jackson Bradford of Cleveland (of which he later won). In the state tournament lost to eventual finalist Brennen Watkins of DB 3-2 and then Sammy Shires of Rossview 6-4 and then dropped the 5/6 match 5-3. Throughout the year he was never blown out by the top guys and always showed he was capable of hanging with them. I know there were a lot of incoming freshman who made an impact but in a large, upperclassman heavy field, with battle tested kids, Landon showed he will be around for a long while. 

 

Honorable Mention: Logan Fowler (Cleveland)

 

Sophomore of the Year: Cody Chittum (Cleveland) 1st place. I’m not sure there is any other answer here. Cody didn’t have a close match all season and I don’t just mean in the state. He teched the number 2 in the country. It was freestyle I know but we’ve all seen the throw highlight by now. He’s going to be a star. 

 

Honorable Mention: Bentley Ellison (Cleveland), Luke Belcher (Bradley Central)

 

Junior of the Year: Justin Bradford (Blackman) 1st Place. Had a good freshman year and was then dismissed from the team his sophomore year. How does he make a comeback? By winning a state title. And with the exception of his finals match and a mid season decision win over Mercante (3-0 against him this year with a pin and a major as well) no other of his matches were ever close. He pinned almost every other kid this year. He took a bad situation, turned a corner, and got significantly better on the mat in the process. 

 

Honorable Mention: Sammy Shires (Rossview), Stephen Fisak (Wilson Central)

 

Senior of the Year: Trae McDaniel (Cleveland) 1st Place. Trae capped off a fantastic high school career with his 3rd state title. The only time I ever remember seeing him lose was his freshman year in the finals. There were a lot of other awesome seniors this season (See honorable mention) but the level of dominance with Trae was second to none. The reason he’s getting the nod over the other two is what he did the year he didn’t win it. If not for one match he would’ve been a 4xer.

 

Honorable Mention: Trey Bates (Beech), Hunter Borders (Wilson Central)

 

Team of the Year: Cleveland. 9 in the finals. That’s unheard of. Won the team duals and then Individuals by a hundred points. Just absolute insanity. 

 

Coach of the Year: Pete Miller (Summit). Summit’s third place finish at the duals is the highest they’ve finished and 6 medals in the individual tourney was their best finish there. 

 

Assistant Coach of the Year: Ken Hammonds (Wilson Central). Ok let’s be real here, Hamm’s the best assistant coach in the state. Besides taking his team to another state finals appearance and finishing second in the individual team scores he also kept up with rankings all year and kept a full time job. The amount of work he is always doing is just stupid. And then to think all that and his team is incredibly successful is crazy to me. 

All good picks! The Desselle kid is and will continue to be a stud! I hope he keeps improving day in a day out and is as dominate as some of these kids we see as upperclassman. Desselle was one more move away from beating Watkins and being a state finalist. I would have loved to see that are-match in the finals. 
 

Once again, all great picks, but you could add Hurst and Tre to the honorable mention for senior of the year. I wouldn’t put them past any of those three, but they also are two time state champs and were pretty impressive this year and at states. 

[sx1234]

Brenot should be an honorable mention to Sophomore of the year as well. 

 

People have been talking about how tough 132 was, but I think 152 may have been one of the toughest weight classes Friday.  Ables, Elkins, and Mckenna are three tough hammers that all left without a medal. 

[JSamson7]

14 hours ago, Ummmno said:

This is all my personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt. Who would you change?

 

Freshman of the Year: Landon Desselle (Summit) 6th Place. Coming into the state tournament his only two losses were to Charles Randall of Cleveland and Jackson Bradford of Cleveland (of which he later won). In the state tournament lost to eventual finalist Brennen Watkins of DB 3-2 and then Sammy Shires of Rossview 6-4 and then dropped the 5/6 match 5-3. Throughout the year he was never blown out by the top guys and always showed he was capable of hanging with them. I know there were a lot of incoming freshman who made an impact but in a large, upperclassman heavy field, with battle tested kids, Landon showed he will be around for a long while. 

 

Honorable Mention: Logan Fowler (Cleveland)

 

Sophomore of the Year: Cody Chittum (Cleveland) 1st place. I’m not sure there is any other answer here. Cody didn’t have a close match all season and I don’t just mean in the state. He teched the number 2 in the country. It was freestyle I know but we’ve all seen the throw highlight by now. He’s going to be a star. 

 

Honorable Mention: Bentley Ellison (Cleveland), Luke Belcher (Bradley Central)

 

Junior of the Year: Justin Bradford (Blackman) 1st Place. Had a good freshman year and was then dismissed from the team his sophomore year. How does he make a comeback? By winning a state title. And with the exception of his finals match and a mid season decision win over Mercante (3-0 against him this year with a pin and a major as well) no other of his matches were ever close. He pinned almost every other kid this year. He took a bad situation, turned a corner, and got significantly better on the mat in the process. 

 

Honorable Mention: Sammy Shires (Rossview), Stephen Fisak (Wilson Central)

 

Senior of the Year: Trae McDaniel (Cleveland) 1st Place. Trae capped off a fantastic high school career with his 3rd state title. The only time I ever remember seeing him lose was his freshman year in the finals. There were a lot of other awesome seniors this season (See honorable mention) but the level of dominance with Trae was second to none. The reason he’s getting the nod over the other two is what he did the year he didn’t win it. If not for one match he would’ve been a 4xer.

 

Honorable Mention: Trey Bates (Beech), Hunter Borders (Wilson Central)

 

Team of the Year: Cleveland. 9 in the finals. That’s unheard of. Won the team duals and then Individuals by a hundred points. Just absolute insanity. 

 

Coach of the Year: Pete Miller (Summit). Summit’s third place finish at the duals is the highest they’ve finished and 6 medals in the individual tourney was their best finish there. 

 

Assistant Coach of the Year: Ken Hammonds (Wilson Central). Ok let’s be real here, Hamm’s the best assistant coach in the state. Besides taking his team to another state finals appearance and finishing second in the individual team scores he also kept up with rankings all year and kept a full time job. The amount of work he is always doing is just stupid. And then to think all that and his team is incredibly successful is crazy to me. 

Good post. It's like splitting hairs with kids being on or off this list but I'm going to throw out my guy Stadel as at least a Sophomore honorable mention. Nobody's touching Cody for the Top Sophomore spot, but to make Stadel's case for a spot on any list he has;

• 2x medalist (6th & 3rd) in a weight class dominated by upperclassmen

• 3 losses this year were to the Heavyweight champ (2) & 4th place 195 pounder (1).

Someone can fact check me on this, but I believe his only career losses in Tennessee have come against a TSSAA state medalist (A/AA, AAA, DII) but he also has a win against most of them.

[Rasslinking]

On 2/28/2021 at 9:56 AM, Ummmno said:

This is all my personal opinion so take it with a grain of salt. Who would you change?

 

Freshman of the Year: Landon Desselle (Summit) 6th Place. Coming into the state tournament his only two losses were to Charles Randall of Cleveland and Jackson Bradford of Cleveland (of which he later won). In the state tournament lost to eventual finalist Brennen Watkins of DB 3-2 and then Sammy Shires of Rossview 6-4 and then dropped the 5/6 match 5-3. Throughout the year he was never blown out by the top guys and always showed he was capable of hanging with them. I know there were a lot of incoming freshman who made an impact but in a large, upperclassman heavy field, with battle tested kids, Landon showed he will be around for a long while. 

 

Honorable Mention: Logan Fowler (Cleveland)

 

Sophomore of the Year: Cody Chittum (Cleveland) 1st place. I’m not sure there is any other answer here. Cody didn’t have a close match all season and I don’t just mean in the state. He teched the number 2 in the country. It was freestyle I know but we’ve all seen the throw highlight by now. He’s going to be a star. 

 

Honorable Mention: Bentley Ellison (Cleveland), Luke Belcher (Bradley Central)

 

Junior of the Year: Justin Bradford (Blackman) 1st Place. Had a good freshman year and was then dismissed from the team his sophomore year. How does he make a comeback? By winning a state title. And with the exception of his finals match and a mid season decision win over Mercante (3-0 against him this year with a pin and a major as well) no other of his matches were ever close. He pinned almost every other kid this year. He took a bad situation, turned a corner, and got significantly better on the mat in the process. 

 

Honorable Mention: Sammy Shires (Rossview), Stephen Fisak (Wilson Central)

 

Senior of the Year: Trae McDaniel (Cleveland) 1st Place. Trae capped off a fantastic high school career with his 3rd state title. The only time I ever remember seeing him lose was his freshman year in the finals. There were a lot of other awesome seniors this season (See honorable mention) but the level of dominance with Trae was second to none. The reason he’s getting the nod over the other two is what he did the year he didn’t win it. If not for one match he would’ve been a 4xer.

 

Honorable Mention: Trey Bates (Beech), Hunter Borders (Wilson Central)

 

Team of the Year: Cleveland. 9 in the finals. That’s unheard of. Won the team duals and then Individuals by a hundred points. Just absolute insanity. 

 

Coach of the Year: Pete Miller (Summit). Summit’s third place finish at the duals is the highest they’ve finished and 6 medals in the individual tourney was their best finish there. 

 

Assistant Coach of the Year: Ken Hammonds (Wilson Central). Ok let’s be real here, Hamm’s the best assistant coach in the state. Besides taking his team to another state finals appearance and finishing second in the individual team scores he also kept up with rankings all year and kept a full time job. The amount of work he is always doing is just stupid. And then to think all that and his team is incredibly successful is crazy to me. 

2 Comments: 

While Pete has done a great job with his program....they got 3rd because Bradley was eliminated early. They were 5th behind both Bradley and DB. Yes, Pete is doing a great job......Coach of the YEAR??? How can Knox not get this with a landslide? 9 of 14 finalist...enough said.

Ole Hamm...first rankings have nothing to do with Coaching.....Maybe get a volunteer award for his efforts with the rankings, which I feel he does a great job with. What Hamm does a incredible job doing is relating to ALL his athletes, they love him, which correlates to all of their success.

As to the comment about him wrestling with all his kids every day.......Imagine having to wrestling Clevelands line up every day.....poor Coach Murphy and Coach Reed.....Bradford...McDaniel....Chittum...Laxton.....Yea no thank you. Coach Knox needs to get those men a raise.

[fooseball95]

Desselle is a beast and will be fun to watch in the coming years, and although he beat Jackson Bradford I don’t believe he would have had Jackson been healthy. (Eventhough Jackson was still gonna continue the ref injury scratched the match)  but my freshman of the year goes to Fowler at 106. I know 106 is a freshman weight  but his, Only Tennessee loses all year were to Terrell and I believe it was 3 times. Then to meet in the finals and pull off the upset was bananas.

Edited March 4, 2021 by fooseball95