Bradley Invitational

[Bluebelly]

Host Bradley storms to 85-point mat lead

By Kelley Smiddie Staff Writer

 

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Thanks to the first-day effort by the host team, the outcome of the Bradley Central Invitational high school wrestling tournament may be a foregone conclusion.

Bradley Central did not lose a match on Friday and heads into today’s action with 160 points to second-place Notre Dame’s 75. "It sounds like Bradley’s trying to run away with it," Notre Dame coach John Mullin said. "A lot will be determined tommorrow after the semifinals."

We i g h -ins are today at 7 a.m. and action in the consolation bracket begins at 9. Championship finals are set for about 5. "I didn’t anticipate that. In my coaching career, I’ve never been lucky enough to win them all," Bradley coach Steve Logsdon said.

Logsdon pointed to some matches as being pivotal.

"I was real pleased with both Spain brothers, Matt and Justin, who each had tough opponents at 145 and 152," Logsdon said. "Both are real tough kids. Justin is a freshman. He’s starting to figure out he can win at this level. I was also real proud of our heavyweight, Jonathan Sivley. He wrestles with a lot of heart. "Every match Jonathan learns something new. He’s an untapped talent. He’s going to be a good one for Bradley before it’s over."

Not to go unnoticed, or underappreciated, Logsdon praised the group he calls his "horses."

"A lot of people expect them to dominate," Logsdon said. "Sometimes they’re kind of uneventful. They go out and get a quick pin and don’t get the appreciation they deserve. I appreciate their leadership. That trickles down to the younger kids."

Mullin said he was pleased with advancing five to the semifinals in a tough 22-team tournament.

"We had a solid day," Mullin said. "Our experienced kids rose to the occasion and fought really well today. We’ve got five in the semis. Now we’ll see if we can push them all into finals."

Kenwood is in third place with 70 points. Huntsville, Ala., is fourth with 61. It could be a good battle for second.

"The things we stress are a lot of intensity and a lot of scoring," Logsdon said. "We won’t do anything different. As long as they give 100 percent effort with great intensity, I’ll be happy."

[JustWrestle]

Just a curious question for Bradley fans or even Coach Logsdon himself, Has Bradley ever thought about moving their Invitational and entering the McCallie Invitational? This tournament in my opinion is 10 times harder to win than our respective D 1 and D 2 state championships. Bradley entering the tournament would send it over the top and possibly the top one or two tournaments in the Southeast. If not enter the invitational try to get McCallie to move the tourney and invite all of those teams to the Bradley Invitational, just wondering why two big tournaments are on the same weekend??

From what I can see of the McCallie Invitational's listing of schools, it appears that it was a tougher tournament than the one Bradley had. Of course, I haven't seen a listing of all the schools who participated in Bradley's tournament. Just a thought. What do you think?

[best_of_the_west]

Oh yea, for the most part, McCallie was a much more difficult tournament. That 130 from Alabama was amazing though at the Bradley tourney. I think he would have beat Cleveland or anyone else in the state of Tennessee.

Edited December 24, 2003 by best_of_the_west