Clarksville High's Bradley Williams pushes limits, earns All Area boys wrestler of year

Bradley Williams has been a difficult matchup on the wrestling mat for the past three years, but his senior year turned out to be one in which he was nearly impossible to handle.

Williams tore through the dual season with a 32-1 record in the 195-pound weight division. And on the state's biggest stage, Williams handled his opponent with ease. Williams captured the 195-pound state title during the TSSAA State Wrestling Championships in Franklin two months ago.

"At the beginning of the year I figured I could make a run at a state title," Williams said after being named The Leaf-Chronicle All Area boys wrestler of the year. "I knew it was going to be hard to do. I just figured that if I worked hard enough, it would be easy."

But what Williams realized is that the harder he worked, the harder the competition became.

"Then I realized that hard work is really the only thing that gets you through," he said.

Williams said he began to push himself past his limit. When his body and mind started to break down, he practiced harder.

"That was tough because you just want to quit," he said. "Your brain is telling you to quit and your body is, too, and it's probably the easy thing to do. But once you push past that, it's amazing what you can do."

Williams faced Knoxville Halls' Brent Buckman in the state title match, earning early points on a throw and then posting 10 points before coasting to a 10-5 victory for the state crown.

"I didn't want to give him any sort of advantage," Williams said. "I thought if he scored first it would give him confidence and momentum. I wanted to have that so I tried to start fast. Plus, in the end, he started to get tired and that's when I knew I could win it."

Wiliams ended his senior year with a region championship and state championship.

"Those titles mean a lot," he said. "When I first started wrestling those were the goals. To actually reach those goals is amazing."

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