Trousdale freshman places fourth at state wrestling tournament

Trousdale County freshman Rob Atwood completed his first season wrestling for the Yellow Jackets with a fourth-place finish at last week’s Class A/AA State Tournament on Feb. 24 in Chattanooga.

Wrestling in the 220-pound weight class, Atwood was one of 16 statewide qualifiers and won his opening match by pinning Greenbvack’s Jeremiah Cope. Atwood lost a 3-1 decision in sudden death to three-time state champion Jonathan Morton of Elizabethton to fall into the losers’ bracket. The TCHS freshman then won three straight matches (two by decision, one by pin) to reach the third-place match, where he lost a 6-0 decision to Hixson’s Parrish Pacetti, who won the 220-pound title last year. Both Morton and Pacetti are seniors.

“It was a great time,” Atwood said of his experience at the state tournament. “You learn more about what you have to work on and where to go with the rest of your high school years.

“I’ll come back next year and have to succeed at being a little more aggressive; being me instead of doing what they do.”

Atwood finished the season with an 18-3 record with 16 pins, one decision and one major decision. He is the first wrestler ever to compete for Trousdale County after the School Board allowed him to compete as a one-man team under the coaching of his parents, Robby and Beverly Atwood. Rob was also a two-time AAU state wrestling champion before reaching the high level.

“It was cool, but sometimes you miss your friends and the team aspect of it,” Atwood said of being a one-man team.

Beverly Atwood noted the difficulties of being the only Trousdale County wrestler, as it meant the team had to forfeit matches at all other weight classes for Rob to be able to compete at meets.

“With Rob growing up in wrestling and building the relationships with other teams and kids, we’ve had our challenges and being a one-man team has had its disadvantages,” she said. “Wrestling in duals, they’ve been very kind to let us come to their tournaments.

“It’s been a learning experience for us all; there’s a lot more detail to it.”

Atwood has able to practice with wrestlers at Class AAA schools in the area and even those at Cumberland University in Lebanon.

“Being in a different division, we can practice with AAA which helps Rob,” Beverly said. “It’s been a great experience and for him to be the first Trousdale County wrestler and place at state, it made it all worth his while.

“He wants to continue working and knows what he needs to build on. I’m looking forward to seeing what next year is going to bring.”

Reach Chris Gregory at 615-450-5756 or cgregory@hartsvillevidette.com.