Wednesday, December 02, 2009
- by B.B. Branton
Tennessee at Chattanooga All-American wrestler Cody Cleveland suffered a torn ACL in his right knee this past weekend and will miss the remainder of the 2009-2010 season.
Cleveland injured his knee in the third period and defeated Daniel Monaco of Indiana, 11-4 at the Indiana Duals on Sunday. The two-time state prep champion from McCallie was ranked No. 9 at 141 in the rankings released Tuesday.
“It's tough to lose an excellent wrestler and team leader such as Cody, but after the season we will apply to the NCAA for a medical redshirt year for 2010-2011,'' said UTC wrestling coach Heath Eslinger. “Our young wrestlers will have a year of college experience by next season and having Cody back will really make us strong.''
According to Eslinger, Cleveland had an MRI on Monday and the results were known on Tuesday. He plans to have reconstructive surgery during the Christmas break.
Cleveland was 3-0 on the weekend before the injury, 8-0 on the young season and is 62-24 for a career. He earned All-American honors in 2008, won SoCon titles the past two seasons, was voted the Outstanding Wrestler of the 2009 SoCon tournament as well as 2009 Co-Wrestler of the Year also in the SoCon.
Seth Seneca replaced Cody Cleveland at 141 and was 1-1 in his two matches. He finished third in the 2009 state tournament for Independence High School.
Cleveland has earned a degree in criminal justice and is in his first year working towards an MBA.
Jake Young – Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week
Freshman Jake Young was 5-0 at the Indiana Duals at 174 this past week and has been selected as the Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week.
The former two-time state champ from Ooltewah is 13-2 on the season and is ranked No. 17.
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net