Science Hill coach Jeff Price didn’t even make the trip to Chattanooga this weekend as he was home sick, but he is probably feeling better after finding out that his Hilltopper wrestlers captured first place in the annual Keith Johnson Memoral Tournament at Ooltewah High School Saturday afternoon.

The Hilltoppers claimed medalists in 10 of the 14 weight classes, including champions Steven Goldstein at 125 pounds and Matt Stull at 152, to finish in first with 176.5 points.

The Cookeville Cavaliers were second with 160.5 points while host Ooltewah was third with 150.5.

Walker Valley and Brentwood completed the top five teams with 132 and 108 points, respectively.

The Hilltoppers had the longest trip of any of the 15 teams as they traveled from Johnson City for the tournament, but the nearly four-hour trip down probably didn’t seem nearly as long on the way back with the championship hardware in their possession.

Assistant coach Jimmy Miller certainly had a smile on his face when the final standings were announced.

“This was a good early-season effort on our part, but we felt like we had a shot at winning after finishing second here last year.

“We have a lot of new kids in our lineup and I’m pleased with their effort. We had sort of a rough start this morning, but at least we finished on a strong note.

"Our goal was to come down here and make a good showing. I think we accomplished that goal,” Miller added.

Cookeville coach Scott Cook overall was happy with a runner-up finish.

“I don’t even think we finished in the top five last year, but I thought we had a chance to win coming in this morning.

"We lost a few matches we shouldn’t have lost, but we brought 11 kids and eight of them earned a medal, so I’m happy about that.

“It’s still early in the season and we still have a lot of work to do, but it’s all about getting better for those tournaments on down the road,” Cook said, referring to the state meet, which will be in Franklin in mid-February.

While Goldstein and Stull were individual winners for Science Hill, Cookeville and Walker Valley both finished with three champions.

Winning for the Cavaliers was Ethan Henry at 160, Joe Proctor at 171 and John Salada at 189.

Walker Valley winners included Caleb Langford at 103, Cole Dias at 135 and Dylan Mills at 285.

Other individual champs included Brentwood’s Blake Thomas at 112, Ooltewah’s Tyler Harvey at 119 and Dickson County’s Greg Shepherd at 130.

John Herold of Morristown West claimed the title at 140 while Centennial’s Parker Smith did the same at 145. Derrick Laney of Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe was the champ at 215.

Cookeville’s Proctor earned the Best Wrestler award while Ooltewah’s Tyler Toon and LFO’s Laney were honored with the Best Match award.

Laney, a two-time state champ and a three-time Keith Johnson winner, had a real tussle on his hands with Toon, but Laney earned a takedown late in the third period for the 10-8 decision in a match that had the attention of everyone in the gym.

Science Hill had the most medalists with 10 while Ooltewah was next with nine. Cookeville had eight while Walker Valley and Brentwood both went home with six apiece.

LEGEND AND FINAL TEAM SCORES
1. Science Hill (SH) 176.5; 2. Cookeville (Cook) 160.5; 3. Ooltewah (O) 150.5; 4. Walker Valley (WV) 132; 5. Brentwood (Brent) 108; 6. Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe (LFO) 75; 7. Rhea County (RC) 66; 8. Dickson County (DC) 65.5; 9. Morristown West (MW) 60.5; 10. East Ridge (ER) 47; 11. Centennial (Cen) 43; 12. Sale Creek (SC) 14; 13. St. Andrews-Sewanee (SAS) 8; 14. East Hamilton (EH) 4; 15. Warren Co. (WC) 0.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
103 – Caleb Langford (WV) pinned Jonathan Hale (LFO), 4:00;
112 – Blake Thomas (Brent) dec. Tony Kazy (WV), 3-1;
119 – Tyler Harvey (O) dec. Ben Smith (Brent), 6-0;
125 – Steven Goldstein (SH) won by forfeit over Nic Fuller (RC);
130 – Greg Shepherd (DC) dec. Jonathan Pearce (SH), 14-11;
135 – Cole Dias (WV) dec. Matt Sealor (O), 7-6;
140 – John Herold (MW) major dec. Quinton Carter (RC), 15-5;
145 – Parker Smith (Cen) dec. Chris Dorsa (Brent) 13-11;
152 – Matt Stull (SH) dec. Chris Epperson (Cook), 6-2;
160 – Ethan Henry (Cook) dec. Richard Manning (O), 9-4;
171 – Joe Proctor (Cook) pinned Matt Cannon (SH), 1:00;
189 – John Salada (Cook) dec. Rakim Talley (DC), 8-3;
215 – Derrick Laney (LFO) dec. Tyler Toon (O), 10-8;
285 – Dylan Mills (WV) pinned Jason Chapman (Cook), 1:48.

CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE
103 – Garrett Sealor (O) dec. Max Vaughn (SH), 4-3;
112 – Cole Schurlknight (SH) pinned Coby Walker (ER), 3:00;
119 – Paul Agnew (Cen) pinned Lucal Howell (RC);
125 – Jacob Purkey (O) dec. Gabe Hamilton (Brent), 4-0;
130 – Travis Dias (WV) pinned Cole Kuhn (MW) 4:35;
135 – Mitch Scarbrough (DC) dec. Jacob Wheeler (Cook), 7-5;
140 – John Birdwell (Cook) pinned Nick Moore (O), 3:00;
145 – Justin Snyder (SH) pinned Aaron Sandaluk (Cook), 4:02;
152 – Nick Whitfield (O) pinned Kenny Chatfield (Brent), :53;
160 – Samuel Lawson (MW) def. Matt Cruise (SH);
171 – Micah Kidd (ER) def. Austin Weatherell (Brent);
189 – Makal Kidd (ER) pinned Lamech Jones (O), 1:21;
215 – Isaiah Simpson (WV) dec. Josh Lewis (SH), 5-2;
285 – Josh Barnette (SH) pinned Madison Paris (LFO), :38.

(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)