The defending champion Hixson Wildcats are going back to the Big Dance for small school wrestling (A-AA), but to Wildcat coach Garrick Hall, his wrestlers were dancing with two left feet and sometimes to the wrong beat.

"I am pleased with the win, but for some reason we did not wrestle well tonight and I am not happy with our performance," said Hall after a 36-21 triumph against host Red Bank for the Region 5 duals title.

"The younger wrestlers were too uptight for the match, some guys just plain didn't listen to the coach and overall we were in a daze," he stated.

But a title won is a title secured and the region crown is the third straight for Hixson, which improved to 19-1, and the Black and Gold will defend its state crown Feb. 5-6 at the Williamson Ag Center in Franklin.

Starting at 171, the Wildcats won three of the first four matches for a 12-3 advantage, but wins by Lion lightweights Chris Palacio (pin) and Madison Martin (decision) made it 12 all after six matches.

Hixson gained bonus points from Logan Vandergriff (major dec. at 119) and Curtis Fletcher (tech. fall at 125) for a 21-12 lead, but a tech. fall by Zach Sharp had the Lions within three at 21-18 with five matches remaining.
"I was glad to get bonus points from Logan and Curtis, but I expected pins from them," Hall stated.

Drew Schefano (135) and Gary Cosey (140) won too close for comfort matches (6-4 and 8-6 , respectively) and a 9-4 triumph by Curtis Flanagan at 145 iced the match and the region duals title.

"Red Bank came out ready to wrestle and we didn't, pure and simple," said Hall.

"We will have a very intense practice on Wednesday to re-focus on our goal of winning the state duals."
Red Bank is now 13-16 and also fell to McCallie 54-24, but defeated Walker Valley, 42-39.

"I knew that we were the underdog in the Hixson match, but I thought our guys wrestled hard and we had some chances to make it closer than the 15 point difference," said Red Bank coach Ben Reichel.

"Of course we wanted to win and go to the state duals, but we are also working towards the region traditional here at our place," he said.

The Region 4 traditional is Feb. 12-13 at Red Bank, while the Region 3 traditional is at Alcoa.

Hixson 36, Red Bank 21
171 - Justin Matheison (H) forfeit win
189 - Thomas Crowder (H) dec. Garrett Vineyard, 4-0
215 - Devonte Colvin (RB) dec. Christian Varner, 7-3
285 - Alphonzo Smith (H) dec. Paul Horne, 8-2
103 - Chris Palacio (RB) pinned My Le, 2:24
112 - Madison Martin (RB) dec. Isaiah Hawthorne, 6-0
119 - Logan Vandergriff (H) major dec. Levon Miller 13-1
125 - Curtis Fletcher (H) tech fall, Phil Grays, 4:21
130 - Zac Sharp (RB) tech. fall Sean Borders, 5:04
135 - Drew Schefano (H) dec. Brandon Kerley, 6-4
140 - Gary Cosey (H) dec. Logan Sharp, 8-6
145 - Curtis Flanagan (H) dec. Bradley Horner, 9-4
152 - Peyton Williams (RB) dec. Chris Phinizey, 6-4
160 - Nick Alamany (H) pinned Zach Ferguson; 3:37

McCallie 54, Walker Valley 24
171 Nate Condrey (M) pinned Alex Forgey, 1:59
189 Austin Prevost (M) forfeit win
215 Isaiah (WV) dec. T.J. Sattferfield, 10-7
285 - Dylan Mills (WV) pinned Kyle Kinch, 3:49
103 - Caleb Langford (WV) forfeit win
112 - Morgan Boyd (M) forfeit win
119 - Jake Blackburn (WV) forfeit win
125 - Andrew Helton (M) pinned Taylor Thompson, 5:21
130 - Tim Westbrooks pinned Craig Land, 3:06
135 - Cole Dias (WV) dec. Carl Martin, 7-4
140 - Michael Hooker (M) pinned Travis Reed, :56
145 - Brad McCurray (M) pinned Kevin Kim, 5:32
152 - T.J. Duncan (M) forfeit win
160 - Chase Martino (M) pinned Aaron Benavides, :56

Officials: Eddie Davis, Ronnie Queen

Scores:
McCallie 54, Walker Valley 24
Hixson 36, Red Bank 21
Red Bank 42, Walker Valley 39
McCallie 63, Red Bank 17

McCallie Notes:
Another Connell: Adam Connell, McCallie 8th grader and youngest son of coach Gordon Connell, made a successful varsity debut as he pinned Red Bank's Chris Palacio in 3:13 at 103 ... Adam's brother, Lee, also made his varsity debut as an eighth grader in the 1999 state duals ... Lee was a five-time state medalist and two-time state champ ... Gordon was a 1966 state champ for Brainerd.

More Tornado Legacy: At 112, Morgan Boyd, son of Martin Boyd fell to state medalist Madison Martin ... Morgan's uncle, Pollack, was a state champ 35 years ago (1975).

More Blue Legacy II: At 130, Alex Kent, son of Jonathan Kent, fell to Zac Sharp via fall (1:25) ... Jonathan and brothers, David, Craig and Don wrestled for McCallie ... David was a four-time state finalist, winning it twice (1975-76), while Don won a pair of Mid South titles.

Chattanooga Central is Back: The Purple Pounders of coach Steve Price have claimed the Region 4 duals title and return to the state duals for the first time since 1992 ... Central won the small school state duals in 1990 led by the Johnson brothers - Kevin, Ricky and Mark - and then placed 5th in 1992.

Contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net