FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- The Bradley Bears won their third straight TSSAA State Duals wrestling title and their 11th in the past 16 years, but they had to work harder this time than any time before.

Facing county neighbor Cleveland for the second time this year and for the second straight year in the championship finals of this tournament, it was a battle from the beginning to the end.

The Bears won by a 33-28 final margin, but it was a match for the ages that included three overtime decisions.

The Hixson Wildcats claimed their second straight A-AA Duals title with the 41-36 victory over East Literature.

What had been and was a great weekend for the ever-proud Bears finished with a black cloud overhead after senior 145-pounder Vince Aguilar was carried to the hospital with a serious elbow injury.

Aguilar was ahead 8-3 when the freak accident happened, but the injury default trimmed Bradley's lead to 24-19.

Chris Aguilar took the match next after a lengthy delay and he took care of business with the second of two pins that Bradley recorded.

Bailey Jones kept the Blue Raiders within striking distance with an overtime decision at 160, but Matt Roderick sealed the deal for the Bears with a 13-6 verdict over Will Moreland.

Bradley coach Steve Logsdon was exceptionally proud of his team, especially under the unfortunate conditions the tournament ended.

"How does your mind not go to Vince Aguilar right now?" he began while the awards were being presented.

"Here's a kid who I love dearly that's paid his dues and now he's at the hospital with a serious elbow injury. It was a freak accident, but it just breaks your heart," Logsdon continued.

"I've been friends with Eric (Phillips) for a long time and I have a lot of respect for him and their team. We could have done a lot of moving around, but we just decided to go straight up with them and let the chips fall where they may.

"My guys wrestled really well this weekend and I couldn't be more proud," Logsdon added.

Cleveland coach Eric Phillips had similar feelings for his own team.

"I've had a lot of big wins in my coaching career, but I've never been more proud of a group of guys than I am of these guys right now.

"We knew it would take a monumental achievement to beat Bradley. Nobody here thought we had a chance except us. We were within striking distance, but they were the better team tonight.

"We thought we had a chance to compete with them. They had plenty of reason to come unglued after Vince got hurt, but they weren't going to cave in.

"We have a really young team, but I'm looking forward to a lot of fun years to come with them," Phillips concluded.

Bradley won four the first five matches to grab a 15-4 lead following an 11-1 major decision by Ethan Hames at 119.

Brandon Strickland nipped Tyler Pitts 4-2 in overtime before Marvin Lopez got a second-period pin as Cleveland got to within 15-13 at the midway point.

Trevor Herron got a pin at 135 and Brad Colbaugh got an overtime decision at 140 to extend Bradley's lead to 24-13 before the injury default.

The Duals state title is Bradley's 11th in the last 15 years. They have also claimed nine traditional titles, which is the most for any school in any sport in TSSAA history.

Hixson’s match with East Literature was almost as close as Bradley’s match with Cleveland.

The Eagles bolted to a 12-0 lead with two first-period pins, but Hixson rallied to claim pins in four of the next five weights to gain the upper hand at 24-18 following a first-period pin from Curtis Fletcher at 125.

East Literature then tied the score for the last time when Phillip Yates caught Sean Borders in a head throw late in the third period. Borders was leading 9-3 when the pin call came with just 21 seconds remaining in the match.

Hixson then won four of the next five matches with Nick Alemany’s 11-3 major decision at 160 clinching the title for the proud Wildcats.

Hixson coach Garrick Hall again praised a total team effort for the win. It also took a total team effort to hoist their 340-pound coach on their shoulders when the final match ended.

“You’re not going to put that in the article, are you?” Hall joked when he started his post-match interview.

“We’ve talked all year about taking care of our business as individuals. If we do that, the team score will take care of itself. That was certainly the case tonight.

“I thought I was going to have a heart attack when we lost at 130. It just goes to show that anything can happen when you’re dealing with teenagers.

“It’s hard to say which title is sweeter. Beating Notre Dame last year was nice, but beating East Literature was pretty good too. They’re an up-and-coming program. We have a totally different group of kids this year, but tonight proves that last year wasn’t a fluke,” Hall added.

Hixson claimed victory in eight of the 14 weight classes, including five pins.

Logan Vandergriff’s 38-second pin at 119 was the quickest. Others were recorded by Alphonso Smith at 285, Isaiah Hawthorne at 112, Fletcher at 125 and Gary Cosey at 140.

AAA CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
BRADLEY 33, CLEVELAND 28
215 – Tucker Bolton (B) won by technical fall over Jordan Hines, 6:00;
285 – Patrick Benson (B) dec. Jesse Jones, 8-4;
103 – Austin Oliver (C) major dec. Jacob Climer, 14-5;
112 -- Jericho Crutcher (B) dec. Joel Simpkins, 4-2;
119 -- Ethan Hames (B) major dec. Haden Hamilton, 11-1;
125 -- Brandon Strickland (C) dec. Tyler Pitts, 4-2 in overtime;
130 -- Marvin Lopez (C) pinned Tyler Schuch, 3:55;
135 -- Trevor Herron (B) pinned Javier Francisco, 2:47;
140 -- Brad Colbaugh (B) dec. Aaron Lopez, 3-2 in overtime;
145 -- J.C. Bobe (C) won by injury default over Vince Aguilar;
152 -- Chris Aguilar (B) pinned Isaiah Nichols, 3:33;
160 -- Bailey Jones (C) dec. Jacob Bailey, 5-3 in overtime;
171 -- Matt Roderick (B) dec. Will Moreland, 13-6;
189 -- Chip Norwood (C) pinned Chris Hood, 2:38.

A-AA CHAMPIONSHIP
HIXSON 41, EAST LITERATURE 36
189 – Garrett Nicholas (EL) pinned Thomas Crowder, 1:23;
215 – Antonio Clark (EL) pinned Christian Varner, 1:08;
285 – Alphonso Smith (H) pinned Garric Hoover, 3:49;
103 – Andy Aguilar (EL) pinned My Le, 3:19;
112 – Isaiah Hawthorne (H) pinned Randol Ridley, 5:47;
119 – Logan Vandergriff (H) pinned Keith Fielder, :38;
125 – Curtis Fletcher (H) pinned Casey Jackson, :57;
130 – Phillip Yates (EL) pinned Sean Borders, 5:39;
135 – Drew Schefano (H) dec. Brandon Fosten, 6-0;
140 – Gary Cosey (H) pinned Tyler Cuffman, 2:57;
145 – Curtis Flanagan (H) major dec. Jaelynn Brown, 9-1;
152 – Cameron Edafe (EL) pinned Chris Phinizey, 2:35;
160 – Nick Alemany (H) major dec. Jason Hinkle, 11-3;
171 – Chris Cartwright (EL) won by forfeit.

AAA CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
CLEVELAND 48, COLLIERVILLE 12
189 – Chip Norwood (Cle) won by technical fall over Jacob Holden, 5:36;
215 – Jesse Jones (Cle) dec. Brandon Pitre, 8-3;
285 – Ben Kuntzman (Col) pinned Jordan Hines, 4:45;
103 – Austin Oliver (Cle) major dec Zach Summer, 11-3;
112 – Joel Simpkins (Cle) pinned Luke Nguyen, 2:55;
119 – Haden Hamilton (Cle) pinned Zac Robinson, 3:48;
125 – Brandon Strickland (Cle) dec. Bradley Kraelmer, 11-7;
130 – Marvin Lopez (Cle) pinned Hunter Barker, :56;
135 – Aaron Lopez (Cle) pinned Jake Richardson, 1:49;
140 – Chuck Norwood (Cle) dec. Kramer Bates, 9-6;
145 – J.C. Bobe (Cle) won by forfeit;
152 – Samuel Lilley (Col) won by forfeit;
160 – Double forfeit;
171 – Double forfeit.

BRADLEY 41, SCIENCE HILL 30
189 – Chris Hood (BC) pinned Justin Harris, 3:53;
215 – Tucker Bolton (BC) won by disqualification over Josh Lewis;
285 – Patrick Benson (BC) pinned Josh Barnett, 2:24;
103 – Jacob Climer (BC) pinned Max Vaughn, 3:12;
112 – Jericho Crutcher (BC) dec. Cole Schurlknight, 7-1
119 – Ethan Hames (BC) dec. Steven Goldstein, 13-7;
125 – Tyler Pitts (BC) dec. Javier Tapia, 4-0;
130 – Tyler Schuch (BC) major dec. Jonathan Pierce, 19-10;
135 – Blake Jackson (BC) major dec. Joseph McKinney, 10-2;
140 – William Snyder (SH) pinned Matt Cook, 2:58;
145 – Matt Stull (SH) won by forfeit;
152 – Matt Cruise (SH) pinned Tait Rakestraw, :51;
160 – Austin Fulbright (SH) won by forfeit;
171 – Matt Cannon (SH) pinned A.J. Shelton, 1:39.

A-AA CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
PIGEON FORGE 36, CENTRAL 32
215 – Antonio Brooks (C) dec. David Kieta, 6-0;
285 – Zach Calhoun (C) dec. Brett Stelzer, 7-4;
103 – Caleb Poole (PF) won by forfeit;
112 – Joseph Dodgen (PF) pinned Anthony Rice, :36;
119 – Spencer David (PF) dec. Cody Stacks, 5-2;
125 – Chad Archey (C) pinned Richard Ogle, 1:12;
130 – Nate Croley (PF) won by technical fall over Mike West, 15-0;
135 – Zac Fordham (C) pinned Trent Dryman, 2:25;
140 – Larry Dickerson (C) pinned Nathan Parton, 5:37;
145 – James Holland (PF) pinned Shaq Bell, 4:43;
152 – Chaz Anderson (C) dec. Tad Walde, 7-3;
160 – Andrew Vicars (C) won by technical fall over Jared Beck, 19-3;
171 – Richard Davis (PF) pinned Sam Sledge, 1:15;
189 – Hayden Whaley (PF) major dec. Nathan Elmore, 15-3.

(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)