FRANKLIN -- Soddy Daisy and Cleveland are breathing down each other's neck at the top of the team scores following the first day of action in the TSSAA traditional state wrestling tournament here at the Williamson County Agricultural Expo Center.
Cleveland, the defending champion, had a perfect opening round as all 12 Blue Raiders won, including nine with pins. Eight of those 12 won their second match and all four who lost are still alive after two rounds of consolations.
Soddy Daisy was just a little bit better. The Trojans weren't perfect in the first round, but theywere victorious in 11 of 13 first-round matches while eight of those 11 advanced to Friday morning's championship quarterfinals.
Soddy Daisy's Garrett Alexander won his first match at 152 before getting sent to the consolation round. Teammate Luke Reno lost at 195 in the opening round. Both are finished for the weekend after losing a second time Thursday night.
Bonus points were a key as Soddy Daisy accumulated 75.5 points to grab a one-point lead over Cleveland. Science Hill was in third with 50 while Bradley and Pigeon Forge were tied for fifth with 49.
Notre Dame was in 13th with 32 points while Central was 16th with 30.5.
"I just hope we can do as well tomorrow as we did today," explained Cleveland coach Eric Phillips after his team finished for the day.
"Two of the four we lost were to state champions and there was really only one match we lost I thought we should have won. I guess you can't win them all.
"We got a lot of bonus points with a bunch of pins and all four of my guys won their consolation matches, so all are still in the hunt. There are some big matches tomorrow, but they're all key from here on out," Phillips added.
Soddy Daisy coach Steve Henry felt like his team did a pretty good job of weathering a long first day.
"I'm sure the team scores are tight, but I thought we had a decent day," he explained after all was said and done.
"We'll see how it goes tomorrow. All in all, I'm happy as we did what we were suppposed to do for the most part. We got points from 12 of our 13 and that's what we were hoping for. We had six pins in the first round and everyone got bonus points in the second round," he added.
While Cleveland and Soddy Daisy both have eight alive in the championship bracket, Bradley won seven of its first 10 matches while five of the seven Bears were victorious in the second round.
Region 4 runner-up Central didn't have a very positive first day as the Pounders lost five of nine in the first round and then two of four in the Round of 16.
Notre Dame had a pretty good first day as six of seven Irish claimed wins in the first round before four more advanced to the quarters.
Cleveland's eight include Chris DeBien, Austin Stevison, Austin Oliver, Ezra Taylor, Hayden Hamilton, Brandon Strickland, Jesse Jones and Seth Snyder.
Soddy Daisy's eight include Jacob Stevens, Campbell Lewis, Gage Richmond, Turbo Smith, Blaike Henry, Brett Ervin, Billy Swanson and Alex Seeley.
There are always some key matches in the quarterfinal round, but none are any bigger than the one between Bradley's Benson and Soddy Daisy's Seeley.
Benson is the defending state champ at 285, but Seeley has won both matches against him so far this season.
Bradley's five double winners include Dakota Ream, Jericho Crutcher, Tyler Schuch, Jacob Bailey and Benson while Notre Dame's four include Packy Mullin, Jack Boone, Chase White and Grayson Mullin.
Central;s two include Zac Fordham and Larry Dickerson.
Tyner's brother duo of DeAngelo James and Antonio Walton also won twice each as did Sale Creek's Nathan Davis, Walker Valley's Caleb Langford, Ooltewah's Matt Sealor, Silverdale's Josh Mackey and Hixson teammates Justin Mathieson and Christian Varner.
While Bradley's Benson is seeking his second straight state title, Soddy Daisy teammates Stevens and Lewis are also looking for more gold. Stevens won at 112 last year while Lewis is a three-time winner, including last year at 130.
Go to www.tssaa.org for complete results and bracket updates.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)