FRANKLIN -- For the third time in four years, Christian Brothers and Father Ryan will meet for the D-II state duals wrestling title here tonight at 8 p.m. (EST) at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center.
Defending state champion Christian Brothers defeated Baylor, 39-24, in one semifinal, while Father Ryan stopped McCallie, 33-17, in the other semis match.
Ryan defeated Christian Brothers for the duals title in 2010 and the Purple Wave from Memphis returned the favor last year in winning the school’s first wrestling team championship.
“It’s the battle of the Catholics and reminds me of the battles we had with Notre Dame,” said Father Ryan coach Pat Simpson who wrestled for Ryan in a few of the Father Ryan-Notre Dame “Holy War” matches in the early 1970s.
Christian Brothers 39, Baylor 24
Senior and two-time defending state champion Kaleb Baker put Christian Brothers on the board quickly with a first period fall at 152 for a 6-0 lead.
One which the victors would never relinquish.
Baylor won two of the next three matches – Bryson Popp (160) and Houston Clements (182) – to pull with four points at 10-6, but would get no closer.
The Purple Wave then won four of the next five, including two pins, for a 16-point advantage at 28-12 with five matches remaining.
Baylor won three of those five, but CBHS had a tech fall and a pin to counter the Red Raider effort.
“We have been focused all year and had a great week of practice leading up to the duals,” said Christian Brothers coach Chris Lewis.
“The coaches did their homework, the wrestlers did their homework and we did what we were suppose to do.”
This was the third straight year in which Baylor and the Purple Wave have met in either the semis or the finals. The Red Raiders edged CBHS in the 2011 finals, while the Purple Wave has won the last two meetings, both in the semis.
A veteran team, Christian Brothers has nine starting seniors, including four with 100+ career wins.
“They are real strong and we wrestled flat” said Baylor coach Ben Nelson. “We will re-group and be ready to go on Saturday.
“We weighed-in three seniors so we are a young team, but we will be okay next year.”
Next Year: Coach Lewis stated that, “Father Ryan and Baylor will be scary next year.”
Father Ryan 33, McCallie 17
Ryan won nine of 14 matches to defeat McCallie, 33-17, for the third time this season.
“I thought the 160 and 285 weight classes were toss-up matches and we were able to win both of those, and had more bonus points,” said Ryan coach Pat Simpson.
The Purple Irish won all three, one-point matches (106, 160, 285) and recorded three pins.
Falls were recorded by Mark Marchetti (152), John Hagey (170) and Patrick Cosgrove (145).
Meeting of State Champs: at 132, McCallie’s Adam Connell defeated Mike Akers, 7-1 … Akers won his title at 103 in 2010, while Connell claimed the 120-pound title a year ago.
Christian Brothers 39, Baylor 24
152: Kaleb Baker (CBHS) pinned Aidon Garron, 1:02 … CBHS, 6-0 +6
160: Bryson Popp (Bay) dec. Brandon Hataway, 7-5 … CBHS 6-3 +3
170: Barrett Walthall (CBHS) major dec Ryan Parker, 14-6 … CBHS 10-3 +7
182: Houston Clements (Bay) dec. Michael Edwards , 4-3 … CBHS 10-6 +4
195: Corbin McOlgan (CBHS) dec. Emory Norred, 6-4 …. CBHS 13-6 +7
220: Jeremy Brandon (CBHS) dec. Jon Schmissrauter, 2-1 … CBHS 16-6 +10
285: Drayke Armstrong (CBHS) pinned Will Thomas, 1:32 … CBHS 22-6 +16
106: Michael Murphy (Bay) forfeit win … CBHS 22-12 +10
113: Elijah Oliver (CBHS) pinned Caleb Canada, 3:11 … CBHS 28-12 +16
120: Caleb Powell (Bay) won by injury default John David Santi, … CBHS 28-18 +10
126 Nick Gray (CBHS) tech fall Nick Standefer, 17-2 … CBHS 33-18 +15
132: Brandon Brunner (Bay) dec. Paul Posey, 4-2 … CBHS 33-21 +12
138: Cole Holloway (Bay) dec. Bailey Wittman, 7-4 … CBHS 33-24 +9
145: Luke Parish (CBHS) pinned Blake Sutherland, 1:59 … CBHS 39-24 +15
Father Ryan 33, McCallie 17
152 - Mark Marchetti (Ryan) p. Will Patton, 2:34 … Ryan, 6-0
160 - Nick Naughton (Ryan) d. Calum McKroskey, 5-4 … Ryan 9-0
170 -John Hagey (Ryan) p. Ariel Bong (Mc), 3:03 … Ryan, 15-0
182 - Nathan Hoodenpyle (Mc) d. Michael Hooker, 4-0 … Ryan, 15-3
195 - Ben Stacey (Ryan) d. Jay Roberts, 3-1 … Ryan, 18-3
220 - Casey Cook (Mc) d. Brandon Christy, 3-1 … Ryan, 18-6
285 – Edward Holmes (Ryan) d. Brian Phillips, 3-2 … Ryan, 21-6
106 - Trey Chalifoux (Ryan) d. Addison Cornell, 3-2 … Ryan, 24-6
113 - James Westbrooks (Mc) d. Kirby Simpson, 4-2 … Ryan, 24-9
120 - Alex Elsea (Mc) d. Mike Eckhart, 5-3 … Ryan, 24-12
126 - Hal Fisher (Ryan) d. Mathis Boyd, 7-2 … Ryan, 27-12
132 - Adam Connell (Mc) d. Mike Akers, 7-1 … Ryan, 27-15
138 - Griffin Davis (Mc) d. James Simpson, 8-1 … Ryan, 27-18
145 - Patrick Cosgrove (Ryan) p. Matthew Jones, 2:48 ... Ryan, 33-18
McCallie was penalized one team point … Final: Father Ryan 33, McCallie 17
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net