CLEVELAND -- Bradley Central High School’s team puffed its chest and returned to form on its home wrestling mats. Five wrestlers, including two first-timers, for the Bears took home first-place medals in a 24-team invitational at Jim Smiddy Arena.
Pushing a tough loss in the Cleveland Duals title match aside from the weekend before, Bradley Central also took home the team championship by scoring 281 1/2 team points, which was 76 1/2 more points than second-place Commerce High School (Georgia).
Taking the top spot at the podium for the Bears individually were T.J. Hicks, Trey Hicks, Ethan Anderson, Ryan McElhaney and Knox Fuller.
“This is a tough invitational,” BCHS head coach Ben Smith said.
“We have kids some years win state titles and place high in the state tournament and they don’t do well here, because we have multiple state champions here from some of the best teams from two surrounding states. Across the board, I am pleased with how this team responded coming off a tough weekend. They dusted their shoulders off, pulled their pants up and went to work. They didn’t back down from any competition.”
With six state championships between UTC commit T.J. Hicks, McElhaney and Army commit Fuller, three of Bradley Central’s stars once again proved dominant while also sharing the spotlight with a pair of teammates who had been waiting for their moment.
After watching his brother at the 113-pound class land a pin at 2:58 for his third career Bradley Invitational title, Trey Hicks showcased a fearless and bulldog-like mentality in the 120-pound title match.
Not letting his opponent gain any ground after taking a 4-1 lead in the first period, a powerful Hicks worked his way to a 13-1 major decision with several big takedowns along the way.
“I really got dialed in earlier in the week,” Trey Hicks said, who is 14-0 in matches this season. “I just felt better than I ever have all season this weekend.
"This was my first time ever wrestling in the Bradley Invitational, so I figured it’s my first and last so I have to work really hard and battle with all I’ve got.”
The Hicks dynamic duo looks to be a tough one-two punch to stop for opponents this season, especially after they combined for five pins and two major decisions in seven matches over the weekend. Neither has been defeated this season.
“We have had several great brother duos to come through our program,” Smith said. “The Wests, Blackmans and Spains are some others. It’s nice to have that lineage and tradition in our program.
When you have T.J. and Trey starting us out with pins, it really put us on a roll and felt like a dual meet almost. They also have triplet sister, Amanda, who is our manager, too. It is just a really cool story for our team.”
After letting the adrenaline build up on the sideline watching the “Bam-Bam brothers” go to work, another senior wrestler put forth a memorable match despite dealing with a great deal of adversity.
A busted nose and 4:58 of blood time, which was just seconds away from automatic defeat, could not hold back Anderson.
Despite struggling to get to his feet in the first two rounds and having his wound re-open, which was perhaps a broken nose according to Smith, Anderson flipped his opponent and rolled him backwards soon after for a pin at 4:51.
“While I was wrestling I just looked in the crowd and saw all my fans out there, and I wanted to find any way to win,” said Anderson, who is 14-1 on the season. “This is my first year on varsity and last year in this gym, so I wanted to end it with a bang. As far as my nose, Coach Smith prepares us for these situations and Bradley wrestling is all about mental toughness.”
Anderson’s pin in the third period was his only one in four match victories over the tournament, which included a 2-0 decision in the semifinals.
While many expect the Bears to put forth dominant wrestlers at any given weight class every year, the wins for Trey Hicks and Anderson were invitational title’s long in the making despite their lack of varsity experience.
“Ethan and Trey have persevered and put a lot of hard work in to this program, even though at times they haven’t received the spotlight they deserve because they could have easily gone to other schools and started on varsity and maybe even won state medals,” Smith said.
“They have done their time here, and that is a testament to the culture and tradition here. They had their chance to take advantage of a great opportunity and they did. This is a memory they will have for the rest of their lives.”
Even for a three-time state champion in Fuller, who won his first two matches in the 145-class by pins and finished with a pair of dominant 13-4 and 16-2 major decisions, the tournament in his own eyes was not highlighted by his own play.
“This is always one of my favorite tournaments besides state,” said Fuller, who has yet to be defeated this season in 15 matches.
“We make it a big thing to win this tournament every year. The highlight for our team this weekend was Ethan and Trey winning their first invitational titles in their first time competing in it. This is a special moment for them, and it should definitely boost their confidence for the rest of the season to come.”
Also taking home a title was McElhaney (132), who had two pins and two major decisions in his four invitational victories. Austin Matthews (152) and Caleb Adkins took second-place on the podium, as the Bears had seven wrestlers advance to the finals.
Andy Robinson (138) and Henley Headrick (106) impressed their head coach by avenging losses in the championship side of the bracket to later beat the same wrestlers they lost to in order to take third place finishes in the invitational.
Wesley Devaney (106) also took third place while Kevin Gentry (195) took fifth, and D.J. Gibson (220) took sixth place.
“We have a lot of momentum going into the Christmas break,” Smith said. “We are about to hit a strong push hopefully towards another state championship run. I also hope this is a tournament where Ethan and Trey can say if I can win an invitational, I can win a state title.”
TEAM SCORES
1. Bradley Central 281.5 2. Commerce 205 3. Gilmer 181.5 4. Mountain View 172.5
BRADLEY CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULTS
113 — T.J. Hicks (BC) pinned Viley Bussey, 2:58; 120 — Trey Hicks (BC) major dec. over Vinnie Ferrara, 13-1; 126 — Ethan Anderson (BC) pinned Tucker Flint, 4:51; 132 — Ryan McElhaney (BC) dec. Tolliver Justice, 7-0; 145 — Knox Fuller (BC) major dec. over Jake Brewer, 16-2; 152 — Landon Thompson pinned Austin Matthews (BC), 1:53; 160 — Owen Brown dec. over Caleb Adkins (BC), 10-4