The weariness of competition and pushing through pain is evident on the faces of wrestlers Devin Gibson, top. of Bradley Central and Ethan Fedesco of Clinton as they battle in a 220-pound consolation bout at the Class AAA state wrestling championships Thursday at the Williamson County Ag Exposition Park in Franklin, Tenn. Gibson earned a 4-0 decision for the Bears as Bradley led all teams with 83.5 points as the first day of competition ended.
photo by Dennis Norwood
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – There were a few surprises on the first day of the TSSAA Traditional State Wrestling Tournament, but things went according to plan for the most part.
The Bradley Bears are the team leaders after two championship and two consolation rounds with 83.5 points.
Arlington, Heritage, Tennessee High and Gibbs are all battling for second place as they have 54, 52, 51 and 50 points following Thursday’s action here at the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Park.
Perhaps the most shocking and heartbreaking news on this first day involves Soddy Daisy senior Tucker Russo, an unbeaten young man who has yet to yield an offensive point and who was working toward a possible third-straight state title.
Russo won his first match in a lickety-split time of 45 seconds and appeared well on his way to victory in the second round against Smyrna’s Tyrone Johnson, leading 5-0 in the second period.
Russo was called for an illegal slam to stop the match. Both the trainer and Johnson himself said that he was okay and ready to continue minutes later, but the Smyrna coach wouldn’t let him continue and took the match by disqualification.
Russo came back later and won by a technical fall in his first consolation match, but the talk of the evening was about the way all of that unfolded and the unethical decision of the Smyrna coach.
“I just want to throw up,” said Soddy Daisy’s Steve Henry, who was filling in for Trojan head coach Jim Higgins.
“We go from the possibility of being the Outstanding Wrestler to battling for third. I had a long talk with him when it ended and he’s deflated and devastated, but we just have to fight through adversity and see what we’re made of.
“Tucker is like one of my own children and is the same age as my daughters. I’ll never forget how bad I felt when he lost in the semifinals as a freshman. That’s how I feel right now. I tried to fight for him, but there was nothing I could do as we’re tied by the rules. It just isn’t a just world,” Henry added.
Brad Laxton is a Trojan assistant and was much more outspoken than Henry.
“That Smyrna coach is nothing more than a coward. His kid was getting totally dominated at the time. The trainer said he was okay and the kid said he was ready to continue, but that wasn’t the choice the coach made,” Laxton added, still fuming over the unfortunate turn of events.
But on a day when Bradley once again looked like the great Bear teams from the past, it was a near-perfect beginning for coach Ben Smith and his guys.
The Bears won 11 of 13 matches in the Round of 32, including eight by pin and one by forfeit. Then in the Round of 16, Bradley prevailed in nine of the 11 matches with bonus points in eight of the nine wins.
Henley Headrick, Ed Elkins and D.J.
Gibson all came back to win in the consolation rounds, so the Bears still have a dozen youngsters alive in the medal rounds, including nine in Friday morning’s quarterfinal round.
Smith isn’t superstitious, but he his realistic and he’s not about to put his neck on the line as far as Friday’s possibilities.
“I’m just hanging out as we’ve had a pretty good day,” Smith said after Gibson had won his second consolation match after losing a 7-2 decision in his first match.
“We had a lot of positives today and it always helps when you get a lot of bonus points. All of my guys are alive except Bryson Bishop and I hate it for him. He’s a senior and a real success story, but I hate to see his career end like this.
“We didn’t have any upsets as I thought we wrestled pretty well today. I don’t know if we can win all nine in the quarters, but we have a chance to put a bunch in the semifinals and that’s a lot of points.
“We can’t get too comfortable right now as we’ve had a bad round in the quarters before. But I would like to see us put a little distance between us and the others at some point tomorrow,” the emotional Smith added.
And what about the situation with Russo?
“If there’s a kid in this tournament who can handle a tough situation like that, it’s Tucker Russo. There aren’t many who could or would, but he can and will. I have no doubt that he’ll come storming back and do well the rest of the way,” he nodded.
While Bradley is alone at the top, Soddy Daisy and three-time defending champ Cleveland are tied for seventh with 47.5 points apiece.
Cleveland won five of eight matches in the first round and claimed four wins out of five in the Round of 16. Coach Jake Yost didn’t seem to bothered one way or the other.
“We still have four guys who are fighting for a championship while we have others who are fighting to stay alive in the tournament. We lost a close one at 120, but we’ll be alright. We just need to hang in there and keep battling,” he offered while the consolation matches continued.
Bradley’s nine in the quarters include T.J. Hicks at 113, Ryan McElhaney at 120, Joshua LaCoe at 126, Hunter Parker at 132, Knox Fuller at 138, Austin Matthews at 145, Donnie Beyer at 152, Brett Brown at 195 and D.J. Adams at 285.
Henley Headrick, Ed Elkins and Gibson are still alive in the consolation rounds.
Soddy Daisy’s three in the championship round include Landon Wheaton at 106, Emory Holcomb at 138 and Ty Boeck at 182 while Cleveland’s four include Bryce Pond at 106, Triston Blansit at 126, Colton Landers at 132 and Jack Hicks at 170.
Walker Valley is currently 18th place with 32 points while East Hamilton is 27th with 23 and Ooltewah 29th with 21.
Walker Valley’s two in the quarters include Joseph Munoz at 132 and Mikel Gregory at 152 while Ooltewah has Tyler Reid at 195 and Victor Bednarski at 220.
Rhea County’s Jay Graham won both of his matches and is still a contender at 152 pounds.
East Hamilton had nine entries but didn’t win a match in the opening round.
Friday’s action will begin at 10 a.m. (CST) with AAA quarters and the first two rounds in the A-AA class. The Division II quarters will start at the same time. The always-exciting championship semis for all classifications will begin at 6 p.m.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Cleveland's Bryce Pond (bottom) attempts to roll his opponent, Jared Hinshaw of Smyrna, over the top for a possible pin. Pond did not get the win by fall but did manage a 7-3 decision for the Blue Raiders, who ended the first day tied for seventh with Soddy Daisy.
photo by Dennis Norwood