The Walker Valley Mustangs were looking for a way to finish the first half of their wrestling season on a positive note and they were able to do that after winning the Charger Invitational at Chattanooga Christian Saturday afternoon.
The Mustangs had prevailed at the Ooltewah Invitational two weeks ago and they made it two in a row after claiming three individual titles and scoring 201 points.
Whitwell was second with 170 while host CCS was third with 154. Harpeth and Grace Christian of Knoxville were fourth and fifth with 150 and 129.5 points, respectively.
Walker Valley coach Alan Morris was disappointed when his team didn’t get to attend the Tullahoma Duals, so winning this weekend sort of made up for it.
“We did about what we thought we’d do, but we just wanted to finish the first half of our season on a positive note and we were able to do that,” he said during a phone interview early Saturday evening.
“Now we can take a little time off to heal and celebrate Christmas before getting ready for our next dual meet. We’re young and still have a lot of holes to fill, but we’re getting better. There are always areas where we can improve, but I’m definitely happy with the way we performed and the progress we’ve made,” he added.
Grace Christian had the most individual champs with four while Walker Valley had three and Chattanooga Christian two. Boyd-Buchanan, McMinn County, Harpeth, Fulton and Whitwell all had one apiece.
The four winners for the Rams included Ben Beaver at 113, Tanner Thornton at 132, Garrett Lay at 145 and Nic Bass at 170 while Walker Valley’s trio included Chandler Davis at 120, Joey Vecchione at 152 and heavyweight Brenden Hooker.
The two winners for the Chargers included Ethan Madaris at 106 and Adam Truelove at 182.
Other champions included McMinn’s Gage Boggess at 126, Harpeth’s Thomas Hatcher at 138, Fulton’s Elijah Davis at 160, Boyd-Buchanan’s Will Watkins at 195 and Whitwell’s William Carter at 220.
Harpeth’s Hatcher was voted the Outstanding Wrestler after beating East Ridge’s Kashawn Cosey by an 8-1 decision.
Truelove and Mt. Zion’s Cade Barrow shared the Best Match award after Truelove won a hard-fought overtime decision.
FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Walker Valley 201; 2. Whitwell 170; 3. Chattanooga Christian 154; 4. Harpeth 150; 5. Grace Christian 129.5; 6. McMinn Co. 92.5; 7. CAK 75; 8. East Ridge 71; 9. Mt. Zion 64; 10. Fulton 59; 11. Signal Mountain 49; 12. Sale Creek 46; 13. Shelbyville 45.5; 14. Martin Luther King 45; 15. Brainerd 43; 16. Boyd-Buchanan 40; 17. Knoxville Catholic 19; 18. Tyner 17.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
106 – Ethan Madaris (Chattanooga Christian) pinned Jackson Whitlow (Harpeth), 5:09;
113 – Ben Beaver (Grace Christian) dec. Chris Rice (Brainerd), 8-4;
120 – Chandler Davis (Walker Valley) dec. Dylan Becker (Harpeth), 7-1;
126 – Gage Boggess (McMinn Co) won by technical fall over Jaren Thames (Whitwell), 3:41;
132 – Tanner Thornton (Grace Christian) pinned Dylan Ricker (McMinn Co), 5:43;
138 – Thomas Hatcher (Harpeth) dec. Kashawn Cosey (East Ridge), 8-1;
145 – Garrett Lay (Grace Christian) pinned Zeth Haynie (Walker Valley), 1:22;
152 – Joey Vecchione (Walker Valley) pinned Jacob Roberts (Whitwell), 2:37;
160 – Elijah Davis (Fulton) pinned George Hutchinson (Chattanooga Christian), 3:04;
170 – Nic Bass (Grace Christian) pinned Allen Ashworth (Whitwell), 4:41;
182 – Adam Truelove (Chattanooga Christian) decd. Cade Barrow (Mt. Zion) in overtime;
195 – Will Watkins (Boyd-Buchanan) major dec. Case Jiles (Mt. Zion), 9-1;
220 – William Carter (Whitwell) pinned Jack Lentz (Chattanooga Christian), 2:45;
285 – Brenden Hooker (Walker Valley) pinned Matthew Chinicue (CAK), 2:49.
CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE
106 – Karson Huff (Walker Valley) pinned Parker Sapp (CAK), 4:53;
113 – Brice Barton (Whitwell) pinned Hunter Swanson (Tyner), 4:27;
120 – Kale Albritton (Signal Mountain) pinned Myron Bice (Sale Creek), :25;
126 – Junior Lucio (Harpeth) won by injury default over James Jur (Walker Valley);
132 – Rhett Birdsong (Shelbyville) won by technical fall over Amado Gomez (Whitwell), 3:53;
138 – Brendan Jarvis (CAK) pinned Nyzaya Vincent (McMinn Co), 2:29;
145 – Kaden White (Knox Catholic) won by forfeit over Matthew Pack (Harpeth);
152 – Gavin Cagle (CAK) dec. Lachlan Brandt (Chattanooga Christian), 6-2;
160 – Daniel Hodges (East Ridge) dec. Heath Tanksley (Walker Valley), 5-0;
170 – Tristan Mason (Walker Valley) dec. Lloyd Pinheiro (East Ridge), 13-6;
182 – Terrance Brown (Fulton) dec. Alexis Serna (MLK), 10-7;
195 – Dieudone Hareriman (Chattanooga Christian) dec. Chase Poole (Sale Creek), 9-6;
220 – Stephen Hurley (Walker Valley) dec. Kaleb Penny (Sale Creek), 3-0;
285 – Devin Spence (Harpeth) won by forfeit over Jamichael Wilson (Brainerd).
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)