Hixson Rolls To Region 2-A/AA Mat Championship

Notre Dame Finishes A Distant Second Behind Wildats

  • Saturday, February 11, 2017
  • John Hunt

Hixson’s Garrick Hall has been coaching high school wrestling for a long time and he’s had more than his share of success, but his world hit rock-bottom last weekend when his Wildcats failed to win a match at the State Duals.

No doubt Hall and his assistant coaches had more than one heart-to-heart talk with the Hixson kids this week and it must have worked because they came out and looked like a totally different team at Signal Mountain this weekend for the Region 2-A/AA tournament.

The Wildcats sent 10 wrestlers to Saturday morning’s championship semis and seven of those 10 advanced to the finals.  Five went home with region titles to their credit as Hixson pulled away on the final day to win for the third time in four years with 191 points.

Notre Dame was a distant second with 144 points while defending region champ Red Bank was third with 107.  Signal Mountain and Chattanooga Christian rounded out the top five teams with 93.5 and 85 points, respectively.

“We had a great first round today as we wrestled really tough,” Hall said after his team had clinched the first-place award and advanced 11 young men to Franklin next weekend for the traditional state tournament.

“We had a really good weekend and that was more like it after what we did last weekend.  We came really close to advancing all 13 we had, but we got 11.  I’m really happy for those 11 and I’m just heartbroken for those two who didn’t make it.

“I’m not sure if I’ve ever had five champions before, but we wrestled lights out today and I’m thrilled with the results,” Hall added.

Jonas Shackleford won the 132-pound title with a 13-3 major decision and was voted Outstanding Wrestler for the lower weights.  Central’s Alonzo Heyward, who won by technical fall over Notre Dame’s Daniel Hodges in the 160-pound final, was awarded the Outstanding Wrestler award for the upper weights.

Hixson’s other champions included Tucker Gill at 113, Jacob Newman at 120, Cederick Harris at 138 and Truman Ross at 220.

Best Match honors went to Hixson's Harris after he shocked top-seeded Ned Warwick by an 8-6 final in the championship match at 138 pounds.

Notre Dame placed six in the finals and left with four winners, including Cade Holloway at 106, Grant Speer at 126, Doogan Boyd at 195 and Kobe Bragg at 285.

Central had two champs while Boyd-Buchanan, Chattanooga Christian and East Ridge all had one each.

Central’s two winners were Isaac Coffman at 145 and Heyward at 160 while Boyd-Buchanan’s Zane Williams handed Chattanooga Christian’s Justin Wheeler his first loss in a tight 1-0 decision.  Alex Hundley of CCS was the winner at 170 while East Ridge’s Darian Smith was victorious at 182.

Other qualifiers for Hixson include Jordan Lewis at 126, Guilano Palacio at 285, Greg Marquez at 106, Bruce Wilson at 145, Brian Wagoner at 152 and Jerrold Higginbotham at 160.

Notre Dame will be sending seven with Ned Warwick (138), Daniel Hodges (160) and David Hodges (145) joining the four Irish winners.

Red Bank will be taking six, including Caden Cline at 120, Gage Evans at 126, Zach Gee at 132, Jonah Bird at 145, Jackson Hash at 182 and Devon Suddeth at 220.

Signal Mountain will take seven to Franklin, including Daniel Uhorchuk at 106, Isaac Tate at 113, Preston Worley at 132, Daniel Dawson at 152, Will Davis at 160, Jake Woodlief at 170 and Steven Goff at 285 while Chattanooga Christian will be represented by Nathan Connor at 132, Lachlan Brandt at 138 and Griff Wheeler at 220 in addition to Justin Wheeler and Hundley.

LEGEND AND FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Hixson (Hix) 191; 2. Notre Dame (ND) 144; 3. Red Bank (RB) 107; 4. Signal Mountain (SM) 93.5; 5. Chattanooga Christian (CCS) 85; 6. Boyd-Buchanan (BB) 84; 7. Central (Cen) and Whitwell (W) tied with 81; 9. East Ridge (ER) 48; 10. Sequatchie County (Seq) 25; 11. Sale Creek (SC) 10; 12. Tyner (Ty) 9; 13. Brainerd (Bra) and Howard (How) both failed to score.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106 – Cade Holloway (ND) dec. Daniel Uhorchuk (SM), 3-2;

113 – Tucker Gill (Hix) won by forfeit over Scott Weaver (BB);

120 – Jacob Newman (Hix) dec. Jaren Thames (W), 8-5;

126 – Grant Speer (ND) major dec. Jordan Lewis (Hix), 12-4;

132 – Jonas Shackleford (Hix) major dec. Zach Gee (RB), 13-3;

138 – Cederick Harris (Hix) dec. Ned Warwick (ND), 8-6;

145 – Isaac Coffman (Cen) dec. Jonah Bird (RB), 8-2;

152 – Zane Williams (BB) dec. Justin Wheeler (CCS), 1-0;

160 – Alonzo Heyward (Cen) won by technical fall over Daniel Hodges (ND), 4:14;

170 – Alex Hundley (CCS) pinned Allen Ashworth (W), 1:28;

182 – Darian Smith (ER) dec. Kell Stott (BB), 5-4;

195 – Doogan Boyd (ND) dec. Will Watkins (BB), 4-2 in overtime;

220 – Truman Ross (Hix) dec. Devon Suddeth (RB), 4-1;

285 – Kobe Bragg (ND) dec. Guilano Palacio (Hix), 3-1 in overtime.

CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE

106 – Haiden Dill (Cen) won by technical fall over Greg Marquez (Hix), 4:01;

113 – Isaac Tate (SM) dec. Aaron Smith (Cen), 8-3;

120  – Caden Cline (RB) pinned Logan Silvers (Seq), :38;

126 – Gage Evans (RB) won by injury default over Jimmy Herrera (Cen);

132 – Nathan Connor (CCS) dec. Preston Worley (SM), 10-8;\

138 – Lachlan Brandt (CCS) dec. Steven Davoren (ER), 5-1;

145 – David Hodges (ND) pinned Bruce Wilson (Hix), 4:14;

152 – Daniel Dawson (SM) major dec. Brian Wagoner (Hix), 9-0;

160 – Will Davis (SM) dec. Jerrold Higginbotham (Hix), 10-8;

170 – Jake Woodlief (SM) pinned Lloyd Pinheiro (ER), 4:07;

182 – Jackson Hash (RB) pinned Daniel Mikel (W), 3:21;

195 – William Carter (W) won by injury default over Pedro Bautista (ER);

220 – T.D. Argo (W) dec. Griff Wheeler (CCS), 3-2;

285 – Steven Goff (SM) pinned Charles Jones (Cen), 2:29.

(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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