Traditional State Wrestling Starts Thursday In Franklin

Bradley, Cleveland, Baylor, McCallie, Hixson & Notre Dame All Hopeful

  • Wednesday, February 15, 2017
  • John Hunt

That marathon known as high school wrestling season is down to the final stretch. We’re in that final mile where only the fittest and most determined will prevail.

Those long practices are in the past and those drills that challenge each individual are also in the rear-view mirror.  All the hard work and dedication to one of the toughest sports on earth will be rewarded this weekend at the Williamson County Exposition Center in Franklin.

It’s the annual TSSAA traditional state wrestling tournament and it begins Thursday afternoon with the first two championship rounds in the AAA tournament.

The A-AA and Division II competitors will hit the mat for a long day on Friday when all of the championship semifinals will be contested and several rounds of consolation matches.

Saturday’s action has the consolation semifinals followed by the championship rounds for third and fifth place in the opening session while the ever-exciting championship finals for all classifications will be contested Saturday evening.

DIVISION II: This may be the closest of the three as five teams have legitimate shots at taking the first-place trophy Saturday night.

Defending champ Father Ryan qualified all 14 individuals as did last year’s runner-up Baylor.  Christian Brothers also has 14 while McCallie and Montgomery Bell Academy will be bringing 13 each.

This will be an eight-man bracket and could come down to the last match before a champion is crowned.

There are five returning champions in D-II with Father Ryan and Baylor having two each and McCallie one.

Father Ryan’s two include Christian Simpson at 113 and Raymond Eason at 126 while Baylor’s two include Mason Reiniche at 152 and Khamari Whimper at 182.  McCallie’s Judah Duhm was the winner at 160 last year.

McCallie finished second to Father Ryan at the State Duals two weeks ago and they outlasted Baylor to win their region meet last Saturday.

Coach Mike Newman knows it will be a battle from the first match until the last.

“This tournament will be closer than the region and it should be interesting,” he said on Wednesday afternoon.

“Each point will be vital.  We’re fresh and ready to go.  We’re leaving on Thursday and we don’t do much that day other than check our weight and get ready for Friday.

“We all have about the same chance of winning, but it’s all about who gets the most bonus points.  We also need to win all the toss-up matches, but it could come down to the championship round Saturday night,” Newman added.

Baylor coach Ben Nelson offered similar feelings.  The Red Raiders finished nine points behind Father Ryan last year and those same Purple Irish beat Baylor in the semis of the state duals, so Baylor’s guys may have something to prove this weekend.

“We’re looking forward to it and I feel like we have the potential to do well.  At least, we’re hoping to be in the hunt late Saturday,” he expressed.

“We don’t necessarily need to win all the matches, but we need to take those we’re supposed to win.  Those brackets are fun to look at, but it all changes with the first match.  Any one of five teams has the ability to win, but winning is a product of good preparation and we feel like we’ve done what needs to be done in that regard.

“If our guys do what they’re capable of doing, we certainly have a legitimate shot.  But as long as each young man does his very best, we’ll let the chips fall where they may and take whatever happens,” Nelson added.

CLASS AAA: This one is always interesting as it’s normally a two-team battle between Bradley Central and Cleveland.  This year's tournament appears to be more of the same.

The Bears won last year to end a three-year run by Cleveland.  Bradley totaled 244.5 points to more than double runner-up Tennessee High with 121.  Beech and Cleveland tied for third with 117.

It should come down to another battle by these two perennial powers after Bradley defeated Cleveland in the state duals two weeks ago and won the Region 4-AAA title by 5.5 points.

Cleveland is the only team that qualified all 14 individuals, but the Blue Raiders will only have 13 in action after 106-pound Burns Meagher suffered a broken leg in last week’s consolation finals and is awaiting surgery.

Bradley also qualified 13 while Tennessee High, Heritage and Knoxville Halls will all be bringing 12.  Wilson Central and Science Hill have 11 entered with Soddy Daisy next with 10.

Both Bradley and Cleveland hit the road Wednesday morning with Bradley having a nice afternoon workout with Father Ryan.

“It’s been a long season, but we’re here and ready to go,” said Bradley coach Ben Smith after they had completed the trip Wednesday afternoon.

“Now we’re just waiting for the whistle to blow, but it will be a concentrated effort for the next three days.  Since we’re the defending champs, I guess we’re the team to beat, but we’re in a good place right now as we’re healthy for the most part.

“We’ve worked all year for this weekend and it’s fun when you see your guys get the payoff for all the hard work.  You can’t put a price tag on that as a coach when your guys experience winning a state championship.

“We need to win a bunch of matches and get as many bonus points as possible.  We have to let our horses do their job and hope the others step it up and get big points on the back side in consolations, but it should be another fun weekend,” Smith said.

Cleveland coach Josh Bosken isn’t conceding anything to his cross-town rival.

“We’re excited, but our 106-pounder won’t be competing after breaking both bones in his leg last weekend.  We still have 13 and if we can get all of them to place, we’ll be in contention,” the first-year coach said before his team boarded the bus and left school Wednesday morning.

“That’s a far-fetched goal, but not out of reach.  We can’t afford to look past anyone as we have to be ready for every match.  A good draw can turn into a bad one if we’re not ready.  I’m sure that we’ll be getting everyone’s “A” game, so we need to be focused,” he explained.

The Bears have three returning champions while Soddy Daisy has one.

Knox Fuller is a three-time champ and is currently 54-0 after being named the Outstanding Wrestler at the Region 4-AAA gathering last Saturday.

T.J. Hicks is a two-time champ while Ryan McElhaney was the winner at 120 last year.  Soddy Daisy’s Landon Wheaton was the winner at 106 a year ago.

CLASS A-AA: Pigeon Forge is the defending champ in this division and appear to be the team to beat with 10 individuals qualified.  Region 2-A/AA champ Hixson was fifth a year ago and the Wildcats have the most qualifiers with 11.

Greeneville is next with eight while Notre Dame will be taking seven.

Central’s Alonso Heyward should be a favorite at 160 after winning at 152 last year.

“We’ve had a good week so far, but we just want to stay healthy and injury free,” said Hixson coach Garrick Hall.

“We just need to stay focused on one match at a time and one round at a time as we can’t afford to overlook anyone.  We got some decent draws for the most part, but if a kid is entered this weekend, he’s pretty good.

“Numbers don’t always mean much as it all depends on who shows up ready to wrestle.  I remember we won the traditional tournament in 2014 without a single champion, but I’m just hoping that we can continue wrestling like we did last weekend.

“The hay’s in the barn and anything is possible if we do what we’re capable of doing,” Hall concluded.

Notre Dame will have a brief workout Thursday morning before heading to Franklin.  The Irish only have seven individuals, but coach Rocco Mansueto feels good about the season-ending tournament.

“We’ve had a good week of training so far and we’re just fine-tuning, but I feel good as we’re happy and healthy,” the veteran coach suggested.

“The key will be each individual maximizing his own potential.  If we do that, we have a shot to compete for a state title.  We need to wrestle hard every second of every match in every round.  As long as the effort is there, that’s all we can control.

“We’ll leave about noon on Thursday after a short workout and then get in the mindset of tough competition.  I wish there was a bigger gap between us and other teams, but there’s not.  It will take quite a performance with only seven entries, but we’ll see what happens,” he concluded.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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