Father Ryan Wins Fourth Straight D-II Mat Title

McCallie Finishes Second While Baylor Claims Fourth

  • Saturday, February 18, 2017
  • John Hunt
McCallie's River Henry, the Division II heavyweight champ, is congratulated by the Blue Tornadoes' head coach Mike Newman and assistant Gordon Connell.  Get all the wrestling news here in Sports.
McCallie's River Henry, the Division II heavyweight champ, is congratulated by the Blue Tornadoes' head coach Mike Newman and assistant Gordon Connell. Get all the wrestling news here in Sports.
photo by Dennis Norwood

FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Father Ryan wrestling team can now honestly boast “four-peat” when anyone asked about the most recent Division II state wrestling tournament.

The Purple Irish won the state duals two weeks ago and they added another traditional title here at the Williamson County Agricultural Exposition Center Saturday night. Saturday’s victory is the 21st overall for coach Pat Simpson in his 38 years as their leader– counting both duals and traditional titles – and 25 overall.

“We had a great consolation round this morning and that was a key.  Last year we had a big lead and Baylor caught us in the consolations, but our lead was still about 30 points going into the finals that we started the day with,” Simpson said, adding that winning state titles never gets old.

“The luck of the Irish came through as everything went just about right for us today.  Those five who won are all seniors and they came through, but this is the first time in a long time we won’t have any returning champions,” the personable coach added.

McCallie had six in the finals and won five, so coach Mike Newman couldn’t have been happier.

“We had a good night and won five of six, so I really can’t complain,” Newman began his post-tournament comments.

“We made some gains this weekend as we won some matches we had lost in the region last week.  I’m really happy for Ethan Dendy, who came back and beat a quality opponent in Baylor’s Mason Reiniche.  That was a big win for him, but I’m glad to see him finish his McCallie career on a high note.

“Father Ryan had a phenomenal tournament and all credit goes to them as they got the job done.  We did about as well as we could expect, so I’m happy with that,” Newman added.

Father Ryan was first with 239.5 points while McCallie was the runner-up with 212.5.  Christian Brothers was third with 179 while Baylor was fourth with 173 and MBA fifth with 152.5.

Father Ryan actually had the team title in its grasp following Friday’s action, but the Purple Irish put a little icing on the cake with winning five of eight matches in the championship finals.

McCallie also had five champions while Baylor had two.  MBA and Christian Brothers had one apiece.

Three of Ryan’s winners have been here and done this before as Eli King won at 145 for his fourth title while Christian Simpson and Raymond Eason both won their third titles with wins at 113 and 126, respectively.  Andrew Wesnofske (195) and George Hooker (220) were the other winners.

McCallie’s five champs included Alex Whitworth at 106, Brock Herring at 132, Ethan Dendy at 152, Judah Duhm at 182 and River Henry at 285.

Baylor’s two champs included Connor Duffy at 160 and Outstanding Wrestler Khamari Whimper at 170 while Gabriel Elkin won at 120 for MBA and Trevor Brown was the winner for Christian Brothers at 138.

McCallie’s Duhm had one of two pins in the finals as he won his second-straight title with a 1:18 fall. Teammate Whitworth had the other in 3:03.

While Father Ryan had five champs, Paul Killian (106), Joseph Vogelpohl (138) and Anthony Hagey (170) all finished second.  Phillip Rogers was third at 132 while fourth-place finishes were claimed by Griffin Hubacker at 120, Nikita Kouzovik at 152, Patrick Clements at 160 and John Hayes at 285.

McCallie’s Zach Ward was second at 120 while Thomas Sell and Russell Barry both finished third, George Robinson was fourth and Evan Hughes and Hayden Rowland both claimed fifth.

Baylor had 11 medalists total with Mason Reiniche (152) and Riley Westlake (182) both taking second.  Clayton Pettway and Hayden Hartline were both third while Austin Atchley claimed fourth.  Porter Kaufman and Alex Atchley were both fifth with Sam Reynolds taking sixth.

DIVISION II FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1. Father Ryan 239.5; 2. McCallie 212.5; 3. Christian Brothers 179; 4. Baylor 173; 5. Montgomery Bell Academy 152.5; 6. Brentwood Academy 71; 7. Battleground Academy 35.5; 8. Briarcrest 35; 9. Memphis University School 27; 10. Ensworth 19.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

106 – Alex Whitworth (McCallie) pinned Paul Killian (Father Ryan), 3:03;

113 – Christian Simpson (Father Ryan) major dec. Jackson Herring (Christian Brothers), 13-3;

120 – Gabriel Elkin (MBA) dec. Zach Ward (McCallie), 5-0;

126 – Raymond Eason (Father Ryan) dec. Michael Elkin (MBA), 6-5;

132 – Brock Herring (McCallie) major dec. John Michael Glover (MBA), 8-0;

138 – Trevor Brown (Christian Brothers) won by technical fall over Joseph Vogelpohl (Father Ryan), 3:27;

145 – Eli King (Father Ryan) dec. Bryce Wittman (MBA), 6-0;

152 – Ethan Dendy (McCallie) dec. Mason Reiniche (Baylor), 9-7;

160 – Connor Duffy (Baylor) dec. Eric Hodge (Christian Brothers), 2-1;

170 – Khamari Whimper (Baylor) won by technical fall over Anthony Hagey (Father Ryan), 5:03;

182 – Judah Duhm (McCallie) pinned Riley Westlake (Baylor), 1:18;

195 – Andrew Wesnofske (Father Ryan) dec. Tommy Brackett (Christian Brothers), 2-1 in overtime;

220 – George Hooker (Father Ryan) dec. Grayson Walthall (Christian Brothers), 5-1;

285 – River Henry (McCallie) dec. Airin Spell (Brentwood Academy), 2-1.

CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE

106 – Clayton Pettway (Baylor) dec. Charles Salvaggio (Christian Brothers), 6-0;

113 – Carlo Guinocor (Memphis University School) pinned Eddie Suh (McCallie), 4:17;

120 – Connor Galvez (Ensworth) major dec. Griffin Hubacker (Father Ryan), 18-5;

126 – Hayden Hartline (Baylor) pinned Tiy Reed (BGA), 2:37;

132 – Phillip Rogers (Father Ryan) dec. Conner Rasberry (Christian Brothers), 9-4;

138 – Joseph Tarquine (MBA) dec. Austin Atchley (Baylor), 8-3;

145 – Thomas Sell (McCallie) major dec. Conner Mitchell (BGA), 11-3;

152 – Perry Matthews (MBA) dec. Nikita Kouzovik (Father Ryan), 7-3;

160 – Russell Barry (McCallie) dec. Patrick Clements (Father Ryan), 6-5;

170 – Montana Doty (Christian Brothers) major dec. Thomas Butler (Brentwood Academy), 8-0;

182 – Andrew Sweatt (Christian Brothers) dec. Teddy Holloway (BGA), 5-1;

195 – Ryan Kosson (MBA) dec. George Robinson (McCallie), 5-3;

220 --  Tyree Toliver (Baylor) pinned Jordan McCoy (Brentwood Academy), 4:01;

285 – Patrick Healy (Christian Brothers) dec. John Hayes (Father Ryan), 5-4.

CONSOLATION FINALS FOR FIFTH PLACE

106 – Maverick Rorie (Briarcrest) major dec. Frank Perazinni (MBA), 9-0;

113 – Porter Kaufman (Baylor) pinned Adam Garfinkle (MBA), 3:40;

120 – Tyler Lubin (Christian Brothers) pinned Billy Brooks (Brentwood Academy), 2:03;

126 – Evan Hughes (McCallie) dec. Russ Palmer (Christian Brothers), 6-2;

132 – Logan Spell (Brentwood Academy) pinned Zack Tieng (Knox. Webb), 3:00;

138 – Devin Badgett (Knox. Webb) major dec. Victor Ortale (Ensworth), 9-0;

145 – Alex Atchley (Baylor) dec. Elijah Hodge (Christian Brothers), 5-3;

152 – Drew White (Franklin Road Academy) major dec. William Jones (Brentwood Academy), 13-3;

160 – Thomas Wells (Memphis University School) major dec. Baylor Harrington (Briarcrest), 13-4;

170 – Hayden Rowland (McCallie) pinned Clay Garstin (MBA) 1:52;

182 – Ian Tiatian (Briarcrest) won by forfeit over Dominic Fisher (MBA);

195 – Will Taylor (Brentwood Academy) dec. Sam Reynolds (Baylor), 2-1;

220 – Wyeth Patton (MBA) pinned Josiah Fahhoum (Briarcrest), 3:12;

285 – Tymon Mitchell (Franklin Road Academy) dec. Alex Green (Briarcrest), 10-4.

(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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