FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Things went pretty much as expected in the AAA division of the State Duals wrestling tournament being held here at the Williamson County Agricultural Expostion Center Friday.
Cleveland and Bradley, the top two teams in the state in any classification, both advanced to Saturday afternoon’s championship semis with relatively easy wins.
Cleveland, improving to 28-0 with a convincing 68-6 romp over Maryville in its first match before defeating Summit in the quarterfinals by a much closer 41-34 final. The Blue Raiders will face Science Hill in one semifinal after the Hilltoppers advanced with a 35-28 win over Arlington and a much closer 32-31 victory over Wilson Central in the other quarterfinal.
Bradley had a much tougher match in the opener with Knoxville Halls, but the twice-beaten Bears rallied from an early deficit to win, 45-24. The second match with Heritage wasn’t nearly as close as Bradley cruised to a 65-9 victory.
Bradley will now face Tennessee High, who improved to 26-1 with wins over Mt. Juliet and Independence.
Cleveland coach Josh Bosken really liked what he saw as the day progressed.
“I thought we wrestled well today, but this is the day where you just have to get by and it doesn’t matter how pretty it is. I felt like we came out really ready to go against Maryville and the match against Summit was much closer.
“We bumped Dylan Jones up to 195 and he helped us out with a pin that really got us going. But once we got a nice lead, we forfeited the last three weights to not risk anything.
“We’ve already beaten Science Hill once this year, but I guess we’ll have to do it again,” Bosken smiled.
It was just the other way around for the Bradley Bears, whose only losses have been to Cleveland and both by one point.
The Halls Red Devils fell behind 6-0 when Austin Mathews picked up a pin but the team from Knoxville then won three straight matches, including two with pins, before Kevin Gentry closed the gap to 15-14 with a technical fall at 220. Chris Cash then got the lead back with a pin at 285.
Wes Devaney picked up six more points with a win by disqualification at 106 before T. J. Hicks added another pin. Knox Fuller had a forfeit in the final match for the 21-point difference.
Bradley’s second match was a 65-9 cakewalk over the Mountaineers, despite the fact that there were a lot of JV guys in the lineup as several of Bradley’s regulars are battling the flu and really needed some rest.
Bradley coach Ben Smith knew what was coming before the first takedown was scored.
“We knew that Halls would wrestle us a tough match and they did as they came out ready to fight. We won nine of the 14 matches, but they had three pins in the five matches they won and that bothers me.
“We made the best match possible happen against Heritage as we used a lot of subs. A good night’s rest is what we desperately need, but we’re where we want to be right now. Tomorrow’s match with Tennessee High should be interesting because they really feel like they’re capable of beating us. We’ll see,” Smith said after his team had improved to 21-2.
BRADLEY 45, KNOXVILLE HALLS 24
152 – Austin Mathews (BC) pinned Hunter Hunley, 1:00
160 – Blake Hunter (H) pinned William Kaylor, 3:29;
170 – Colton McMahan (H) dec. Caleb Adkins, 5-2;
182 – Brent Buckman (H) pinned Trey Johnson, :52;
195 – Ed Elkins (BC) dec. Lucas Harp, 3-2;
220 – Kevin Gentry (BC) won by technical fall over Brandon Elkins, 20-5;
285 – Chris Cash (BC) pinned Malcolm Wilson, :27;
106 – Wes Devaney (BC) won by disqualification over Christian Lay;
113 – T.J. Hicks (BC) pinned Ian Morgan, 3:47;
120 – Chris Nielsen (K) pinned Trey Hicks, 5:28;
126 – Toliver Justice (H) dec. Ethan Anderson, 4-1;
132 – Ryan McElhaney (BC) dec. Chase Brown, 4-2;
138 – Andy Robinson (BC) major dec. Zack Kennedy, 10-2;
145 – Knox Fuller (BC) won by forfeit.
BRADLEY 65, HERITAGE 9
160 – Jordan Moats (BC) dec. Gilmore Ortiz, 11-8;
170 – Jerimiah Mynatt (Her) pinned Parker Falls, 1:56;
182 – Wyatt Snow (Her) dec. Trey Johnson, 8-7;
195 – Kevin Gentry (BC) pinned Todd Stafford, 4:28;
220 – D.J. Gibson (BC) dec. Chris Williams, 5-1;
285 – Chris Cash (BC) pinned Noah Johnson, 1:36;
106 – Glen O’Daniel (BC) pinned Michael Norton, 4:38;
113 – Daniel Mroz (BC) pinned Jaylen Tyler, :57;
120 – Gaven Hughes (BC) pinned Zack Wolfe, 1:04;
126 – Ethan Anderson (BC) pinned William Norris, 1:52;
132 – Curtis Rzeplinski (BC) pinned Harley Hatfield, :47;
138 – Andy Robinson (BC) won by technical fall over James Ahern;
145 – Knox Fuller (BC) pinned Warren Asuncion, 1:18;
152 – William Kaylor (BC) pinned Jacob Riley, :45.
CLEVELAND 68, MARYVILLE 6
152 – Austin Sweeney (Clev) major dec. Samuel Gallemore, 12-3;
160 – Zach Brezna (Clev) major dec. Samuel Morris, 13-5;
170 – Dylan Jones (Clev) pinned Jared Stratton, :13;
182 – Jack Hicks (Clev) pinned Morgan Bate, 3:39;
195 – Hunter Price (M) dec. Logan Strickland, 13-6;
220 – Caleb Flickner (Clev) pinned Dalton Crisp, 1:54;
285 – Titus Swafford (Clev) pinned William Sloan, 1:20;
106 – Burns Meagher (Clev) pinned Zuriel Hampton-Coffin, 1:35;
113 – Barret Bowers (Clev) pinned Samuel Thomas, :44;
120 – Bryce Pond (Clev) pinned Colby McCall, :50;
126 – Jayce Mullin (Clev) pinned Parker Hill, 1:40;
132 – Colton Landers (Clev) pinned Michael Steverson, 1:45;
138 – Jacob Applegate (Clev) pinned Carter Harris, 3:51;
145 – Logan Fuson (M) dec. Skyler Bradley, 4-3.
CLEVELAND 41, SUMMIT 34
160 – Kobey Dessell (S) pinned Zach Brezna, 5:25;
170 – Sawyer Knott (S) major dec. Seth Eachus, 9-1;
182 – Dylan Jones (Clev) pinned Zack Carney, 5:07;
195 – Jack Hicks (Clev) won by forfeit;
220 – Seth Garcia (Clev) pinned Tanner Choate, 4:48;
285 – Titus Swafford (Clev) pinned Jeremy Moody, 3:29;
106 – Zach Thomas (S) dec. Garrett Stevenson, 7-0;
113 – Garret Bowers (Clev) won by technical fall over Brady Woodward;
120 – Bryce Pond (Clev) pinned Logan Powers, 3:56;
126 – Cole Klingensmith (S) dec. Jayce Mullin, 4-1;
132 – Colton Landers (Clev) pinned Miles Grady, :36;
138 – Nathan Porter (S) won by forfeit;
145 – Steven Tierney (S) won by forfeit;
152 – Sean Butler (S) won by forfeit.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)