Cleveland head coach Josh Bosken will lead his Blue Raiders into the Region 4-AAA Wrestling Championships for his first time this coming Saturday at East Hamilton High School. The state tournament will be held the following wee, beginning on Thursday, at the Williamson County Ag/Expo in Franklin, Tenn.
photo by Dennis Norwood/File Photo
The Bradley Bears and the Cleveland Blue Raiders have been battling for the state’s top spot in wrestling all season and you can bet on that same thing on Saturday when they gather at East Hamilton High School for the Region 4-AAA meet.
Cleveland handed Bradley its only two dual-meet defeats during the regular season while the Bears bounced back last Saturday to beat the Blue Raiders in the finals of the State Duals for Cleveland’s only loss of the season.
Based on Wednesday’s seeding meeting, these two state powers should completely dominate the action on Saturday as the top four finishers in each weight class advance to the TSSAA traditional state tournament, which begins next Thursday in Franklin.
Bradley has won the Region 4-AAA meet for the past two years and has six wrestlers seeded first while Cleveland has three in the top slot.
Soddy Daisy and Walker Valley have two each with Ooltewah having one.
Bradley has five number-two picks while Cleveland has six. Soddy Daisy, East Hamilton and Rhea County all have one each.
“It’s my first one, so I really don’t know what to expect,” joked Cleveland’s first-year head coach Josh Bosken when asked about the tournament on Saturday.
“We’re calloused and ready to roll, but I’m sure things will work themselves out. We just have to take care of business and put ourselves in a spot to advance. Just have to punch our ticket for next week.
“The duals are over and it’s all about the individuals at this point. We may be just a bit more motivated after last weekend, but I’m confident we can advance all 14 to the state next week. If we expect to win the state, we need all 14 guys to contribute,” Bosken said.
Bradley coach Ben Smith feels good about his team’s chances.
“It’s Region 4 and that includes three or four of the best teams in the state as there are several individuals with lots of firepower. With a smaller bracket, there’s no room for a warm-up or off-match. I always like our chances, but I’ve always felt that we’re stronger in an individual tournament than in a dual, but we have several returning champions who can score a lot of points.
“I guess we’re the favorite after the state duals, but we prefer the underdog role. It could be really interesting, but this is as deep as our lineup has been in a long time. I feel like we have 10 who can place at the state, but we have to get them there first.
“Perhaps one of the biggest advantages we have is that we’ve wrestled in the past couple of weeks,” Smith smiled.
Bradley’s Knox Fuller is a three-time defending state champ who is the only unbeaten guy in the field at 51-0. He’s the number-one seed at 145 pounds.
Bradley’s other top picks include two-time defending state champ T.J. Hicks at 113, Trey Hicks at 120, Ryan McElhaney at 132, Austin Mathews at 152 and Kevin Gentry at 195.
Cleveland’s number-one seeds include Cody Mathews at 138, Dylan Jones at 170 and Jack Hicks at 182.
Soddy Daisy’s two include Landon Wheaton at 126 and Ty Boeck at 220 while Walker Valley’s pair include Chandler Davis at 106 and Mikel Gregory at 160. Ooltewah’s Victor Bednarski is the pick at 285.
Bradley’s second seeds include Wes Devaney at 106, Andy Robinson at 138, Caleb Adkins at 160, Henley Headrick at 170 and Ed Elkins at 182 while Cleveland’s number twos include Garret Bowers at 113, Bryce Pond at 120, Colton Landers at 132, Logan Strickland at 195, Seth Garcia at 220 and Titus Swafford at 285.
Fuller is the only undefeated wrestler in the field while six others only have one loss, including Bradley’s T.J. Hicks, Soddy Daisy’s Wheaton, Cleveland’s Landers, Rhea County’s Jay Graham and East Hamilton teammates Cade Meeks and Grant Lundy.
Walker Valley’s Davis and Gregory only have two defeats as does Soddy Daisy’s Boeck.
Saturday’s action will begin with the quarterfinal round at 10. There may be a short break between rounds, but the championship finals are expected to begin around 3 or 3:30.
Admission is $10 per person for the entire day.
Listed below are the top four seeds and their schools for all 14 weight classes.
106 – 1. Chandler Davis (Walker Valley); 2. Wesley Devaney (Bradley); 3. Te’Nario Thomas (East Hamilton); 4. Jacob Allen (Soddy Daisy).
113 – 1. T.J. Hicks (Bradley); 2. Garret Bowers (Cleveland); 3. Conner Thornburg (East Hamilton); 4. Jacob Pratt (Soddy Daisy).
120 – 1. Trey Hicks (Bradley); 2. Bryce Pond (Cleveland); 3. James Jur (Walker Valley); 4. Gage Boggess (McMinn Co.).
126 – 1. Landon Wheaton (Soddy Daisy); 2. Cade Meeks (East Hamilton); 3. Ethan Anderson (Bradley); 4. Jayce Mullin (Cleveland).
132 – 1. Ryan McElhaney (Bradley); 2. Colton Landers (Cleveland); 3. Grant Lundy (East Hamilton); 4. Ethan West (Walker Valley).
138 – 1. Cody Mathews (Cleveland); 2. Andy Robinson (Bradley); 3. Slater Daniel (Soddy Daisy); 4. Dillon Clark (Walker Valley).
145 – 1. Knox Fuller (Bradley); 2. Tony Wilson (Soddy Daisy); 3. Liam Golden (East Hamilton); 4. Caleb Eachus (Cleveland).
152 – 1. Austin Mathews (Bradley); 2. Jay Graham (Rhea Co.); 3. Austin Sweeney (Cleveland); 4. Robert Varner (Walker Valley).
160 – 1. Mikel Gregory (Walker Valley); 2. Caleb Adkins (Bradley); 3. Zach Brezna (Cleveland); 4. Cade Ghaffari (Soddy Daisy).
170 – 1. Dylan Jones (Cleveland); 2. Henley Headrick (Bradley); 3. Hayden Maynor (Soddy Daisy); 4. Tyler Green (East Hamilton).
182 – 1. Jack Hicks (Cleveland); 2. Ed Elkins (Bradley); 3. Mathew Sailors (East Hamilton); 4. Caleb Addison (Soddy Daisy).
195 – 1. Kevin Gentry (Bradley); 2. Logan Strickland (Cleveland); 3. Curtis Settles (Soddy Daisy); 4. Patric Williams (Rhea Co.).
220 – 1. Ty Boeck (Soddy Daisy); 2. Seth Garcia (Cleveland); 3. D.J. Gibson (Bradley); 4. Garrett Smith (Rhea Co.).
285 – 1. Victor Bednarski (Ooltewah); 2. Titus Swafford (Cleveland); 3. Tyler Varnadore (McMinn Co.); 4. Koby Hooker (Walker Valley).
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)