by B.B. Branton
posted January 29, 2008
A pair of defending state wrestling duals champions Notre Dame (D-I A/AA) and Baylor (D-II) head the field of 44 teams at the 2008 TSSAA state duals championship this weekend at Clarksville High School and Father Ryan in Nashville.
The 20th anniversary state duals makes history as a four-team girls non-TSSAA sanctioned invitational highlights the two-day package which has five championship events in two cities.
This weekend will be a great two days for high school wrestling in Tennessee, said Artie Manning, the Division I duals tournament director and Clarksville assistant coach.
I am excited about the girls tournament as well as the expansion of the A/AA tournament to eight from four and I believe the small schools deserve the expanded field. It is their time in the sun.
At Clarksville, the Division I AAA (16) and A-AA (8) teams vie for TSSAA state titles, while the girls have their mat debut in a round robin format.
At Father Ryan, eight Division II large schools battle for the TSSAA state championship and eight D-II small schools hold an inaugural non-TSSAA invitational.
Saturday D-I finals show the girls final round robin match (5 p.m. Central), followed by D-I AAA and D-I A/AA at 7:30 p.m. on two mats. Also on Saturday are the D-II finals TSSAA and invitational at 5 p.m. Central.
* Division I AAA Fri. Feb. 1-Sat. Feb. 2 16 Teams (10 region champions and six wild card teams) Defending Champion: Soddy Daisy did not qualify. Friday - Round of 16; Saturday Quarterfinals, Semis and Finals. Bradley Central, Clarksville, Cleveland and Overton are past champions.
Friday Top bracket, opening round matches: Bradley vs. Clarksville Northwest; Hendersonville vs. Antioch; Independence vs. Houston; Tullahoma vs. Greeneville.
The bottom half has host Clarksville vs. Science Hill; William Blount vs. Cleveland; Arlington vs. Blackman; Overton vs. Ooltewah.
Bradley Central and Ooltewah, which finished second and third, respectively in 2007, are in opposite halves of the 16-team bracket.
Bradley is the strong favorite to win its ninth duals title, but Independence or Greeneville could be solid foes in the semis.
The bottom half looks to be loaded with host Clarksville (2000 champion), a strong wild card team in Cleveland as well as maybe the best first round match in Overton vs. Ooltewah.
Notes: Of the 16 teams, Bradley (8), Cleveland (3), Clarksville (1) and Overton (1) have won 13 duals titles Bradley has been in the last 10 finals, winning six times.
* Division I A/AA Sat. Feb. 2 Quarters, Semis and Finals Eight Teams Two-time Defending Champion: Notre Dame.
The top three teams from a year ago Notre Dame, Seymour and East Literature Magnet should be the ones to beat Defending champion Notre Dame and 2007 runner-up Seymour are one win away from meeting in the semis, while East Literature faces Greenback in the quarters and possibly Area 2 champ Hixson, which beat Notre Dame in last weeks Area 2 finals, in the semis.
The top bracket shows Seymour vs. David Lipscomb; Harpeth vs. Notre Dame bottom half has East Literature Magnet vs. Greenback; Hixson vs. Cheatham County.
* Division I Girls Round Robin Sat. Feb. 2 Session 1 (11 a.m.) Science Hill vs. Cleveland and South Doyle vs. Soddy Daisy; Session 2 (3 p.m.) Science Hill vs. Soddy Daisy and Cleveland vs. South Doyle; Session 3 (5 p.m.) Science Hill vs. South Doyle and Cleveland vs. Soddy Daisy.
If three teams are tied at 2-1, a tiebreaker system will be used to determine the champion.
* Division II Feb. 1-2 10th Anniversary of the D-II duals Quarters are Friday night, while semis and finals are Saturday ... Eight Teams Defending Champion: Baylor.
Baylor (4), Father Ryan (4) and McCallie (2) have combined to win the 10 previous Division II duals. Since the duals began in 1988, these three teams have won 16 championships. Brentwood Academy, which faces McCallie in a quarterfinal match, won three straight Class A-AA duals titles, 1995-96-97.
West Region champion Christian Brothers and Middle Region runner-up Montgomery Bell are the best bets to challenge Baylor (No.1 in Tennessee and No. 5 in the Southeast) and Father Ryan.
The top half has Baylor vs. MBA and Brentwood Academy vs. St. Benedict the bottom half has Father Ryan vs. Memphis University School and McCallie vs. Christian Brothers.
I think the growth of the state duals (from four teams to 44) is great for our sport, said Baylor head coach Jim Morgan. The five tournaments give more kids an opportunity to compete at their level.
* Inaugural Division II Invitational Feb. 1-2 ... Quarterfinals are Friday Semis and Finals are Saturday 8 teams.
Top bracket shows Ensworth vs. BGA and Harding Academy vs. St. Andrews-Sewanee (SAS); bottom bracket has Pope John Paul II vs. St. George and Webb vs. Briarcrest.
This invitational is great for the D-II small schools, said SAS coach Dan Barry. I believe it is vital for the small schools to wrestle in the same tourney with the big boys. Lets see how it works out.
State Duals Notes: The First One In 1988, Father Ryan defeated McCallie in the first duals final of a four-team event Large and Small School tournaments (AAA and A-AA) were held from 1990-1997 Divisions I and II were formed starting with the 1998 tournament ...
21 Years of Growth: 4 to 16 to 28 to 44 4 teams, one division (1988-1989) 4 teams each in two divisions (1990-1991) 8 teams in two divisions (starting in 1992) 28 Teams in three divisions (starting in 2005)
One, four-team division in 1988 Twenty years later, there are 10 times the original number of schools battling for three TSSAA and two non-TSSAA titles in 2008.
Contact B.B. Branton: william.branton@comcast.net
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