Ooltewah, Cleveland Meet in Semifinals
by John Hunt
posted February 2, 2008
CLARKSVILLE Teams from the Chattanooga area batted a thousand on the opening day of the 2008 State Duals wrestling tournament here at Clarksville High School Friday night.
Top-ranked and unbeaten Bradley cruised past the Northwest Vikings by a 53-23 final in the opening round before whipping Antioch in the quarters, 57-20.
The Ooltewah Owls took care of the Overton Bobcats in the opening round by a 34-31 margin before thrashing Arlington, 56-9, in the quarters.
The Cleveland Blue Raiders also advanced to todays championship semis with a 64-12 whipping of William Blount in the opening round and a stirring 39-21 come-from-behind win over the Clarksville Wildcats in the quarters.
Bradley will meet Independence in one semifinal while Ooltewah and Cleveland meet in the other. Both are set to begin at 2 p.m. Chattanooga time with the winners advancing to the finals, which are scheduled to begin around 8:30.
Cleveland had the toughest time in the quarterfinals after posting the widest margin of victory in the first round. Clarksville won the first three matches for a quick 12-0 lead and the Wildcat fans got excited.
But the Blue Raiders refused to be denied and they won going away, capturing five of the last six matches.
That was a huge win for us. They bumped up in several weight classes, but we answered them. Starting at 135 was the worst place for us, but our guys know there are 14 weights and we came back strong, said Cleveland coach Heath Eslinger.
We really came here to wrestle on Saturday and I dont think were finished yet. But everything has gone well for us so far, he added.
Cleveland won 11 of 14 matches against William Blount, including eight by pin. Three were recorded in less than a minute with Travis Leonard getting one in 18 seconds at 152. Harold Gage was almost as quick with a 23-second fall at 160.
Josh Jadoboorsingh had pins in both matches while Jacob Sewell got forfeits in both matches. Cleveland won eight of 14 matches against Clarksville, but the biggest difference was the fact that five of the eight included bonus points, including a pin, a forfeit and three technical falls.
The Bradley Bears didnt get much of a challenge from either of their two matches. The Bears were up 53-5 against Northwest before forfeiting the final three weights. They did the same thing against Antioch as they won the first seven matches and built a commanding 39-0 lead before the other Bears scored.
Bradley coach Steve Logsdon was less than pleased with the intensity level in the first match, but after a heart-to-heart talk with members of his team in the hall, the Bears came back for the second round on a mission.
Thats the effort I wanted to see. We were really flat in the first match and I wasnt happy at all. But we had an intense conversation and we talked about what our goals are for this weekend. This last match is what I was looking for, Logsdon said.
I was really proud of Tyler Pitts, a B-team freshman at 103 who beat a ranked kid from Antioch. And I thought Brad Colbaugh also did a great job at 125, Logsdon praised another freshman backup who earned a pin.
And Cody (Epperson) is getting smarter by the match. He knows when to take his shots, but he had some smooth moves tonight and looked good, the coach added.
Bradley earned six pins in the first match while getting nine more in the second. Antioch only won one match before receiving the three forfeits.
Ooltewahs match with Overton wasnt as close as the score might indicate as the Owls built a comfortable 34-13 lead before forfeiting the final three matches.
The match against Arlington was a piece of cake. After getting four pins against Overton, the Owls got seven in the second round.
Jake Young (171) and Cody Sliger (285) both had pins in 19 seconds while Daniel Wild got one in just 23 seconds at 135. Young and Sliger were equally as quick in the second round with falls in 58 and 39 seconds, respectively.
I feel really good about the first day, but there are some places where we need to improve, said Ooltewah coach Wendell Weathers.
Its all up to the kids and what they want to achieve. Our win over Overton was definitely no pushover as we beat one of Nashvilles best teams. We came here and did what we needed to do, Weathers added.
While these three teams will get to sleep in this morning and not be on the mat again until early afternoon, Hixson and Notre Dame will be among the A-AA competitors and their matches are set for 10 a.m.
Notre Dame faces Harpeth while Hixson will challenge Cheatham County.
ROUND OF 16
(Matches Started at 130 Pounds)
BRADLEY 53, NORTHWEST 23
130 Trevor Herron (B) dec. Jesse Peeples, 11-5;
135 David Graham (B) pinned David Bosanko, 1:05;
140 Matt Williams (NW) pinned Chris Aguilar, 5:13;
145 Gabe Murphy (B) pinned Chris Coggins, 4:49;
152 Josh Disney (B) major dec. Nick Lynch, 10-0;
160 Matt Watson (B) major dec. Jake Sanders, 12-1;
171 Jacob Howard (B) pinned Michael Helsley, 3:41;
189 Tucker Bolton ( B) pinned Logan Emery, :53;
215 Bradley Turner (NW) won by technical fall over Blake Higgins, 5:31;
285 Cody Epperson (B) pinned Randy Evans, :25;
103 Ethan Hames (B) pinned Dandre Morrison, 2:50;
112 Dustin Meredith (NW) won by forfeit;
119 Martin Leamon (NW) won by forfeit;
125 Bradley Colbaugh (NW) won by forfeit.
CLEVELAND 64, WILLIAM BLOUNT 12
130 Jacob Sewell (C) won by forfeit;
135 Clay Bunch (C) pinned Jonathan Blake, :53;
140 Rian Burns (WB) dec. Michael Tuck, 10-6;
145 Isaiah Nichols (C) pinned Derek King, 3:35;
152 Travis Leonard (C) pinned Grayson Beason, :18;
160 Harold Gage (C) pinned Tyler Dockery, :23;
171 Matt Sharp (C) pinned Jonathan Jenkins, 3:05;
189 Chip Norwood (C) major dec. Lee Schmidt, 21-10;
215 Max Ofori (C) pinned Sean Trill, 2:49;
285 Adam Peters (C) won by forfeit;
103 Bryan Alvarado (C) pinned Rhett Hughes, 3:03;
112 Josh Jadoboorsingh (C) pinned Josh Jackson, 2:43;
119 Jacob Holley (WB) dec. Marvin Lopez, 6-5;
125 Alex Holley (WB) pinned Dre Moore, 4:43.
OOLTEWAH 34, OVERTON 31
130 Cody Hood (Ool) dec. Nivar Emin, 6-3;
135 Danny Wild (Ool) pinned Lelann Evans, :23;
140 Brent Elliott (Ool) pinned Victor Quach, 2:36;
145 R.J. Rayburn (Over) dec. Evan Hubbs, 16-9;
152 Daniel White (Over) dec. Jared Wolfe, 19-17;
160 David Jordan (Ool) major dec. Nacee Cannon, 13-2;
171 Jake Young (Ool) pinned Jonathan Holland, :19;
189 LeMarcus Armstead (Over) dec. Tyler Toon, 17-10;
215 Andrew Montgomery (Over) dec. Aaron Hamlett, 4-3;
285 Cody Sliger (Ool) pinned Aspen Wakefield, :19;
103 Will Allen (Ool) dec. Pat Chadwick, 4-3;
112 Michael Pyle (Over) won by forfeit;
119 Eric Hancock (Over) won by forfeit;
125 Leo Hardy (Over) won by forfeit.
QUARTERFINAL ROUND
(Matches started at 135 Pounds)
BRADLEY 57, ANTIOCH 20
135 David Graham (B) pinned Scott Osaitile, 1:53;
140 Chris Aguilar (B) dec. Sewar Hussein, 9-4;
145 Dean Pavlou (B) pinned T.J. Mitchell, :51;
152 Josh Disney (B) pinned Chris Tresner, 4:21;
160 Matt Watson (B) pinned Denzel Caldwell, :50;
171 Jacob Howard (B) pinned Gentry Bledsoe, 5:34;
189 Tucker Bolton (B) pinned Daven Caldwell, 2:23;
215 Shaun Rhodes (A) dec. Blake Higgins, 9-5;
285 Cody Epperson (B) pinned Stacy Butler, 4:27;
103 Tyler Pitts (B) pinned Chris Soboun, 3:36;
112 Franky Nuffio (A) won by forfeit;
119 Eric Rucker (A) won by forfeit;
125 Brad Colbaugh (B) pinned Jeremy Greer, 4:54;
130 Dillon Pursley (A) won by forfeit.
CLEVELAND 39, CLARKSVILLE 21
135 Daniel Rye (Cla) won by technical fall over Clay Bunch, 3:30;
140 Ryan Corrigan (Cla) major dec. Michael Tucker, 19-6;
145 Anthony Grady (Cla) dec. Isaiah Nichols, 10-4;
152 Travis Leonard (Cle) won by technical fall over Jarrett McGaha, 5:57;
160 Harold Gage (Cle) won by technical fall over Matt Rabbitt, 4:15;
171 Matt Sharp (Cle) dec. Brad Weakley, 7-3;
189 Gabe Vasquez (Cla) dec. Chip Norwood, 5-4;
215 Taylor Hall (Cla) dec. Max Ofori, 7-3;
285 Adam Peters (Cle) dec. Justin Clinard, 6-0;
103 Bryan Alvarado (Cle) won by technical fall over Adam Silvers, 5:46;
112 Josh Jadoboorsingh (Cle) pinned Garrett Skeens, :32
119 Marvin Lopez (Cle) dec. Kellen Ferguson, 5-4;
125 Ben Hebda (Cla) dec. Ben Spires, 4-3;
130 Jacob Sewell (Cle) won by forfeit.
OOLTEWAH 56, ARLINGTON 9
135 Daniel Wild (O) won by technical fall over Andrew Cross, 4:00;
140 Preston Selby (A) dec. Brent Elliott, 5-0;
145 Evan Hubbs (O) pinned Ryan Walker, :55;
152 Jesse Gill (A) dec. Richard Manning, 9-6;
160 David Jordan (O) dec. Hunter Williams, 5-4;
171 Jake Young (O) pinned Van Rieman, :58;
189 Tyler Toon (O) pinned Travis Bateman, :44;
215 Aaron Hamlett (O) pinned David Holyfield, 2:43;
285 Cody Sliger (O) pinned Zach Bernard, :39;
103 Will Allen (O) pinned Zach Ray, 2:58;
112 Jamie Spencer (O) pinned Chandler Duncan, 1:04;
119 Stefen Orazzo (A) dec. Sergio Herrera, 15-13;
125 Cody Corcoran (O) dec. Rob Slye, 9-4;
130 Tyler Harvey (O) dec. Daniel Taylor, 10-4.
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