Cleveland Thumps Independence For Third Place
by John Hunt
posted February 2, 2008
CLARKSVILLE – It might not have been as easy as A-B-C, but it was a matter of 1-2-3 for teams from the Chattanooga area here at Clarksville High School this weekend.
Bradley, Ooltewah and Cleveland were the top three teams in the AAA division of the State Duals wrestling tournament while Notre Dame and Hixson were one-two in the A-AA division.
And even though it wasn’t a sanctioned event this year, the Soddy Daisy girls claimed their first state title as well.
Bradley waltzed to its ninth Duals title in the last 16 years. The Bears haven’t had a close match all year and they didn’t come close to having one here this weekend as they laid a 54-12 whipping on Ooltewah in the championship match.
Cleveland put a 49-13 spanking on Independence for the third-place plaque.
Bradley’s regular-season dual meet with Ooltewah had been postponed by snow a few weeks ago and many were looking forward to a possible close match, but the Bears wouldn’t have any part of that idea.
The Bears opened with a bang, getting a technical fall from Dean Pavlou at 145, a pin from Josh Disney at 152, a decision from Matt Watson at 160 and a major decision from Jacob Howard at 171 to surge to an 18-0 lead.
Ooltewah got pins from Jake Young at 189 and Cody Sliger at 285, but Bradley won the last seven matches to win in a landslide. Adding insult to injury for the Owls, 130-pound Cody Hood suffered his first loss of the season after 37 straight wins, a heart-breaking 9-7 overtime decision to Trevor Herron.
“We’ve had a great season up to this point, but this was a measuring stick for us,” said Bradley coach Steve Logsdon as the Bear faithful hooped and hollered in celebration.
“We finished second here last year and we wanted to get back on top this weekend. We have a great bunch of kids who have really worked hard this year. I couldn’t be any more proud than I am right now. I was so proud of Trevor (Herron) at 130. He kept moving and wrestling his style. Tonight he got a really big win over a great kid,” Logsdon continued.
“This was our best team effort all year. We were awesome from top to bottom. This is the kind of wrestling we like to see,” he added.
Ooltewah coach Wendell Weathers was naturally disheartened by the defeat, but he also was able to find sunshine among the clouds.
“We had a great tournament and today has been a good day for us, but Bradley wanted to make an strong statement and they did. We beat three really good teams this weekend, but things just didn’t go our way in the finals. Bradley is clearly the best team in the state and I don’t think there’s any disputing that,” Weathers said after a brief meeting with his team.
“That was a tough loss for Cody (Hood). He has the biggest heart of anybody on this team and he also has the biggest heart for the team. He’s our biggest cheerleader. We put him in a tough situation and his spirits were down when it came his time to wrestle, but I can guarantee you he will be a better wrestler in the next two weeks as a result of losing tonight,” Weathers added.
Bradley won 12 of the 14 matches against Ooltewah, including pins from Disney, Blake Higgins, David Graham and Chris Aguilar. Pavlou and Kelby McAlister claimed technical falls while Howard and Ethan Hames both posted major decisions.
Watson, Logan Biddy, Eddie Stiles and Herron completed the Bradley scoring with regular decisions.
Bradley had no problem disposing of Independence, 43-15, in one championship semifinal while Ooltewah rallied to defeat Cleveland in the other, 36-27.
It was a matter of redemption for the Owls, who lost to Cleveland by a 34-18 margin on Dec. 4. The second match was much closer, but Ooltewah rallied to capture the win.
Ooltewah grabbed a 10-0 following pin from Brent Elliott and a major decision from Evan Hubbs to start the match. Cleveland countered with a pin from Travis Leonard and a decision from Harold Gage to make it 10-9.
Young’s pin at 171 made it 16-9, but Cleveland won four of the next five matches to assume a 27-19 lead following a pin from Josh Jadoboorsingh at 112.
The Owls came storming back to win the final four matches, including two by major decision and one by pin.
“Right now, it’s gut-check time for us,” said Cleveland coach Heath Eslinger shortly after the emotional match ended.
“This is the kind of stuff that can change a kid’s life. We knew Ooltewah would be hard to beat again. It’s not so much what we did wrong as what they did right. You can be assured this won’t be our last year here. We’re gonna see what we’re made of now, but we have no reason to hang our heads,” Eslinger concluded.
The Blue Raiders didn’t let the loss to Ooltewah dampen their spirit as they trounced Antioch by 49-13 in the consolation semifinal before whipping Independence in the consolation final.
“Nobody gave us a chance at the first of the year. Our kids have started buying into our style of wrestling and it’s beginning to show. We got knocked down against Ooltewah, but we came back and drilled Antioch and Independence. Don’t get me wrong. We came here to win this weekend and we’re disappointed, but we’ll be back,” Eslinger added.
Bradley had no trouble with Independence, although the Bears trailed after losing the first match at 140. Bradley’s lead was 18-9 after losing a decision at 215, but the Bears reeled off six straight wins, including two by pin, to win with ease.
Hames and Herron had pins for Bradley while Disney added a technical fall. Bolton and McAlister both scored major decisions while Watson, Epperson, Biddy and Stiles all won regular decisions. Pavlou got Bradley’s only forfeit.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
BRADLEY 54, OOLTEWAH 12
145 – Dean Pavlou (B) won by technical fall over Evan Hubbs, 5:04;
152 – Josh Disney (B) pinned Richard Manning, :54;
160 – Matt Watson (B) dec. David Jordan, 3-0;
171 – Jacob Howard (B) major dec. Tyler Mowery, 9-1;
189 – Jake Young (O) pinned Tucker Bolton, 1: 39;
215 – Blake Higgins (B) pinned Aaron Hamlett, 2:55;
285 – Cody Sliger (O) pinned Cody Epperson, 1:28;
103 – Ethan Hames (B) major dec. Will Allen, 16-3;
112 – Kelby McAlister (B) won by technical fall over Jamie Spencer, 2:29;
119 – Logan Biddy (B) dec. Chris Bradbury, 6-1;
125 – Eddie Stiles (B) dec. Cody Corcoran, 4-0;
130 – Trevor Herron (B) dec. Cody Hood, 9-7 in overtime;
135 – David Graham (B) pinned Daniel Wild, 1:21;
140 – Chris Aguilar (B) pinned Brent Elliott, 4:59.
CONSOLATION FINALS
CLEVELAND 49, INDEPENDENCE 13
160 – Harold Gage (C) dec. Taylor Dixon, 2-1
171 – Matt Sharp (C) major dec. Christian Tambillin, 11-2;
189 – Chip Norwood (C) won by forfeit;
215 – Max Ofori (C) dec. Thomas Barry, 5-3;
285 – Adam Peters (C) dec. Dalton Burge, 4-0;
103 – Bryan Alvarado (C) won by technical fall over Ernie Overton;
112 – Josh Jadoboorsingh (C) pinned Austin Heithcock, 1:30;
119 – Marvin Lopez (C) dec. Chase Beazley, 7-6;
125 – Ben Spires (C) major dec. Jacob Twaddle, 13-2;
130 – Gustavo Quintero (I) dec. Jacob Sewell, 6-4;
135 – Clay Bunch (C) pinned Austin Cox, 3:40;
140 – Matt Gabriel (I) major dec. Mike Tuck, 28-14;
145 – Brennen Cox (I) pinned Will Moreland, 4:14;
152 – Travis Leonard (C) won by forfeit.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
(Matches Started at 140 Pounds)
BRADLEY 43, INDEPENDENCE 15
140 – Matt Gabriel (I) dec. Chris Aguilar, 10-6;
145 – Dean Pavlou (B) won by forfeit;
152 – Josh Disney (B) won by technical fall over Brennen Cox, 4:00;
160 – Matt Watson (B) dec. Chris Sinsheimer, 5-1;
171 – Tyler Dixon (I) dec. Jacob Howard, 5-3;
189 – Tucker Bolton (B) major dec. Christian Tambillin, 11-2;
215 – Thomas Berry (I) dec. Blake Higgins, 6-4;
285 – Cody Epperson (B) dec. Dalton Burge, 5-1;
103 – Ethan Hames (B) pinned Ernie Overton, 1:28;
112 – Kelby McAlister (B) major dec. Austin Heithcock, 13-0;
119 – Logan Biddy (B) dec. Chase Beazley, 7-0;
125 – Eddie Stiles (B) dec. Jacob Twaddle, 3-0;
130 – Trevor Herron (B) pinned Gustavo Quintero, 1:38;
135 – Austin Cox (I) won by forfeit.
OOLTEWAH 36, CLEVELAND 27
140 – Brent Elliott (O) pinned Mike Tuck, 3:05;
145 – Evan Hubbs (O) major dec. Isaiah Nichols, 10-0;
152 – Travis Leonard (C) pinned Richard Manning, 4:35;
160 – Harold Gage (C) dec. David Jordan, 4-1;
171 – Jake Young (O) pinned Matt Sharp, :42;
189 – Chip Norwood (C) pinned Tyler Toon, 2:47;
215 – Max Ofori (C) dec. Aaron Hamlett, 6-3;
285 – Cody Sliger (O) dec. Adam Peters, 5-1;
103 – Bryan Alvarado (C) dec. Will Allen, 8-6;
112 – Josh Jadoboorsingh (C) pinned Jamie Spencer, :57;
119 – Chris Bradbury (O) pinned Marvin Lopez, 2:56;
125 – Cody Corcoran (O) dec. Ben Spires, 6-4;
130 – Cody Hood (O) major dec. Jacob Sewell, 15-3;
135 – Danny Wild (O) major dec. Clay Bunch, 16-2.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
CLEVELAND 65, ANTIOCH 12
152 – Travis Leonard (C) pinned Chris Tresner, 1:52;
160 – Harold Gage (C) pinned Denzel Caldwell, :51;
171 – Matt Sharp (C) pinned Austin Hylick, 1:52;
189 – Daven Caldwell (A) pinned Chip Norwood, 1:34;
215 – Max Ofori (C) won by forfeit;
285 – Adam Peters (C) pinned Stacy Butler, 5:51;
103 – Bryan Alvarado (C) dec. Chris Soboun, 4-2;
112 – Josh Jadoboorsingh (C) pinned Frankie Nuffio, 3:49;
119 – Marvin Lopez (C) major dec. Eric Rucker, 14-5;
125 – Ben Spires (C) pinned Jesus Feliciano, 5:03;
130 – Jacob Sewell (C) pinned Dillan Pursley, 4:25;
135 – Scott Osaitile (A) pinned Cody Shepherd, 5:30;
140 – Mike Tuck (C) major dec. T.J. Mitchell, 11-2;
145 – Will Moreland (C) won by forfeit.
Other Wrestling Articles:
Chattanooga Area Sweeps State Wrestling Duals
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Baylor, Father Ryan Advance in D-II State Duals
D-II Wrestling Breaks New Ground With Invitational
Baylor, Bailey Whitaker Look to Duals Title
Class AAA
Bradley Whips Ooltewah For AAA Duals Title
Bradley Rolls in AAA State Duals Wrestling
Bradley Ready For State Duals Challenge
Class A/AA
Notre Dame Looking For Wrestling’s Three-Peat
Girls Invitational:
Soddy-Daisy Girls Claim Mat Title
Girls Wrestling Title On The Line In Round Robin Format
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