It's no secret that Chattanooga has been a hotbed of amateur wrestling for a long time.
Local high school teams from this area dominate state competition every year.
Step up to the next level and realize that the Chattanooga Mocs have been quite successful as well. Quite a few UTC wrestlers graduate to coaching positions and that's one key factor that helps the sport grow on the high school level.
That was the idea when the UTC Old-Timers Duals were started four years ago.
A dozen teams gathered at Maclellan Gym Saturday for the 2011 version of the duals and all are either coached by former UTC wrestlers or coaches.
Soddy Daisy, Heritage, Cleveland and Baylor were winners of their respective pools, but because of upcoming tournaments and dual meets, the decision was made to not crown an overall champion.
Soddy Daisy and Heritage both finished the day at 3-0, but there was no reason for a match between these two since Soddy Daisy had prevailed 45-20 on Thursday.
Cleveland defeated Baylor by 44-22 while Heritage got a pin from Madison Martin in the final match to pull out a 39-35 win over Cleveland.
While Soddy Daisy and Heritage were the only two unbeatens on Saturday, Thompson and Cleveland both finished 3-1.
Baylor ended the day 2-1 while Ringgold, McCallie and Sonoraville all left with two wins and two losses.
Flagler was 1-2 while Woodland was 1-3. Tullahoma and Red Bank were both 0-4.
The Flagler Bulldogs traveled the longest for the tournament as former Red Bank and UTC standout Josh Ward brought his team all the way from St. Augustine, Fla.
It was Ward's idea to start a tournament like this, so he was one of the happiest people in the building.
"We were here at a camp last summer, so I decided to bring them back. This is like a big family reunion and it could be bigger," he said between matches.
"We have a young team, but we're planning to stay for the weekend. I'm planning to take them up Lookout Mountain on Sunday so they can see what a hill looks like," Ward added.
Heritage coach Kenny Hill was a four-time state champ before joining the Mocs in the early 80s.
"I'm excited about how we wrestled today. We've been on the short end the last two years, so it was nice to be on the winning side today.
"We beat Woodland, Red Bank and then Cleveland, so that was a highlight for us. Our goal was to come here and get better," he explained.
Eric Phillips is now the head coach for the Cleveland Blue Raiders and led his team to the traditional state title last February.
He too was a UTC wrestler and was roommates with former Bradley coach Steve Logsdon.
"We just had our first dual meets of the season this week, so this is our first time to face some tough competition," he began.
"It was a good day of wrestling. We find out what kind of shape we're in and just how much fight we have.
"Nothing went our way against Heritage, but I think they wanted to show they're better than what they showed on Thursday against Soddy Daisy.
"This is like a brotherhood. We all just wanted some good matches and it really didn't matter who won," Phillips added.
Soddy Daisy coach Steve Henry has another outstanding team and should make a run for the state title after finishing runner-up in the state duals and third in the traditional state.
"It's been a great day so far as we're all here for the same reason. We want to see some good competition and to support UTC wrestling.
"All of my kids got several matches today and that was a real plus. As UTC climbs up the ladder on the college level, we all benefit.
"This is a tournament we always look forward to," Henry nodded.
Former Baylor coach Jim Morgan was at UTC for many years before going across the river to lead the Red Raiders.
Ben Nelson is now the leader for Baylor and he too likes the setup for this tournament.
"It's fun to get back to some live action. They had a great team, but we'll get better," he said shortly after the loss to Cleveland.
"We have a lot to work on, but a day like this gives us a good idea of where we need to focus. Our football players haven't been on the mat for the last seven months and they haven't even had their first practice yet," Nelson nodded.
Heath Eslinger is the current UTC coach who served as the tournament director.
"This is a reunion of sorts, but an event like this just goes to show how much influence UTC wrestling has on the local wrestling community.
"We have a lot of state champion-caliber teams here today and the common denominator is that all have a connection to Chattanooga," he added.
THE CLEVELAND DUALS will be held next Saturday with 16 teams battling for top honors.
Baylor, Pope, Woodland and Cleveland are all defending state champs in their classification while Gordon Lee took second in Georgia A, Christian Brothers second in D-II and Soddy Daisy was third in D-I.
Other teams include Franklin, Independence, Science Hill, Christian Brothers, McCallie, Rome, LaFayette, Thompson and Atlanta Christian.
SATURDAY'S INDIVIDUAL MATCH SCORES
Soddy Daisy 46, Thompson 23
Heritage 45, Woodland 21
Cleveland 42, McCallie 25
Baylor 66, Tullahoma 13
Soddy Daisy 69, Ringgold 6
Woodland 52, Red Bank 18
Cleveland 62, Flagler 6
Baylor 46, Sonoraville 24
Thompson 58, Ringgold 3
Heritage 69, Red Bank 10
McCallie 52, Flagler 24
Sonoraville 42, Tullahoma 41
Cleveland 44, Baylor 22
Flagler 46, Tullahoma 17
McCallie 41, Sonoraville 30
Thompson 51, Woodland 30
Ringgold 34, Red Bank 24
Soddy Daisy 56, Woodland 20
Heritage 39, Cleveland 35
Thompson 52, McCallie 11
Ringgold 36, Tullahoma 34
Sonoraville 57, Red Bank 14.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)