Tucker Gill, of Notre Dame, lifts his opponent Blake Reichel of Red Bank in the air on his way to a takedown. Gill edged Reichel by a 2-1 decision in the championship match of the 106-pound weight class in the Region 2-A/AA tournament at Signal Mountain High School.
photo by Dennis Norwood
The top four teams were within six and a half points of each other after Friday’s championship quarters, but the early leader Hixson took matters into its own hands during Saturday’s championship semis.
The Wildcats advanced seven of 10 semifinalists to the championship round where they won four of those to claim the Region 2-A/AA title for the second straight year as they finished the two-day event at Signal Mountain High School with 202.5 points and 11 qualifiers for next week’s state meet in Franklin.
The Red Bank Lions, who have been nipping at Hixson’s heels all season, finished second with 181 points as they will be sending 10 to Franklin.
Notre Dame nipped Central by a point for third place with 147 while East Ridge was a distant fifth in the 14-team field with 113.5.
Hixson coach Garrick Hall is never willing to take anything for granted, especially in big tournaments when his team is favored to win.
But the big Teddy Bear-looking fellow could only sit back and smile following an incredible start to the second day. The momentum from that first round carried over the rest of the way.
“We did pretty well as we came to wrestle this morning,” he said after all the dust had settled.
“We didn’t have any kind of pep talk or anything. I just told them to be on time and to be on weight as that was our biggest concern, but they did all of that and were ready to wrestle when the day began and performed like I know they are capable.
“We had a great first round as we got some key bonus points. We didn’t let up the rest of the day as we just took care of business,” he said, knowing that his team will be among the favorites next week because of the number of qualifiers and the fact they are the defending champs.
Red Bank coach Shane Turner certainly didn’t have anything to complain about as 10 of his 12 entries advanced to next week’s big showdown.
“I’m pleased overall as we had 10 entered and 10 advanced to the state,” Turner expressed later.
“Our mission is accomplished as we have enough to make another run next weekend. We had a good weekend, but Hixson is just a little deeper than we are. We’re closing the gap and we still have one more shot,” he added.
Hixson’s champions included Isaac Yates at 126, Cederick Harris at 132, Truman Ross at 220 and Brody Gregory at 285 while Notre Dame was next with three champions, including Tucker Gill at 106, Luke Mullin at 120 and Packy Mullin at 145.
Red Bank, Central and East Ridge all had two winners while Signal Mountain had one.
Red Bank’s two included Trent Comeaux at 113 and Devin Crawl at 182 while Central’s two included Alonso Heyward at 152 and Xavier Norwood at 160. Tabrin Walker (138) and DeAngelo Johnson (170) were champs for East Ridge while Cale Shelton claimed the 195-pound title for Signal Mountain.
Heyward had a great day on Saturday as he beat two defending state champs en route to winning his title, including Red Bank’s Gabe McDuffie in the semis and Notre Dame’s top-seeded Noah Bankston in the finals.
The Central sophomore, improving to 26-4 for the season, was an easy choice for the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler.
The 132-pound final where Hixson’s Harris posted a 16-6 major decision over top-seeded Spencer Griffy of East Ridge, was voted the Best Match for the tournament.
While Hixson had four champions, Landon Goforth (145), Chris Nicholson (182) and Dylan Bargerstock (195) all claimed second while Spencer Groves and Konnor Ziegler were third at 113 and 120, respectively. Jonas Shackleford (138) and Ronny Huff (160) were both fourth.
Other medalists for Red Bank included Blake Reichel (106), Jonah Bird (120), David Johnson (138) and Kaine Kell (160) as runners-up while McDuffie (152), Christian Jackson (195) and Anthony Ottinger (285) all finished third. Robert Perry was fourth at 170.
Bankston was second at 152 for Notre Dame while Ned Warwick (126), Michael Quatrano (170) and Chris Hornsby (220) all finished third.
Central’s other medalists included Bryson Lemons (126) and Sam Stephenson (285) in second while Isaac Coffman (132), Brian Sledge (182) and Curtis Noisseaux (220) all finished fourth.
LEGEND AND FINAL TEAM SCORES: 1.
Hixson (Hix) 202.5; 2. Red Bank (RB) 181; 3. Notre Dame (ND) 147; 4. Central (Cen) 146; 5. East Ridge (ER) 113.5; 6. Signal Mountain (SM) 98.5; 7. Whitwell (W) 69; 8. Boyd-Buchanan (BB) 50; 9. Chattanooga Christian (CCS) 28.5; 10. Tyner (T) 20.5; 11. Howard (How) 19; 12. Sequatchie County (Seq) 17; 13. Sale Creek (SC) 7; 14. Brainerd (Bra) 3.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
106 -- Tucker Gill (ND) dec. Blake Reichel (RB), 2-1;
113 -- Trent Comeaux (RB) dec. Hunter Owens (ER), 4-3;
120 -- Luke Mullin (ND) won by forfeit over Jonah Bird (RB);
126 -- Isaac Yates (Hix) major dec. Bryson Lemons (Cen), 10-2;
132 -- Cederick Harris (Hix) major dec. Spencer Griffy (ER),16-6;
138 -- Tabrin Walker (ER) dec. David Johnson (RB), 5-3;
145 -- Packy Mullin (ND) dec. Landon Goforth (Hix), 13-8;
152 -- Alonso Heyward (Cen) dec. Noah Bankston (ND), 5-2;
160 -- Xavier Norwood (Cen) won by forfeit over Kaine Kell (RB);
170 -- DeAngelo Johnson (ER) major dec. Seth Petarra (SM), 23-12;
182 -- Devin Crawl (RB) dec. Chris Nicholson (Hix), 6-4 in overtime;
195 -- Cale Shelton (SM) dec. Dylan Bargerstock (Hix), 6-4 in overtime;
220 -- Truman Ross (Hix) pinned Will Watkins (BB), 3:00;
285 -- Brody Gregory (Hix) dec. Sam Stephenson (Cen), 5-4.
CONSOLATION FINALS FOR THIRD PLACE
106 -- Isaac Tate (SM) dec. Kashawn Cosey (ER), 7-2;
113 -- Spencer Groves (Hix) dec. Scott Weaver (BB), 10-8;
120 -- Konnor Ziegler (Hix) major dec. Logan McDonald (ER), 11-2;
126 -- Ned Warwick (ND) major dec. Hunt Drennan (SM), 14-2;
132 -- Daniel Dawson (SM) dec. Isaac Coffman (Cen), 7-2;
138 -- Justin Wheeler (CCS) dec. Jonas Shackleford (Hix), 5-0;
145 -- Greg Layne (W) dec. Alex Hundley (CCS), 6-5;
152 -- Gabe McDuffie (RB) dec. Chaysen Patrick (T), 12-6;
160 -- Ty Boeck (SM) dec. Ronny Huff (Hix), 7-3;
170 -- Michael Quatrano (ND) dec. Robert Perry (RB), 4-3 in overtime;
182 -- Bailey Blaylock (W) won by forfeit over Brian Sledge (Cen);
195 -- Christian Jackson (RB) pinned Seth Cumby (W), 1:00;
220 -- Chris Hornsby (ND) major dec. Curtis Noisseaux (Cen), 10-2;
285 -- Anthony Ottinger (RB) pinned Chase Cantrell (W), 3:00.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)
Red Bank's Trent Comeaux (top) gains control over his opponent, Hunter Owens of East Ridge in the 113-pound championship finals match. Comeaux won by a slim 4-3 margin to help his team to a runner-up finish in the Region 2-A/AA wrestling tournament.
photo by Dennis Norwood