The East Hamilton wrestlers gather for a photo with the 2016 Central Invitational championship trophy
Led by champions Conner Thornburg (106), Grant Lundy (126), Matt Meeks (132) and seven other medalists, East Hamilton scored 196 points to claim the 48th annual Chattanooga Central Wrestling Invitational Saturday.
St. Benedict was second (130 points) with four champions, while Harpeth was third (116 points) and two champions. Fourth place went to Shelbyville (115 pts), while host and 2015 champion Chattanooga Central had 111 points and three champions for fifth place in the 14-team tournament.
Boyd Buchanan had a champion at 113 (Scott Weaver) and placed seventh and East Ridge had a winner at 285 (Christian Castro).
“We wrestled well, especially our young wrestlers as eighth grader Conner Thornburg won at 106 and ninth grader Grant Lundy won at 126, while eighth grader Cade Meeks was second at 113,” said East Hamilton coach Ryan Cooper.
Well Run Tournament: “I believe all the parents, wrestlers and coaches enjoyed the day as we had many excellent matches, great Chattanooga Central parent volunteers and the tournament finished ahead of schedule,” said Central coach John Lennon who is a three-time Central Invitational champion.
Kudos to Workers: The Chattanooga Central parents provided the usual great hospitality room with food and beverages for coaches, workers and officials … Trackwrestling - Felisha Smith made sure all results were posted in a timely manner on trackwrestling.com
Outstanding Wrestler: Chattanooga Central … 152 – Alonzo Heyward (25-2) ... two tech falls and a major decision on the way to the title
Best Match: 113 – Scott Weaver (Boyd Buc) dec. Cade Meeks (East Hamilton), 14-12 … Weaver led 9-4 after one period and 11-6 after two before Meeks scored a reverse and a pair of 2-point near falls in the final period but fell short by wo points.
Good Year For East Hamilton: The Hurricanes won the Charger Classic (Chattanooga Christian) in December for the program’s first ever tournament title and also took third at the Dalton Classic and was third at the Calhoun Duals.
“We were thrilled to win the Chattanooga Christian tournament as it was our first ever championship in the seven year history of our program and it was a great way for me to celebrate my 43rd birthday that day (Dec. 19),” said coach Cooper.
106 (round robin)
Champion: Conner Thornburg (East Ham), 3-0
2nd: Rhett Birdsong (Shelbyville)
3rd: Kortney Vanders (East Ridge)
4th: Joe Walsh (St. Benedict)
113
Champion: No.1 Scott Weaver (Boyd Buc) dec. No.2 Cade Meeks (East Ham), 14-12
3rd place: No.4 Dalton Kilpatrick (St. Benedict) pinned Jesus Baltazar (East Ridge), :48
120
Champion: No.2 Braxton Hunter (Harpeth) major dec. Austin Biddy (Chattanooga Central), 13-1
3rd: No.3 Kashwn Cosey (East Ridge) pinned Wyatt Stumbo (Rhea Co), 1:55
126
Champion: No.1 Grant Lundy (East Ham) dec. Thomas Hatcher (Harpeth), SV-1, 6-4
3rd: No.2 Michaels Williams (Shelbyville) pinned No.4 Jorge Gil (East Ridge), 2:49
132
Champion: No.1 Matt Meeks (East Ham) pinned Logan McDonald (East Ridge), 1:44
3rd: No.2 Montel Hendricks (Shelbyville) pinned Justen Uttley (Harpeth), 2:23
138
Champion: No.1 Isaac Coffman (Chattanooga Central) dec. No.3 Liam Golden (East Ham), 7-3
3rd: No.2 C.J. Monce (Shelbyville) pinned Jose Simon (Rhea Co.), 3:40
145
Champion: No.2 Khaise Brice (St. Benedict) dec. No.1 Haustin Parsons (Shelbyville), SV-1, 5-3
3rd: No.3 Chris Branson (East Ham) pinned Caleb LaCoe (Rhea), 1:35
152
Champion: No.1 Alonso Heyward (Chattanooga Central) Tech Fall No.3 Daelyn Rose (Harpeth), 20-4, 5:06
3rd: No.4 Jay Graham (Rhea Co.) pinned Andrew Sturdivant (East Ham), 2:30
160
Champion: No.1 Thomas Herrman (St. Benedict) dec. No.2 Zane Williams (Boyd Buc), 14-9
3rd: No.3 Skylar Sivley (Chattanooga Central) Zarian Brent (Harpeth), 4-3
170
Champion: No.2 Kevin Pease (St. Benedict) pinned No.4 Kendell Scruggs (Rhea Co.), 1:57)
3rd: Darian Smith (East Ridge) dec. No.1 Mathew Sailors (East Ham.), 9-6
182
Champion: No.1 Noah Kurtz (St. Benedict) pinned No.3 Matthew McDonald (Boyd Buc), 1:01
3rd: No.4 Kevin Siniard (East Ham) dec. Triston Maxwell (Shelbyville), 5-4
195
Champion: No.2 B.J. Sledge (Chattanooga Central) dec. Kell Stott (Boyd Buc), 5-2
3rd: No.3 Huichan Yun (East Ham) pinned Jake Wiley (Sewanee-St.Andrews), 2:28
220
Champion: Devin Spence (Harpeth) dec. No.1 Jason Martin (Shelbyville), 8-4
3rd: No.2 Will Watkins (Boyd Buc) pinned Deontae Tyson (Tyner), 1:58
285
Champion: Christian Castro (East Ridge) pinned Derrick Debusk (Knox Central), 1:37
3rd: Zack Wright (Union) pinned Keith Thomas (Tyner), 1:22
contact B.B. Branton at william.branton@comcast.net