CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Qualifying for the state duals in wrestling is a big deal for most teams, but it’s almost become an expected event for the Cleveland Blue Raiders.
It was business as usual at the Jones Wrestling Center Saturday morning where Cleveland remained unbeaten with a 51-21 victory over the Oakland Patriots to advance to next Saturday’s State Duals, which will be held in Franklin at the Williamson County Agricultural Expo Center.
Cleveland will be shooting for its fifth straight duals title, but they had to win on Saturday to have that opportunity.
The Patriots battled for all they were worth and even had a 15-13 lead following the match at 220 pounds, but the Blue Raiders were simply too strong at too many weights for the guys from Murfreesboro to have a legitimate shot at winning.
Cleveland coach Joey Knox knows that his latest win is just another step in the process, but that his kids can’t afford to get lazy or complacent.
“That wasn’t bad,” Knox said following his team’s 18th straight dual meet victory without a defeat.
“We were missing a couple of starters today, but that just gave a couple of young guys a chance to prove what they could do. I thought they all did pretty well, but we can’t afford to relax or let up at this point. We still have to do the little things right and we can’t afford to let our weight get out of control.
“Most of our coaching is done and it’s just a matter of tending to small details as it’s all fine-tuning from here on out.
“I was really proud of Cy Fowler at 152, who beat a kid who had beaten him earlier in the season. I thought Cy controlled the entire match and got a nice win. But now we can focus on next week’s tournament in Franklin,” Knox added with a smile.
Oakland coach Josh Harris, who was an undefeated heavyweight state champion for Rhea County in 1994, knows that his team is on the right track, but they will have to be able to beat teams like Cleveland if they ever intend to reach their highest goal.
“We knew what we were up against when we walked in here this morning as we had our hands full. A lot of teams get scared when Cleveland is mentioned, but I thought our guys went out and fought their tails off the entire time,” he said after his team dropped to 21-5 with its second straight loss.
“We had to just out out and fight with all we had and I feel like we did that today. We aren’t at their level yet, but I feel like we’re headed in the right direction,” Harris nodded.
Saturday’s match began at 152 pounds and that’s where Fowler evened the score with Oakland’s Adam Tibitoski.
Fowler scored a takedown for a 2-0 lead following the first period. Following a scoreless second period, Fowler made it 3-0 with an escape before Tibitoski made it 3-2 with a takedown of his own. Fowler then added a second escape with 35 seconds left in the match and that was the final after no more points were scored.
Lucas Szymborski had a second-period pin and Jax Ernest a 13-0 major decision at 170 to put the Blue Raiders ahead 13-0 before the Patriots won the next three matches for their only lead of the match.
Joshua Tobin had a 4-1 decision at 182 and Nicholas Jenkins received a forfeit at 195 before a pin from Theron Gaines at 220 put Oakland ahead, 15-13.
Ashton Davis quickly shifted the momentum back to Cleveland’s side with a first-period pin at 285 and the Blue Raiders then won the next six matches for a commanding 51-15 lead following Roman York’s pin at 138.
Chase Walker, Logan Fowler and Arlo Laxton had pins in that streak for Cleveland while Daniel Sims had a decision and Bentley Ellison a technical fall.
Jaxsen Nicuwimer then closed out the match with a pin at 145 as Oakland cut the final margin to 51-21.
THE CLEVELAND GIRLS also advanced to the State Duals with a 47-21 victory over Maryville in Saturday’s first match.
CLEVELAND 51, OAKLAND 21
(Match began at 152 pounds)
106 – Chase Walker (Clev) pinned DeShawn Miller, :51;
113 – Daniel Sims (Clev) dec. Nathan Barbee, 5-3;
120 – Bentley Ellison (Clev) won by technical fall over Brayden Bouma, 3:45;
126 – Logan Fowler (Clev) pinned Landon Beasley, 2:29;
132 – Arlo Laxton (Clev) pinned Preston Christiansen, 1:26;
138 – Roman York (Clev) pinned Sam Harvat, 3:28;
145 – Jaxsen Nicuwimer (Oak) pinned Camden Lockerby, 3:05;
152 – Cy Fowler (Clev) dec. Adam Tibitoski, 4-2;
160 – Lucas Szymborski (Clev) pinned Mabry Needham, 3:22;
170 – Jax Ernest (Clev) major dec. Chandler Cook, 13-0;
182 – Joshua Tobin (Oak) dec. David Giraldo, 4-1;
195 – Nicholas Jenkins (Oak) won by forfeit;
220 – Theron Gaines (Oak) pinned Jared Canales, 4:29;
285 – Ashton Davis (Clev) pinned Zach Turk, 1:53.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)