FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The Baylor Red Raiders were shooting for their fifth straight D-II, Class AA state duals championship here at Williamson County Agricultural Expo Center, but the Father Ryan Purple Irish had other ideas.
Father Ryan, which entered the tournament with a record of 21-10, beat Montgomery Bell Academy in Saturday’s semifinal round after earning the top spot from the West region on Friday with a win over Christian Brothers.
Saturday’s win was big for the Purple Irish as they trailed briefly at 22-21 following Jacob Bond’s overtime decision, so the win was especially sweet for coach Pat Simpson and his group of Purple Irish.
Baylor coach Rex Kendle had a hard time finding the right words to describe just how he was feeling. He knew that winning his team’s fifth straight duals would be a longshot after graduating eight seniors and then missing two key starters in recent days.
“I’m so proud of these guys as they’ve worked their tails off in recent weeks, but we just came up a little bit short tonight. I'm not going to make any excuses,” he began shortly after the last match had ended.
“Father Ryan has a solid team and they wrestled well tonight, but we’ll just refocus and try to win the traditional tournament in two weeks,” the veteran coach nodded.
While it was a heartbreaking defeat for Baylor, the feeling was just the opposite for the Boyd Buchanan Buccaneers after they won their first state duals title ever with a 33-31 victory over Lakeway Christian in the D-II, Class A-AA division.
The Bucs lost the first match by pin, but a pin from undefeated Conor Payne evened the score before a masterful 12-9 decision by Austin Johnson gave his team a 9-6 lead, one that the Lions would never overcome.
The biggest difference was 27-10 following an overtime decision by Ty Barnes at 285.
Lakeway made it a match by winning five of the final five individual battles, but the difference was 33-29 following the match at 132 before a penalty point for unsportsmanlike conduct made it 33-28 with one match remaining.
Carter Rowlett’s main job was simply to not get pinned in that last bout, but he did one better as he only lost by 10-6 to preserve the win for coach Michael Sutherland and the young Bucs.
“What a miracle,” blurted Sutherland, who has been with the program for the past six years and has done an outstanding job of creating a quality program.
“Our younger guys in the upper weights really stepped up, but us keeping them from getting bonus points may have been the key.
“We really struggled early in the year as we had so many kids out with injuries, but it made a huge difference to have them all available today. And we also won a couple of overtime matches where we weren’t favored, so that was a key as well.
Boyd Buchanan began its day with a convincing 53-15 win over Battleground Academy while Lakeway had advanced with a 42-36 victory over Friendship Christian
D-II, CLASS AAA CHAMPIONSHIP
FATHER RYAN 33, BAYLOR 28
(Match began at 145 pounds)
106 – William Phillips (Bay) major dec. Daniel Marchetti, 11-3;
113 – Jacob Bond (Bay) dec. Ethan Lampert, 5-3 in overtime;
120 – Joseph Calvin (Ryan) pinned N.Y. Cofer, 3:58;
126 – Brody Gobbell (Ryan) dec. Chase Hart, 4-0;
132 – Cason Roark (Ryan) dec. William Emendorfer, 8-1;
138 – Nate Askew (Bay) pinned Patrick McGrady, 1:50;
145 – Chancery Deane (Ryan) pinned Peyton Smith, 2:52;
152 – Hunter Sturgill (Bay) pinned Lukas Terry, 1:10;
160 – Sawyer Rutherford (Ryan) won by forfeit;
170 – Micah Lemaota (Ryan) dec. Odin Phillips, 9-5;
182 – Omaury Alvarez (Bay) pinned Matt Oberlander, 3:14;
195 – Dylan Crawford (Bay) dec. Tim Brunet, 2-1;
220 – William McGrady (Ryan) dec. Balint Rendessy, 7-1;
285 – Abraham Cromartie (Ryan) dec. Samuel Rose, 3-0.
D-II CLASS A-AA CHAMPIONSHIP
BOYD BUCHANAN 33, LAKEWAY CHRISTIAN 31
(Match began at 145 pounds)
106 – Luke Kibblebeck (Lakeway) pinned Bentley Edwards, 3:53;
113 – Nolen Hardman (Boyd) won by forfeit;
120 – Cole Gumlick (Lakeway) dec. Joseph Williams, 5-1;
126 – Spencer Reep (Lakeway) major dec. Harbor Bent, 20-6;
132 – Cameron Helton (Lakeway) won by forfeit;
138 – Cole Gumlick (Lakeway) dec. Carter Rowlett, 10-6;
145 – Jay Eversole (Lakeway) pinned Matthew West, 1:02;
152 – Conor Payne (Boyd) pinned Jace Sutton, :32;
160 – Austin Johnson (Boyd) dec. Aidan Dooley, 12-9;
170 – Kaiden Bates (Boyd) won by forfeit;
182 – Brody Castro (Lakeway) major dec. Xander Hatcher, 12-3;
195 – David Green (Boyd) dec. Will Eversole, 8-7 in overtime;
220 – Anthony Klein (Boyd) pinned Hunter Vaughn, 2:42;
285 – Ty Barnes (Boyd) dec. Kegan Tennell, 2-1 in overtime.
D-II, CLASS AAA SEMIFINAL
BAYLOR 46, CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 14
(Match began at 138 pounds)
106 – William Phillips (Bay) major dec. Ignatius Smout, 14-4;
113 – Jacob Bond (Bay) pinned Ari Bichelman, :31;
120 – N.Y. Cofer (Bay) dec. Hudson Salvaggio, 6-4;
126 – James Hogue (Bay) pinned Wilson Jamison, 4:58;
132 – Alex Ropski (CB) dec. William Emendorfer, 6-3;
138 – Nathaniel Askew (Bay) pinned Mason Butler, 3:17;
145 – Peyton Smith (Bay) dec. Findley Smout, 7-2;
152 – Hunter Sturgill (Bay) pinned Robert Hutton, 3:25;
160 – Wills Bronson (CB) major dec. Odin Phillips, 14-1;
170 – Drake Bowers (CB) major dec. Grady Joyner, 12-1;
182 – Omaury Alvarez (Bay) pinned Erasmo Cortez, 1:40;
195 – Dylan Crawford (Bay) dec. Collin Tobin, 5-2;
220 – Jack Branson (CB) dec. Balint Rendessy, 8-3;
285 – Samuel Rose (Bay) dec. Austin Williams, 7-2 in overtime.
D-II, CLASS A-AA SEMIFINAL
BOYD BUCHANAN 53, BATTLEGROUND ACADEMY 15
(Match began at 138 pounds)
106 – Bentley Edwards (BB) won by forfeit;
113 – Nolen Hardman (BB) pinned Boyd Looney, 1:05;
120 – Double forfeit;
126 – Joseph Williams (BB) pinned Wilkes Hewitt, 2:38;
132 – Harbor Bent (BB) dec. Tucker Carroll, 12-8;
138 – Carter Rowlett (BB) pinned Bodie Robertson, 5:29;
145 – Conor Payne (BB) pinned Hayden Harvey, 1:32;
152 – Matthew West (BB) dec. Bennett Fullington, 6-4;
160 – Austin Johnson (BB) pinned Gavino Villareal, 4:30;
170 – Kaiden Bates (BB) won by technical fall over Ian Carlig, 3:46;
182 – Jack Henneberry (BGA) dec. Xander Hatcher 5-0;
195 – David Demorest (BGA) won by forfeit;
220 – Anthony Klein (BB) pinned Nate Fleming, 1:57;
285 – Jeremiah Rhames (BGA) won by forfeit
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)