CLEVELAND, Tenn. — Opening the new mat season with a pair of blow out victories Bradley Central lost just one contested match Thursday evening, in Jim Smiddy Arena.
Taking 10 of the 11 contested battles with McMinn County, the Bears finished the trimatch with a 66-12, after blanking Howard 72-0 in the opener that saw only four divisions wrestled. The Cherokees also claimed a shutout win over the Hustlin' Tigers.
"Overall tonight I saw improvements from our guys," related second-year Bradley head coach Bryant Blackmon.
"This time of year we don’t focus on as much of who we’re wrestling. I thought we wrestled well across the board from varsity to JV.
"Our talks and focus leading into these first matches of the season are to develop consistency in our weight cuts, warm ups, and match strategy.
"I thought our guys pushed the pace and created a lot of scoring opportunities," he assessed. "We need to continue to build on that and be willing to take some risks offensively. I think the guys did that pretty well tonight though."
Bradley's boys and girls varsity teams will head to the "Beat Down at the Mountains," at Heritage High School, outside Maryville, plus a second group of Bears will join the JV squad for the Ooltewah Invitational this weekend.
BRADLEY CENTRAL 66, MCMINN COUNTY 12
Senior Jacob Gentry got the hosts off to a strong start with a 17-2 technical fall by the 157-pound opening period buzzer.
Junior Trent Crisp followed with a 10-1 major decision before Bradley notched four straight pins.
Junior Wiley Suskawicz started the "stick streak" with a 100-second slap at 175, with senior Isaac Akins following suit at at 1:15 of the 190-pound opening frame.
Junior Caden Williams and senior Aadyn Hubbard needed a little longer to get referee Christ Trotter to slap the mat at the 5:48 mark of the 215 and the 3:01 point of the 285-pound matches, respectively.
After accepting a forfeit at 106, the Bear train continued with junior Bryson Moates earning an 18-11 decision over McMinn's Brayden Fletcher at 113.
At 120,Bradley freshman Caleb Crisp took a slim 1-0 edge into the final frame before getting his first varsity pin at the 5:48 mark.
After the teams traded forfeits at 126 and 132, the Cherokees got on the board with their lone win at 138 when Houston Davenport needed just 97 seconds for a pin.
Bradley junior Brayden Harris capped the night on a high note with a "stick" just before the second-period horn blared.
BRADLEY CENTRAL 72. HOWARD 0
The four contested matches against the short-handed Howard squad lasted just a combined 97 seconds, all ending with Bradley pins.
Crisp took just 22 ticks at 165, while Williams had the quickest "stick" of the night in only 20 seconds at 215.
Hubbard needed whole half minute to put his 285-pound opponent's shoulders to the mat, while Harris took 25 ticks at 144.
MATCH SUMMARIES
Bradley Central 66, McMinn County 12
(meet started at 157)
106 — Q Dyer (BC) won by forfeit; 113 — Bryson Moates (BC) dec. Brayden Fletcher, 18-11; 120 — Caleb Crisp (BC) pinned Hayden Jackson, 5:48; 126 — Brayden Carroll (MC) won by forfeit; 132 — Landon Goins (BC) won by forfeit; 138 — Houston Davenport (BC) pinned Brayden Morgan, 1:27; 144 — Brandon Harris (BC) pinned Alex Humbert, 3:50; 150 — Kyle Hogg (BC) won by forfeit; 157 — Jacob Gentry (BC) tech fall Manny Hernandez, 17-2 2:00; 165 — Trent Crisp (BC) major dec. Dakota Guffey, 10-1; 175 — Wiley Suskawicz (BC) pinned Harold Lugo, 1:20; 190 — Issac Akins (BC) pinned Lucas Davis, 1:15; 215 — Caden Williams (BC) pinned Chris Rouse, 5:48; 285 — Aadyn Hubbard (BC) pinned Moses Worrley, 3:01.
Bradley Central 72, Howard 0
(meet started at 150)
106 — Q Dyer (BC) won by forfeit; 113 — Bryson Moates (BC) won by forfeit; 120 — Caleb Crisp (BC) won by forfeit; 126 — Double forfeit; 132 — Landon Goins (BC) won by forfeit; 138 — Houston Davenport (BC) won by forfeit; 144 — Brandon Harris (BC) pinned Quan Dillard, :25; 150 — Kyle Hogg (BC) won by forfeit; 157 — Jacob Gentry (BC) won by forfeit; 165 — Trent Crisp (BC) pinned Angel Contreras, :22; 175 — Wiley Suskawicz (BC) won by forfeit; 190 — Issac Akins (BC) won by forfeit; 215 — Caden Williams (BC) pinned Nyhal Thomas, :20; 285 — Aadyn Hubbard (BC) pinned Kivi Paiz, :30.